Returning the gift of holiday weight gain can be a true challenge for most of us. This is why it’s important to try to avoid getting a holiday weight package in the first place! There’s no benefit to approaching the New Year with a lot of extra weight that you have to lug around all year.

However, if you do gain a little weight, it’s a good idea to know and understand the measures that you can take to eliminate those extra pounds before they become a problem.

You can learn all about returning the gift of holiday weight gain in the tips below:

Get Moving

One of the best ways that you can maintain your current weight through the holidays, or shed those extra pounds from your holiday blessing, is to exercise! You should strive to get at least four hours of exercise weekly. This may sound like a lot, but there are many exciting physical activities that will enable you to lose those unwanted pounds.

* You can take a walk around the block to savor one last look at those Christmas decorations, go swimming in an indoor heated pool, or warm up in an aerobics or dance class.

* Go up and down the stairs a few times. When you’re done, your heart will surely be pumping!

* Learn some basic yoga moves and start or end your day with some deep stretching and relaxation.

Make Healthy Food Choices

During the holidays, fresh fruit assortments are a big hit and make eating healthy much easier. A good goal would be to eat five servings of fruits every day. When you snack on fruit, you’ll avoid the urge to sink your teeth into that hot apple pie and those other tempting desserts that tend to line tables and countertops when the holidays roll around.

In addition to fruits assortments, vegetable trays are a great, healthy choice as well.

* With fresh fruits and vegetables, not only will you be able to eat plenty of foods that taste great, but you’ll also get your daily dose of essential nutrients and vitamins that assist in the many functions of the body.

* It would be unreasonable to expect you to avoid all of the delightful foods that tempt you during the holidays. In fact, you shouldn’t deprive yourself at all! The key is to enjoy these sweet desserts in moderation.

* Fill up on the healthy fruits and vegetables first and then ask for a small serving of pie. You’ll get a sweet taste without the desire to devour the entire pie.

* Try to limit yourself to just one treat a day. Setting limits will allow you to enjoy all those seasonal foods that you love without causing holiday weight gain.

* Share your cookies and treats with those at your office, church, or homeless shelter. If the sweets tempt you too much at home, share them with others.

Party Etiquette

Prepare yourself for social gatherings, family dinners, and festive holiday parties. The foods and beverages that you find at these parties are generally loaded with fat and other unhealthy ingredients.

* Eat a healthy meal before going to holiday parties. If you’re not hungry, you’ll indulge in fewer unhealthy foods that can add pounds.

* Focus on enjoying the company rather than on the food. Engaging in conversation will allow you to forget (momentarily!) about the food buffet.

During the holidays we all want to indulge in traditional holiday treats. Being conscious of portion control will help you avoid gaining a significant amount of weight this holiday season.

Returning the gift of holiday weight gain is much easier when it does not involve too many pounds. Using these tips will keep the weight gain to a minimum and help you to shed those few extra pounds that do materialize.

Constantine George

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Weight loss is a mental and physical process. First you must have a strong will to lose weight and look great. So when you’ve made up your mind to lose weight and melt off all the fats in your body, you should make that commitment and go into it with a positive attitude. Second is a physical process, you should work out, cardio workout is a great way to lose weight.The thought of losing that pot belly with cardio (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike and step aerobics etc etc) and sit ups can be daunting or intimidating and we always think that Wouldn’t it be great if somebody could wave a magic wand over my head and make those extra pounds and pot belly disappear and give me six packs abs? But it is not possible. Slimming down takes time and sweat if you do not have the right method, approaches, and encouragement to assist you along.

So is there any magical way that we dont have to do these painfull situps and still we can lose weight and get a flat abs?

Ofcourse with the right directions and an accurate guideline, it is possible to get a flat stomach and look great and here are these ten simple and useful tips and method you can adopt easily and get your desire results.

POSITIVE APPROACH:

whether it is a weight loss or a better job, When ever you want to achieve something in life you must think like a winner. Always go at it with a positive set of mind and commitment. Slimming down and losing weight is not just about diets. It’s about a entirely fresh you and the possibility of creating afresh life for yourself.

SET GOALS:

You can lose fifty pounds in a week if you do physical exercise twelve hours a day and consume nothing but celery, it is not realistic and a human cant do it. Always keep in mind that Slow and steady wins the race. Set your small achieveable and realistic goals, do not bite off more than you can chew. . In the end, you’ll have accomplished more.

WAlKING FOR WEIGHT LOSS:

Walking for weight loss is the easy, Fun, cheap and low impact form of exercise to incorporate into day-to-day life. Walking for weight loss is a easiest weight loss exercise that provides an alternative to increase the calorie deficit required to induce weight loss. It is one of the best methods to slim down.

MAINTAINING A FOOD DAIRY:

Always maintain a food dairy of what you had eaten and what you will eat. Eat five small meals a day instead of taking three big meals a day and always start your day with a break fast and stop eating three hours before going to bed.

SAY NO TO WHITE BREAD:

Did you know that white bread isn’t healthy? Oh, it’s true, just ask any diabetic. Research has shown that people who eat more refined products like white bread are more expected to have belly fat.

DONT SHOP WHEN HUNGRY:

Never go to shopping when you are hungry or you will end up buying more fattening food. Best thing is to eat before going for food shopping and always prepare a grocery list. Only buy food which relates to your each week diet program.

WEIGH YOURSELF:

Weight yourself once every week and maintain your weight loss record.

NEVER SKIP MEAL:

Never Skip your meals because eating step-ups your matabolism so skipping meals can slow down your metabolism. Always eat slowly and chew each bite completely to decrease your appetite.Chew everything from 10 to 20 times and count. Drinking hot water as instead of cold water can step-up the speed of your metabolism and burn more calories.

EGG WHITES:

Always try to make dishes like Omelettes using egg white only. it is very low in fat and high in protein.

JOIN SUPPORT GROUP:

When you are on your way to achieve any goal you set for your self you always need a moral support and a best moral support can be from the person you already achieve the goal or trying to achieve. thats why find a weight loss buddy or join support group. This will help you stay with your goal.

In the end I must say that you should Lose weight for yourself, not to please your love ones like your parents or your friends etc and Drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Water itself helps cut down on water retention because it acts as a diuretic.

_K_M_

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This is because of the water’s buoyant effect on the human body. This lack of gravity in water is why so many people with joint and muscle pain, and those who are extremely obese, turn to aqua fitness to get their health back. Water fitness is extremely gentle because it cushions the body, putting zero stress on weight-bearing joints and muscles. As a result, aquatic workouts are extremely low-impact and can greatly reduce the chances of further injury and strain – that the same exercises out of water can actu
Water Aerobics Exercises : Water Aerobics Front & Back Kicks

ally induce.

Those new to aqua fitness will find that exercising in water is gentle and allows for a wider range of movement, which means you are able to move in all directions. This is beneficial to many who are obese or injured – who wouldn’t be able to lift their legs and arms this way out of the water. The water lends its gentle resistance to help build muscle strength and tone safely. Just try to lift your leg up when it’s under water and you will feel the drag and resistance – see you are feeling the effects of gravity underwater.

6 Tips for Water-Friendly Workouts:

1. Although aqua workouts are considered one of the gentlest, please consult your doctor before starting any exercise routine.

2. Make sure the body part you want to exercise is fully submerged.

3. Any exercises should be slow and gentle under the water.

4. Complete each exercise to its full range of motion.

5. Stop immediately if you experience any pain.

6. Start with 5 repetitions and gradually move up to 8 and then 10 – once you feel comfortable.

If you are a water workout novice, and are looking to add a new challenge to your aqua workout routines, try incorporating some free-standing cardio equipment – such as:

Aqua floats – These easily strap onto various parts of the body – the upper arms, ankles, waist and wrist – and keep the body buoyant in the water. The most popular float used in water aerobics classes is the flotation belt. These are used for exercising in deep water because they keep your body afloat and in proper alignment during your workout.

Kick boards – These also support your weight so you can perform lower body exercises in the water.

Swim fins – Although these are typically used for scuba diving and snorkeling, shorter swim fins are used for adding resistance (or webbed feet) to your water workout.

Anna Fleet

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Any calf slimming exercise should aim to tone down excess fat in the calf muscles and shape up the calf.  The calf muscles essentially comprises the Gastrocnemius and the Soleus muscles.  Both these muscles needs to the well trained to shed the excess fat on your calves. 
Also Cardiovascular exercises like aerobics, walking, running, swimming etc. can produce amazing results in slimming down your calf muscles
The great thing about Cardiovascular exercises is that they also burn fat. For a cardio exercise to be effective it should be done at least 20 minutes in any workout day.
Stretching the Calves is also a good way to tone them up!
 If you can stretch the Calves between each calf exercise as well as after each calf exercise program you will get amazing results and prevent any kind of injury.  Perform minor calf stretching before and after you start your workouts. My favorite is toe stretches using a block or step.
If you already have big calves there is not much you can do to slim them down. Overall body weight loss would help. But if you calves are muscular already there is not much that can be done about that
It can only be compensated by proportionate development of other parts of the body. I.e. build up your leg, shoulder and back muscles to get a more v tapered look.
And design a training program that suits you the best, comprising exercises like military presses, squats and lat pull-downs with at least 10 reps per set.  You can train calves a maximum of twice per week. If calves area weak spot train them first thing during a workout to make sure you have the energy to train them correctly!
This rule applies for upper body workouts and not leg workouts. If you are training legs, perform your calves exercises after your leg workouts (that is your  thighs and hamstrings)
Another great exercise for toning up the calves is skipping. skipping is an effective  calf slimming exercise , it wont build bulk, it will tone your calf muscles up and might very well help to shed extra fat on your calves (provided you are on an overall fat loss diet).
The other Calf slimming exercise is Squats.  Calf raises helps to work the calves and shape it up.  For optimum results place the ball of your feet on a wooden block.  If the weights in the calf raises are kept light, the muscle will shape up quickly and will become leaner and harder.  Since the calves consist of two muscles, both of them should be shaped up.  Standing calf raises can also be performed with or without a barbell to effectively slim out your calves the standing calf raise shapes up your calves especially the Gastrocnemius muscle. 
Don’t forget to use the Sitting calf raises which is an excellent calf exercise which targets  and  shapes up your Soleus muscle- for the famous diamond shape calves look. 
Remember to always take your sets to positive muscular failure. You don’t need many sets so long as you train your calves hard. Two to three sets is all you need per exercise!  Use these simple tips and you might be surprised to see your calves tone up and take on that sexy slim well proportioned shape you want.

rob maraby

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Getting and staying in shape doesn’t have to be dull and boring! Try some of these fun fitness activities to make your workout time more enjoyable.

MUSICAL EXERCIES – Put on your favorite music and do some yoga! No need for slow, elevator music. Move to your favorite beat. Or pop on the headphones or earphones and grab your MP3 or cassette player or handheld PC and bike to a nearby park. Too cold or rainy? Then head to a mall or other enclosed area where you can walk. Caution: make sure you are alert while listening to music with headphones or earphones.

FUN IN THE SUN – Check out the latest tanning solutions and try fun, scented versions with funky, multi-colored sunglasses. Grab your cassette player or MP3 player and favorite tunes. And pack some flavored water, new flavored health bar that you’ve been dying to try and some frozen berries in your carryall for breaks and have a “sense”-ational time.

FITNESS CLASSES – Try out a new fitness class for fun. Enjoy a full water aerobics workout with less stress on your joints. Grab some colorful water gear and swim to the beat. Or try a dance or Jazzercise routine. No need to commit long-term, just ask about popping in for a class or two to check it out and enjoy. Meet new friends and get fit all at once.

VCR / DVD – Head to the library or local rental store and grab a fun fitness video or DVD. Crank up the sound when your favorite tunes come on and join the taped workout participants in the privacy of your own home.

GYM / FITNESS CENTER – Dig out those coupons you’ve been receiving in envelop mailers and those money saving coupon magazines. Again, no need to commit long-term. Just head on over and use the free or low-cost trial / invitational period and enjoy!

JOURNALING – Spice up your logging routine with an inexpensive new journal from a discount or dollar store nearby. Crate snazzy charts with colored markers. Add bright colored stickers for each workout. Paste or tape clipped pictures of your goals throughout the covers and inside sections. For example, paste pictures of that vacation spot you want to travel to with your new, healthy YOU wearing a new swimsuit.

So add some fun in with your fitness activities. Wake up your senses with new taste, smells, sights, touches and sounds. Forget that “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” stuff. Workouts plus play make Jack a fun, fit boy!

Nicky Pilkington

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As you may know if you already tried one or more diets, the first couple of weeks are the hardest; starting a new diet with the wrong foot may not only be useless, but it may also lead you to eat even worse than before.

Here are some tips that will help you start a new diet and successfully keep following it.

Don’t even try a new diet without asking a professional: Although some diets are often advertised as very effective and very fast ways to lose weight, keep in mind that every body is different from each other, and consequently so are their needs. Always ask your physician or nutrition professional about which diet suits you best, for he will always look for your wellness above all. After checking certain things like your lifestyle, your ideal desired weight and the overall health status of your body, he will be able to carefully plan a step by step diet for you, based on your body’s actual needs. If you think a diet plan you saw somewhere may be useful, show it to a professional and ask him to make any changes necessary to make it fit you. For instance, if you see “Angelina Jolie’s new amazing diet” on a magazine and you think it may be useful for you, get a professional to evaluate it first. Chances are that the perfect diet for some people is harmful for others. Besides, a diet that is too hard will end up frustrating you, and a diet that is too easy will be quite ineffective.

Complement your diet with physical activity: Unless you have a very physically active lifestyle, obesity is not the effect of consuming an excessive amount of lipids, but of accumulating them. The key is to burn that fat as well as reducing its consumption: both must be done together. The best way to get rid of that excess of undesired fat is to complement a healthy diet with everyday exercising. A daily walk, playing a sport or doing aerobics may be suitable companions for your diet. But, again, ask your physician or professional personal trainer, he will tell you the right amount of physical effort your body can sustain, and set a plan to make it fun and useful for you.

Avoid temptations: When you have just started on a diet, it may be hard to follow it. That is because your body is used to eat disorderly, and it takes some time to get rid of that habit. It is a good thing to keep all that “forbidden” food out of your fridge, at least until your body gets used to your new eating habits and you are fully confident in being able to have access to that food and yet not take it. Let’s be realistic; it is way harder to get on a diet if you have that piece of chocolate cake in your kitchen!

Get busy: Try to find a hobby or activity that keeps your mind away from food, especially at the beginning of a diet. Reading is a good activity to accomplish this, because it’s fun, useful and a great way to get the time flying until dinner time.

These are just simple tips, but I hope they prove to be beneficial for you. Good luck on your new, healthy life!

Zachary Thompson

www.buildmusclechallenge.com After deciding to revamp our diet plan and workout plan my nephew and I decided to take some time off and ignore our high calorie diet that allowed us those impressive weight gains from week 1 and allowed us to gain weight fast. Unfortunately as a result, we practically lost all our gains and had to start back at our starting weights. But with our revamped diet plan and our new and improved full body workout plan we’ll blow our previous gains out the water. (Even though our first workout kicked our butts) In this video you’ll learn: How to increase the intensity of your workouts Things you should do before, during and after your workouts for maximum muscle gains The key ingredient to building muscle fast for skinny guys and hardgainers. ——- Learn Step by Step How I Gained Over 40lbs in 4 Months just go to www.buildmusclechallenge.com

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By now we all know what are love handles and nobody love those love handles. But it is also true that it is not too easy to get rid of love handles. I admit that I have been love handles and had been trying to lose love handles for some time.

I search more and more to get expert comments and views about “How to lose love handles” fast. But I was really disappointed to know that there is no fast, magic or shortcut to lose love handles. But there are some exercise, Diet plans and lifestyle change we have to make to be really able to burn the fat in this area (Love handles).

I get some really useful love handle tips and exercise that will help to lose love handles. So I am not going to waste more time and just going to implement the tips:

• Needs to burn more calories than we consume. There is no exercise or diet plan useful by the time we do not limit out calorie intake.
• Eat healthy food with lesser amount of calories and no sweet at all
• Drink more water during the day. Try to drink water in excess of three liters per day to have maximum impact.
• Take fruits and vegetables more often during the whole day. And avoid fast foods and especially cheese.
• Limit your sugar intake and do not eat red meat.
• Limit your habit of consuming high amount of alcohol in the form of beer and wine.
• The most important thing to do is reducing the amount of salt intake. Decrease your salt intake as much you can from various foods you eat.
• Going for a walk in the morning will be helpful. With this doing swimming, running and biking will also be great.
• Doing aerobics will help to reduce the stored fat around love handles
• Doing side bends exercise will be a useful exercise for targeting the muscle under your love handles.
• Doing leg raise exercise will also be useful. Try to repeat leg raise exercise ten to fifteen times.
• Try to involve more in sports kind of activities. Use stairs instead of elevator and join a gym if you are suffering too much of love handles.

These are some of the steps that will help in losing the love handles. We need to use a healthy combination of diet and exercise to be really successful with love handles. We need to be keeping patient and keep on making the right efforts with lot of enthusiasm.

Anil Garg
http://www.articlesbase.com/weight-loss-articles/how-to-lose-love-handles-tips-699846.html

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* Learning more about your diabetes – Knowledge about this disease will help you do what’s good and avoid what’s bad for this disorder.
* Planning a healthy diet – A healthy and balanced meal plan plays an important role in controlling your diabetes. It makes you feel better and help to reduce the chances of developing serious complications. A balanced healthy diet including a variety of foods from each group of grain products, vegetables and fruit, milk products and meat and alternatives will keep your blood glucose at the normal level. Choose low fat foods and foods with a lower glycemic index. Avoid high fat foods and foods with a high glycemic index.
* Keeping your weight in a healthy range, shed off extra pounds if you’re overweight, especially if you have type 2 diabetes – Keeping normal and Healthy Weight will help your body’s ability use its insulin properly and maintain your blood glucose at normal level. Try to keep your Body Mass Index (BMI) at 18.5 – 24.9 You can calculate your BMI using the following formula:
English Formula
BMI= weight in pounds/ (height in inches x height in inches) x 703

Water Aerobics Exercises : Water Aerobics Hamstring Curls

Metric Formula
BMI= weight in kilograms/ (height in meters x height in meters)
* Trying to be physically active – 20-30 minutes of exercise on a daily basis will be very helpful. Exercise can improve insulin sensitivity, lower the risk of heart disease, and lose some extra pounds to keep you weight at a normal level. However, some diabetic complications will probably make some types of exercise program not suitable for you. Activities like weightlifting, jogging, or high-impact aerobics may be a little risky for people with diabetic retinopathy due to the risk for further blood vessel damage and possible retinal detachment. Consult your doctor before you get started. Make an action plan. Start slow and gentle. Gradually work your way up.
* Taking medications and/or insulin (in applicable) as prescribed by your doctor – Depending on types of diabetes you may need medications and/or insulin to assist the body in making or using insulin more effectively.

* Monitoring how your diet and/or treatment (if applicable) affect your blood glucose levels – Using a glucose meter to monitor your blood levels to see if they are affected by your meal plan and/or treatment .Keeping diary of your blood glucose readings and reviewing them to see if there are any noticeable patterns

Start to follow these simple tips and manage your diabetes today. You can too live a healthy life you deserve.

Forest Sun
http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/tips-to-manage-your-diabetes-74347.html

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You are more than likely sick of hearing about what will not work. You have heard all the reports on how fad diets will never help you lose weight. The problem then is what can you do to lose weight? Here are a few tips that will make it easier for you to lose weight and then keep off the fat.

Television

Unless you are following an aerobics instructor on the set, it is time to turn it off! Americans spend vast amounts of time sitting in front of their television sets. Research suggests that this act actually burns fewer calories than sleeping if you can imagine that! Turn off the TV and go for a short walk after dinner you will feel much better about the use of your time and burn some extra calories in the process.

Sleep

Sleeping is a key ingredient in weight loss. People who do not get a proper amount of rest are at a much higher risk for obesity. Several things contribute to this fact. Exhaustion makes you think you are hungry more often, plus you can become irritable and depressed which further aggravates the situation. The recommended amount of sleep you should get is at least eight hours.

Set a nightly routine to help you get in the swing of things. A scheduled time to go to bed results in your body naturally becoming sleepy around the same time each night.

Never Go Shopping Hungry

Have you ever gone to the grocery store when you were starving? Chances are you went home with everything you can imagine and a few things you can’t. You probably snacked on the way home as well. This is why you should never go shopping hungry, the tendency is to buy everything that looks good, and it all looks good when you are hungry. Instead make a shopping list and then fill it right after you have had a solid meal.

Make a Menu

When you eat on the spur of the moment, you are not truly focused on weight loss so much as fixing your hunger. Set aside time to plan your menu including snacks, this way you are prepared and have already considered the health impact of your food.

Take it Slow

It is not healthy or advisable to lose massive amounts of weight very quickly. If you drop more than a few pounds per week, you are putting your health at risk. A healthy goal is two to three pounds of weight loss per week. This is not only healthy it is sustainable for the long haul.

Forgive Yourself

For someone who has tried many fat loss diets and failed it can be hard to look at yourself in the mirror. The first thing you must do is forgive yourself for what you see as failures and realize that most of what you were being sold was doomed to fail in from the start. Liking yourself is the key to success in any venture be it weight loss or life in general.

Paul Matthew Moore
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/fat-loss-for-idiots-6-tips-for-healthy-eating-712013.html

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