Monday, June 3, 2013

10 BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS

1. No Breakfast 
People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration. 

2. Overeating 
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power. 

3. Smoking 
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease. 

4. High Sugar consumption 
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development. 

5. Air Pollution 
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency. 

6. Sleep Deprivation 
Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells. 

7. Head covered while sleeping 
Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects. 

8. Working your brain during illness 
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain. 

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts 
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage. 

10. Talking Rarely 
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain. 

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Best foods for quick weight loss


No matter how healthy your daily routine might be, sometimes, the sudden need for quick weight loss manages to creep in unannounced. 

Whatever the reason - a school re-union or your 30th birthday - none of us are above the need to lose weight and lose it fast. And here's some good news: Coupled with the right exercise and healthy nutrient intake you can lose weight quickly and surely by consuming these best foods for quick weight loss. Remember the first tenet of a healthy diet is portion control, and you're on your way to quick weight loss success... 

Lean protein: Lean protein enables weight loss through appropriate appetite control. While non-vegetarians can get lean protein from lean meat and egg white, vegetarians should look to include these protein foods in their daily diet: Chickpeas, soybeans,  kidney beans, tofu, other beans and pulses, and dairy. Even peanut butter is a good substitute as an appetite controller here. 

Fruits and vegetables: This is a best practice followed by people who lose permanent weight successfully. Even if you love meat, including at least 2-3 whole fruits and a side serving of vegetables with each meal goes a long way in curbing your appetite and enabling quick weight loss. So leave those diet pills, exotic foods that you buy just once and never eat again, and step over to the neighborhood grocery store. Your best bet with quick weight loss lies within these humble, yet extremely healthy, fruits and vegetables. 

Broth-based soups: Pureed and chunky broth (not cream) based hot soups tend to satisfy a range of food cravings, while filling you up on low-calorie healthy foods. Additionally, making these soups at home is quite simple. Just buy some vegetables, puree the pulpy ones, chop the hard ones, start with a steam or stir fry and slowly add water with stock for volume. Don't forget the seasoning. Quick weight loss largely depends on how you control your appetite with healthy substitutes to unhealthy, high-fat and creamy foods. 

Whole grain : A list of best foods for quick weight loss can never be complete without whole grains. Even without changing other areas of your daily diet, just a shift from processed to whole grain will work wonders for quick weight loss. Whole grains are nutrient-packed powerhouses and are excellent appetite controllers. 

Low-salt and low-starch foods: Cutting back on sodium and high-starch foods (read: bad carbs) results in a kind of cheat weight loss, which - if properly maintained can lead to permanent weight loss. In the short run, this strategy leads to low fluid retention and what you lose initially is 'water weight'. This is why most weight loss diets that promise quick weight loss begin with a no-carb, no-salt shock phase. You can do this cleverly by cutting down reasonably and continuing a daily exercise routine to maintain healthy appetite and calorie burn. 

Saturday, June 1, 2013

10 Tips for guaranteed weight loss



With fad diets and fitness routines round every corner, it is quite difficult to keep a tab on which weight loss tips really do work and which don't. Should you join that aerobics class, adopt that no-carb diet, or eat dinner at 6pm? Never mind all that loophole-ridden weight loss jargon, step over to the healthy side. Here are 10 tips for guaranteed weight loss that will set your weight straight, and help you adopt some really healthy, weight-friendly habits for life. 

Weight loss tip 1: Decide how much weight you need to lose - Most people start their weight loss journey by claiming to be xyz pounds overweight. This isn't a healthy way to project or aim for weight loss. Calculate your desired weight against your height by using reliable methods like the BMI, and set a healthy weight loss target. This is often half the battle won. 

Weight loss tip 2: Time management - This is quite often overlooked. Decide which part of your day will be dedicated to exercise, when in the week you will stock up on groceries, and when you will do the cooking - all within your current work and home life routine. If you don't do this now, your days will be rushed and unplanned, and you won't be able to sustain your weight loss efforts. 

Weight loss tip 3: Stock your kitchen - Keep your house well-stocked with fruits, vegetables, healthy meats, grains, cereals, spices, and flavourers. Follow the tricks to healthy cooking, cooking vegetables for the week, and low-fat cooking posts to understand how best you can stock your kitchen with healthy and delicious ingredients. All of this will go into helping the next step - cooking healthy meals at home. 

Weight loss tip 4: Eat healthy home-cooked meals - Whether it's you who's cooking, a family member, or house help, ensure that every one practices healthy cooking methods, and ingredients. Ask any person who's lost weight the healthy way, and you will always hear about how healthy home-cooked meals were a big reason behind it. Use less oil, low salt, fresh produce, and you'll start seeing results in no time. 

Weight loss tip 5 : Start a cardio + weights workout - A healthy weight loss programme is incomplete without a good exercise routine, and weight training mixed with cardio is the best way to lose weight. Of course, variations and forms exist, but any workout that stresses on muscle tone and increased heart rate will always help you lose weight and keep it off. You can either start a home workout today, or rely on gyms for fitness training. 

Weight loss tip 6: Alter your snacking habits - Set those French fries aside, skip that aerated drink, and ban those unhealthy deep fried foods. Explore the healthy snack world and you will find several appetizers,  party snacks, movie snacks and meal accompaniments that'll satisfy every craving of yours. 

Weight loss tip 7: Have at least one active hobby - It isn't sufficient to rely on just 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity per day. Moving from bed to office chair, and back to bed, isn't a healthy way to live. Buy a motion sensor gaming console that lets you enjoy social games with friends and family, plan weekend trips, clean your house once a week, dance, play sports, the list is endless. Get out of the coffee shop and dining table rut, and you'll have fun along with the healthy weight loss. 

Weight loss tip 8: Find a solution to combat stress - Stress is always detrimental to healthy weight loss in the long run. Find ways to combat stress and you'll soon realize that your diet and exercise aren't sabotaged anymore, and that you truly do see results. Look at yoga, meditation, deep breathing exercises, or simple hobbies like reading to fight stress. 

Weight loss tip 9: Drink plenty of water - You've known that your body relies heavily on water for all important bodily functions, and yet you skimp on drinking adequate quantities of water every day. Well, it's time to stop that. Check out some exciting ways to make water interesting and you'll be packing it away in no time. Do not forget to carry a water bottle to your workout, and take a few sips after every 2-3 minutes of exercise. 

Weight loss tip 10: Plan healthy vacations - Why go all the way with healthy weight loss, when one tiny vacation will just come along and topple it all? Healthy vacations aren't impossible. Take a look at how you can eat smart on a holiday, and then at body-weight workouts that you can carry with you wherever you go, to understand how to holiday right. 

Above all, remember that these are lifelong habits that'll help you stay fit forever and not short term weight loss quick-fixes.