Tips on acheiving a flat stomach

http://www.realfitnessexperts.com/fit/2006/5-tips-for-a-flat-stomach-by-lynn-vandyke/


I believe that most people are worried the most about their abdominals so I thought I'd give you a little more sites that will explain toning the stomach more. This article gives additional information on toning your stomach than last weeks posts. The writer also mentions the transverse abdominis muscle as did I in the previous post. "Incorporate the Plank Pose into your ab routine. The Plank Pose works the transverse abdominis muscle. This muscle is responsible for holding the stomach in and supporting posture."

http://www.flat-stomach-exercises.com/flat-stomach-tips.html

This article introduces some other ways to help flatten your stomach, such as: walking or jogging 3 times a week, eating certain foods, not eating before bed, and it even says that you can indulge in sweets!

Another thing I found that will trick your abdomen into getting toned is to switch up your work-out. Make up a set of abdominal work-outs that you want to do one day, as in planks, curl crunch, leg lifts. and the next day working most on the obliques along with some sets V-crunches. This will make sure you work all 3 stomach area muscles.

Sauna Benefits

A Sauna is a small room heated to about an average eighty degrees and a place where people come to find relaxation. "Proponents of dry heat bath mention a feeling of psychological peace and contentment as well as physical rejuvenation."(askalice.com) They also have many other healthy benefits; here are a few:

• Suanas increase metabolism and metabolic rate as much as doing cardiovascular activities.

• A sauna can burn up to 600 calories in thirty minutes and can be used as a form of exercise for those that don't have the ability to. This is because the intense heat goes penetrates the skin and helps to break up fat and water pockets lying underneath it.

• It's also been proven that saunas can help your immune system. The temperature of the sauna is equivalent to your body temperature this kills off bad cells and increases your white cell count; which fight off illnesses.

• "Flushing out toxins via Sauna Therapy is indeed the most effective way in getting rid of years of accumulated toxins!" (savvyspa.com) When your pores release sweat you lose an abundant amount of toxins. Sweating profusely has proven to exert more toxins than both of your kidneys; which, in turn, relieves stress for your kidneys. Flushing out toxins through the skin is a way of reducing many dermatological problems such as; acne, burns, rashes, and extremely dry skin.

• "High levels of stress put continuous strain in the autonomic nervous system and are one of the elusive causes of many chronic diseases. Heat therapy loosens the muscles and relieves muscular aches and pains. By facilitating the expansion of capillary vessels, thereby improving circulation, physical stress levels are reduced. The infrared rays also clear away build up of lactic acid and carbon dioxide around the muscles, by removing the toxins muscle and joint stiffness disappears. Besides these physiological effects, a sauna session also contributes to stress reduction simply by providing a peaceful and relaxing environmental away from it all." (saunaspa.com)

• The release of toxins decreases cellulite!

• Saunas have also been proven to relieve insomnia and other sleeping conditions.

• There are numerous positive effects of saunas. They also can be recommended by doctors for those that have certain chronic illnesses and cardiac diseases. Saunas help people with heart diseases because they let the blood vessels relax which allows blood to flow more freely to other organs and throughout the entire body. This is exactly what some cardiac medications do so some victims of heart disease. These victims can lower their dose for the day and go to the sauna instead, which will save them a great amount of money over the years.

Toning Examples

Here are some examples of great toning exercises to use at the gym.

This is to strengthen the lower body by calf raising.





This one is similar to the bottom toning exercise I mentioned.


Here is a demonstration on how to do a squat and the appropriate way to do it.

Toning

Part By Part

Toning is not possible by lifting weights alone. The real way to tone is to use exercises that involve whole body activities and maybe dumbells after you've gotten used to them. Other factors play a part in toning, such as dieting or eating less junk and more healthy foods and cardiovascular exercises are a must. These allow you to lose body fat so that while you're doing these full body exercises, you can increase muscle but loose body fat. This will allow you to acheive a leaner and less bulky look.

Abs- Doing thousands of crunches will get you no where if you're looking for toned abs. You have to work each part of your abdomen. The obliques, rectus abdominis, and transverse abdominis. The transverse abdominis is the muscle group that develops core strength and core stability. To increase this muscle, simply take deep breaths and while exhaling flex your abs. Just breathing deeply will increase your core strength and breathing doesn't require any manual labor so just do a couple of sets of ten a day.

The obliques are the muscles that aren't typically worked out on the most because they aren't affected by a regular crunch. It's hard to describe to you what you can possibly do but here are some examples. Circular motion crunches (2 seconds swirling to the left, 2 seconds in the middle, and spending two seconds on the right side of your body are circular crunches) or doing leg lifts but moving your legs in the same circular motion.

Doing a V crunch (picture in the upper right) is one of the best ways to work the rectus abdominis muscle. The V crunch burns the most fat and allows results in a couple of weeks.

Legs- To tone your legs stay away from lifting weights. Try all different types of cardiovascular exercises as in biking, running, walking, elliptical, or stair stepping. Doing exercises that require whole body movement are the best in toning the legs. Do an excessive amount of lunges, squats, and moving the legs in any motion repetitively to tone them the right way. Slow reps will show the most improvement. While doing a squat, attempt to make every movement going down and up as slow as possible.

Your bottom- The greatest way to shape your bottom is to do the slow repetitions of squats and lunges while adding more weight each time. Another great leg toner is the "mermaid" just lay flat on your stomach, lift your arms and legs up higher than your torso, then kick and fan your arms up and down, over and over again. Another one of my favorites is to lay in a crunch position but keep your upper body on the floor but push your pelvis towards the ceiling. Then hold for as long is comfortable. Both of these exercise have proven to be effective for me and sometimes even leave you sore the next day.

Arms-The best way to tone your arms is to use free weights of a low, easy weight that can be lifted repetitively. Doing arm curls, and other comfortable movements with your arms will help you significantly.

True Story

Hi, I'm Lauren's Dad, which yes, makes me old. And, okay, why am I writing
on Lauren's page about how I got to where I am today? Because, it is
important for me to share my own physical fitness story with you and
hopefully, help you to evolve like I feel like I have in the past short 60
days.

I won't bore you with the details, let's just say after a few flights a
week, a whole lot of fast food with super sized french fries, a pack of
cigarettes a day, and maybe a real beer or two per week, I was fat and out
of shape. I've been heavier, but it was 20 years ago and it was muscle.
I've also dieted, and won about every diet competition that I ever
entered.....usually putting the weight plus a little bit more back on in the
same amount of time it took me to lose it. Even in my 44th year, I still
play hockey, but it is almost amazing how much I have slowed down since the
age of 40.

My business partner whose 10 years younger told me about a program where he
lost some weight but really started to feel good, actually as well or even
better than he did in high school. I listened, but not really, probably
like you are right now. A few weeks later I was in Colorado for yet another
long boring business trip. Due to the altitude and being out of shape and
yes, probably smoking I was winded just from walking to my hotel room. Once
I got to my room, there was a scale, it wasn't a friendly number, 225lbs.
For my height, frame, etc., not really an alarming number, but I looked in
the mirror and for the first time probably ever, I didn't like what I saw.
I decided it was time to make a change.

Laying in bed, unable to sleep at 2am, channel surfing, I came across the
infomercial for P90X. There seems to be about 100 of these things on at
that time of the morning, but this one caught my eye, yes, partially because
it was the one my business partner was using, but also because it was the
first one that I ever saw where I wanted to look like the "Before" pictures,
sure we all want to look like the "After" pictures. I went to BeachBody.com
the next day and got started. I later learned I could have saved some money
by joining there Million
amp;username=bazookajeff> Dolllar Body forum first, but hey, I was never
known to be patient. The website, the infomercial, all of it gives you that
feeling like this a scam or something, and if I didn't know somebody already
doing it and seeing results I would have turned the other way.

I'm now 60 days in to the the three phase, 30 days each, program, and I find
the results hard to believe. I actually lost 25lbs in the first 30 days!
Two weeks into Phase Two, I quit smoking for good!!! Usually, I gain a
bunch of weight when I "quit" smoking, instead this time, I've lost a few
more % of body fat. My goal from a starting point somewhere north of 20%
body fat is 10%, I'm now at 11.5%. I'm no longer worried about the scale, I
measure everything in 5 of body fat with a caliper
Detail.asp?PriceID=35861&Cat=ACCESSORIES|ALL&Qty=1> . I'm adding a lot of
muscle, so the results on the scale are immaterial at this point. My waist
has gone from 38" down to nearly 33". Unfortunately, my clothes that fit
are from the 80's and I'm told no longer in style. On the hockey rink, I'm
now flying by the 18 year olds, which I didn't think was possible. I'm even
being recruited by a few other leagues....good feeling at this age!

Okay, why don't diets work long term? Here is my philosophy, some smart
college kid may need to validate this theory. When we diet we not only burn
fat but we burn muscle. The more muscle we have the more resting calories
we burn. So after the diet, if we go back to our old ways, we are now
adding fat easier. I know it sounds simple, but in reality, most of our
calories are burned in a resting phase - sleeping, digesting, breathing,
etc.

So what is P90X? It is a system of 12 sweat-inducing, muscle-pumping
workouts, designed to transform your body from regular to ripped in just 90
days. It includes a comprehensive 3-phase nutrition plan, specially designed
supplement options, a detailed fitness guide, a calendar to track your
progress, online peer support, and much more. The DVDs feature Tony Horton,
who will keep you engaged every step of the way, and you won't believe your
results! Tony is this extremely fit guy even older than me. The diet
itself is livable - I eat 6 meals a day and cook for the family within the
guidelines.

Why is P90X so effective?

The secret behind the P90X system is a training technique called "Muscle
Confusion," which accelerates the results process by constantly introducing
new moves and routines so your body never plateaus, and you never get bored!
Whether you want to get lean, bulk up, or just plain get ripped, there's an
endless variety of ways to mix and match the routines to keep you motivated
the full 90 days and beyond! They put together three different programs for
every interest - classic, lean, and doubles.

The system includes:
* P90X 3-Phase Nutrition Plan designed to help you lose fat while
maintaining high energy levels.
* P90X Fitness Guide packed with valuable fitness information to help
you get the most out of your program.
* "How to Bring It" video for a quick overview of the complete P90X
Extreme Home Fitness training system.
* and 12 Extreme workout videos:


Tools to keep you motivated
* P90X Calendar to set your workout goals, track your progress, and
stay motivated.
* FREE Online Support Tools for access to fitness experts, peer
support, and motivation!


All it takes is an hour a day to get in the best shape of your life. And
other than a set of dumbbells or resistance bands and a place to do
pull-ups, all you really need is some grit-your-teeth commitment. I get up
every morning before the rest of the family and push play. I also frequent
the forums at Team
amp;username=bazookajeff> BeachBody where I find other people like myself,
we even have a little competition between a few of us, which I have found to
be very motivating and get me past that point of giving up when it wasn't
convenient.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, I'm now a coach
helping to motivate others!

Lauren's Dad:

Jeff Metzger - Fitness Coach

P (610) 262-2784
C (484) 330-1134
jeff_metzger@verizon.net


amp;username=bazookajeff> Team BeachBody

In my opinion...

I found The Tufts University Health and Nutrition letter, “Eating out without Pigging Out” to be a remarkably informational article. The writer discusses all aspects of dining in any kind of restaurant and effective ways to eat healthier. This letter is very informative about the ways restaurants can scam consumers with their menu choices and products that actually are put into your food while being cooked. The writer puts an easy going tone on the piece while being serious at the same time, which makes a very entertaining and interesting read. The tone throughout the letter is also humorous and witty which catches the reader’s full attention, makes it easy to relate to, and may even make some laugh literally out loud. The only thing that could be possibly changed in this letter is the information. I think a lot more information could be found about restaurants and a lot more examples on how you can be deceived into thinking that you’re food is nutritious. Also, some more tidbits of examples of how to cheat yourself into eating less would be more efficient. Eating less, is what I perceived to be the greatest point of the letter, but the author lacks put as many scheming ways to achieve eating less as I’d like to read about.

Increasing metabolism

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Boost Your Metabolism Naturally

Metabolism is converting food to energy. Increasing your metabolism decreases the chances of calories turning into excess fat. Metabolism decreases with age so boosting your metabolism can be very beneficial in acheiving weightloss. Here's is a metabolism calculator to see how many calories you burn in a day compared to how active you are, your age, and weight.

One of the best ways suggested to boost your metabolism is to work out. Working out causes you to breathe more rapidly. Breathing in a proper way while working out increases the oxygen you receive which in turn increases your metabolism because oxygen is what allows the actual reaction to take place. "Your metabolism may stay revved up to five times longer after a vigorous aerobic workout than after an easy one." (aolbody.com) Also, drink as much water as you can in a day because water decreases toxins in the body while decreasing an average of 100 calories per 2 liters of water consumed in a day.

Eat more! Decreasing your calorie intake will force your metabolsim to lower so you'll be used to eating less which may lead you into thinking that you're being healthy but you need high calorie consumption for a high metabolic reaction to occur. Eating relatively small and healthy snacks every 3-4 hours can cause a significant increase in your metabolism. This will help you if sometimes your days are so hectic that you don't have time for a meal. Bringing little healthy snacks along with you will decrease your hunger level and cravings for high-fat foods when you're starving later.

Drinking as much green tea as possible has been proved to be an essential beverage in aiding metabolic growth. Research has shown that the flavor added to green tea is what stimulates metabolism.

Lastly, avoid stress, sleep regularly, and work out as much as possible!

Summary of a Tufts University Health and Nutrition Article

“Eating out without Pigging Out,” was published in Tufts University’s Health and Nutrition Letter on February 2008. The letter states numerous ways to help reduce the risk of unhealthy eating while dining out at any restaurant. At the beginning of the letter, the author discusses how Americans more frequently eat out today than in the past and as a result Americans are more interested in viewing nutritional facts in restaurant menus. Although laws have not been passed requiring restaurants to post these facts, some popular restaurant chains do post nutritional facts in their menus or on their websites. The author of this letter also mentions creative ways to make yourself eat healthier, such as influencing a friend to share a meal with you, having the waiter box half of your meal before you even receive it, and possibly asking for some dressings and sauces on the side instead of directly on your meal. Then, the letter concludes with what foods can be high calories and what types of foods to stay away from at certain types restaurants that serve certain foods like Italian, Chinese, American, Seafood, Steakhouses, or Mexican restaurants.


Works Cited

"Eating Out Without Pigging Out." Tufts University Health&Nutrition Letter February 2008: 1-4

I thought this video was interesting about what college is like for today's generation.

Aspartame

Aspartame is a sweetener found in many condiments, drinks, and chewable vitamins. It's also known as equal, Nurtasweet, or Canderel. This sweetener is found in the two main diet drinks, Diet Pepsi and Diet Coke.



Aspartame has created a lot of lawsuits and conterversy for Coca Cola and Pepsi in the past years. One web-site describes it as "poison! It's killing the unborn, raining tumors and seizures on the population, destroying children, incapacitating workers, mimicking MS, erasing memory and blinding. Inexorably Diet Coke visits a plague of 92 symptoms listed by our FDA on a secret report they'll never show which names diet soda as the first source of aspartame disease. And yes, Death was one of the 92."

Aspartame is still on the market and still FDA approved since 1981. "FDA calls aspartame ... one of the most thoroughly tested and studied food additives the agency has ever approved. The agency says the more than 100 toxicological and clinical studies it has reviewed confirm that aspartame is safe for the general population."

Many doctors now recommend that you stay as far away as possible from the millions of products that have aspartame because of it's severe side-effects. You can find the name aspartame in the section under the nutrition facts that lists the ingredients.

Here is a video that could explain the side effects and severities of aspartame.

There is also a whole blog on the blogger web site that discuss aspartame and all the research and news about this hazardous drug.(blogger)

Think about investing in a pedometer

A pedometer is a little device that while worn, counts the steps you take and can display the distance in miles or kilometers. Many of you have probably heard of a pedometer but have never thought of investing in one. Here are some reasons why to:

If you're interested in loosing weight the first thing you need to do is stop taking the easy way out. This means no elevators, no buses, and in some circumstances no cars. This will increase the calories you burn by simply not sitting around and taking literally the extra mile. The pedometer can be used to help figure out how many miles you normally walk in a day. Knowing this will help you set a goal on how many miles you can try to walk in a day and eliminating certain transportation that decrease your distance. Also, you can talk some your friends into buying pedometers which would turn it into a competition between your group.

This would be especially easy for those that live in residence halls and walk to campus everyday. You could start leaving earlier and take a longer route to your classes or just cut down on bus time. Yes, I know it's freezing outside right now but waiting for the bus is a pain the times that EVERYONE decides that they want to ride it. Anything you can do to change your routine and increase the distance you walk will benefit you.

Once you have set a goal and reach that goal you can start walking during commercials when watching television or on the dull parts of movies. I believe that increasing the amount of time you spend on walking will help you gradually loose weight and get you into shape. Of course you will still need to do some cardio if you want to lose noticeable weight and you should by no means replace walking with your daily visit to the gym. This is just a little step to eliminate laziness and be active more often.

Pedometers can be found at shoe stores like Footlocker, Champs, or any department store. They cost roughly around 10-30 dollars but a ten dollar one should do what needs to be done just fine.

The Foods We eat

This video gives insight on things to look out for while grocery shopping and how some foods can fool you into thinking they're a lot healthier than they are.

New Fiber Diet Fact

I found this very interesting fact on tips to get a flat stomach by Lynn Vandyke and I thought it pertained very well to the fiber post I did last week.

"Eat plenty of fibrous foods. This helps aid digestion and elimination. All too often the protruding lower abdominals are caused by enlarged intestines. Aiding the body’s digestion and elimination processes will help give a flatter appearance to the lower stomach area."

The Special K Diet

Many of you may have heard about this new diet and all the other cereal diets. If you are a diet searcher you're probably wondering: Does this diet work? Do people who have tried it, stick to it? What exactly is the Special K diet?


The special K diet suggests that all dieters eat a serving of Kellogg's Special K cereals or protein plus cereals with about 2/3 cup of preferably skim milk or fruit added for two meals a day. The third meal should consist of a meal that you would normally eat. When snacking, eat fresh fruits and vegetables or a special K bar.

While researching on this diet, I found many critiques, mostly bad.

"Purdue University conducted a study with 28 participants who followed this program and lost up to six pounds over a two-week period. Study participants ate an average of 1,590 calories per day, or 27 percent fewer calories than their usual intake, primarily by cutting their fat intake in half ." (yourtotalhealth.com)

The plus side to this diet is that it promotes drinking skim milk. Calcium is a great aid for weight loss but only in food, not supplements. The diet also helps dieters lose weight early on but not so much later, so if you're looking for a Spring Break diet, this could be your ideal one.

The bad side. The Special K diet does not promote exercise and if those on the diet do choose to exercise they won't have enough protein or carbs to go through their routine without possibly fainting. Many dieters choose not to stick with this diet because who wants to eat cereal all day, every day? That's right, no one. Even if you try to attempt it , within a week or two you'll be sick of cereal. Also, this diet, if done right, only allows you to eat a certain number of calories a day which yes helps you loose weight. Although the weightloss is always in the first two weeks and people usually level off or stay at a constant rate after that time span. Like a side before, the Special K diet lacks some of the essential nutrients for a well-balanced diet. This diet does not cure hunger pangs and contains high fructose corn syrup.

I could see this diet working if it completely switched from eating an abundant amount of Special K to eating cereals with whole grains, oats, and some that contain potassium; which Special K doesn't. Also, you could switch the third meal to have an intake of meat and carbs. If you're eating cereal for two meals you should be allowed to get the protein that you need from other foods, right? This is just my opinion not fact just one of my theories.

Fiber

The digestive system is an important part of the human body. Therefore the digestive system is also important an aspect for maintaining your health and regulating digestive system, in a certain way, will help you loose weight. For you to fully understand how to properly regulate the system I will inform you on what your digestive system actually does for you.
First off, the digestive system is a living organism that needs food to stay alive and to follow through with various activities. These activities include: ingestion, digestion, ingestion, respiration, movement, circulation, absorption, coordination, secretion, excretion, and reproduction. Also, it builds up immunities against diseases while maintaining and building metabolic and cellular growth. Food is absorbed by the digestive system’s body tissues which convert your food to energy.
To learn about the actual process that food goes through, check out hyperlink. Also here is a list of interesting facts (know your body) about the digestive system.
The key to regulating your digestive system is FIBER. Fiber is not digestible so it creates mass in the intestines that helps cleanse the internal digestive tract. There are two types of fiber-soluble and insoluble.


Soluble fiber is the type that will dissolve in water and as it dissolves, it forms a gel-like substance called bulk. This type of fiber can be found in apples, oat bran, citrus fruits, pears, beans, and carrots.
Insoluble fiber is the one can’t be dissolved in water and is the bulk that cleanses and moves through the system. These help those with constipation or irregular movement issues. Insoluble fiber is found in cabbage, wheat bran, all nuts, and many vegetables.
Fiber has a lot of benefits which make it a key to being healthy internally. Insoluble fiber eliminates constipation. This is caused by creating a bigger size and weight of food excreted from the body. A high-fiber diet can lower your risks of contracting disorders such as: hemorrhoids, IBS, and the development of diverticular disease. Soluble fiber lowers bad cholesterol levels. When this cholesterol is pulled out through waste, the digestive system takes the cholesterol out of the blood. This causes a significant decrease in cholesterol levels. Soluble fiber can also slow the process of sugar being absorbed which helps regulates blood sugar levels for patients and could possibly reduce the risk of contracting diabetes type 2.
Foods high in fiber are harder to chew and might take longer; which causes you to eat less and be filled up faster. This is a good tip to use while eating. Get tough foods that are somewhat hard to chew and try chewing for about 20 seconds. Be sure to pick fiber foods so that you actually get filled up fast and stay full for a longer time. Fiber foods are also lower in calories so choose these rather than a lot of meat or pastas.
The National Academy of Sciences’ institute of medicine says that men younger than 50 should consume about 38 grams of fiber and women should consume approximately 25 grams each day. Men over the age 50 should intake 30 grams and women 21 grams of fiber every day. On this page you will find a list of some foods that are high in fiber and should be consumed at least once a week. Fruit juice, white bread, and pastas are refined or process which lowers the protein. (Juice is really good for you so try to buy brands with the least amount additives. A good sample is Ocean spray or Welch’s.

Ocean spray and Welch’s are a hundred percent real juice and are guaranteed to have no additives!) Don’t remove the skin on your fruits and vegetables either; it is the most important part!
Don’t use supplements like Metamucil or Citrucel either because they don’t provide the “real deal.” Yes, they do have an abundant amount of fiber but they don’t have the vitamins and minerals that you get from the actual food.
Also, some people can get addicted to the results and increase their intake. Increasing the amount of fiber to you diet to quickly can cause bloating, gas, and cramps. Do not start taking fiber supplements or laxatives every day. It’s alright to take the supplements if you’re just looking to boost your fiber intake but do it every other day or maybe once a week. Wal-mart has many tasty fiber supplements that you can add to a water bottle. I found that the Vita Splash and the South Beach Diet work the best. These come in two different enjoyable flavors, raspberry lemonade and strawberry and banana smoothie. There around $2 each and come with about ten packets per box. Crystal Light also has two flavors: berry and raspberry peach but these only have 3 grams of fiber. The two I mentioned early have five grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein.
High fiber foods

Caffeine: Pros and Cons

Caffeine is one of the most widely studied beverages in the world and research has deiscovered a lot about its benefits and why some people should stay away from it. Being a college student, I know that sleep is the last thing I squeeze into my daily agenda. Some students choose to skip it and not to sleep for a whole day, depending on their upcoming exams. These students wake up in the morning and immediately think "I need some caffeine!" This is why I decided to do some research on the pros and cons of consuming caffeine. I know this doesn't have a lot to do with diets in general but caffeine has some effects on your overrall health and I'm pretty sure most of you consume it daily.
First, let me explain to you what caffeine does internally. The healthy living webiste explained this pretty well, it said: "Caffeine revs you up by stimulating the central nervous system and increasing blood pressure. It changes the brain's chemistry by blocking the action of a neurochemical called adenosine. When adenosine can't do its job, more neurons fire in the brain, which in turn tells the pituitary gland to release more adrenaline. Within about 15 minutes after you've consumed caffeine, your heart beat increases, your lung capacity increases, and the liver releases sugar into the bloodstream to boost your energy."
Now here are some pros:
-According fitwise.com , "injesting caffeine 30 minutes to an hour before workouts results in longer endurance, faster times, less exertion, less fatigue, and more rapid recovery." (This is true of tablet forms of caffeine, not coffee.)
-Caffeine speeds up metabolism, which is something that all people should strive for.
-Caffeine breaks down(bad)fat,this frees fatty acids that are immediately burned.
-"While the fat is being burned, the glycogen, glucose, and amino acids (blood sugars) are being reserved -- so blood sugar levels remain higher for longer. Low blood sugar = hunger; high glucose staves starving. This is why coffee is popular among students and think-tankers. The brain functions exclusively on glucose, and higher blood sugar levels facilitate thinking." (fitwise.com)
-Caffeine increases alertness and short-term memory.
-"Studies have shown that coffee may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Researchers at Harvard studied 120,000 people over an 18-year span and have found that drinking 1-3 cups of coffee each day can reduce the risk of diabetes by several percentage points, compared with not drinking coffee at all." (healingdaily.com)
-"At least 6 studies indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular basis have up to 80% lower risks of developing Parkinson's disease, with 3 of those studies indicating that the more coffee they drink, the lower the risk. Other studies indicate that, compared to not drinking coffee, drinking at least 2 cups per day can lead to a 25% lower risk of colon cancer, an 80% drop in the risk of liver cirrhosis, and nearly 50% the risk of gallstones." (healingdaily.com)
-Caffeine increases alertness and short term memory.
-Coffee is loaded with antioxidants. These are substances that protect your cells from molecules that can cause cell damage and some cancers from forming.
-Coffee has an antioxidant called quinine which can increase insulin sensitivity. This is a plus at reducing diabetes risks.
-Coffee contains a compound called trigonelle which serves the purpose of making coffee an anti-adhesive and antibacterial for cavaties.
-A little side not...The recommended amount of caffeine intake is no more than 300mg per day. Drink coffee instead of soda! Also, diet soda IS more harmful than regular soda!
The Cons:
-"A cup taken one hour before bed can be enough to trigger insomnia." (knet.com)
- Caffeine also has a diuretic effect which causes unwanted fluid loss along with loss of potassium and chloride.
-"Dr David Kerr of the Royal Bourmouth Hospital in England has been looking at the effects of coffee on mental alertness, and disputes some of the more positive findings. 'Within half an hour of drinking one or two cups, the flow of the blood to the brain is reduced by 10 to 20%,' he says. 'Combine that with the low blood sugar; either in diabetics or in those who haven't eaten for a while, and they can start having pulpitations, feelings of anxiety or blurred vision.'(knet.com)"
-You can become addicted to caffeine and withdrawal will cause headaches or sickness.
-Unwanted consequences of caffeine are: anxiousness, restlessness, dizziness, irritableness, being unable to concentrate, and GI (stomach) aches.
-Here is a list of other harmful things caffeine can cause but aren't researched enough yet to be 100% certain: "osteoporosis, birth defects, miscarraiges, infertility, cancers, high blood pressure, PMS increase, ulcers, heartburn, and heart disease." (http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/1485.html)

A little of my own research:
I drink a cup of coffee before dinner about twice a week and I've found that on the nights that I do drink coffee before I eat, I don't eat as much and don't have a want for midnight snacks. I found that on the nights that I didn't drink coffee, I ate like a cow and had the "munchies" a couple of hours later. This probably isn't true for every single person, it's just a suggestion so try it and see if it works for you.

Food Guide Pyramid and Portions

In the United States the food portions given at restaurants has increased tremendously in the past century. At the grocery store you can get about every snack in the family or jumbo size. Therefore I will inform you on what a serving size of each food group should look like and how much of that you should try to eat in a day. This will help you when looking at nutrition facts on food products and help you know when you've had enough you've needed for the day. This will help you maintain or maybe even lose weight.
We'll start the bottom of the pyramid with grains, pasta, cereal, and rice; then work our way up. You should try to have an intake of 6-11 servings of these carbs. According to dlife.com, a serving size for pasta is about 1/2 a cup or half of a baseball. Considering grains, a cooked grain servings size is 1/2 a cup and for uncooked the serving size is 3/4 a cup.
The vegetable group should be used in the diet for consumption of 3-5 servings per day. The servings sizes, according to 5aday.com, consists of 1 cup raw, leafy vegetables,1/2 cup of cooked, canned legumes, or 3/4 a cup of vegetable juice.
For the fruit group, the recommended serving consumption is 2-4 servings. A whole fruit, such as an apple or pear, has the serving size of one serving. 1/4 a cup of dried fruit is also a serving.
You should consume 2-3 servings of dairy products a day. One cup of milk or yogurt is always the appropriate size for one serving. One serving of natural cheese (cheddar, provolone, Swiss, etc) consists of 1.5 ounces. Processed cheese; such as American cheese is 2 ounces for a serving size.
The egg, poultry, meat, and nut group should have the consumption of 2-3 servings per day. The serving size equivalent to 2-3 ounces, depending on how fatty the meat is. This portion would look comparable to a deck of cards.
For the beloved fats, oils, and alcohol group, use these products as sparingly as possible.

I created this blog to provide tips and advice on living and being healthy. Over a span of 6 weeks, I'll inform you on interesting tips that I've found in magazines or online and have done further research on.