What kind of exercise and foods are right for you? Let's find out!

Have you ever wondered if there is a perfect exercise or food choice for you? There may be a way to find out. The following quiz was developed by David-Dorian Ross, the fitness director at Spa Montage in Laguna, California. He is also a Tai Chi master who stars in several top-selling Tai Chi videos on Gaiam. The quiz is meant to help you find out more about yourself and choose foods, supplements and activities that best fit your particular mind/body type. This was synthesized from the Myers-Briggs personality test, Ayurvedic medicine and Chinese medicine. Read the instructions at the top of the page. Try not to judge the statements or over-think them ("What are they trying to say about me here?") Try not to rate the statements based on how you would like to be, but how you truly are. As with any quiz that categorizes people, the results are not hard and fast. You may find that you are a combination of two or even more types, and of course, keep in mind that if you have food allergies or a medical condition, you should always check with your medical professional before beginning this or any other fitness or nutritional program. Do not blindly follow the suggestions. For more information on this quiz, you can email David-Dorian Ross at drtaichi@aol.com. This blog entry will contain the quiz itself, and the following blog entries will be the analysis pages. Try printing the image, which is the quiz sheet, then take the quiz, and do the same for the following analysis pages. Just have fun with this!

What is Mind/Body exercise all about?

Mind/Body exercise is growing in popularity. Is it a fad? Or is it a reflection of a great need for change in our health and wellness regimes? We see mind/body exercise featured in magazines and discussed on television and radio. World-class spas advertise the stress-reducing benefits of mind/body exercise, and even physicians are recommending that patients take up its practice as new scientific studies demonstrate its effectiveness. But what is mind/body exercise?

Mind/Body Principles

The biggest difference between a traditional exercise and a mind/body exercise is the focus. Instead of looking at the movement that the body makes and keeping your focus outward, in Mind/Body, work is done inward, connecting thought or breath to movement creating a holistic connection between mind & body. Much of our day is spent doing tasks mindlessly, with no thought about where we are or what is going on inside us. Often our exercise regimen takes on this same quality. We push out repetition after repetition of bench presses with little or no thought except the number of reps. Maybe we jog mile after mile on the treadmill while watching CNN. This kind of mindlessness disconnects us from ourselves and the world around us. By bringing our focus inward (focusing on the inhale and exhale, seeing our life energy flow through different parts of the body, etc.) we create a powerful connection to mind & body that also connects us to the here and now.

A few techniques to bring mind/body principles into your everyday life:

· Find a quiet spot and sit in a straight-backed chair. With your hands down by your sides, close your eyes and become aware of the rhythm of your breathing as you breath slowly in and out through your nose for five or six breaths. With the next breath, inhale and begin to slowly raise your arms upward, reaching chest height, as your lungs get completely full. Exhale as you slowly lower your hands back to their original position.
· Take a few minutes during the most hectic time of your day to become aware of how your body feels. Breathe slowly and deeply as you notice a few things: Are your shoulders tight? Are you clenching your jaw? How rapid is your breathing? By becoming truly aware of your feelings and what your body is doing when you’re not thinking about it, you become more in touch with yourself and increase your ability to control how you react during those stressful moments.
· Do this simple breathing exercise: Find a comfortable position. Begin by placing the tip of your tongue gently against the roof of your mouth just behind the front teeth. Inhale through the nose for a mental count of four. Hold your breath for a count of seven. Then exhale completely through the mouth making a whoosh sound to a count of eight. Repeat for four breaths.

Healthy weight Managment techniques

If you’ve done your math and found out that you need to lose some body fat, how do you do it? First, begin by following the energy/balance equation under “Basics of Weight Loss” above. Then, figure out how much exercise you need to do to lose fat.

The most important thing about weight loss is caloric burn, so even if you didn’t change what you ate, you could begin to lose weight just by walking for 15-20 minutes each day.

Here’s how the numbers break down: In order to lose one pound of fat, you must burn 3,500 calories. For example, if a 190-pound man walked each day briskly (4.5 miles per hour) for 15-20 minutes for 35 days, he would lose two pounds! What’s that you say? Two pound per month isn’t enough for you? Well, walk for 30 minutes or one hour and the pounds will melt off even faster.

Another great weight loss tool is strength training. Not only do you burn calories while you strength train, you also create more muscle mass, which in turn ramps up that basal metabolism we spoke about earlier—that means you burn more calories all day long!

Sample Exercise Program for Healthy Weight Loss
Please note: Before beginning this or any other exercise program, please consult your physician to be sure that this program is right for you.

MONDAY
Walk for 30 minutes at a pace of 4.5 miles per hour
Do 3 sets of pushups to failure
Do 3 sets of dips to failure
Do 3 sets of crunches to failure
Do 3 sets of side crunches to failure
Do 3 sets of step lunges (15 repetitions)

TUESDAY
Walk for 1 hour at a pace of 4.5 miles per hour

WEDNESDAY
Walk for 30 minutes at a pace of 4.5 miles per hour
Do 3 sets of pushups to failure
Do 3 sets of dips to failure
Do 3 sets of crunches to failure
Do 3 sets of side crunches to failure
Do 3 sets of step lunges (15 repetitions)



THURSDAY
Walk for 1 hour at a pace of 4.5 miles per hour

FRIDAY
Walk for 30 minutes at a pace of 4.5 miles per hour
Do 3 sets of pushups to failure
Do 3 sets of dips to failure
Do 3 sets of crunches to failure
Do 3 sets of side crunches to failure
Do 3 sets of step lunges (15 repetitions)



SATURDAY
Walk for 1 hour at a pace of 4.5 miles per hour


SUNDAY
Rest

So, what kind of exercise is the best exercise for weight loss? Whatever exercise you will do on a consistent basis!


Please note: Before beginning this or any other exercise program, please consult your physician to be sure that this program is right for you.

Healthy weight Managment techniques

So, how do you know if you actually need to lose body fat? And we’re not talking about getting back to you high school playing weight. Let’s talk about how much body fat is too much, and how excessive fat around the waist can be especially problematic.

As a general rule, a man should have no more than twenty percent of his total body mass as fat. Research has shown that abdominal fat may be more hazardous than fat in other areas, such as around the hips. But simply checking girth doesn’t take proportion into account. That’s why researchers considered height, as well as waistline.

The study’s math works out like this: A man who is 5-feet-10-inches tall should shoot for a waistline that is 38 inches or less. The study found that men should have a Waist-to-Tallness ratio of 0.55 or less. To figure out what your waist should be for your height, take your height in inches and multiply it by 0.55. That will give you a fairly good idea of the upper limit of a healthy waistline (in inches) for you.

For example, Bob is 5 feet -11 inches tall and has a waistline measurement of 41 inches. Take 71 inches and multiply it by 0.55, and Bob’s maximum waistline should be 39 inches or less. As we can see, Bob should lose at least two inches from his waistline. Anything above 39 inches dramatically increases Bob’s risk of developing one or all of the following serious health conditions:

· Cancer
· Heart Disease
· Adult-onset Diabetes

Other Risk Factors
Besides being overweight or obese, there are additional risk factors to consider:
· high blood pressure (hypertension)
· high LDL-cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol)
· low HDL-cholesterol ("good" cholesterol)
· high triglycerides
· high blood glucose (sugar)
· family history of premature heart disease
· physical inactivity
· cigarette smoking

healthy weight managment techniques, continued

The Basics of Weight Loss

Weight management depends on the “energy balance equation.” What does that mean? Simply put, if you take in as many calories as you burn in a day, your weight will stay the same. Take in more calories than you burn and you will gain weight (fat stores). Take in fewer calories than you burn and you will lose weight (fat stores).

But how many calories does your body need? Well, that depends on your metabolism. What is a metabolism, you ask? Metabolism is the process of converting food to energy (movement and heat). The higher your metabolism, the more calories you burn and the fewer your body stores as fat. Metabolism happens in your muscles and organs and the result of it is what we refer to as “burning calories.” Base metabolism is the base metabolic rate, or the number of calories your body needs just to stay alive. Heartbeats, lung functions, and muscle movements are all basic body functions that require energy to keep the human body alive.

Basal metabolism accounts for about 75 % of the calories you expend on a daily basis. Here are thirteen ways to easily boost your metabolism:

1. Always eat breakfast! Skipping breakfast sends the message to your body that you're starving because you haven't had food in 18+ hours. As a protective mechanism, your metabolism slows down. Food, especially complex carbohydrates, fuels your metabolism.

2. Eat earlier in the day! Research has demonstrated that you can lose weight simply by eating a substantial breakfast and lunch, and a light dinner. Dinner should be eaten as early as possible, preferably at least four hours before bedtime.

3. Never eat less than 1200 calories per day! Less than 1200 is usually not enough to support your basal metabolism and thus will slow your metabolism.

4. Graze! Complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) fuel your metabolism. Also,eating frequently prevents you from becoming too hungry. The hungrier you are, the less control you have over what and how much you eat.

5. Eat more complex carbohydrates (food from plants), and less fat (food from many animals and other food with added fat)! Complex carbohydrates boost your metabolism and have fewer calories per weight than fat.

6. Do some type of aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, swimming, stationary cycling, aerobic dancing, etc.) on a daily basis (preferably in the morning)! Forget this twice-a-week stuff. Our bodies were designed to be active on a daily basis! When we are, our metabolism soars!

7. In addition to your regular aerobic exercise, take a brisk 10 to 15 minute walk at lunch or in the evening. This serves to boost your metabolism even more!

8. Tone your muscles with weight training three days per week. Toned muscles send your metabolism through the roof. Do it!

9. Look for opportunites to be active. Park as far from the store as you can, rather than looking for the closest parking spot. Use the stairs rather than the elevator,vacume the carpet etc. Look for the "hard" way to do things!

10. Avoid alcohol! Alcohol depresses your metabolism and stimulates your appetite.

11. Drink 60+ ounces of water a day. Your metabolism needs plenty water to function properly. Carry a bottle of water with you and drink frequently throughout the day.

12. Avoid.....pills, powders, and potions! There are NO quick fixes!

13. Eat seven to 10 servings of fresh fruit and vegetables a day. Not only are fruits and vegetables high in filling fiber they also are low in calories and high in nutrients. This makes them big hitters in the weight loss game.


To be continued

Healthy weight Managment techniques

Healthy Weight Management Techniques



What is the most frightening word in the English language? Well, if you are one of the millions of Americans who are a few pounds overweight, that word is probably “diet.” Most of us have tried to lose weight with mixed results.

There are so many different choices for weight loss: the Atkins diet, the Zone Diet, the South Beach Diet, the Fat Flush diet, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and many more. But which of these plans is the best for taking the weight off and keeping it off?

You may be surprised to hear that the answer is “none of them.” A recent national study followed one thousand people who attempted to lose weight with one of the commercial diet plans, without exercise. They tracked these people for five years and found that less than 1% had lost weight and kept it off. This same study followed one thousand people who attempted to lose weight with a combination of diet and exercise, and it was discovered that after five years, this group was more than ten times more successful at losing weight and keeping it off.

Obviously, exercise and diet are a powerful recipe for sustained weight loss and health.

To be continued:

Medicine in your spice rack, Cinnamon

Cinnamon: Cinnamomum cassia is the dried bark of evergreen trees cultivated throughout Asia. This incredibly versatile spice is used in everything from cookies, ciders and soups to exotic main courses . Used in herbal medicine for digestive disorders new research shows that cinnamon significantly lowered fasting blood glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol levels in diabetics. In another study cinnamon proved to be a powerfull antibacterial. A teaspoon of cinnamon was placed in a glass of apple juice that had been infected with the E coli bacteria. After three days 99.5 percent of the bacteria had died.