To answer this age old question if drinking water helps you lose weight or burn more calories and the answer is... YES it does!. In a small study participants drank 500ml all at once and researchers found that they burned 25 calories more during a half hour period. The reason for this increase in metabolism had to do with warming the water up to body temperature. Yes I know that isn’t very much but over the course of a day it can account for a decent amount of calories burned from doing absolutely nothing. If you think 25 calories for every 2 cups of water, a normal person should be drinking 8 cups a day results in 100 calories burned from just drinking water. Not bad I think, considering it isn’t that hard to do if you space out the time between drinking water.

Some other interesting facts about drinking water:

• Drinking a 250 ml of water or more whenever you feel hungry and before a meal fills the stomach temporarily and makes you feel fuller and stop eating sooner.
• Breaking down body fat and body muscle during weight loss produces wastes that must be eliminated through the kidneys. Drinking enough water is important to keep the kidneys functioning to remove these wastes.
• Popular high-protein diets produce more waste products from digestion, let alone from breaking down stored fat. Kidney function is even more important when on a high-protein diet.
• Drinking more water does not "flush fat."

The study did find that it was important for an average adult to drink 8 glasses of water a day and that it helped with every single bodily function:

• regulate body temperature
• lubricates joints
• helps kidneys and liver flush out waste
• carries oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body
• Moistens tissues such as the eyes, mouth, nose
• Protects body organs and tissue
• Helps prevent constipation
• Helps dissolve minerals and other nutrients

Some effects of water deficiency are:

• Low blood pressure
• Clotting of blood
• Kidney malfunction
• Severe constipation

Water is necessary to life and its and easy way to help improve each and every day. Everyone should try to include more water in their diets to see the real benefits and maybe even lose some weight.

Swimming is a great way to include a different kind of work out in your cardiovascular exercise routine. If you’re a runner or like aerobics but it’s the dead of summer then you would probably like an exercise that you don’t have to sweat as much. Or maybe you would like to try and take a load off your joints and hit the pool. Swimming has long been known for its therapeutic and claiming atmosphere.

Swimming is a great overall exercise. It works every major muscle group in one constant motion that is easy on your joints (knee, hips, and shoulders). Swimming has many health benefits as well such as lowering blood pressure, increasing your cardio vascular endurance, and strengthening muscles.

Swimming can also be used as either a warm up or a cool down after an exercise. As a warm up, swim vigorously to increase heart rate and get blood moving throughout the body. As a cool down swimming laps in a very slow pace will help to lower your heart rate, bring oxygen to every part of your body, and help bring nutrients to begin to repair your torn muscles.

Swimming does burn calories at a rate of about 3 calories a mile per pound of bodyweight. If you weigh 150 lbs. and it takes you 30 minutes to swim one mile (1,760 yards or 1,609 meters), then you will be using about 900 calories in one hour. However, many swimmers do not swim that quickly, and many cannot swim for that distance or duration. So try to split the workout into a bunch of small increments in order to reach your calories burn rate.

Swimming is a great exercise but doesn’t give you the same payback that land exercise does only because you can’t increase your body temperature. Which is less work for the body because it doesn’t have to lower the body’s temperature, on land however sweating exercise increases calorie use for up to 18 hours after the workout has been completed. This is a major benefit of sweating is the amount of calories the body has to use in order to sweat. Swimming though does exercise almost the entire body - heart, lungs, and muscles - with very little joint strain. It is great for general fitness, just not a great way to drop excess pounds.

Has it been a while since you have worked out and you would like to get back in shape? Have you noticed that you don’t have time to work out regularly because it takes a lot of time out of your daily routine? Well I have put together a workout routine that any beginner could try that helps work the entire body.

Firstly, I like to warm up with about 5 to 7 minutes of light to moderate cardio this can be jumping jacks, walking on treadmill, or skipping rope. Any exercise will do just as long as it gets your heart rate up.

Secondly, I like to begin with 5 to 10 push ups. Now if you aren’t able to lift your full weight then have your knees touch the ground as you lift just your upper body off the ground. This would be called a half push up and this will help you build muscle to finally being able to do the regular push ups. Now if you are able to do the regular ones 5 to 10 reps of 2 to 3 sets. Push ups work your back, chest, triceps, and bicep. Here is the proper way to complete a knee push up:

1. Lie with your stomach flat against the floor.
2. Lift feet off floor, bringing heels towards your buttocks. Bend knees to form a 45-degree angle or L-shape.
3. Extend hands next to your body at shoulder height, keeping elbows bent.
4. Exhale (breathe out) as you push your body weight off the floor by extending arms from a bent elbow to straight elbow. Be sure to have proper alignment: a straight back, with ears, shoulders and hips in a straight line. Hold abdominal muscles in tightly (pretend you are squeezing your belly button into your spine).
5. Inhale (breathe in) as you bend elbows and allow your body to lower to floor level. Lower your body until your face is about 2-3 inches from the floor.
6. repeat

Thirdly, I like to do normal crunches. These crunches may be hard for a beginner to do especially if you aren’t use to the motion. This is when I recommend the half sit up. The half sit up is like a normal crunch but you don’t lift your upper body fully off the ground, about half way should work. You will really start to feel even the half sit ups because the abdominal muscle contract all together when the exercise is being completed. Now 5 to 7 half sit ups or crunches can be completed with 2 to 3 sets. Proper way of doing a normal crunch.

1. Lie down on the floor on your back and bend your knees, placing your hands behind your head or across your chest.
2. Pull your belly button towards your spine, and flatten your lower back against the floor.
3. Slowly contract your abdominals, bringing your shoulder blades about one or two inches off the floor.
4. Exhale as you come up and keep your neck straight, chin up.
5. Hold at the top of the movement for a few seconds, breathing continuously.
6. Slowly lower back down, but don't relax all the way.

Fourthly, I like to do basic lunges. The lunges are when you are standing up and take one step forward, with that very same foot that took the step that leg should be bent in a 90 angle. You should be able to do 5 to 7 lunges and do 3 sets. The lunges work your butt, hips and thighs. Here is the proper way to do a lunge.

1. Stand in a split stance, with feet about 3 feet apart. You want both knees to be at about 90-degree angles at the bottom of the movement, so adjust accordingly.
2. Hold weights in each hand (or place a barbell behind the neck) for added intensity.
3. Bend the knees and lower the back knee toward the floor, keeping the front heel down and the knee directly over the center of the foot.
4. Keep the torso straight and abs in as you push through the front heel and back to starting position.
5. Don't lock the knees at the top of the movement.

Fifth, squats should be performed either the same day or a different day depending on how you feel after the lunges. This is the proper way to do a squat:
There are many different types of squats, including the free standing squat. Stand with feet hip-width apart and squat, keeping back straight, abs in and knees behind your toes. Let your butt lower down and squeeze butt to stand up

This exercise also works your butt, hips and thighs but in a different way than the lunges. You should be doing 5 to 7 reps and 3 sets I focused on the lower body exercise as a beginner because they are the largest muscle groups which burn the most calories and will also be a lot easier to complete.

This workout may be hard at first that’s why I recommend you don’t over exert yourself and only do as many reps and sets you can handle. As time goes on and you keep up with this routine then you can build up reps and sets. This routine should take about 20 to 25 minutes to do and you should be taking a break between sets of 2 to 3 minutes. I also suggest doing this routine twice a week taking a day off in between to rest and adding a third day when comfortable.

A rep is one reputation of the exercise
A set is a group of reputations.

Both of these fatty acids have been getting a lot of press lately. They have been added to our food put on both the Canadian and American food guides to healthy eating but have you ever wondered what purpose they serve? Well they are actually very important to overall health in many ways. Firstly are not produced by the body, Secondly help conditions such as: They normalize lipid levels, lower blood pressure and improve glucose metabolism, and help lessen the effects of: Rheumatoid arthritis, depression, and autism. Thirdly: Omega 6 is known to have an anti inflammatory benefit: bloating and pain associated with PMS, also maintains healthy skin, hair and nails and generally helps to bring about hormonal and emotional balance. These new findings prove that they should be a very important addition to a healthy diet. Here are some other facts about Omega 3 & 6:

Omega 3

The most important 2 fatty acids in the Omega 3 family are EPA and DHA as these are in limited supply and only found in any real quantities in oily fish and fish oil supplements. Although DHA is important for pregnant and nursing mothers and for young children for healthy development of the brain and vision, EPA can be considered the most important for everyone else as it is necessary for the efficient functioning of the brain and the body at a cellular level.

The Omega 3's have anti-inflammatory and anti-coagulant properties as well as many other important health benefits. They reduce inflammation and can provide protection against cardiovascular disease, arthritis, skin conditions, depression and other mood-related disorders.

Omega 6

Although Omega 6 is generally classed as pro-inflammatory, paradoxically, GLA, when sourced dietetically, has anti-inflammatory properties. It can help the bloating and pain associated with PMS. It also maintains healthy skin, hair and nails and generally helps to bring about hormonal and emotional balance.

Omega 3 and Omega 6 interact with each other so the balance between them is crucial for good health. Together they affect the production of hormonal type messengers called eicosanoids, which has an impact on inflammation in the body and all functions at a cellular level.

Benefits of Omega 3 & 6

Omega fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats. They are healthier than saturated fats and have many metabolic functions. There are many benefits of omega 3 & 6 supplementation.

Omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids are essential fatty acids (EFA’s). Our bodies cannot manufacture them, and we must consume them in our diets.

Omega 3 fatty acids prevent heart disease and the complications of heart attack. People who take omega 3 fatty acids have a lower mortality rate after heart attack than those who do not.

Omega 3 EFA’s improve cardiac risk factors, and help prevent CHD. They normalize lipid levels, lower blood pressure and improve glucose metabolism.

Omega 3’s may be helpful in a number of other conditions, Rheumatoid arthritis, depression, autism, and many other conditions may be improved by taking omega 3 EFA’s. They are necessary for growth and development, especially in the development of nervous tissue, and may improve cognitive function and emotional health.

Omega 6 fatty acids compete for enzymes with omega 3 EFA’s, so the amounts of the two need to be properly balanced. Less research has been done on omega 6 EFA’s than on omega 3’s. Most omega 6 fatty acids produce an inflammatory response that may be necessary for healthy immune system function. Research is beginning to indicate that one omega 6 EFA is, however, a powerful anti-inflammatory agent, and may be even more important for healthy hearts than omega 3 oils.

The ongoing information proves that these fatty acids are essential to good health and may ever help to reverse and lessen the effects of certain conditions and disorders. So make sure you are getting enough Omega 3 & 6 and if you aren’t in your normal diet supplement them in pill form or through Omega 3 & 6 enriched food.

Cranberries and cranberry products offer many important health benefits. Historically, Native Americans used cranberries to relieve a variety of ailments. Today's health research points to promising new evidence that cranberries are not only a healthy, low-calorie fruit, they may also help prevent urinary tract infections and reduce the risk of gum disease, ulcers, heart disease and cancer. Research on these areas and on additional health benefits is ongoing.Here's a look at some of the health benefits of adding cranberries to your everyday diet.


Urinary Tract Health
Just 300ml of cranberry juice daily could help prevent urinary tract infections. In the last six years, medical research has indicated that cranberries may play an important role in maintaining urinary tract health. In a study conducted in 1994, elderly women who drank 300ml. of cranberry juice daily reduced their odds of having infection by 58 percent.

A follow-up study published in October 1998, identified a compound in cranberries that prevents micro-organisms and bacteria such as E. coli from sticking to cells of the urinary tract. Researchers call this property "anti-adhesion" and think this is what helps reduce the risk of urinary tract infections.


Dental Health
In December 1998, a team of researchers determined that the same "anti-adhesion" properties that prevent bacteria from forming in the urinary tract, prevent bacteria from forming in the mouth. In this way, cranberries might reduce the formation of harmful plaque that leads to gum disease.


Heart Health
An ongoing study is researching the cranberry's ability to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Scientists have found that cranberry extract contains compounds called flavonoids, which may help maintain heart health. In fact, one study has already shown that the properties of cranberry juice that could contribute to inhibiting blood clotting, promoting blood vessel diameter and preventing clogged arteries are equivalent to those found in red wine.


Anti-Cancer
The flavonoid contents of cranberries make cranberries an important cancer fighter. Compared with 20 common fruits tested, cranberries demonstrated the highest fresh-weight content of flavonoids and related phenolic acids, making this berry a powerful source of potentially cancer-preventative phytonutrients and antioxidants. Findings linking the cranberry's components to a decreased risk of cancer are preliminary, but studies are ongoing.


Anti-Ulcer
Research suggests that tannins found in cranberries may help in inhibiting the adhesion of bacteria in the stomach, including the Helicobacter pylori bacterium, which is the bacteria responsible for gastrointestinal diseases, including gastric, duodenal and peptide ulcers as well as gastric cancer.

Source:
http://www.cranberries.com.au/healthyliving.html

Skipping rope is one of the most effective exercise out there it burns just as many calories as 10 minutes of jogging (131 calories/10 mins) and 10 minutes of aerobics (120 calories/10 mins) .All these activities vary in intensity but burn similar amounts of calories, so if you can’t go for a jog or aerobics isnt your favourite activity than jumping rope is the next best thing. Here are some techniques to jumping rope:

Basic jump - This is when both feet are slightly apart and jump at the same time over the rope. Beginners should master this technique first before moving onto more advanced techniques.

Alternate foot jump (speed step) -This style consists of using alternate feet to jump off the ground. This technique can be used to effectively double the number of skips per minute as compared to the above technique.

Criss-cross-This method is similar to the basic jump with the only difference being that while jumping, the left hand goes to the right part of the body and vice versa for the right hand.
Double under-To perform a double under, the participant needs to jump up a bit higher than usual while swinging the rope twice under his feet. It is possible to have the rope swing three times under the feet (triple under). In fact, in competitive jump rope, triples, quadruples (”quads”), and quintuples (”quins”) are not uncommon.

Combination jumps-There are many more difficult jump roping tricks that combine two or more of these techniques to make a single trick. These combinations can also be used in Chinese Wheel, Double Dutch, and Long Rope.
Leg under x- The leg under x is a complicated trick where the jumper puts the left hand under the right leg and the right hand over the left leg.

Other-Many other variations are possible, including: “skier”, a side-to-side jump keeping the feet together; “bell”, a front-and-back jump keeping the feet together; “scissors”, a jump putting one foot forward and the other back, then switching back-and-forth; “jumping jack”, a jump putting the feet apart and then together; and “can-can” a jump with one leg up and bent, followed by a jump with both feet on ground, followed by a jump kicking the foot out.

Jumping rope can be one of the best additions to a fitness routine someone can consider. Starting in small increments and moving up to the 10 minute marker is your best bet especially if you’re a beginner.

Fat by far is the hardest thing to lose for everyone regardless of your size and shape. One pound of fat has 3500 calories which can take a lot of activity in order to burn off. This is where muscle comes into play every pound of muscle burns 30 to 50 calories per day which may not sound like a lot but in the long run it can really add up with diet and exercise.

Fat burning can be difficult this is where adding cardio and weight training together to achieve further success. Keeping your metabolism up is the best way to stay in a fat burning zone even when you’re not working out. Cardio must be paired with weight training because during a cardio workout the majority of calories are being burned during the exercise while with weight lifting muscle is being built which can keep the body in a fat burning zone way after the workout has been completed.

Men and women can both benefit from weight lifting. Women must realize that they won’t become muscle heads if they start to lift weights. It’s not in your genetic make up to look such a way. The female body builders must spend countless hours’ weight lifting while taking huge amounts of protein to force their bodies out of their natural state. As for the men weight training is great because that is what our bodies were made for: to build muscle. Men’s bodies are full of testosterone which is the muscle building hormone and with that being said our bodies have an advantage when it comes to gaining muscle mass.


Although weight training is a great workout, cardio must be done as well to help slim down and lose those extra pounds of body fat. In conjunction both kinds of exercises will help you reach your goals far faster than just performing one exercise over the other.

For anyone looking to get in shape and build some muscle these are the supplements that some swear by from huge body builders, to celebrities to your everyday Joe. These supplements have been the most studied and have supported the health industry as the essentials to achieving any kind of success.

I have tired these supplements before and had put on about 15 lbs of muscle in a four month period. They do work but with the amount of supplements entering the market it’s hard to believe that they can all be safe and effective. Now i comprised a three that i found worked the best and were probably the most talked about.

There has been a lot of debate about their effectiveness and safety of each supplement and this can be said especially in the sporting community. These debates have been going on for years and no one athlete just uses one or the other in conjunction I have found personally that I had more energy and was better able to complete an exercise routine.

There are thousands of supplements available on the market these days but the big three are protein, creatine, and glutamine.


Protein-The building blocks of muscle. A high protein diet is a must. No matter how hard you train and how much you eat if you do not get enough protein in your diet you will get nowhere. I have used a whey powder protein drink for moderate success. Every bodybuilder on the planet would have a couple of these a day to maintain or build muscle mass. However I had most success when I swapped my protein shakes for a high protein diet. Eggs and chicken featured predominently and allowed for large muscle gains. Even if you do go the protein supplement path (which is totally fine) make sure you have plenty of meats, fish, nuts, eggs and milk products in your diet to keep your daily protein intake high.

Creatine-In simple terms creatine is a naturally occuring substance in the body that is used by the muscles to generate power. Its popularity has soared over the last decade and many people sware by it. Generally you take a creatine supplement before a workout so that you can push your muscles harder. I have used it in the past but did not notice much if any effect during my workouts. Creatine is still very much in the theory category we know that it is beneficial but its still debated the best way to introduce it into your body for maximum effects. Creatine can be found in very small amounts in meats (particularly red meat) but you will need a supplement version to get the benefits from creatine loading.

Glutamine-Glutamine is another naturally occuring substance in the body. Without being too technical Glutamine is vital in the recovery of muscles (as well as other body functions) after stress (exercise). Anyone and everyone will tell you how important glutamine is to the body and for muscle building it allows you to recover quicker and train more which is important. Glutamine can be found in most animal and plant products in the average diet but it is recommended even for non bodybuildrs to supplement your body with extra glutamine. From my experience I always felt better when supplementing glutamine especially the day after a heavy workout I did not feel as sore as I do without it.

So there you go folks the 3 most common and important supplements for building muscle mass. Its up to you what you use and how much but I strongly recommend a diet full of protein to help repair and grow muscles at the very least.

Eggs have had a lot of bad press from the health community mainly for their high levels of cholesterol and fat. But who would have know they have the highest levels of digestible protein when cooked which is about 97% . Which is amazing compared to many other foods. While raw eggs have about 50% digestible protein which you would have thought was the opposite. Well i sure did! Anyway some other interesting information that i just found out.Raw eggs may be kept refrigerated in their closed container for several weeks, cooked eggs in the shell will only keep up to 7 days refrigerated, and shelled, cooked eggs kept covered last only 5 days. Cooked eggs should never be kept at room temperature for more than 2 hours. This is why eggs need to be consumed fairly quickly after being consumed. Which is really good to know especially if you like to cook meals for the family in advance at least now you know how long your eggs will last. To continue here are some essential nutrients each egg contains:

· Choline is necessary for healthy cell membranes in all of your body, and will help your body keep homocysteine levels down. Choline is also good for your mental function and memory.
· Selenium is a mineral that your body needs for a strong immune system and it is a powerful antioxidant.
· B vitamins folate and riboflavin are necessary for your body to convert the foods you eat into energy. Folate also reduces homocysteine levels and is important for prevention of birth defects.
· Vitamin A is important for good night vision, general cell growth and for healthy skin.
· Vitamin E is an antioxidant that works well with vitamin C and selenium to prevent damage to your body from free radicals.
· Lutein and zeaxanthin are related to vitamin A and are found in the yellow pigment of the egg yolk. Lutein and zeaxanthin are concentrated in the retina of your eye and will help prevent macular degeneration.

As you can see eggs are stacked full of nutrients and minerals which are necessary to good overall health. Eggs would provide a great post workout meal because of the high nutrient value and high protein which would help to repair those torn tissues and help to build muscle for more calorie burning potential.

Resources:
http://nutrition.about.com/od/askyournutritionist/f/eggs_protein.htm http://www.davedraper.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/PmWiki/EggsAndDairy http://nutrition.about.com/od/askyournutritionist/f/eggs_protein.htm

Hi,
I have just started this blog and decided that I would like to share my new findings with the world. I will try to update this blog as often as possible maybe a few times a week so if you find this blog interesting please revisit my blog.