Those who are seeking a healthy lifestyle often find that the most challenging part of the fitness regimen is maintaining a healthy diet. Better eating requires less calories, quality foods and fresh ingredients. This can be difficult to manage on a daily basis. There are many home deliver diet programs that solve this problem by bringing pre-made meals right to the doorstep.

Jenny Craig

This company has been around for almost 30 years. Members can join through Jenny Craig centers or online. Each member is assigned a consultant who works with the individual to design a menu plan that works with his or her lifestyle. The pre-packaged food is then delivered to a center or directly to the member’s home. Jenny Craig is known for is the 24/7 phone line that offers support and information.

Nutrisystem

The Nutrisystem diet offers convenience and simplicity. This company allows members to select a menu based on gender, dietary concerns and tastes. The member may choose each meal or let the system design a menu for them. The food is delivered once a month in the form of frozen entrees that are simply reheated when it is time to eat. Food is provided for five meals a day, which can help keep cravings and hunger at bay.

Bistro MD

For those who have more discerning tastes, Bistro MD provides meals that are freshly prepared by chefs and delivered once a week. Members can customize menus based on their tastes and dietary concerns. The selection and menus are routinely varied so that the food stays fresh and exciting.

EDiets

The eDiet plan offers three meals a day, with the choice of a snack or dessert. The foods are freshly prepared and delivered every five or seven days. The meals are packaged without preservatives and arrive chilled instead of frozen. EDiets also offers personalized plans, support and an online community.

Planning meals ahead of time to ensure balanced and quality nutrition is difficult. This is one of the main reasons many people fail when attempting diets. When the frustration and confusion over planning for a healthy lifestyle starts to set in, many give up. These home delivery diet programs take the guess work out of reaching fitness goals. Pre-packages and ready-to-eat meals make it easy to control calories, plan meals and obtain a healthy lifestyle.

Protein is the fuel for building muscle. The essential amino acids contained in protein are what the body needs to repair muscle fibers broken down during exercise. A protein snack before your workout also helps regulate your blood sugar and keeps you feel full longer than a carb-laden snack, enabling you to maintain the intensity of your workout without crashing from a drop in your blood sugar. Eating another protein snack post-workout gives your body the muscle-rebuilding power it needs for a speedy recovery. For both snacks, eat about 10 grams of protein.
Check out the foods discussed below for some portable protein-filled snacks

#1 Chicken, Turkey, or Tuna

With about 100 calories and 20 grams of protein, 3 ounces of chicken, turkey, or tuna is an excellent protein choice both before and after exercise. Add a few wholegrain crackers or a slice of bread to hold the meat and you’re good to go.

# 2 Eggs

Three hardboiled eggs are easy to transport, eat, and they contain 18 grams of protein for 240 calories. Eggs also contain an abundance of vitamins and nutrients. If cooked eggs are more your thing, cook the eggs at home then microwave them when it’s time to eat.

#3 Chocolate Milk

Fueling pre- and post-workout is the perfect time to drink chocolate milk. Many athletes drink chocolate milk immediately after exercise for the quick delivery of protein and sugars their muscles need to start the rebuilding process. Sixteen ounces of 2% has about 17 grams of protein and 330 calories.

#4 Whey Powder

Whey powder’s protein is derived from milk, containing whey isolate for quick absorption and casein, a milk protein that digests slowly. Mix with water or with milk for more protein. Alone whey powder provides about 24 grams of protein for 110 calories.

#5 Greek Yogurt

You can’t do much better than Greek yogurt for your protein snack. Plain Greek yogurt is very low in sugar, low in calories, and high in protein. You’ll get about 15 grams of protein for 80 calories. Add some nuts or berries if it’s too sour for your taste.

Because protein-filled foods do such an amazing job of preparing your muscles for exercise and repairing them afterward, it’s essential to base your pre- and post-workout snacks on high protein foods. The list above provides you with 5 great options for all of your workouts.

For many people, exercising at home is the best option, considering the costs of going to the gym and the ease and convenience of working out at home. However, knowing the kind of workout you want to do is helpful in getting the right type of home cardio equipment. Some of the popular home cardio equipment includes ellipticals, treadmills and rowing machines, all of which have pros and cons.

Cardio exercise machines play a key role in helping you to burn calories, lose weight as well as maintain your fitness level. With the many features and varying calorie burning efficiencies that the different cardio equipment offers, it can sometimes be a challenge to decide on the right type of machine. However, before you invest in home cardio equipment, you should do your homework by getting the facts and comparing and contrasting them.

Pros and Cons of Home Cardio Equipment

A popular cardio equipment is the treadmill because of the convenience in using the machine. However, you are likely to burn more calories (600-1,000 per hour) by running, jogging or using the incline during workout over just walking on the machine. Holding on to the handrails provides limited benefit to your workout unless you have difficulties maintaining your balance.

While the elliptical may help you to burn around 600 calories on the hour, running may help you burn even more. If you use low resistance and the rail for support, it also reduces your calorie burning effectiveness. For the best outcome, use high resistance and watch out for the workout results from the elliptical computer as they may be exaggerated.

For a full body workout that is very effective with burning more than 1,000 calories per hour, the rowing machine is recommended. However, rowing may become monotonous and boring but you may overcome this by varying the speeds and distances. Using your arms, legs and torso as you row may lead to better results, but make sure that you have the right posture and that you follow the machine’s instruction in order to avoid injuries.

Choosing the Right Home Cardio Equipment

The decision as to what type of home cardio equipment you should select should not only be based on the calorie burning effectiveness of the machine but on other factors as well. These decision-making issues may include your budget, the durability of the equipment, the terms of the warranty and the resale value. You should also think about your space requirements to store the equipment as well as the machine’s capabilities of reducing injury risks.

Knowing the pros and cons of home cardio equipment such as the ellipticals, treadmills and rowing machines is important in helping you make the appropriate choice. One important factor to note is the calorie burning efficiency of the machines along with how much you can afford and the space available. Being able to exercise at home with the right cardio equipment is a good step in meeting your fitness and weight management needs and goals.

The idea of spending hours upon hours working out and doing crunches in the attempts to achieve a six-pack or killer biceps is all too enticing. While a person should certainly be commended for their dedication, this type of training can often times lead to overtraining, which can actually sabotage a person’s attempts to achieve a certain look.

1. Twice a Week

Certain parts of the body should be exercised no more than two times a week. This means that if the biceps are the main focus on Monday, they shouldn’t be a focus again until Wednesday or later. The key to building muscle is tearing down the muscle so it can rebuild itself. Without time to rebuild, growth and improvement aren’t possible.

Some might be saying, but when I use my ab belt I’m using it 5 days a week. While this is true, it’s a bit different then working hard in the gym. Many people actually use their EMS toning belt as a recovery device from their other harder workouts.

2. Change it Up

While cardio is a different thing altogether, the body still needs a break every now and again. Realistically, doing cardio sessions five to six times a week is okay, but it is still possible to overtrain. The key to avoiding this is switching up the workouts. Instead of jogging five days a week, jog for two or three times a week and jump on the elliptical or bicycle the other days. This will prevent muscle groups from becoming overused.

3. Stretching is Key

There is a lot of controversy over stretching. Some say that it is necessary to become flexible and limber while others say that minimal stretching is good enough. Regardless of the argument, stretching is still an important part of working out and can keep muscles from becoming too tight and tearing as a result of overuse. It isn’t necessary to be able to do a split, but keeping muscles limber can help to avoid injury.

4. Listen to Your Body

Your body will tell you when it has had enough and when it is time to rest. When pressure begins to form behind certain joints or a group of muscles feel tight, take it easy. Give the body a day or two to rest. While it may kill you to skip a few workouts, injury will result in serious downtime.

5. Plan Ahead

Plan workouts ahead of time. Split upper body and lower body workouts to ensure certain muscle groups get a break. This will ensure you get the most out of each workout and avoid over training.

There’s more than one way to justify a massage. Many people look to massage to assist in muscle recovery after an intense workout.

Queen’s University associate professor Michael Tschakovsky, who works in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, decided to put the art of massage to the test.

The idea behind a post-workout massage is to enhance blood flow to tired muscles. This is thought to speed up the recovery process.

Until relatively recently, the average gym-goer has attributed muscle soreness to lactic acid. More research has shown that most lactic acid has actually been cleared from the muscles about an hour after a workout. It is, in fact, a source of fuel for muscles.

Those in the fitness world hail the benefits of various methods for removing lactic acid in order to speed up muscle recovery. During intense, anaerobic exercise, recovery periods are used to clear lactic acid. Massage has been considered another technique for removing any remaining lactic acid, thus reducing muscle fatigue and soreness.

Michael Tschakovsky conducted a study in which 12 healthy men exercised their forearm muscle to the point of muscle failure. The 12 young subjects performed this task by squeezing a specially designed handgrip of 40 percent of their maximal force for 2 minutes without stopping.

Lactic acid levels were measure through the use of a catheter inserted into the vein responsible for draining the worked muscle. Next, the subjects were divided into three groups for a 10-minute recovery period.

The first group engaged in passive recovery by simply lying still for 10 minutes. The second group intermittently squeezed a handgrip at 10 percent of their maximal force, thus completing an active recovery. The third group received a 10-minute massage by a certified sports massage therapist.

During this 10-minute recovery period, an ultrasound measured blood flow to the fatigued forearm muscle while lactic acid concentrations were monitored through the use of blood sample.

The results were shocking. The massage actually hindered lactic acid removal from the muscles by cutting off blood flow during each massage stroke. This resulted in less overall blood flow to the tired muscles.

The purpose of the study was to measure lactic acid removal immediately after exercising. Massage was shown to decrease lactic acid removal speed.

That being said, massage has extensive benefits, such as decreasing cortisol levels, a stress hormone that causes fat storage, while increasing endorphins that just make you feel happier.

Massage can also reduce blood pressure and strengthen your immune system. It enhances lymphatic drainage while promoting increased flexibility and range of motion.

So, go ahead and enjoy your post-workout massage.

Sources: NyTimes.com PubMed.gov

When it comes to achieving weight loss results, everyone looks for the easiest and most efficient ways to do so. Skipping meals and working out for hours at a time, while commonly misconstrued as being effective, can actually destroy ones weight loss efforts. Recent studies have shown that the key to weight loss may lie in interval training.

Burn More Calories

Interval training has shown to burn more calories and fat than any other form of exercise. Why is interval training so effective? There are several reasons that explain why. First, high intensity sessions that are as close to anaerobic activity as possible burn more calories than steady cardio sessions. Even if these interval sessions are only a minute long, your body has to work harder to get the body going at those speeds and then has to work harder to bring the heartbeat back down.

Another reason is because the body needs oxygen and calories, which it gets from carbohydrates, fat, and protein during and after working out. However, studies show that you burn even more calories after interval training than would normally be burned doing steady-state aerobic exercise. In fact, some studies suggest that the metabolism works at a higher level all day after interval training, rather than the few hours after a workout as occurs with most other types of cardio.

As someone who’s thinking of using an abdominal toning belt to firm and define your abs and stomach this should be of great interest to yo. Why? Because if you can increase your resting metabolic rate all day then you’ll be burning more calories and in turn belly fat.

Interval to Rest Ratio

Studies show that the key to interval training is to use a 1:3 ratio. Therefore, if you do high intensity sessions for a minute, the recovery period should be three minutes. Recovery sessions should be low impact. For example, if you sprint for a minute, you should jog or walk for three minutes. The high intensity sessions don’t have to be limited to jogging, but can be any type of exercise that leaves you breathless and with a speeding heart rate.

One minute interval training can often times blast fat away from problem areas, such as the abs. If the interval sessions incorporate moves that work the abs simultaneously, such as power squats or jump squats, the chances of melting fat away from the midsection are even higher. Incorporating interval training into daily workouts is a great way to get results faster and improve overall fitness by boosting endurance and stamina.

There are many exercise myths that exist that are not only untrue, but can actually be harmful. One such myth is that you will burn more fat if you work out on an empty stomach. The theory is that if you have nothing in your stomach to burn off while exercising, your body will instead burn stored fat. However, this is not what actually ends up happening, but instead your body will actually burn muscle, which is counterproductive. Also, by not giving your body the fuel it needs, you will likely suffer from less energy making your workout less effective at burning calories.

Our bodies are machines that need fuel to do anything, especially something as physically taxing and that expends as many calories as exercise. To deny yourself of food and make it work on empty is going to create exhaustion that can sometimes deter people from working out in the long run. The key is to make your body as optimal as possible, and this can’t happen when you’re not giving your body what it needs.

The key is not to deny yourself of food, but to give your body the right kinds of nutrients. If your goal is weight loss and general health then eating small portions quite often is a really good way to rev up your metabolism. If you work out on an empty stomach you will be setting yourself up not only for exhaustion but for potential binging later on after exercising. Good foods to eat before exercise include good carbohydrates, such as a banana or brown rice, because carbohydrates create a quick energy surge in our body as they are quickly digested.

People will do some unhealthy and sometimes damaging things in order to get their bodies to where they want them. But health is a long term goal, something that you need patience to achieve. Your body is your best guide in telling you what it needs, and eating before working out is a great way to maximize your work outs and maintaining the health that is the ultimate goal.

These days, people are trying to live with less money. They’ve cancelled magazine subscriptions and lost the cable movie channels. Anything that seems like a luxurious extra is getting the boot.

To my surprise, some people are thinking of losing their gym membership to save a few bucks. My opinion may be biased because I’m a fitness professional, but I just don’t get why anyone would think their gym membership is a luxury. For a nominal monthly fee, your gym gives you the opportunity to be in the best shape of your life with state of the art fitness equipment and knowledgeable personnel.

When you are physically fit, you feel better, look better and avoid costly visits to the doctor. Regular exercise has the power to make us feel energized and help us sleep better, two things that allow us to live our lives to their maximum potential. A small of fee of $30 or so a month seems a small price to pay when you consider all of these benefits.

If you are considering trying to save money by canceling your gym membership, perhaps the question you should truly be asking is: How affordable is it to be out of shape? People with lower levels of physical fitness tend to have shorter lifetimes and often find that their capacity to enjoy life is hampered by medical concerns. When you have a gym membership and make the most out of it, you are better able to meet your life goals and are generally better prepared to meet the challenges of everyday living.

Regular attendance at the gym revs up your metabolism and improves your cardiovascular capacity. You have your choice of hundreds of different cardio and weight machines at your disposal and also a full group exercise class schedule, all of which is probably included in your monthly membership fees. A fitness habit also boosts your mental health with the release of plenty of endorphins and positive energy.

There’s no harm in trimming a little fat off of your budget, but think twice before deciding that your gym membership is merely an unnecessary extra. For a small monthly fee, your gym membership opens the door to better physical and mental health through using cardio and weight machines in conjunction with group exercise classes. Your gym membership is a necessity for building a full and meaningful life.

While countless people attempt fad diets and exercise routines in order to lose weight, there is a much easier way to shed a pound than depriving the body of food or forcing down countless weight loss shake after weight loss shake. The way the body stores and loses weight is simple – it is all about calories in vs. calories out.

This should be of extreme interest to anyone looking at buying or using an ab belt to flatten their stomach and improve abdominal definition. Since you must shed belly fat to flatten your tummy, this post will outline the very basics of how to make that happen.

If a person consumes more calories than they burn in a day, the remaining calories are converted into fat stores. If a person burns more calories than they’ve consumed in a day, the body has to use these reserves for energy. This is the simple equation that leads to weight loss. But, just how many calories does a person have to burn in order to lose a pound?

3500 Calories to a Pound

In order to lose a pound, a person must burn at least 3,500 calories more than they consumed that day. For example, an average size woman needs around 1,600 calories to maintain her weight. If she consumes 1,600 calories, she needs to burn 5,100 calories in order to lose a pound. While no one should attempt to lose a pound a day, this formula can be stretched out in order to achieve weight loss of one pound a week.

Focusing on a Pound a Week

Taking that same woman who is consuming 1,600 calories a day, she would need to burn an additional 500 calories each day in order to lose a pound a week. This can easily be achieved by working out for an hour or so a day, depending on the intensity of the exercise. However, it is important that she doesn’t attempt to reduce her caloric intake to 1,100 to avoid physical exercise. This can actually cause the metabolism to slow down and completely sabotage the success of a diet and exercise program.

Online Calculators

There are countless calculators online that enable an individual to calculate their recommended caloric intake based on their weight and height. However, the number of calories burned during daily activity, not including additional exercise, will depend on each person’s lifestyle.

Kettle bells have been in use in the fitness industry for a long time now. They have been used for quite a few centuries by athletes from Russia. Kettle bells look like a tea kettle and are lifted and swung during a typical weight lifting session.

One major area of concern has always been weight training when one is suffering from back pain. Normally, people are weary of training with or lifting weight when one is suffering from back pain. However, there is enough scientific evidence to suggest that the use of kettle bells can help deal with back pain.

Using Kettle Bells to Deal with Back Pains

One of the most promising areas of research in this field came from a team of Danish researchers who conducted their study with 40 pharma workers. These pharmaceutical workers suffered from shoulder, neck and back pains and were put through either a kettle bell based workout or a normal routine. The study was conducted over 8 weeks with the kettle bells sessions lasting for around 20 minutes for 2 or 3 times a week.

The results of the study was that the group training with kettle bells reported significantly lower levels of pain in the pain affected areas when compared to the group that worked out with normal weights. Lower back pain was down by 57 percent and shoulder and neck pains down by 46 percent.

General Care with Kettle Bells

Desk bound jobs tend to create a lot of problems for the back and neck regions. Working out with kettle bells can help reinforce the posterior muscles and thus enhance blood flow to lower back, glutes and even the leg muscles.

Kettle bells also help by working out multiple muscles of the body at a single time. This enables the body to learn how to move as one cohesive unit. Using kettle bells will see the individual working the muscles in the quads, abs and glutes.

It is best to work with kettle bells under the guidance of a qualified instructor. Kettle bells are generally swung between the legs and it is best to learn how to control it in a proper and controlled manner. A 20 minute workout with kettle bells can help burn around 21 calories in a minute.

Thus kettle bells can certainly help in reducing backaches and with the proper usage, it can be a great aid in aerobic exercise as well.

Sources: NyTimes.com PubMed.gov