Digestive Health: The Experts Weigh In
Can Digestive Health Conditions Make It Hard to Lose Weight?
Though most digestive health conditions cause weight loss, a few can lead to weight gain or bloating.
Find out all the info ~ Click Here
Ellura Coupon ~
August 17, 2011 by
After my review of Ellura I was pleased to get this message from them…
We have created a coupon code for your followers. I will share it with
the others who commented on your blog, and you can feel free to share it on
your blog and twitter if you’d like. If anyone orders ellura online and uses the
promo code LSGBLOG they will receive $5 off their order. The code works once
per customer and will expire on Aug. 31, 2011.
So.. You can grab yourself some and get your body on track. 
Layered Berry Custard Crostata
August 17, 2011 by
From Hungry Girl ~ Layered Berry Custard Crostata
This dessert is equal parts creamy, flaky, ‘n fruity! The fillo dough
can be a little tricky to work with, but trust us, it’s worth the effort!
Ingredients:
1 Jell-O Sugar Free Vanilla Pudding Snack
1/2 cup Cool Whip Free
3/4 cup blackberries & raspberries
Directions:
Thaw entire fillo dough package at room temperature for 5 hours or in the
fridge overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Carefully unravel and remove
2 sheets of dough. Immediately spray both with nonstick spray. Slice sheets
into three long pieces and stack on top of each other. Cut once more into two
square stacks. Gently place next to one another on a baking dish sprayed with
nonstick spray. Place in 350-degree oven for just six minutes. Mix together
pudding and cool whip. Remove fillo dough from oven and let cool for a
few minutes. Spread half of pudding mix over 1st stack of dough, and place half
of the berries on top. Place second fillo stack on top, and spread on the rest of
the pudding mix. Top with remaining berries. Share this ginourmous dessert
with a friend, family member or dog you like a lot.
(1/2 recipe: 124 calories, 1.5g fat, 170mg sodium, 26g carbs, 3.5g fiber,
4g sugars, 2g protein = PointsPlus® value 3*)
How Much to Exercise Each Day
July 7, 2011 by
From LOSING IT! With Jillian Michaels
Thursday, July 07, 2011
Thursday, July 07, 2011
How Much to Exercise Each Day
You may have heard the U.S. Surgeon General’s recommendation of at least 150 hours of moderate physical activity each week (and that breaks down to just 30 minutes of physical activity five days a week). What’s important to understand is that this is intended for people who want to maintain the most basic level of fitness — but not for people who want to lose weight. But if you want to drop those pounds, you’re going to have to be prepared for a bit more work.
I much prefer the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 60 minutes at a time as a starting point for my clients — an hour is ideal to get the most out of your workout and see significant results. Your 60-minute workout sessions should always include a 5-minute warm-up, followed by 50 minutes of your primary cardio or strength-training exercises, followed by at least 5 minutes of cooling down and stretching.
Of course, putting in more time will get you more results — but there’s a limit. Excessive intense physical activity releases stress hormones, such as cortisol, into the body. This can actually inhibit weight loss, causing your body to react by storing fat and retaining water out of self-protection. So, to reach your goal, I recommend limiting intense exercise to no more than two hours a session.
Tighten those Abs
July 7, 2011 by
When you want to sculpt lean, sexy abs, doing crunches is highly overrated. Why? On-your-back moves target just one part of your midsection and leave out the deep-lying muscles that cinch in your waist. This upright abdominal workout, created by Bernardo Coppola, a celebrity personal trainer in L.A., engages all the muscles you need for a bikini-worthy middle–minus the neck strain. You’ll be strengthening your entire core, the dozens of muscles that make up your hips, pelvis, lower back, and abs. And this will improve your posture and ensure you perform everyday tasks, such as lugging heavy grocery bags or running to catch a bus, more efficiently. Complete three or four sets of each exercise as instructed, resting for 30 seconds between sets, two or three times a week.
Dumbbell Side Bend
Hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides, arms straight and core engaged. Without twisting your upper body, slowly bend to the left as far as you can, lowering the weight toward your left knee. Pause, then slowly return to an upright position. Repeat, bending to the right side. That’s one rep. Do 10.
Standing Core Stabilization
Standing with your feet hip-width apart, use both hands to hold a dumbbell straight out in front of your chest, core engaged. Moving your torso slightly, slowly rotate your arms to the left as far as you can. Pause, then rotate to the right. That’s one rep. Continue for a total of 10 reps.
Bow Extension
Hold a dumbbell in both hands above your right shoulder and point your left foot out to the side. In one motion, draw your elbows down to lower the weight as you bend your left knee toward your chest. Reverse the movement to return to start. That’s one rep. Do 10, then switch sides and repeat.
Reverse Dumbbell Chop
Bend your knees, rotate your torso, and hold a dumbbell in both hands outside your left thigh. Keeping your arms straight, swing the weight above your right shoulder as you straighten your legs. Reverse the movement to return to start. That’s one rep. Do 10, then switch sides and repeat.
There is no time like the present to get that flat sexy stomach!! What are you waiting for?
Article and Exercises from Women’s Health ~
Taming PMS
July 7, 2011 by
From LOSING IT! With Jillian Michaels
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Here’s a statement I don’t think too many women will disagree with: Premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, is a little slice of hell on earth. In the five to seven days before their period, up to 75 percent of women experience at least one unpleasant symptom in the constellation that PMS can cause — from the stereotypical cramps and moodiness to insomnia, fatigue, and nausea. One in 20 women experience premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a serious and often disabling condition that can cause persistent depression, marked anger or irritability, and severe aches and pains.
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Five Tips for Taming PMS
Here’s a statement I don’t think too many women will disagree with: Premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, is a little slice of hell on earth. In the five to seven days before their period, up to 75 percent of women experience at least one unpleasant symptom in the constellation that PMS can cause — from the stereotypical cramps and moodiness to insomnia, fatigue, and nausea. One in 20 women experience premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a serious and often disabling condition that can cause persistent depression, marked anger or irritability, and severe aches and pains. The good news is that there are ways to tame PMS naturally. Try these five tips:
Exercise! You may not want to, but get in your workout anyway. The endorphin rush will help relieve cramps and raise your levels of serotonin, a mood-lifting neurotransmitter.
Get some R&R. Adequate sleep and less stress will put you in a better hormonal position to handle the physiological imbalance that PMS brings.
Cut out most alcohol, caffeine, and salt. Alcohol can exacerbate feelings of depression, so steer clear. Reducing caffeine may minimize breast tenderness and irritability, and cutting salt can reduce bloat.
Minimize simple sugars. Ideally, you’re doing this all the time, but it’s especially important before your period. Simple sugars may increase inflammation, making cramps feel worse. Eating regular meals and snacks with fiber and protein will help keep your blood sugar stable, which is a lot better for those raw nerves than blood-sugar swings.
Consider supplements. Calcium may reduce symptoms of PMS, so shoot for at least 1,200 mg a day. Magnesium is also helpful, as are B complex vitamins. To reduce the inflammation of cramps and breast tenderness, try a primrose-oil supplement; it’s a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory that may work in ways similar to ibuprofen.
New Giveaways Posted @ Living Smart Girl
June 27, 2011 by
Kick off your Monday on the right foot by hopping over to Living Smart Girl and entering all the new giveaways posted.
And keep an eye there and here for updates to more coming soon.
Push Hard.. You can do it!!
June 23, 2011 by
| Want to lose pounds fast and spend less time working out? It’s possible—but only if you push your body to its absolute sweat-dripping, out-of-breath max. In other words, up the intensity. |
| “Our experience of pain is connected to our perception of it,” says Carrie Cheadle, a sport psychology consultant in Petaluma, California. |
| “If you decide the pain is unbearable, your tolerance for it will be lower than if you think you can handle it.” So give yourself a mental pep talk before you hop on the treadmill. Remind yourself of how strong and capable you are. After all, if women can endure bikini waxes, tattoos, and childbirth, you can survive a full-throttle workout.
Think You Can While the world’s most hard-driving athletes (think Serena Williams and Dara Torres) know how to ignore that fake-out and get more from their bodies, most of us can’t help but fixate on our achy legs and burning lungs. But if that’s all you think about, your brain can produce a stress response that increases the ache. “Our experience of pain is connected to our perception of it,” says Carrie Cheadle, a sport psychology consultant in Petaluma, California. “If you decide the pain is unbearable, your tolerance for it will be lower than if you think you can handle it.” So give yourself a mental pep talk before you hop on the treadmill. Remind yourself of how strong and capable you are. After all, if women can endure bikini waxes, tattoos, and childbirth, you can survive a full-throttle workout. But what if that bring-it-on attitude turns meek when the hurt sets in? Cheadle reveals ways to cope: Mentally repeat the word smooth with each pedal stroke on a bike or continuously count up to eight during a run (known as rhythmic cognitive behavior), sing a favorite song or go over your grocery list (distraction or dissociation), or remind yourself that this sprint will be over in just 30 more seconds (establishing an end). Tempos: Warm up for about 10 minutes, then increase your speed until you’re at your threshold. Stay there for three to five minutes, then slow down to recover completely. Repeat five to seven times, then finish with a five-minute cooldown. Builds: Warm up for about 10 minutes, then speed up for 30 seconds. Walk or jog for 30 seconds. Repeat six to 10 times, then jog at an easy pace for six minutes. Repeat the sequence four to six times, then do a five-minute cooldown. Go Beyond Cardio There’s a lot to learn from this approach. At CrossFit gyms nationwide, the “workouts of the day” are done in groups and as a competition—either banging out reps as fast as possible or completing as many reps as you can in a given time. Instructors don’t lower the bar for anyone—they make you work your ass off to meet it. “Some women are intimidated when they see a workout like 50 pullups, pushups, and squats because they assume they can’t do it,” says Alison Jones, a coach at CrossFit Chicago. “But the challenge empowers them. They get a chance to do things they thought were impossible.” Try this (equipment-free!) 20-minute CrossFit workout. Do as many rounds as you can, taking only five to 10 seconds to rest while moving between exercises: five pushups, 10 body-weight squats, five burpees (squat down, place your hands on the ground, jump back into a pushup position, then reverse the motion to stand), and 10 situps. Sound intense? Well, that’s the point. “There’s just no way around it: If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re not working hard enough,” says coach and trainer Chris Clark, the other half of the duo that owns Tiger Athletics. “But once you get through that temporary pain, you really get to feel—and see—the rewards of training.” Thankfully, you don’t need to go all out during every session. In fact, Clark says only 20 percent of your workouts should be high intensity. That means if you exercise five times a week, just one day should be killer. And remember: In less than half an hour, you’ll be done and hitting the shower. Article from Womens Health Magazine
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Lose that Lower Gut Flab
June 23, 2011 by
From LOSING IT! With Jillian Michaels
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Lose That Lower Gut Flab
Ugh, the lower gut — it’s often the last thing to go, right? Lower-abdominal flab can be downright persistent, but it can be reduced with the right diet and exercise regimen. If your gut instincts are telling you to start crunching, you’re on the right track. Although crunches by themselves won’t burn belly fat, they will strengthen your core, burn intramuscular fat, and help you build lean, calorie-burning muscle. If you want an exercise that specifically targets the lower and transverse abs, try the Reverse Crunch.
Reverse Crunch
- Lie on your back with your feet off the floor, knees bent, and ankles together. Bring the tops of your quads inward and onto your stomach so that you don’t swing your legs to gain momentum during the movement. (This also helps you isolate your lower abs during the crunch instead of engaging the hip flexors.) Relax your head, neck, and shoulders, resting them on the floor. Rest your arms at your sides, palms facedown on the floor.
- Lift your pelvis off the floor, and curl it toward your rib cage. Make sure to exhale fully while you’re crunching in order to maximize the contraction.
If you really want a challenge, hold your arms out at your sides and several inches off the floor. This helps to further isolate your abs, prohibiting your arms from assisting in the crunch by pressing off the floor with your hands.
