Why You Should Stop Counting Calories

Before you bust a button, hear me out. Labels and exercise machines both have their appropriate place. A label is great for showing the vitamins, minerals, and ingredients in our food. An exercise machine is great for getting people off the couch and working out. My beef with labels and machines is not what they do per se, but the myth they perpetuate. Through their function, they feed into a way of thinking about weight loss that actually makes it harder to control weight. They've turned us into a community of heavies who worship at the altar of one seemingly omnipotent number: the calorie. With every food you eat and with every workout you finish, you look at how many calories come in and how many calories go out. It's the turnstile theory of weight loss: If you exercise away more than you take in, than you'll lose weight. Experts tell us that a pound of fat contains roughly 3,500 calories, so if you simply delete 500 calories from your daily meals, increase your daily exercise by 500 calories, or some combination thereof, you'll lose a pound of fat a week. That sounds great in theory, but in real life, the whole concept of calorie management is more likely to make you lose heart than lose weight. You hump it on the stair climber for 30 minutes and sweat your butt off. When you see the final readout - "Workout Completed; 300 Calories Burned!" - you feel like you've chipped away at your belly and gotten closer to your goal. That is, until you reach for a midnight snack and see that a serving and a half of bran flakes also equals 300 calories. What took 30 minutes to burn takes 30 seconds to dust off. It's a psychological diet killer. Of course, there's nothing wrong with using nutritional labels to track what you eat or as a deterrent to stay away from high-calorie foods. And it can be helpful to use machine readout to gauge the intensity of your exercise. But you will derail your weight loss efforts if you keep focusing on the number of calories you take in during meals and the number of calories you burn off during exercise. You need to focus, rather, on what is happening inside your body during the rest of your day - when you're working, sleeping, or just sitting still right now reading this article. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7300238

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Why You Can't Lose Weight and How to Solve It

When you've been trying really hard but you can't lose weight, it can be very frustrating and discouraging. But don't let your frustrations make you quit altogether. Usually it's only a small change which needs to implemented to help kick-start your fat loss. Here's 4 reasons why you can't slim down and what to do about it. You're not burning enough calories In order to lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit. What this means is that you need to burn more calories than you consume. The best way to burn calories is to exercise and be more active. Aim for 4-5 workouts a week of 30-60 minutes at a time. If that's not enough to make you lose a few pounds, you should check your diet. You're wasting your time on the wrong exercises Losing centimeters is difficult to do and if you do boring, ineffective exercises you will end up saying "I can't lose weight". Don't waste your previous exercise time by doing slow-steady cardio and light weight training. For best results, combine cardio interval training with weight training. And for max fat burn, do your cardio after your weights. You're not keeping track of your calorie intake Are you writing down exactly what you eat and when? If you are not, it might be the reason why you can't seem to lose any more weight. Keep a diary of every bite, lick and taste that you take. And make sure to stick to your daily calorie requirements (TDEE) to lose weight. A plateau could be to blame If you've been successfully losing, and then your weight flatlines, you may be experiencing a plateau. Now's the time to mix things up. Include new and exciting recipes in your meals and do a different exercise program to get out of this dreaded plateau. Check your other measurements There have been plenty of times when I thought I couldn't lose weight. Then I'd check my measurements with the help of a tape measure, and guess what? I did lose a lot of centimeters. Don't just take your weight as an indication of progress, also take your measurements twice a month to track your progress. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7294004

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Daily Foot Care Tips

It's a fact that most people don't pay much attention to their feet until and unless they start aching or there's a problem that leads to decrease in the level and quality of the sufferer's activity. Foot care tips do not mean simply getting a pedicure or massage which is opposite to the common belief. There are certain things which both women and men could do to keep their feet healthy! Foot care tips for great health of the foot: - Most important, keep your feet dry and clean. Wash them daily and apply lotion on cracked or dry heels. - Don't cut the nails too short or else infection or in-grown toenails could happen, so just trim them regularly. - Make use of a pumice stone to make the rough skin areas on the feet soft and smooth but do not "shave" or "trim" calluses and corns. - Make sure that you wear clean socks daily and that they can absorb sweat to let your feet breathe properly. The socks must not be constrictive since proper blood flow is necessary to foot care. - Wear well-fitting shoes. Ensure that it provides your feet with sufficient cushioning and support. Also, the toe box must be large enough so that your feet are not agonizingly squeezed or crammed out of position. - Avoid wearing high heels always. On days off or weekends, foot care must include well-cushioned flat shoes which protect and support the feet. - Examine your shoes for obstructions such as pebbles before wearing them as it can lead to abrasions or variations in gait patterns. Besides daily care, at times the achy feet requires a bit of TLC. There are various foot care tips which will work within any budget: - To relax the tendons and muscles in the feet especially the calf muscles, soak your feet for 20 minutes in hot water then rub them down thoroughly with cream. - Adding Epsom salt in the water will reduce pain in the foot and increase healing. - For enhanced foot care, try this remedy at home: prepare a pot of dark and rich tea then put it in cool water. This soothing foot soak eases discomfort and gets rid of foot odour as well. - To reduce achiness and swelling after a long tiring day, lift up your feet. For extra comfort, place a cushion underneath your legs to prevent the impairment of circulation. - Make use of orthotic devices inside your shoes for additional cushioning or support. Another essential factor in good foot care is the quality and fit of footwear. Foot orthoses can help a lot in improving foot health. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7297738

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Diabetic Feet Advice

Diabetic Feet needs special care and attention, as they are amongst the major causes of health problems as well as hospitalization as a result of issues of impaired circulation and nerve damage. A Diabetic may suffer from numbness in their lower leg and feet which may lead to minor issues escalate into bigger more serious health problems, like an infection or amputation of a foot or toes. Since diabetics can't depend on sensations of pain to indicate injury or problems, their feet must be thoroughly examined on a regular basis. Following are some of the various definite kinds of pathology associated with diabetic feet: Impaired Circulation: Decreased circulation means decreased nutrition to diabetic feet which eventually causes foot ulcerations that may not heal easily and may lead to infection. Nerve Damage: This often causes the lack of sensation in the feet and sometimes unpleasant sensations such as pain, burning, tingling or coldness can occur. If proper care is not taken, the lack of sensation can make the feet 'rest' in abnormal positions, that may ultimately lead to the disintegration of joints or bones over time. Foot Ulcers: Ulcers usually develop due to tissue breakdown in diabetic feet, and since they take a lot of time for healing in such kind of patients the feet becomes susceptible to infection. Calluses and Blisters: Diabetics are easily susceptible to developing calluses and blisters, making the foot vulnerable to infection. Bone Infection: Though it's a slightly more rare condition compared to others, this is an extremely serious complication which takes place when the tissue breakdown reaches the bone. This can cause secondary bone infection moreover it can also lead to amputation of foot in some cases. Since diabetic feet are a lot more vulnerable to infection and injury here are some steps that must always be taken in order to minimize the possibility of secondary issues: - Avoid walking barefoot to prevent cuts and bruises on the foot. - Make sure to wash the feet everyday and see to it that the water should not be too hot- test its temperature with your hand prior to submerging your feet. - While trimming nails special care must be taken as infection from even minor wounds can develop easily in diabetic feet. - Apply heavy cream on the feet so that the skin is resilient and supple and is prevented from the development of cracks due to excessive dryness. - Keep the feet dry and warm. In case a diabetic is exposed to snow or rain make sure that the feet is properly dried and cautiously warmed. The feet should not be placed directly near a fireplace or on a radiator because extreme heat won't be recognized in case of nerve damage. - All types of blister, ulcer, and abrasion, change of color in the skin, redness and swelling must be examined by a doctor. - Don't smoke as smoking further decreases circulation and increases risks related with diabetic feet. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7297737

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