There has never been a better time to take stock of your life than right now. This moment is the beginning of the New Year. It is the beginning of resolutions to lose fat and get fit. However, 2006 promises to be another year that we grow fatter and unhealthier. Use these 7 healthy habits to go against the tide and create a vibrant year.

Habit 1- Eat Regularly. Eat small meals every 3-4 hours. Skipping meals can lead to unstable blood sugar levels which can cause fatigue or restlessness. Eating throughout the day causes stable moods and a healthier metabolism.

Habit 2- Eat Lightly. Each meal should contain a complex carbohydrate and a lean protein. Keep high fat foods or salty snacks out of the pantry. Once sugar and salt are kept to a minimum, the body begins to heal and crave fresh, healthy foods.

Habit 3- Do Not Smoke. There is not one positive fact on smoking. Cigarettes cause the human body to deteriorate at ridiculous levels. Quitting smoking is the number one way to improve health drastically. Also be aware of second hand smoke. It can be just as harmful.

Habit 4- Consume Alcohol in Moderation. A bottle of beer or glass of wine each day is realistic. However, drinking more than three servings daily is a bit much and puts the body at risk. Moderation is certainly important.

Habit 5- Sleep 7-9 Hours Each Night. Deep, peaceful sleep rejuvenates the body. It relaxes the mind and replenishes the soul. Irregular sleeping patterns can lead to mood swings and poor nutrition. The trick is to receive 7-9 hours of sleep each night as opposed to a few nights out of the week.

Habit 6- Exercise Regularly. Get active and promote health and fitness by participating in a fitness program. Combine cardio, strength training and stretching for a balanced approach. Learning how to strengthen the body will improve mood and sleep patterns.

Habit 7- Consult With the Professionals. Tackling each of the above habits can be a nightmare. That is why habit 7 is the most important habit of all. Consulting with a nutritionist or personal trainer can be motivating as well as insightful. The best way to trim the fat and get in shape is to follow the advice of industry professionals.

2006 does not have to be the same as last year. The promise of a better life is in reach. Fueling the body with healthy habits will create a happier and healthier world. Eat regularly and lightly, do not smoke or drink a lot of alcohol, sleep and exercise consistently and ask your personal trainer or nutritionist the best way to stay fit.

A Step-by-Step Guide: How to Melt the Fat & Gain a Life is a viable alternative for those without the income or desire to meet with a trainer or nutritionist. This interactive guide comes complete with over 200 exercise photos, over 160 daily meal by meal menus, over 60 secrets to motivation and tons more. It provides a jump start for weight loss seekers and those looking to get healthy and fit in 2006.

Copyright 2005 strength-training-woman.com

To learn more about the Melt the Fat Program, please visit http://melt-the-fat.com. Lynn VanDyke is an elite fitness trainer and sports nutritionist dedicated to helping you achieve your fat loss goals in 2006.

Tags: 2006, diet, exercise, fitness, Habits, happy, health, healthy, Lynn VanDyke, nutrition, workout2006, diet, exercise, fitness, Habits, happy, health, healthy, Lynn VanDyke, nutrition, workout

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Very few people possess the knowledge needed to successfully gain muscle or lose fat. A person may know how to lose weight but most of you don`t know how to keep all of your hard earned muscle in the process. On the flip side, you may know how to gain muscle, but you need to learn how to gain this muscle without the fear of fat gain. I am going to discuss the basics of bulking and cutting and hopefully give you the knowledge needed to complete your next bulking or cutting diet.

Bulking is simply eating more calories than what you are used to eating, but it`s not as simple as it seems. Your calories need to be from healthy bodybuilding foods and not from junk foods like pizza, chips, and cookies. The other hard part of bulking is determining your BMR or basal metabolic Rate.(Your BMR is basically the number of calories you’d burn if you stayed in bed all day.) To start, you should eat 500 calories over maintanance everyday. If you your gaining to much fat after a week reduce that number to 300. If you seem to not be getting any bigger then you should increase that number to 700 calories.

While cutting, your prime concern should be keeping muscle loss to a minimum. That is why you don`t want to crash diet and try losing weight to fast or you`re most likely going to lose most of your hard earned muscle. To start, you should lower your calories from your BMR to roughly 300 fewer calories a day. You can change that number according to the results but 300 is a good number to start out at. You can either eat less food or do more cardiovascular exercise to burn these calories. How you do it will depend on the individual.

Some bodybuilders like to bulk up to the size of elephants before they decide that they`ve gained to much fat, and then they go on a cutting diet. Others seem to always be sporting a low bodyfat percentage year round and slowly gain muscle as time goes on. Again, how you go about it will depend on personal preferance. I always try to stay relatively lean even during the offseason because I cannot stand the thought of gaining fat.

So can I gain muscle while losing bodyfat as well? Some bodybuilders genetics allow for this while most of us sit in aww wondering how they did it. The use of steroids allow for fat loss and muscle gain at the same time but should only be used by experienced trainee`s who know how to properly bulk and cut without the use of them. You need to decide what you want to do with your body right now. Do you carry around to much fat, are you to skinny, to small in the upper body? All of these factors determine what you decide to do with yourself. You are the only one responsible for the results you recieve. Until next time, later.

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Tags: bodybuilding, diet, fitness, gain muscle, lose weight, supplements, weight lossbodybuilding, diet, fitness, gain muscle, lose weight, supplements, weight loss

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1. Stop smoking.

All the experts agree on this one. Ever since 1960 when it was announced that smoking was harmful to your health, people have been reducing their use of tobacco products. Just recently, we’ve seen a surge in smoking in adolescents and teens. Warn your children of the false romance or ‘tough guy’ image of smokers. Find ways to quit smoking such as hypnosis and support groups.

2. Eat foods rich in beta-carotenes.

They can cut your risk of a stroke by 40 percent. Foods rich in beta-carotenes include carrots, cabbage, winter squash, sweet potatoes, dark leafy greens, apricots, and seaweed.

3. Exercise.

Make it your daily challenge to find ways to move your body. Climb stairs if given a choice between that and escalators or elevators. Walk your dog; chase your kids; toss balls with friends, mow the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it’s a stress buster. Think ‘move’ in small increments of time. It doesn’t have to be an hour in the gym or a 45-minute aerobic dance class or tai chi or kickboxing. But that’s great when you’re up to it. Move more and feel better!

4. Avoid restrictive diets.

Frequent dieting, fasting, binging and purging imbalance your electrolyte levels, causing weakening of the heart muscle and damage to the heart.

5. Reduce your exposure to pollution.

If you can’t live in a smog-free environment, at least avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low. Exercise indoors in air conditioning when air quality is good. Plant lots of shrubbery in your yard. It’s a good pollution deterrent.

6. Don’t drink too much alcohol.

Whilst it is true that a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more alcohol than that, or binge drinking on a night out, can cause other serious health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer.

7. Reduce stress.

Stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. (i.e., go back to number one above!, exercise is a great stress reducer, Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie. Get a massage, a facial or a haircut. Meditate. Count to ten before losing your temper or getting aggravated. Avoid difficult people when possible.

8. Cut down on fat.

Avoid the obvious such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats (i.e. pork, bacon, ham, salami, ribs and sausage). Dairy products such as cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream should be eaten in low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts. Most are available in lower fat versions such as substitute butter, fat free cheeses and mayonnaise.

9. Keep a positive mental outlook.

There’s a definitive connection between living well and healthily and having a cheerful outlook on life. Yes, keep on smiling and laughing!

10. Avoid processed foods.

The food industry aims at making products look and taste appealing without thought to the products’ nutritional value. Loaded with chemical additives and designed to be addictive, processed food is manufactured first for profit.

Stay clear of them!!!

Tim Godfrey is co-author of the healthy dieting book -’Mediterranean Diet Secrets’.

To receive all the latest dieting news and learn more about the book visit: http://www.mediterraneandietsecrets.com

Tags: diet, mediterranean diet, nutrition, Weightlossdiet, mediterranean diet, nutrition, Weightloss

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