2 Keys to a Healthier Life

I've been hearing a lot about metabolic syndrome, but really didn't know what it meant. So I did some research.

According to PubMed Health, a website specializing in reviews of clinical effectiveness research with easy-to-read summaries for consumers, metabolic syndrome is a combination of risk factors including a large waist size, high triglycerides, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. More and more Americans are being diagnosed with the syndrome, as more and more Americans struggle with weight issues. This is cause for concern, as complications from these risk factors include Type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, peripheral artery disease - none of which sound like fun.

The good news is that we have the power to control, or even prevent all of these dire consequences by doing two simple things; 1) If you smoke, quit, and 2) Lose weight. Isn't that amazing? As I've said before, it's not easy easy, but it is simple. In order to lose weight, we need to do two things.

Key #1 We need pay attention to what we eat. Limit the red meat and eat more oily fish. Examples of oily fish are: Salmon, Mackerel, Trout, Tuna, Herring, Swordfish, Carp, and Eel. Anybody got any good eel recipes? I've written before about what's working for me is to cut way back on my carbs, getting most of them from fruit and veggies. But we all lose weight differently. The trick is finding out what works for you.

Key #2 According to the site, we need to do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days. If you're ADD like me, sometimes it's easier to do three 10 minute walks, and that's okay, it counts. Find something that you enjoy doing so it doesn't feel like torture. I am so lucky that where I live there are multiple, gorgeous places to walk, and the weather is never too bad. My friend, Nan, who lives in beautiful Vermont, but where the winters are long and cold, swears by Leslie Sansone and her Walk at Home DV's. I just checked out the site, and it looks like fun. I think I'll buy one for windy, rainy days like today is here.

We need to keep track of our cholesterol levels and our blood pressure. If you need to be on medication, take it, but losing weight and exercising can help get both of those things under control. Isn't that cool?

As I've been learning more and more about people living with chronic conditions, I'm becoming increasingly aware of how what we eat and how much we move our bodies are the keys to how we manage those conditions. So many of those chronic illnesses are within our own power to manage. Realizing I have that power makes it a lot easier for me to eat right and get out there and go for a walk.

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Jan Fowler Folsom is a Professional Health Coach specializing in helping baby boomers successfully deal with their chronic health issues so they can live their most vibrant lives. For more information, visit http://www.healthhappenscoaching.com

Patience During Weight Loss

So you've made the decision that you want to change your lifestyle and lose weight.

That's great! Good for you.

Diets and lifestyle changes can be hard though. Most people, when embarking on a long and life changing journey like this, will give up within the first couple of weeks. Why do they give up and why are the odds stacked against you when you start? Well, there are essentially two reasons which I've deduced, based purely on my own experience.

First, the first few weeks of intense willpower and discipline it takes for new habit formation can simply be too much for someone to sustain. That's why it's important to make these first few weeks as easy and as psychologically pleasant as possible. I've detailed more about willpower and what it takes in the first few weeks of a new diet and exercise regimen in previous articles. The second reason many people don't follow through with their new lifestyle is because they haven't seen any significant changes in their body and/or weight in the first few weeks of their new journey.

Simply said, it takes patience to see those kinds of changes.

Don't get me wrong, if you're doing things right you should see at least a little bit of a decrease in that number on the scale but for many people that isn't enough so they get discouraged.

This can happen for a number of reasons.

Either they have been duped by some fad magic diet that promises substantial results fast but doesn't deliver the numbers it purports. Or they have deluded themselves into thinking that that one or two pound loss isn't enough and doesn't mean real progress.

These people want to see a loss of five to ten pounds in a week because that's what shows like "The Biggest Loser" would have you believe is healthy and possible in a new weight loss regimen.

Just like willpower and discipline, patience is extremely hard to endure until you're used to it.

Real progress in a weight loss program should follow the extremely wise adage that applies for most anything else. Slow and steady wins the race.

Patience is one of the hardest things to deal with in a weight loss program, and it's completely understandable that you'd want the weight to come off as soon as possible, but if you have a good habit in place of recording your food and eating well, along with some exercise, you'll hardly think about how long it's taking.

In addition, you have to be wanting to change for yourself and for your own personal reasons. You have to want to better yourself for yourself, otherwise it will never work.

In essence, if you've made the decision to change for good, patience, willpower and discipline should be non issues. They should simply be things that have to be dealt with in making a new life for yourself.

In summary, the best way to deal with the weight not coming off as fast as you want it to is to simply resign yourself to realizing that change doesn't happen overnight and in the case of substantial weight loss it could take a year or more.

What's the best way to deal with this long wait for change though?

I think, it's best to just try to be happy with your progress so far and keep reminding yourself how good it feels to be healthier than you were, even if it's just a little bit healthier.

It's also important to remember, as i've outlined before, that you don't have to be perfect in your habits, that can drive even the most strong willed person nuts. Just try your best.

If you really want to change, you'll be patient and deal with the annoying stuff as it comes.

Visit the How to Lose the Gut Website at http://www.howtolosethegut.com for more articles and info!

Lose Tummy Fat - Tips From the Experts

If you are seriously considering getting rid of your stomach fat, it is good to know that there are many ways on how you can lose tummy fat. You must make sure to perform exercises that directly target the stomach area so that attempts are not useless. Since there are many exercise programs available for you, it can be a challenge to find one that will work best for you. However, if youre able to find the perfect program applicable for you, one effort is all worth it in the end. Out of all the programs available which are all declaring that they are the best, how will you make sure that the program that you will choose is the one which is really the best?

For a fast fat loss, it absolutely helps if you take in consideration of your bodys needs and structure when choosing the best type of exercise suitable for you. One type of program may be effective for one person, but will totally be ineffective for the other. Even if you keep on doing the routine for a thousand times, if it is not apt for your body type then it is useless. This is one of the most important things that you should regard in choosing the perfect exercise for you. Doing so will hasten your goal of losing body fat.

To lose body fat fast, make sure that you are committed to it and you are willing to do whatever it takes to make the most of getting the body that you want. It would also be a good motivation to anticipate the results that you will get when you are giving your best in attaining it.

To find the most appropriate program for getting the result that you want in the fastest time possible is the most important factor you should give importance to. One persons specific body need is different from anothers that is the very reason why every person requires a different program from the other. You must know which specific part of your body you need to target, so that you can focus on losing body fats on such area.

It is very essential to know what exactly it is that you want to achieve prior to deciding on the workout program that you will commit to. If you want to lose tummy fat, then focus on doing exercises which targets only the stomach area.

Make sure that you perform only the effective ways on how to get rid of stomach fat. For tips specifically coming only from the experts, visit http://www.howtoloosetummyfat.org/

How to Diet to Lose Belly Fat

When it comes to staying in good shape and losing weight, the first place that most people look to is straight down: the belly. Belly fat is a serious problem for many people, and many around the world that have thin arms and legs still have belly fat. Getting rid of your tummy fat wont be easy, but there are things that you can do to help get rid of it.

The main thing that you will need to do to trim down the stomach fat is to exercise. Exercise is the only way that you can effectively trim down that extra fat on your stomach. While people think that doing ab exercises will turn the fat into muscle, it is far more important to spend enough time working out every other part of your body if you really want to trim down that excess chub.

Your diet that is the most important factor,you can not out train a bad diet, and there are a few things that you need to cut down on in order to lose belly fat:

Fatty foods add to your belly and need to be avoided like the plague. This includes take aways, fizzy drinks and all other obvious rubbish that we all love to consume.

Sweets are as effective as fatty foods at packing on the pounds, and cutting sweets out of your diet altogether is the only way to cut down on the tummy fat. Sweets have a lot of sugar, and it is hard for the body to use all of this energy.

Sweets have more sugar than your body can process, meaning that your body has to store the rest of the sugar in the form of fat.

Starchy foods are very heavy for the stomach to digest, and foods like white rice, white bread, potatoes, and noodles can all be very heavy on the calories when consumed in large portions. By reducing the amount of starchy foods that you eat, you will find that you can lose the stomach fat much easier.

There are also foods that you need to give priority in your diet:

Water needs to be consumed in order to lose weight. Water flushes out your body, gives you hydration for your exercise, and infuses your body with life. There are no downsides to drinking water, and increasing your water intake will only make you healthier.

Vegetables are a vital part of losing belly fat. The more vegetables you eat, the more nutrients your body will have. Veggies are low in fat, meaning that there is no chance of adding onto your stomach fat when eating your greens.

Lean proteins are also required in the battle to lose weight. Protein helps your body build muscle, and nothing burns fat faster than muscles. If you want to lose your stomach fat fast, then you should increase the amount of turkey and chicken breast, beans, lentils, fish, and other lean proteins that you eat.

Darragh Holland is a Fermanagh Personal Trainer and also runs his own Bootcamps.
He has helped people to lose weight and get toned so be sure to check out his Fermanagh personal training studio.