What Is Pilates?

Pilates is a body conditioning method that seeks to build strength, coordination, flexibility and endurance without adding any muscle bulk.

Pilates also helps increase the circulation which gets the blood flowing to every cell of your body.

It also helps to sculpt the body as well as strengthen the body’s -powerhouse- or -core-.

People who faithfully do Pilates feel that they are less prone to injury, have better posture and experience better overall health.

Joseph H. Pilates who founded the Pilates method was born in Germany. He was especially frail as a child as he had asthma along with other childhood conditions.

In order to grow stronger and to build up his body, he took up a variety of sports and even became an accomplished athlete. He served as a nurse during the First World War in Great Britain.

It was here that he designed exercise methods as well as equipment for soldiers and other immobilized patients.

Pilates also developed a series of exercises that used a mat which focused on the torso. These exercises were based upon different exercise methods from all over the world including the mind-body formats of Chinese martial arts and yoga.

Joseph Pilates believed that our mental and physical health are all intertwined. His exercise program was designed around principles that support his philosophy.

These include concentration, control, flowing movements, precision and breathing.

There are two basic ways to exercise doing Pilates. You can either focus on mat exercises or you can use a variety of machines to strengthen and tone the body using the principle of resistance.

Author: Ute Schaedler, Health, Fitness, Marketing & Publishing. If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription.

Read More

• A Life Of Health And Fitness
• Yoga Pilates Basics
• Joseph Pilates
• Personal Pilates Exercise
• Benefits of Pilates

Curb Your Hunger and Lose More Than 10 Pounds

The hardest part of changing the way you eat is to eliminate hunger pangs and cravings. The body has been so used to being full all the time that it causes you to eat in-between meals. This habit is certainly one of the leading causes of unnecessary weight gain. Most of the time, the food you eat during snacks are unhealthy although satiating. That is why it is important to know how to curb your hunger. Not only will this cause you to lose more weight and faster but also adapt a healthier lifestyle free of extra calories and fats.

Hunger, Satisfaction and Your Appetite

Most people believe that these three terms share a common meaning. That is not the case, however. The appetite doesn’t necessarily mean hunger while hunger is not satiety or satisfaction. For starters, the appetite is more synonymous to cravings. It is characterized by a strong desire to eat a particular kind of food, i.e. “I have an appetite for chocolate cake right now.”

On the other hand, hunger is a condition that usually occurs when the body is in dire need of nutrition. It is accentuated by shakiness, edginess, headache, and growling of the stomach. Lastly, satisfaction or satiety is simply the feeling of fulfillment or fullness. Most often, people stop eating when they are already satiated.

Factors That Play a Major Role

The three terms associated with eating (hunger, appetite and satisfaction) are affected by certain hormones of the body such as leptin, cholecystokin, ghrelin and insulin. All of these hormones cause the body to experience specific needs for nourishment. In addition, they affect a person’s behavior and thoughts in relation to hunger, satisfaction and appetite.

One popular example of this is when a person feels an intense desire to eat more even if he or she already ate enough. During this circumstance, the endocrine gland produces excessive hormones that cause the person’s satiety level. The overproduction of the hormone leptin can also induce intense appetite sometimes causing the person to desire highly unhealthy foods.

Managing Your Hunger

There are several ways that can help you manage your hunger effectively. Creating irregular eating periods can cause the body to adapt to the new meal schedule. This doesn’t mean, though, that you should eat erratically but rather scatter meals all throughout the day.

Consuming less starchy and sugar-filled meals can also decrease your hunger levels. Excessive consumption of sugar can cause fluctuations of your blood sugar that will not only affect the way you lose weight but also cause eventual diabetes. Lastly, simple elimination of hunger and appetite stimuli can help manage the weight better. Make sure you decrease the amount of unhealthy desserts and snacks at your home.

Managing Your Satiety

It is important to know that there are several factors that contribute to increase satiety. One is lessening the time gap between meals or eating every two to three hours. Also, eating a high protein diet can also cause effective satiety since protein has been known to cause satiety.

Fiber, which helps digestion and clean the digestive tract, can also cause prolonged satiety since the body needs more time to digest fiber enriched foods. Incorporating fiber and protein rich food in your diet can effectively curb your hunger.

Author: Ute Schaedler, Health, Fitness, Marketing & Publishing. If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription.

Read More

• Are Weight Loss Supplements Useful?
• A Life Of Health And Fitness
• Diet Mistakes
• Diet Secrets of the Stars
• Teenage Diet Plans

Are Weight Loss Supplements Useful?

It doesn’t matter what you are doing – browsing the Internet, surfing cable, or flipping through your favorite magazine – you will find plenty of advertisements that promote the magical qualities of weight loss supplements.

Weight loss supplements come in all manner of shapes, sizes and styles and have a range of claims and solutions.

And there are all manner of claims – from pills, patches and creams. But do these cures really work? Only you can decide that for yourself. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular weight loss products and the positive benefits and negative effects of each, so you can make up your own mind.

Bitter Orange, Citrus Aurantium, and Sour Orange: These products are made directly from concentrated extracts from orange peel. They often claim that they increase metabolism, but there has been no conclusive tests to back this up. Bitter Orange, Citrus Aurantium, and Sour Orange contain the stimulant synephrine, which can cause hypertension and cardiovascular toxicity. Individuals with heart disease, hypertension, and glaucoma should avoid these at all costs.

Chromium (Examples of Chromium products include Puritan’s Pride Chromium Picolinate, Vitamin World Naturally Inspired Yeast Free Chromium Picolinate, Nutrilite Trim Advantage): The claims that chromium increases weight loss and improves body composition have been backed by one main study which proved this to be the case. There are two types of chromium: Trivalent (which the body requires and is considered safe in doses of 200 micrograms or less daily) and Hexavalent (but this form can cause stomach upsets, ulcers, convulsions, kidney and liver diseases, and death).

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) (Examples of this product include Vitamin World CLA, Nature Made CLA, Now Foods CLA): This product claims to promote leanness, but there are very few studies that actually support the marketing claims. While more research is needed, CLA is generally safe.

Ephedra/Ephedrine: Ephedra may aid weight loss by suppressing appetite, and research has proven its effectiveness when used with caffeine. However, ephedra causes high blood pressure, stroke, and serious heart problems, which is why the sale of dietary supplements containing ephedra was prohibited in April 2004.

7-Keto Dehydroepiandrosterone (7-keto DHEA): Preliminary research indicates that this product may decrease body weight and fat composition by increasing metabolism, but larger research studies are needed.

Hydroxycitric Acid (HCA) and Garcinia Cambogia: These products claim to suppress appetite and improve fat metabolism. While studies have shown mixed results, they are generally safe.

L-Carnitine: L-Carnitine claims to inhibit obesity, but there is very little evidence of its effectiveness.

Dihydroxyacetone (DHA), Pyruvate, and Dihydroxyacetone and Pyruvate (DHAP): A few small studies suggest that these supplements may have modest effects on weight loss, but research is needed. Presently, no serious side effects have been reported.

Lecithin, Guar Gum, Psyllium Hulls, Chickweed, and Chitosan (Examples: Chito-Trim, Exercise in a Bottle, Fat Blocker—Chitosan Complex, Fat Grabbers, Fat Trapper, Fat Trapper Plus, Metabo Fat Blocker, Miracletab, Now Chitosan with Chromium): These products claim to help break down fat so that it can be absorbed, emulsified, trapped, and eliminated by the body. There is currently no competent and reliable scientific research to support such claims.

Author: Ute Schaedler, Health, Fitness, Marketing & Publishing. If you enjoyed reading the above, please consider following future tips and strategies by RSS reader, Email delivery, or Kindle subscription.

Read More

• A Life Of Health And Fitness
• Diet Mistakes
• Diet Secrets of the Stars
• Teenage Diet Plans
• Weight Loss And Healthy Food