The Importance of Drinking Water

You might not be aware of the importance of drinking water, but your health is dependent on your body getting an adequate supply of water.

The human body is anywhere from 55% to 78% water depending on age, gender and amount of body fat, and water is essential to human life. Water forms the basis for all fluids in the body, such as blood and digestive juices, and water is the catalyst in all metabolic functions throughout the body.

Your body is dynamic and always changing, and this is especially true with regard to water in your body. You lose water routinely when your body performs normal functions such as breathing, sweating and eliminating waste. In a typical day, you need to consume a substantial amount of water to replace this routine loss.

Here are the primary health benefits of water:

Water removes toxins and waste products from the body. Water carries nutrients to the cells of the body. Water regulates vitamin and mineral metabolism. Water helps the body metabolize stored fat. Water enhances digestion and helps prevent constipation. Drinking more water can often reduce joint pain and back pain.

Water is also the best type of fluid to drink to stay well hydrated because water is processed by the body differently than other types of fluids.

It's commonly said that you should drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day to stay healthy, but this is just a general rule. The amount can vary widely from person to person depending on factors such as age, physical condition, activity level and climate. If you drink enough water so you rarely feel thirsty and you produce urine that's clear or light yellow, your water intake is most likely adequate.

You also need to make sure that the water you drink is as clean and healthy as possible. This is why I recommend drinking filtered water instead of tap water or bottled water.

Tap water contains trace amounts of a variety of contaminants such as chlorine, lead and pesticides. Bottled water is often little more than tap water in a bottle. There are no government standards that require bottled water to be any better, purer or safer than tap water.

Using a high quality water filter like the Aqausana faucet water filter is the only way to ensure that the water you drink is clean and healthy. To learn more about the Aqausana faucet water filter, Click Here.

In conclusion, don't underestimate the importance of drinking water. Drinking plenty of good, clean water is one of the best things you can do for your health.

The Importance of Drinking Water > Hydration Articles

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Exercise Motivation

Why do many people lack exercise motivation and avoid working out? With all of the health benefits that exercise provides, why would someone continue to lead a sedentary lifestyle?

For many people it's because of the negative thoughts and attitudes they have about exercise.

You might think that you're in total conscious control of your behavior, but it's really your subconscious mind that controls your behavior. If you program your subconscious mind with negative thoughts and attitudes often enough, your subconscious mind will guide your behavior based on these thoughts and attitudes.

If you know you should exercise but you can't seem to get yourself to do it, it's most likely because of the negative thoughts and attitudes about exercise that are in your subconscious mind.

No matter how bad you might feel about your poor fitness level, you'll never exercise on a regular basis until you lose these negative thoughts and attitudes and replace them with positive ones. People who work out on a regular basis have positive thoughts and attitudes about exercise.

If you've constantly struggled with exercise motivation and you're not sure if you'll ever be able to work out on a regular basis, you need to learn about a company called Think Right Now! and its behavior modification programs. Think Right Now! programs are not just information or advice, they actually alter your thoughts, attitudes, beliefs and emotional habits using a simple, proven method.

Think Right Now! has a program called I Love Exercising Now! that repatterns your thoughts and attitudes about yourself, your health, and about exercise. The program targets your subconscious mind and helps you replace negative thoughts and attitudes that cause you to avoid exercise with positive thoughts and attitudes that cause you to look forward to your next workout.

I Love Exercising Now! is a proven program that has helped thousands of people make exercise a regular and enjoyable part of their lives. Click here to learn more about the program

Exercise Motivation > Exercise Articles

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Top 3 Myths About Aging

There are a lot of myths about aging. Here are three of the most common myths and the truth behind the fiction.

1. Disease is inevitable as you get older.

While it's true that older people have a higher risk of developing certain diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes, than younger people, it's not true that the primary cause of these diseases is age. For many older people, the primary cause of disease is an unhealthy diet and a lack of exercise.

It's been proven over and over again by multiple studies that healthy eating and regular exercise help prevent many of the common diseases that plague so many older people. And even if someone already suffers from one of these diseases, healthy eating and regular exercise can help alleviate the disease.

2. Muscle loss and weakness are inevitable as you get older.

Muscle loss and loss of strength are not the normal result of aging, they're primarily the result of a sedentary lifestyle. You have to use your muscles or they will waste away. Once the average sedentary person reaches age 65, they will have lost up to 40% of their muscle mass compared to when they were young adults.

Multiple studies have shown that older people respond very well to strength training and are able to increase lean muscle mass and strength very effectively. Even older people in nursing homes have been able to increase lean muscle mass and strength when put on an appropriate strength training program.

Strength training also helps keep bones strong, and it can sometimes even reverse bone loss. Weight bearing exercises like walking and running also help keep bones strong.

3. Increased body fat is inevitable as you get older.

Just like with muscle loss and loss of strength, increased body fat is not the normal result of getting older, it's primarily the result of a sedentary lifestyle, as well as unhealthy eating.

Many people are able to eat an unhealthy diet when they're younger and not get fat because of how active they are when they're younger. But once they get older and start leading a sedentary lifestyle, the pounds and the body fat start piling on. Regular exercise and healthy eating will keep body fat off at any age, but especially once someone gets older.

In conclusion, don't buy in to these three common myths about aging like so many people mistakenly do. You can be fit and healthy and look and feel good at any age.

Fit Over 40 is a great resource that can help you stay fit and healthy as you get older. It contains plenty of information and advice that can help slow down the aging process. To learn more about Fit Over 40, Click Here.

Top 3 Myths About Aging > Antiaging Articles

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Are You Skinny Fat?

Even if you're not overweight you may still be skinny fat. Here's what you need to know about this common condition.

There are plenty of people whose weight is normal or low based on Body Mass Index (BMI) or height and weight charts but they're actually not very fit or healthy.

This is because they're skinny fat, which means they have poor body composition - a high amount of body fat compared to the amount of lean mass (muscle, bones etc.).

For example, a 5'5", 110 pound woman with 35% body fat would be considered underweight based on BMI, but almost 40 pounds of her total weight is body fat.

People whose weight is normal or low but who have a high amount of body fat have the same increased risk for health problems such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease as overweight people.

In addition to increased health risks, people whose weight is normal or low but who have a high amount of body fat have bodies that are soft and flabby. They look okay in clothes, but they don't look very good in a bathing suit or when naked.

Many people are skinny fat because they lead an unhealthy lifstyle, and a lot of overweight people end up skinny fat because they go about losing weight the wrong way - they go on a very low calorie diet and do little or no exercise.

When you drastically reduce calories in order to starve away body fat, you also starve away lean muscle mass. Many people on very low calorie diets lose more lean muscle mass than body fat. When you lose lean muscle mass, your body becomes softer, flabbier and weaker, and your metabolism slows down.

The way to lose body fat without ending up skinny fat is to combine a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine.

A fat loss nutrition plan is based on cutting back on calories, not on drastically reducing them. It's also based on eating certain healthy foods that are less likely to be converted to body fat. A fat loss nutrition plan is not a temporary way of eating like a diet is, it's a permanent way of eating that can be followed for a lifetime.

A fat loss exercise routine that includes aerobic exercise and strength training enables you to lose body fat without losing lean muscle mass. There are also plenty of health and fitness benefits associated with aerobic exercise and strength training.

A great resource that shows you how to create a fat loss nutrition plan and a fat loss exercise routine is Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle. To learn more about Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, Click Here.

Are You Skinny Fat? > Weight Loss Articles

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Weight Lifting for Women

Weight lifting for women is growing in popularity, but many women still mistakenly avoid lifting weights.

The benefits of weight lifting (also known as weight training or strength training) are impressive. Weight lifting builds and maintains lean muscle mass, it increases bone strength and density, it strengthens the immune system, and it helps prevent health problems such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and arthritis.

Weight lifting is also a very effective way to reduce body fat because of the short-term and long-term metabolism boost it provides.

Weight lifting provides a short-term metabolism boost because an intense weight lifting workout is one of the best ways to increase Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC).

EPOC, commonly known as the afterburn effect, refers to how many additional calories your body will have to burn in order to repair, recover and return back to the way it was before the workout took place.

Weight lifting also provides a long-term metabolism boost because it builds and maintains lean muscle mass. Lean muscle mass is metabolically active tissue, which means that the more lean muscle mass you have the higher your metabolism will be. The higher your metabolism, the more calories your body burns to maintain itself.

With all of these benefits of weight lifting, why aren't more women lifting weights? The main reason why is because many women are afraid that they'll develop big, bulky muscles if they lift weights. This is a common exercise myth, and it's simply not true.

The reality is that women don't have enough of the hormone testosterone (a key hormone for building muscle) to develop big, bulky muscles. Without using steroids to unnaturally alter their testosterone levels, it's not possible for women to develop big, bulky muscles.

More women need to realize that weight lifting is not going to give them a big, bulky body, it's going to give them a strong, firm, toned body, which is the type of body so many women want. As a matter of fact, no other type of exercise can reshape your body and improve your physical appearance like weight lifting can.

The bottom line is that if you're a woman and weight lifting is not a part of your fitness program, it should be. Weight lifting for women is going to keep growing in popularity as more women discover just how beneficial weight lifting is.

If you're a woman who is looking for a good program that will help you incorporate weight lifting into your workout routine, check out Full Body Licious. It's a comprehensive fitness program developed for women by a woman, and it includes plenty of weight lifting exercises. To learn more about Full Body Licious, Click Here.

Weight Lifting for Women > Exercise Articles

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Why Starvation Diets Don't Work

Many people turn to starvation diets when trying to lose weight. They drastically reduce calories hoping to lose weight as quickly as possible.

They're making a big mistake.

A very low calorie diet can produce quick weight loss, but what happens once the diet ends? Most people go back to the same old way of eating that caused them to be overweight in the first place and end up gaining back any lost weight.

The reality is that very low calorie diets almost never result in permanent weight loss. A very low calorie diet is a temporary way of eating that produces temporary results.

Another major problem that very low calories diets have is that they cause you to lose lean muscle mass. When you drastically reduce calories in order to starve away body fat, you also starve away lean muscle mass. Lean muscle mass is metabolically active tissue, so when you lose lean muscle mass your metabolism slows down. You also get weaker and your body becomes softer and flabbier.

For many people, the pattern of going on and off starvation diets and losing and regaining weight continues for years or even for an entire lifetime. With each repeated bout of very low calorie dieting their metabolism becomes slower, so they gain weight easier and have a harder time losing it.

If you want to permanently lose body fat and get fit and healthy, going on a starvation diet is not the way to do it. What you need to do is combine a fat loss nutrition plan with a fat loss exercise routine.

A fat loss nutrition plan is based on cutting back on calories, not on drastically reducing them. It's also based on eating certain healthy foods that are less likely to be converted to body fat. A fat loss nutrition plan is not a temporary way of eating like a diet is, it's a permanent way of eating that can be followed for a lifetime.

A fat loss exercise routine that includes aerobic exercise and strength training enables you to lose body fat without losing lean muscle mass and without slowing down your metabolism. There are also plenty of health and fitness benefits associated with aerobic exercise and strength training.

A great resource that shows you how to create a fat loss nutrition plan and a fat loss exercise routine is Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle. To learn more about Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, Click Here.

In conclusion, starvation diets are flawed, and you have to avoid them if you want to lose body fat permanently and get fit and healthy.

Why Starvation Diets Don't Work > Weight Loss Articles

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tips to help to lose weight.

_Drink plenty of water or other calorie-free beverages.
"If you don't like plain water, try adding citrus or a splash of juice, or brew infused teas like mango or peach, which have lots of flavor but no calories,"

_Think about what you can add to your diet, not what you should take away.
Start by focusing on getting the recommended 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
fruits and vegetables displace fat in the diet. And that's not to mention the health benefits of fruits and vegetables.

_Enjoy your favorite foods.
You can enjoy your favorite foods, but you must do so in moderation

_Eat several mini-meals during the day.
Studies show people who eat 4-5 meals or snacks per day are better able to control their appetite and weight

_Eat protein at every meal.
Getting enough protein helps preserve muscle mass and encourages fat burning while keeping you feeling full. So be sure to include healthy protein sources, like yogurt, cheese, nuts, or beans, at meals and snacks.

_Stock your kitchen with healthy convenience foods.

_Eat foods in season.

_Be physically active.