Wednesday 31 July 2013

How To Eat Less Without Feeling Deprived

Who says you have to deprive yourself in order to eat less? Follow these simple tricks to eat less without feeling hungry:





1. Serve food in smaller portions
Limit food intake by serving less food and serving on smaller plates or containers. Stash away leftovers for later and keep food away from sight especially sweets and junk foods.
2. Drink more water
Whenever you feel hungry or bored, drink a glass of water. Water will fill your stomach and curb your hunger pangs. Drinking more water is also laced with health benefits. Water helps bodily functions such as digestion, absorption, and creation of saliva. It also helps the kidneys and hydrates the skin for a healthy radiant glow.
3. Eat a salad
Eat a salad before lunch or dinner to help you curb your appetite and limit your fat intake. Toss lots of veggies in your salad and use oil-based dressing to make a healthier and more filling salad.

4. Learn to eat slowly
By eating fast, you are taking in too many calories before feeling full. Slow down and take the time to enjoy the taste of every meal and snack you eat. Mindful eating will not only help you eat less, importantly it will enhance your experience of eating.
5. Don’t deprive yourself
Depriving yourself to eat something you really liked can lead to overeating. You can take anything you like (dessert, anyone?) but you can only have a few bites.
6. Keep busy
Occupy yourself you will have less time to think about food. Get out of the house, get a hobby, exercise. Doing something may exhaust you, but it will definitely benefit you and your weight loss plan to get moving.

7. Brush your teeth after every meal

The minty taste of toothpaste and the idea of ruining the cleanliness of your teeth should be enough to make you think twice about eating

Monday 29 July 2013

Start Building A Healthy Self-Esteem Today

Building a healthy self esteem can do wonders for your life. The way you deal with people on a personal and professional level are all affected by how you perceive yourself. Having a low level of self confidence may greatly affect your life; you end up having a harder time performing at work, maintaining healthy relationships, and enjoying life.

Your perception of yourself will dictate how you live life as a whole. You may feel unable to confidently face problems and make sound decisions. You may also begin to notice that the people around you are also losing confidence in you and your skills; the way you perceive yourself will dictate how people will see you and interact with you. Yes, your self esteem means so much more than you realise.

Having a healthy concept of yourself must come from within you and not from what others say about you or your physical appearance. Self-confidence is learning how to appreciate and accept yourself as you are. If your self esteem is only dependent on how people see you and what they think about you, then your confidence will be short-lived. You will have self doubts the moment people start saying negative things about you. You need to learn how to be happy and proud of yourself, your achievements, and experiences even if others are not there to cheer you on. Once you learn to do this, then you will have a healthy self esteem no matter what the situation is.






























You never know what life will throw at you, but you need to start building your self-confidence to face life's toughest challenges. You need the self-assurance to make sound decisions and navigate through life on your way to success.

Here are a few simple tips to help build your self-esteem:


  • Recognise your strengths, talents, and abilities and empower yourself with them. Learn to accept your weaknesses without allowing them to pull you down into a spiral of depression. Instead, work on developing and improving yourself.
  • Conquer self-defeating thoughts. Stay positive and fill your mind with good things about yourself, people, and the situation you are in. Even if things seem really bad right now, focus on how things could be better and the small steps you need to take to make that happen.
  • Be honest to yourself and others. Don't try to put up an image of yourself that's not real; don't project someone you're not. Allow people to accept you for who you are and not someone you just created to please others. No one is perfect, even if sometimes they appear to be. Perceptions of people can be deceiving as you only ever see a fragment of the whole person.
  • Take responsibility for your actions and decisions. Empower yourself to make important decisions about life and your future. Stop allowing others to dictate the course of your life. Think about what it is that you really want to achieve. Even if that means you need to do something that would normally make you feel a little selfish. Remember that it's your life, not theirs. Who will suffer if things go wrong because you let others run your life? In all likelihood, you will suffer the most. The people who keep trying to control your life won't be directly affected by what happens to you.

Building self confidence isn't something that can be done over night. You need to work on it every day and the best way to do that is one step at a time, the smaller steps the better.

The Meditation Method That Might Save Your Memory

If someone told you that memory loss caused by Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia could be reversed without drugs, in less than 15 minutes a day, would you believe them?
Although it sounds like the opening pitch of an annoying infomercial, research has been able to pinpoint a specific kind of meditation that seems to bestow special memory-boosting benefits on dutiful practitioners: Kirtan Kriya.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania conducted a study that found that individuals with memory problems saw an improvement in their overall cognition after practicing Kirtan Kriya meditation once a day, for eight weeks.

The study was small (involving only 15 participants) but the findings were definitive—people with memory loss performed better on cognitive tests after incorporating Kirtan Kriya into their lives.

While the benefits of meditation are no secret to the millions of people who practice the ancient form of centering one’s thoughts, these results add further credibility to the ever-growing body of scientific evidence backing up what yogis have known about meditation for millennia.













According to the Mayo Clinic, some other advantages of adopting any form of meditation practice include: reduced stress levels, increased awareness and the ability to be able to concentrate more on the present. Science has also pointed to meditation as a way to manage or prevent certain health conditions including cancer, depression, high blood pressure, problems with sleep, asthma, anxiety and heart disease.

While the link between meditation and these conditions is far from definitive, it’s hard to deny that the practice has value that science is just beginning to understand.

A Kirtan Kriya sample practice
Kirtan Kriya meditation is a principle component of the Kundalini form of yoga. Kundalini yoga aims to enhance the physical energy and mental awareness of each practitioner by unleashing the power of the universal consciousness that resides within each person.


Here are the basic elements of a Kirtan Kriya meditation practice:
  1. Take a seat: You can sit on the floor or in a chair, anywhere you feel most relaxed. Try to sit up as straight as you comfortably can. Place your hand on your knees, palms facing up.
  2. Practice breathing: Practice slowly inhaling all the way down into your belly, and then, gradually exhaling fully.
  3. Start to chant: Kirtan Kriya meditation incorporates a specific syllabic chant—sa (birth), ta (life), na (death), ma (rebirth). Together they form a mantra that proponents of Kundalini yoga say helps practitioners tap into their spiritual center. There are also hand movements that coordinate with each aspect of the Kirtan Kriya mantra. On “sa,” touch your index fingers to your thumbs. On “ta,” touch your middle fingers to your thumbs. On “na,” touch your ring fingers to your thumb. On “ma,” touch your pinky fingers to your thumbs. Each of these gestures is called a “mudra,” a symbolic movement meant to facilitate the flow of energy throughout the body.
  4. Repeat: Kirtan Kriya meditation practices may last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. The typical practice is about 11-12 minutes long and involves cycling through several different ways of chanting the sa, ta, na, ma mantra; sometimes in a loud voice, sometimes in a whisper and sometimes silently, in your head. If you’re new to Kirtan Kriya, try this as a sample meditation: Chant aloud for two minutes, softly for two minutes, silently for three minutes, softly for two minutes and aloud for two minutes. You can play around with the times, but the important concept to keep consistent is the cycle—aloud, soft, silent, soft, aloud.
  5. End with an affirmation: While it isn’t necessary, some practitioners suggest concluding a Kirtan Kriya meditation session by placing your palms together in front of your heart and proclaiming the mantra, “Sat nam,” as a verbal acknowledgement of the sacred truth that lies within you.

Saturday 27 July 2013

Take Time To Nurture Yourself

Women are often the primary nurturers. Women carry the pregnancy and breast-feed the baby. They are the epicenter of healthcare decisions for the family and are more likely to be the caregiver when a family member falls ill. They are often the limo driver, the chef and the chief financial officer of the household. And in addition to caring for kids and a partner, they are often the front line for caring and supporting parents as they age.

Does this sound familiar? If so, my question to you is this: Who is nurturing you? Who is nurturing the nurturer? Who is making sure that you are getting the time, attention and emotional support that you need and deserve?

If there isn’t a clear answer to this question, pause a moment and realize – the need is still there; the desire to be nurtured is still there; the impact of not being nurtured is still there.

So what can you do? First, realize it’s OK to have needs. Next decide who in your immediate world you can reach out to for nurturing. In some cases there may be no obvious choice to fill this role for you.

That’s OK, too. There is still you and you have a powerful position. You can allo­cate some of the time you are using to nurture others and reserve it for yourself.

Set aside some you-time for an ex­ercise or yoga class or a walk or for reading a book. Maybe it is eating lunch with a friend. Maybe it is two 15-minute meditations you do by your­self. Even talking on the phone with a woman friend can be very therapeutic.

What you do isn’t the goal. It’s taking time to restore yourself and your “self”; to focus on you and not onthem. Remember in the airplane, the person says, “In the unexpected case of an emergency and oxygen is needed, when the oxygen mask falls, place it on your head first and then place it on the head of your child.”

Every nurturer needs to be nurtured. Are you making you-time to nurture you?


Friday 26 July 2013

4 Methods to Make Personal Development A Lot More Fun

Personal development can be fun. But often times, it can also feel like a chore. You have to do this, and practice that, and you don’t really feel like it, and you’re not seeing fast enough improvements, and you’re frustrated and disheartened.

In the long term, if you wanna keep developing yourself and see meaningful changes in your life, it’s important for personal development to be fun; to be able to enjoy the journey, not just the destination.

Over the years, being a big self-improvement fan, I’ve tested various methods to make it more fun. I’ve identified 4 that create mind-blowing effects, and I’m gonna share them with you in the following paragraphs.


1. Stop Thinking You Need Personal Development
Most people tend to go into personal development with the perception that they are broken and they need fixing. They see themselves as damaged goods at some level, and they see self-improvement as the necessary solution.

However, this is rarely, if ever the case. You’re not broken and you don’t need fixing. Sure, you may have your flaws and imperfections, but doesn’t everybody? And that doesn’t make them defective.

When you realize this and you accept it, you stop seeing self-improvement as something you need, and you start to see it as something you want. You want it because you know bettering yourself will result in a better life, but you don’t truly need it. It’s a personal choice.

Coming from this angle makes self-improvement a lot more fun. It takes the pressure off and it permits you to take pleasure in the process. It’s like: “If it goes well, great, if not, oh well, at least I enjoyed it”. And this is an amazing mindset to have.

2. Always Reward Progress
Personal development can be slow. Change doesn’t happen overnight, and the desired results frequently refuse to show up with the intensity you want them to have. And this creates frustration.

There is a workaround this frustration, which is to reward yourself for every small progress you make. It can take you years to reach your desired destination. But you’ll make progress every single day. Why not take pleasure in it?

Well, you can do this. Firstly by acknowledging all progress and being grateful for it, and secondly by rewarding yourself for it.

What gives you instant gratification? Movies, games, relaxation, going out? Use these elements as rewards for sticking to the process, and for every step forward. Just one disclaimer: try to use rewards that don’t damage your life in the long-run. Avoid rewards like drinking, smoking, etc.
















3. Do It Together With Others
Most activities are more fun when done along with other people than when done alone. Personal development is definitely one of them.

When one or more other people accompany you on the same journey, you share stories, you learn from one another, you support each other, and the journey is visibly more delightful.

That’s why it’s good to have company in self-growth. This company can be a friend you have in real life, which you get to join you on your journey. If you want, for instance, to work on building your public speaking skills over the next year, tell some friends about this and see if you can get them to join you.

It can also be people on a blog or personal development forum. These environments often create a good opportunity for people with similar goals to communicate, help each other and make the process fun. So if your real friends are not helpful regarding your self-improvement, try some virtual ones.

4. Choose Fun Personal Development Activities
Most personal development goals can be reached through a range of personal development exercises or activities. And some are a lot more fun than others.

You can increase your communication skills by going to formal social events and carefully studying every word you say, or by going to chill parties, talking with lots of people, being genuine and seeing what happens. The second choice will likely be a lot more fun.

Whatever self-improvement goals you have, take some time to consider how to go about reaching them. Try to see the full array of possibilities and out of them choose the ones that seem most enjoyable.

Don’t jump on the first road you see. If you just look around a bit, you might find a much better one slightly to the side of the first one.

I can vouch from experience that personal development can be a lot of fun. In fact it can be so much fun that the destination becomes secondary, and you just wanna be on the journey. Because it’s a fulfilling, integral part if your lifestyle, and your life simply wouldn’t be the same without it. That’s a great place to be in.

Wednesday 24 July 2013

Simple Ways To Prevent Dementia In Old Age

Currently, an estimated 5.3 million elderly Americans live with Alzheimer's dementia and many more live with other forms of dementia, impairing a person's physical and mental abilities, including Huntington's disease and vascular dementia. Cognitive functioning and behavioral development begin to falter as the damage to brain cells disrupts a person's psyche, says the Alzheimer's Association.

(Photo : Ian MacKenzie) Prevent the risk of developing dementia in old age with six easy ways that will improve your brain health.

According to Alzheimer's Society in the U.K., the number of people with dementia is expected to double because people are living longer. As one downside to having longer lifespans, women have a higher lifetime risk than men of developing Alzheimer's, which may be precipitated by a drop in estrogen, the primary female sex hormone, experienced during menopause.

Gains in average life expectancy are not the sole driver behind the increase in Americans with dementia; other illnesses have been shown to increase risk. If a person has diabetes before the age of 65, their risk for dementia doubles. In a study published in the issue of Neurology, researchers examined the relationship between diabetes as a risk factor for dementia in a group of 1,301 community dwellers 75 years and older in Stockholm, Sweden. They found that diabetes is indeed associated with an increased risk for dementia, especially vascular dementia — when the brain's blood supply is interrupted — in very old people.

Furthermore, the risk for dementia significantly increases when diabetes occurs simultaneously with severe systolic hypertension and cardiovascular disease. "People who know they are at risk of vascular dementia can act to help delay or even prevent symptoms if they eat well, take exercise and don't smoke," Dr. Charles Alessi, an adviser for Public Health England, told the BBC. While there is no known cure to dementia or specific treatment sufferers can follow, there are easy ways to prevent and alleviate symptoms of the disease in old age.
Eat A Mediterranean DietConsuming fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and healthy fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids, can help reduce inflammation of the brain. The rich fatty acid is seen as a dietary intervention to reduce the risk of dementia with regular consumption. In a study published in the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, researchers examined the relationship between the Mediterranean diet and the likelihood of incident cognitive impairment to evaluate race and vascular risk factors. A total of 17,478 individuals with an average age of 64 participated in the study. The study showed that higher consumption of the Mediterranean diet was associated with a lower likelihood of cognitive impairment.
Get 8 Hours Of Sleep
Dementia and sleep are closely associated with one another; the lack of sleep can increase your risk of dementia later in life. Sufferers of the disease tend to have a sleep pattern that is irregular, generally feeling sleepy during the day with difficulty falling asleep for long periods at night, reports the Sleep Health Foundation. The organization that raises awareness of sleep health suggests that dementia sufferers get into sleep and wake patterns that reflect sleep habits prior to diagnosis of the disease, with the help of their loved ones. To get people living with dementia to develop a healthy sleeping pattern, 45-minute naps can vastly improve memory, according to an article by Matthew A. Tucker, PhD and William Fishbein, PhD.
Get Out There and Socialize
Socialization has been been shown to help people sharpen their mental acuity. In a study published in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers followed women who were free of dementia symptoms and at least 78 years old. Over the course of five years of follow-up interviews, there were 268 new dementia cases out of the 2,249 women who began the study.

After analyzing the effects of socialization, researchers found that 80 out of 456 women who did not socialize much, or 18 percent, developed dementia. In contrast, 188 out of 1793 women who confided in a number of friends and family members, or 10 percent, developed dementia. Remaining as an active member in society and socializing with those around you can help improve your cognitive functioning and behavioral development to reduce the risk of dementia even at old age.

Monday 22 July 2013

6 Ways to Keep Your Family Healthy

“Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!” said Albert Einstein. An inspiring exhortation. But before we can fill our homes with smiles, we need to fill our lives with verve and good health. Some simple but essential steps in this direction can help you create a healthy, happy home. Here are some suggestions:

1. Have two apples a day: and I am not talking about ‘Apple’ appliances! The old saying of an apple a day has now changed to two a day. Scientists at Florida University have found that two apples can significantly reduce bad cholesterol, thus protecting you from stroke and heart attack. Get the family to enjoy apples, be it just on their own or in non-sugared cobblers. Make sure they’re organic!

2. Plan your daily meals: it is not always possible or easy, but worth trying to do. Before you go grocery shopping, try to chalk up a health-boosting menu—even a rough one will do—for the coming few days at least. This will help you ditch impulse buys such as cookies and chips, and shop for healthier ingredients and create a more balanced meal plan for the entire family.

3. Don‘t eat late dinners: eating a meal after sunset places a strain on the digestive system. As far as possible, eat together, and eat light at night. Not only will you sleep better, but also avoid putting on weight. Big bonus: shared meals bring you closer and promote emotional harmony.

4. Play! playing together helps you stay together. Besides, riddles, puzzles and brain-sharpening games can help ward off degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

5. Encourage early bed time: and that is not just for the kids in the family. Sleeping early is perhaps one of the biggest favors you can do for yourself. It helps you wake up refreshed, balances the emotions and promotes good digestion. Stay off those late night TV shows and put away the crime thrillers that lie by your bedside. Create a peace-promoting ambiance in your home post twilight.

6. Talk: Sharing promotes caring. In these days of online networking, it is easy to be distracted and disconnected from those who live with you and love you. It is not uncommon to see children messaging their parents from within the same house! Switch off the Internet, get off the phone, and have a cosy chat. This can go a long way in restoring emotional balance within your home.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/6-ways-to-keep-your-family-healthy.html

Saturday 20 July 2013

Throw Your Old Plan Away: 6 New Ways To Build Leadership Development Into Your Job

Every leader I know is extremely busy getting their job done. At the same time, they also realize that investing effort in their own leadership development is good. The problem is that when faced with a choice, work seems to always trump personal development. Everyone runs fast and hard, and personal development is put off as executives wait and hope for a break in the schedule.’ll argue that this is a false dichotomy. First, work and development should not be seen as competing activities. Here’s the reason to combine them: Doing one can accomplish the other. You can make your daily job into a practical leadership classroom and laboratory. If you choose to do this, you can constantly improve your leadership skills while getting your job done. That, in turn, benefits your organization, your working associates, and most certainly, you.

Here are some specific ways you can bring your personal development and your job closer together:

1. Learn new information. 

There are bodies of information that are highly relevant to your job. It may be the latest trends in the industry or some new technology. It could be about competitors. Or it may be technical information that would make you more knowledgeable about your company’s products.

2. Build new relationships. 
This might involve people external to the organization, such as suppliers, customers, those in academia or other parts of the business community. Or it could be your relationship with other department heads, or with various staff functions within your organization.1. Learn new information. There are bodies of information that are highly relevant to your job. It may be the latest trends in the industry or some new technology. It could be about competitors. Or it may be technical information that would make you more knowledgeable about your company’s products.

3. Organize colleagues who share a common interest. 
This may be a mutual interest in a new product or project. It may be a group interested in a specific subject matter such as strategic planning. It could be a group dedicated to increasing diversity within the organization. Many organizations have groups of women leaders who meet to further the role of women in the organization.


4. Take time to plan and review your day.
Some leaders set aside the first 15 minutes in the morning to note the tasks to be accomplished in that day. Others do that as they commute to work. Then they finish the day by reflecting on what went particularly well and where they could see ways to improve their performance. Others use the commute home to reflect on what went well and how conversations or meetings could have gone better.

5. Create new feedback mechanisms for yourself. 
We know there is great power and value in leaders seeking feedback from those they work with. It strengthens the organization and it makes their leadership better. It may be as simple as Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York, asking “How and I doing?” or team building sessions that allow a group to reflect on how well it functions. New feedback mechanisms may also involve getting information from groups you typically don’t get feedback from, such as staff groups or people in other divisions of your company.

6. Restructure your job. 
 As a manager you have the choice of doing certain things yourself or delegating to others. You can put more emphasis on one activity and less on another. You can elect to take on a task because you want to learn and understand it better as a part of your development.

70/20/10
Combining development and work makes even more sense if you believe the long accepted maxim that there is a 70/20/10 formula that applies to leadership development. (That formula suggests that 70% of what you learn about leadership comes from on-the-job experiences. Coaching from your boss and others gives you the next 20% and the final 10% comes from formal class-room development.) While those exact numbers can be debated, most would say it is directionally correct. Why, then, do organizations spend virtually no time trying to gain a higher return from the 70%, a minimal effort on the 20%, and focus most of their resources on the 10%? Willie Sutton, the bank robber, explained that he robbed banks “because that’s where the money is.” Willie’s statement is humorous, but he makes a valuable point. Applying that primitive logic, it becomes more obvious that you receive a much greater benefit from the time, energy and effort you spend building development into your job than on the time you spend on anything else. For example, job related feedback from a 360 degree instrument is a powerful tool to help combine development with work. Like Willie, you should focus your effort directly on the largest payoff at hand.

Friday 19 July 2013

21 One-Minute Weight Loss Tricks

If you've ever tried to lose weight (and who hasn't), you've got to be mindful of whose advice you take. Your colleague says you need to cut out carbs. Your gym buddy knows the secret is to stop eating after 7 p.m. Your Facebook friend swears she’ll be in swimsuit shape by March if she only eats once a day. Your husband, well, he sneezes and the weight seems to fall off.

But do any of these tips really work? To help you shed those extra pounds—and keep them off—without starving yourself, ditching your social life, or eating only at odd times of the day, we talked to experienced nutritionists for real-world advice you can actually live with, day in and day out. We'll tell you how to focus on the delicious foods you can add to your diet, why you should be eating more often (yes!), the fat loss benefits of more sleep, and how even taking a few deep breaths can put you on a successful path to weight loss.

Here, the 25 best diet tips of all time. Say buh-bye to hunger and hello skinny jeans.


1. Never get too hungry - plan meals and snacks in advance

2. Be honest about your daily calorie allowance 













3. Eat right post-workout

4. Use the red, orange and green rule - By focusing on these foods, you'll be sure to get some produce on your plate and won't have space on your plate for higher-calorie fare.

5. Eat one less bite - Doing this at every meal could save about 75 calories a day which equates to nearly an 8-pound weight loss in one year!

6. Be a heavy drinker - Of Water! 

7. Kick the salt habit - Salt can also make you feel hungrier and thirstier.

8. Spice up your food - Adding hot spices to your meals can help curb hunger.














9. Don't think diet soda will help you lose weight

10. Focus on nutrient balance instead of calorie counting

11. Plate food away from where you're eating - By keeping food within eyesight as you are eating, you may find yourself reaching for a second helping even if you really aren't hungry. 

12. Keep a food record - tracking your mood and appetite can be helpful and insightful into learning about your eating patterns as well!

13. Start with soup - People who ate a low-calorie vegetable soup before a meal consumed 20% fewer calories at the meal, according to research from Penn State University.

14. Take your time - It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to send a message to your brain that you have eaten enough and are satisfied. 

15. Outsmart your hunger hormone - Our bodies secrete a hormone called ghrelin, which controls hunger and drives our appetite. Ghrelin will also spike if we're deprived of carbs, so it's important to give our bodies and brains the carb fuel they need. When we skip meals or avoid carbs, we're inviting ghrelin to spike, which increases and makes us feel emotionally hungry. It makes us crave sugar and can derail even the healthiest eating routine.














16. Dine anytime - It's a myth that you'll gain weight as a direct result of eating after 7 p.m. You should eat 70% of your calories before dinnertime and 30% at dinner, whatever time that may be. Just give yourself at least 90 minutes to end your meal before you plan to go to sleep. You need at least 90 minutes to digest so you can sleep comfortably. 

17. Set a date with your kitchen - when it comes to weight loss we need to devote 80% of our efforts to nutrition and 20% to exercise.

18. Breathe away cravings - Deep breaths of that kind take you out of your immersion in momentary stress, oxygenate your brain and tissues, and they help to reduce stress hormones. 

19. Eat before a party or event - Have a light snack before you go to an event so you don’t arrive ravenous.

20. Be adventurous with chopsticks - they can act as a reminder to slow down, savor and chew consciously which may help you realize you’re fuller sooner than you thought you’d be and then wind up eating less!

21. Wear fitted clothing - The elastic waistband is the dieter's fashion enemy number one. When you wear clothes that fit well and make you feel good, you have awareness gauges that give you clear signals to help you put on the brakes as you fill up. 

22. Celebrate healthy talk - Instead of using words like "fat," say "fit"; change "can't" to "can"; "weak" to "strong"; "unhealthy" to "healthy." It takes practice but it can start to rewire how you think about your health and weight goals.

23. Eat breakfast without fail Shoot for a minimum of 250 calories and aim to get a serving of protein in so you’ll feel fuller longer.

24. Take 10 minutes to eat a treat

25. Sleep away weight gain - Scientists asked participants to sleep about 10 hours a night for two days, followed by five nights of sleep restriction and four nights of recovery. After the 11 days, the sleep-deprived group gained almost 3 pounds, compared with a well-rested control group.

Thursday 18 July 2013

3 Steps For Making Your Career Dream A Reality

Remember the scene in "Pretty Woman" where a man asks, “What’s your dream?” I watched this movie the other night, and the scene sparked a thought for me: Everyone has a dream, but very few of us actually share our dream with others.

There are a lot of reasons for this. Often it’s just a matter of confidence or fear of failure. But that’s the catch, we all need help from others to reach your vision, find your passion or achieve your lifetime goals. So, how do you make that happen?

1. Clearly define your dream. 
Although most people have an idea of what that perfect life or career would look like, few actually define the details. Few people take the time to understand the components. Have you thought about your details? Who is in the picture? What is the setting? What are you wearing? How do you feel?

2. Acknowledge your dream. 
For most of the population, a dream feels unrealistic. The delta between our reality and our dreams may seem too great. Few people see dreams become realities. Those who make it a reality do it by visualizing themselves achieving the dream. They feel it, they can taste it. These are the people who have the confidence to clearly communicate their dreams to others.

You have to believe your dream is possible for you. If you have a hard time with this, flip the question around, and ask yourself why your dream isn’t possible for you. Then tackle those fears.

















3. Share your dream. 
It’s time to start shouting from the rooftops. Let’s move away from all the gender issues and fear of failure. Some people will be intimidated by your communicating your desires. Stop listening to them. The people who see your vision, care about your passion or who have similar lifetime goals will step up to the plate and help you get there. Use appropriate language and effective communication techniques and share your dreams with anyone who will listen.

Throughout Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts’ character walks through these steps. She finds the fairy tale because she was clear about what that looked like for her, and she effectively communicated her dream with someone who could help her achieve it. I hope your professional circumstances are quite different than those in the movie — but that your outcome is the same.

Wednesday 17 July 2013

The Habits That Make You Happy

So what habits make you happy? Try doing these on a daily basis, and see if you get the what results you get:
  1. List Three Good Things. [My wife] and I started a daily evening ritual, at about 7pm each day, where we take a moment to tell each other three good things about our day. We didn’t invent this, but it serves as at least one time in your day when you focus on what you’re grateful for. This can create a mental habit of gratitude that you can use other times in your day, when you’re focused on the things you don’t like or have — when you feel this, think about something you do have, that you love. Find a way to be grateful, and you’re happier.
  2. Help Someone. When we focus on ourselves, and the woeful state of our lives, we are self-centered. This shrinks the world to one little place with one little unhappy person. But what if we can expand that worldview, and expand our heart to include at least one other person? Maybe even a few others? Then we see that others are suffering too, even if that just means they’re stressed out. Then we can reach out, and do something to reduce their stress, put a smile on their face, make their lives easier. Help at least one person each day, and you’ll find your entire perspective shifted.
  3. Meditate. It affects everything else. Meditate for just two minutes a day, and you’ll create a habit that will allow you to notice your thoughts throughout the rest of the day, that will help you to be more present (unhappiness comes from not being present), that will help you notice the source of anxiety and distraction. That’s a lot that can be accomplished in two minutes! Sit every morning when you wake, and just notice your body, and then your breath. Notice when your mind wanders, and gently return to your breath. You become the watcher of your mind, and you’ll learn some useful things, I promise.
  4. Exercise. Everyone knows you should exercise, so I’m not going to belabor this point. But it really does make you happier, both in the moment of exercise (I’m exerting myself, I’m alive!) and throughout the rest of the day. Exercise lightly, if you’re not in the habit yet, and just for a few minutes a day to start out. Who doesn't have a few minutes a day? If you don’t, you need to loosen up your schedule a bit.
There are a number of other habits that also help: mindful eating, drinking tea, doing yoga, socializing with others. But these incorporate meditation (they’re more active forms of meditation), and exercise, and helping others, and gratitude (if you’re doing it right). So I wanted to list the most basic habits, and then you can expand to other areas.

How do you form these habits? One at a time, starting as small as possible, with some social accountability. Set these habits in motion. You’ll notice yourself becoming more present, more grateful, more other-focused. The shift that results is nothing short of a miracle.


Monday 15 July 2013

50 Million Diet Each Year But Only 5% Lose Weight - What's The Best Weight Loss Programs?


Out of the 50 million Americans who go on a diet every year, only five percent are successful in keeping the weight off. What this should tell us is that successful diet programs are those that teach us how to eat sensibly and healthy. Otherwise, the diet will not work. Losing weight the right way is really a matter of cutting the calories--eating fewer calories than you burn--and making a permanent change in eating habits.

Avoid "Miracle" Pills
The key to finding a program that will work is selecting one that is easy to maintain, does not require purchasing special foods, doesn't focus on miracle pills and other substances, but teaches healthy lifelong eating habits. Consumer Reports readers scored MyFitnessPal and Weight Watchers the highest because they encouraged calorie awareness, exercise, and consumption of fruits and vegetables. Jenny Craig was also rated highly. Although this program sells their preportioned foods, it also includes grocery store foods. These programs focus on sound weight-loss principles and weight management.
















Beware of Diet Scams
Beware of "quick fix" diet products. Not only can they be harmful but they are not proven to be successful in long-term weight management. According to Dr. Oz, diet pills are some of the most dangerous products on the market. They are drugs and should be treated as such. They can increase your blood pressure enough to cause a stroke, and once you stop taking the pills, the weight piles back on. They are simply not worth the risk of taking a short cut to weight loss.

Eat Less, and Better
Any diet product or program that relies on a specific product does not teach healthy, lifelong eating habits. The only thing that works is eating less, eating more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and protein. Weight loss programs that focus on this are worth looking into. The bottom line on the best weight loss program is to satisfy your hunger with good foods that will not add weight and substituting high-calorie foods with those that contain fewer calories. It's not a diet. It's a lifestyle change.

Saturday 13 July 2013

7 Little-Known Benefits Of Sunlight

This time of year, everyone wants to be outside. It feels so good to have the warm sun on our bare skin. If you haven’t heard that being out in the sun, unprotected by sunscreen, puts you at risk for wrinkles, at best, and skin cancer, at worst, then you’ve probably been living under a rock!

However, while most people are aware of the dangers of too much sun, many don’t realize that sunlight confers enormous health benefits as well. Keeping in mind that you need to protect your skin with a high-quality sunscreen when you go outdoors, let’s look at some of the surprising benefits of sunlight.

1.Sunlight may help prevent cancer.
It’s not just plants that metabolize sunlight. Humans do too. Through a complex process, our bodies turn sunlight into life-giving vitamin D. The connection between vitamin D deficiency and cancer was first made by Drs. Frank and Cedric Garland from the University of California, San Diego. After finding that the incidence of colon cancer was nearly three times higher in New York than in New Mexico, the Garland brothers hypothesized that lack of sun exposure, resulting in a vitamin D deficiency, played a role. Research now indicates that being deficient in vitamin D increases the risk of many cancers, especially breast and colon. For example, a four-year, placebo-controlled study involving 1,179 postmenopausal women concluded that vitamin D supplementation produced a dramatic 60% drop in the risk of developing any form of cancer.

2.Sunlight is beneficial for Alzheimer’s patients.
Clinical research has shown that exposure to full-spectrum light throughout the day coupled with darkness at night can help improve some aspects of Alzheimer’s disease—reducing agitation, increasing sleep efficiency, decreasing nighttime wakefulness, and decreasing nighttime activity in these patients.

3. Sunlight may lower risk for multiple sclerosis.
MS is more common in populations that live farther from the equator. People who move from a low-risk area to a high-risk area before the age of 15 acquire a higher risk of developing MS, whereas those who make the same move after adolescence retain a lower risk. These observations suggest that environmental exposure, and in particular, early sunlight exposure (which is correlated with vitamin D levels) in the first two decades of life, influences the risk of developing MS. Related to this finding, several European population studies observed that there is a lower risk of MS for births occurring after October and a higher risk for MS for births occurring after May. This suggests that maternal levels of vitamin D during the third trimester of pregnancy may influence risk of MS.

4. Sunlight helps heal psoriasis.
Exposure to sunlight is extremely beneficial for individuals with psoriasis. In one study, an outdoor four-week sunbathing therapy was shown to promote significant clearance of psoriatic symptoms in 84 percent of subjects.

5. Sunlight can ease mild depression.
There has been a lot of research on the link between sunlight and mood. One solid study found that sunlight actually increases levels of a natural antidepressant in the brain. On sunny days, the brain produces more of the mood-lifting chemical serotonin than on darker days.

6. Sunlight contributes to bone health in older adults.
It is well known that vitamin D stimulates the absorption of bone-strengthening calcium. The process of vitamin D manufacture begins when sunlight changes the 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin into vitamin D3. Emerging research is showing a direct correlation between both bone density and blood levels of vitamin D3. Higher blood levels of vitamin D3 are associated with a lower rater of fractures of virtually all types; lower blood levels of vitamin D3 are associated with a higher rate of fractures of all types.

7. Sunlight can improve sleep quality.
When sunlight hits your eyes, your optic nerve sends a message to the gland in the brain that produces melatonin (a hormone that helps you sleep); the gland decreases its secretions of melatonin until the sun goes down again. In other words, exposure to sunlight during the day increases the natural production of melatonin at night. Low levels of melatonin production are linked to poor sleep quality, especially in older adults.


Thursday 11 July 2013

Mood Boosters

Next time you need a pick-me-up, try one of these simple happiness-enhancing tricks

1. Practice the healing breath 
Before bed or when you feel tense, try focusing on your breath, and breathe deeply and slowly. Try this simple breathing exercise: Sit comfortably, with your hands resting on your belly button. Take a deep breath in for a count of 3, feeling your belly expand beneath your hands. Hold for 5 seconds, and then exhale for 7 seconds, compressing your belly button toward your spine. 

2. Drink more herbal tea 
“These teas are delicious, have no calories, and offer tremendous healing properties,” says Tieraona Low Dog, MD, a Prevention advisory board member and the author of Life Is Your Best Medicine. She likes tea with ginseng for an afternoon pick-me-up, peppermint to help with digestion, and chamomile to relax before bed. 
















3. Unplug
We’re far too habituated to texting and e-mailing constantly,” says Dr. Low Dog. “There’s a reason almost every religion has a day of rest.” People who resist the trend are less stressed and more productive—and have healthier heart rates. Dr. Low Dog’s prescription: Commit one day a week to staying offline.

4. Get a massage 
Regular rubdowns can help relieve stress, curb anxiety and depression, ease muscle pain, and even control blood pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic. Massage relaxes the fight-or-flight stress response, slowing heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and alleviating anxiety. 

http://discover.rodales.com/health-and-fitness/how-to-be-happy?cid=synd_Care2_KeystoaHealthyBrain_MariasBlog_howtobehappy

Tuesday 9 July 2013

The 3 Keys To A Healthy Brain


We all have those moments–a forgotten appointment, a name we can’t recall, a word that’s on the tip of our tongue. For the most part, these incidents don’t worry us. However, as we age, they seem to increase in significance. We wonder if we’re losing our edge. With Alzheimer’s disease and dementia constantly in the news, we can find ourselves falling prey to a climate of fear that plays on our worst anxieties about losing our cognitive capacities.

Luckily, there are a number of steps we can take to preserve our mental sharpness. Like any other organ, the brain responds to input. Not just mental and emotional input, but diet and exercise, as well. Many of the strategies we adopt to maintain overall health also support the brain. We can keep that mental acuity, and it only takes a few simple brain-friendly habits.

For a healthy brain, stock up on foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish, flaxseed, raw nuts and seeds.

1: Brain-Friendly Food and Supplements
One of the brain’s biggest enemies is oxidative stress from excess free radicals, which are generated by toxins, exercise, illness, stress, and normal metabolic processes, among other factors. Like a lunchroom bully, free radicals (atoms or molecules that are short one electron) take what they need from other atoms. As levels of free radicals increase, one theft leads to another, creating a cascade of inflammatory chain reactions that can damage cells down to their DNA.

Antioxidants can help block this cycle, which is why we hear so much about these super nutrients, and there is a wide variety of sources–foods, herbs, and supplements–to choose from. Blueberries are a rich source and have been shown to protect neurons from oxidative stress. Other good antioxidant food choices are beans, cranberries, artichokes, prunes, and raspberries. Herbs and spices like sage, rosemary, ginger, and turmeric are chock-ull of antioxidant compounds to protect the brain and support numerous other areas of health, as well.

Stock up on foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish, flaxseed, raw nuts and seeds, and grass-fed beef. While omega-3s are more often touted for their heart-health benefits, they are crucial to brain health, too. A study published in the journal Neurology found that people deficient in omega-3s had smaller brains and did more poorly in cognitive tests. The researchers asserted that omega-3s reduce signs of aging in the brain.

Vitamin E has also been associated with improved cognitive health. In addition, one study indicated it can help patients recover after a stroke. Vitamin E is also a potent antioxidant. Be sure to look for the natural form called d-alpha tocopherol, often found with a blend of mixed tocopherols. Avoid dl-alpha tocopherol, a form that is synthetic and not well absorbed.

As noted, oxidation can play a big role in damaging neurons, leading to cognitive decline. One of the most potent antioxidant supplements is a botanical called honokiol. Derived from magnolia bark, honokiol is 1,000 times more powerful as an antioxidant than vitamin E and has been shown protect the brain in numerous ways. Because its molecules are so small, honokiol taken orally is very easily absorbed, and even has the unique ability to pass through the blood/brain barrier. This allows honokiol to exert it effects directly on brain tissue. Honokiol is shown to improve mood, influencing GABA and other neurotransmitters that help mediate both anxiety and depression. It also is shown to aid in stroke damage and protect against the amyloid plaque associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Another supplement that benefits brain health is curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric. In a recent study from the Salk Institute, a drug derived from curcumin reversed Alzheimer’s disease in mice. This is not an isolated study. Other research has shown that curcumin influences neuron creation and enhances memory.

2: Exercise
Multiple studies have shown a close relationship between exercise and improved brain function. One project found that women over 65 who walked 30 minutes a day slowed their cognitive decline. When measuring mental acuity, the researchers found that the people who exercised appeared several years younger than those in the control group, who did not exercise at all.

Another study comparing activity levels and brain health looked at people over age 70. The more active group was significantly less likely to develop cognitive problems. The study also helped clarify the types of activities that promote cognitive health. In addition to “normal” exercise, the researchers found that simple actions, such as standing up and walking around the room, were also beneficial.

Other research has shown that exercise can actually increase brain size. One study used MRIs to compare brain sizes in people who exercised with those who did not. The group of exercisers did significantly better. Maintaining a larger brain is important because one of the side effects of aging is reduced brain volume, which may be implicated in cognitive decline.




Scientists at UCLA found that meditation increases a process called cortical gyrification, which helps us retrieve memories, form decisions, and focus.

3: Meditation
The calming effects of meditation are well documented. However, some research has shown that the practice actually changes brain architecture. Scientists at UCLA found that meditation increases the folding in the cerebral cortex, a process called cortical gyrification, which improves the brain’s ability to process information. Specifically, increased gyrification helps us retrieve memories, form decisions, and focus.

To me, the most striking aspect of these recommendations is their applicability to overall health. Diet, appropriate supplements, exercise, and meditation also benefit heart health, and they can reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome–plus, they simply make us feel better. In the big picture, good practices support health at all levels, forming a foundation for mind-body wellness, longevity, and vitality.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-3-keys-to-a-healthy-brain.html

Friday 5 July 2013

Personal Development Tips That Can Get You Out Of Your Slump

Personal development is about bettering yourself and taking on things that improve upon who you are as a person. It involves gaining knowledge about yourself, and fulfilling your personal goals. You’ll find tips and techniques within this article which will help you to find success in your journey. Concentrating on one large change at a time, will make your metamorphosis easier.

Stress can impede your ability to be happy. Stress causes both physical and mental damage that increases in severity the longer we experience it. To retain clarity of mind and the motivation to work towards our goals, it is critical to banish unnecessary stress from our minds. Each day, take time to quiet your mind and relax. Having a time to refresh can give you peace and improve your self-image.

Read good articles about personal development. Personal development books that are well written, insightful and instructive can provide you with the information you need to significantly enhance your outlook and your life. Try to pick a volume that has already been well-received by others because poorly done books in this category are fairly common.

Tell other people positive things. By being kind to others, you will also begin to care about yourself more.



Write a pep talk for yourself. Make a list of all the good things about you, and put it on a postcard. Keep this inspirational card with you at all times. Better yet, record your qualities on video or audio and listen to it often. “Why would I want to do this?”, you may be asking.

Identifying your personal values are the stepping stone to figuring out a personal development plan that works for you. Trying to change yourself in ways that are not in line with your values, is not a good idea. Instead of this, you should focus your energy on the things that you want to develop that also go along with your own values. This enables you to make lasting changes in your life, both in a personal and a professional capacity.

Treat everyone with respect, no matter what they can do or how much power those people may have. The way you act toward others says something about your character, not theirs.

Instead of bragging abut your achievements and awards, ask other people about what they have accomplished that they are most proud of. This is a wonderful means of learning more about your peers and their abilities; you also might discover a new role model.

When you are handling depression stay focused on the things you eat and eat more complex carbohydrates. Serotonin can be depleted without enough complex carbs in your diet. This can also be achieved by upping your intake of raw fruits and veggies, legumes and whole grains.

Whether or not a person can make things happen for you, you must treat everyone with respect and gratitude. The way you behave toward others has more to do with your personality than with anything they say or do.

You have to not only decide what you want out of life, you also have to take steps to get it. Pondering an ideal life without taking the action to make it a reality will inevitably lead to nothing. Take action, and turn your dreams into reality.

So, as you have seen, it is true that self help requires research, work, and effort to start making changes that you can keep applying to your life. Also, to make changes in your life you’re going to have to keep trying. Apply the advice from this article, and you will be well on your way to better living.


Thursday 4 July 2013

5 Weird Confidence Building Exercises

Imagine for a minute if you were totally confident in yourself……………..

What would you do today that you were not doing yesterday? What could you achieve if you were completely self confident?

Now, I don’t mean you have to be good at everything, but you’re willing to give everything a go, just try it and see what happens, and if you fell flat on your face you would either walk away from it having tried it, or you would try again until you got it right.

Well, there’s a few things holding us back from being confident, and believe me, every single person reading these words right now has the ability to have total confidence in themselves. What’s holding us back? It’s your thoughts, beliefs, habits and actions.

If I were to say to you ‘Let’s climb Mount Everest for charity’ what would your immediate thoughts be – maybe it was ‘I could never do that’, ‘I’m not fit enough’, ‘I don’t like heights’, ‘I don’t like the outdoors’, ‘I don’t like the cold’, but someone who was totally confident and they were interested would probably say ‘Okay, let’s give it a go’ or ‘When do you want to do it’. Wouldn’t that amount of confidence in yourself be amazing.
3 Attributes of truly confident people:

1. They don’t mind trying new things, even if they’ve never done it before.
2. They don’t let what others may or may not think influence their decision to do something.
3. They have let go of their inhibitions and don’t mind letting their guards down.



I’d like to share with you 5 weird confidence building exercises
1. The Wrong Shop exercise
  • This exercise will give you a strange sense of power and control over yourself and make you really drop your guard to feel confident.
  • Walk into any type of shop and ask for something totally weird, that the shop does not sell. For example walk into a newsagents and ask if they sell the latest 42 inch flat screen TV, or go into an Apple store and ask for a PC, or McDonalds and ask for a KFC Bucket.
  • The aim of this is to let go of your inhibitions and get over yourself, be willing to make a fool of yourself and learn to not care what others may or may not think about you. This is an exercise I tried myself on a number of occasions a few years ago and it’s totally liberating. I first heard it from Jamie Smart who was coaching some telesales people who were anxious about cold calling.

2. Ask for a hug
  • Stand in the middle of a busy street, hold up a plackard asking for a hug for a special occasion and get someone to film it.
  • Overcome that fear of rejection and to release your inhibitions. Watch the video below to learn more.

3. Be wrong on purpose
  • A lot of us are so hung up on always being right and feel really self conscious when we have been found out to be wrong about something, and can feel really embarrassed. This exercise is designed to let go of that altogether.
  • Whenever someone asks you a question about anything, give them the wrong answer on purpose, but make it so wrong that the other person knows it’s wrong as well, for example If someone asks you ‘Oh who was that actor in that film’ you might say ‘Oh! that was Christopher Columbus’ You’ll most likely get strange looks.
  • If you do this often enough it will get you over always feeling the need to be right. Of course when you are wrong always admit it and drop it.
4. Radical Honesty
  • Whenever someone asks for your opinion on something, be totally honest with them. However, when you first start being completely honest, always say to the person ‘Do you want my honest opinion or do you want me to say what you want to hear?’ that way it takes them off guard, but they will always say honest opinion.
  • People come to nice people for an opinion when they know what the answer will be, but people go to honest people when they want a valued opinion.

5. Learn to feel uncomfortable
  • The only way to grow as a person is when you are outside your comfort zone. Nobody ever grows inside their comfort zone.
  • The next time you are asked to do something, or think about doing something that you feel uncomfortable with, say yes to it immediately. For example if a friend asks you to a party that you know will make you feel uncomfortable say yes immediately to it. You don’t have to stay all night, but show up, feel that uncomfortable feeling and then leave shortly after.
  • If you can do this all throughout your life, you will never be afraid to try anything.
http://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/blog/5-weird-confidence-building-exercises/

Tuesday 2 July 2013

Want Help With Personal Development? Try These Tips

Developing yourself is essential to improving your life in both a mental and emotional level. To reach your own personal development goals, you need to be educated on what can and cannot work for you. Read this article to get started on your personal development journey.

Find people you can relate to.

When you have others around you who think and feel as you do, then you can avoid the negativity that can emerge from those who do not support your endeavors.

Seek out other like-minded individuals. 
This will create a reinforcing environment for meeting your goals and also help you avoid people who will bring you down with constant criticism.

In order to get as much as you can out of your efforts with personal development, you need to take care of your body physically. Make sure you are getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, and exercising on a regular schedule so that you have enough energy during the day, and you will find it will be a little easier to reach success. While this may sound like an easy thing to do, it can actually prove quite challenging at times.

Determine the things that you value....
...so that you can better come up with an excellent personal development strategy for your needs. It is not smart to focus on things that do not line up with your values and morals. Focus on positive aspects to improve. These aspects should mesh with your values. Implementing a plan for personal development can improve both your work and home life in the future.

If you want to enhance your approach to personal development, learn to be humble. Realizing that you are but a small part of the bigger picture will potentially open your mind to attaining new insights. Once this idea gets instilled in your mind, you will want to know, understand and learn new things, therefore, improving yourself.

If you want to make progress in the area of personal development, you need to declare lowliness. You will want to learn all you can, once you realize that you have only scratched the surface of all there is to be known. Staying aware of this will broaden your perspective and increase your quest for knowledge, leading to a better you.

Compliment other people. 
Doing the exact opposite and being kind to others will help you be kind to yourself.

If you want to start improving your life....
.....you have to stop engaging in harmful activities. Do you feel like you drink too much alcohol? Do you smoke or do other activities that may be harmful to your health? Your body should be treated with the respect it deserves. Look at how you are living your life, and check if you are participating in any negative habits that should be eliminated.

Go to the movies with a friend. This activity will force you to be around others, but you do not have to talk to them very much, which will minimize your discomfort. You can use the trip as an opportunity to become accustomed to the company of others.

It is hoped that this article was of assistance with ideas on how you can personally develop yourself for the better. You can always find new and innovative ways to improve the person that you are. It doesn't matter how old you are, as long as you’re motivated you can make changes, so do what it takes to turn into a better person while you can.