Pre-prepared food diet plans

Here’s a neat trick to getting yourself organised with your nutrition. When it comes to eating healthy and keeping the diet strict enough o see results there is nothing better than using pre-prepared food diet plans.

So what are pre-prepared food diet plans anyway?

Think of them as small packaged meals made the night before ready to be eaten the next day. In fact if you get really organised with your nutrition you can save buckets of time making quality health nutritious food to be eaten all day long.

Here’s an example of how you can save time cooking and most importantly having the right healthy meal waiting to be eaten any time of the day. I used to struggle with cooking and keeping it healthy. Invariable I would go training either gym at lunch time or an evening track session which made it difficult to have good quality snacks and protein rich food essential for a fats metabolism and keeping the fat melting of at all times. Here’s what I came up with; On a Sunday I would do my weekly shop for the next week. I would then get the chicken or turkey breasts all seven of them cooked on the grill. This means I had a 20 gram source of protein pre-prepared. I then simply stored the rest in the fridge took out a breast each day and added it to a salad, or a meal it took the twenty minutes of having to cook the meat out of the equation.

Pre-prepared food diet plans work. You can literally do what I did above and have a whole day’s food planned ready to eat. Just buy the food you want to eat and make little mini meals ensuring protein is ion most of them. It’s the same principle as having a protein shake ready made for you.

For some more examples of pre-prepared food diet plans take a look at these; Protein rich cottage cheese in yoghurt with frozen berries; This is one of my favourites! Grab a big 500gm tub of low fat cottage cheese, break it into 4 servings of 125gms add some low fat fruity yogurt and some frozen berries and add a touch of flaxseed oil. And freeze for the next three days. When you take them to work or as a snack by the time it’s defrosted it’s the perfect temperature to eat!

You can do this for many different foods. Pre-prepared food diet plans are a great time saving way to get healthy food into your diet. The biggest benefit is that pre-prepared food diet plans mean that you are consciously making the effort to choose the right food every day and avoid being caught short having to buy something to keep you going.

Spend the next week making your own pre-prepared food diet plans and give it a whole month and watch your diet get the results you deserve.

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Types of Dynamic flexibility exercises

Here is a list of dynamic flexibility exercises that you can incorporate into an ‘active warm up’ Dynamic leg exercises;

Dynamic flexibility exercises for For Hamstrings and hip flexors:

Forward and backwards front on leg swings:

This gets both the hip flexors (psoas muscles) and hamstrings (back of legs) in the same exercise. Simply hold on to a rail or support with one hand and wit the opposite leg start swinging to make your leg reach high up towards your head in front of you and on the way back let the leg swing behind you. Make sure you start slowly and cautiously and increase range of stretch slowly with each swing. Do about 7-10 reps on each leg twice.

Dynamic flexibility exercise For hips and glutes;

Similar to above this time you are supporting yourself with both hands onto a support around chest level in front of you. You simply swing you leg from side to side in front of you pivoting on your foot to allow the leg to fully swing up high side to side. Try thinking of it as a wind screen wiper almost touching opposite shoulders each time you swing. Again aim for 7-10 reps on each leg twice.

Dynamic flexibity exercise For lower back and trunk and also hips;

Scorpions;

This is called scorpions because you mimic a scorpion’s tail. You lie flat on your back and spread your arms out to your side like you are making a cross shape. You then start to swing one leg across your body to try and reach above your level of your out spread arm so its opposite leg to opposite arm. Again slowly increase the range and aim to get it as high above each arm as possible. If you struggle with the range it may indicate tight hip muscles and lumber region.

You can do another variation of this exercise which works the same sort of muscles this time lying face down with arms spread out like before and gain trying to swing each leg to the opposite arm and increasing the range of stretch slowly.

Other ways of dynamic flexibility exercises; You can warm up the hips very well by stepping over and under a bar or a set of hurdles; this has a really quick effect of warming the area up very quickly and easily. Simply step over a given height of bar or hurdle backward and forward. Once you get good increase the height to get over it making sure you keep good from and your back straight.

These are the core dynamic flexibility exercise, I think you can get the idea now, generally any limb movement exercise that gradually increases the speed and range can be dynamic flexibility exercise. It is a great way for sports specific flexibility.

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Stretching has come a long way since the olden days of just stretching statically or shall we say holding a stretch for 30 seconds to a minute three times on each body part and then doing your training session. In fact is almost the opposite. The latest school of thought in stretching and flexibility is what is known as dynamic flexibility exercise also known as active warm up.

Dynamic flexibility exercises involve moving a body part with increasing range of movement, combining both speed and maximum range. Examples of dynamic flexibility exercises are; Leg swing to the front and back, leg swings to each side, arm swings front and back, even simple hips circles is a form of dynamic flexibility.

Why dynamic flexibility over traditional static stretching before a work out or exercise? The rational comes basically from the theory that in dynamic flexibility exercises you are actually priming your major muscles into movements that are going to go to and beyond the normal range that you would when exercises. This actively prepares your muscle and tendons for the range of movement that the body will experience.

With static stretching you actually cause minute microscopic tears in the muscle when you stretch them. It is difficult to take the stretch past or equivalent to what you will experience in exercise, especially explosive fast sports such as sprinting and jumping. It can therefore actually cause injury and dehydration from sweating. That’s the basics. Where traditional stretching has a real purpose is after the activity where it can drastically improve recovery times and improve overall flexibility. Post exercise is best stretch for a minimum of 30 seconds for three sets.

Dynamic flexibility exercises are now becoming the norm in warming up for strenuous activity. You can actually check with your own body when performing dynamic flexibility exercises to see the readiness of your muscles to perform the activity. If you are struggling to stretch to a given range whilst performing dynamic flexibility exercises, you can keep warming up and coming back to the at muscle group once the internal core temperature is raised sufficiently.

This will give you ongoing feedback to see if you are prepared for exercise. As a rule of thumb if a muscle won’t stretch easily first time round move on to another body part and then come back. Since moving to dynamic flexibility exercises some 10 years ago I have never looked back, I have improved my workouts cut my warm up time in half and prevented many injuries especially hamstring ones! Use dynamic flexibility exercises in your warm up for improved work outs and less injury

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Beginners Strength/Weight training Circuit - Zone 1

The aim of Zone 1 is to strengthen all major muscle groups and build a solid base to move onto Zone 2 which will increase your muscle tone further. Providing you with a good overall strength, muscular endurance and cardiovascular fitness.

Aims:
1. Get Started or resume previous training
2. Build a solid base of strength
3. Increase muscle tone and strength
4. Increase muscle endurance.

Things to bear in mind:

• Concentrate on the feeling of the movement, focus on the contraction of the muscle resisting the weight as you return it slowly to the starting position.
• Perform each repetition taking the muscle from its fully extended position to its fully contracted position (you will be halving your results if you do not do the above).
• To find the right tempo - count to 2 as you life the weight, count to 3 as you lower the weight.
• Visualise your muscle contract and relax will help with your technique and do more reps.

The Progression
During Zone 1 you will gradually step up the intensity. During the first 2 weeks, you will perform a single set of each exercise. For the next 3 weeks - two sets of each exercise which will increase the intensity and in turn, muscle strength and endurance.

The Work out - 2 x a week.

Complete the circuit twice, taking no longer than 45 mins (excluding warm up and stretching) with 30 secs rest between exercises.
Choose weights that allow you to complete the given amount of repetitions and the last 1-2 reps should feel reasonably difficult. If you can complete any set easily you need to use a heavier weight. If you cannot complete the set of you feel an intense burn in your muscles you need to select a lighter weight. Complete the work out twice a week.

Weeks 1-6: Workout 2 x a week
No. of Circuits: 2
Workout time: 30-45 mins (excluding stretching and warm up)
Rest:allow approx. 30 seconds rest in between sets, 30 secs between exercises and 1-2 mins between circuits.
Tempo: 2 counts for lifting, 3 counts for lowering

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If you are just starting out with exercise and fitness, it is best to start things slowly to gauge your current fitness levels. But there are many things that you can do to increase your fitness levels are help your body to start metabolising better and working effectively.

*special warning* this is not intended to replace any medical advise or treatment please see your Doctor if necessary before starting a new exercise plan and you are concerned with your health.

THIS TOPIC IS DEDICATED TO RUNNING - Other topics include Weights, CV machines including Rowing, steps etc., Track Events.

Running - Running is something that initially can feel very tiring and unappealing but with regular practice and perservervance its amazing how quickly you will find that your stamina and speed improves and you will be looking forward to your next run!

Depending on your current level of health and fitness, you will know whether you are capable of either: Walking, jogging or running. Please be lead by your needs.

If you will be starting with Walking - set distance and time targets and stick with them. You want to be stretched but not pushed too far. There is no point if you have to then have 3 days off as rest for one day’s exercise.

Aim at exercising 3 days a week and eventually you if you wished for the pure love of it to increase to 5 days a week which would be including Strength training (weights), sports, swimming etc. Whether it be walking, jogging or running, weights, sports etc. you decide. But make the decision to improve your health and have goals to achieve.

Whatever your level of fitness you should comfortably be able to build from nothing to running continuously for 30 minutes in the space of eight weeks.

All you need to do is make a commitment to run at least three times a week and follow this simple run/walk programme which will gradually ease you towards the goal.

When first starting out there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Allow at least a day between runs when you begin.
• If in doubt, slow down. You should be able to hold a conversation while you run. Respecting your body is the best route to progression.
• Walk purposefully, and be strict with your run/walk timings.
• Don’t be afraid to repeat a week, or drop back a week. Everyone’s different.
  Take heart! You will get there!

The schedules
Week 1 Run one min, walk 90 seconds. Repeat eight times. Do three times a week.
Week 2 Run two mins, walk one min. Repeat seven times. Do three times a week.
Week 3 Run three mins walk one mins. Repeat six times. Do three times a week.
Week 4 Run five mins, walk two mins. Repeat four times. Do three times a week.
Week 5 Run eight mins, walk two mins. Repeat three times. Do three times a week.
Week 6 Run 12 mins, walk one min. Repeat three times. Do three times a week.
Week 7 Run 15 mins, walk one min, Run fifteen mins. Do three times a week
Week 8 Run 30 mins continuously.

And there you have it you are now a runner!

Good luck and feel free to post any questions! Look forward to seeing you around!

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Enjoy a tasty diet to lower cholesterol

Patients with high cholesterol are now more common than those with good cholesterol readings. We are constantly enjoined by our physicians to monitor our cholesterol readings, with good reason. High cholesterol levels of the bad sort and low cholesterol levels of the good type lead to artery blockages and heart attacks.

Our dietary habits play a big role in keeping bad cholesterol levels under control. In addition to medications which reduce cholesterol, a proper diet to lower cholesterol levels is essential. It can be discouraging to be on constant alert with what we can and cannot eat. We may regard a strict diet as depriving us of the normal enjoyment of eating. This need not be the case. You can enjoy your food, perhaps more than before you got the bad news, with a diet to lower cholesterol.

People of the Mediterranean regions seldom suffer from high cholesterol. You may well ask why. The secret to their good heart health lies in the consumption of heart healthy foods. Olive oil has no cholesterol and is a mainstay in the fats consumed. Fish, with a high content of the antioxidant Omega-3 fatty acids, also contribute to lowered cholesterol levels.

It is probably the large exposure to the omega 3 oils found in fish that has such a profound effect on the Mediterranean people. The fish oils have numerous studies showing that they reduce cholesterol, improve heart disease and a whole host of other ailments including inflammatory diseases.

Fresh garlic is included in the tasty Mediterranean diet in copious amounts. Entrees, salads and whole grain breads slathered with garlic and fresh produce play a major role in a diet to lower cholesterol. Bruschetta, an Italian favourite, is often composed of a garlic, olive and diced tomato mixture spread on the bread. It is a fact that garlic, given a prominent place in the diet to lower cholesterol, is as effective as pharmaceutical medications in reducing bad cholesterol. Some studies have shown garlic to be even more effective than the pharmaceuticals!

If you must adhere to a diet to lower cholesterol, the Mediterranean menus are certainly no punishment to your palate. The proof in this pudding is that Mediterranean populations rarely have high cholesterol levels and the death rate from heart attack is one of the lowest in the world.

Would you ever imagine that pizza would be an excellent addition to a diet to lower cholesterol? Unlikely, if you are eating a pizza prepared in the American way. A Mediterranean pizza is prepared with olive oil and much lesser amounts of the fatty meats we use. Olives are frequent additions to the Mediterranean style pizza, as are fresh tomatoes and low fat fresh mozzarella cheese.

The Mediterranean diet uses small amounts of fatty meats, instead favouring lean meats such as pancetta and lamb. Meats are used judiciously, more as flavouring than bulk. Pasta dishes emphasize the pasta, drizzled with olive oil and small amounts of meat, vegetables and seasonings for sensational taste appeal.

If you have to change your diet to reduce your cholesterol, you should take not from the Mediterranean way. doing simple things such as eating more garlic, oily fish in the form of sardines, salmon and mackerel to name but a few will pay dividends into incorporating a diet to lower cholesterol.

You can also Lower High Cholesterol Safely find out more.

Another great site offering good products is Sibu: Be Your Healthiest You! Sibu Whole Food Nutrition Special Discounts Available

There is a great article on how omega 3 fish oils help your health and cholesterol here.

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Creating a High Fiber Diet Plan is easy

If you are a little bunged up down there you may be needing some more fiber. We all need it at some point in ourlives so read on and get some easy tips to keep a stream of fiber going through your daily life.

Fiber is good for the body in so many ways, and making sure there is enough in the foods that you each can only be good for you. You obviously have to eat more than just fiber, as a balanced diet is recommended for all. However, you may find that adding the right amounts in the right places will leave you feeling so much better on a daily basis.

One great benefit of a high fiber diet plan is that it will keep your system moving. When you are young, this is not usually something you have to worry about, especially if you keep well hydrated. As we age we find that our digestive system becomes a bit sluggish, and if you have ever experienced constipation, you know how uncomfortable that can be from time to time. If you feel like that every day, you are really going to start to notice that it is interfering with your enjoyment of life. A high fiber diet plan can change all of that for you.

Diets high in fiber also help with counting or cutting down calories. Fiber tends to be light on the calories but filling in the digestive system. Fiber takes much longer to digest, and that means you are not going to feel hungry just an hour after you have eaten, much like you would when consuming highly processed carbohydrates instead. The best ways to get these benefits of a high fiber diet plan is to be sure you eat your veggies. Things like celery and broccoli are good for fiber, along with many others. You can get a good list online, or you can ask your doctor which foods you should be increasing in your menu plan.

Fiber comes from other sources as well. You can get breads made to go with the high fiber diet plan, and there are also supplements you can take. The supplements are easier to take than ever, and some have no taste. You can find a chewable that doesn’t taste too bad and is very easy to take. It’s almost like eating candy or a breath mint. If changing your foods for a high fiber diet plan is not working out for you, supplements can get you where you need to be. Just be sure to buy from a reputable source and to keep it up each day. You should see a difference in under a week.

See below for simple list of high fibre foods;

Wholemeal, granary and soft grain varieties of bread
Jacket potatoes, new potatoes in their skins and baked potato skins
Wholegrain breakfast cereals, e.g. Weetabix, branflakes, unsweetened muesli, Shreddies and porridge oats
Wholemeal pasta and brown rice
Beans, lentils and peas
Fresh and dried fruits – particularly if the skins are eaten
Vegetables – particularly if the skins are eaten
Nuts and seeds

As you can see quite a lot of choice. It could be as simple as adding some nuts and dried fruit throughout the day to your high fibre diet plan to get some good results.

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Weight Control - Counting Calories Is A Must

If you’re on a diet, or thinking of dieting to shed those extra unwanted pounds, you have several choices and methods. Unless you have a medical condition which relates to your weight gain, the surest way to lose weight and keep it off is counting calories. Medical conditions such as diabetes, thyroid or other endocrinogical disorders require that you consult with your health care provider for safe weight loss.

Counting calories is the way to go when your overweight condition arises from a too healthy appetite or plain overindulgence. The many fad diets and programs which supply you with pre-portioned meals may help you reach your goal, but these diets typically involve complicated menu planning or a hefty price. Counting calories is reliable, easy and much less expensive.

Common sense tells you that when choosing the calorie counting method, you also need to include foods from each of the food groups. A properly balanced diet ensures adequate nutrition.

Barring a medical cause, when you gain weight, the usual culprits are too much food and poor choices. For example, large portions of fatty meats, more than the occasional candy bar, frequent fried indulgences along with the heavy use of sodas are a sure recipe for gaining weight.

If you salt your food heavily, it’s most likely it’s just a habit your palate can be weaned from. Salt causes you to retain water and is unhealthy for your heart. Try a salt substitute, or look up some of the many herbal salt less mixtures.

Before you start your diet, pick up a good nutrition reference guide. Such books give you a complete picture of calories, carbohydrates, fats, fibre and protein content of foods, along with figures on vitamin and mineral content. These guides also tell you what each nutrient does to support your total body health. This information becomes meaningful in the counting calorie context and can serve as inspiration to both weight loss and better health. For example, let’s say you suffer poor night vision. You also dislike orange and yellow vegetables as a rule. When you learn that these vegetables contain high amounts of vitamin A and that night blindness can be remedied with sufficient vitamin A, you may get creative with those carrots, also low in calories.

When counting calories, you’ll find you can trick your appetite by eating meals in separate courses. This encourages more leisurely eating, better digestion and a feeling of fullness with a smaller portion size. You also tend to enjoy your food more.

When it comes to sweets, and chocolates etc. Here’s a great tip; you can allow yourself a little treat here and there but if you eat them after a bout of exercise, it will actually help in the raising of insulin. This is the one time high blood sugar levels are ok as you body needs to replace nutrients lost in exercise. Remember counting calories will certainly help stabilize your weight, but you should aim to use more calories than you eat and that means doing some physical exercise.

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Lose Weight Exercise for improved lifestyle

Let’s face it – our country is filled with overweight people who want to be thin. We try all kinds of things, from weight loss diets to lose weight exercise, but nothing seems to work for many of us. The fact is that we just can’t seem to keep the weight off. Even if we use the best exercises to lose weight, we tend to not be able to stick with them. Sometimes it starts off with an extra treat on the weekends. Other times, our resolve breaks down all of the sudden. Whatever the reasons, our diet plans and our lose weight exercises tend to lose steam eventually.

The only way to make you lose weight exercise is to do the following:

You have to get passionate about losing weight
Get out of your comfort zone
break bad habits
Form new good habits

and most importantly hand around with other people that want to lose weight exercise and be more healthy.

You will not get there if you do not change, if you want to lose weight and change your body you have to first change your attitude.

This means that you must live every day as if weight loss were your most important priority. You have to start doing something that burns more calories than you do in a normal day. you do not have to spend lots of money and join a gym initially. there is so much you can do to lose weight exercise at home will get you on the right track. Going to the gym at least three times a week and doing both cardiovascular and weightlifting exercises will be the next level of progression. You have to eliminate junk food completely from your life, not even snacking on it on special occasions. Your lose weight exercise must be complemented by a good, healthy diet.

In my opinion, you should avoid fad diets altogether. Maybe some of them work, maybe some of them don’t, but there is one thing that we all know: a good, safe, healthy diet works for everyone. All you have to do on top of your lose weight exercise is to eat lots of fibrous carbohydrates in the form of vegetables, a small amount of number of grains, and only healthy fats. You don’t have to cut out fat entirely – if you use olive oil and other vegetable oils, you should be just fine. Perhaps you won’t lose weight quite as quickly as on the Atkins diet, but you will be much healthier.

The most important thing, and the cornerstone of any weight loss plan, is the lose weight exercise routine. You have to be sure to vary your exercises. Doing just one type of cardiovascular activity can do a lot to help you lose weight fast, but you will get even better results if you can switch it up from time to time. Your lose weight exercise needs to also include muscle building routines. If you can build lean muscle, it will help you to burn fat faster and more efficiently. It will also make you stronger, make your posture better, and help you in your lose weight exercise workouts.

A small tip on your lose weight exercise campaign. When you are mapping out what exercises you are going to do, you need to measure how you are going to increase the level and effort.

F.I.T this acronym spells fit, but it stands for frequency, intensity and time. Vary these three components in your lose weight exercise routine and keep your body moving in the right direction. I recommend having a 4 week plan of workouts where you vary FIT components and come back to each workout with a new level.

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Cayenne pepper diet for detoxification

When you think detoxification diet, you probably don’t think of the cayenne pepper diet? Well you should it is another alternative to what’s out there and it is an interesting one to try. Read on and see what you think!

First of all, it really isn’t about the pepper. The cayenne pepper diet is mostly about the citrus and water that you ingest over the course of the program. The recipe that is used in this body cleanse is pretty simple. You need fresh, and I mean fresh, squeezed lemon or lime juice, dark maple syrup, cayenne pepper (of course) and water.

That was the first surprise that I found. The maple syrup was a real shocker because I figured that you would want to avoid sugars when doing a cleansing program like the cayenne pepper diet. However, the dark maple syrup is helpful in giving you energy while completing the detoxifying process.

The lemon was of no real surprise on the cayenne pepper diet because it is such a useful tool in cleaning out your body. However, the lime was a pleasant surprise that I embraced. When you are on a really restrictive program like the cayenne pepper diet you welcome as much change as possible. I liked that I could switch between lemon and lime for a different taste every so often.

I was also surprised by how little pepper was used in the recipe. Since the program is called the cayenne pepper diet I figured that this would be the main ingredient. However, you just use a small pinch of the supplement in the concoction, especially at first. The amount of pepper increases as you follow the program.

The results were pretty surprising as well. The cayenne pepper diet is not a weight loss program but I did lose weight. How couldn’t I on such a restrictive plan? I was pretty surprised that I wasn’t exhausted during the cleansing plan. I had plenty of energy to spare.

The unpleasant surprise was that I had a terrible headache all through my experience with the cayenne pepper diet. I also found that I gained the weight I lost but that wasn’t really a concern. One must before trying the cayenne pepper diet: consult your physician. This is the most important step in the process.

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