10 Steps To Become More Young and Active Every Day

You know you should be getting some sort of exercise, you know of all the health benefits that come with a more active lifestyle. You’ve tried the whole Gym thing, but it just wasn’t for you. The temptation to just sit in front of the TV, to curl up with a good book, or to spend a little extra time at your computer is just too big. Who wants to head to the gym right now anyway?

There are many other options to get more active that don’t include jogging, weight lifting or other “traditional” ways to work out. Here are a few ideas to get you moving

1) Chase your Kids around the Yard
You’d be surprised at how much of a work out you’ll get playing catch with your kids. Time will fly while you are having fun and your children will enjoy the extra time with you. Just get out there and play.

2) Turn up the Music and Dance around the Living Room
While you’re dusting, putting up dishes, straightening up the kids’ rooms, or after you’ve been sitting around for too long, just play some of your favorite upbeat music and dance around in the house. Not only will you get your heart rate up, but you’ll also have more fun doing some of those chores.

3) Plant some Flowers
When the weather is nice, just get out there and plant some flowers. Or you could start a little vegetable garden, trim some hedges, cut the grass, or plant a tree. You get the idea. Just get out there, enjoy the sunshine and fresh air, and play in the dirt. Yes, this actually counts as exercise in our book.

4) Go for a Walk with a Friend
Take a walk and invite a friend to come along. I’ve had some of the best conversations while on a walk. Getting to chat with a friend makes the time fly by and before you know it you’ve been walking for 30 minutes.

5) Listen to some Music or an Audio Book while You Walk
Again, keeping your mind on something else will make the time fly by and you’ll get some extra fun out of your walk. You may even want to consider getting an MP3 Player. You can easily add what you want to listen to and go for your walk.

6) Sign up for a Yoga or Pilates Class
Consider starting a yoga or Pilates class. Both of these workouts are pretty low impact and won’t leave you sweaty and sore (mostly). You may also enjoy meeting some new people in the class.

7) Take some Dance Lessons with your Partner
Ok, here is the tough part: Convince your partner to take some dance lessons. Dancing will give you quite the workout and it’s just plain fun and of course romantic. Think about all your options here. You can pick from anything from Ball Room Dancing, to Line Dancing, to Latin etc. Pick something that sounds fun to you and go for it. You’ll enjoy the extra one on one time with your partner as well.

8) Go for a Swim at Your Local YMCA or Aquatic Center
Swimming makes for some great exercise. It is low impact and easy on your joints. Start by swimming a few laps, or play in the pool with your kids.

9) Go for a Bike Ride
Take the entire family on a bike ride. You can ride through your neighborhood in the evenings or plan a longer trip for the weekend. Pack a picnic for extra fun and start peddling.

10) Go for a Hike
Look for some hiking trails in your area and go for a hike. This could be a fun activity for you and a friend, or take the entire family along. Start with some easy trails and work yourself up to some longer or steeper trails.

Go ahead, pick one or two of the activities and get moving. I’m sure you’ll come up with plenty of versions of your own. The most important thing is to find something you enjoy, so you’ll stick with it. Get out there and get moving today.

How to cure Gambling Addiction

While most people enjoy casino gambling, sports betting, lottery and bingo playing for the fun and excitement it provides, others may experience gambling as an addictive and distractive habit. Statistics show that while 85 percent of the adult population in the US enjoys some type of gambling every year, between 2 and 3 percent of will develop a gambling problem and 1 percent of them are diagnosed as pathological gamblers.

Where can you draw the line between harmless gambling to problem gambling? How can you tell if you or your friend are compulsive gamblers? Here you can find answers to these questions and other questions regarding problem gambling and gambling addiction.

What is the Meaning of Problem Gambling?
Problem gambling or compulsive gambling is defined as an uncontrollable urge to gamble despite the destructive effect of gambling on the gamblers life and despite feelings of guilt and remorse. Problem gambling tends to have a negative effect on the gamblers financial state, relationships and daily life. Severe cases of problem gambling can be defined as pathological gambling.

Am I a Compulsive Gambler?
1) Do you gamble until your last penny runs out?
2) Do you gamble to win back your former losses or debts?
3) Did you ever had to borrow money to continue gamble?
4) Did your gambling habit ever made you lie to your friends or family?
5) Did you ever skip work or other obligation to gamble?
6) Do you tend to gamble to forget about your personal problems or to celebrate happy occasions?
7) Does gambling have a negative affect on your daily life or relationships?

If you have answered yes on at least one of the questions listed above, then you have a problem.

Can Anyone Become a Compulsive Gambler?
Theoretically, yes. Any gambler can develop gambling problem regardless to the type of gambling he is occupied with, the amount of money and time he is spending on gambling. Researches show that slot machines that can be found in bars and convenient stores are the most addictive type of gambling activity, while lottery draws and bingo games are located on the other end of the scale. Gambling addiction is an emotional problem; its symptoms, causes and treatments are similar to any other form of addiction.

How Can I treat Gambling Addiction?
1) Group Therapy:
Gamblers Anonymous offers a 12 step self help program similar to the one offered to alcohol addicts in Alcoholics Anonymous.  Group therapy also offers gambling addicts advice and support from professional counselors and other gambling addicts in different phases of their recovery process. Gambler Anonymous centers are available in more than 1,200 locations statewide.

2) Individual Therapy:
Cognitive or behavior therapy can help gambling addicts to identify their unaware thinking and acting patterns, which led them to gamble compulsively, and to replace them with controllable and healthier ways of thinking.

3) Psychiatric Medication:
It has recently been proven that antidepressant medications from the family of SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can be affective in treatment of gambling addicts.

Why your body needs vitamin C

Vitamin supplements are very important in prevention of unwanted health ailments that is partially caused by vitamin deficiencies.  Many people today use vitamin supplements to make up for lost nutrients or the shortage of vitamins in their system. A shortage in Vitamin C may lead to scurvy, a condition that may causes tooth loss, hemorrhage, bruising, weakening of inability to fight infection, mild anemia, and bleeding. Essential amounts of vitamin C is necessary to promote overall health and well being. In many instances a good diet might be enough, but when it is not, vitamin supplementation necessary to take care of the deficiency.

Ascorbic Acid or Vitamin C is one of the most popular health supplements that is supposed to boost the immune system. It may strengthen the capillaries or the tiny blood vessels that carry oxygen and other necessary nutrients to all parts of the body via the bloodstream. Vitamin C is also a potent antioxidant, which means that it can eliminate free radicals from the body.  It also helps deal with harmful oxygen molecules that could damage the cells.  It is also believed that Vitamin C helps maintain cellular health and prevent cancer and a host of other health problems.

In addition to these health benefits, Vitamin C also plays an important role in promoting the health and beauty of the skin. This vitamin inhibits the production of melanin, the pigment that gives the skin its dark color. Vitamin C is also necessary for collagen synthesis, a process that improves skin elasticity and holds back the aging process. Applying skin-care products which contain Vitamin C may improve collagen production and result to a more youthful and hydrated looking skin.

The current recommended daily allowance (RDA) for Vitamin C is 75 milligrams (mg) a day for women and 90 mg a day for men to get the minimum amount the human body needs. However , medical specialists suggest that an intake of 200 mg is accepted since that amount is the most the human body can absorb at one time. Vitamin C can be found in citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruit, and tomatoes. Vegetables like bell pepper and broccoli are also good sources of Vitamin C.

It's easy to get ample amounts of Vitamin C from one's diet as long as it contains adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables. But if one feels there is a deficiency that needs to be taken care off, individuals are advised to take Vitamin C supplementation to take care of that deficiency. If a cold is starting to develop, it may also help to increase one's consumption. Medical studies show that taking 1000 mg of Vitamin C a day may reduce the severity of cold symptoms by about 20 percent.

Individuals who want to Vitamin C supplementation should seek the recommendation of doctors and other health professionals to side effects and drug interaction. Most people may take up to 2000 mg of Vitamin C without ill effects while some can develop diarrhea from as little as 500 milligrams. It is also important to drink plenty of water because Vitamin C needs to be dissolved in order to be metabolized properly. Sufficient water may also ensure that excess Vitamin C is eliminated from the body.

A Case Study on Emotional Eating

People normally eat more whenever celebrations arise, such as birthdays and the holidays. We tend to ear more whenever these kinds of events occur. In line with this, a new study found out that people who have the tendency to eat in response to external factors, such as holidays and celebrations, have lesser problems in dealing with their weight loss than those people who eat in response to their emotions (considering internal factors). The study also found out that emotional eating was associated with weight regain for people who lost weight.
    Lead author Heather Niemeier of Miriam Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center states that they have findings that the more people report eating to respond for thoughts and feelings such as when one is lonely, the less weight they lose in a behavioral weight loss program. The findings also showed that among those who have successfully lost their weight, those who report for emotional eating, were more likely to regain. The authors noted this as important, since one of the greatest challenges in facing the field of overweight and obesity treatment remains the problem of weight regain following the weight loss. According to Niemeier, participants in behavioral weight loss programs lose an average of ten percent of their body weight, and these losses are associated with significant health benefits. Unfortunately, the majority of participants return to their baseline weight within three to five years.
    In this particular study, the researchers analyzed the individual's responses to a questionnaire that is widely used in overweight and obesity research called the Eating Inventory. The Eating Inventory is a tool designed to evaluate three aspects of eating behaviors in an individual such as cognitive restraint, hunger, and disinhibition. For a more specified research, Niemeier and her team only focused on the disinhibition aspect of the Eating Inventory. Although, past studies have suggested that disinhibition as a whole is an accurate predictor of weight loss, the scale itself includes multiple factors that could separately forecast outcomes. Niemeier said that the disinhibition scale will evaluate the impulse eating in response to emotional, cognitive, or social cues. Their goal was to examine and isolate the factors that make up the disinhibition scale, and then determine if these factors have a specific relationship with weight loss and regain.
    Those included in the study are divided into two groups. The first group was composed of 286 overweight men and women who are currently participating in a behavioral weight loss program. The second group on the other hand included 3,345 members of the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), an ongoing study of adults who have lost at least thirty pounds and kept it off for at least one year. According to the study, by examining these two different groups, they were able to evaluate the effect of disinhibition on individuals attempting to lose weight, as well as on those who are trying to maintain weight loss. Upon further examination, the researchers found that the components within the disinhibition scale was to be grouped in two distinct areas: external and internal disinhibition. External disinhibition describes experiences that are external to the individual, while internal refers to eating in response to thoughts and feelings, which includes emotional eating. Results showed that in both groups, internal disinhibition was a significant predictor of weight over time. For those people enrolled in weight loss programs, the higher level of internal disinhibition, the less weight is lost over time.
    Their research has suggested that attention should be given to eating that is triggered by thoughts and feelings, since they clearly play a significant role in weight loss. Internal disinhibition, however, predicted weight change over time above and beyond other psychological issues including depression, binge eating, and perceived stress. By further modification of treatments in order to address these triggers for unhealthy eating and at the same time help the patients learn alternative strategies could improve their ability to maintain weight loss behaviors, even in the face of affective and cognitive difficulties.

10 Ways women can mange stress from their work place

women are more prone to workplace because of the many roles they play in life:  as career woman, wife, mother, daughter, and friend.  Women work way beyond the 9-5 shift, often having to rush home to cook dinner, help the kids with homework, and prepare the next day's office attire for the hubby.  The stress and anxiety caused by endless tasks and impossible deadlines in a high-speed, high-tech world has made women's lives a living web of complexity.

The question is: How can women cope with stress and anxiety?  The first step is to dissect the problem and understand how these psychological and emotional conditions make women's lives more difficult.

Stress is a combination of fatigue, restlessness, depression, over-focusing, and over-all gloominess that is a consequence of overwork and other domestic or personal problems.   The difficulty of trying to balance time between work and the home has caused many women to suffer from stress.  Personal or relationship issues like divorce or separation have also been the cause of anxiety panic attacks among women. Women who own and manage their own business are also prone to stress.  Their high drive for business success cannot always protect them from times of depression and overwork. Career women, on the other hand, have to confront office politics, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and the fear of being laid-off.

But there's still hope for over-worked, stressed women.   Here are some practical ways for women to reduce and manage work-related stress:

1.    Put up relaxing scenes- It could be a poster or a small painting with beautiful scenery. You can even download screen savers of beaches, waterfalls, clear lakes and other scenes that help create a serene mood.

2.    The To-Do-List-  Use that Post-Its or other stick-on note pads. Color-code your notes and even put up an “alarm” in your computer to remind you of priority tasks.  The key is to know what to do first.

3.    Time out - As they say, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”  Take some time out to take a breather. Do way from reading emails the mostly junk. Do stimulating activities like sudoku or brainteaser. Reading some inspirational books like Chicken Soup for the Soul.

4.    Rearrange your workstation - Add some “homey” look to your workstation... put up photo frames of your family or favorite pet. When ever you feel stressed out just glance at their happy faces or cuteness ---and you'll find yourself smiling back!

5.    When a plant isn't just a plant - Having a plant around your workplace is good stress relief. Studies show that looking at something green like a plant helps soothe your eyes after facing the computer monitor all day or after reading for a long time.  Focusing on a green plant will have a soothing effect.

6.    Exercise - Walking, climbing the stairs, or going out to run helps fight stress. Physical activity help get rid of tension.  During a workout, your body releases endorphins which helps your body to relax.  Endorphins also act as natural pain killers. There are a lot of exercise videos that you can use ranging from the standard aerobics to pilates, tae-bo, and a host of other fitness programs.

7.    De-clutter- A cluttered workstation like pens,pencils, notepads,tons of papers spread around every inch of your work place adds to your stress.  Make your work environment more appealing by organizing your things and throwing away things you no longer need.

8.    Set Boundaries- Communicate and assert yourself, make your co-workers know when you are more available for chit chat.

9.    Go less in your caffeine intake- caffeine even is popularly known as a stimulant, too much of it adds to stress even leads to depression.

10.    Eat a good breakfast- Don' skip meals even if you are indeed in a hurry. Studies shows that if you make it a practice to eat breakfast every day, you're body gets more the needed proteins to give you an energy boost to face the working day.


Beat work-related stress without beating yourself up. Learn how to relax. Sure...we have duties and responsibilities but if you don't learn to relax---burn out is what you get!  Make an effort to relax. Listen to good music. Try not to smoke. Because if you don't watch out, the results would be hypertension...depression... and a plethora of other ailments that can sidetrack your career and home life.  It's time to regain a sense of balance if you want to stay alive for a long, long, long time.

6 Secrets to get a 6 pack Abs in 3 weeks

No matter if you are a teen trying to get into shape or a grown woman returning to the world of fitness, a harder and flatter stomach is the final goal for many a person. Because of this, this topic is covered in plenty of fitness myths and revolutionary ideas and is especially susceptible to fancy machines and ideas that claim to give a rock hard 6-pack in  weeks, yet do absolutely nothing. This article does not claim to give "rock hard abs" in a week, but instead serves to try to change the views some people have gotten from watching too many infomercials at 2AM.



1. You Can't Spot-Reduce

This means that you can't burn fat only from a specific spot on your body. All the sit-ups in the world will not burn the fat on your gut. Bodyfat is lost from all over your body and is caused by a caloric deficit, not from activating a certain muscle group.

2. Cardio is Important

The key to getting a 6-pack is not in building up the abdominals, but in burning the fat that is covering them. The way to achieve this is is to have a caloric deficit, which can be achieved by both taking in less calories and using up more calories. A form of cardio that is very effective for burning fat and boosting your metabolism is HIIT. HIIT is exercising in short bursts of intense cardio followed by a short cooldown. An example of a session would be a 30 second run, followed by a 30 second jog, followed by another sprint, and so on for 4 to 15 minutes depending on the fitness of person.


3. Abs are made in the kitchen

This is the least complex and yet the most difficult aspect in getting a 6-pack. The key to getting a 6-pack is to cut down on food and lose bodyfat. Here are some easily applicable tips:

    * Stop drinking soda and start to drink only water. It can make a huge difference.

    * Eat 5-6 small meals a day. This helps boost your metabolism and keeps your appetite in check.

    * Try to find your calorie maintenance level and gradually decrease 100-200 calories per week until your are shedding about 1-2 pounds a week.

4. Sit-ups are useless

Sit-ups are supposed to target the abs but really the hip flexors and spinal erectors are doing the work in the movement. The abdominals are only used isometrically as stabilizers. This means that sit-ups are terrible for your back and do not benefit your abs anyway.


5. Other Exercises To Do


Now this would be the time for me to plug some new life-changing product or idea, but that is not the point of this article. Here are some ab exercises for beginners to do instead of the traditional sit-up:

    * Crunches - There are many different types, but try to think of it as pulling your bottom rib directly to your hip

    * Weighted crunches - Do normal crunches except hold a plate to your chest

    * Hanging leg raises - hang from a bar and pull your knees directly to your chest

6. Don't Give Up!

While achieving  your goal of a 6-pack may not be as painless and easy as infomercials may have you think, it is still a very realistic goal even for a beginner. All it takes hard work and determination. Giving up a week after you started will not help you get a six pack or help your your overall fitness.

5 Tips For More Swimming Pool Fun

Swimming is a wonderful exercise that can benefit anyone. If you’re not fortunate enough to have your own pool, you can use your local public swimming pool, or even swim in the sea if you’re reasonably close to the coast. Whatever way you do it, try to get wet often; it’s good for you and lots of fun too!

1. Keep moderation in mind when you go in the pool. Begin with short period of 10 to 20 minutes. You can increase this when you gain in stamina. And don’t try all the hardest strokes at first. Build up to it gently.

2. Use a quality filter for your pool. Trying to save here will only result in constant maintenance costs. It will also mean swimming in a pool that is always dirty.

3. Repair any tear in your swimming pool liner as soon as possible. If the tear is three inches or less it should repair easily. If it is larger you may have to replace the entire liner.

4. Don’t allow children (or adults) to run near the pool. Running and diving into a pool is asking for trouble. Accidents can easily happen on slippery surfaces, so play safe always.

5. If you find that all your pool toys, chemicals and cleaners are becoming unmanageable, find someplace to store them. A shed or pool house near the pool is ideal. However, be careful not to store chemicals that may react with each other close together. Also make sure the room is well ventilated.

Hand mitts, paddles, swim fins, and kickboards are all ways to make your swimming more fun and challenging to provide better exercise. These days you can even swim to music by using a specially designed radio that fits into a waterproof bag. So don’t just lounge around the pool all day. Use it as it is intended to be used – swim and enjoy life!