How to Buy the Right Exercise Equipment
Sometimes going to the gym is just not convenient. We have to work, take care of the kids and do the many chores that require us to live in a modern world. Unfortunately today's busy lifestyle can really take a toll on your health. We all know that we need to take the time to exercise but where do we actually find that time? A solution is to purchase exercise equipment for your home.

There are a few things to consider when you think of purchasing exercise equipment. How often are you going to use it? Do you have space in your home? What kind of exercises do you like to do? Should you purchase used or new? Do you want to buy equipment with a specific body area in mind?

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  Snacks That Are Good For You
Taking off some weight is a goal that almost everyone has right now. The holidays and long winters that most of us endure also add some pounds that need to be removed.

When you are trying to take off a few pounds, you must eat regularly to "fuel the furnace". To put it another way, eating small meals throughout the day helps to keep the "furnace" of your digestion and metabolism going strong and enables you to use the fat in your body rather than protein to fuel your body. Think of the old coal furnaces that had to be tended by adding fuel and not letting the fire die out. If the furnace went out, then it took a long time to get the temperature back up to a comfortable level and to enable the furnace to do its job. The body is the same by needing constant help to burn off the fat and to create a situation whereby your body has all the nutrients necessary.

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  The "Healthy Eating Pyramid" Pathway Toward Good Health and Long Life
Do you ever wonder what happened to the Food Guide Pyramid? The Food Guide Pyramid was created more than ten years ago by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Pyramid illustrated what the USDA said were the elements of a healthy diet. The Pyramid was taught in schools, appeared in the media and brochures, on cereal boxes and food labels. It seemed like the absolute final word on what we should really eat.

The Food Guide Pyramid is now like a fairytale. It did not point the way toward healthy eating. We are told now the Food Guide Pyramid was based on shaky scientific evidence. It still has not changed over the years to reflect major advances in our understanding of the connection between diet and good health.

Recently, the USDA retired the old Food Guide Pyramid and replaced it with MyPyramid, a new symbol and "interactive food guidance system. This revision is basically the old Pyramid turned on its side.

Good news about the new MyPyramid:
* It tears apart and buries the flawed Pyramid.

Bad news about the MyPyramid:
* The new MyPyramid does not give us enough information to help us make informed choices about our diet and long-term health.
* It continues to recommend foods that are not essential to good health. * The food quantities recommended may even be detrimental to our overall health.
So.....what do we eat to become and stay healthy?

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  Ten Tips to Turn Those Blues into Rosy Hues Countless days are rose-colored when you accomplish every task with a smile and energy, but some days are blue and slow when it is an effort to even lug oneself through the day. Arising from bed in the morning is hard, choosing something to wear is difficult and preparing breakfast is arduous. At these times, a favorite cup also breaks, the milk carton leaks and the computer stops. It is truly a personal "blue" day. Everyone experiences ups and downs...that are part of life. First check that your health, diet and/or a medical reason is not the primary cause; A. Nature's body rest. Check if you are succumbing to a viral infection such as a common cold or sore throat. Nature's first sign is to encourage rest to allow the immune system be strong and fight infection. This could be a reason for feeling lethargic in the morning.


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  Stetch Mark Prevention The human body is a complex system. It does, however, require the correct ingredients to function correctly. When there is a problem it is often indicated externally - this is the case with stretch marks. There is very little that you can do to prevent stretch marks that result from your genetic makeup. However, stretch mark prevention is possible when its cause is related to hormonal imbalance. The following are some easy tips for stretch mark prevention.

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  Is Your Closet a Mess? Is your Closet a Mess?by Connie Limon (Email: connielimon@yahoo.com) If your closet is a mess and needs some serious organizing this article should help you at least get started organizing it. Don't allow your nice shoes to be scattered all over the closet floor or anywhere else. There is a solution to scattered shoes. Try using a good shoe rack or shoe cubbies. They are very in expensive to own. I have used the over-the-door shoe bags and it solved the problem but not as neatly as a nice shoe racks or shoe cubbies. They are a bit more sanitary as well. Avoid the shoe racks that are slightly slanted. Shoes without heels have a hard time staying put on these types of racks. A good shoe rack is one that is flat with a minimum of two shelves. Another option is a shoe caddy with 9 to 12 squares (3 squares horizontal and 3 squares vertical. If you have a small chest or better yet if you can have a small chest of drawers specifically made to fit a small space in your closet it can provide a lovely place to organize your hosiery and sock collection. You can organize the drawers with plastic baggies. Place one pair of sock, tights or pantyhose in each plastic bag. If you have a little extra time try to organize even further. You can place a label on each bag to distinguish black socks from blue socks, casual socks from dress socks. This tiny organizational tip will save you time (you can post on your time management list as extra time to spent more constructively elsewhere) when you are looking specifically for a blue pair of socks. Black and blue socks seem to all look either black or blue when you are in a hurry, and it seems I am always pulling out the wrong color. Now that you have all socks, tights, and pantyhose neatly packed in plastic bags and labeled, line them up according to color and/or category. What is even nicer now is to place a divider in front of each category and/or color with the name of that category and/or color boldly printed on the front. Make it pretty and even more fun by decorating your dividers with some favorite graphic such as roses, butterflies or angels as a border all around and have the name of your category and/or color right in the middle of your decorations in whatever color that matches your border or simply dark black. You can use this same method to organize small change purses, billfolds, cigarette cases, key holders, glasses holders, cosmetic bags. If you have a lot of these as well, you might have two separate small chest made to fit inside your closet to store and organize both sets of items. As you go through these items and organize them you will find some you just do not want to keep anymore. Stash them away in a box for your yard sale or Goodwill donations. Small leather goods that are something like what you would call "antique" at some point in life can also be sold on places like E-bay. I am sometimes so pressed for time I will end up wearing blue socks when I should have chosen black socks. Worse yet, is wearing white socks with black pants......incidentally though this is my favorite combination, although not an acceptable fashion statement. If I could I would wear only white Hanes anklets. I do have a few pair of the other colors though and labeling the bags is a big help. One thing about it for sure if you have lots of clutter, you will feel more stressed. After I finish writing this article telling everyone else how to start getting organized at least in their closet, I probably should try and organize some of the things I see to the right on my desk area. It is more stressful to live in a cluttered and chaotic environment. As soon as I look over there, I feel a sudden drop in my heartbeat, then a speedy up heartbeat, and feel an extra surge of tension radiate throughout. I suppose one can only conclude that living in an unorganized environment creates more tension and stress. A great rule to follow is if you have something in your closet that you have not worn for a year, most likely, you will never wear it, and it is time just to toss it, sell in a yard sale or send it to the Goodwill industry. Another horrible habit to get into is tossing your hat, gloves, scarves, coats and sweaters on top of sofas or chairs. The reason for this is probably because you have no designated storage area for these items. With all else you have just added to your closet you may find your closets not the best spot for these items. What about the wall space though inside the closets? There probably are not pictures or decorations hanging on the walls in your closet and if you can squeeze in a hook or two, this would be a perfect spot to hang your hats, scarves and most used outer sweaters. I hope you have the luxury of a separate coat closet, however, with nothing but coats hanging on the most durable type of clothes hanger you can find. I find that storing a matching pair of gloves in the pockets of my coats works well for glove storage and retrieval. Scarves can be hung around the collars of coats and rest on the hanger until time for use. For children, you can do the same with their gloves and try will hard to teach them to put their gloves straight into their pockets before hanging coats in the closet. Now what about umbrellas? I personally like a nice looking umbrella stand which adds some color and decoration to my room as well as holds all the umbrellas. Well.....at least you might get started on your way organizing your messy closet with the help of this article. I need to finish labeling my sock bags! Author: Connie Limon. Visit us at http://www.selfimprovementbook1.com and sign up for our newsletters. Self Improvement Book is a guide to information about self improvement, personal growth and self help tips. It is an organized directory referencing information in other websites on the World Wide Web. This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.  ¶ 3:56 PM 0 comments

 

The drug called Ecstasy/MDMA is just one of several that children as young as 8th graders are abusing. Ecstasy is a human-made drug taken orally as a capsule or tablet. The short-term effects include feelings of mental stimulation, emotional warmth, enhanced sensory perception, and increased physical energy. Adverse health effects can include nausea, chills, sweating, teeth clenching, muscle cramping, and blurred vision.

If you suspect or find out your child is actually abusing this drug or is involved in any kind of drug abuse what steps can you take to help them overcome the addictions?

A family-based prevention program should include:

1. Enhanced family bonding and relationships; 2. Education for parents to learn parenting skills; 3. Developing, discussing and enforcing family policies on substance abuse; 4. Training in drug education and information.

What is family bonding?

Family bonding is the foundation of the relationship between parents and children. You can strengthen your family bonds through skills training on parent supportiveness of children, parent-child communication, and parental involvement.

One of the cornerstones for drug abuse prevention is parental monitoring and supervision. As a parent you can enhance your parenting skills with drug prevention program training.

Benefits of participating in a drug prevention program are:

* Being able to provide consistent rules and discipline for your child; * Ability to talk to your children about drugs; * Techniques of how to monitor your children's activities; * Techniques of how to get to know your children's friends; * Techniques of how to understand your children's problems and concerns; * And becoming involved in their learning.

The importance of this parent-child relationship continues through adolescence and beyond.

Below are some resources to help you find drug prevention programs:

* National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) * National Institutes of Health (NIH) * U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) * Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) * Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), DHHS Phone: 301-443-9110 * Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), DHHS Phone: 404-639-3534 Phone: 800-311-3435 (toll-free) * Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program U.S. Department of Education (DoE) Phone: 800-872-5327 (toll-free) * Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Phone: 202-307-1000 * Knowledge Exchange Network, SAMHSA, DHHS Phone: 800-789-2647 (toll-free) * National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI), SAMHSA, DHHS Phone: 800-729-6686 (toll-free) * National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), NIH, DHHS Phone: 301-443-3860 * National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), NIH, DHHS Phone: 301-443-4513

As a parent you need to educate yourself as much as possible about drug abuse, stay in touch with your children's activities, and listen to their problems and concerns.

Author: Connie Limon. Visit us at http://www.selfimprovementbook1.com and sign up for our newsletters. Self Improvement Book is a guide to information about self improvement, personal growth and self help tips. It is an organized directory referencing information in other websites on the World Wide Web.

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  Exercise Recovery Nutrition Plan: Who Needs It?by Connie Limon (Email: connielimon@yahoo.com) How should you refuel your body after exercise? We seem to be surrounded by commercial recovery foods and fluids. These recovery foods and fluids offer a combination of carbs and protein, but are they the best for exercise recovery nutrition? If you are an athlete who exercises one or two times a day to the point of total exhaustion, you most definitely need to focus upon adequate recovery nutrition. A few examples of this type of an exerciser would be swimmers preparing for competition or even high school males and females preparing for any type of sport competition. For those athletes who need to focus upon an adequate recovery nutrition plan, you will be better off planning in advance the right foods and fluids to replace calories, carbohydrates, protein, fluids and sodium. Your best choices are probably not a commercially prepared plan. If you are tired, time is an issue and are without a planned ahead nutrition recovery plan, the simplest solution is to drink less water and more cranberry, grape or any other of your favorite fruit juice. Juices provide the fluid, carbs and calories you need right after strenuous exercise. If you need to lose weight and restrict calorie intake you are better off to fuel your body appropriately in daytime to ensure your ability to perform during strong workouts. Enjoy a light dinner and fewer evening snacks. The worse thing you can do is restrict calories during the day and exercise on an empty stomach. If you exercise solely for good health and fitness three or four times a week for 30 to 60 minutes per session, you can be less focused on recovery nutrition. Your body does not become depleted during fitness work-outs. You also have plenty of time to "naturally" refuel before the next work-out. What is a good recovery nutrition plan? Since muscles rely on carbohydrates, the athlete should plan to replenish depleted blood sugar and muscle glycogen within 30 minutes of post-exercise. It may require some concentration and definitely some planning to refuel your body with the appropriate carbohydrates after an intense work-out. Athletes who weigh 100 to 200 pounds need 300 to 600 calories of carbohydrates repeatedly every two hours for six hours. Now....the worse thing you can do is not plan ahead to have the appropriate carbohydrates on hand and grab a donut, a hot dog, a burger or chips right after your intense work-out. These things will not refuel your blood sugar and muscle glycogen and your muscles will of course not recover from the demands of strenuous exercise. If this type of eating continues your health will suffer some dire consequences. Be wise and plan ahead with the appropriate carbohydrates. Some quick sources would be an instant breakfast drink (I use these for myself often and always feel an instant healthy boost of energy). Fruit smoothies are excellent sources of carbs, fluids and protein. Dehydration is indicated by scanty, dark urine. Thirst is a poor indicator of whether or not you have had enough to drink. If you become severely dehydrated you may need 24 to 48 hours to totally replace the loss. To combat severe dehydration sip on an enjoyable beverage until your urine is pale yellow like lemonade. Fruit juices, smoothies and milk shakes are better than sport drinks. It is better to drink orange juice than Gatorade. Orange juice has much more potassium. Your best bet is to prevent dehydration altogether. A simple way to determine how much fluid you need is to weigh yourself naked before and after an hour of hard exercise during which you drank nothing. A two pound per hour loss equals one quart. In this example you would need to drink 8 ounces every 15 minutes of exercise. When you sweat during exercise you lose sodium. You would have to sweat hard for more than 4 to 6 hours before you would actually deplete your body's sodium supply. An athlete exerciser can easily replace sodium losses with just a standard diet that offers 6 to 12 times the amount of needed sodium. A sodium recovery diet for athletes could consist of eating salty foods such soup, pretzels, salted crackers. Sport drinks are a weaker source of sodium as compared to soup, pretzels and salted crackers. Should not be too difficult to pack extra pretzels or salted crackers for your strenuous work-out sessions. Muscles need time as well as adequate carbs and calories to refuel and heal. Take a day off after a hard workout to allow your muscles to recuperate. Daily hard exercise does not increase performance. It only increases your chances for injury. Exercising to Lose Weight or to Become Healthier? You really should try and separate exercise from weight loss. Think of exercise as something you do for enjoyment that will in turn make you healthier, fit and more able to withstand stress. If you need to lose weight, pay attention to your calorie intake and cut back a couple 100 calories a day for one year while you exercise for enjoyment. You should reap rewards both in how you feel as well as how you look. Taking a day off between work-outs is also recommended for the exerciser who seeks good health and fitness from their exercise routines. You need to allow your body to recover and heal. Overdoing it will not bring you faster or better results. You will probably end up with injury instead. However, you will not need to focus upon an exercise recovery nutrition plan. You can still use the advice given here for athletes, but in general, you will not suffer any dire consequences if you do not practice an exercise recovery nutrition plan.

Author: Connie Limon. Visit us at http://www.selfimprovementbook1.com and sign up for our newsletters. Self Improvement Book is a guide to information about self improvement, personal growth and self help tips. It is an organized directory referencing information in other websites on the World Wide Web. This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.  ¶ 8:05 PM 0 comments

  Middle Age Baby Boomer Adults are in Orthodontic Braces!by Connie Limon (Email: connielimon@yahoo.com) Adult orthodontia is big business. More 40-something year old parents have finally gotten all their children out of braces and now it's their turn. Some middle-age people are just now becoming metal mouths because they are at a point in their life when they can finally afford it. Still others opt for the wires because after starting over after a divorce they are finally ready to get that gorgeous straight smile! If you're considering taking the plunge yourself, here are a few bits of information you should know before making a decision. There are basically three types of braces moms and dads are opting for: standard metal, clear brackets and invisible. The standard ones are the most cost effective and you can even change the color of your rubber bands like all the hip, cool kids are doing. Clear brackets are a bit larger in size than the metal ones. Depending on your bite you may not have enough room to get the clear ones on your lower teeth, at least not initially. The wires are still metal and you can see the braces on your teeth, they're just not as noticeable. Drawbacks are they are slightly more expensive than the metal brackets and when it comes time to take them off, it's takes a bit more effort and is consequently a little more uncomfortable. Lastly there are the invisible braces which go behind your teeth, not on the front like most. It takes a while longer to correct your smile and is the most expensive type. Speaking of expensive, you should on plan on spending about $4,000 for your braces. Clearly you will find some orthodontists who will do it for less, and some for more. It really depends also on the length and severity of treatment. If you have orthodontia insurance coverage, some plans cover up to 50% of the total costs. Most orthodontists will allow you to make monthly payments. You'll be required to put a down payment on your new beautiful smile. One thing you may not hear during your initial consultation, yet other adults who have gone before you will testify to be that when you initially get your braces put on your teeth - it hurts! It hurts a lot and for along time! With children they tell them it may be a little uncomfortable for two or three days and to take Ibuprophin as needed for pain. That's not the case with adults, although they may give you the same instructions. Think about it. Children who get braces have their permanent teeth for generally three months or three years. Those big teeth haven't become too accustomed to hanging out in their current location. Adults, on the other hand, have had those permanent teeth affixed in their mouth for 20-35 years prior to getting braces. They don't move as easily or as willingly. One mother shared that she was glad she had left over heavy duty pain meds from her c-section five years prior. She lamented that she felt like an elephant was sitting on her head for 10-days straight. Further, she continued she'd rather go through another 52 hours of labor than to get braces put on again. This is not to frighten you. It does get much easier and you even forget you have them on. When you get adjustments every eight weeks or so, you're normally a little tender for 24-36 hours, and aspirin does help. The severe pain is just initially when you first get them on. Ask for pain meds. Do not let them tell you to take a few Tylenol and you'll be fine in three days. You're in for a rude awakening if you believe that. But in no time at all, average 18-24 months you will have a Hollywood smile and it will have all been worth it! Author: Connie Limon. Visit us at http://www.selfimprovementbook1.com Self Improvement Book is a guide to information about self improvement, personal growth and self help tips. It is an organized directory referencing information in other websites on the World Wide Web. Please sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter. This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.  ¶ 4:31 AM 0 comments

  Older Women Weight Loss Dilemmasby Connie Limon (Email: connielimon@yahoo.com) One of the best ways to ensure you will not have to compromise between saving your butt or face is to maintain an appropriate weight throughout all your lifetime. Exercise and eat right then when old age comes around there won't be these sudden decisions of which to save - your butt or your face. In this article let us take a glance at some of the more comical sides of the equation. There is an old cliché that unfortunately is true. When it comes to losing weight, an older woman will have to choose between saving "her butt or her face." This refers to the idea that if you lose too much weight your face may look more haggard and wrinkles may be emphasized. You could get rid of a double chin and end up with a flapping turkey neck instead. Jowls that have lost their pads of fat could hang and gaunter cheekbones could create a ghoulish or wolfish look on an older face. Eyes could appear more sunken and the skin could lose its dewy sense of tautness. Often older faces that have lost too much weight appear cadaverous or as if they are continually remembering the pain part of another old expression "no pain no gain." The truth is that a fatter face often looks much younger than a gaunt face. The extra fat pockets plump out hollows in just the right places creating a youthful appearance. Wrinkles and expression lines such as crow's feet are simply less noticeable and often the skin texture on a plumper woman is simply smoother and healthier looking. On the other hand, if you keep enough weight on you could end up with a rear end or thighs that are much larger than you originally desired. Notice that many older women with beautiful line free visages and gorgeous complexions usually tend to be apple shaped or pear shaped in their lower body. So are there any remedies for this all too familiar paradox? Do you really have to sacrifice your looks for a smaller rear end? Does it really have to be one or the other? Unfortunately the older you are the more inescapable this sordid truth is. You either settle for being slightly heavier or you can spend thousands of dollars on anti -aging serums and plastic surgery to get rid of excess skin and wrinkles caused by the weight loss. Or you can opt to have plumper, less lined features and spend a ton of money getting liposuction on your tummy, thighs and rear end. If you have a bit of "booty" you are right with the in group as has been demonstrated by sexy superstars such as Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez. Keep in mind that there are also many celebrities who buy padding to insert into their underwear to keep their backsides looking plump and well rounded. This seems so unnecessary when all these "stick insects with mascara" (as Bridget Jones called them) could easily achieve this by consuming a few good meals. If you want to be "cool" you will go for having a slightly bigger butt and a younger face. Although being thinner is healthier then being too fat, the best compromise is to be the healthiest weight for your age and body shape. Keep in mind too that the people that look the youngest, no matter what their weight, are those that are the happiest and not stressed out by things like calorie restricted diets, painful plastic surgery or even caring too much what other people think. Get plenty of rest and drink plenty of water daily. These are two of the most important skin and beauty products you can apply to yourself. Don't abuse your body with drugs and alcohol. When old age comes around you will be so glad you practice these simple health tips and the truth of whether or not you have taken care of yourself will show in both your face and your "booty." Author: Connie Limon. Visit us at http://www.selfimprovementbook1.com Self Improvement Book is a guide to information about self improvement, personal growth and self help tips. It is an organized directory referencing information in other websites on the World Wide Web. This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.  ¶ 3:57 AM 0 comments