How To Use A Calorie Calculator

It is easy to let the pounds add up as you get older. People with hectic jobs and long work hours often find that they don't take the time to prepare health foods for meals, and instead reach for snacks--soda that contains large amounts of corn syrup, or fast food that is high in trans fats. Individuals in this situation also tend to not take time out for exercise, and the food choices and lack of activity can lead to excess weight. Some of us come to a moment of truth when we get a checkup at the doctor's office. You know you will have to get on that really accurate scale, and even if you take off your shoes and shed all extra clothing, the numbers don't lie: you have indeed gained some weight. Your doctor might recommend that you lose some weight, and you know you should, but it can be hard to know how to get started. There are some online helpers, like a calorie calculator and an exercise journal, that can help you get started and take the guesswork and stress out of achieving a healthy weight loss.

A calorie counter will help you figure out how many calories you are consuming each day. You can compare that to your doctor's recommendations for weight loss, and make adjustments as needed. A calorie, if you think back to high school science classes, is the energy used to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. Your body needs a certain amount of calories to maintain its systems and functions, as well as to deal with fuel needed for activity, but after that point any extra calories are stored as fat in your body. The trick to a healthy weight loss plan is to cut your calories a bit, and increase your activity a bit, in order to achieve small losses of weight over time until you reach your ideal weight. Many doctors recommend no more than one half to one pound a week weight loss as a safe level to use as your goal. calorie calculators take all the guesswork out of keeping track of how much you are eating. simply type in the kind of food and the amount, and the calculator does all the research and math to let you know the number of calories in the food, as well as the number of grams of protein, carbohydrate, and fat. You can find out in an instant, so it doesn't add another major task to your day.

Exercise actually not only helps you improve muscular and cardiovascular strength, but if you exercise enough it allows you to eat more calories and still lose weight. Online exercise logs or exercise journals make keeping track of exercise very easy. Online weight loss programs are available that offer workouts designed to help you meet your weight loss goals that fit into your schedule because you can customize them to fit your specific situation.

Susan Slobac is a nutritionist and dietitian who offers free workout plans and advice on how to find the best weight loss program for natural weight loss.

Calgary Yoga And Meditation Centre

Important Nutritional Steps For Treating Cancer

According to the American Cancer Society, 50% of all men and 33% of all women in the United States, will develop some sort of cancer in their lifetime. In a healthy body, cells divide at a controlled rate so as to grow and repair damaged tissues and replace dying cells. This predetermined rate of cell division is what keeps our bodies healthy. If cells keep multiplying when new ones arent necessary, a mass of tissue, called a growth or tumor, is formed. A benign tumor is not cancerous, and can occur anywhere in the body without spreading to other parts and does not come grow back if removed. Malignant tumors however, are cancerous and can be life-threatening. Malignant tumors grow uncontrollably, interfere with normal metabolic and organ functioning, and have the ability to invade other tissues. All cancer cells have two things in common, they grow uncontrollably, and they have the ability to metastasize (spread to other parts of the body). Possible contributors to the development and growth of cancer, can be divided into three categories:

1. Externals unhealthy environments and exposure to air and water pollution, chemicals, pesticides and herbicides from our food supply.

2. Internal Factors include genetics, infections, and a depressed immune system.

3. Lifestyle factors (what we can readily control) including diet, smoking, drinking, and sun exposure. People exposed to cigarette smoke have significantly higher rates of lung cancer. Regular alcohol consumption increases the risk of mouth and throat cancers. A diet that is high in fat and low in fiber is associated with a greater risk of colon rectal cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. According to a study released by the Harvard University school of Public health, poor diet, lack of exercise, and unhealthy lifestyle elements are responsible for about 65% of cancer deaths.

The following is a breakdown of the overall percentages of cancers many researchers attribute to different lifestyle factors: 1. Poor diet and obesity 30%

2. Smoking 30%

3. Genetics 10%

4. Carcinogens in the workplace 5%

5. Family history 5%

6. Lack of exercise 5%

7. Viruses 5%

8. Alcohol 3%

9. Reproductive Factors 3%

10. Socioeconomic Status 3%

11. environmental Pollution 2%

many experts believe that what these factors have in common is that they increase the bodys exposure to free radicals. Free radical damage is an important factor that leads to uncontrolled cellular growth, which is characteristic of cancer. Another significant factor are poor dietary choices and cigarette smoke because they impair the immune system. The immune system is responsible for destroying pre-cancerous cells before they develop into cancer. There are more than a hundred different varieties of cancer; they have different causes and symptoms, and vary in aggressiveness.

However, there are four broad categories

1. Carcinomas Cancers that affect the skin, mucous membranes, glands, and internal organs.

2. Leukemias Cancers of blood forming tissues.

3. Sarcomas Cancers that affect muscles, connective tissue, and bones.

4. Lymphomas Cancers that affect the lymphatic system.

The seven classic early warning signs of cancer:

1. Change in bowel or bladder habits

2. A sore that does not heal

3. unusual bleeding or discharge

4. Thickening or lump in breast or elsewhere

5. Indigestion or difficulty in swallowing

6. Obvious change in a wart or mole

7. Nagging cough or hoarseness

Recommendations:

Boosting the immune system is very helful for increasing white blood cells and macrophages that are known to attack and literally eat cancerous cells. We suggest a high quality whole food supplement, like VITAFORCE that is complete and made from whole foods. It should be high in natural Vitamin C as well as a wide array of essential nutrients. Make sure you know what you are getting from the nutritional label.

An herbal detoxification program may be helpful in removing aluminum, other heavy metals, and thousand of other toxins and poisons from the body. These toxins have been shown to have an overall significant depressing effect on the immune system. Look for organic whole herb formulas. If interested, take a look at our selection of herbal formulas.

Eat a minimum of 50% raw organic foods; including broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, spinach, carrots, pumpkin, squash, yams, apples, all berries, cantaloupe, cherries, grapes, plums, Brazil nuts, and legumes. All of these foods have important nutrients and phytochemicals, which are important in fighting and preventing cancer. Berries protect DNA from damage. Many of the plant pigments in red, yellow, orange, and blue fruits and vegetables, are good sources of antioxidants (destroys free radicals).

Eat raw garlic liberally as it enhances the immune system and is a good cancer fighter.

Eat 10 raw almonds every day. Almonds contain Laetrile, which has anti-cancer properties.

Green tea has many cancer fighting properties, including a substance known as EGCg, which has been found to cut off blood vessels that feed cancerous tumors.

Eat as many tomatoes as possible. Tomatoes contain a phyto-nutrient and antioxidant called lycopene, which protects against and fights cancer.

Drink fresh live juices including varying combinations of the following juices including beetroot, beet greens, carrot, cabbage, and asparagus. Also drink grape, black cherry, and all dark colored juices.

Drink steam distilled water only. Use a filter for your shower.

Increased levels of radium in public tap water has been associated with increased rates of lung, bladder, and breast cancers, as well as leukemias.

Get regular exercise. Exercise helps to promote oxygen in the tissues. Cancer cannot live in the presence of oxygen.

Yoga and deep breathing can also be very helpful.

Because of potential low-level radiation leakage, avoid microwave ovens. Sit a minimum of 8 feet away from televisions and avoid x-rays.

Avoid chemicals such as hairsprays, cleaning products, fresh paints, and garden pesticides.

Remove all other known and suspected carcinogens from your life and home.

As much as possible, avoid stress.

Things to Avoid:

All Animal Foods: dairy foods (milk, cheese, butter, cream, ice cream), fish, meat, chicken, turkey, eggs, fried and greasy foods, margarine, and all other processed foods and animal derived products from your diet. These foods are laced with chemicals, pesticides, and toxins as well as high levels of saturated fats which have a very damaging a draining effect on the immune system and the rest of the body.

Salt, tobacco, caffeine, sodas, coffee, sugar, and refined white flour (breads, pastas, cereals- replace with whole wheat pastas, breads, and cereals). These products are extraordinarily destructive to the immune system and the body.

References:

1) James F. Balch, M.D, Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C, "Prescription for Nutritional healing," (1997)

Scott Malin is rapidly becoming a widely respected writer on the subject of nutrition and detoxification. You can find excellent advice about how to successfully detox in a safe and healthy way at: http://www.organichealthandbeauty.com/New-Detox-Diet_ep_227-1.html

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Those Crazy Football Rules

Those Crazy Football Rules

While we wait the couple of weeks before the Super Bowl, we can chat about how Pittsburgh and Seattle taught everybody else how to play football.

Do you watch March Madness? The team that ends up with the trophy is the one that has the endurance. Some years ago, Utah was in the final game. They pooped out before the end of the first half to my utter disappointment having spent 8 years of my life at the University of Utah.

March Madness, of course is basketball. Football is the more rugged game which would have been explained and described by Charles Darwin if it were invented in his day. However, american football came from Rugby. Thats the game where all the players have had their teeth knocked out but still love the game. Only the most fit survive.

I loved football when I was a kid. My mother would not let me put on the high school football uniform with all of the pads, helmet, and other protective devices. Because of that, those of us non-players went to the church grounds and played on the lawn without any uniforms with the safety gear. our season ended when everybodys knees had turned to mush from playing tackle (without knee pads) rather than touch football.

In Korea we played tackle football with no protective gear. We could only do this when we were back in reserve. We played as hard as we could. If we broke a leg or an arm bad enough the worst that could happen to us would be that they would send us home. We couldnt play football on the line. We would have rolled down the mountain. (Besides we had telephone lines to repair during the day which got blown apart again every night. The lines were necessary to call in mortar fire at night on the mortar concentrations we set up during the day.)

No one ever received the slightest scratch in one of our tackle football games. our season always ended when the C.O. said, No more tackle football. Youre going to get killed out there. (Each of us had heard that from the Regimental Commander when we joined the unit. He always said, Half of you will not be going home, not alive anyway. Thankfully, he was wrong. our Regiment lost about 1000 G.I.s plus a large number of ROK soldiers that served in our units over the three years of the Korean war. When I was there, the losses were lower than before I got there and after I left.)

The above is called by football commentators a sidelight. I don't like sideline sob stories (or human interest stories) while watching television football any more than you liked the above sidelight.

Anyway, my wife has taken up football. After resisting for 70 years she finally gave in. She cant believe that she now likes football. What I mean is: She has not suited up yet. She likes to watch it on television. Therefore we now talk about the game.

Im usually reading a book or doing a logic puzzle during the game, but she gives it her full attention and she gives me a steady stream of chatter that actually gets me interested in the game.

Today she asked me about penalties and how they are applied. The penalty she was talking about was when Seattle had carolina on the one yard line. It was a 5-yard procedural penalty. That meant the ball would be put half the distance to the goal. I said, I think that should be an automatic safety. The ball should be placed on the minus 4-yard line. now I know that the refs probably have not had algebra, so they should just call it a safety.

My wife wanted to know more. I said, suppose you are on your opponents 16 yard line and they get a 15-yard penalty. The ball would be placed on the 1-yard line. now suppose you are on the 14-yard line under the same circumstances. The ball would be placed half the distance to the goal and you would get the ball on the 7.5-yard line.

Stupid, right? (If I said the ball should be put on the minus 1-yard line, everybody would moan, "That's no way to get a touchdown!")

Heres what should happen in the second instance. The ball is put on the 1-yard line and then half the distance to the goal. You should be on the -yard line. They should give you as many of the penalty yards as possible and then the distance to the goal of whats left. That will always put you on the 1/2-yard line where you belong.

I also would like the fumble rules put back where they belong. The ground cant keep coming up and knocking the ball out of the players hands like that and getting away with it.

Well, Ive got to go feed my horse.

Cover Mat Yoga

Warm-up for Soccer Training and GamesTo improve your soccer coaching skills, youve got to make sure your players give their bodies the chance to perform at their best. That means sensible warm-ups and cool-down, before and after a match or a soccer training session of any kind.

soccer is a demanding physical game. So providing encouragement and instruction and making sure your players do adequate physical preparation is one of the most important responsibilities in soccer coaching.

The warm up is a process to increase awareness, improve co-ordination, improve elasticity and contractibility of muscles, and increase the efficiency of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

soccer training and blood flow to muscles

In a body at rest, the blood flow to the muscles is comparatively low, and the majority of the small blood vessels (capillaries) supplying them are closed. When soccer training or playing begins, the blood flow in the exercising muscles increases markedly, as the capillaries open.

At rest, 15-20% of the blood flow supplies muscles, while after 10-12 minutes of all-round exercise, the percentage of blood flow supplying the muscles rises to 70-75%. A muscle can only achieve maximum performance when all its blood vessels are functional.physical work increases the energy output and temperature of the muscle, this in turn leads to improved co-ordination with less likelihood of injury.

A warm-up therefore prepares the body by:

raising muscle temperature towards an optimum level for performance

enabling metabolic processes in cells to proceed at higher rates

and allowing nerve messages to travel faster

Why warm-up is important in soccer coaching

Reasons for conducting a thorough warm-up prior to soccer training and games include the following:

To increase blood flow to muscular tissue

To increase muscle temperature

To reduce muscle tightness

To elevate body temperature

To stimulate reflex activity related to balance and co-ordination

To achieve full joint mobility in the specific joints involved in the activity

To achieve full soft tissue extensibility muscles, tendons, ligaments

To enhance the functioning of the neuromuscular system

To prepare the cardiovascular and respiratory systems

To prepare the player psychologically for the coming activity

To familiarize themselves with the environmental conditions

Warm-ups should be intense enough to increase the body temperature, the effects of which will ultimately wear off depending upon its intensity and specificity. The procedure should begin with movements of the large muscle groups, as these are the main areas to which blood is redistributed. These include the following areas:

Back lower leg: gastrocnemius and soleus

Front lower leg: peroneals (shin)

Front thigh: quadriceps

Back thigh: hamstrings

Inner thigh: adductors

Back: erector spinae

Trunk: abdominal muscles

Shoulders and chest: deltoids and pectorials

Specialized soccer exercises

After the general warm-up players can begin more specialized exercises including mobilization of the joints and dynamic movements of muscles, particularly of the lower extremity. The final stage of a warm-up concentrates on technique, and/or practicing a specific movement.

Whether warm-ups are performed with or without a ball depends entirely upon the philosophy adopted by the coach. This part of the soccer training session does provide an opportunity to work on specific technical skills in conjunction with mobility work and may also provide a greater mental and neurological stimulus for the players. In soccer coaching generally a lack or improper use of a warm-up and a cool-down is a risk factor for lower extremity overuse muscular injuries, especially during running.

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