56 Days to Fitness
FITin56® is a revolutionary fitness program that helps anyone get fit in 56 days — and stay fit! Members get online access to workout videos, exercise videos, and a nutrition plan. Lose weight, tone, or build muscle — follow the plan that best meets your goals. Get fit and healthy in only 30 minutes per day!
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Many of us believe that having a good posture is only about standing up straight. But in reality, it’s more than that. Posture affects your long-term health as well as your body shape. In today’s world where we are hunching over our laptop computers and mobile phones and stressing our spine, it’s even more important to know how to have good posture. In this blog post, we’re going to talk about what a good posture is and how to maintain it.
To figure this out, you need to understand that there are three natural curves to your spine: one at your lower back (lumbar spine), another in the middle of your back (thoracic spine), and one at your neck (cervical spine). And a good posture is one that supports all three of these curves.
While sitting, your spine should be straight and your shoulders should be aligned with each other, while your butt is touching the back of the place where you’re sitting.
Touching the back of the chair with your butt helps to prevent you from slouching and gives your back some support. Make sure not to lean to one side or another.
If you are sitting at a desk, make sure that your chair is adjusted so that your forearms and thighs are parallel to the floor. If you are looking at a computer screen, it should be adjusted so that you are looking slightly down at it.
Keep your weight on the balls of the feet. Your feet should be positioned about shoulder-width apart. The arms, meanwhile, should hang naturally at your sides.
When standing correctly, the legs should be straight, but not locked. Most importantly, the head, shoulders, hips and knees must line up. Avoid hunching forward. Try to push your chest out a bit and breath deeply.
It doesn’t matter if you’re sleeping on your back, your stomach, or on your side. All you need to be mindful of is that your hips must be at the level of your shoulders and your neck should be in the neutral position.
Make sure your neck is in alignment with the rest of your spine. This is especially important while sleeping on your side, when it is easier to angle your neck up or down. Be sure to use a good pillow to provide proper support.
You might find yourself in a totally bizarre position when you wake up, but over time you will get accustomed to your new sleeping positions.
When your posture isn’t as good as it can be, this can cause neck, shoulder, and back pain. It can also contribute to poor flexibility and bad digestion. If this is the case, here are a few things that you can do fix this problem.
● Be mindful of your body posture during each activity you do daily, from watching television to washing dishes or walking. Use the tips provided above to help maintain proper posture throughout the day.
● Try to stay active. Practicing different kinds of exercises may help your body to improve its posture. Certain types of exercises for different parts of your spine can especially be helpful. Practicing yoga or Tai chi can help you to focus on your body awareness.
● Maintain a healthy weight. Carrying extra weight puts stress on the body and joints, and can contribute to weakening your abdominal and core muscles. This can cause problems for your pelvis and spine.
With practice, you can improve your posture. Take care of all three curves of your spine and put the least stress on them by maintaining proper posture throughout your day. Be aware of your posture when you are standing, sleeping, sitting, and doing any other activity. As a result, you’ll look and feel better.
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When you are having a piece of chocolate, does this question pop into your mind? “Is chocolate bad for you?” We shall answer that question. But first, let us go back in time and understand where this deliciousness came from. It started in the Southern part of Mexico. In around 450 BC, people from the region used chocolate to make fermented beverages. The Aztecs used to believe that the Cacao seed is a blessing from the God of wisdom, Quetzalcoatl. It was served as a bitter liquid with spices.
The Aztecs found a connection between sexual desire and chocolate. It has chemicals such as ‘tryptophan’ and ‘phenethylamine’. The former promotes sexual desires and the latter is released when two people fall in love.
Researchers did in-depth studies and found small amounts of the above-mentioned chemicals. Also, chocolate helps in dealing with stress and depression. Indulging in chocolate can help you uplift your mood. It is comforting and delicious!
These days, chefs have introduced different types of chocolates. They add orange peel, cashews, walnuts, cranberries and even biscuits inside the chocolates.
There is no doubt that chocolate is much-loved by the majority of people. When you were little, your parents may have scolded you for eating too many chocolates.
Many people wonder – is chocolate bad for you? Firstly, you must know that there are three types of chocolates — milk, dark, and white chocolate.
Chocolate’s antioxidant potential has multiple health advantages. You can get more health benefits from chocolates with a higher amount of cocoa. Dark chocolate contains less fat and sugar than others. Eating dark chocolate that contains plant sterols (PS) and cocoa flavanols (CF), as part of a low-fat nutrition program may help cardiovascular health by reducing cholesterol and lowering blood pressure.
What are the health benefits of chocolate?
• Chocolate can lower your cholesterol level.
• It may help prevent cognitive deterioration.
• It may help resolve cardiovascular difficulties.
• It may help with fetal growth and development.
Scientists from Harvard Medical School discovered that drinking two cups of hot chocolate regularly can help keep your brain healthy. It also helps in improving your memory.
The reason why certain chocolates have a bad reputation is because these have high fat and sugar content. This means that chocolate CAN be bad for your body, but only if you are going overboard.
Considering chefs have introduced a number of desserts that contain a lot of fat, you may want to skip those. These desserts could include a rich chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, and thick chocolate shakes.
So, is chocolate bad for you? Let’s put it this way. Too much of anything is bad. When you consume chocolate in larger quantities, health problems may arise such as obesity, high blood sugar, and hypertension. Instead, enjoy a small bar of dark chocolate. Do not go overboard, but control the portion size. As much as possible, limit eating chocolate ice cream or chocolate cake to once or twice a month.
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Losing weight is not an easy task. To add to that, there are many myths about how to do it, which makes it even harder. To clear things up and prevent confusion, we will discuss seven weight loss myths you shouldn’t believe.
You cannot ditch carbohydrates if you want to eat a healthy diet. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend 3 eating patterns – healthy US style, healthy Mediterranean style, and healthy vegetarian style.
Carbohydrate-rich foods, such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables are the foundation of these healthy eating patterns. Also, fiber is a carbohydrate. If you avoid carbohydrates, your fiber intake will plummet.
Some people think that losing weight means skipping meals. But that will just lead to frustration, irritability, going off your diet, and quickly regaining weight. The 1st rule of dieting is: no skipping meals. Skipping meals just makes your body hold onto fuel by slowing down metabolism, and often triggers overeating later in the day.
Instead, eat a min-meal or healthy snack every 3 to 4 hours during the day. Focus on lean protein and produce (e.g., one ounce of nuts, carrots with hummus, Greek yogurt with berries, etc.). Remember, you don’t have to go hungry to set yourself up for long term success.
Avoiding fat altogether does not lead to weight loss. It can actually lead to weight gain. Foods that contain healthy fats don’t make you fat. They can speed up metabolism and help you shed pounds.
Those who cut fats from their diet tend to consume added sugar and refined grains. These hijack metabolism, spike insulin, drive up inflammation, and pack on the belly fat. This leads to a vicious cycle of sugar cravings and loss of will power. Instead, eat healthy fats (avocado, wild salmon, extra virgin olive oil, walnuts) to lose weight and feel satisfied after eating.
What you eat does matter. Counting calories encourages an individual to be obsessed about quantity over quality. Eventually, diet quality will suffer, and so will health.
The key here is to stay within an appropriate range of calories for the amount of fuel you are burning. Stick to a nutrient-dense diet consisting of foods that keep blood sugar stable, discourage binge-eating, and make you feel full.
Calorie is a measurement of energy, and all calories have the same energy content. But this doesn’t mean that all calorie sources have the same effect on your weight. Different foods go thru different metabolic pathways and can have different effects on hunger and hormones that regulate body weight.
For instance, a protein calorie isn’t the same as a fat or carb calorie. Replacing fat and carbs with protein can reduce appetite and cravings and boost your metabolism, all while optimizing the function of weight-regulating hormones. It’s important to note that calories from whole foods such as fruit tend to be more filling than calories from refined foods like candy.
If you think that healthy foods taste bland and that processed, sugary foods taste good, your taste buds may need a tune up. People who believe that healthy foods don’t taste good just don’t know how to prepare them to enhance their natural flavor.
Man-made fats and added sugars can hijack your taste buds. Once you start eating natural foods, your taste buds will appreciate the subtle sweetness of berries and the tartness of citrus, cherries, and cranberries. You will love the way onions, garlic, peppers, ginger, and turmeric enhance flavor. You just have to know how to get the most out of these natural flavors when preparing meals.
Usually, losing weight is not a linear process, as some people might think. Some days/weeks you may lose weight, while during others you might gain a little bit. This isn’t a cause for concern. It is normal for body weight to fluctuate up or down by a few pounds.
For example, you may be holding on to more water than usual or carrying more food in your digestive system. This is more pronounced in women, as weight from water can significantly fluctuate during the menstrual cycle.
As long as the trend is going downwards, regardless of how much it fluctuates, you’ll still succeed in losing weight over the long-term.
If you are trying to lose weight, you may have heard some of these weight loss myths. You may have believed some of them, but now you know the truth. The relationship between food, body, and weight is complex. If you are interested in losing weight, make the necessary changes to your diet and lifestyle.
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FITin56® is a revolutionary fitness program that helps anyone get fit in 56 days — and stay fit! Members get online access to workout videos, exercise videos, and a nutrition plan. Lose weight, tone, or build muscle — follow the plan that best meets your goals. Get fit and healthy in only 30 minutes per day!
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