A pale looking meal probably means you are not ingesting nutrient rich foods. Try adding a new colour once a week or once every other week to your plate. Vegetables such as yam, spinach, beets or broccoli pack a nutrient punch while adding vibrancy to your dinner plate.
· Switch it up
Our bodies crave a sugar boost every now and then, but indulging in candy is not the answer. Fake, processed foods are high in glucose-fructose and fat, leaving you satisfied for a moment but eventually lead to a low. When your body craves sugar, give it the real stuff. Swap out your 10 cent candies for dried fruit pieces or fresh fruit. This will satisfy your sugar craving while injecting your body with the healthy stuff.
· Cook at Home
Cooking at home not only saves you money in the long run but it also saves you calories. You will save time by planning ahead. Make a menu for the week on a Sunday. By creating your meals at home, you will also know what is going in your mouth.
· Plan a Party
With the changing of the seasons come a change in vegetables and fruit. Hosting a “seasonal tasting party” gives you an excuse to get together with your closest friends and to create a new dish with the season’s greatest bounty. Be creative and have fun!
· Grow Your Own Garden
No matter where you live, the climate will yield some sort of garden. By growing your own vegetables (tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, pumpkin), you will have access to your very own farmer’s market. There is no greater excuse to eat anti-oxidant rich foods than growing an abundance of them on your property.
· Buy In Bulk
Purchasing your staple dry items, such as whole grain pasta, in bulk will help save money over the long run and ensure you have a healthy stock for a home-cooked meal. Just make sure that you will eat your purchase. There is no sense in wasting food and money.
· Preserve
Is there anything sweeter than home-made jam? Learn the process of jarring/canning your own tomato sauce and jams. By doing this, you not only will save money and calories, but it will also teach you a lifelong skill.
· Read Labels
Learning to read nutritional labels is the best way to feed your brain with information. By doing this, you can compare and contrast one brand from another and be able to make wise alternate choices.
It is normal to feel discouraged if you fall off the resolution band-wagon. One thing to keep in mind is one bad day does not constitute a failure. Start again the next day. Trying any one of these tips will help you achieve your new year’s and new you goal.
Many benefits come with the territory of whole body vibration.
Muscles Rapid strength gains have been uncovered in medical research. This vibration platform vibrates up and down, side to side, up to 50 times per second. This forces the muscles to create “fast twitch motion”, creating stability. Scientific studies have compared a 10-minute work out on the whole body vibration platform to be equivalent to a 1-hour work out the conventional way.
Weight Loss Vibration platforms work out the muscles just like a normal work out, but in an accelerated amount of time. This means more muscle mass than if a person were to not exercise at all. At rest, muscle still burns fat, faster than fat burning fat at rest. If you are a person who exercises regularly, or a person who has a physical hindrance, the vibration platform can help you increase your muscle mass, thus allowing you to have a high resting metabolism, burning fat even while sitting!
Firming and Toning Losing weight does not mean only losing fat. The body does not discriminate between fat and muscle. Therefore, if you should lose weight, you will also lose a small percentage of lean muscle, which is the most difficult to replenish. To replace this lean muscle, one must do resistance exercise. This resistance comes from your body resisting the torque this vibration platform exerts on your body.
Beauty Regime This skin is the largest organ in the human body. But it is not the only organ that requires oxygenation. Whole body vibration systems improve and increase whole body oxygenation. Circulation improvements carry vital nutrients to all organs in the body and assist in flushing the body of all toxins. This increased oxygenation also improves collagen production that results in firmer, smoother skin and a reduction in cellulite.
Bone Density Bone density decreases as we age. Research has shown women over the age of 39, especially post-menopausal, lost bone density twice as quickly as men. Research has shown that maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle helps maintain bone density.
Rehabilitation Purposes Whole body vibration has been proven to help people with limited motion. This vibration system is very easy on joints allowing people with knee problems or joint issues to have a safe work out. People suffering from fibromyalgia, who have experienced spinal cord injuries or have back pain can all experience a positive impact when utilizing the vibration platform. Vibration exercise as a rehabilitation tool has seen the increase in blood flow cause an increase in human growth hormone which has been shown to repair and regenerate soft tissue.
The most common form of exercise prescribed to obese individuals is in the form of an easy walking program or joining a gym. However, ailments such as fibromyalgia or hurting knees most often prevent these people from getting into a healthy exercise routine.
Whole body vibration is easy for those with limited abilities. Set on a low vibration frequency, whole body vibration exerts very minimal stress on joints. By continuing to use a vibration platform on a regular basis and steadily increasing the vibration frequency, people will be able to see results only within a few weeks. By introducing someone to vibration therapy as an introduction to exercise, it paves the way to a walking or strength program and a healthier lifestyle.
A three month study on obese people using vibration therapy found that their metabolism improved by 12%. This is a significant finding in regards to a person’s caloric burn rate. As a person’s caloric burn rate increases, so does the total amount of calories being burned.
When all is said and done, whole body vibration exercise is considered a strength training tool. The best part of this exercise is that it is faster and easier than traditional strength training. Nicknamed the “lazy person’s” form of exercise, standing on this vibrating platform for 20 minutes can give similar results that a one-hour conventional work out could give you. Considering obese patients may experience pain when attempting conventional workouts, or cannot engage in long running exercises, this vibration platform is a step in the right direction.
It may be tough to wrap the brain around how this exercise is supposed to be beneficial. However, the psychological benefits will keep people on this machine. Increased oxygenation, a decrease in the stress hormone cortisol and an increase of muscle mass (to name a few benefits) will keep someone motivated and dedicated. Motivation and dedication are keys to continuing success.