Busy? You might be making one of these 10 mistakes.

Being busy comes with many sacrifices. Too much work means less sleep, more stress relieving activities, and quicker food choices for many people. You shouldn't feel as though you have to sacrifice your health for a productive lifestyle. It's working against you!
The Huffington Post has a list of 10 health mistakes you're probably making in your busy schedule.

"When our careers take over, one of the first things we sacrifice is our health. We have a hard time focusing on too many things at once, so when we need to work late and push through difficult and demanding months on the job, we tend to neglect some very important health habits that will help us sustain a demanding schedule.
Consider this a friendly reminder to get yourself back on track. The healthier the body, the healthier the mind; and the healthier the mind, the better you will do at work, and the more your boss will reward you. So listen up -- some of these changes in your daily routine are easy, and you can start them now."

Read the 10 mistakes here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brazen-life/health-tips_b_1400392.html?ref=health-and-fitness&ir=Health+and+Fitness&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

10 Rules to Weight Loss

Dieting is the most important key to weight loss. While exercising is an important component, continuing to eat too many of the wrong foods can make losing weight extremely difficult. Know the most important factors and weight loss. See what to cut back on and methods to limit sabotaging your efforts through your diet with these 10 golden rules from Zest. Some of them may surprise you.

1. Do limit added fats to no more than 4tsp per day:These include cooking oils, dressings, marinades and spreads.
2. Do watch your portions: Eat until you’re satisfied, not stuffed!
3. Do choose low-glycaemic carbohydrates: Choose oats, sweet potatoes, pulses and grainy bread to give you the energy to exercise.
4. Do drink at least 2 litres of water a day: And add an additional litre for every hour of exercise you do (250ml per 15 minutes).
5. Do have a non-alcoholic drink with food: Stick to water, fruit tea, plus 250ml of skimmed or semi-skimmed milk in tea and coffee.
6. Don’t add sugar or salt to your food: They will make you retain both water and those excess pounds.
7. Don’t give up if you’ve had a bad day: Stay focused - always remember your end goal for motivation.
8. Don’t skip a snack or meal: You’ll only reach for something sugary or fatty later.
9. Don’t scrimp on veg: Eating more vegetables will keep you fuller for longer.
10. Don’t eat more than two pieces of fruit a day: They are simple sugars.

See it on Zest: http://www.zest.co.uk/weightloss/10-golden-rules-of-weight-loss/2886.html

Extreme Weight Loss Success Stories

Looking for motivation? The best weight loss inspiration is real-life success stories. The men and women who, through hard work and dedication, managed to shed over 100lbs are seriously deserving of admiration. They've transformed their lives and bodies, pushing themselves to the limit for a happier, healthier life.
This one impressive tale of a man who lost 170lbs can be read on The Huffington Post.

Name: Jeremiah Sears
Age: 32
Height: 5'11"
Before Weight: 358 pounds
How I Gained It: Ever since I can remember, I have always had a problem with my weight. From the time I was in high school I was creeping up on 300 pounds, but I learned to live with it. I was constantly getting fast food or eating a snack. I worked nights, so when I got home I would eat a big meal and then go to bed.
I had it in my head that I was always going to be this way no matter how hard I tried. Over the years I tried hundreds of diets and diet pills waiting for a miracle to happen, but it never did. When the diets didn't work it would make me depressed, and I would gain more weight. I was fighting a losing battle with myself. I had been to the doctors to check on some complications I was having and the doctor informed me that if I didn't lose weight my blood pressure and sugar were going to get out of control. I took the doctor's advice with a grain of salt and kept living the same way. After a few months of not following the doctor's orders, I started to feel like even getting up in the morning was a struggle.

Read the rest here:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/23/weight-loss-success-jeremiah-sears_n_1341901.html

9 Health Myths

We've heard them before. Don't read in the dark because it'll damage your vision, don't go out without a jacket or you'll catch a cold, so on and so on. Turns out a lot of these myths are a result of misinformation or some twisting of the truth.

Health has comprised a list of 9 health myths that you really shouldn't stress over.

In the old days, health misinformation would spread slowly. Not today. "The Internet has given people the ability to send everyone on their email lists wild stories that end up mushrooming around the world in a matter of hours," says Rich Buhler, creator of Truthorfiction.com, a website devoted to debunking false email rumors. But relax: Most of those health scares hitting your in-box are a misreading of facts or a deliberate twisting of the truth.

Read about the 9 myths here: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20443377,00.html

Why Weight Training is Important

If you don't lift weights, you might want to reconsider your workout routine. Whether you want to lose weight, build strength, tone up, or improve your overall health, building muscle is a necessary step! There are countless benefits to lifting weights.


See the 20 reasons you should implement muscle training to your exercise sessions from Fitbie!

"When you lift weights, you cause tiny tears in your muscle fibers. This accelerates a process called muscle-protein synthesis that uses amino acids to repair and reinforce the fibers, making them resistant to future damage. So when a muscle fiber is exposed to a frequent challenge—as it is when you regularly lift weights—it makes structural adaptations in order to better handle that challenge. For example, your muscles adapt by getting bigger and stronger, or by becoming more resistant to fatigue.
These adaptations occur to reduce stress on your body, which is why you can perform everyday functions—such as walking up stairs or picking up a light object—with little effort. It's also why if you routinely lift weights, you'll find that even the hardest physical tasks become easier. In scientific circles, this is known as the training effect. Turns out, this training effect improves not only your muscles but your entire life, too. It is, in fact, what gives you the edge."

http://fitbie.msn.com/get-fitter/tips/20-reasons-start-lifting

How Much Water is Enough?

It's always said that drinking 8 glasses of water a day is ideal. While it's essential for every single body function, weight loss, and even mental health to stay adequately hydrated, saying that a person needs 8 glasses of water on top of their meals and other beverages is pushing it. The water content in your diet, sex, body type, environment, and many other factors effect the amount of water you require in a day. How much is enough for you? The Huffington Post tells us how to determine how much water you need.

One way to keep on top of your hydration is to keep an eye on the color of your urine. Lawrence Armstrong, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist and professor at the University of Connecticut's Human Performance Laboratory, established a urine color chart to accurately depict levels of dehydration. While Armstrong does not allow online reproduction of the chart, as the colors may appear differently on different computer monitors, color printers and web sites, numerous other outlets, including the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, the New York Times and the Boy Scouts of Americahave since created their own digital versions of the color chart.
The slideshow below is based on the colors presented by the Boy Scouts of America. The goal is to produce urine the color of lemonade, ideally in the range of colors one through three. If your urine is in the range of colors four through eight, you need to drink more fluids and may need to consult your doctor. (Note: This slideshow is not for clinical use, but can be used as a basic guideline.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/28/how-much-water-urine-color-chart_n_1305129.html?ref=healthy-living&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

Intuitive Eating

Diets can be painful and frustrating. Even worse, all of the calorie-counting and deprivation of certain delicious, energizing foods can paint out food to be an enemy rather than a source of nutrition and life. For Americans, most of the trouble for obesity seems to lie in our tendency to eat greasy, unhealthy foods in portions that are much larger than we'd ever require. Eating this way isn't what your body want or needs.
Intuitive eating is a dieting philosophy that encourages you to stay in tune with your body's needs to keep yourself satisfied and healthy. You eat until you're 80% full and intake the nutrition you require to be happy and healthy. Calorie counting or food-loathing is strongly against this philosophy. A blog on The Province discusses this thought in detail.

"Are you tired of repeated dieting without results? Do you feel you are at war with food? There is a nutritional philosophy called “intuitive eating” that may help free you from the power of food. What does it entail?
Intuitive eating involves listening to your body’s natural cues and signals like hunger and fullness and mastering your own feelings and internal dialogue (whether negative or positive) about your body and food. Intuitive eating abandons the old diet mentality of counting calories and fat grams that our culture has been stuck in for far too long — a diet mentality that doesn’t always allow us to accept ourselves as we are, and one that can further deepen our negative relationships to food."

Read more: http://blogs.theprovince.com/2012/02/20/intuitive-eating-listening-to-your-bodys-cues-to-lose-weight/