Let’s see if you are able to see a common theme in all the four hot tips I am going to mention below:

1. Swimming:

Do you enjoy swimming? Do you know that swimming is one of the best ways of burning body fat? If you would like to get rid of your ugly potbelly then don’t lose a minute! Slip into your two-piece and jump onto the pool! You see: swimming not only helps you burn body fat and shape up your belly, it also strengthens your body and gives you a lot of energy! But then, if you are way too fat, then you may not be able to fit into your swimsuit. Don’t lose heart; there are other options too!

2. Running:

If you are not a fast swimmer, or don’t want to swim, don’t worry, because there are many other ways to lose fat fast! One of the best ways of getting rid of belly fat is by running regularly. Running not only helps you burn the extra calories and fat, it also keeps you fresh and energetic throughout the day. For best results, you should alternate between running and jogging.

3. Brisk/Speed Walking:

If you cannot keep up with high intensity exercises, then running may not be an option for you. In that case, you should try to brisk or speed walk. Have you ever thought of leaving the elevator and using the stairs to reach your office? This is really one of the coolest ways to lose weight. Also, try to brisk walk up to your office and give your old and tired car a break!

4. Dancing:

Ok, I understand that neither brisk walking nor running appeals to you. Probably you are a great dancer! Just in case you are not aware of it, dancing too can help you lose weight. So just hit out your favorite disc and start dancing…

Even if you are not a great dancer, that should not be an excuse. Perhaps some people are afraid they will make a fool of themselves if they fail to dance properly. Infact, you don’t need to dance in any special way in order to lose fat. If you are concerned about the etiquette of shaking a leg in public, why not join a dance class to learn all the required skills?

So now you can see what’s the common theme on the above is: KEEP YOUR BODY MOVING You just cannot expect to lose weight if you sit or lie round all day without doing anything. Move your body and eat healthy balanced foods, and you will surely be able to lose weight and keep it that way!

When it comes to cleansing your body on the inside there are important steps that you should take in order to successfully rid themselves of those accumulated bad toxins.

The most important thing to consider, however, when undergoing a detoxification process is whether or not you will continue the process month to month, weekend to weekend, or just how many times per year your body will undergo this terrific cleansing process.

If you are unsure about how many times you would like to complete a detoxification of the body, though, the best and perhaps most important thing that you could do is to have just the basic detoxification ingredients in the kitchen/pantry so that you are ready to carry out the process at anytime.

Here are the three basic detoxification ingredients:

1. Garlic, Cayenne Pepper, Cinnamon, and Ginger
2. Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
3. Vegetable Broth and Soup

All these ingredients definitely need to be kept in your kitchen/pantry before, during, and after a detoxification weekend or time period, except for the fresh fruits and vegetables. These basic detox ingredients would help cleanse the body in some way or another, and they are all beneficial to forming a healthy lifestyle filled with healthy ingredients and food!

That is if you want to…
Good Luck

Do you think that you are hungry because you’re fat, or are you fat because you’re hungry?

Hmmm…. this is no chicken-and-egg question. To some degree, at least, you are hungry because you’re fat. You have more body area and that means greater surface to radiate heat and call for calories.

So, here’s how to put a rein on your appetite starting today:

1. Stop eating while you’re still a little hungry.

2. Revise your eating habits and find something to distract you from thinking about food.

3. Find foods that requires slow chewing such as raw carrots, celery, etc

4. Don’t wash food down with water because drinking water with meals may wash down masses of half-chewed food and thus unconsciously step up your food intake instead.

5. Don’t be tricked by fancy foods such as an ice cream sundae topped off with nuts and whipped cream.

6. Learn to keep a count on calories and read the labels.

7. Place a variety of fruits in a fruit bowl on the coffee table instead of a box of chocolates, candies and pastries.

8. Don’t go without breakfast because that is not a smart move, you will put on weight instead!

With these eight ways you can now learn to take control of your health STARTING NOW…

What about bottled water? A lot of brands start at the water tap too …

Besides being told upteem times about toxins gathering around the environment, recently we are being informed that pharmaceutical drugs have been found polluting our drinking water too.

Apparently they get deposited into our drinking water in two ways:

• excretion- drugs that you take, or drugs given to livestock, some of the active components that are not absorbed in the body are deposited into sewage treatment centers. Drug-ridden waste from livestock also ends up polluting water in the soil, rivers, streams and lastly drinking water.
• disposal - unused or outdated medications being flushed down the toilets or disposed as trash by people, pharmaceutical companies and hospitals which ultimately ends in the environment.

Incase, you have missed this breaking news about drinking water being polluted by the Associated Press investigations, just click on the arrow now to play the video…

I must say, nothing surprises me these days as I believe this is an age old issue, otherwise why are these water filtering devices and systems have been in business for so long?

I love eating mangoes…The King of Asiatic Fruits! My favourite way of eating it, is to cut the mango into half and scoop out the flesh and savour the fruit. I also love mango gelato than mango ice cream because I feel that in most ice creams, the fruit essence is used instead of the real fruit puree.

Anyway, I came across this very interesting article on the natural benefits of mango today of which I never thought about until now and would like to share them here, maybe it might help someone? Anyway, don’t take them too seriously.

There are two parts : the ripe mango and the green or unripe mango.

Here, I’ll list about the Ripe Mango benefits:

Eye Disorders : Ripe mangoes are highly beneficial in the treatment of night blindness in which one cannot see properly in dim light. Eating mangoes liberally will also prevent development of refractive errors, dryness of the eyes, softening of the cornea, itching and burning in the eyes.

Infections : Liberal use of mangoes can prevent frequent attacks of common infections such as colds rhinitis and sinusities due to the high concentration of Vitamin A in the fruit.

Scorpion Bites : The mango juice that oozes out at the time of plucking the fruit from the tree gives immediate relief to pain when applied to the scorpion bite or bee sting. The juice can be collected and kept in a bottle for external use only.

Weight Gain : The mango-milk cure is an ideal treatment for loss of weight. Always select and eat the ripe and sweet mangoes first and then followed by milk, three times a day. The quantity of milk and mangoes should be carefully regulated according to the condition of the patient. For rapid weight gain, the patient has to consume between 3 to 4 kilos of mangoes with 4 to 5 litres of milk.

Precautions : In general, excessive consumption of mangoes will cause constipation, eye infections, blood impurities and seasonal fever. So, eat in moderation is the best!

Sadly, the majority of people just do not eat enough fruits and vegetables. A lot of research have been carried out on these powerhouse fruits and vegetables and suggested that people would get the most disease fighting benefits if they opt to make them the main choice in their diet. Powerhouse fruits and vegetables are very colorful and tend to have higher levels of vitamins like folic acid and vitamin c, and phyto-chemicals which are beta-carotene and flavanoids.

Phyto-chemicals is the plant pigment which gives out the different colors in fruits and vegetables. Phyto-chemicals has a natural bioactive compound, an antioxidants and when combine with nutrients would help to slow the aging process and reduce the risk of many chronic or lifestyle diseases.

As not all fruits and vegetables are created equal, hence it is important to eat in variety of at least two servings of fruits and two servings of vegetables everyday. The best way to keep track of which fruits and vegetables are better choices, is to identify them by their colors.

Here are some of the powerhouse fruits and vegetables :

Orange/Yellow : Carrot, papaya, pumpkin, mango, bananas, orange, jackfruit, maize, cantaloupe,

Green : All dark green leafy vegetables example spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts, water cress, kiwifruit, cucumber, green grapes or asparagus

White : cauliflower, cabbage, radish, turnip, bean sprouts,

Red : tomato, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, red grapes, watermelon, red peppers, wolfderries, red dates,

In supermarkets of today, a consumer has a choice to choose from a wide variety of eggs lined up on the shelves according to budget and beliefs.

Would you prefer the ordinary egg or the designer egg? Would you pay a premium for designer eggs?
Examples of these designer eggs or supplemental eggs are Beta-carotene Eggs (an antioxidant that prevents cell damage), Selenium and Vitamin E Eggs (an essential mineral and vitamin that helps prevent cancers of breast, colon and prostate), Zeaxanthin, Lutein and Vitamin E (prevent eye diseases and free-radicals damage), and now Cordyceps Eggs.

This is latest addition to the fold and is known as ‘medicinal’ eggs as well. Apparently, this concept came about because of antibiotics used in the animal feed as additives.
The hens are fed with animal feeds enhanced by Cordycepin, a biochemical needed by the human body for energy transfer in the cells. The hens are fed six times a day and each hen would take about 27 hours to lay an unfertilised egg.

Briefly, Cordyceps or cordyceps sinensis is a type of parasitic fungi that invades the insect larvae, a species of vegetable caterpillar in winter and feeds off their insides.
Cordyceps is one of the most valued medicinal herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine and is claimed to be more powerful than ginseng in helping to clear health problems.
There are many studies shown that it can reduce tiredness, promote health and slowing down aging process, enhance energy and an analgesic. It also promotes health liver function, fight against tumor, detoxification, improve blood circulation. Cordyceps can alleviate asthma and also reduce cough phlegm.

DietInfoCare Tips: If you soft boil your egg, it has lower cholesterol than sunny eggs or fried eggs

Everybody knows that exercise will help you physically, making you strong, fitter and giving you more stamina. It will also help raise your metabolic rate, which will help you loose weight and keep weight lost. But not many people know the mental effects of exercise.

Exercise gives a natural ‘high’, this is because it makes the brain release different chemicals, serotonin, dopamine, nor epinephrine and endorphins all of these are known to have strong effects on your mood, they can help to reduce feelings of anxiety, stress and they can also help stop you feeling depressed. One of the main benefits of using exercise to help lift depression is that you can start to feel the effects instantly, where as drugs can take several weeks to have an effect. Also if you are more active you will be able to sleep better, since a lot of sleep problems are linked with depression which will certainly help straight away.

If you do a lot of exercise you will not only look fitter and healthier you will feel healthier and fitter. Exercise will help you gain a more positive image of yourself; in turn this will boost your self-confidence and your self-esteem. This also means that you will be able to socialize with more ease. Regular exercise will also help reduce your stress and tension levels. It will also help you clear your mind, which in turn will help you relax and unwind in the evenings rather that dwelling on those problems you might have. Another helpful factor of exercise is that it will boost your energy levels, a lot of people who are depressed often lack energy. When you forced yourself to go and do some exercise a few times you will soon see the difference in how energetic you feel.

Researchers at Duke University, Carolina, USA, studied people who were suffering from depression for four months. The found out that 60% of the participants who exercised for 30 minutes, three times a week, overcame their state of depression without using any antidepressant drugs. It was the same percentage rate as those who only used medication to help treat their depression. Another survey carried out by the charity Mind in 2001 found out that 83% of people who have mental health problems looked to exercise to help them lift their mood or to help them reduce their stress and tension levels. Two thirds said that exercise helped them to reduce stress and anxiety. 6 out of 10 of the respondents said that physical exercise helped them to improve how motivated they were. 50% also said it boosted their self-esteem and 24% said it help improve their social skills and they were able to interact with more ease.

Before you start on any exercise program, it is always highly prudent to check with your physician that there are no underlying illnesses.

Today I have finally purchased my personal pedometer and it doesn’t come cheap…cost me about SGD41 or US$29! I was told there are many cheap ones from China in the market which cost about US$10 but they also conked off very fast and most of them are not accurate in their readings due to their mercury movement detection mechanism. Upon weighing my options I decided to invest in the OMRON HJ-113 Walking Style at a reputed chemist, its still made in China, no warranty, but under the well-known Omron company. It is even endorsed by the Singapore Heart Foundation.

It also detects whether your steps are normal or aerobic and thus capture accordingly and their duration taken. I was too excited to complete the rest of the settings, so tomorrow I’ll report back again.

About the features of my Omron HJ-113 Walking Style pedomter :

• has an aerobic step counter, besides the regular step counter.

• uses a new sensor technology called accelerometer which means you can either put it in your pocket shirt, front trousers pocket, put it in your bag or hang it from your neck and it will calculate your steps automatically.

• can differentiate whether your steps are normal or aerobic by detecting the rhythmic pattern of your steps.

• has the ability to count your calories and fats burnt

• can review your full week of exercise because of the stored memory.

• can also set the time, weight and stride length.

Now no more mentally calculating my steps or rounds for an estimation when I go for my daily brisk walking again which is limited to the track path in the park. I can’t wait to carry my new pedometer with me knowing I can track my steps whenever I walk.

My challenge now is to achieve the 10,000 steps a day! Anyway, I have a Walker Tracker’s widget installed in my blog for easy tracking which I highly recommend anyone who wants to keep fit to join this community…. See ya soon & Happy Walking!