Does Exercise Strengthen your Brain While It Builds Muscle?

Does Exercise Strengthen your Brain While It Builds Muscle?

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Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Pfizer Maneuvers To Keep Patients On Lipitor

Pfizer Maneuvers To Keep Patients On Lipitor

TRENTON, N.J. -- Lipitor is so valuable that Pfizer is practically paying people to keep taking its blockbuster cholesterol medicine after generic competition hits the U.S. market this week.

Pfizer has devised discounts and incentives for patients, insurers and companies that process prescriptions that will, at least for the next six months, make the brand name drug about as cheap as or cheaper than the generics. Pfizer also has spent tens of millions of dollars this year on marketing to keep patients on Lipitor, which loses patent protection Wednesday.

Normally when a drug's patent ends, generic rivals grab nearly all its market share in a year or less, and the original maker quietly shifts focus to its newer products.

Pfizer Inc., the world's biggest drugmaker, is not giving up that easy on the best-selling drug in history. Lipitor had peak sales of about $13 billion and still brings in nearly $11 billion a year, about a sixth of Pfizer's revenue. With no new blockbusters to fill that hole, the company is making an unprecedented push to hang onto Lipitor revenue as long as possible.

Patients seem to buy into the logic.

"If I can get the name brand at the same price or for pennies more than the generic, I have no motivation to switch," said Richard Shiekman, 59, who has been taking Lipitor for six years and credits the drug with sharply cutting his bad cholesterol. Shiekman, a wine and spirits importer from Redding, Conn., got a $4 copay card two weeks ago after his pharmacy sent an offer guaranteeing that price through December 2012.

Pfizer's strategy is cunning and could become the new norm, as most other drugmakers also face generic competition to top-selling medicines and haven't been coming up with replacements.

"People getting a month of lifesaving medicine for the price of a cup of Starbucks is ... pretty impressive," said Michael Kleinrock, a research director at data firm IMS Health.

Pfizer's effort includes:

_Paying pharmacies to mail Lipitor patients offers for the $4 copay card and to counsel patients that Lipitor lowers bad cholesterol more than rival drugs and helps prevent heart attacks and strokes.

_Keeping U.S. marketing spending nearly level until the last minute, versus the typical two-thirds drop in a drug's final year under patent. From July through September, Pfizer spent almost $90 million on doctor sales calls and free samples, about the same as a year earlier, according to Cegedim Strategic Data. Ads targeting patients fell about 60 percent to $19 million. All that will soon taper off.

_ Negotiating unusual deals with some insurance plans and prescription benefit managers, the companies that process prescription claims for insurers or employers, to block pharmacists from dispensing generic Lipitor. Pfizer is giving them rebates that bring their cost for Lipitor down to the price of a generic or slightly less – if they agree to dispense only Lipitor for the six months before additional generic competition slashes prices. The move has generated some controversy and means many of the 3 million Americans taking Lipitor won't be able switch to the generic.

Under those contracts, patients will pay either their plan's standard generic copayment or just $4 – the lowest copayment pharmacies at supermarkets and discounters such as Wal-Mart offer for the most widely used generic drugs.

While generic medicines work the same as brand drugs for nearly everyone, some patients prefer the brand.

"We want to make sure that patients who are currently taking Lipitor and want to continue ... have the opportunity to do so," said David Simmons, who heads Pfizer's Established Products business. He said research shows more than a third of patients want to stay on Lipitor.

Pfizer also is continuing assistance programs that subsidize uninsured patients wanting Lipitor, which costs about $115 to $160 a month, depending on dosage. Generic Lipitor, called atorvastatin, should cost 30 percent to 50 percent less.

People without insurance also can order the generic, with a prescription, through websites such as HealthWarehouse.com.

Patients could save even more by taking other generic drugs in the same class that have been on sale for several years: pravastatin (Pravachol) and simvastatin (Zocor). But they're not as potent as Lipitor, the key reason its sales have held up.

Typically, brand-name drugs get one or two generic competitors initially, priced about 25 percent lower. Six months later, other generic companies are allowed to jump in and the price drops up to 80 percent.

About 90 percent of the branded drug's sales ultimately vanish, as insured patients seeking a lower copayment switch over and most pharmacies automatically substitute a generic for a brand name.

Sanford Bernstein analyst Dr. Tim Anderson estimates that for a 90-day supply of Lipitor, even after paying rebates to insurers and patients, Pfizer can make a profit of roughly $100, compared with about $225 before generic competition. That's partly because administrative and advertising costs will decline, and it barely costs a dime to make a pill.

Anderson expects Pfizer's strategy to boost its earnings per share about 2 percent next year.

Meanwhile, Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. looks to be the biggest loser in this. It has a deal to distribute an "authorized generic" version manufactured by Pfizer but sold under Watson's brand, with Pfizer keeping an estimated 70 percent of the price.

Watson CEO Paul Bisaro said he had thought Pfizer would retain about 25 percent of Lipitor users for the next six months, but now "it looks like it will be 40 to 45 percent."

Bisaro said that could reduce his company's anticipated profit next year.

"This is sort of the new generation of brand protection," he added.

India's Ranbaxy Laboratories is the only company besides Watson with the right to sell generic Lipitor in the U.S. for the next six months. But Ranbaxy has had repeated manufacturing quality problems, and it's unclear whether it will have the Food and Drug Administration's approval to ship its version come Nov. 30.

Ranbaxy said it would not reveal what will happen until then. The FDA, as is its custom, declined to comment. But Pfizer executives say they expect Ranbaxy to have a generic on the market.

An independent pharmacists group called Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency has raised alarms that the rebate deals will stick plan sponsors – employers, unions and taxpayers – with higher costs than for generics.

But spokespeople for a few prescription benefit managers that have received Pfizer's offer say it would cost insurance plans and patients the same as, or slightly less than, for generic Lipitor.

"Next year we're going to save clients and members over $1 billion just on this drug," said Tim Wentworth, head of employer and key client accounts for Medco Health Solutions Inc., one of the biggest pharmacy benefits managers.

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Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Wonderful Weight-Loss Success Tips For You

Wonderful Weight-Loss Success Tips For You

Written by John Lewis on November 29th, 2011

Are you looking for the diet solution program that will help you to lose weight fast? I have below great weight loss success tips that will be of great benefit to you.

Fitness levels usually decline rapidly with age. Stress from work, home, and social functions can push workout programs from the front of your mind. If you are no longer willing to stand aside and let your body lose its tone, you should take the initiative to make the necessary changes. Start by following the guidelines in these fitness tips. These suggestions can help you reattain the body you had in your youth.

As people grow older they tend to forget about their fitness. Many people let the pressures of life take over their need for fitness. If you are one of these people and your declining physical condition is starting to concern you, the following fitness tips may help you make some healthy changes to your lifestyle. These tips can help you re-find the body that you once had!

Be sure to check if you’re over-training yourself in order to ensure yourself that you are working out in the right way. Do this simple test: in the morning, check your pulse upon waking, the day after a workout. A heart rate of ten or more beats per minute over normal means that your body is still recovering from your last workout.

For proper exercise, be certain that you do not overwork yourself. Taking your pulse the morning after your workout can help to determine if you are exercising too hard. You can find out if your body is still in recovery mode easily by checking your pulse. This is the case if your pulse is making 10 or more beats per minute.

Source: www.newpublichealth.com

Heidi Dietrich: Biking to the Gates Foundation

Heidi Dietrich: Biking to the Gates Foundation

I picked up full time bike commuting again in the absolutely worst time of year.

November in Seattle means frequent wind and rain storms, late sunrises, and early sunsets. More often than not, November rides are done in full rain gear and in the dark.

For the past couple of years, I'd shelved foul weather commuting because I had the luxury of working from home. As an online news editor for AOL's Patch local news sites, and as a freelancer both directly before and after that, I could start my day at my kitchen laptop. While others biked in the early morning cold downtown, I could smugly sip my coffee and watch raindrops hitting the window. If it was a nice day, I'd hop on my bike to do errands or attend work meetings. Drizzly out? I opted for my car, with cup holders and heated seats.

But when recently I accepted a position as a communications coordinator at the Gates Foundation, I knew my cushy biking days had ended. Gates has a beautiful new campus on Lower Queen Anne, just four miles from my house, but no free parking for employees. Their brand new parking garage is for the staff members who opt to pay for a spot, and for the super important people (like Bill and Melinda).

Since paying for daily parking always seems a waste to me, and since I despise crowded city buses, it was obvious that I would need to become a hardcore cyclist once again. I dug out my old rain pants, booties, and lights I'd acquired during the seven years I worked and commuted to a reporting job downtown.

How has it gone so far? Well, the weather hasn't made it an easy transition. One storm after another has been blowing through Seattle, meaning I've usually been riding in wind and rain. One evening last week, I felt like I'd taken a shower after hopping off my bike. Drenched completely through. My boyfriend, who also commutes by bike, and I took over the downstairs bathroom and tub with our sopping bike clothes.

But on the plus side, I've gotten to discover an extremely cool bike facility at my new company. Thankfully, the designers behind the Gates Foundation's new campus incorporated amenities for cyclists. It's by far the most bike-friendly workplace I've ever commuted to.

When I bike to Gates, I use my key card to enter the secure, employees-only garage. I then walk my bike to the bike room, which has mounted hooks for some 140 bicycles. I've been impressed by how many hooks are in use during the coldest, rainiest part of the year. I'm told that the room is even more hopping in the summer months.

Photo courtesy of author

The dry, light, and secure bike room offers both ample rack space and a bike pump in case anyone needs to add air to their tires. Gates employees can access the room 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Once I leave my bike inside the garage, I can head to either the mud room or the women's shower room. The mud room contains racks and hooks for drying out wet biking clothes. Special heat and ventilation allow riders to air out their drenched outfits during the work day.

The locker and shower room also provides a number of amenities. Tons of lockers and drying hooks provide more space to stash gear. The room reminds me more of a posh gym's locker room than workplace showers, as it comes stocked with clean white towels, lotions, soaps, and feminine products, all free of charge. It's by far the swankiest office shower room I've ever been in.

I feel so lucky to have access to stellar cycling facilities at work, it makes commuting through the rain and dark a bit more tolerable. While I can't say I'm always excited to venture out into a downpour, it's a huge perk to work at a place that was built with cyclists in mind.

Follow Heidi Dietrich on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Heidi_Dietrich

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Useful Information about Obesity and Diet Pills

Useful Information about Obesity and Diet Pills

Obesity has become health related crises which a huge portion of the world’s human population is struggling with. There springs one thousand other concerns with excessive weight also. That’s precisely why a lot of heavy-set persons grow to be desperate so they make use of weight loss pills that offer some kind of magic with regards to body weight.

Overweight or Obese?

You will find a specific description pertaining to over weight plus obese. How does one be aware that you are one of the two? You calculate your body mass index (BMI) the measure of overall body fat dependent on the weight and height.
To obtain your own Body mass index, all you have to do is divide your body weight with the square of your height (kg/m2).

• Overweight people have Body mass index equivalent or over 25
• Obese persons have BMI equivalent or over 30

It’s all about the Figures

Figures on the World Health Organization reveal that above a billion individuals around the world are now overweight or maybe obese. With this number continually rising, it isn’t shocking in any way the fact that slimming market is also ever-increasing. It’s been projected that approximately $ 60B was invested on diet pills, low-carb programs along with weight-loss aid by 2010.

Websites like womendietpills.org exist to aid consumers find weight loss services. Apart from that, over-the-counter pills and products are also offered. Many are usually just $20 while others have got price tags as much as $50-$60 for each bottle.

Different kinds of Diet Capsules

You will discover different types of diet supplements. You most likely have heard about fat burners quite a lot however to this day there are many of weight loss products that happen to be advertised like those in Thermotox reviews to help overweight and obese persons.

1. Fat burners – works by using thermogenic compounds to be able to burn the present body fat within your body. By increasing your metabolic rate, fat burners claim to assist you shed much more of your excessive fat even while resting. The majority of fat burners include stimulants including caffeine.

2. Fat binders – diet pills which are fat binders stop fats from being assimilated by the body; a lot like carb blockers. It reduces your calorie consumption therefore leads to fat loss.

3. Appetite suppressants – can stop your food cravings so that you can minimize your food intake along with snacking. Binge eaters will benefit most from these types of diet supplements.

4. Carb blockers – these kinds of weight loss pills are the types which obstruct the absorption of carbohydrates by your body.

When you are about to begin your own weight loss routine, these are generally significant facts for your attention. Not only can excess fat make it difficult for you to have your size of clothing but also you are in a tremendous risk to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes as well as other severe health hazards. For that reason, slimming down will have to be carried out to have a healthier mind and body.

Flatter Abs - Easy???

Source: www.fastweightloss4u.com

Jean Fain, L.I.C.S.W., M.S.W.: Are You Beating Yourself Up for Overindulging?

Jean Fain, L.I.C.S.W., M.S.W.: Are You Beating Yourself Up for Overindulging?

If your Thanksgiving Day feast has already become last weekend's regrettable splurge, you're probably feeling lousy about yourself right about now. What's more, you're probably thinking that getting down on yourself for overindulging is part of the cure.

It seems to be deep in our culture to think that feeding yourself a steady diet of self-criticism will inspire you to rein in your eating. The overwhelming majority of dieters believe this, but they've just got it backward. Self-criticism -- calling yourself fat, disgusting and other mean, nasty names -- is really a recipe for emotional overeating and holiday weight gain. Self-compassion, the exact opposite of self-loathing, is a proven strategy for decreasing emotional eating and stopping a downward eating spiral before it starts.

But don't we already think too well of ourselves? Take my quiz, excerpted from "The Self-Compassion Diet," and see how you score. You may be surprised.

The Self-Compassionate Eating Quiz

This quiz measures your current state of self-compassion by helping you assess your mental, emotional, and physical reaction to diet, weight, and body image. When you can find a quiet moment away from distractions, take a pen or pencil and sit down to reflect on how compassionate you are toward yourself.

Check eight statements that come closest to reflecting your general experience. That is, they should reflect how you most often feel in the situation described.

___ 1. When I eat something "bad," like a donut, I can't stop thinking about how I've blown it.
___ 2. After an indulgent weekend, I trust myself to rein in my eating.
___ 3. I often feel alone with my eating issues, but I know I'm not.
___ 4. When I eat junk food, I try not to beat myself up too much.
___ 5. I may feel uncomfortable if I'm bloated or a few pounds heavier, but it doesn't stop me from enjoying social activities.
___ 6. I might never love my body, but I know I'd like it better 10 pounds lighter.
___ 7. No one struggles with eating like I do.
___ 8. I don't trust myself to eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full, but I'd like to learn.
___ 9. I can get down on myself when I'm bloated or a few pounds heavier, but I'll still go out in baggy clothes.
___ 10. Paying attention to my hunger makes me want to eat, so I try to ignore it.
___ 11. I'm always interested in what my body has to say about hunger and fullness.
___ 12. If I lose one to two pounds per week, I'll never reach my goal weight.
___ 13. I'd like to jumpstart my weight loss with a crash diet and then eat healthfully.
___ 14. I didn't stick to my eating plan the whole weekend; all my weight-loss efforts are for nothing.
___ 15. When I eat something less than healthful, I try to savor it all the same.
___ 16. I really indulged myself over the weekend; I'm afraid to step on the scale.
___ 17. When I feel bloated or especially fat, I won't leave the house.
___ 18. After overeating, I feel like punishing myself, but I know restricting and purging only make me feel worse.
___ 19. Overeating is a signal to care for myself more, not less.
___ 20. After I overeat, self-punishment (restricting food intake and/or purging, vomiting, or over-exercising) is the only thing that makes me feel better.
___ 21. My weight takes care of itself when I feed myself delicious, nutritious food.
___ 22. When I'm overweight, I feel gross; I hate my body.
___ 23. Everybody overeats and feels stuffed on occasion.
___ 24. I love and respect my body.

Scoring Sheet

Give yourself 1 point per statement for checking any of the following:
1, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17, 20, 22.
Subtotal: _______

Give yourself 2 points per statement for checking any of the following:
3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 13, 16, 18.
Subtotal: _______

Give yourself 3 points per statement for checking any of the following:
2, 5, 11, 15, 19, 21, 23, 24.
Subtotal: _______

Total Score: _____ Date: _____ / _____ / _____

Your Score and What to Make Of It

When it comes to self-compassion, 0-8 means you're sorely lacking, and you seriously need to go easier on yourself; 9-16, you've got some, but you could use some more; 17-24, you've got way more than the average American dieter, so you're in good shape. However, you can never have too much self-compassion.

Even if you're already pretty kind to yourself, know that even a slight increase in self-compassion can brighten your worldview, give you more emotional balance, help you get a handle on your eating and facilitate sustainable weight loss. (That is, if you are trying to lose weight.)

Tips for developing a kinder, gentler attitude are coming to my next blog. For a preview of what's to come, watch this YouTube video.

Jean Fain is a Harvard Medical School-affiliated psychotherapist specializing in eating issues, and the author of "The Self-Compassion Diet." For more information, see www.jeanfain.com. Got a thing or two to say about any of the above? Please share in the comments section.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

A Vast Selection in Allied Health Career

A Vast Selection in Allied Health Career

posted on November 25, 2011 in Health with 0 Comments  

There are numerous benefits of choosing an allied healthcare career. The professions that make up this discipline are quite a few, and many of them would possibly look like they do not remotely belong in the same category. Principally, allied health care careers are designated as these professions within the clinical health care area not together with those of dentists, medical docs and nurses. It is a large portion of the health care industry. In reality, allied healthcare professionals make up approximately 60 % of the whole healthcare workforce in the United States. There’s obviously an enormous demand for these jobs, but other benefits accompany these profession selections as well.

::allied health jobs::

The aged care staff provide care and companionship to the ageing people. Ageing people are restricted to their homes, many of the time. Subsequently, this care is prolonged to them at home. These workers assist them of their family chores. As well as, they offer them emotional support. Ambulance paramedic specialise in pre-hospital care of the patients. They take care of the sick and injured. They’ll effectively deal with stress. They provide emergency transport to take them to hospital or medical facilities.

Flatter Abs - Easy???

Source: www.fastweightloss4u.com

Gretchen Rubin: Who Are Your Modern-Day Patron Saints?

Gretchen Rubin: Who Are Your Modern-Day Patron Saints?

Self-knowledge is crucial to happiness, but it's challenging to know yourself. Sometimes, I find, I can gain insight by asking myself questions that make me take stock of my interests and values.

For that reason, I asked myself, "Who are my patron saints? Of my Happiness Project, in particular, and for myself generally?" (A "patron saint" is a saint who has a special connection to a person, place, profession, or activity, or in more casual terms, a person who serves as a particular leader or example.)

Here are my six patron saints:

Benjamin Franklin: practical, curious, inventive.

St. Therese of Lisieux: showing great love through small, ordinary actions.

Samuel Johnson: wildly eccentric with a deep understanding of human nature.

Julia Child: goofy yet masterly; light-hearted yet authoritative.

Winston Churchill: indefatigable, indomitable.

Virginia Woolf: intensely attuned to the power of the passing moment.

Well, Julia Child and Winston Churchill are probably rarely paired together in the same discussion, but they both represent very powerful ideas to me. It's interesting -- the posts I've written about these figures are among my favorites of all the posts I've written. I love thinking and writing about my patron saints.

Who are your patron saints? Why?

I'm working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump in right now. Each Friday's post will help you think about your own happiness project.

* Speaking of Samuel Johnson, my next book takes its title from Johnson. Johnson remarked, "To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and labour tends." My next book is called Happier at Home. What a pleasure it has been to write this book! If you'd like to be notified when it's available, sign up here.

Follow Gretchen Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gretchenrubin

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Paleo Diet Results: Lose Weight while Breastfeeding The Easy Way

Paleo Diet Results: Lose Weight while Breastfeeding The Easy Way

Should people wish to lose weight while breastfeeding in any quick manner, you may must do just like you happen to be instructed and you just can’t fall back on your old ways of doing things. Exactly how do you lose as much weight as is feasible in very little time as you possibly can? There’s no easy, magic method to Lose Weight While Breastfeeding lose weight while breastfeeding, as well as sole method to lose weight while breastfeeding while them back would be to watch your diet and come up with normally as is possible. But there are a few ways for you to set about losing as often weight and you should learn about them shortly.

Remember, it’s rarely a smart idea to go hungry if you end up attempting to lose weight while breastfeeding fast. The time is right considering that it is the opposite of overeating, nevertheless it do not make it easier Losing Weight while Breastfeeding to excess weight you’re looking to lose. What the low calorie diet advocates don’t say is always that any weight loss you decide to do achieve will go back in full force within a few months. While you starve, you continue your body from receiving the nutrients it craves, thinking that means your body will lead you to stuff see your face for you to replenish those lost elements. It’s not post that starvation diets that work for long period only negatively affect your well-being. So, while losing weight while breastfeeding fast requires you eat fewer, you may have to make sure you just aren’t skipping meals or otherwise not meeting your nutritional requirements. One of the several largest factors why people can’t lose weight while breastfeeding is because contain a practice of snacking too much. Lots of people don’t consider their snacks meals, so that the calories often aren’t counted. But they also miss that eating numerous chips and sweetened foods may give them as many as or over calories than regular meals. Any time you switch those high calorie junk food with healthier foods like fruits, veggies, nuts, and wholemeal carbohydrates, you can expect to get more energy, you’ll feel good, and you could consume fewer empty calories during the process. So if you prefer to lose weight while breastfeeding quickly, keep track of the calories that could come from meals, too as the ones that could from the snacking.

Drinking more water can in reality show you how to lose weight while breastfeeding quickly. If you wish to contain a healthy body, and also want a metabolism that would be for a fat loss oven, drink more water. An extra convenience of drinking plenty of water quite simply will quickly realize you happen to be hungry more infrequently. A few people realize this, to chop feel hungry, sometimes you’re just thirsty. To get may enhance the being hydrated, you don’t have replace water. A lot of the energy drinks on the market can be really loaded with sugar, so they won’t does one a certain amount of good when you’re endeavoring to lose weight while breastfeeding. Even healthy beverages along the lines of drinks, that can be full off natural sugars, shouldn’t be consumed excessively, nonetheless, you can drink so much water as you would like. If you’d like to lose weight while breastfeeding quickly, this really something you’ll want to adopt to your regular routine.

Anyone can lose weight while breastfeeding quickly, however it can be far easier if you possibly could really focus you on the task in front of you. The right tip anyone can supply you with is usually to focus on the goals you add when you are temptation knocking your door to utilize a sweet treat or miss a workout session. It is possible to lose weight while breastfeeding quickly while using above tips, only for anybody who is unwavering on your own dedication and drive.

Flatter Abs - Easy???

Source: www.fastweightloss4u.com

CelebTrainer Chris Powell's Top Motivation Tips

CelebTrainer Chris Powell's Top Motivation Tips

By Alanna Nunez for Shape.com

Chris Powell knows motivation. After all, as the trainer on "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition" and the DVD "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition-The Workout," it's his job to motivate each contestant to stick to a healthy eating and workout regime. Since even we sometimes have trouble getting out of bed in the morning to work out (yes, it's true!), who better to ask than Powell about how to keep yourself motivated to work out and lead a healthy lifestyle? Here are his top tips on staying motivated and sticking to your workout routine:

1. Make a promise to yourself that you can keep. "A lot of people will make promises to themselves they can't keep," Powell says. "They'll say, 'I'll do 45 minutes of cardio today,' and then they don't. When you shrink it down to something that's more manageable for you, say 10 or 15 minutes of cardio, you gain integrity and momentum, and you'll be more encouraged to keep going."

More from Shape.com:
#1 Trick to Lose Weight Fast
5 Reasons Your Workout Isn't Working
15 Celebs Who Lost Weight for the Wrong Reasons

2. Confess! I promise, it's not as scary as it sounds! If you're anything like us, when you skip a workout you find yourself feeling immensely guilty for it. Powell says that when that happens, the best thing you can do is tell someone. "No man is an island," he says. "If you have a person you can go to, just tell them, 'Hey, I skipped a workout and this is how I'm feeling, and it's been really bothering me.'" You don't have to talk about it all day, but getting it off your chest means you don't have to feel guilty about it, which can help you to clear your head and get back in the fitness mindset.

3. Get right back on the wagon. "Because of what I do for a living, I'm in the position where I can't skip workouts," Powell says. "But if I ever do find myself skipping one, the next day I just start over again." This is partly why Powell stresses the importance of manageable goals. "If you commit to something small, like working out every day for 10 minutes, you'll find after a month goes by that you can't imagine not working out and you won't want to skip your workout," he says.

4. Surround yourself with a good support group. If you find that your friends and family aren't supporting you in your healthy goals, or you feel you're not getting the support you need, try looking online for a group where you can find that support. Or try joining a walking or running club in your area. Clubs like these enable you to meet likeminded people and make friends.

5. Assess your goals. Life happens to everybody, and sometimes that means you may lose sight of your health or weight-loss goals. If you find yourself frustrated or feeling bad, try to remember why you're doing what you're doing -- maybe you're trying to run your first marathon, or maybe you want to be healthy enough to run around with your kids. "My first approach with contestants on the show when life gets in the way is to tell them to try and remember why they're on the show in the first place," Powell says.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Jeanne Ball: Can Meditation Create Social Change?

Jeanne Ball: Can Meditation Create Social Change?

Here in Asheville, NC, ranks of the Occupy movement have struggled peacefully to keep their encampments. Recently there was a march in protest of occupier arrests.

Bloggers on The Huffington Post have commented eloquently about the widespread protests and the statement being made from Oakland to New England.

In support of social change, there's another powerful approach, one that's complimentary to all viewpoints -- an approach essential to social evolution, yet so quiet it's easily drowned out amid the general media's focus on the obvious and sensational.

That approach: meditation.

"Change Begins Within"
The above phrase was coined by David Lynch as the theme of his philanthropic foundation's annual benefit event to support Transcendental Meditation stress-reduction programs for students and at-risk populations -- such as Native Americans, veterans with PTSD, child prostitutes, prison inmates and the homeless.

Why this initiative to teach people a meditation technique -- why not food, shelter, clothing, or job training, as other altruistic organizations provide?

Because real change begins within. Our world is as we are. It will always be necessary to affect responsible change on the outside, but whatever good can be accomplished in society depends on the quality of heart and mind of those creating the change -- individually and collectively.

Besides, everybody needs to dissolve stress, and research shows that effective meditation is the most powerful stress buster there is.¹ Stress wears you down. It clouds your mind and diverts you from right decisions. Doctors say it can kill you. And the total stress of all individuals coalesces to become collective stress--affecting the overall quality of life in society.

Meditating for Social Change
Imagine: countless numbers of people across the country, in their homes or together in meditation halls, sitting, closing their eyes and transcending, experiencing a level of consciousness where we're all interconnected. What if, by silently stirring this underlying, unified field, an influence of orderliness and cooperation could be created throughout collective consciousness -- dissolving social tensions and relieving government gridlock, stimulating economic confidence and supporting positive change?

Such a project is quietly underway and gathering momentum, on both national and global levels. In Fairfield, Iowa, 2000 meditators -- volunteers from 50 countries, of all races and religions -- assemble morning and evening, seven days a week to further this endeavor. Similar large, permanent "coherence-creating" groups are forming in South America, Europe, Australia, and throughout India and Asia.

Teams of forward-thinking scientists have tracked this phenomenon and published their studies in peer-reviewed sociological journals--showing promising results.²

I have written on The Huffington Post of this harmonizing influence that meditators have on others -- the scientifically measurable "field effect" ("Did Group Meditation Cause The Plummeting Crime Rate?" and "Are We All Interconnected By An Underlying Field?").

The extended societal influence of meditation aside, consider this: The effectiveness of everything we do -- for ourselves or others -- depends on the clarity of our consciousness, how much of our individual creative potential is available.

Meditation at its best allows us to tap into our inner reserves of creativity, clarity and orderliness of mind; it opens our awareness to the field of all possibilities within human consciousness and spontaneously rids us of obstacles that block our higher judgment.

Through effective meditation we can develop and fully occupy our own consciousness -- infusing possibilities that our minds have never seen -- and thereby gain the wherewithal to accomplish the big, positive changes needed in the outer world.

Creativity and World Problems
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi taught that all societal problems are rooted in a lack of human creativity. At the basis of every human mind -- deep within, beyond ordinary waking consciousness -- is a field of limitless creativity and intelligence. Through correct meditation, this untapped potentiality can be experienced and unfolded by anyone. The results are transformative, for each meditator individually and for the whole society.

Maharishi, 1974:

"Our inability to see clearly is not due to some inadequate arrangement of the objects of our vision. Although, as a result of restoring our sight, we shall be better able to rearrange those objects, our first task is to reclaim our full powers of seeing.

"Although there are certainly many things in the world to be put right, we shall not be able to accomplish this humane ideal by mere reshuffling the environment. It will never humanly succeed until we can see and appreciate that environment at its full value, until we can envision all its possibilities with expanded heart and mind so that they may be actualized to the advantage of everyone and everything in nature.

"Men and women, however great their responsibilities, have up to now been reduced to reshuffling the environment to varying effect, just because they have not known how to claim this birthright. As a result, it is becoming commonplace to point out that, in spite of prodigies of technological skill, in spite of explosions of objective information, mankind continues to suffer from collective disasters and individual inadequacies.

"When we resume contact with this deep source of creativity within us, we are able to appreciate all the limits that circumstances impose and see beyond them.

"That source within us from which all change arises, the interior reservoir of creative energy, gives to those who have learned to systematically draw upon it a quiet and justified confidence born of inner silence and strength."

References:

1. American Journal of Health Promotion 12:297-299, 1998
2. Crime and Justice, IV, 26-45,1981; Journal of Mind and Behavior, 9, 457-486, 1989; Journal of Conflict Resolution, 34(4), 756-768, 1990; Social Indicators Research, 47: 153-201, 1999

Follow Jeanne Ball on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeanneball

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Why Rely on Weight Loss Birmingham?

Why Rely on Weight Loss Birmingham?

Written by Tina on November 24th, 2011

Are you planning to undergo a weight loss Birmingham program? If you are, then you will surely find lots of advantages that will happen to your body. First and foremost, a weight loss program enables you to strengthen your bones. Are you the type of person who cannot perform well on sports because you easily get sprains? Chances are your bones are not that ready for strenuous activities. This is why you have to train your entire body to get used to the entire vigorousness of such activities. See to it that you exercise regularly in order to be sure that you are entirely ready to take on soccer, football, and other intimidating sports. Overall, exercise will do wonders for your body, so make it a point to subscribe to a weight loss program. Never ever let obesity defeat you. No one deserves to die early, so make it a point to exercise.

Source: www.newpublichealth.com

4 Secrets To Maintaining Your Healthy Weight

4 Secrets To Maintaining Your Healthy Weight
Seventy-eight percent fit it in daily. Other research has shown that people who regularly skip breakfast are statistically 4.5 times more likely to be overweight, and people who eat breakfast tend to eat fewer calories all day. And it just makes sense with how our bodies work: We tend to be more active during the day and meals and snacks are meant to fuel the hours after the meal. In other words, when you eat the bulk of your food in the evening when your activity level is low, you don't need all that fuel, and you can't retroactively burn it, which means the surplus gets sent straight to your fat cells. My favorite breakfast lately? I mince a fresh apple or pear (skin on), place it in a bowl and top with a dash of apple pie spice, a quarter cup of toasted rolled oats and two tablespoons of sliced almonds. It's delicious with my soy latte, which I spruce up with a pinch of ground vanilla bean. More from SHAPE: How Can I Get Rid of Love Handles? The Best Foods for Flat Abs #1 Trick to Lose Weight Fast
Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Healthy Fat Intake

Healthy Fat Intake

Written by Ryan on November 26th, 2011

http://www.losingbellyfatfast.com/

This information is aimed at helping you to
reduce your fat intake. The average individual
eats too much fat, a factor that’s linked to
a variety of health problems, including cancer.
Diets that are high in fat are associated with
breast and colon cancer, with some studies
linking high fat to prostate cancer as well.

A majority of people can bring their fat intakes
down to a healthy range by making a few adjustments
in the way they shop, cook, and prepare the foods
they eat.

Now days, it’s getting easier and easier to control
the amount of fat you consume. The fat content of
foods are now available through the nutrition label
and through brochures distributed by food companies
and even fast food restaurants.

You can use this information on nutrition to choose
lower fat foods by comparing products and food
brands. Once you have a rough idea of what a healthy
intake of fat is, you’ll know what you can and what
you can’t have.

From day to day, the amount of fat you eat will
vary. Some meals and some days will be higher in
fat than others. Even high fat meals can be kept
in line with healthy eating as long as you balance
those days accordingly. The average fat intake over
the course of weeks and months is important, not the
fat intake of every meal and food you consume.

Younger adults and high active adults who have
higher calorie needs can probably eat a little more
fat. Older adults and those that aren’t very active
should aim for a lower fat intake. This way, you
can control your fat intake and avoid the many
problems that fat is associated with.

Source: www.newpublichealth.com