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Are your nutrition habbits robbing you from the body you desire?
Copyright © 2005 Marc Lindsay
What if by making a few small changes in your nutrition and eating habits you could add up to a 50% gain in muscle mass and loose up to 18% extra fat.
Well you could be robbing yourself of these gains just by...
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Understanding ocular nutrition and eye health can be one of the ways to support your vision. As early as age 30, our eyes and vision can begin to deteriorate. Wind, dust, chlorine fumes, automobile fumes, smoking, freezing temperatures and physical...
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Determine Your Stage and Plot Your Weight Loss Course
We all know that losing weight and improving your overall fitness are things that don’t happen overnight. But, did you know in order to be truly successful that important steps need to be taken before you even start a diet or exercise program? The first thing you should do is identify where you fall on the behavioral change spectrum. There are five distinct stages of behavioral change. Do you know what stage you currently fall under?
Knowing what stage you are at will help you to create a road map to the subsequent stages and ultimately help you to be successful in your fitness goals. Below are the five major phases.
- Precontemplation: This is the point where you don’t feel that any change in your lifestyle is necessary. You may be thinking that exercising just takes too much time or that fast food is just too convenient to even consider giving up. Starting a fitness or diet program during this stage would probably result in failure. The best thing you can do during this phase is educate yourself further about health, diseases and risks.
- Contemplation: During this stage you may start thinking that a change is necessary. So, you think that maybe cutting back to eating fast food only three times a week is not so bad and you might be able to at least take a walk once in awhile. This is a good time to learn more about the benefits of healthy eating and regular exercise.
- Preparation: At this point you are getting more serious about taking action. You’ve penciled in a walk with your friend for next week and are planning to go grocery shopping to cook a home meal. You may want to research exercise equipment, gyms, personal trainers, and diet programs to learn more about what you can do (with the help of professionals and/or equipment) to get in better shape.
- Action: Here’s where you actually take the first step. The first step may be as simple as taking a daily walk, reducing your fast food visits to twice a month or just cutting back on daily sodas. Or, you may go as far as hiring a personal trainer or joining a gym. During this stage it is very important to learn coping mechanisms that will help you avoid re-lapse into your old ways. One way to avoid being a part of the high exercise dropout statistics is starting slowly into a new program and making permanent lifestyle changes versus temporary ones.
- Maintenance: This is, of course, the phase that everyone should strive to be at. This means that you have been doing
a regular fitness program consistently for quite some time and that you continue your new lifestyle. It’s important throughout this stage (which should last a lifetime) that you include a variety of workouts that change frequently. You should also seek social support of friends and family.
So, now can you identify what stage you are at? You may find that you are in the precontemplation stage for nutritional habits but that you are in the preparation stage for exercises. That’s okay. It’s not critical for you to force both areas into the same stage. You can work on changing your nutritional and exercise habits separately.
The key to success is first identifying your stage and then taking steps to advance to the next level (unless, of course, you are already at the Maintenance stage). Use the suggestions mentioned above in each stage to help you move to the next phase.
For example, if you are in the precontemplation stage, then research and read as much as you can on the subject of health risks and how they relate to an individual’s lifestyle. From there you will probably want to learn more about the consequences and benefits of specific lifestyles. Education is a powerful thing. The more you fully understand and can relate directly to the causes and effects of your action, the more inclined you will be to change.
It’s also important to tune-in to your fears, past struggles and expectations. Making nutritional and exercise changes is not easy and should be approached slowly. Remember to make small changes. Don’t try to go from a completely sedentary lifestyle to an hour of continual exercise in just one day. Build up slowly starting with even just 10 minutes. And lastly, be sure to inform your family and friends of your plans and enlist their support. Support is extremely important for your success.
Lynn Bode, author and certified personal trainer, offers her services online through WorkoutsForYou.com. Workouts For You provides affordable online exercise programs to help even the busiest of people lose weight, tone-up, build muscles, increase stamina and more via the Internet. Let us guide you one-on-one through your fitness journey with weekly customized workouts designed just for YOU! Visit: http://www.workoutsforyou.com for a free sample workout.
info@workoutsforyou.com
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Nutrition.gov Homepage |
US federal guide offering access to all government web sites with reliable and accurate information on nutrition and dietary guidance. |
www.nutrition.gov |
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American Society for Nutrition |
Publication from the American Academy of Nutritional Sciences. Includes past and current issues online with subscription information. |
www.nutrition.org |
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Food and Nutrition Information Center Home Page: |
Has dietary supplements, guidelines, food guide pyramid, child care nutrition, food safety, and topics from AZ. |
fnic.nal.usda.gov |
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British Nutrition Foundation |
Promotes the nutritional wellbeing of society through the impartial interpretation and effective dissemination of scientifically based nutritional knowledge ... |
www.nutrition.org.uk |
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NutritionData's Nutrition Facts Calorie Counter |
Nutrition facts calorie counter and calculator promotes healthy eating by telling you, in simple terms, what is good and bad about the foods you eat. |
www.nutritiondata.com |
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Nutrition Explorations: The Fun and Easy Way to Teach and Learn ... |
Nutrition Explorations provides nutrition education information and resources for teachers, school foodservice professionals, parents, families and kids. |
www.nutritionexplorations.org |
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About Nutrition - Nutrition, Diets, and Vitamin Supplements Help |
Guide to nutrition information with vitamin and mineral index, news updates, free e-mail newsletter, chat room, discussion forums, and recipe boards. |
nutrition.about.com |
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MyPyramid.gov - United States Department of Agriculture - Home |
The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion created the food pyramid guidance system. Find updated information about daily food recommendations, ... |
www.mypyramid.gov |
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American Dietetic Association |
Nutrition information, resources, and access to Registered Dietitians provided by ADA and the National Center for Nutrition and Dietetics. |
www.eatright.org |
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MedlinePlus: Nutrition |
(Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion) - Links to PDF; Whole Grains: High in Nutrition and Fiber, yet Low in Fat (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education ... |
www.nlm.nih.gov |
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Dole 5 A Day - We make 5 A Day fun! |
Learn the importance of eating five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Includes recipes for kids to try. |
www.dole5aday.com |
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Nutrition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
An encyclopedia article on nutrition, including sections on history, health, food processing, longevity, lifetstyle, policy, holistic approaches, ... |
en.wikipedia.org |
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Nutrition Cafe |
Be a Nutrition Sleuth, play the Grab-a-Grape game or build a meal in the Have-a-Bite Cafe. [Optional Flash version] |
exhibits.pacsci.org |
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ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine -- Nutrition News |
Answers to questions about nutrition, body weight, herbal and nutritional supplements, and the role of diet in improving and maintaining your health. |
www.sciencedaily.com |
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Nutrition Source, Harvard School of Public Health |
Harvard School of Public Health and Nutrition Research covers latest information on fiber, fats, calcium, carbohydrates, eggs, nutritional pyramids, ... |
www.hsph.harvard.edu |
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Welcome to Nutrition Australia |
Non-profit, independent body promoting the health and well-being of all Australians. Includes nutrition news and health facts. |
www.nutritionaustralia.org |
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WHO | Nutrition |
Nutrition is an input to and foundation for health and development. ... Better nutrition means stronger immune systems, less illness and better health. ... |
www.who.int |
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Center for Science in the Public Interest |
Since 1971, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has been a strong advocate for nutrition and health, food safety, alcohol policy, ... |
www.cspinet.org |
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American Journal of Clinical Nutrition |
Publication with nutrition topics, health news, FDA regulations, and legislative events. |
www.ajcn.org |
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BBC - Health - Healthy living - Nutrition |
Offers a wealth of health and nutrition information including recipes, weight calculators, diet tips and nutrition advice. |
www.bbc.co.uk |
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