I’m Pregnant – Should I Eat Differently Now?

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As a mom-to-be, you’re likely more cautious about what you eat. Early on that might be focused around morning sickness, but as time goes on its becomes a concern to make sure that you are eating nutritiously.

So what should the diet of a pregnant woman look like? Here’s how to make sure both you and your baby get the necessary nutrients.

eat

  • Foods that are rich in protein such as eggs, chicken, lean meats and legumes (i.e. beans, lentils, edamame, chickpeas, etc.)

  • Fruits and vegetables – fresh is always preferred. Other options include dried, frozen, and canned. Berries are rich in antioxidants. A diet that includes a good balance of fruits and vegetables is preferred. Below you will find those listed that are high in folic acid.

  • Starchy foods such as pasta, potatoes, bread, and rice.

  • Dairy foods such as cheese, yogurt, and milk.

  • Plenty of water to remove toxins from the body.

Sources of Folic Acid

During pregnancy folic acid intake is important because it helps to protect an unborn baby from developing neural tube defects like spina bifida. Your doctor will tell you how much folic acid is recommended. The following are good sources of folic acid.

  • Vegetables including avocados, endives, green peas, broccoli, baby carrots, seaweed, cauliflower, parsley, spinach, Brussel sprouts, mustard greens, beets, Romaine lettuce, and asparagus.

  • Legumes including Romano beans, lentils, white beans, black beans, edamame, kidney beans, chickpeas, and pinto beans.

  • Pasta, bread, and bagels that are made from enriched wheat flour.

  • Fruits and berries such as strawberries, raspberries, kiwis, blackberries, and clementines.

  • Seeds and nuts such as peanuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, hazelnuts, almonds, and walnuts.

  • Juices including pineapple juice and orange juice from concentrate.

  • Enriched breakfast cereals.

During your pregnancy, making healthy food choices is important. There may be some foods that don’t agree with you – of course, you should avoid those foods. There are many choices under every category so choose an option that you enjoy and that agrees with you.

Calorie counting may not be necessary; however, weight gain is a common concern among mothers-to-be so it’s a good idea to monitor your weight, and to at least be aware of the foods you are eating. Cravings can be hard to control and often changes in metabolism can result in burning calories differently. Making healthy food choices will help with weight gain and ensure you and baby are getting the nutrition you need.

Simple Ways To Stay Fit

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Some people imagine that exercising or staying fit has to be this complicated and elaborate routine. That is far from the truth because you can stay fit in many simple ways. The most important thing is to burn excess body
fat and exercise your muscles.

These are some of the simple ways in which you can keep yourself fit and healthy without spending too much time or resources.

fit

Morning runs

This is an ideal way to burn body fat and keep yourself fit. Morning runs are very refreshing and help to
improve brain functions. At this time the weather is also very favorable which means that you’ll not
spend a lot of time burning in the sun. Human traffic is also at a minimum making it easier to navigate
the streets and sidewalks. Get your trainers on and run for some minutes very early in the morning
before you begin your day’s activities. You’ll find yourself very active for the rest of the day with your
mood greatly improved since running triggers the release of dopamine which is essential for happy
moods.

Jogging

If you can’t run, jogging is a great alternative. You’ll still sweat and burn calories while improving the
functioning of your body organs such as the heart and brain. It improves the flow of blood to the rest of
the body and makes you fit and healthy. You can accomplish just as much as the person running through
jogging. This exercise is simple and not strenuous which means that even people who are advanced in
age can participate in it. Fitness trackers can monitor your progress by relaying information about your
heart rate and the distance covered. You can then use such data to evaluate yourself.

Nature walks

Walking helps you to burn calories and strengthen your leg muscles. You can trek or walk up a
mountainous region, or just follow a nature trail and admire the natural environment. This can help you
clear your mind, obtain better perspectives when it comes to making important decisions and keep your
body fit. Some people assume that walking is not really exercising but the fact remains that it is a great
way to burn calories. That’s the reason why people who use their cars quite often are more likely to be
overweight and unfit compared to those who walk every now and then.

Dancing

Have you ever wondered why most dancers generally have a lean physique? The reason is that dancing
makes you sweat and burn calories, in the process you get rid of excess body fat and keep fit. You don’t
have to go to the gym to get a flat tummy, you can achieve that goal in a fun and exciting way through
dancing. In fact, this type of exercise is the most ideal for someone who doesn’t have much time to
engage in outdoor fitness programs like running or jogging.

5 Ways to Improve Your Fitness

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Are you struggling to attain a perfect body fitness? Have you been exercising for months without any significant changes? To be physically fit, you need to eat well, exercise and sleep. It is all about leading a healthy, active, relaxed, and stress-free lifestyle that can help you achieve your goals.

Here are 5 Ways to Improve Your Fitness

fitness

  1. Make sure that aerobic activity is a major part of your fitness routine. Some people make the mistake of spending all of their time on strength training. However, in order to make your muscles stronger, you have to get rid of the fat which is hiding them. That is where cardio activity comes into play. So make sure that you engage in at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity each and every day.

  2. If you want to tighten you muscles be certain that you engage in strength training. This will help you tighten up all of those lose areas once you get rid of the body fat.

  3. Remember to keep things fun. Fitness should not be something that you dread. It should be something fun, so go ahead and engage in an activity that you enjoy. If walking on a treadmill at a gym is not your thing, try running or rollerblading outdoors.

  4. Exercise is the key to improving your body fitness. In fact, people who have an active lifestyle are seldom seen with unattractive figures. If you can manage simple workouts on a daily basis at home, or go to a gym regularly, then you will notice visible changes in your body fitness within a month. Exercise helps in protecting your body from muscle loss. It increases the metabolism, improves blood circulation, and revitalizes the entire system. Yoga is a perfect way to achieve a perfect body fitness, and to relax your body. It helps you in overcoming the stiffness of your muscles and produces great agility in your body. If you want to trim specific areas of your body like tummy, thighs, biceps, then you can consult your trainer to guide you about the relevant postures, and exercises.

  5. Finally, keep off from stress. Stress factor does not directly affect our body fitness, but it alters our attitude towards life. It also affects our eating patterns. We neglect our exercise, proper diet, and stop thinking positively in life. We tend to starve either, or glutton on anything and everything especially on caffeine, chocolates, and colas.

Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy

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Pregnancy is a time when most mothers to be are concerned about their health, and about how what they eat, will affect their unborn baby. Public health agencies make many recommendations and one of those, in fact the most important one, is for women to avoid foods that have a high potential for disease causing bacteria or that are dangerous to the fetus.

Here’s a list of foods that public health agencies recommend you avoid during your pregnancy.

pregnancy

  • Alcohol – It is recommended that you completely stop drinking alcohol during your pregnancy as it is directly linked to fetal alcohol syndrome and other conditions.

  • Caffeine – You should limit your consumption of coffee, tea or cola to no more than 0-1 per day. Caffeine is linked to low birth weight as well as miscarriage.

  • Freshly caught fish – this includes tuna, swordfish, shark, marlin, etc., which may contain unsafe mercury levels. You should limit your intake to 150 grams per month. Canned white tuna and albacore tuna contain some mercury, so you should limit your consumption to no more than 300 grams per week.

  • Herbal tea, such as sage tea, Chamomile tea, pennyroyal, parsley tea, lobelia, coltsfoot, teas with aloe, juniper berries, comfrey, Labrador tea, buckthorn bark, and sassafras should all be avoided during pregnancy. There are others so make sure to read the packaging before purchasing.

  • Liver

  • Non-dried deli meats – cold cuts, refrigerated pate, hot dogs, refrigerated smoked seafood and fish, and meat spreads

  • Raw fish – clams, oysters and sushi. Avoid smoked fish that is kept in the fridge such as smoked salmon.

  • Raw or undercooked eggs – this includes foods that are made with raw eggs like Caesar salad dressing. Raw eggs can potentially contain salmonella and therefore should be avoided throughout your pregnancy.

  • Raw sprouts – especially alfalfa sprouts

  • Undercooked meat or rare meat, seafood and poultry

  • Unpasteurized juices

  • Unpasteurized milk products – also foods that are made from using raw milk cheese, especially soft and/or semi-soft cheeses. This includes Bria and Camembert. All unpasteurized cheeses have the potential to be infected with Listeria bacteria, which can be harmful to your baby.

If you are unsure about a certain food, it is best to avoid that food until you can find information regarding it. You should feel free to ask your doctor about any nutritional concerns you might have.

How to Stay Motivated and Achieve your Fitness Goals

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Success mostly comes through hard work and determination. A lot of people begin fitness programs and then fall off mid-way through the journey. Even with a fitness tracker that monitors your progress, it is difficult to realize your goals if your are not prepared to go the whole distance. How can you stay motivated and maintain a robust exercise routine?

This is the question that a lot of people grapple with when they start exercising and realize that it is not some walk in the park. Results will only come through consistent hard work. These are some of the ways in which you can stick to your fitness goals in order to achieve any meaningful results.

fitness

Set Fitness goals that mean something

Why do you want to keep fit? Do you want to have the ability to choose your clothes from a huge selection? Is it because you want to have the strength to play with your kids? Establish a fitness goal that actually means something to you and work towards achieving it. Some people simply want to stay healthy for their loved ones. What matters most is that you set goals that have great meaning in your life. This will help you push yourself even when the going gets tough.

Have a source of motivation

You can be motivated to exercise by the possible end results. Think of how much your life will change for the better when you stay fit. Use this to push yourself in order to achieve meaningful results. Your source of motivation can also be your fitness goals. What is it that offers you encouragement or makes you want to succeed whenever you feel like giving up on your fitness regimen? Answering that question will help you stay focused and achieve your fitness goals.

Consequences of not exercising

What are the consequences of not exercising? Think of all the health complications that may arise as a result of not living a healthy lifestyle. The concern for your health should be enough to help you maintain fidelity to your fitness routine. There are many health complications that come with staying unfit and that should be enough to make you want to exercise.

Find a support group

Having a strong support system is very important in your quest to exercise on a regular basis. Your family members, colleagues and friends can provide a strong support network that would come in handy when you feel like giving up or deviating from your set goals and objectives. Lean on them for support and find the strength and motivation to carry on. Training in a group and competing against one another can also give you a strong support network.

These are some of the ways in which you can stay focused and maintain a regular fitness program. It’s never easy to exercise, quite honestly most people hate it but the benefits of staying fit are many and very important. With time it becomes fun and a normal part of your every day life. Living a healthy life is very fulfilling and joyous.

5 Apps to Make Weight Loss Easy

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Our bodies are unique in a way that we react differently from different stimuli, one method or technique that works for you may not work for the other. Finding the best way to burn fat is easy as long as you have a background in the proper diet and exercise techniques

With ever increasing work load and pressures fitness and health issues often takes a back seat. There are plenty of apps on the Android Market, which acts as a constant reminder that you need to exercise and also the number of hours one needs to work out.

easy

Here are the best of the best Android applications which will help you stay fit and loss Weight
better.

Cardio Trainer + Racing

Nothing can be better than exercise looking like a game rather than just exercise. The cardio trainer combines the free Cardio Trainer with a racing application. The app includes a virtual race simulator with a voice telling feature which tells you how far behind you are so that you need not stop to know it. The Cardio Trainer app will have extra features once you pay $2.99.

Fast Food Calorie Counter

Fast food is said to be one of the biggest reason for obesity and other related diseases. Fast Food Calorie Counter keeps track of all the ugly fat you are taking in.The application has data from almost 9,000 items from 72 fast food restaurants. The app gives details like calories, fat grams, fiber, carbs, and protein.

AllSport GPS

All though an expensive application AllSport GPS has many features which will interest sports persons. AllSport GPS allows users to track routes, distance, time, speed and calories burned. Users get maps, virtual races, downloadable routes, elevation and speed graphs. All your effort exercising can be shared online on twitter and facebook. Download the app for $9.99 via Android Market.

Absolute Fitness

If you want to keep track of each and everything you take and some calories you spent throughout the day then this app is the best you can get. It has food analysis, charts, stats and exercise regimen pages.

Endomondo Sports Tracker

Endomondo is a great application for runners, cyclists, joggers and rollerskaters/rollerbladers. The application tracks your time, distance, speed, and altitudes. The app has Google Maps support too.

There is no magic when it comes to losing weight. It is difficult to do for the most part and usually takes a lengthy period before you see dramatic results, but for serious weight loss and keeping it off power, then you need to buckle down and put your mind to it. Remember that there are many easy ways to lose weight and for the most part, they all boil down to creating a new plan of eating, a changed outlook on the foodstuffs you eat and sticking to your plan until you see results.

First Trimester Pregnancy Nutrition

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The first trimester can be one of great change in many aspects of your life and that includes pregnancy nutrition. Many moms-to-be want to immediately change how they eat. The trouble is making drastic changes too quickly can really backfire on you and land up causing too much stress. It is much better to incorporate changes slowly. We are going to look at the four basic areas of your first trimester nutrition to get you started on making dietary adjustments without the stress.

It would be wonderful if we knew in advance that we were to become pregnant. Sure, some pregnancies are planned but others are not. It would be great because then we could switch to a whole food diet that was organic before we became pregnant. Since this isn’t going to happen too often the best we can do is make the switch as soon as we know we are pregnant.

pregnancy

Work towards the elimination of all processed foods and as many non-organic foods as possible. That is because processed foods along with non-organic foods that contain pesticides and other toxins are directly linked to numerous health concerns that can affect your baby. However, don’t look at this as an all or nothing situation. Do your best and remember every little change is a positive change for your baby. A good way to start is to remove processed foods from one meal a day and then take baby steps from there.

You should also eliminate sugar, artificial sweeteners, and caffeine from your diet. Experts agree it is safe for a pregnant woman to have 150 mg of caffeine a day so that’s a good starting point to cut back to. Once there you can try to cut it out completely. For anyone with a sweet tooth there are a number of natural sweeteners that you can use such as agave syrup, stevia, or raw honey.

Morning sickness can be a real problem during the first trimester of your pregnancy. As your body is trying to adjust to hormonal changes, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to deal with the nausea that is not always just in the mornings. For nausea that is incapacitating you need to talk to your doctor. However, there are some things that can calm nausea for many including ginger, eating protein, a handful of nuts, or crackers.

There you have it – a good start to nutrition for your first trimester to keep you and baby healthy.

Benefits of Using Fitness Trackers

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There is no doubt whatsoever that inactivity can lead to a lot of health related issues. Fitness trackers
monitor your level of activity and display the information on your smartphone. You not only have to stay
fit but also track your progress as you go about your fitness regimens to see whether you are on course
or you need to push yourself further.

Fitness trackers are smart devices that are highly functional and will help you keep healthy while staying true to your fitness goals. What are some of the benefits of having these devices?

Monitoring your progress

This is the most basic function of these devices because they can greatly help you to keep track of your
fitness goals. They monitor your general physical activity, heartbeat rate and other factors like quality of
sleep. If you like to jog, or even run in order to lose weight, you can check your progress and determine
whether your are making gains or lagging behind. The trackers have a smart way of displaying
information which is very much beneficial to you. It’s always hard to gauge yourself but with trackers
you can self-evaluate quite easily.

Motivation

By knowing how further away you are from realizing your goals, you can be motivated to work even
harder to achieve them. Some employers are also using the fitness trackers to motivate staff to keep fit.
They set targets and reward those that achieve them. It’s always great to exercise when you have
people pushing or competing against you. The device allows you to see how much progress you are
making which can be quite encouraging. There are many psychological advantages to this, the most
significant being that people are generally motivated to work harder when there is some progress made.

Ability to personalize your exercises

Fitness trackers allow you to set your own goals. They are connected to your smartphones and tablets
which means that you can very much personalize their functionality. There are people who hate going to
the gym because it makes them uncomfortable. These devices can act as substitutes to gym instructors
and help you keep track of your fitness exercises. You can monitor your progress and make the
necessary adjustments if need be.

An up to date weight loss tool

Most people join fitness activities primarily to lose weight and fitness trackers use forward technology to
help you achieve your weight-loss goals. You can check your heartbeat rate and see whether you are on
course by using the monitoring tools that measure your activity levels.

Great fashion pieces

This is not a health benefit but still nonetheless a benefit that comes with fitness trackers. They are
sometimes worn as digital watches and can be very ideal pieces of fashion accessories. They come in
different sizes, colors and shapes and you can therefore make your pick based on what will compliment
your personal style.

Workouts Programs For Beginners

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If you say you can’t work out appropriately because you are a neophyte in the journey called fitness, better re-think. Beginners like you can get hold of fitness routines that are just simple to execute. It doesn’t take any experience for you to go the gym to start your resistance and strength training.

Usually, fitness gurus will accommodate and provide you a specific program that comprises with warm-up, cardio, resistance training and cools down routines to complete every single gym session.

beginners

Your goal is to manage your weight for sure. But beyond that, the exercises you are going to do will also improve your blood circulation, increase your heart performance, enhance your resistance, and firm your muscles groups. The more lean muscles you develop, the higher your capacity to burn fat is.

Toning your muscles will also calm your whole system down, that’s why it’s important to finish your session with toning. Learn from the steps below so you can choose which areas to focus on. By doing one set of each, you will be able to experience a total body workout that toughens your shoulders, arms, chest, back, legs, abdomen, and hips.

1.Triceps Pushdown. You will need a pair of dumbbells to do some arms curl that targets to toughen and increase the muscles on your triceps. Do 16 repetitions in each arm.

2.Arm Curl Machine. Most fitness clubs have this machine that targets the arm muscles. You can do two sets of 16 for this one.

3.Lying Leg Raise and Press. For leg raise, you won’t need any equipment. You just have to lie down the floor on your back and raise your legs up and down. To do the leg press, you can use a specific machine wherein you just sit and extend your legs and start pushing the weight against you.

4.Shoulder Press Machine. You can stand up in front of the machine and grab the two grips. Start pressing up and down to feel the contraction on your shoulder and arms.

5.Seated Row Machine. Sit on the machine and place your feet on the metal steps. Grab the weight and pull it back with your shoulder blades together. Halt when your elbows are aligned and reverse the step.

6.Lying Leg Curl. Using a lever lying leg curl machine, you lean your upper body on the bench and insert your legs over the lever pads. Grab the handles and start flexing your knees. Lift the lever pads up and down repeatedly. You can do 16 or 32 counts of this.

For beginners, you can settle for machines that allow you to carry on your fitness programs more easily. As you get the hang of it, you can increase the intensity of your executions

A Pregnancy Diet Plan That Works

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Congratulations on your pregnancy! Of course, the first thing that’s on your mind is staying healthy throughout your pregnancy. Part of staying healthy is ensuring you have a pregnancy diet plan that works.

There are a number of reasons why moms who are expecting need to understand healthy nutrition but the most important is because of the impact what you eat has on your baby. A healthy diet is good for both you and your baby.

pregnancy

Weight gain goes with being pregnant. In fact, it is a positive thing for both mom and baby. This is how nature begins to prepare your body for what is to come. A healthy diet is an excellent way to provide the nutrient for proper weight gain rather than excessive weight gain. When you gain the right amount of weight it will be much easier to lose after the baby is born.

There has also been a direct connection established between your nutritional health and how the effect it has on children later in their life. It’s been established that everything you do in those nine months from your physical activity to the fluids you drink will affect your child’s current growth and the child’s future growth. What you eat while you are pregnancy has the potential to prevent future health problems with your child and you. And of course, the food you eat now will affect your weight gain throughout your pregnancy.

During the first trimester, it is important that you make sure to limit any excess calorie intake. After the first 12 weeks pass, you can add an additional 300 calories per day in addition to your regular calorie intake.

If you are of normal weight, you should expect to gain 25 to 35 pounds during your pregnancy. You should limit your weight gain to no more than 5-10 pounds in the first 20 weeks, and then following that a pound per week. Doctors advise that you lose some weight before becoming pregnant if you are overweight. This will make it easier for you to keep extra weight off during your pregnancy and to lose it after the birth. Statistically women who are overweight have a significantly higher emergency cesarean rate, miscarriage rate, more incidents of gestational diabetes and suffer from high blood pressure more often.

To significantly increase the likelihood of a healthy pregnancy make sure that you eat a nutritional diet, high in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and protein, while avoiding processed foods.

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