Fitness – Page 6

Tackle The Mental Side Of Weight Loss Through Extreme Weight Loss Camps

Weight loss is a complicated process because it is something more than just a physical process. Had it just been about the body, then perhaps losing weight would have been a lot easier for all fat people. Unfortunately, losing weight is about the mind too. From sticking to a diet to pushing yourself to run an extra mile when you are completely exhausted—it is necessary to have your mind by your side when trying to lose weight.

Now, for those who are in need of extreme weight loss, the process of conditioning the mind can seem significantly harder. This is why you should consider enrolling yourself into one of the extreme weight loss camps to boost your chances of success.

A camp, as the word suggests, is a group activity where you will work with other extremely heavy individuals to lose weight. It is natural to feel hesitant about trying to expose your efforts to shed flab to others. However, the fact that all the persons in the camp will have the same goal as yours will make things easier.

One advantage of attending extreme weight loss camps is that you will shed self pity and stop behaving as if being fat is a big tragedy. Being the heaviest person in the family can make you feel very self conscious and you may find it difficult to match the efforts of slimmer and fitter family members.

However, when everybody at the camp is as fat as you are, if not fatter, then there is very little scope for any kind of self-defeating excuses. Everybody needs to lose weight and everybody needs to do it together—that should be your motto.

Secondly, such a camp will help you break the status quo and start the process of losing weight in a new environment. Sticking to a diet may seem impossible when you are surrounded by the comforts of your home, which includes a well-stocked kitchen filled with lots of unhealthy snacks. Exercising may seem impossible since your daily routine will be filled with your standard duties and responsibilities.

Attending a camp where your entire day will be all about just one activity—weight loss—will make things a lot easier. You just need to focus on a single goal and continue your efforts till the end of the camp.

This single-minded focus on weight loss can be a very positive experience. You will come back home brimming with confidence since your intensive efforts at camp would have, obviously, helped you enjoy a bit of success in your weight loss efforts.

Hip Strengthening Exercises To Avoid Injuries

Our hips are vital in maintaining our stability as we move. This joint can take a beating when we run or jump, making active individuals vulnerable to injuries. Some end up requiring hip surgery in Sydney while others are able to recover through a combination of massage and strengthening exercises. The following are some basic examples. You may incorporate them in your regular routine as a means of injury prevention.

The Hip Hike

Stand on a slightly elevated platform such as the first step of a staircase. Have one foot stay on the step while the other hangs in the air. Put both hands on your hips, if you can, or have one hold onto the rails for balance. Dip the hip on the side of the hanging leg slowly lift it up. Do this for ten counts or more. Switch sides and repeat.

The Side Leg Lift

Lie down sideways on a firm bed or on the floor atop a yoga mat. Your body should be straight from head to toe. Lift our top leg up until it forms a 45-degree angle with the ground. Hold for a second and drop it back down. Repeat until you feel tired and switch sides. Do it again with an equal amount of reps. Pay attention to your form throughout the motion to make sure that you are getting the full benefits.

The Clamshell

Lie down on your side atop a firm but comfortable surface. Have your upper body stay straight while you bend your legs together. Lift up the top leg with the feet staying together and only the knees parting ways. Stop when the knee exceeds 45 degrees, hold for a moment, and drop back down. Repeat until failure and switch sides.

The Bridge

Lie down on your back. Bend your knees until the undersides of your feet are flat on the ground. Put your hands at your sides. Push off from your feet until your butt is lifted off the ground and form a straight line from your back to your knees. Hold a moment and drop down slowly. For added difficulty, push off one leg instead of two.

The V-Ups

Lie on your back and keep your body straight. Lift your legs up while at the same time lifting your torso from the ground. Your end position should therefore look like a V. Drop down and repeat. If this is too difficult, then focus on lifting your legs and keep your upper body planted on the ground. This not only works the hips but also the abdominal region.

Find Out How To Get A Flat Belly Fast

Excess fat around the mid-section does far more than simply diminish the overall appearance of the physique. It also significantly increases a person’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease and many other, serious health problems. If you have extra inches around your waist, you probably want to know how to get a flat belly fast. In addition to making you look better and feel more confident, targeted weight loss can also radically improve your health.

Go For Fat Burning Exercises

You might be tempted to get down and start cranking out tons of abdominal crunches, but the best workouts for excess fat stores at the mid-section are high-energy and continuous motion activities. Cardiovascular exercise is a key part of any weight loss plan. When strength training, people perform structured activities in repetitions and sets. With cardio, however, your body will be moving all the time. Sign up for a dance class or an aerobics class to maximize your body’s fat burning potential.

Visceral Fat And Subcutaneous Fat

Subcutaneous fat sits right on top of your muscles. You can pinch this fat easily with your fingertips, especially if your body has a lot of it. A round midsection, however, is usually the result of stored fat around the internal organs. This is called visceral fat. You will have to modify your diet and do lots of cardio if you want to get rid of this.

Eating To Burn Off Visceral Fat

Visceral fat is highly prevalent among people who eat a lot of simple or heavily refined carbohydrates and regular servings of fast food. If you make a commitment to stick to only fresh, healthy and natural food choices, you’ll start shedding pounds around your mid-section in no time at all, even if the quantity of food you consume remains unchanged. Feed your body well and maintain an active lifestyle and visceral fat will simply melt away.

Strength Training

Strength training is absolutely essential for creating lean, ripped abs. Building up the core muscle group through targeted exercise, also limits the amount of strain that the spine is subjected to. That’s because these muscles simultaneously support and oppose the spine. When they’re strong enough, your back won’t have to work as hard when you change elevations, move about and engage in lifting activities or other challenging movements.

It is important to remember, however, that strength training alone is not enough to give you a trim midsection. You can do countless sit-ups while continuing to overeat, eating the wrong foods or neglecting cardiovascular exercise, but you won’t get the results you really want. Cardiovascular activities like running, jogging, cycling and swimming, burn off fat, while strength training tones muscles up. Thus, in addition to muscle-building exercises, get your body into motion and elevate your heart rate and your fat burning abilities. By doing so, you’ll be giving your newly built muscle the absolute best chance to shine through.

About HCG During Pregnancy

HCG (Human Chorionic Ganadotropin) has many uses but it widely known for its diet and weight loss potential, as well as a fertility drug for women.

HCG and Pregnancy

(1). Early Pregnancy – Urine tests are used for measuring HCG numbers early on during pregnancy. That means the HPT results will either be Positive or Negative while the blood HCG numbers lay out a specific number as mIU/ml.

The only time HCG is produced by placenta is during pregnancy. This is the hormone that the home pregnancy tests are looking for along with the blood tests taken by doctors. HCG is produced whenever the fertilized egg naturally implants into the uterus.

HCG numbers of more than 25 mIU/ml are considered ‘pregnant’. However, the miscarriage rate at this point is still quite high at over 30%.

HCG Count When Pregnant

(2). During Pregnancy – A blood test can detect HCG in about three to four days after ovulation or fertilization, and in around the same amount of time after implantation. The goal of having a normal HCG count is in maintaining the corpus luteum. That’s what produces the progesterone during early pregnancy. The progesterone assists with keeping the lining of the woman’s uterus thick so she experiencing a healthy pregnancy.

Without enough HCG being present, then the lining of the woman’s uterus begins to deteriorate, preventing implantation the continuance of the pregnancy.

There’s a broad range of HCG levels considered to be a normal count in determining pregnancy. With most of the pregnancies that develop normally the HCG count and HCG levels double every 2 to 3 days during early pregnancy, then change to doubling every 3 to 4 days.

When the HCG count is low it can means a miscalculated conception date, possible miscarriage, or an ectopic pregnancy. The problem is, even a very healthy pregnancy can have low HCG levels and counts.

High HCG counts can be in indication of a miscalculated conception date as well, or be a sign of a molar pregnancy or multiple pregnancy.

Things That May Interfere With HCG Levels and Counts

There are certain fertility drugs (mainly HCG injections) that contain HCG. These can affect a woman’s HCG levels. Aside from those, other medications that include oral contraceptives and antibiotics do not affect HCG levels.

Frequent Urination

An increase in the blood flow going to your pelvic region, caused from taking pregnancy hormones, can also cause more frequent urination. Another reason can be increased fluid retention. While the pregnancy is moving into the 3rd trimester, a baby’s weight will press on the bladder, leaving a woman feeling like she has to urinate more frequently.

All frequent urination means is that your body is flushing out fluids from the body a bit quicker. This can lead to dehydration if a woman doesn’t drink enough fluids. Dehydration during the later stages of pregnancy can cause premature labor with contractions. That makes it extremely important to always drink plenty of fluids, preferably caffeine-free, all throughout your pregnancy.

The only way to stop frequent urination is to have the baby. However, even after having the baby the body will still be flushing out fluids faster than normal.

HCG and Twins

The HCG counts and levels alone cannot diagnose twin pregnancies. Science has no sufficient evidence to suggest that any faster-than-normal rises in HCG means twins are on the way. Normal HCG values will fluctuate and vary as many as twenty times during a normal pregnancy. Variations in the increase of HCG does not necessarily mean the pregnancy is abnormal, neither does it mean there are 2 or more fetuses.