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Fitness Tools & Resources

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In an Internet culture where link posting is pitifully indiscriminate The UnDiet wants you to know that the links on this page are carefully researched and only posted if deemed to be helpful or otherwise of interest to you, the discerning UnDieter. We routinely decline to trade links with sites seeking to post their links when we find that their site does not meet our specific requirements.

Fitness Aids

When you’re on the road and didn’t pack your computer you can still get a great workout by downloading workout videos to your smartphone. Head on over to Fitness Magazines downloadable videos and get your workout on! And while you’re there check out their Sweepstakes for a chance to win fabulous fitness related prizes.

Use Map My Fitness to track your workouts and share them on Facebook. How’s that for motivation?

Search Healthy Living Blogs for a blogger who lives in your area to glean tips for working out in your city.

Go to Meetup.com to connect with others in your area who are working out. You’ll find cooking clubs, dieters, walkers, runners, tennis players, volleyball teams … You name it and chances are you’ll find a group in your area on Meetup.

Aida – software program to help diabetics make the proper diet adjustments.

Food Composition software program will tell you what’s in 5,975 foods, based on the USDA Nutrient Database.

Always4Free – hey, why pay when you can get it for free? This is the link to the Health & Beauty page.

23 Fitness Downloads These software downloads can help you manage your diet and fitness schedule, as well as monitor health concerns such as heart disease and diabetes.

Video Fitness is a thriving online community whose members are dedicated to helping each other make the most of a home exercise program. Members accomplish this by writing reviews of the exercise videos that they use regularly, and by sharing advice and opinions in the Reader Forum.

They don’t sell videos, so their community members can be completely honest about whether a fitness video lives up to its claims. There’s also a FREE download for a workout log program.

Cooking Light magazine’s web site is running a year long program called Good Moves 2000 which is well worth following along with. Each month you’ll get motivated with new information and new moves.

Download these shareware demos . They’ll be useful to your weight loss progress, and give you a toy to inject some fun into your UnDiet. I’ve found that weight-tracking software kept in conjunction with a food and exercise diary has helped immensely in determining just what I can and cannot get away with. For instance, it was this tool that helped me to figure out that too much sugar (even unrefined sugar and aspartame) will stall my weight loss.

Vita-Master ™  Easy access to alternative, wellness, and nutritional information from hundreds of sources. This software database has won several awards for its full powered design that enables you to collect and track your own information as well! There’s a free demo download so you can “try before you buy”.

Weight Whiz prompts you for a daily weight entry. This data can then be graphed over a specified period of time to show long-term or short-term trends.

Don’t have the time or money to get together with a personal trainer? These software programs will help to construct, motivate, instruct, and track your exercise program.

Crosstrainer is an exercise assistant that you can use to create and schedule workouts for cross-training, bodybuilding, and toning. You can also use it to track your nutritional intake and schedule aerobic exercises. Among other features, the program’s cross-training option will allow you to design and schedule a weight-training program that complements your main sporting regiment. The program also comes with a nutritional intake log and a food database of more than 5,000 foods and related information. Other features include printable workout sheets, daily logs and reports, schedules, and more.

Version 4.5.2 adds the ability to upload and download recipes and workouts to the Crosstrainer Online Community.

Feedback Weight-training Designer acts like a personal trainer to help you design your own training program for building muscle and reducing body fat.

Sante is an interactive program that tracks diet, exercise, and health. Enter your personal details, and Sante will come up with a specific, detailed recommendation for how you can attain your specific goals, whether they be to lose pounds or bulk up.

Health-RunR offers diet, exercise, and related behavioral support tools for weight loss, maintenance, and gain. It also maximizes competitive fitness and health. It will generate and record diet, fitness, and sports-training programs ideal for the individual user. It provides complete diet, nutrition, and exercise support for conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, liver disease, AIDS, aging, pregnancy, occupational injuries, food allergies, and more. Health-RunR tracks calorie burn off rates and records and analyzes intake of food, alcohol, water, coffee, and tea. It also tracks prescriptions, medications, herbs, and vitamins.

Fitness Information

Great American Products check out their library of articles on health and fitness. You’ll find out how to work your lower body, upper body, abs …

The Fitness Guide Message Board a great place to get advice, get your questions answered, and get in touch with an exercise buddy.

Global Health and Fitness is your on-line guide to healthy living and optimal fitness. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced, they’ll help you avoid common mistakes, teach you techniques for making your routine more effective, and guide you step-by-step to achieving optimum results. Check out their gallery of free fitness tools:

  • Archive of fitness articles
  • Fitness Analysis
  • Monthly Newsletter
  • Protein Calculator
  • Calorie Calculator
  • Fat Calculator
  • Carbohydrate Calculator
  • Heart Rate Calculator and more

Video Fitness is a thriving online community whose members are dedicated to helping each other make the most of a home exercise program. Members accomplish this by writing reviews of the exercise videos that they use regularly, and by sharing advice and opinions in the Reader Forum.

They don’t sell videos, so their community members can be completely honest about whether a fitness video lives up to its claims. There’s also a FREE download for a workout log program.

Cooking Light magazine’s web site is running a year long program called Good Moves 2000 which is well worth following along with. Each month you’ll get motivated with new information and new moves.

IVillage: good article on the whys of weight training, plus you can post your question(s).

Fitness Equipment

Just Her Sports is an online sporting goods store for women of all ages. Girl’s and women’s sports equipment, accessories, apparel, books, videos and gifts at affordable prices. Select your sport and you’ll also find a wealth of information including the latest news and features on women’s sports, women’s health and a selection of products to help you achieve your goals. Stick-to-It Fitness Links on-line mags, find fitness equipment, exercise & fitness info.

Tips

List Of Natural Appetite Suppressant Foods

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Pills and supplements aren’t your only option when it comes to suppressing your appetite. There are many foods which have appetite suppressing properties and once you know which foods have this bonus you can start incorporating them into your diet and be on your way towards managing your weight. Here is a list of natural appetite suppressant foods that will work wonders in moving you towards your weight loss goal:

  • Dark chocolate: a dark chocolate bar made of 70 percent cocoa is a good natural appetite suppressant. Its bittersweet taste can signal your body to reduce its cravings for other foods. Dark chocolate also contains steric acid which can work to slow down digestion. This means that you will end up feeling full longer than normal and therefore reduce your cravings to eat more food.
  • Fiber-rich foods: fiber is an excellent appetite suppressant. It curbs your appetite simply because it is not digested quickly. It makes you feel full longer and quicker. Fiber-rich foods to consider adding to your diet are fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and whole grains.
  • Protein-rich foods: just as with fiber, protein can be the best appetite suppressant as it can make you feel full longer, too. Some protein-rich foods you may want to add to your diet include nuts, tuna, and lean meats.
  • Chili peppers and hot sauces: these condiments contain capsaicin, a substance that can lower the hunger-inducing hormones in the body. This substance can also increase the appetite suppressing hormones. Pile these condiments onto some of the other appetite suppressing foods in this article and you’ll pack a double appetite suppression punch.
  • Potatoes: these tubers contain a special starch that can make you forget the feelings of being hungry for a long time. However, make sure you munch on healthy potato dishes such as boiled or baked potatoes and not French fries and potato chips.

Besides the foods listed above there are many more foods that you can trust to effectively suppress your appetite. Once you start incorporating these foods into your diet you’ll be on your way to a successful goal of shredding some pounds.

Alkaline UnDiet Eating Plans

What Makes Up an Alkaline Diet Plan?

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Some of our readers have expressed an interest in an alkaline diet which is recommended for cancer patients and those experiencing other health challenges. Hopefully this guest post will help to steer you in the right direction.

Looking after our bodies is important if we are to live a long and healthy life. We may feel at times that certain diets are attractive and fall into the trap of the promises of an extreme diet. Be careful though, crash dieting is not always the right thing to do. This is not what we are going to focus on today. Instead, what I think is more important is consuming a well balanced diet. What we are going to discuss is how to alkalize your body.

The alkaline diet is pretty straight forward. The general idea is to increase the percentage of alkaline food that we consume. So what are alkaline foods? Overall, the distinction between acid and alkaline foods is pretty simple. Fruits and vegetables are “alkaline” everything else is “acidic”. The definition has nothing to do with the pH of the foods themselves.

For example, lemons are acidic. However these fruits actually alkalize the human body. This can seem a bit confusing. The reason for the alkaline/acid effects of foods is as follows. It is actually the nutritional content of foods that determines whether they alkalize or acidify. Proteins cause foods to acidify our body. On the other hand, high potassium foods alkalize. So if you’d like to start feeling more energetic throughout the day, you could try eating more fruits and vegetables.

An alkaline diet plan is actually quite easy to follow. If you have your own juicing appliance, it’s even easier. When you first get up in the morning, get yourself a glass of water. Then for breakfast include an extra piece of fruit, an orange or grapefruit is a good choice. If you’re able to make yourself some homemade orange juice, that would be perfect. At every meal, try to eat one more serving of vegetables than you do at present.

And that’s it in a nutshell. Thank you to our guest poster for simplifying the alkaline diet for us.

Tips

The Healthiest Fat Loss with the Help of a Journal

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A lot of people decide that they’re going to trim fat from their body and then do their best to achieve their goals without much of a plan at all. Many people decide to lose fat on a whim or when they simply get fed up with what they see in the mirror. But if you want to truly get long-term results then you’re going to have to be as organized as possible. Otherwise, you’ll just be really motivated for two weeks and probably quit when you face inevitable challenges that come your way. This is a familiar pattern that has plagued people for a long time, but there’s no reason you can’t change things. In order to be organized and know exactly how to approach things, you might benefit from the help of a Fat Loss Journal. The great thing about a Fat Loss Journal is that there are no exact rules as to what it should contain. It is basically a resource that you can tailor to your personality that will also help you to stay on track.

It’s important to remember there is an emotional part to losing weight just as there is with gaining weight. If you don’t deal with the emotional aspect in a healthy way, chances are you won’t be able to adapt a new healthier diet conducive to weight loss. You’re going to face challenges along the way, and one of the best ways to deal with them is with the help of a journal. It can be a resource in which you record your various thoughts and feelings, and it can be a place to vent as well. In addition to building up your support system of friends and family, having a journal at your side can help to bolster your mental well-being in pursuit of a healthier body. You can also use it to write any interesting information that you find on the Internet, or helpful advice that your friends give you. It can be a place where you record different types of recipes that you can try along with pictures of yourself so that you know exactly how far you’ve progressed. The point is to make your Fat Loss Journal what you want it to be.

Since exercise is such a key component to fat loss, you’re going to want to keep yourself on track using any means possible. A journal can be the perfect place to record your experience with different types of exercises and what you can do to improve your performance. Ideally, you want to be able to work your way up from walking around the neighborhood each day to picking up the pace with the best exercise equipment. Recording workout information is a vital step in helping you to build your endurance and fine tune your approach to daily physical activity. Ultimately, your fat loss journal will be a valuable resource you can have at your side that is custom tailored to provide you with the information necessary to adapt your plan as you go.

Tips

Can You Really Find Healthy Protein Powder?

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As someone who works in the fitness industry and is always working with people on their fitness goals the subjects of diet and food comes up constantly.  A hot topic that I always end up discussing with clients is healthy protein powders.  Many people trying to change their bodies and bring them to a state of fitness are including more protein to build muscle, lose fat and increase their metabolism. This is great logic in theory.

Protein is a key component to all your fitness goals and I may likely be the first to tell you to bump it up.  But just as much as increasing your protein matters so does where it comes from too. The quality of protein in the majority of protein powders is hardly fit for consumption despite what is presented on the label and advertised in the media. The vast majority of protein powders are loaded with additives. They contain chemical flavors, colors and scents. They are loaded with preservatives (which is why they will keep for several years on your shelf) and many fillers like inexpensive soy to make up bulk and hike the protein stats on the label.

What is not discussed is how these protein powders and your body interact together. Protein powders made from a low quality protein source which is often overly-processed soy and whey are usually very difficult for your body to digest.  Despite what the numbers say on the label if your body can’t use it then it’s useless to you. Additionally, there are all the additives included in the protein powder that your body has to now deal with. Where does it go? More often then not these additives line your intestines making it even harder for your body to absorb the nutrients that you need and adding excess body weight through expanded intestines. Have you noticed how your tummy grow over the years even when your body fat is in check? This is a sign of toxic build up at work in your body and showing up in a spare tire around your stomach.

Finding the best protein powder means choosing a protein powder that your body can digest. Look for natural proteins from hemp or other vegetable sources.  Look for very few ingredients, only one if possible. No flavoring is always best, then you can add in what you like to have such as berries or bananas. Following these guidelines when choosing your protein powder will speed you along towards reaching your fitness and weight goals much more so than blindly following the magic promises in the next magazine ad you read.

Healthy Products

Should You Be Taking Probiotics?

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If you have a well-balanced diet and are not consuming high quantities of highly processed foods, then you don’t necessarily need to take probiotics. Probiotics are essentially foods or supplements that contain high quantities of “beneficial” bacteria that are thought to improve health and will definately improve digestion. Unfortunately most modern diets do not contain sufficient quantities of these bacteria with the result being that we do not maintain viable populations of probiotic bacteria in our gastro-intestinal tract.

Recent studies indicate that probiotic bacteria can help to:

  • manage diarrhea, especially diarrhea that is linked to prolonged use of certain antibiotics
  • treat irritable bowel syndrome
  • improve digestion and nutrient uptake
  • reduce the likelihood of food allergies
  • control cholesterol levels
  • get rid of yeast infections caused by Candida
  • reduce the risk of certain forms of cancer
  • assist in the treatment of intestinal infections

Labeling requirements around probiotics are still weak so take care when looking for a good probiotic supplement. If you see a product labeled “probiotic”, it may not contain sufficient quantities of viable bacteria to provide a significant health benefit. In addition, some manufacturers make generalized claims about health benefits, without linking these back to the specific genus, species and strain that is provided in the probiotic food or supplement.

The best probiotics are sold in good quality packaging (often inert glass), with clear expiration dates and with all health claims backed up by independently conducted scientific studies. In particular make sure that the probiotics are identified down to the strain level and information is provided on the specific quantities that are provided. You will normally see this measured in terms of Colony Forming Units or (CFU’s). If in doubt stick with probiotic supplements that include acidophilus and bifidobacterium strains as these are the most studied and mimic the natural bacteria found in our intestines.  For more guidance when choosing which probiotics to purchase the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) is a good resource.

Tips

Avoid Bad Advice About How to Lose Belly Fat

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There are more than 100 million Americans who are either overweight or obese, with the highest percentage among kids. The excess fat trend is growing at an alarming rate, with many children approaching morbid obesity even before their teen years begin.  This unfortunate condition fortunately has a simple explanation, and an equally simple solution.

It’s all about the foods we put in our mouths, not how much food we eat.  For years, we’ve been told that gaining weight is because we are eating too much food. Most of us have come to believe the popular myth that the body responds to a natural “energy balance” that results in piling on fat if we consume more energy than we happen to “burn” through our daily activities. It turns out this isn’t the case, which will come as a great relief if you’ve ever tried to starve yourself by cutting calories, thinking that consuming fewer calories would be the quickest way to lose weight. Fortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

If you’re wondering how to lose belly fat, you’ll be relieved to learn it’s extremely simple. You lose belly fat the same way you lose fat in other areas of your body:  by lowering the chronic insulin levels in your bloodstream. Fat only accumulates in the presence of insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas in response to an increase in your blood sugar levels. Blood sugar rises most quickly when you consume sugar, starch, and other easily-processed carbohydrates.

In order to keep your blood sugar at healthy levels, you need to significantly reduce your sugar and high fructose corn syrup intake, as well as drastically curtail your consumption of potatoes, breads, pastas, rice, brownies, cake, cereals, and the like. While this will undoubtedly be hard to do at first, particularly if you’re used to a life full of sugar and starches, you’ll be amazed at how quickly the weight comes off!

Healthy Products

B12 Vitamin Injections and Benefits

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Vitamin B12 injections have been out there for quite a while, and are actually the most common and widely known and accepted method of treating patients who experience the symptoms of a B12 deficiency. Vitamin B12 injections actually have their place, especially for people who have difficulties absorbing this vitamin, which is usually caused by a malfunctioning of the intrinsic factor, the part in our stomach that is responsible for transferring the B12 into our blood stream.

Vitamin B12 benefits are as follows:

  • B12 helps replicating our body’s DNA.
  • Creation of Myelin, a substance that protects our nerve cells. It’s a fatty substance that is vital for our day to day functioning.
  • Tissue growth and red blood cells formation.
  • Energizing our body and boosting our metabolism. You have probably heard all that hype regarding “vitamin B12 injections as a weight loss solution”. Well, that’s why.
  • Lowering our body levels of Homo cysteine, an amino acid which have been linked with a far greater risk of developing cancer, strokes, and other modern western ailments.

Worthy of mentioning, you can get the benefits of B12 out of any vitamin B12 food or supplement out there, be it a sub lingual tablet, an injection, or a simple fish meal. Checking for a deficiency is also easy. All you have to do is go to your local doctor and ask for a simple vitamin blood test. You will probably get the results within a few days.

You can get this vitamin naturally from a variety of foods, but you will find the biggest amount of B12 per gram in clams. They are an amazing source of vitamin B12, but like any other animal food, have their disadvantages. Solution? Nutritional yeast. My personal recommended supplement is red star vegetarian support formula. It is a proven and tested source of the active form of B12, which is important if you want it to absorb effectively.

More information on B12-shots.

Healthy Products Working Out

Weight Lifting

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A lot of people (especially men) want to build muscles. Being fit and firm seems to be the standard these days. If you want to start building muscles then you might want to start thinking of buying adjustable dumbbells. These dumbbells are one of the new kinds of equipments that available for getting fit and firm. They are ideal for those who want to start exercising in their own homes. They also saves a lot of space because you have a wide range of weights in just one dumbbell. You can easily adjust the dumbbell weight and set your desired weight for each exercise that you perform.

For those who want to perform various weight exercises, you can also buy a weight bench to help you get fit. An adjustable weight bench is a good option. You can adjust the top and foot part in varying degrees depending on your exercise. You can also use it with your adjustable dumbbells. These two pieces of equipment can save you quite a bit of money because you can perform a lot of exercises with them. You can buy DVDs, search for videos in the Internet or ask an expert to develop various weight exercises you can perform.

For serious weight lifters a standard weight bench where you can put your barbell on a bar above the bench may be a better option if you have the room and the money. You often see this type of bench on TV where muscled men do some seriously heavy weight lifting. Another weight bench option is the same as the one used in the Olympics. These are very durable and can withstand tremendous amounts of weight. These are for professional lifters who compete in weight lifting sports. The amount of weight they can lift continually amazes people.

Have patience in building those muscles. You can’t build them overnight so just slowly work your way up. Always be positive and believe that you can do it and before you know it you’ll have reached your goal – a fit and trim, muscled physique.

Low Calorie UnDiet Eating Plans

Choosing a Natural 1500 Calorie Diet

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Have you heard about the 1500 Calorie Diet? If not, you might just be the last person on the planet not to have asked us about this quick weight loss plan. Read on as our Guest Blogger talks about this popular diet.

The books, recipes and complete menu plans that form part of the popular 1500 calorie diet need to be chosen with care in order to get the highest quality calories you possibly can. What do I mean by “high quality” calories? It means that a meal that is carefully planned to come in at around 400 or 500 calories can end up containing little to no nutrition. Or that same calorie count can contain foods that are full of nutrients and vitamins that your body needs to lose weight safely. For example a 1500 calorie diet meal plan could be entirely designed around items that come from boxes, cans and packages – refined foods, dry goods, lean meats, poultry, even dairy and still add up to the same number calories as eating a large fresh salad with dressing, steamed veggies, a variety of raw vegetable juices and even whipped fruit drinks and desserts. The difference is that while one 1500 calorie diet may be primarily fresh, full of water, vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids, the other may be devoid of almost all nutrients.

How can you know if your 1500 calories are natural or not? How can you be sure to choose the best 1500 calorie diet possible to heighten weight loss and increase energy? There’s a simple rule. If eighty percent of everything you eat is fresh and raw and comes from the produce aisles and not from cans boxes, bags or bins, chances are that you can eat MORE and still consume less calories, and those calories will not be empty but instead will be nutritious and give you health and energy.

A low calories menu plan can include unlimited amounts of celery, cucumber, lettuce, spinach, leafy greens and sprouts. Instead of a sandwich with bread, dressing, turkey or something similar, try making a large cucumber, tomato and lettuce salad with a little chopped turkey. Get more of your calories from carrots, beets, cabbage and thick fresh tomato soups, than from bread, pasta or potatoes. Don’t overcook your vegetables and try to eliminate as much dairy as you can. Try a 1500 calorie diet, but choose your meal plans carefully and you will not only lose weight quickly but you’ll be healthier and full of energy.