Your motivation for starting a weight loss or exercise program will determine the success or failure you experience. You will only stick with something if you are doing it for the right reasons. Losing weight to please someone else is a nice thought but you will not stick with it long term because it isn’t your goal. Exercising to please another is also going to end with you quitting after a period of time. Set yourself up for long term success by starting your weight loss or exercise programs for the right reasons.

1. Set goals that you want to achieve.
2. Write those goals down and place them where you can review them regularly.

3. Make your goals clear and measurable. (I want to lose weight is not a good goal. I want to drop 2 pant sizes in 6 months is a clearly stated goal.)

4. If fat (weight) loss is your goal, get a caliper so you can measure your body fat. Scales measure weight and not your body fat percentage. There are skinny people with high fat levels. You will only be able to judge your progress by measuring your fat. Measuring fat is especially important when you incorporate strength training into your exercise routine because muscle weighs more than fat. The scale might show you heavier but the caliper might show you’ve lost fat which means your diet and exercise program is working.

   The caliper is especially important if you aren’t seeing any changes over a two week period. Your body works to stabilize and as you enter a routine where your diet and exercise routines become the norm your body expects, you will level of or plateau. As soon as you see a plateau developing, you can adjust your diet and exercise routines so you continue towards your goal.

5. Combine strength training and cardio training on alternating days so you don’t tire your muscles or get bored. When you include walking, jogging, swimming, weight lifting and other activities you enjoy into your exercise routine; you will be less likely to lose interest.

6. Get a friend or family member to work with you as your moral support, workout partner, cheerleader and coach.

7. Reward yourself when you reach your short term goals.

8. Build flexibility into your diet and exercise programs so you don’t get bored. Eating the same thing repeatedly gets boring and we start looking at what we think we are missing. Don’t deprive yourself anything you really crave but acknowledge there will be more work required to compensate for straying. When starting your diet or exercise program focus on 80% compliance to it rather than 100%. Everyone will stray at some point. By acknowledging that to yourself and by keeping your goals in mind and where you can see them written, you’ll feel less stress when you do stray.

Staying motivated is easier when the reasons for your actions are ones you chose. Writing down your goals makes them easier to visualize, measuring your progress helps you stay focused on your goals, eating a variety of foods you enjoy and doing a variety of exercises help you stay on track towards your goals. Getting another person to support you and keep you honest gives you a little extra incentive to make your goals your reality. Building flexibility into your diet and exercise regime and rewarding yourself when you have small successes lets you acknowledge both slips and successes so you can easily get back on track towards your long term goal.

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In my post titled “Cross Training, Health and Fat Loss“, I mentioned that cardio training will help you in both your fat loss and strength training programs. Your heart is made up of a group of muscles that work together to pump blood throughout your body. These muscles benefit from exercise in much the same way your arm and leg muscles benefit when they are exercised.

Cardio Training is designed to exercise your heart muscles, increase your lung capacity and reduce the causes of stress within your body.

Heart attacks often happen when arteries to the heart are either blocked or have restricted blood flow. Numerous studies have shown that cardio interval training helps the body create new blood vessels to the heart. These smaller blood vessels supply extra blood when you are exercising and your heart muscles need more blood flow and they can supply blood to your heart if your primary blood vessels become partially blocked. These extra blood vessels are effective in reducing your risk of a heart attack simply by being present as an alternative route for the blood to reach the heart if needed.

The best way to prevent a heart attack is to eat healthy and avoid other risk factors such as smoking but adding cardio training to your routine sure helps create a little extra insurance.

Some recent studies have shown that aggressive strength training can help your muscles stay young at the cellular level. I haven’t seen any studies that have shown that a good strong cardio training program will keep your heart young but I’m willing to bet it helps.

Cardio training is also a great way to reduce stress. Swimming, jogging, yoga and walking are just a few of the different types of exercises that give your cardiovascular system a workout.

Why wouldn’t you want to add cardio training to your healthy diet and strength training when stronger heart muscles, increased lung capacity, increased metabolism, increased blood flow and reduced body stress are possible benefits?

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Cross training is the integration of multiple disciplines or exercises into a single exercise routine. Many people know and accept the fact that exercise is needed for good health. Fat loss is maximized by your healthy diet, the exercise program you’ve chosen and the consistency of your actions in both your diet and exercise programs. The reasons for incorporating cross training into your exercise routine vary from person to person but two of them are to relieve boredom and another is to maximize the benefits of exercising.

Resistance (strength) training is important because strong and healthy muscles burn more calories when exercised properly. Strong and healthy muscles are also important in many of your daily activities. Some of the activities that require strength are carrying groceries, children, laundry, walking and good posture. Combine resistance training with a diet that provides fewer calories than you burn with your activities and your body will get the energy it needs by burning fat.

Adding cardio workouts to your exercise program lets you benefit in multiple ways.

1. You will be using different muscle groups than you do while doing your resistance training. Resting a muscle group for two days after exercising it gives the muscles time to both rest and grow. (Your muscles, rest, heal and grow during the downtime after you exercise them.)

2. Adding rowing, cycling, walking, jogging or some other discipline to your exercise program gives you variety so you will be more likely to stick with your exercise program to achieve your fat loss and health goals.

3. By using strength training every other day and focusing on different muscle groups, you are maximizing your efforts. When you add cardio training on the off days of your strength training, you are building up your heart muscle strength, lungs and increasing your blood flow which will help with your strength training.

Reserve the seventh day for rest so your body can return to its normal resting state. This gives your mind, body and nerves a chance to relax and heal or grow.

Make a lifelong commitment to cross training and eating healthy and you’ll be rewarded with a longer and healthier life

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Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘You are what you eat.’? It is a very true statement because what you put in your mouth goes a long way towards determining your health. What you think is just as important especially when you are ill and trying to heal.

I’ll bet you’ve seen a lot of people that are consistently talking about their illnesses like they are a badge of honor. You might hear in depth discussions about the disease, the medication being taken, the tests that were run, and a variety of other topics.

What too many people don’t realize is that your mind cannot distinguish between reality and imagination. Because your mind cannot make this distinction, it works to make your reality what you talk and think about most.

This means that everyone that focuses most on their illness or disease is telling their minds they want to be ill or have that disease. Constantly feeding your mind the right affirmations that you are healthy and healing will go a long way towards making that your reality.

If you need proof of this, you need to look at cancer patients. Almost everyone that sees cancer as a death sentence will not beat their cancer even with chemotherapy or other treatments. Those that have the mindset that they will beat their cancer either do or they live longer with a higher quality of life.

You can use your mind to heal, to improve your life or to transform it in many different ways so it is more enjoyable for you and your loved ones. I invite you to register for your free ‘life transformation kit’ so you can see for yourself how powerful of a tool your mind is and how you can harness its power. You may have trouble accepting the idea that your mind can help you improve just about every aspect of your life but I can tell you it has made a big difference in mine. The only thing you have to lose by checking out the ‘life transformation kit’ is a few minutes of your busy life BUT you may gain MUCH more just by looking.

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Halitosis otherwise known as bad breath can ruin your outlook on the day. Gum disease or gingivitis can also make you feel and smell bad but you can solve these problems naturally within a week by changing a few simple things in your life.

While it is true that 85% to 90% of the bad breath originates in the mouth there are times when the cause originates in another part of your body. The bad breath you experience in these instances may be a sign you need to pay attention to your over all health and not just your oral health.

Did you know dehydration, yeast infections, stress,  bad foods, poor digestion can all create bad breath? Poor oral hygiene has a LOT of company in causing halitosis.

Some causes of bad breath are:

• Certain types of food. onions, garlic, etc.
• Food particles that get caught between teeth or between the teeth and gums.
• Poor oral hygiene.
• Some medications including allergy medications.
• Post nasal drip.
• Some medical conditions.

Some experienced medical  professionals have smelled the odors associated with cancer, yeast infection and other medical conditions so frequently that they have a very good guess at what is causing your medical problem just by smelling your breath. They can then run the exact test or exam needed to prove the breath identified the correct problem.

There is another post on Natural Remedies Products that talks about the importance of hydration to you and your health and your breath is just one more reason to drink more water.

Good oral hygiene will take care of the vast majority of bad breath but you need more knowledge to tackle gingivitis and gum diseases. Chris Gibson has written a great resource titled No More Bad Breath and Gum Disease: How I Banished My Bad Breath and Gum Disease For Life that will give you the information you need to for your own natural bad breath remedy. One thing you may find interesting is that some of the commercially available oral care products may contribute to bad breath.

Home remedies for bad breath can be found in many places around the internet but I strongly recommend that you educate yourself before using any remedy to end your bad breath.

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