Author: menyok

‘Super Shred’ vs ‘Doctor’s Diet’: Physicians debate merits of weight loss plans

Posted by menyok on in Health and Fitness

So you want to lose weight. What could be better than a diet plan created by one of the well-known physicians on the popular health talk show “The Doctors,” two of whom have created their own weight loss programs? The challenge in choosing one of those plans: Dr. Ian Smith provides very different diet tactics in his “Super Shred” diet when compared to Dr. Travis Stork’s “The Doctor’s Diet,” reported USA Today on Feb. 23.

Dr. Ian says he believes that the key to rapid weight loss is “calorie disruption,” and contends that his diet can help dieters lose 20 pounds in four weeks: “Super Shred: The Big Results Diet: 4 Weeks 20 Pounds Lose It Faster!”

The “Super Shred” weight loss program alternates calorie counts, up to 1,600 calories on some days and down to 900 calories on other days. Included are grocery lists, meal plans and recipes. Dieters are advised to perform 40 minutes or more of high-intensity interval aerobic exercise a day.

In addition to calorie disruption, Dr. Ian tells dieters to snack frequently, including specifics on timing. He also emphasizes what he calls “sliding nutrient density,” which means that you eat plant-based foods in the second part of your day.

In contrast, Dr. Travis focuses on food prescriptions so that your meals and snacks become your medicine: “The Doctor’s Diet: Dr. Travis Stork’s STAT Program to Help You Lose Weight & Restore Your Health”.

Although the “Doctor’s Diet” emphasizes health and weight loss equally, Dr. Travis does provide a four-week jump-start to accelerate weight loss, followed by diet to continue the weight loss and concluding with a maintenance plan. That four-week plan emphasizes healthy fats, moderately high protein and low-carb diet meals and snacks.

As for Dr. Ian’s emphasis on high-intensity exercise for 40 minutes, Dr. Travis prescribes only 30 minutes of an activity such as walking. In addition, Dr. Travis feels strongly about the dangers of sugar, telling dieters to surrender the sweet stuff while boosting their protein intake. While not eliminating carbohydrates, he says that those who engage in only minimal activity can benefit from low carb diets.

“We don’t know exactly why protein helps with weight loss. One reason is that it has an impact on the action of ghrelin, known as the hunger hormone, and leptin, the satiety hormone, which is why people who eat protein at each meal find they are fuller and less hungry after they eat than do people who skimp on protein,” he explains.

Three Easy Ways to Fend Off a Cold and Flu

Posted by menyok on in Health, Health and Beauty, Health and Fitness, Health and Medicines

1.   Focus on healthy lifestyle habits.

  • Get plenty of sleep. This is one of the most important habits to heed since sleep is the time when our bodies heal and recharge. You can’t expect your body to fight off cold and flu viruses with an empty gas tank. It’s crucial for adults to get at least 7-9 hours of sleep per night, and for kids to get 10-12 hours.
  • Wash your hands. Although we are surrounded by bacteria and viruses year round, we tend to be more susceptible during cold and flu season due to being indoors more, poor ventilation and being in close quarters with more people. Make sure you wash your hands regularly with a gentle germ-killing soap such as Dial® (it’s an antibacterial powerhouse). This is especially important after shaking hands or touching objects like phones and keyboards. And here’s an easy trick for making sure your kids spend enough time at the sink: Teach them to wash their hands for as long as it takes them to sing “Happy Birthday” or “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” Bye-bye, germs!
  • Drink plenty of fluids and remain hydrated. Stick to beverages like filtered water and herbal teas to keep the immune system running smoothly.

2.   Keep your immune system robust through healthy nutrition.

Focus on foods like leafy green vegetables and low sugar fruits like dark berries. Avoid processed foods or any foods that come out of a box as well as high sugar foods like pastries, cookies and candy. If you need to satisfy that sweet tooth, opt for raw organic honey or 70 percent (or greater) organic dark chocolate.

3.   Stock your medicine cabinet.

As the old saying goes, “an ounce of preparation is worth a pound of cure.” Keep some vitamin C around so that if you do get sick, you can take 1 gram per day in order to boost your immunity. Stock your house, office and purse with Scotties® tissues to help aid sniffles, sore noses and those sneezes that sneak up on you! The last thing you want is to find yourself or your child with a runny nose and nothing but an old crumpled tissue at the bottom of your purse. And since one of the top reasons for missing work is due to parents taking care of sick kids, make sure you pick up some Triaminic® products at your local drugstore. If symptoms do arise in your little ones, it can help alleviate symptoms and make them feel better while they heal so you don’t have to miss too many days of work.

With these few easy steps, you’ll be sure to breeze through this cold and flu season.

Make Your Life Easier With This Fab Shopping Site

Posted by menyok on in Fashion

Personally shopping in a store is a marvelous activity (and excellent form of exercise) all in itself, however nowadays virtual shopping is a must as well. It’s an easy way to discover unique items that our limited options of shopping excursions will not always allow us to come across. We are exposed to new styles and ideas from personalities all over the globe. We can explore and identify a new something that we like, and within minutes, we have located that same item, added it our shopping cart and before we can grab our car keys, our latest must-have is heading directly to our front door.

I have found a few sites that make my life much easier and being that I aspire to make everyone else’s lives easier as well, I will happily share. Today I will discuss the wonderful world of asos. ASOS (pronounced ACE-OSS) is the UK’s largest independent online fashion and beauty retailer, offering over 60,000 branded and own label products across womenswear and menswear. The idea of ASOS started in 1999 as an internet business where people could find clothes or accessories they had seen celebs wearing. The company began with this concept and within a few years they began to sell more fashion than just clothes that had been ‘seen on screen’.

One of my favorite reasons to shop on this site is the View Runway feature. Along with photos of different angles and views, each garment is displayed being worn down a small runway, showing exactly how the item looks, moves and flows. I don’t know about you all, but I have had many experiences of receiving an item and being surprised at how it actually appears in ‘real life’. E-commerce stylists are paid to make a stores merchandise look good, and many items are pinned, stretched or altered to look more appealing. This is not evident until we receive these items and find that they fit differently than how displayed on the site. So being able to see the garment worn by someone is very helpful in determining if it is what you are looking for or not.

Another gratifying feature of the site is their Fashion Finder section. Here you can find the freshest fashion trends and the street style skinny, plus the best outfit ideas created by members to inspire your fashion forward look. You will also find What to Wear ideas, for style advice for any occasion. You can browse women’s fashion tips by event, and if you’re feeling inspired, create your own outfit too. Fashion Trends are displayed showcasing the lowdown on the biggest catwalk trends. You can take inspiration from the most influential designers, before styling your own outfits and uploading your fashion forward looks.

A fun way that this site stands out, is that they offer a Marketplace where anyone, anywhere in the world, can sell fashion, to anyone, anywhere in the world. You can sell individually for free or can apply for a boutique if you have a small business or brand. What an epic way for thousands of individuals just like me, selling their wardrobes to fund their next fashion fix.

Last, but not least, the price points found at asos can fit just about every budget. They constantly run sales, on current season items, which makes it all the more easier to justify trying out new styles. Shipping is free to over 190 countries, as well as returns, which makes shopping here essentially risk-free. Before checking out, be sure to check the site for any coupons, which are typically always available.

I highly recommend adding asos to your current must-shop sites, and as a result your shopping world just may be rocked.