Author: menyok

Diets for a Pear-Shaped Body

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

According to Marie Savard, M.D., author of the weight loss book “Apples & Pears: The Body Shape Solution for Weight Loss and Wellness,” body shape is the most powerful predictor of human health. Women with pear-shaped bodies gain weight on the hips and thighs, while their upper bodies remain slim. This is good news, in a way. Both men and women with apple-shaped bodies, who gain significant weight around the belly, are at greater risk for developing heart disease, diabetes and cancer, according to diet experts.

Determining Your Shape

If you are not sure whether you are apple-shaped or pear-shaped, there is a quick way to tell. Take a tape measure and place it around your waist. Record the figure. Then measure your hips. Divide the waist measurement number by the hip measurement number. If the total is 0.8 or lower, you have a pear-shaped body, meaning that you carry more fat around your hips and thighs. If you are pear-shaped, you’ll use a different strategy to lose weight than an apple-shaped person.

What Fat Deposits Mean

It’s important to note that people with pear-shaped bodies, who carry fat around their hips and thighs, store fat more shallowly than the deeper, visceral abdominal fat that accumulates around the organs of apple-shaped people. This means that the fat is doing less harm on your body and you will have fewer health risks. People with pear shapes simply have a different physical chemistry, hormone production and metabolism than apple-shaped folks, which means that they are at less risk for obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease and certain cancers. In fact, Dr. Savard believes that pear-zone fat is passive and actually protects against heart disease. However, pear-shaped women are prone to osteoporosis, varicose veins and cellulite and tend to have more difficulty losing weight in general.

Healthy Diet for a Pear-Shaped Body

Butter’s a no-no for pear-shaped dieters, who tend to crave salty foods.

On her website, Dr. Savard recommends that pear-shaped dieters should stick with complex carbohydrates like green vegetables and whole grains. Eat low fat; aim to get about 20 percent of your diet from healthy fats like salmon, almonds and flax seed, and use olive and canola oils. Moderate protein intake is recommended, such as chicken and lamb. Vegetarians can get their protein from brown rice, spinach, oats, lentils and black beans. The worst foods for this body type, according to Dr. Savard, are cheese, butter and salty foods. She recommends taking a calcium supplement, since osteoporosis is a risk later in life.

Body Image Issues for Pear Shapes

According to Savard, resistance training with free weights three times per week to stave off bone loss is recommended. This will also increase your metabolic rate and burn that pesky fat off over time. Approach dieting and exercise with a little less anxiety, as your excess weight is less likely to be harming you. However, post-menopausal pear-shaped women can start to experience some of the same health problems as apple-shaped women. And pear-shaped women of all ages feel self-conscious about their large buttocks and thighs, so they suffer from more eating disorders than apple-shaped women do.

It’s a Brave New Connected World for Home Audio and Visual Media

Posted by menyok on in Entertainment, Music

How the internet and wireless connected systems are changing audio and visual media within our homes. Is fully digital – non tangible video and audio becoming the norm?

If you have found yourself wanting to get a new audio or TV system, you will have probably noticed just how much choice you have and how many more possibilities there are to bring sound to your home. Many of use still have a large collection of CD’s, DVD’s or even older media such as tapes and vinyl but these days you don’t even need to touch hard-copy media.

Everything these days can be connected in some form or another but the most popular way is using internet wireless routers. Most of us are already using them with our computers, tablets and smartphones but did you know you can do it with some audio systems? Network connected audio devices are now available where you can download, store and stream your favourite music to other rooms in your household. You can use the hard-drive in your computer or a network attached storage (NAS) to convert your CD’s to high quality FLAC (free lossless audio codec) and even use downloaded 24-bit studio quality music files.

It’s not just your network connected audio that you can receive and play your music collection. If you have portable media devices such as a tablet computer or a smart-phone you can access your collection anywhere with a network with access to the internet. With such innovations in place music lovers are freed from just confining their enjoyment to just one room and could have smaller satellite systems in places such as the bedroom and kitchen. For those that are on the move can access their collection on the commute to work and even on holiday in other countries.

Home visual media is also benefiting from the new connected nature of multiple systems. TV’s can now be routinely found to be able to connect to home networks and the internet which is turning them into media hubs, where you can download or stream music and movies online. The proliferation of high-definition movies and program content is giving the perfect excuse to take your TV experience and turn it into a home cinema showcase. Virtually all modern movies come with multi channel soundtracks and most audio and video devices support additional speaker configurations. For those that have not experienced the difference that a home cinema system can have when viewing high-definition content will be surprised to the difference it makes to the enjoyment of your favourite movies.

Moving on there would be an increasing shift towards a fully digital, non hard copy attitude to the media available to us. We would no longer need tangible media such as disks as we would have all our acquired media be them music, movies, video, written and photography would all be stored in storage that we personally may or may not own in our homes. For media we have not made ourselves there would be access rights that we have bought so even if we somehow loose our media libraries we could still re-acquire what we had stored in them. There may be discussions as to if we would still prefer to own tangible media but I would think they would just gather dust somewhere like my current CD collection does.

9 Knock-Out Knits

Posted by menyok on in Fashion

Knits are like a winter fashion rite of passage. Those in the know about style say you need at least one in your closet. You can go subtle with a knitted accessory — such as gloves, a hat or scarves — or opt for a larger piece, like a sweater dress or a statement cardigan, worn here by “Real Housewives” personality Kyle Richards. Knits are as cozy as they are fashionable and can be styled dozens of ways. Make sure whatever you buy fits well and is structurally sound so it lasts for years.

Knit Pullover

Singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding wears this quintessential winter knit pullover with a pair of black shorts for a youthful vibe. Jene Luciani, a nationally acclaimed fashion and style expert, says this look is right on trend, and also suggests pairing a pullover knit with leggings, shimmering tights, tweed shorts or jeans.

Knit Jacket

The tossed-over-the-shoulder knit jacket worn by British model Alice Dellal is a timeless garment that’s universally flattering. “This is a versatile piece you’ll wear all the time, especially in a neutral color like this one,” noted Luciani. “She could have come straight from work, worn it buttoned up over the dress in the office, and then taken it off to reveal some tasteful cleavage for the evening out.”

Knitted Scarf

“A scarf is a winter weather essential, but fashion-wise it’s meant to be an accent piece, so you want to make sure it does just that,” advised Luciani. She says that while this scarf — worn by singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepson — is a knock-out knit, it should be paired with either no hat or a smaller hat for better balance.

Curve-Hugging Knit Dress

Curves abound in this flattering knit dress worn by model Kyle Bax. “It’s really accentuating all her best assets without looking too tight,” said Luciani. “She’s completely smooth too, which tells me she has the right undergarments underneath — very important with a knit dress.”

Knit Beret

“I love a knit beanie cap with flowing locks and side-swept bangs peeking out,” said Luciani about singer-songwriter Brooke White’s knitted beret. “She’s also wearing the cap right at the crown, which is proper placement.” This chic placement shows off her face.

Cropped Knit Sweater

German actress Hannah Herzsprung stands out in this purple Chanel cropped knit sweater. Luciani said she loves bright colors in the winter and suggests not shying away from them. For a variation on this look, try a “button-down cardi with the marbled effect and stay in the color scheme of the skirt,” she advised.

Sequined Knit Cardigan

“I love a good metallic, especially around the holidays,” said Lucini of German singer-songwriter Bahar Kizil’s sequined knit cardigan. The sequins punch up an otherwise drab garment. “This sweater hits just above her hips, which still shows her shape, and she wears it open, so it shows off the sheer top underneath.”

Sheer Layered Knit Sweater

Ashlee Simpson pairs an oversize sheer knitted sweater with an undershirt and leggings. Luciani said the proportions here are good — baggy on top and fitted on the bottom — but cautioned to be wary of this look if you’re curvy since it can hide your shape and add pounds. She recommends this look for petite women, in particular.

Cropped Knit Cardigan

“No one does casual-chic quite like Katie Holmes,” said Luciani of the actress. “I love the leathery waxed look to the pants paired with the perfectly proportioned cardi and cream shell underneath.” When re-creating this look, keep things in a neutral color scheme like Holmes does and make sure every piece fits well.