Its estimated that one in 10 adults will deal with bone spurs in the heel in their lifetime

But bone spurs can appear throughout the body and they can happen to anyone, for many reasons: age, weak bone structure, level of physical activity, pH imbalances, or anywhere there has been an injury, poor blood supply, or scar tissue. But they dont have to be inevitable.

In healthy bone, osteoblasts add fresh mineralsprimarily calciumand osteoclasts remove older bone tissue by breaking down minerals and reabsorbing them into the bloodstream. Both processes are intricately interlinked and crucial for health. Unfortunately, the bone-building process doesnt always work the way it should. Sometimes, a person can build up areas of what is essentially dead calcium, which results in painful bone spurs (osteophytes) or kidney stones.

Often, the standard American diet is to blame for the development of weak bones, bone spurs, and kidney stones. Contributing foods and ingredients include high-fructose corn syrup, soda, apple juice, fluoridated water, other refined sugars, and animal protein.

Virtually any fast-food meal sets the stage for making the body prone to kidney stones. Because the American diet is so high in these types of acidic foods, the body pulls calcium out of the bones to act as a buffer against them.

The problem is, once this calcium is removed from the bones, it cant be properly reabsorbed, and instead forms clumps in the body that can cause problems. Combine that with the fact that most people dont hydrate enough during the day, and you have a perfect storm of conditions.

Of course, bone spurs in the heel can result from repetitive activity, like pitching or carpentry. The irritation, pain, and stiffness people feel might not just be muscle aches, but an actual change in the structure of their joints. In these cases, bone spurs can often appear in the shoulders, where bones, muscles, and ligaments wear against one another, and in the heels, which take a lot of punishment from exercise, work, and everyday life.

Fashion can take a toll as well. Tight shoes can restrict the movement of tendons and damage bones in the feet. The plantar bones of the bottom of the feet are covered with tough fibrous fascia tissue. Plantar fasciitis results when this tissue is stretched, damaged, and inflamed. This muscle-based damage can be the first step in developing heel spurs, because in the course of trying to repair damage to the feet, extra emergency bone can develop, becoming a spur of unwantedand potentially debilitatingcalcium.

And in other cases, body chemistry is the culprit. To function at its best, the body must maintain a proper and delicate acid-to-alkaline (pH) balance. If a persons pH tends toward the more alkaline end of the scale, it sets the stage for calcium to build up where it shouldnt.

The strange thing about bone spur development and the connection to pH is that most peoples diets are so acidic that the body has a tough time keeping things equal (close to a 7 on the pH scale). But high alkalinity canand clearly doeshappen nonetheless.

An over-alkaline system struggles harder to absorb calcium, which is essential for strengthening bones. In this case, when load-bearing bones are under stress, they try various ways of protecting themselves, one of which is the formation of bone spurs in the heel.

No matter the cause, dead calcium or dead bone needs to be removed from the body to stop pain and discomfort. What the body actually needsironically is a group of acidifying ingredients to bring the system back into balance and dissolve the dead calcium and other minerals.

The question is how.

Conventional treatments for bone spurs can be risky and unnecessary, especially when the right nutrients can help put the body back on track naturally and non-invasively.

Ammonium chloride sounds like a potentially unhealthy thing, but its absolutely essential in helping support the normal growth cycle of bones. It is mildly acidic and can help the body return to a healthy pH balance. It is actually a component of digestive juices and stomach acid, and is crucial for mineral absorption.

Smaller amounts of calcium chloride and calcium phosphate (the same form that makes up bones and teeth) help keep the overall bone resorption process running smoothly. People shouldnt cut calcium from their diet and supplement regimen in order to fight bone spursthey are actually more likely to develop them without appropriate calcium intake.

Betaine hydrochloric acid mimics the stomach acid created naturally by the body to help break down minerals properly. In an over-alkaline environment, where calcium and other minerals arent prepared for the body to absorb well, youll see the formation of bone spurs in the heel, calcium deposits, and kidney stones. When calcium crystals collect at the site of an injury or a weak bone, a bone spur is likely to follow.

Vitamin C is crucial for collagen formation during the tissue rebuilding phase after injury or other heavy activity. A deficiency of vitamin C can weaken ligaments and tendons. It is thus essential to keep the cushioning and connective tissue of the joints healthy so that the body doesnt overcompensate by creating bone spurs. Plus, vitamin C fights oxidative stress that can hinder joint repair.

Vitamin B6 in the pyridoxal-5-phosphate (P-5-P) form is readily absorbed by the body and doesnt need to be converted by the liver. It is the perfect nutrient to combine with magnesium to ensure proper calcium absorption and use by the body.

After all, most people will still get calcium through diet and supplementation, even while theyre getting rid of bone spurs in the heeland thats a good thing. Its just important to be sure the calcium stays fluid and doesnt form into clumps that can cause improper buildup at the joints or form kidney stones. Since the P-5-P form of vitamin B6 works so well with magnesium, its essential for this type of regimen.

Magnesium glycerophosphate is the acidic form of the mineral, so it will not alkalize body tissues and potentially add to the problem of bone spurs in the heel. Magnesium is an important mineral for health, and yet is often missing from the diet. Thats unfortunate, because magnesium helps cells build energy, assists calcium in bone-building, and helps relieve pain by blocking NMDA pain receptors.

While there is no specific body of clinical research yet concerning a nutritional protocol for ridding the body of bone spurs, if your patients try this approach, they will likely get good results. In the future, clinical trials should prove what years of practical experience have shown: bone spurs can be resolved naturally without resorting to invasive surgeries.

Terry Lemerond is a natural health expert with more than 40 years experience. He has owned health food stores, founded dietary supplement companies, and formulated more than 400 products.A published author, he appears on radio, television, and is a frequent guest speaker. He can be contacted through europharmausa.com.

References:

1American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Plantar Fasciitis and Bone Spurs. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00149. Last reviewed June 2010. Accessed October 27, 2014.

2 Mohseni-Bandpei MA, et al. Application of ultrasound in the assessment of plantar fascia in patients with plantar fasciitis: a systematic review. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2014;40(8):1737-54. Epub 2014 May 3.

3 Rogers J, Shepstone L, Dieppe P. Bone formers: osteophyte and enthesophyte formation are positively associated. Ann Rheum Dis. 1997;56(2):85-90.

Originally posted here:
Dietary strategy to prevent bone spurs in the heel - Chiropractic Economics

This is a question that I get asked on a daily basis how do I make my muscles grow? Over the years, a number of hypotheses have been put forward. Most of them have not been proven to be true. But now we seem to know with a fair bit of certainty what works and what does not. Before I get to the muscle growth question, let me state some basics if you are not ingesting enough food, real food and not supplements, getting at least seven to eight hours of sleep every night and drinking enough water, then you have bigger issues to worry about than what to do in the gym. This bears repeating that we cannot out train a bad diet and applies equally to fat loss as well as muscle gain. Its a clich now, but muscle growth is a three legged stool exercise, diet and rest. All three have to be spot on otherwise you are going to spin your wheels in the gym!

The top three factors for muscle growth

1. Mechanical tension: This is what is called progressive overload increasing the load so that body has to adapt to the increased weight. But the increase in weight should not be done mindlessly you need to connect to the muscle you are working. Focus on contracting and squeezing the muscle as hard as possible. Load the muscle through its entire range of motion. Too many trainees seem to think that just loading the bar and then using body language to move the weight will effectively work the targeted muscle.

Focus on contracting and squeezing the muscle as hard as possible ( Shutterstock )

2. Muscle damage : Focus on creating micro-trauma by lowering the weight under control. Eccentric exercise or the lowering of the weight under control causes the most amount of muscle damage. Next day, the trainee would be sore as the body repairs the damage done in the gym. This results in muscular size increase over the long term.

3. Metabolic stress : Body-builders call it chasing the Pump. Researchers call this cell swelling which is a result of pooling of blood in muscles. It was assumed that the pump was just a temporary cosmetic condition. But now we know that the pump creates protein synthesis and shuts down protein breakdown.

Applying the three factors for increasing muscle size

Mechanical tension is pretty simple. Add weight to the bar every week or every other week. Move the weight in a controlled fashion through the muscles entire range of motion. You should have the weight under your control. Most of the time, trainees are in a hurry to increase the weight while their form goes out of the window. Rinse, repeat.

To increase muscle, add weight to the bar every week or every other week ( Shutterstock )

Muscle damage happens when the weight is lowered slowly. Take two to four seconds on the eccentric portion of the lift. You would be sore the next day but rest assured if you recover from the workout, you will gain size and strength.

For Metabolic stress, extend the set by increasing repetitions using short pauses. Do it this way if you can get eight repetitions with a weight, pause for 10-15 seconds after the 8th rep, do two more, pause 20 seconds, do two more. Or you can do strip sets hit failure at the 8th rep, quickly reduce the weight and do 2-3 reps more, then reduce it some more and get two reps more.

If you incorporate the above in your gym workouts and eat enough food, your muscle size should go up. In the next column, I shall reveal how to calculate how many calories are needed for gaining weight and also for fat loss.

Author bio: Kamal Singh is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist who has been coaching for 15 years

From HT Brunch, January 26, 2020

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Fit and fine: How to get that muscular body - Hindustan Times

High blood pressure, medically known as hypertension, can lead to all sorts of health conditions. For one, it can lead to a heart attack or, two, it could result in a stroke. Kidney failure, heart failure and vascular dementia are also associated risks. Fortunately, one tasty and versatile piece of meat has been shown to lower blood pressure.

Researchers in Japan conducted a study to see if collagen a protein found in chicken legs could be broken up by the stomach into smaller proteins that lower blood pressure.

Positively, the smaller proteins were found to work akin to ACE inhibitors a type of medication prescribed by doctors to manage high blood pressure.

To test this theory further, the smaller proteins were then fed to rats whose blood pressures were measured for a whole day.

The chicken leg proteins did in fact cause a fall in the rats blood pressures that slowly wore off after the 24-hour period.

Due to these results, the studys researchers are suggesting that people could eat chicken soup made from chicken leg meat to help lower their blood pressure.

They do note that chicken legs dont contain enough collagen to replace taking blood pressure medications if youve already been prescribed them.

Nevertheless, a warm bowl of chicken soup is a good option to help manage the health condition.

READ MORE:Eczema: Does this unsightly skin condition worsen with age? Experts have their say

Blood Pressure UK does list other recommendations on how to help lower blood pressure readings. These include:

Salt

The more salt you eat, the higher your blood pressure will be. It causes the body to retain too much water, and can disturb how diuretic medication for high blood pressure works.

An adult is recommended to eat no more than 6g of salt per day. Blood Pressure UK add to stop using salt at the dinner table.

There are already far too many ways hidden salt enters our body through our diet. Did you know that salt is contained in biscuits, breakfast cereals and bread? Well, they are.

Fruit and vegetables

Fruit and vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals and fibre to keep your body in good condition.

They also contain potassium, which helps balance out the negative effects of salt thus helping to lower your blood pressure.

A mixture of at least five different fruits and vegetables are best eaten every day with each portion being about the same size as your fist.

Recommended daily alcohol limits

Alcohol contains a lot of calories which can cause weight gain and can lead to a higher blood pressure.

The current UK guidelines point out that men and women should drink no more than 14 units per week.

What does 14 units look like?

Binge drinking is frowned upon by Blood Pressure UK. It states that binge drinking is classed as drinking more than six units in six hours thats less than three 175ml glasses of wine or three pints of beer in an evening.

Continued here:
High blood pressure: Best meat to include in your diet if you want to lower your reading - Express

KINGSTON, N.Y. If you ever thought cool shades were a mere fashion statement, think again. Wearing good sunglasses may help to prevent blindness as you age, an eye doctor told a group of seniors at a recent event in Kingston.

Aging is hard enough, but age-related blindness is enough to challenge anybody. On Wednesday, Jan. 15, the Health Alliance presentation to the Seniors Health and Wellness Breakfast Club at the Marys Avenue hospital campus focused on glaucoma and macular degeneration, two common eye diseases that afflict people as they age.

Dr. Sankara Mahesh, an ophthalmologist based at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y., spoke to the group of seniors, using slides and pictures to explain how these diseases develop and how to (possibly) prevent them.

Glaucoma, said Mahesh, is a leading cause of vision loss in the United States. There are 3 million people in the U.S. who suffer from it, he added.

Mahesh explained that glaucoma happens when the pressure inside the eye is inappropriate. That means its either too high, or (less frequently) too low. Eye pressure usually does not relate to a persons blood pressure, although a low diastolic blood pressure may indicate low eye pressure.

Eye pressure is so important because the eye is nourished by fluid that is constantly introduced to and drained from the eye. When for some reason the drain is blocked, eye pressure goes up. If theres not enough fluid, eye pressure goes down. Without the appropriate amount of nourishing fluid, silent, irreversible damage to the optic nerve begins.

Fifty percent of people who have [glaucoma] dont know it, said Mahesh. There are no early symptoms. It slowly affects peripheral vision. Damage is slow and subtle, and takes place over a number of years.

The bad news: The damage is irreversible. And glaucoma, noted Mahesh, does not go away. The good news: Early detection can prevent vision loss.

At age 40, people should get a comprehensive eye exam, said Mahesh, and then continue to have eye exams yearly. Anyone can get glaucoma, but risk factors include age, family history, eye trauma, and African, Asian or Hispanic heritage.

Using eye drops to lower eye pressure is the usual treatment, but there are surgical interventions, as well. Mahesh noted that there are a number of recent advances in minimally invasive surgery, and some new devices for treating glaucoma are coming soon.

Prevention includes regular exercise and a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Smoking and stress increase risk (meditation is recommended), as does diabetes and being overweight. Being underweight is also a risk factor.

Sunglasses are a preventive measure for macular degeneration, but the glasses must block UVA and UUB rays. Darker color doesnt mean it protects better, said Mahesh. And polarized sunglasses may help reduce glare, but they do nothing to protect from macular degeneration.

Macular degeneration is caused by damage to the macula, the part of the retina that is at the back of the inner eyeball.

Again, heredity is a risk factor for macular degeneration, a blindness that begins in the center of the visual field, but heredity is not a foregone conclusion. Having a sibling or parent with the condition doesnt mean you will develop it.

Smokers have two times the risk as non-smokers, and Caucasians are more likely to develop macular degeneration than other groups.

The cause is not exactly known, said Mahesh. It may be wear and tear or sunlight exposure. Drusen, the small, yellow lipids (fatty proteins) that grow under the retina, are suspected culprits.

There is no good way to treat the disease, other than by taking a combination of vitamins that may slow its progress. Ten percent of people with macular degeneration have the wet kind, which means that there is bleeding and swelling inside the eye. This type can be helped with eye injections.

Again, prevention and regular eye exams are key to maintaining good eye health, including a healthy diet, exercise and not smoking.

The Seniors Health and Wellness Breakfast Club, open to individuals age 65 and older, meets monthly at the Nuvance Health Alliance hospital on Marys Avenue from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. to eat, socialize and learn more about a variety of health issues.

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Start young to prevent age-related vision loss - The Daily Freeman

Is your new year's resolution is to lose belly fat and get fit? Although there's no magic bullet, there are ways to burn belly fat (or 'lose weight' as we used to call it) that are tried, trusted and true. That doesn't make them easy or quick, and this is not about telling you how to get a six pack although we have plenty of articles on that topic. No, this is just about having a healthy lifestyle and feeling comfortable with the girth of your stomach.

To that end we've got here for you proven advice and key tips to lose belly fat quickly, healthily and sustainably. As we just said, there are no quick fixes here; we want you to develop habits that ensure you'll stay trim for good.Weve also got the lowdown on the best exercises to lose belly fat, and all the gear youll need to get started although, of course, the most important 'gear' is the bit between your ears.

There's no hard-and-fast rule for slim-down success: the best way to lose belly fat is the way that works around your lifestyle. If you follow an unsustainable plan, you won't last: it's as simple as that. In this article we lay out five principles that are applicable to everyone, whether you're a total beginner starting your weight-loss journey or a seasoned pro who fell off the wagon over Christmas.

These guiding lights will keep you on the straight and narrow, whether you've got time to hit the gym every day or a shift worker looking to manage your schedule. Dont try to take on more than you can reasonably fit into one day. And, despite the name of this feature, don't fixate on 'belly fat'. It's important to reduce visceral fat, which does tend to lurk around the belly area, but that is best achieved by trying to slim down and tune up overall.

Here are five strategies to help you start losing weight.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The short answer to the question of how to lose belly fat is to burn more calories than you consume on a regular basis. In the fitness world, this is known as achieving a "calorie deficit".

If this sounds like a waking nightmare, there's a trick to it: what you need to do is ensure youre eating the correct kind of food to make sure you feel full and sated, even when consuming fewer calories than you're burning off. Certain foods are "empty calories" while others release energy slowly, keeping you fuller for longer.

But before that, you'll need to find a good way to track your calories burned and calories taken in. The free MyFitnessPal app is one of the best ways to record your calorie intake, but to track your calories burned, you'll need a dedicated fitness tracker. If you already own a smartwatch, most will offer calorie tracking as standard, but for those yet to make the plunge, the Fitbit Versa Lite is the best activity tracker you can buy right now. Check out the deal below.

Oh, and staying hydrated is crucial, as well

Fitbit Versa 2 | was 199.99 | now 159 at AmazonThe Fitbit Versa 2 is getting regular price cuts for the new year and is currently 40 off at Amazon and various other fine online retailers. The Versa 2 features advanced cardio tracking as well as the usual steps and sleep stuff, and has Alexa built in. It's also unusually stylish for a Fitbit.View Deal

Fitbit Versa Lite | was 149.99 | now 124.95 at AmazonThe Fitbit Versa Lite is the best affordable fitness tracker or smartwatch you can buy.It tracks deep and light sleep, steps, distance and calories, but that is barely scraping the surface of its capabilities. Via Fitbit's excellently presented app and sprawling ecosystem, you can use it as the basis of a complete fitness and diet programme. You can also enter your meals to log calories consumed, so you can have all your dietary data in one place.View Deal

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S'Well Marble Drinking Water Bottle | now 25.00 at John LewisIn this case beauty is more than skin deep. This bottle is vacuum sealed, which means it should be able to keep liquids warm for 12 hours and cold for 24 hours. Its stainless steel, has a capacity of 500ml and requires handwashing, and its definitely one for one-upping your co-workers boring flasks and supermarket specials.View Deal

BEEFit Biltong, 10 x 30g bags | now 16.99 on AmazonLooking for a calorie-dense but highly nutritional snack? Swap your bag of crisps or chocolate bar for biltong, a cured meat snack now in handy 30g bags, to keep yourself fuller for longer. It's packed full of protein to help build muscle after a workout, and comes in either BBQ or chilli flavour.View Deal

OXO Good Grips spiraliser | was 14.99 | now 11.60 on Amazon Hand-held spiralisers can suffer from a teeny weeny little problem: if youre not careful you can end up spiralising your own flesh. The Good Grips spiraliser solves that by having a plastic food holder that you can use instead of having your fingers anywhere near the blades.If youre only spiralising for yourself its a simple and effective tool. Its dishwasher safe and easy to clean in the sink too.View Deal

Spiralizing vegetables is a great alternative to pasta

(Image credit: Flickr)

Intermittent fasting is becoming more and more popular. It involves significantly cutting calories or abstaining from food altogether for a portion of the day or week, and then cramming all your calories into a much shorter time window.

The best-known intermittent fasting plan is the 5:2 diet, where you eat as you normally would (although hopefully a bit healthier) for five days a week, then scoff no more than 600 calories two days a week.There are also variants of this diet where you consume almost no calories, two days per week. This is much more doable than it sounds, so long as you are in good general health, but it's not exactly fun.

However, for trainees who are serious but not that serious, there's the 16:8 diet. With this diet you have only 8 hours a day to fit all your meals in, but can only drink water (and maybe some black coffee, if you're feeling naughty) within a 16 hour fasting period outside of those 8 hours. Most choose to eat from 10am to 6pm, but as long as you stay within an eight hour window, you can start and finish at any time of the day. This isHugh Jackman's strategy, so if you have ever wanted to be in Wolverine shape

Why try fasting, though? Well, during the fasting period the body will run out of sugar to run on, and so will start eating up the bodys fat stores. The big negative is the adjustment period: if you're used to a big breakfast or an early dinner, a 16-hour fast feels tough at first, especially if you're exercising. You're going to get seriously cranky.

Soylent Nutrition Shake, Cacao (Chocolate), 12 Pack | now 35.00 on AmazonMarketed as a 'complete meal in a bottle' soylent is a perfect on-the-go quick feed for breakfast or lunch. With 20g of plant protein - to keep you going and slow-burning carbs to help you stay full, Soylent is vegan, gluten free, nut free, dairy free and low GI. At under 3 a shake, it's an ideal replacement to your usual hurried, bland supermarket meal deal.View Deal

Weight training is a great way to tip your muscle-fat ratio the right way

(Image credit: Getty Images)

There are two main types of exercise: cardio training and weights, otherwise known as resistance training.Although cardio burns a lot of calories while you do it, weight training builds muscle which burns more than fat as you go about your day. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you'll burn even when not working out.

Resistance training may seem scary if you're doing it for the first time, especially in the gym when the area's dominated by serious lifters, but you dont have to start adding big plates to the bar right now. There's plenty of ways to get started at home with smaller weights such as dumbbells, kettlebells and even medicine balls.

Were not going to list every single lifting exercise, so why not pick the body part you want to start toning up and check out some of our muscle-building how-tos. One you've done that, grab one of the best dumbbell sets on the market. They're not just for arms: you can use a dumbbell to work your core, shoulders, and even your legs with combination movements. Once you're comfortable in your own home, you can move on to more advanced equipment at the gym.

BodyPower 20 kg Cast Iron Spinlock Dumbbell set | was 59.99 | now 39.99 from Fitness SuperstoreYou just can't beat a good old pair of cast iron weights, and a testament to this is the fact they can be found under the beds of dads and granddads up and down the country. Get your own and they will last a lifetime and for all of their noisy, palm-chafing downsides, there is a kind of nostalgic loveliness to the spin collar set-up.View Deal

All of this aside, dont neglect cardio, as regular cardio workouts are important for fitness and stamina.

Electric Muscle Stimulation can help your muscles recover faster

(Image credit: PowerDot)

It may seem gimmicky when you unwrap your new six-pack vibrating belt, complete with a picture of Ronaldo on the box, but don't roll your eyes just yet. While you can't just sit there eating crisps and expect to get ripped, Electric Muscle Stimulators can help as part of a controlled dietary and exercise plan.

EMS can cause the muscles to contract, essentially tensing and untensing rapidly. During downtime post-workout, you can continue to encourage muscle growth with EMS, while the right bit of kit can also encourage faster recovery, allowing you to get back in the gym all the quicker. According to the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, EMS stimulates the muscle in the same way as a massage, prepping it for the next go-round.

It's not a bona fide shortcut to a six-pack, but it can speed up the muscle-building process with regular use. Check out our choice below: the PowerDot 2.0, a smart muscle stimulating solution you can control from your phone.

(Image credit: Sixpad)

Alternatively there is always SIXPAD as used by Cristiano Ronaldo, a man who takes great pride in his body. Perhaps a little too much pride, the unkind or jealous might say. Amazon also sells all manner of abs belts by brands we have never heard of, for about 20. Needless to say we dont recommend these.

PowerDot 2.0 - Smart Electric Muscle Stimulator | now 185 at AmazonThis neat muscle stimulator works from your phone, allowing you to control intensity, stimulation and goal. Reduce your recovery time and increase muscular performance, as the PowerDot working to support your gym schedule. This model has two stimulators, but you can scale up to four for 325View Deal

Planks are a tough abs workout and a great end-of-workout finisher

(Image credit: Taco Fleur from Pixabay)

As well doing both muscle-building and cardio exercises, if you want to lose belly fat its also important to switch up the pace of your workout.

Every time you workout, you should exercise using both steady state (working hard but not at max capacity, such as during brisk jog) and high intensity (going flat out, like sprinting) to torch your abdominal fat.

Steady state or aerobic exercises include cycling, running or uphill hiking.Its a crucial part of losing belly fat because it burns through your fat stores. However, it also uses your sugar stores for energy first, so you need to do steady-state for long enough to use up all that sugar before it eats into your fat reserves.

High intensity workouts use mainly sugar for fuel, so they don't hit the fat right away, but it does help in building muscle, which will help you torch fat even on days you're not exercising. Explosive weight lifting, sprinting and HIIT-friendly exercises like mountain climbers are all great high-intensity exercises.

A good fitness tracker will help you to gauge the intensity of your workout by monitoring your heart rate. For overall fitness trackers, check out the Fitbit Versa Lite above, but for a dedicated running watch, you can't beat the Garmin Forerunner 645, the best on the market right now.

Find out more about heart rate zone training

Garmin Forerunner 645 | now 276.93 at AmazonGarmin dominates the running/fitness watch category so totally, it's almost embarrassing for the competition. The most recent addition to their premium line, the Garmin 645, incorporates GPS and wrist heart-rate tracking, which is good for monitoring your resting and all-day rates. The 645 crunches a lot of data to suggest recovery times, make a decent stab at estimating your VO2 Max, tell you how optimal your training load and lots, lots more.View Deal

FitBit Aria 2 smart bathroom scale | was 119.95 | now 105.00 on AmazonThis clever scaletells you your weight, BMI and body fat percentage which is all a lot of people want. It then reports this to your Fitbit account, so you can monitor your weight trends and use it alongside your Fitbit wearable's daily calorie-burn estimates. Add MyFitnessPal or Fitbit's own dietary features and you can then sync your meal-plans, daily calories consumed and weight goals, if you want.View Deal

The most important thing to bear in mind is this: losing weight takes time. You'll have setbacks and slip-ups, but if you stay committed to your goal, you'll be fitter and healthier in 2020, building up great habits for many years ahead.

Need some help to get started? Check out all the latest deals on the kit you'll need to get fit in 2020.To start with, you'll need a killer playlist and a good set of workout headphones to listen to it on:

Beats By Dre Powerbeats Pro | now 219 on AmazonPowerbeats Pro are a 'game changer' for Beats; the quality of them is over and above anything the brand has produced before. Designed for workouts and running, the clever design of these true wireless buds means they stay still in your ears during even the most arduous physical jerks. Battery life is way better than most true wireless buds at 8-9 hours and they recharge incredibly fast.View Deal

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How to lose belly fat: burn fat and reveal your abs in 2020 with these 5 techniques - T3

Plant-based, vegan diet is going to be one of the most popular diets this year

The last week of the years first month opens in the city on a healthy note. Imperfecto Shor Caf, one of Delhis few 24/7 cafs is hosting a nutrition camp at the restaurant with nutritionist Kavita Devgan, chef Neha Deepak Shah alongwith the restaurants chef Akanksha Dean.

This perhaps goes a long way to show how health is becoming paramount for not just nutritionist and a handful of health freaks but is slowly but surely becoming everyones agenda. Explains why a majority of millenials are constantly on a 'diet'. Elaborates nutritionist and dietician Kavita Devgan, Actually the word dieting has been given a wrong connotation; according to me the word diet does not mean giving up food, it just means replacing bad with the good. Chef Dean says, "At Imperfecto Shor we use healthy cooking methods like steaming, boiling, poaching, grilling, broiling etc. We also use seasonal ingredients that are freshly available in the market. We believe in using local organic produce and promoting local farmers as well."

Whats trending

According to the prominent clinical nutritionist Ishi Khosla, diet trends this year are heavily towards veganism and following a gluten-free diet. "I dont go into fads but I feel food sensitivities are increasing thats why people feel better on a vegan diet because it takes away the dairy. Essentially weve lost tolerance to modern wheat. Agricultural practices have changed rapidly in the 50 years and were now using hexaploid wheat compared to diploid wheat in the ancient times." She says good health is 80 percent diet and 20 percent other factors and suggests, "use alternative grains, rotate your grains, do millets, quinoa, rice of different kinds. We need to understand and the baggage of nutritional deficiencies which are almost with everyone today." Devgan too feels this year is going to see a clear move towards plants. She says, "This will be the year of the rise of part time vegetarians, that is people who consciously cut down on the amount of animal products they consume, and focus on including more plant based foods in their diet."

Myth check

The world of diets is replete with myths surrounding it. Add to that the overdose of information on the internet and you end up being thoroughly confused. Nutritionist Dr. Deepti Bagree, Head of Department Healthcare Division, RESET-Holistic Living Concepts busts the following myths.

Afaaf Shaikh, Nutritionist at Digestive Health Institute by Dr. Muffi lists the following.

EFFECTS OF A BAD DIET

By Delnaaz T Chand, Chief Dietician, Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre

A BAD diet is one that is super low in nutrients which would hamper the functioning of the body. The signs of a bad diet are not overt and drastic because the body adapts.

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Lightness of being - India Today

Heart attacks are usually the result of poor lifestyle decisions, such as going for long periods without exercising and eating an unhealthy diet.

Flouting exercise and a nutritious diet can lead to the development of abdominal fat, a dangerous form of fat that is associated with conditions that clog up the arteries, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Clogging up the arteries restricts the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart, a mechanism that raises your risk of having a heart attack, so reducing abdominal fat may save your life.

Strengthening the association between abdominal fat build-up and heart attack risk, a new study suggests carrying excess belly fat puts heart attack survivors at risk of a second attack.

Drawing on data from more than 22,000 patients who had suffered a first heart attack, experts at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden investigated the link between their waist measurement - an indication of abdominal obesity - and the risk of a second heart attack, or stroke.

Those who did suffer a second cardiovascular event - heart attack or stroke - were more likely to be "abdominally obese".

The most urgent finding is that that men with a waist measurement of 37ins or more, and women measuring 31ins or more around the middle, were "abdominally obese" - and at greatest risk.

READ MORE: How to lose visceral fat: Cut back on these three drinks

In fact, many studies have shown that low-carb diets are more effective at reducing abdominal fat than low-fat diets.

In an eight-week study including 69 overweight men and women, scientists found that people who followed a low-carb diet lost 10 percent more belly fat and 4.4 percent more total fat than those on a low-fat diet.

Additionally, research suggests that the ketogenic diet, which is a very low-carb diet, may also help reduce visceral fat.

One review suggested the belly fat-burning benefits of a following a keto diet can be attributed to the substitution high-carb foods with fat.

This link is supported in a study of 28 overweight and obese adults, which found that those who followed a ketogenic diet lost more fat, especially belly fat, than people following a low-fat diet.

While cutting down on carbs can accelerate abdominal fat loss, increasing your intake of protein may help to attack the harmful belly fat too.

Research suggests that eating more protein can help fend off hunger by increasing levels of the fullness hormones GLP-1, PYY and cholecystokinin.

It can also help reduce levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin.

Furthermore, studies have shown that protein can help boost your metabolism as well, which in turn promotes weight loss and visceral fat loss.

Additionally, many studies have found that people who eat more protein tend to carry less visceral fat.

A study in 23,876 adults showed that a higher protein intake was linked to a lower body mass index, higher good HDL cholesterol and a smaller waist circumference, which is a marker of visceral fat.

For optimal results, you should combine a healthy diet with resistance (strength) exercise and cardiovascular exercise to reduce the harmful belly fat, advises Bupa.

Symptoms of a heart attack can include:

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Heart attack: Having this waist measurement could signal you are at risk - Express

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The Bar functional fitness gym owner Amber Bailey says people must realise going to the gym should not be punishment for enjoying time with family and time off work during the holidays.

Eating better and getting fit remain among the most popular 2020New Year's resolutions in South Canterbury.

The new year usually meansan increase in revenue for fitness-related businessesas consumers join gyms and purchase equipmentwith goalsto get into shape.

Amber Bailey, who owns The Bar functional fitness gymin Timaru, said like every year the number of people joining her gym since January 1 hasdefinitely increased.

BEJON HASWELL/ STUFF

Chris Williams, Amber Bailey, Hinemoa McMahon, Jo Williams, Carmen Tonks and Jan Gibbs get fit for the new year at The Bar functional fitness gym in Timaru.

"Our membership has increased, along with a rise in sports teams and kids wanting to train with us.

"We now have (Timaru) boys' high (school) rowing and South Canterbury athletics that attend weekly."

BEJON HASWELL/ STUFF

Shane Simms from The Cyclery in Stafford St has been busy with the high demand for bikes after Christmas.

Bailey said people must realise going to the gym should not be punishment for enjoying time with family and time off work during the holidays.

"Changing the date from the 31st to the 1st doesn't change you, changing from 2019 to 2020 doesn't change you. You must change you."

Website History.com reports that civilisations around the world have been celebrating the start of each new year for at least four millennia. The tradition of making New Year's Day resolutions goes back to the ancient practice wheretheRomansmade promises tothe two-faced Roman godJanus,after whom the month of January is alsonamed.

TheCycleryowner, James Smith, said there is always a "huge pick up" in bicycle sales immediately after Christmas.

"At this time of year, lots of people make it their New Year's resolution to enter an event, train for something or to simply shed the Christmas pudding," he said.

Smith said when focus begins to wane,the best method to stick at it is to find similarpeopleto to ride with.

"There are lots of social groups and having someone turn up at your door ready to ride with you drags you out, or if you have to meet someone else then that's the motivator one needs."

Among those who have stuck to New Year's resolutions is Hinemoa McMahon, at regular at a gym, who made her commitment to get fitter five years ago and says it has paid off.

"I am driven to get better. I have goals each year of what I want to do and what I want to achieve within the year.

"It is also about nutrition and that all comes with training. Your whole lifestyle changes. Better exercise and nutrition, you sleep better and function better."

Carmen Tonks started at a gym two years ago after being unfit and inactive and said she has not looked back since.

"It's really changed my life in general confidence-wise. It has also made huge changes in my personal life.

"I will absolutely recommend exercise as a New Year's resolution."

Institute of Physique Management's Anne Laing said a steady flow of member starts in January as people come back from their holidays, but these numbers are reduced by at leat 15 to 20 per cent after a "month or so".

"Feeling good about your body and the ability to achieve mini-goals gives you the confidence to continue making changes - cementing these habits until they are part of your long term routine."

The more peopleunderstand why and what is needed to be donethey will be in a much better position to change what does not work for them.

"Once you've identified where the problem is, the next step is to make simple gradual changes."

The Timaru Herald

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Diet and exercise rank high among New Year's resolutions - Stuff.co.nz

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YouTuber MattDoesFitness tackles new diets or workouts and documents the experience on his popular channel. In his latest video, Matt researches how Arnold Schwarzenegger trained and ate during his bodybuilding days. Then, Matt sets out to try Schwarzenegger's former meal and fitness routine for 24 hours himself.

According to Matt's research, Schwarzenegger followed a high-protein diet and consumed roughly one gram of protein per pound of body weight. For the YouTube star, this means ingesting 207 grams of protein a day.

"That's quite a lot of food," he says when looking at his breakfast.

He begins the day by eating four sunny side up eggs, two strips of bacon, oatmeal with honey, home made bread with peanut butter, and black coffee.

"This is way more than I typically eat in the morning," says Matt. Then, he downs a protein shake before heading to the gym, where he trains shoulders and arms. According to the YouTuber's research, the former Mr. Olympia trained twice per day while he was in his prime.

Matt begins with shoulders and completes the following exercises, which he says mimics Schwarzenegger's routine:

Admittedly, Matt lifts much lighter than he normally would.

"There's no way I'm doing that [workout] with any substantial amount of weight," he says.

He ends the session with a calf, forearm, and ab routine that he believes follows Schwarzenegger's split.

"That's the longest I've been in the gym probably ever," says Matt. "I've been in the gym for probably about six hours."

He heads home and downs sweet potatoes, salad, and steak. Then, he rests for a whilebut before long, he heads back to the gym to complete his arm workout:

After, Matt heads to the grocery store and picks up beer and rotisserie chicken, which he read was one of Schwarzenegger's favorite post-workout meals.

It's safe to say that Matt has reached his target protein goal since an entire rotisserie chicken contains roughly 164 grams of protein. But he begrudgingly snacks on cottage cheese just to be safe.

"If you love cottage cheese you're an absolute freak," he says. "Just look at it, how is that going to be nice?"

Living like Arnold just isn't easy, or realistic for the average man, according to Matt.

"The volume [of reps] was stupid obscene," he says. "Ninety-nine percent of the population cannot maintain that because you're going to get injured. You wouldn't want to be doing that long term."

Take Matt's advice, and leave Arnold's routine alone.

Men's Health

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Watch This Bodybuilder Take on Arnold Schwarzenegger's Diet and Fitness Plan - menshealth.com

My name is Alex Beach (@theketobeach), Im 26, and I live in Georgetown, South Carolina. At almost 200 pounds, and after a miscarriage, I decided to change my eating habits and give the keto diet a try. I lost 51 pounds in the processand I couldn't be happier.

You know how people say that if youre in a toxic relationship, even when loved ones tell you to leave it, you wont until youre ready? Well, thats how my relationship used to be with emotional eating.

It all started a few months after I had my son in December 2017. I was diagnosed with postpartum depression and not taking care of myself. I ate everything I could get my hands on and couldn't find the motivation to work out.

In September 2018, I found out I was pregnant again, but I had a miscarriage two weeks later. I was devastated. But my troubles didn't stop there. I learned the miscarriage was incomplete and had to have a dilation and currettage (D&C) on December 3, 2018, the day before my sons first birthday.

I made a promise to put my health first. I wanted to take control of my life in the most positive way I knew how: by prioritizing my health. For both my sweet baby Henry, and my angel that was no longer with us, I wanted to rid myself of all of my bad eating habits and be a healthier and happier version of myself.

So I did some research and decided to try the keto diet.

Keto can feel restrictive because the diet requires you to track pretty specific macros (you eat a high amount of fat, a moderate amount of protein, and few carbs). This means you have to eat many ingredients (like sugar and grains) in extreme moderation or small portions.

How To Count Macros To Lose Weight

But I actually enjoy cooking with just five ingredients or less. And I love that I can be in and out of the kitchen in such a short time. I find all of my keto recipes on Pinterest and Instagram. If its quick and simple, Ill cook it! I also drink tons of water. My mood has also improved significantly since doing keto, because my energy levels are so much higher than before. And so is my self esteem. I feel like theres nothing I cant take on now.

Before starting keto, I never exercised. I just couldn't find the motivation. I was using food to fuel my emotions and had absolutely no desire to change my body. But now I've found an easy-to-use app called Trainerize that allows me to follow along with several workouts by Morgan Morgan, an incredible fitness instructor from Charleston, South Carolina. I pay monthly for Morgan's plan which she updates weekly with new workouts and exercises. Anyone can sign up for her plan through the app and she'll individualize the workouts just for you.

Most of my life, I've spent too much time comparing myself to others. But you can't do that when you're trying to lose weight. It will only discourage you. And so I've tried to be less critical of my progress as I move along. Now, I'm just focused on being as healthy as I possibly can be, for myself and my family.

Excerpt from:
'I Used The Keto Diet And Trainerize App To Overcome My Emotional EatingAnd I Lost 51 Pounds' - Women's Health