| | Myth #1: If our anti-aging cream doesn’t show results in a few weeks, it isn’t working. False. While you should see a difference in the firmness and plumpness of your skin within the first three to four weeks, fine lines take up to three months to change and wrinkles and discoloration can take up to six months. Stay committed to your cream! Myth #2: Anti-aging creams work better at night. This one is both true and false depending on the ingredients in your product. Retinoids, peptides, AHA, or BHA work best while you sleep because your blood flow increases and you pH decreases. This lowers your skin’s defenses and allows the cream to soak in. However, antioxidants and SPF work best when the sun is up. Check your labels to achieve maximum results. Myth #3: The tingle, or burn, or redness lets me know it`s working. False. This is old school. While some products that contain alpha and beta hydroxy acids and yesterday’s retinoids can cause tingling, you don’t want to continue using a product that causes a burning or redness or scaling of the skin. This one calls for an upgrade to a newer, gentler product that works better with no side effects. Myth #4: SPF 15 is all I need to prevent wrinkles. Way false. SPF 15 provides 93.5% protection from the sun’s UVB rays. Which may seem like a lot until you realize that SPF 45 provides 98% protection. To really keep skin safe from collagen and elastin damaging rays, add zinc oxide to your arsenal. Myth #5: Anti-aging cleansers don’t work because I rinse the ingredients off immediately. If you take your time cleansing, about 1 – 2 minutes, your cleanser with glycolic acid will absorb into your skin as you patiently massage. Keep scrubbing! Myth #6: I can’t increase the collagen in my skin by using over-the-counter creams. False. Although it takes longer to build collagen with over-the-counter creams than with prescription strength creams, scientists have found a way to attach the larger peptide particles that promote collagen to smaller lipids and liposomes that readily absorb beneath the skin’s surface. Hold on to that over-the-counter collagen booster and be patient – results are on their way. source: www.carefair.com | ||
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Busting the 6 Biggest Skincare Myths
We have become fairly successful skincare addicts with more products in our bathrooms that fight wrinkles and blemishes and spots and uneven skin than some stores carry. How did we get this way? We buy into the myths and legends and lore of skincare hoping each will be the fountain of youth. When it’s not – surprise! – we put the cap back on and go in search of the next miracle in a bottle. Let’s bust the 6 biggest skincare myths and pinpoint our search for the products that will work best for us. 
Makeup Tips: Beautiful Lashes Without Mascara
If you’re the same way, you’ll enjoy this tip: skip your mascara for a day and wear Vaseline on your eyelashes. Yes, I do mean petroleum jelly. It makes your lashes look thick and shiny, plus it adds moisture to an area of your body I bet you never moisturize. It’s not only good looking, but good for you! What could be better?
source:thebeautybunny.com
Monday, June 16, 2008
100 Painless Ways to Cut 100 or More Calories
REACHING YOUR FAT-LOSS GOALS may be easier than you think. To lose a pound of fat a month, all you need to do is cut 100 calories a day from your diet, assuming the intake and expenditure of all other calories remains the same. That's because a pound of body fat is equivalent to about 3,500 calories. So if you cut 100 calories a day for 31 days, you're cutting 3,100 calories--or about a pound.
Wait...a pound a month? Isn't that a little slow? Well, mounds of research indicate that you're more likely to keep weight off if you lose it slowly. Besides, losing a pound a month doesn't require drastic changes in your eating habits. It can be as simple as eating two egg rolls with your Chinese stir-fry instead of three. Here are 100 painless ways to cut 100 or more calories a day. As a bonus, they all reduce fat or sugar, which means, calorie for calorie, you're getting more vitamins and minerals.
1. Spread 1 tablespoon of all-fruit jam on your toast rather than 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter.
2. Replace 1 cup of whole milk with 1/2 cup of nonfat milk.
3. Eat 2 poached eggs instead of 2 fried eggs.
4. Replace 1/2 cup of granola with 2 cups of Cheerios.
5. Instead of using whole milk and eggs to prepare 2 slices of French toast, use nonfat milk and egg whites.
6. Snack on an orange and a banana instead of a Snickers candy bar.
7. Munch on 35 pretzel sticks instead of 1 ounce of dry-roasted peanuts.
8. Replace 1 cup of sweetened applesauce with 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce.
9. On your lamb-and-vegetable kabob, replace 2 of the 4 chunks of meat with fresh whole mushrooms.
10. Dip an artichoke in 1 tablespoon of low-fat mayonnaise instead of 1 1/2 tablespoons of regular mayonnaise.
11. Steam your asparagus rather than sauté it in 1 tablespoon of butter or oil.
12. Instead of a 5-ounce glass of wine, opt for cherry-flavored sparkling water.
13. For a chewy snack, have 1/2 cup of dried fruit rather than 9 caramels.
14. Replace 3 slices of bacon with 3 slices of Light & Lean Canadian bacon.
15. Eat a Lender's egg bagel instead of a Sara Lee egg bagel.
16. Select 1 cup of home-style baked beans instead of an equal serving of baked beans with franks.
17. Replace 2 biscuits with 2 dinner rolls.
18. When making a sandwich, use 2 slices of Roman Light 7-grain bread instead of Pepperidge Farm wheat bread.
19. Eat 1/2 cup of steamed fresh broccoli instead of 1/2 cup of frozen broccoli in cheese sauce.
20. Make a burrito with 1/2 cup of fat-free refried beans and 1 ounce of nonfat cheese instead of the same amount of traditional refried beans and cheese.
21. Replace an apple muffin with a high-fiber English muffin.
22. Reduce a typical serving of chocolate cake (1/8 of a two-layer cake) by one-third.
23. Switch from 1 cup of whole-milk hot chocolate to 1 cup of steamed 1% milk flavored with a dash of almond extract.
24. Replace 1 cup of caramel-coated popcorn with 2 1/2 cups of air-popped popcorn.
25. Switch from 1/2 cup of yogurt-covered raisins to 1/2 cup of plain raisins.
26. Snack on 1 cup of nonfat plain yogurt instead of 1 cup of custard-style yogurt.
27. Top your celery sticks with 2 tablespoons of fat-free cream cheese instead of 3 tablespoons of regular cream cheese.
28. Replace 2 fried-chicken drumsticks with 2 roasted drumsticks and a cup of peas and carrots.
29. Instead of eating 5 chocolate-chip cookies, savor the taste of 2.
30. Lighten your 2 cups of coffee with 2 tablespoons of evaporated nonfat milk instead of 2 tablespoons of half-and-half.
31. Replace a 12-ounce can of cola with a 12-ounce can of diet cola.
32. Thicken your cream sauce with 1 percent milk and corn starch instead of a roux of butter and flour.
33. At the appetizer tray, choose 4 fresh raw mushrooms instead of 4 batter-fried mushrooms.
34. Use 2 tablespoons of fat-free sour cream instead of regular sour cream (on baked potatoes or in stroganoff). If done twice in the day, 100 calories will be cut.
35. Reduce the size of your steak from 4 1/2 ounces to 3 ounces.
36. Grill a cheese sandwich with nonstick cooking spray instead of margarine.
37. Replace 1 cup of chocolate ice cream with 2/3 cup of nonfat chocolate frozen yogurt.
38. Snack on 2 ounces of oven-baked potato chips instead of regular potato chips.
39. Instead of topping your salad with an ounce of croutons, get your crunch from 1/4 cup of chopped celery.
40. Instead of 1 cup of macaroni salad, eat 3 1/2 cups of spinach salad with 2 tablespoons of low-calorie dressing.
41. Cut the peanut butter on your sandwich from 2 tablespoons to 1 tablespoon.
42. Serve your turkey with 1/4 cup of cranberry sauce instead of 1/2 cup.
43. Order a sandwich on cracked wheat bread instead of a croissant.
44. Complement your hamburger with 1 1/4 ounces of oven-baked tortilla chips instead of a side of fries.
45. Split an apple Danish with a friend rather than eat the entire thing.
46. Order 2 slices of cheese pizza instead of 2 slices of pepperoni pizza.
47. Grab a Dole Fresh Lites Cherry frozen fruit bar instead of a Sunkist Coconut frozen fruit bar.
48. Snack on 1/2 cup of fruit cocktail canned in water instead of 1 cup of fruit cocktail canned in heavy syrup.
49. Switch from 1 cup of fruit punch to 1 cup of sparkling water flavored with 2 teaspoons of concentrated orange juice.
50. Instead of eating garlic bread made with butter, spread baked garlic cloves on French bread.
51. Rather than snack on 1 cup of grapefruit canned in syrup, peel and section 1 small grapefruit.
52. Dip your chips in 1/2 cup of salsa instead of 1/2 cup of guacamole.
53. Switch from 1/2 cup of Frusen Gladje butter pecan ice cream to Breyers butter pecan ice cream.
54. Use 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise in your tuna salad instead of 2 tablespoons.
55. Hold the tartar sauce on your fish sandwich, and squeeze lemon on it instead.
56. Replace 3 fish sticks with 3 ounces of grilled halibut.
57. In sandwich spreads or salads, use 3 teaspoons of dijonnaise instead of 4 teaspoons of mayonnaise.
58. Use 2 tablespoons of light pancake syrup instead of 2 tablespoons of regular syrup.
59. Top your pasta with 1 cup of marinara sauce instead of 1/2 cup of alfredo sauce.
60. For each serving of pasta salad you make, reduce the oil or mayonnaise by 1 tablespoon.
61. Replace 1/2 cup of peaches canned in extra-heavy syrup with 1/2 cup of peaches canned in water.
62. Prepare 1/2 cup of steamed peas and cauliflower instead of frozen peas and cauliflower in cream sauce.
63. Cut back on sampling during cooking. The following "tastes" have 100 calories: 4 tablespoons of beef stroganoff, 3 tablespoons of homemade chocolate pudding, 2 tablespoons of chocolate-chip cookie dough.
64. At an Italian restaurant, snack on a large breadstick instead of a slice of garlic bread.
65. Eat a 3/4-cup serving of pudding made with skim milk rather than a 1-cup serving of pudding made with whole milk.
66. Choose 1/2 cup of brown rice instead of 1 serving of frozen rice pilaf with green beans or 1 serving of frozen Oriental rice and vegetables.
67. Compliment your sandwich with 3/4 cup of split-pea soup instead of 1 cup of chunky bean and ham soup.
68. Replace 3 tablespoons of strawberry topping on your ice cream with 3/4 pint of fresh strawberries.
69. Pass on the second helping of mashed potatoes.
70. Eat 3 grilled prawns with cocktail sauce instead of 3 breaded and fried prawns.
71. Make a pie crust with 1 cup of Grape-Nuts cereal, 1/4 cup of concentrated apple juice and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, instead of using a traditional graham-cracker crust. You'll save 100 calories per slice.
72. Replace 8 sticks of regular chewing gum with sugar-free chewing gum.
73. Snack on a papaya instead of a bag of M&Ms.
74. Substitute 3 ounces of scallops for 3 ounce of lean beef in your stir-fry.
75. Rather than spread 4 tablespoons of cream cheese on two slices of raisin bread, dip the bread in 1/2 cup nonfat apple-cinnamon yogurt.
76. Munch on 1 cup of frozen grapes instead of an ice cream sandwich.
77. Rather than drink a strawberry milkshake, make a smoothie of 2/3 cup of low-fat milk, 1/2 cup of strawberries and 1/2 a banana.
78. Replace 2 brownies with 2 fig bars.
79. Eat 2 meatballs instead of 4 with your spaghetti.
80. On a hot day, quench your thirst with a glass of ice water with lemon or mint instead of a can of light beer.
81. Eat 1/2 cup of black beans instead of 3 ounces of roast beef.
82. Replace 1 1/2 tablespoons of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spread with 1 1/2 tablespoons of Nucoa Smart Beat margarine.
83. Choose 1 serving of vegetarian lasagna instead of lasagna with meat.
84. Eat 2 Kellogg's Nutri-Grain bars instead of 2 Kellogg's Pop-Tarts.
85. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of low-calorie French dressing on your salad instead of 2 tablespoons of blue cheese dressing.
86. Replace 1 large flour tortilla with 1 six-inch corn tortilla.
87. Eat a turkey sandwich instead of a chicken salad sandwich.
88. Choose 4 1/2 ounces of tuna packed in water instead of 4 1/2 ounces of tuna packed in oil.
89. At Burger King, have a Whopper Jr. Sandwich with regular fries instead of a Whopper With Cheese Sandwich.
90. Order your Quarter Pounder without cheese.
91. At Jack in the Box, eat a regular taco instead of a super taco.
92. Fix 1 cup of turkey chili with beans rather than regular chili with no beans.
93. Use 1 cup of fat-free cottage cheese instead of regular cottage cheese.
94. Order a sandwich with barbecued chicken instead of barbecued pork.
95. Replace 1 cup of corn with 1 cup of carrots.
96. Reduce your helping of turkey stuffing from 1 cup to 2/3 cup.
97. Have a single scoop of ice cream instead of a double scoop.
98. Replace 2 ounces of corn chips with 2 ounces of SnackWell's wheat crackers.
99. Eat 1 hot dog at the baseball game instead of 2.
100. Shred 2 ounces of fat-free cheddar cheese on nachos instead of regular cheddar.
Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D., is a nutritionist in private practice and editor of the Nutrition Report. Her latest book is Nutrition for Women: The Complete Guide (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1993).
How to Gain Muscle - Diet Tips
Adding weight that is all or mostly muscle can be a tricky thing if you aren’t too sure how to approach it. We’ll just assume that most people know that to add weight to your frame you are going to need to consume more calories and to lose weight you need to consume less calories, but the process of adding muscle weight is just a tiny bit more complex than that simple equation.
When people are trying to drop pounds, they often look to eliminate empty calorie foods that are high in fats – desserts, cookies, whole milk, fried foods, etc., so a simple assumption would be to gain weight by adding these things to your diet. Well you could gain all of the weight that you wanted by wolfing down bags of cookies and buckets of fried chicken, but it’s not going to be the type of weight gain that you are looking for.
It isn’t really as difficult as it sounds, but too many people stop listening after they hear “eat more food,” and end up eating too much of the wrong things.
So what do you do when you are attempting to add muscle mass?
If you’ve been on the standard diet consisting of three meals, it’s time to start stepping up your numbers. You want to consume anywhere from four to six moderately sized meals a day. Don’t get too excited, I’m not saying that you sit down to six steak dinners a day, there are some very simple ways to get the extra calories and protein that you’ll need to help your muscles grow.
Restructure your three normal meals so that each one contains a good lean source of protein if it hadn’t already – your breakfast could be built around eggs, lunch could be chicken breast and dinner could focus on fish – that will most likely add some of the necessary protein without having to do any extra work at all. For the three additional meals you can keep it simple: a meal could consist of cottage cheese and some fruit, your favorite yogurt and a couple handfuls of trail mix or if you could even have a couple peanut butter sandwiches, it’s really that simple.
Protein drinks and meal replacement shakes are also excellent ways to tack on extra high quality calories. Many people don’t like to eat right before bed because it can disrupt their sleep pattern, which can also affect the rate of recovery – a great way to combat this is by drinking a protein shake shortly before you turn in. The shake shouldn’t overload your stomach or make you feel like you’ve just eaten a full meal before laying down, but it will provide just as many calories and, chances are, even more protein than a small meal. There are even some people that drink a shake before bed, then set their alarm clocks for about half way through the night to get up and have another shake before going back to sleep.
And just because you’ve upped your meal anti to five or six a day, that doesn’t mean that you should necessarily cut out the snacks. A glass of milk and a handful of mixed nuts will add even more protein, vitamins and essential fats as will carrot or celery sticks with peanut butter or a few hard boiled eggs.
The simple fact is, no matter what your body type, even if you see yourself as a so called “hard gainer” – If you approach your training intelligently, always using proper form and high intensity; allow your body plenty of time for recovery, and increase your calorie intake with good lean sources of protein while maintaining a well balanced diet, your muscles will grow.
source: www.musclemecca.co.uk
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Myths about Female Bodybuilding
Many women believe in fallacies about gym workouts, such as the following one: once a woman starts doing some weight lifting, she immediately turns into a competition standard bodybuilder. Such image scares the females away from the gyms long before they get a chance to experience the beauty of those trainings. Before you decide to go into bodybuilding, you need to know the true story about this sport. Let’s explode the common myths about the female bodybuilding. Female Bodybuilder Is Manly
It is impossible from the physiological point of view; female body produces ten or even hundred times less hormone responsible for the muscle mass gain, testosterone, than a male body does. Thus to become extremely masculine, you would have to be born with the male chromosomes dominating in your body or completely change your hormonal state and work out like crazy at the same time. “Natural”, or non-stimulant, bodybuilding can not give such results simply since it is physically impossible to build such a mass of muscles.
Weightlifting Makes the Woman Massive
Such belief is simply a misunderstood conception of conditioned bodybuilding. Surely, serious correction of the body structure is impossible without building up some muscle mass in the under-built areas; but we are talking here about correction that is not intended to exceed natural proportions. Competent training will never harm your figure’s grace. Muscles can be sculpted to be well-formed and in-tone, rather than blankly massive.
Aerobic Trainings, Rather than Weightlifting, Improve the Figure
Aerobic workouts are great for you, there is no doubt about that; those trainings improve the effectiveness of the cardiovascular and the respiratory systems, boost the metabolism, help shed the excessive fat. Those workouts, however, are not capable of building up the muscles, so that if you need to add mass in some areas, aerobics is of no help here. Moreover, overdoing it with the aerobics can sometimes make the muscles flabby; muscles get in tone due to the development of the fibers responsible for speed-strength qualities, not endurance. Hence, aerobic exercises can help you only at getting rid of the excess fat, once you are done with that, start doing some weightlifting.
Muscles Will Turn into Fat Once You Stop Practicing the Weightlifting
Let’s start with the fact that muscles can not turn into fat, as much as an apple can not become an orange, or the heart can not suddenly transform into the liver. Those tissues of the human body have completely different structure and functions. Fat is passive and stores unnecessary, extra energy received by the organism due to unhealthy nutrition style. Muscles are active in terms of metabolism, they consume part of the energy, which would otherwise be stored as fat in case of physical inactivity Moreover, once you stop the trainings the muscles will simply shrink in size as they receive no extra stimulus then; fat, on the other hand, results from a wrong approach to the daily nutrition.
To Get Fit Do a Little of Repetitions with Light Weights
Once you go over 10-12 repetitions, you start working with the muscle fibers responsible for the muscle durability rather than the tone, strength, let alone the mass. Hence, you no longer train the muscles which are cut out to build beautiful complexion. Undoubtedly, light weights and few repetitions do have their own part in female conditioned bodybuilding, but this approach must be properly introduced at a certain stage of a half-a-year or a year-long training. What makes you slim is not the training with light weights, but a correct diet and carefully chosen aerobic exercises scheme.
Train a Lot and Often in Order to Improve the Complexion
Three-four trainings a week are enough to obtain a slender figure, elastic muscles, and reasonable level of body fat. Overly frequent and intensive training overtrain the body, its hormones are used up to their limit and the female gets easily tired from doing the weightlifting rather than from aerobics; hence, no muscle mass is gained and the hopes for a well-built complexion are ruined.
Equipment-based Training Can Add Volume to the Breasts
Quite the opposite, intensive training, especially the one directed to shed the extra fat, will down-size the breasts, which consist of the glandular and fatty tissues. Weight training can not enlarge the fatty tissues; hence it is of no help at boosting the bosom. Weightlifting, however, can shape the muscles lying under the mammal glands – the pectoral muscles. Well-planned trainings can lift up the breasts, visually improve their shape, and straighten the posture. Namely those changes should be your ultimate training goal.