Fitness Club

Fibro Fog is a very real and frustrating Fibromyalgia Symptom. It is a state of mental confusion and memory loss that many people with Fibromyalgia experience at some point. Fibro Fog can be aggravated by a variety of factors such as hormonal fluctuations, sleep disturbances, stress, depression, or over-exertion.

Some examples are walking into a room and forgetting why you went there or when a word is on the tip of your tongue. While there isn't a cure of Fibro Fog, I am going to share some tips with you on how to successfully manage it.

How to Manage Fibro Fog

Write Everything Down:

I used to carry a pad of paper and a pen in my purse and had sticky notes everywhere. I now use my iphone as my reminder database. Keeping notes is important because it helps you to remember to do things and it reduces your overall anxiety connected to your forgetfulness.

I keep to do lists on my iphone notepad reminding me of things I need to do. I also make appointments in my phone calendar with an auto reminder. My calender doesn't look like everyone elses. In addition to reminding me of appointments; my calendar reminds me to pay bills, call friends I haven't talked to in a while, or give a heartworm pill to my dog.

Treat Your Symptoms:

Fibro Fog gets worse when your Fibromyalgia Symptoms flare. I experienced debilitating Fibro Fog when I was sleep deprived. I had trouble finding the right words to say and would get lost while driving. Once I got my sleep deprivation under control, my Fibro Fog became much better.

Get a GPS:

One of the things people with Fibro Fog have difficulty with is driving. I get lost driving on roads that I drive on every day! The easiest way to deal with that is by purchasing a GPS. A new GPS will literally talk you through where you are going. Don't be stubborn because you should remember the roads and shouldn't have to buy a GPS. You shouldn't be cursed with Fibromyalgia but you are. Make your life easier. Let the anger go and take the easy way with this one.

Get Active:

Exercise is an important component to getting better. It also helps to clear you head. Not sure where to start? Read my Ezine article about 10 exercises for Fibromyalgia.

Get Mentally Active:

Did you know you can work out your brain like you work out your muscles? It's time to start giving your brain a work out. Start doing cross word puzzles and word finds. Start playing words with friends or take on your kids in a weekend game of Scrabble.

Other great ways to keep your brain in shape is to turn off your tv and start reading. TV is a passive hobby, you need a mentally active one. Keep a journal, start writing poetry. Do something that requires you to think. Your brain will thank you for it!

Margo is a 32 year old who has dealt with Fibromyalgia for most of her life. Through years of trial and error, she developed a program that has helped her to overcome the pain and other symptoms related to this condition. Her website http://helpingfibromyalgia.com/ is dedicated to the At Home Self Treatment of Fibromyalgia, a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain. We have tips to feeling better that include, diet changes, medications, alternative therapies, conventional therapies, Stroga stretching videos and more.

View the original article here

We are full of bacteria. This is the same bacteria we avoid with anti-bacterial soap; the same bacteria found on counter tops; the same bacteria found in yogurt. Some types of bacteria are kind to our bodies; others are not so kind.

This is a numbers game. The good bacteria attack the bad bacteria. This decreases the amount of bad bacteria, keeping our digestive system balanced and healthy. If the bad bacteria outnumber the good bacteria, then the good bacteria are destroyed. Consequently, yeast and more bad bacteria are produced, resulting in dysbiosis of the intestine.

Depletion in good bacteria, leading to dysbiosis, can be caused by a number of factors. Poor diet is the leading cause. The computer phrase GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) applies handily to this situation. A bad diet leads to bad digestion, leading to some unpleasant conditions, such as yeast infection or irritable bowel syndrome.

Biotic means life. The good bacteria in our intestines are called pro-biotics. They're good for our health. Mainly at work in the large intestine, they regulate digestion.

Pre-biotics, as their name implies, work before life, or in the early stages of bacteria development. They feed and encourage bacteria growth in the small intestine, so it can perform in the large intestine.

Anti-biotics are used to treat bad biotics in our body. Anti-biotics kill life-good life included. Therefore an anti-biotic barrage on your system will knock out your pro- and pre-biotics, as well as the bad bacteria that caused the illness in the first place. This is a fine way to develop dysbiosis.

To treat bacterial imbalance, add pro-biotics and pre-biotics to your diet. Both are most effective when consumed in yogurt, sauerkraut, or other fermented foods. Both can be added to your diet as a supplement. Supplements containing pre- and pro-biotics in tandem are called syn-biotics. These syn-biotics combine the two in a symbiotic relationship benefiting our body. The effect becomes greater due to the supportive relationship of pre-biotics and pro-biotics.

We have a delicate check-and-balance system regulating our metabolic processes. One might assume that pro-biotics could give an athlete a competitive edge, but that's not completely true. Pro-biotic supplements have not been proven to increase performance in a healthy athlete. Injured or chronically exhausted athletes recover slightly more quickly with pro-biotic supplements, but so do non-athletes.

The body athletic will benefit kindly from pro-biotic supplements because a healthy body will respond more adeptly to the demands placed upon it. Other than that, the benefits are the same as for any person and do not favour an athlete.

View the original article here

Increasing your energy levels naturally is something that a lot of people are wondering how to do. Especially these days, there are more people dealing with stressful situations, trying to keep up with their fast-paced lives, and struggling throughout the process to keep their energy up.

If you're reading this article, you probably have some curiosity about how to reduce fatigue and bring your energy back to snuff. I'm sure you've noticed your grocery store stocked with many different energy drinks or shots, filled with stimulants like caffeine, sugar, guarana, and taurine. While this is one way to go about getting an extra boost, it won't solve the problem in the long run. Putting extra oil in a leaky engine may be a temporary fix, but to really get your energy back you'll have to go deeper and take care of the underlying issues.

So what causes a lack of energy? In your body, there are two organs that are directly involved in energy production - one being your adrenal glands, and the other is your thyroid. The adrenal glands are responsible for releasing hormones in response to stress, while the thyroid is in charge of keeping your metabolism up. Both of these organs can become overworked, and after time, they will stop functioning effectively.

Though there may be some who have a health condition that predisposes them to fatigue, chronic stress is probably the most common factor in people with low energy levels. In response to too much stress, both your adrenal glands and thyroid can become exhausted, leaving you without enough of the hormones your body needs to produce energy. So obviously, doing what you can to balance your stress levels is going to play a huge part in getting your energy back.

While it may not be possible to eliminate stress from your life, trying to take time to relax and do things you enjoy, and noticing when you are getting overly stressed so that you can stop it from getting out of hand can help greatly increase your energy, not to mention your quality of life.

Other factors may come into play as well. Eating a healthy and balanced diet, avoiding too many calories, and having regular meals throughout the day makes sure that your body is getting the proper intake it needs to make energy.

Exercising regularly - at least 3 times per week - makes a big difference in maintaining a healthy metabolism, and protects your body from that fatigue which can come from too sedentary a lifestyle. It is helpful to find a form of exercise you enjoy - it doesn't have to be strenuous, even walking is enough to make a big difference.

Also, getting a good night's sleep is crucial. This is more of a challenge for some people than others, but a few examples of things that can help are avoiding any caffeine intake later on in the day, and avoiding stimulating activities late in the evening. Try to use your evenings to wind down, doing something relaxing or enjoyable rather than letting the stress of the day carry on.

Finally, increasing your energy also involves how you use your energy. Are you using it only to take care of stressful responsibilities and work? Are you remembering to burn those calories just playing around once in a while? Everyone has fun or challenging things they like to do outside of the sphere of work and stress, so get out there and have some fun.

These are some basic things you can incorporate into your life to improve your energy levels. They are very simple, but they get down to the crux of the matter which is taking good care of your body. If your body is happy, then so are you, and you will find your energy levels increasing because of it.

Dr. Petersen is a naturopathic doctor living in San Diego, CA.
For a free eBook on increasing your energy levels, go to http://www.getenergynaturally.com/

View the original article here

When it comes to endurance events, everyone prepares a little differently, has their favorite recovery products and unique twists and turns. Here are some universal truths.

1. Prepare for the event. This one is obvious... for most but not all. I am amazed when I hear that someone is doing a major event like a half marathon or greater and is ill prepared or take a whole month or 2 to get ready. This is the ultimate act of both foolishness and selfishness.

If you are not prepared, don't go. Even if you do make it, the toll that is will have on your body in terms of inflammation is tremendous. If you are young, you may get away with it... for a while. If you are a little older, it will catch up to you soon. In EVERY event, the bill will eventually be due.

If you are going with a friend or a group, show some respect for them. If you don't finish you not only ruin it for yourself, but for others as well. Endurance events are a tremendous teaching tool. One of the lessons is "Respect others. Don't be selfish."

Another one is even more clear....Be Prepared!

2. Recover. It is easy to skip this one, particularly after an event. The adrenaline is flowing and it is hard to calm down. You finish and immediately (alright maybe a day later) want to jump back on the bike or hit the road and go longer, faster, quicker etc. Don't. Recover first.

Fatigue in the legs is fairly easy to recover from. Cardiovascular fatigue is not. You can easily tell the difference.

"My legs are so sore and have no zip to them." This is muscular fatigue.

"My legs feel fine but I have no (overall) energy." This is cardio fatigue.

Almost all of the time, it is cardio fatigue. This is where over training (which is really under resting) and injuries make their appearance. When the body, particularly the heart is overworked, it is highly susceptible to illness and injury.

3. Eat properly before event. For most people, a 70/30 split is ideal; that is, 70% of the food intake should be carbohydrates and 30% should be proteins and fats. There should be very little fiber, particularly if the endurance event last longer than 2 hours.

Carbohydrates will provide the fuel for the body. Protein assists the body in repair and fats are a long term energy source.

4. Eat properly after the event. This is when the ratio should be switched. Proteins are needed to rebuild and regenerate. Ideally, fish is the best post-event food and it contains anti-inflammatory oil to assist the body to clear the massive inflammation that is present cellularly, due to hour of constant pounding.

How you eat after the event often dictates how the NEXT event or next blocks of training will go. Eat poorly and recovery will be slow. Eat ideally and the body knows how to bounce back, given the proper fuel.

5. Strength training is a must. If you just do endurance training (Ex/ running, biking, swimming) a multitude of issue can occur. Injuries due to repetitive motion and/or muscular imbalance is at the top of the list. Poor performance is a close second.

For women, it gets even more serious. Due to inherent hormonal complications, women must be aware of osteoporosis risks. The bad news is that it is difficult to treat. The great news is that is it easily preventable. The best prevention method is weight bearing exercise. (Reducing sugar is number 2, while increasing mineral intake is third.)

The method that I have found most effective is the 3/5 method; that is, do 3-5 types of exercise, 3-5 repetitions of each, 3-5 sets with 3-5 minutes of rest in between. Your total workout is never more than 45 minutes and usually wraps up around the half hour mark.

The key is that one must use heavy weights. Doing 5 pounds, 20 times of any exercise is a waste of energy. In fact, it leads to a bloated look and feel. (Glucose goes to the muscle that is being used. Water follows glucose. Thus the bloated look and feel.)

Using heavy weights will add to strength, reduce injury and all but eliminate osteoporosis risks.

6. Reduce inflammation. This is the star. If you do only one of the 9, do this one. (Do them all however!)

Even standard medicine is recognizing the dangers of systemic inflammation (meaning inflammation that occurs throughout the whole body). Horrible diseases such as Alzheimer's is now being viewed as an inflammatory-based disease.

Movement creates inflammation and movement that lasts for hours such as a marathon or IronMan, creates massive inflammation. The body views this as "heat" which causes cellular, muscular and joint damage if left untreated so to speak.

Arguably the best natural anti inflammatory substance is pharmaceutical grade fish oil*. More than any other substance, fish oil being cool in nature, assists the body in removing the "heat" or inflammatory. Add L-Glutamine and Hgh Plus to the mix and your recovery time will be reduced dramatically.

7. Be Truthful. If you are unwilling to put the time in and you know it, skip the event. If you are committed to both training and completion, lace up your shoes and go for it.

Treat these events and associated training as a "truth detector." Learn to be painfully, 100% accurately truthful with you, your coach(es), training partners and all others. Commitment is the key. Can you juggle work, relationship, children, school, bills etc., with the time need for training? Be truthful and act accordingly.

For me, events are not just simple events. They are sacred journeys. Each event has taught me so much about self and dealing with others. I find them deeply inspirational, motivational and humbling. Most of all they are opportunities to find the better version of myself.

Follow the aforementioned guidelines and take the journey. You may be deeply surprised at what you will find.

* = To determine if fish oil is toxin free, place in freezer for 20 minutes. If at the end of this time, the gel is still pliable, you are fine. If frozen, toxins (probably metals) are present.

David Orman is a Wellness Entrepreneur, Expert and Educator. For more information, please go to http://www.hghplus.net/developer.htm

View the original article here

Smelling great is important to most people-an obvious fact given the colossal amount of revenue made by the makers of soap, deodorant, and perfume. Body odor may also be an unpleasant fact, but some odors can be shut down by ingesting various foods and beverages. While a few odors produced by the body may be linked to an underlying health condition such as diabetes or liver disease, other odors can be attributed to an unbalance in the digestive system, not to mention a hardy regimen of exercise or a hot day.

In many instances, when the body's natural scent becomes soured, an issue in the digestion system may be the cause. Material that is not fully digested in the intestines can produce some odor that is radiated through and out the body. Foods that are difficult for the body to digest hang out longer in the digestive system and are likely to produce more sour-smelling bacteria than faster-digestive foods do. Regulating the digestive system is the first measure to take when trying to combat excessive body odor.

Water is extremely important to the body; it flushes out toxins and can decrease body odor while doing so. Drinking roughly eight glasses of water a day helps keep the digestive tract rolling, so foods don't have the chance to over-linger in the nooks and crannies of the intestines. Some physicians have recommended adding some lemon twists to the water as an added help along with a teaspoon (one a day) of chlorophyll, which is available at health food stores.

Eating a diet rich in yogurt can also help combat body odor. The live, active cultures in yogurt are regarded as good bacteria. The presence of good bacteria controls the presence of bad bacteria and provides an essential balance for the digestive system. Keep in mind, however, the snacks covered with yogurt and frozen yogurt do not contain living cultures, so they will not be helpful for eliminating bodily smells.

Raw vegetables and fruits can also help reduce body odor. These foods are good roughage that helps push everything in its path through the digestive tract. The key, however, is to eat vegetables and fruits raw since cooked foods may produce more odor during the digestive process. Therefore, snacking on apple slices and carrot sticks throughout the day can help tackle an odor problem from within unlike a new deodorant that merely covers up the underlying issue. Additionally, the fresh scent associated with citrus fruits is said to pervade the body when eaten.

Pumpkin and fennel seeds can also help to improve body odor. Pumpkin seeds are rich in zinc and a zinc deficiency is typically associated with odor. Remember that too much zinc, on the other hand, can interfere with the absorption of other important minerals like copper, so it is better to get some zinc from a handful of pumpkin seeds as opposed to a supplement. Fennel seeds can be eaten to combat the post-meal smells associated with garlic and onions. Fennel tea also contains this natural deodorizing potential. Similarly, parsley helps neutralize the odors from garlic.

Finally, sage appears to be effective at fighting body odor whether it is ingested or applied topically. Sage tea, which should be avoided by women pregnant or when nursing, helps combat stress-induced odor, though experts recommend that it should not be ingested on a regular basis as it could cause dizziness or hot flashes. Sage can be mixed with rosemary and baking soda to form an effective guard against wetness and odor in the most commonly odorous parts of the body like the underarms.

Other foods and spices that can reduce offensive body odor include raw nuts, soy products, thyme, celery, and mint. These are just some foods that have been known to help eliminate body odor.

Of course, by eliminating some odor-causing foods or elements from your diet like fatty foods and caffeine, body odor can also be warded away. Fatty foods that are loaded with sugar and low in fiber can upset the pH balance of the intestines while caffeine increases the activity of sweat glands.

As we go about our daily lives, it will likely be difficult to avoid foods that may help cause body odor. Some of these foods will also be needed for a balanced diet. However, having an awareness of how diet can affect the way you smell will enable you to manage this issue and help deal with it more effectively.

Civil servant from the Philippine Foreign Service. Specializes in Protocol and served 3 Philippine Presidents as Presidential Protocol Officer. Had the opportunity to travel extensively as part of her work and the privilege of discovering and exploring new places, cultures and peoples. Also assigned along with her diplomat husband and son in Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles and Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. for 3 years and 3 and a half years, respectively.

View the original article here

There is no reason at all why you should not be improving with every session that you go train at the gym.

Saying this, how many people actually can say they improve at every session. Probably not many people at all. But that should be the case. You should always be improving.

Are you one of those people who go to the gym and say I am maintaining. What is maintaining? You are either progressing or your regressing. I don't care what anyone says if you have the attitude of maintaining you are regressing. You are taking one step forward only to take two back.

You started at the gym and it was hard work. Over time you got really good at your program but have not progressed since. Yes you had an initial progression but now you are regressing. You see although that program to begin with may have been doing the job. The intensity is just no longer there. You are not challenging your body and as a result the results will stop occurring and eventually you will start walking back down the hill to where you started.

There is a principle I came across about 6 years ago now. It's called Kaizen. This, I truly believe is the key to succeeding in all areas of our life's. It basically means small progressions that are constant and never end. The way that Donald trump becomes more successful is with every day before he goes to bed he asks himself what have I learnt today that I didn't know before.

So you're thinking, how does all this help me progress in the gym and get the body of my dreams? Well like I said KAIZEN is the key.

So let's look at how you can implement these small changes and improve in a constant never ending fashion.

Like anything in life you need to know where you're going. If you don't, you really do need to have a sit down and decide what it is that you really want to achieve. If you don't know where you're going how are you going to find it. I will tell you now your not.

So you know where you want to get to. You want to look the way you have been dreaming of.

So next stage, are you performing the actions and thoughts of the sort of person you want to become. If you want to become a certain type of person you have to think and act like that person. Do you think Mohammed Ali would have been the boxer he was if he hadn't fully believed he was the greatest. Not a chance. Remember this you are what you believe you are. If you believe you are destined to be fat then yes you will become a pig. Think like the person you want to be, act like the person you want to be, become the person you would like to be.

So let's get back to the training. You need to start a program which has a clear progression strategy that will eventually lead to the type of program someone with your dream body would be doing.

So how do you progress and when should you progress?

As I said before you need to know where you're going. Imagine your goal is to climb to the peak of Mount Everest. For the vast majority of us there is no way we can walk/ climb straight up to the top of the mountain it would be impossible and we would probably kill ourselves. Although if we went and learnt about the mountain, learnt to climb, got the right equipment gained sufficient fitness and planned how we would progress up each stage of the mountain. Could we climb that monster? Sure we could.

We just need to look at our goal which in this moment in time is not possible and break it down into smaller manageable pieces. These are your progressions. (By the way having a goal that doesn't straight away seem possible is a good thing we can all benefit from a challenge.) So we split our dream goal into manageable pieces. Here is how to use them now.

You want these manageable pieces to be small enough that each one is a separate session. So if your aim is to accomplish your goal within 3 months and your training 3 times a week you need approximately 36-40 small manageable pieces.

So let's say you're lifting 50kg on the bench press and you want to be lifting 100kg within 3 months. So you need to put an extra 50kg on the bar in the next 3 months that's pretty daunting, However if you divide that 50kg into 40 workouts. You are only adding just over a kilo per session. That not so daunting is it.

You see the key is set yourself small manageable goals that you know you will always achieve. Adding an extra 1kg to your bench is going to be a piece of cake. Every time you leave the gym you will be more of a success than you were when you walked in.

If everything you walked out of the gym you had achieved more and more always improving. What do you think that's going to do to your positivity, ambition and your keenness to keep achieving? I can tell you because I've done it. It makes you feel awesome. You really do feel like a winner, who wouldn't if they were forever achieving more and more.

So you may have no interest in getting better at bench press that doesn't matter as it's just an example. But basically whatever you do take the smallest action to benefit you with a positive result. If you ran 2miles, next time you run 3 miles kill yourself and the next time you cant progress that is not going to motivate you, however. If you did 2miles, then 2.5miles, then 3 miles and every session you progress like that you are seeing your self improve every session. This is the key, small improvements that never end.

Go start your journey to your dream destination, take one step at a time. These small steps will always get you there quicker than trying to leap/skip some of the progression and hit a stopping point.

To your success and achieving your desired dreams

Harry Pointon
Health Coach / Personal trainer / GAME CHANGER
Harry Pointon Personal Training
http://manchestercitypersonaltrainer.com/

View the original article here

Your body is begging you to help it feel and look good. Many times we totally ignore the signs and signals that our body is throwing up and we just keep doing what feels right for us at the moment. If you have been doing this you first off need to apologize to your body and then get back down to business and start treating your body like a friend instead of someone that you are using to get what you want.

The first thing that you need to do is make sure that your diet is on track. What are you eating? If you find yourself taking in a lot of junk food and empty calories, this is body abuse. Those who continue to do this to their bodies will find that they have weight and health problems. Even minor things can lead to things that are more serious so you need to pay careful attention to what you are putting into your body.

Another type of person is the person that doesn't give their body enough fuel. If you do not eat enough and eat enough of the right things then you will see pretty quickly that you are not going to be happy with the results that you get. You may lose weight for a while but you are going to look unhealthy. You need to make sure that you do things the correct way.

You also need to make sure that you take in enough water. Drinking water is important. If your body is dehydrated you may find that you give yourself more problems than you would have ever imagined you could have gotten. Drinking water will also cleanse your body and allow you to get rid of toxins that are plaguing your body.

Another thing that people neglect is sleep. If you are not getting the right amount of sleep then you will find that you can not function properly. Not only will you feel tired during the day but you will not be able to think properly. Your body's functions will not be performing at their optimal levels either.

Keeping yourself healthy is extremely important when you want to lose weight. Before you start shedding the pounds you are going to have to seriously look over what you have been doing to your body and how you can help your body be healthier.

You do not have to take a bunch of supplements or jump through hoops. These are very simple things that you can do to help your body and to begin to lose weight and get fit.

If you are serious and really want to get ripped fast the check out the Eat Stop Eat Review.

View the original article here