photo credit: whyld

Repeatedly lifting weights that increase with time is the core of weight resistance training, and be used as part of a weight loss or weight management routine. On top of building muscle, you’ll often see an improvement in strength, endurance, flexibility, and coordination when you use weight resistance training in your fitness routine. Of course, if you’re trying to lose weight you’ll be happy to know that it will increase your metabolism; more muscle means improved metabolism.

In order to effectively use weight resistance training, you have to gradually increase the amount of the weights. You start with whatever weight seems to give you a little bit of a challenge, but not much. Weight resistance training is not about seeing how much weight you can lift at any given time, but about consistency. In time you’ll realize that the weight you’re using is becoming very easy. That’s when you add a few pounds to the amount of weight you’re using, to keep your body adapting and challenged.

Weight resistance training can be done in many ways from using dumbbells (hand weights), free weights, machines, or even your own body (think push-ups). To keep your body adapting and challenged you can do several things. Usually this is done by slightly increasing the weight being lifted. However, you can also increase the number of repetitions or sets, or increase the time of resistance by slowing down the movement (lifting).

If you’re going to start a weight resistant program, it’s best to focus on a certain muscle group of your body. You can take this even further if you play any kind of sport by using the muscle group that is most applicable to the actions you perform while playing. If you like racquetball for instance, consider focusing on your shoulders and increasing the muscle strength there. Over time your muscles will perform the motions that you’ve trained them to do without you even having to really think about it. This is referred to as muscle memory.

Whether you’re looking to lose weight, improve your overall health and strength, or improve your performance, weight resistance training is always a good choice.

Starting a new weight loss plan can be a challenging and daunting task to some. There are so many things to consider; what to eat, what not to eat, the right weight for you, how often to exercise, what’s the best exercise for you, and more. No wonder so many people put it off day after day, year after year. How do you know where to start? How do you know who to trust? Well, Bob Greene, Oprah’s fitness trainer must have got it right. She slimmed down and kept it off… for a long time, anyways. She gained it back eventually, but you have to realize that she also has a thyroid problem.

The New Year brings millions of resolutions, many of which are to be healthier and lose weight, and Oprah is no exception. This month she will be getting back on path with Bob Greene by her side. Think you don’t have time to exercise, diet, and try to lead a healthier life? Greene works with well known clients and celebrities, writes for the Oprah magazine and website, has written a new cookbook, and has a family. Yet, he manages to do it, which is apparent with one look at him. Here are his top two tips to starting a weight loss plan, staying motivated and sticking to it…

His first tip is to not try to jump in head first, but to ease into your new weight loss plan. Don’t drastically go from one diet and lifestyle to another. Instead, slowly make changes to incorporate your plans into your day to day life.

The second tip is to say no to the scale. It’s tempting to want to run to the scale day after day to check on your progress. However, he says to steer clear of any scales for at least a month. Instead, calculate your progress by how your clothes are fitting.

Ringing in the New Year with New Year’s resolutions has always been popular, and the most popular resolution among women in the United States is that they’ll finally shed those extra pounds. Well, now you can actually honor that resolution you made by adding the acai berry to your diet. The acai berry is a small round berry which must be produced as pulp and juice in order to be shipped outside of Brazil because of its fast deterioration. Many people describe the acai berry as a cross between a raspberry and a chocolate bar. So what’s the big deal about a berry grown in Brazil and how can it help you lose weight? The acai berry is extremely high in antioxidants, amino acids, and essential fatty acids. It can help you lose weight because the Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids it contains help to increase your metabolism, thereby causing you to burn more calories. The fiber fills you up and it takes you longer to digest your food, so you’ll find that you’re not as hungry as often as you were before adding the berry to your diet. The acai berry has been around for ages in Brazil and has been consumed by the native South Americans as a regular part of their diet for well over a century.

Because the berries are extremely perishable, preservation techniques have just now made them available outside of the immediate area. This is good news for you, since you can now find acai products in your local supermarket in the forums of acai juices, pulps, powders, extracts, and supplements, for those who find they don’t like the taste of the juice or the pulp. Just as with any good food, the real challenge is finding a way to incorporate the new food into your diet without spending an arm and a leg to do so. If you can get your hands on some acai juice, here is a great recipe which you can make on a daily basis. Consuming this smoothie everyday at least once will have a positive impact on your quest for weight loss and you just might find that you get addicted to the wonderful taste!

Acai Fruit Smoothie:
1/2 cup acai juice
1/2 cup of yogurt
Mix in a blender with handful of your favorite fresh fruit and enjoy.

You can also blend acai pulp with applesauce, green tea, or sparkling water for a great treat when you’re on the go and don’t have access to a blender. The amount you should use depends on the powder or extract you decide on, as all acai products aren’t made the same. There have been no confirmed side effects from the acai berry, so while its not unusual for someone to be allergic to something, there are no long-term side effects so you’re safe to eat acai and find your way into those skinner jeans in 2010!

photo credit: Jeff Karpala

There are literally tons of different diets and dieting products available on the market which all claim to be a quick way to lose weight. Some of these diets can work wonders for you, but the way in which they help you lose weight can be unnatural, unhealthy, or even worse, it simply doesn’t work as a reliable weight loss method. That’s one of the reasons people turn to the acai berry for their dieting needs. The acai berry is an all-natural fruit which grows on the acai palm in Central and South America. The acai berry has been harvested by the native peoples of the land for centuries. However, the berry has only recently made an explosion onto the global market after spas and health bars in Rio De Janiero began serving the drink as a supplement for weight loss.

The reason the acai berry has become so popular in recent times is the extreme amount of benefits you can gain from its consumption. In fact, weight loss is just one of the many benefits the acai berry offers. It’s loaded with antioxidants with a huge ORAC value, which is a value the FDA assigns foods with antioxidants to determine their worth to the body. Antioxidants are extremely important to the body for the number of functions they help regulate and maintain. In fact, recent studies have shown that when the acai berry is taken correctly as a dietary supplement, it can promote weight loss, increase energy, raise your metabolism, as well as being a cornerstone to helping science find the cure for cancer.

There are some things you should be aware of before you decide on an acai berry supplement for your daily diet. You should look and see how the berry was preserved, if the product states. Freeze dried berries are always more beneficial than berries which are not. The product should state how the berry was preserved, so you know you’re getting the best for your money. In addition to supplements, the acai berry often comes in many forms. You’ll find the fruit plain in regions closer to its growing location, but further out around the globe, you can get it in yogurt, juices, and even freeze dried for including it in your own recipes. Many people enjoy the taste of acai berry, describing it as a chocolate raspberry. If you do try acai and decide you don’t like the taste, its always available in supplement form. So if you’re looking to lose weight in a healthy and natural way, don’t discount the acai berry as a great supplement, especially when coupled with a regular regimen of exercise and eating properly.

photo credit: Lanci Daniele

It is quite well known that the acai berries are extremely rich in health benefits, especially weight loss and anti aging, for which it is renowned all over the world, but very few people know that these berries are quite effective for those who are looking for bodybuilding benefits too. Of course, acai berries cannot be relied on completely for bodybuilding – there’s too much needed to achieve that – but they can definitely act as healthy supplements to accelerate the process. More research is still going on into this relation of acai berries and their bodybuilding benefits, but the studies done so far have been highly encouraging. Let us look at this little-talked about relationship in closer detail.

The core reason why acai berries are good for bodybuilding is the presence of the high amounts of amino acids in it. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. In fact, if you look at a protein structure in detail, it is nothing but several amino acid molecules (same or different) connected end to end with a kind of linkage known as the peptide linkage. Hence, when acai berries are consumed, the body takes in the different amino acids that it consists, which are at least nineteen in number. That means, the body gets a boost in the building blocks that it requires for the manufacture of proteins.

Bodybuilders must definitely take acai berries seriously because they need to have a great deal of proteins in their bodies if they need to develop those rippling muscles. In this regard, there are very little foods that come close to the effectiveness of the acai berries. These berries contain up to 7.59% of pure amino acids when they are made in the pulp form (this is the form that the acai berries are usually marketed in). If you think about it from a quantitative point of view, it comes to approximately 8 grams of pure proteins in an acai pulp product weighing 100 grams.

It is now established that the acai berries have direct benefits in helping people who are looking at bodybuilding benefits. However, there are several indirect methods in which they work too. One of these is the tendency of the berries to remove the harmful LDL cholesterol from the blood by introducing healthy HDL cholesterol. There are high antioxidant levels present in the berries, which is again a big advantage because the antioxidants can improve the efficiency of the metabolic processes that take place in the body, thus resulting in a fitter body. Even bodybuilders have fears of accumulating cholesterol and fats in their bodies; acai berries work wonderfully in putting these fears to rest.

Due to their healthy antioxidant levels that keep the body always functioning at its optimum best, the acai berries not only build the muscles and tissues of the person, but they also see to it that the person remains intrinsically healthy. If you are bodybuilder who is looking at remaining healthy within and not just muscular outside, acai berries may be the right dietary supplements for you to adopt. They are also great for people who consume vegetarian diets to get more than the required supply of proteins.