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Weight loss diet plan Tips

A balanced and healthy diet meal plan that a great variety and good nutrition are an important part of a diet and exercise regimen. To help you in your weight loss and fitness goals this week, the samples are based nutritional meal plans for different calorie levels on your recommended daily calorie intake to lose weight. See what your calorie intake to lose weight.

The low calorie diet plans seven days to serve as a guide only. Foods in the daily diet plans are set free can be substituted for other foods with the same nutritional value. Can be substituted for an orange, an apple or an ounce of fish for one ounce of chicken, soy milk or skim milk: For example. Caffeine intake to two cups of tea or coffee a day are limited. You want as much caffeine and calorie beverages like you, at least 8 glasses of water a day including drinks. Consult your doctor before taking this or any other weight-loss Program.doctor before this or any other weight loss program.

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Quick Weight Loss - Lose 20 lbs of Fat in 30 Days With the Slow Carb Diet

Fat Loss via Better Science and Simplicity

It is possible to lose 20 lbs. of bodyfat in 30 days by optimizing any of three factors: exercise, diet, or drug/supplement regimen. I’ve seen the elite implementation of all three in working with professional athletes. In this post, we’ll explore what I refer to as the “slow-carb diet”.

In the last six weeks, I have cut from about 180 lbs. to 165 lbs., while adding about 10 lbs. of muscle, which means I’ve lost about 25 lbs. of fat. This is the only diet besides the rather extreme Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD) that has produced veins across my abdomen, which is the last place I lose fat (damn you, Scandinavian genetics). Here are the four simple rules I followed…

Rule #1: Avoid “white” carbohydrates
Avoid any carbohydrate that is — or can be — white. The following foods are thus prohibited, except for within 1.5 hours of finishing a resistance-training workout of at least 20 minutes in length: bread, rice, cereal, potatoes, pasta, and fried food with breading. If you avoid eating anything white, you’ll be safe.

Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again
The most successful dieters, regardless of whether their goal is muscle gain or fat loss, eat the same few meals over and over again. Mix and match, constructing each meal with one from each of the three following groups:

Proteins:
Egg whites with one whole egg for flavor
Chicken breast or thigh
Grass-fed organic beef
Pork

Legumes:
Lentils
Black beans
Pinto beans

Vegetables:
Spinach
Asparagus
Peas
Mixed vegetables

Eat as much as you like of the above food items. Just remember: keep it simple. Pick three or four meals and repeat them. Almost all restaurants can give you a salad or vegetables in place of french fries or potatoes. Surprisingly, I have found Mexican food, swapping out rice for vegetables, to be one of the cuisines most conducive to the “slow carb” diet.

Most people who go on “low” carbohydrate diets complain of low energy and quit, not because such diets can’t work, but because they consume insufficient calories. A 1/2 cup of rice is 300 calories, whereas a 1/2 cup of spinach is 15 calories! Vegetables are not calorically dense, so it is critical that you add legumes for caloric load.

Some athletes eat 6-8x per day to break up caloric load and avoid fat gain. I think this is ridiculously inconvenient. I eat 4x per day:

10am – breakfast
1pm – lunch
5pm – smaller second lunch
7:30-9pm – sports training
10pm – dinner
12am – glass of wine and Discovery Channel before bed

Here are some of my meals that recur again and again:


Scrambled Eggology pourable egg whites with one whole egg, black beans, and microwaved mixed vegetables

Grass-fed organic beef, pinto beans, mixed vegetables, and extra guacamole (Mexican restaurant)

Grass-fed organic beef (from Trader Joe’s), lentils, and mixed vegetables

Post-workout pizza with extra chicken, cilantro, pineapple, garlic, sundried tomotoes, bell peppers, and red onions

Rule #3: Don’t drink calories
Drink massive quantities of water and as much unsweetened iced tea, tea, diet sodas, coffee (without white cream), or other no-calorie/low-calorie beverages as you like. Do not drink milk, normal soft drinks, or fruit juice. I’m a wine fanatic and have at least one glass of wine each evening, which I believe actually aids sports recovery and fat-loss. Recent research into resveratrol supports this.

Rule #4: Take one day off per week
I recommend Saturdays as your “Dieters Gone Wild” day. I am allowed to eat whatever I want on Saturdays, and I go out of my way to eat ice cream, Snickers, Take 5, and all of my other vices in excess. I make myself a little sick and don’t want to look at any of it for the rest of the week. Paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc.) doesn’t downregulate from extended caloric restriction. That’s right: eating pure crap can help you lose fat.

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Quick Weight Loss - Lose 20 lbs of Fat in 30 Days With the Slow Carb Diet

Fat Loss via Better Science and Simplicity

It is possible to lose 20 lbs. of bodyfat in 30 days by optimizing any of three factors: exercise, diet, or drug/supplement regimen. I’ve seen the elite implementation of all three in working with professional athletes. In this post, we’ll explore what I refer to as the “slow-carb diet”.

In the last six weeks, I have cut from about 180 lbs. to 165 lbs., while adding about 10 lbs. of muscle, which means I’ve lost about 25 lbs. of fat. This is the only diet besides the rather extreme Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD) that has produced veins across my abdomen, which is the last place I lose fat (damn you, Scandinavian genetics). Here are the four simple rules I followed…

Rule #1: Avoid “white” carbohydrates

Avoid any carbohydrate that is — or can be — white. The following foods are thus prohibited, except for within 1.5 hours of finishing a resistance-training workout of at least 20 minutes in length: bread, rice, cereal, potatoes, pasta, and fried food with breading. If you avoid eating anything white, you’ll be safe.

Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again

The most successful dieters, regardless of whether their goal is muscle gain or fat loss, eat the same few meals over and over again. Mix and match, constructing each meal with one from each of the three following groups:

Proteins:
Egg whites with one whole egg for flavor
Chicken breast or thigh
Grass-fed organic beef
Pork

Legumes:
Lentils
Black beans
Pinto beans

Vegetables:
Spinach
Asparagus
Peas
Mixed vegetables

Eat as much as you like of the above food items. Just remember: keep it simple. Pick three or four meals and repeat them. Almost all restaurants can give you a salad or vegetables in place of french fries or potatoes. Surprisingly, I have found Mexican food, swapping out rice for vegetables, to be one of the cuisines most conducive to the “slow carb” diet.

Most people who go on “low” carbohydrate diets complain of low energy and quit, not because such diets can’t work, but because they consume insufficient calories. A 1/2 cup of rice is 300 calories, whereas a 1/2 cup of spinach is 15 calories! Vegetables are not calorically dense, so it is critical that you add legumes for caloric load.

Some athletes eat 6-8x per day to break up caloric load and avoid fat gain. I think this is ridiculously inconvenient. I eat 4x per day:

10am – breakfast
1pm – lunch
5pm – smaller second lunch
7:30-9pm – sports training
10pm – dinner
12am – glass of wine and Discovery Channel before bed

Here are some of my meals that recur again and again:

Scrambled Eggology pourable egg whites with one whole egg, black beans, and microwaved mixed vegetables

Grass-fed organic beef, pinto beans, mixed vegetables, and extra guacamole (Mexican restaurant)

Grass-fed organic beef (from Trader Joe’s), lentils, and mixed vegetables

Post-workout pizza with extra chicken, cilantro, pineapple, garlic, sundried tomotoes, bell peppers, and red onions

Rule #3: Don’t drink calories

Drink massive quantities of water and as much unsweetened iced tea, tea, diet sodas, coffee (without white cream), or other no-calorie/low-calorie beverages as you like. Do not drink milk, normal soft drinks, or fruit juice. I’m a wine fanatic and have at least one glass of wine each evening, which I believe actually aids sports recovery and fat-loss. Recent research into resveratrol supports this.

Rule #4: Take one day off per week

I recommend Saturdays as your “Dieters Gone Wild” day. I am allowed to eat whatever I want on Saturdays, and I go out of my way to eat ice cream, Snickers, Take 5, and all of my other vices in excess. I make myself a little sick and don’t want to look at any of it for the rest of the week. Paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc.) doesn’t downregulate from extended caloric restriction. That’s right: eating pure crap can help you lose fat.

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EVEN TEMPORARY WEIGHT LOSS CUTS RISK

If you’re overweight, losing 10 percent of your weight (20 pounds if you weigh in at 200) may cut your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, even if you regain the pounds you shed within a decade. This finding comes from a national study that included 3,000 overweight people with impaired glucose tolerance, a metabolic condition that increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. Results showed that losing an average of only 14 pounds reduced the risk of developing diabetes by 58 percent. During the weight-loss phase of the study, participants tracked what they ate daily as part of the behavioral changes they were taught. They also limited the amount of unhealthy foods they kept at home and increased their physical activity. Study leader Rena Wing, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Brown University Medical School, reported that in addition to reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, weight loss can lead to reductions in sleep apnea and normalizing blood pressure, as well as improving participants’ quality of life and slowing the decline of mobility with age. The study data and conclusions were presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association in August 2012.

My take? Considering that so many people who succeed at losing weight regain it within a few years, the extended health benefits of weight loss suggested in this study are welcome news. Not everyone can be slim. Your weight and tendency to gain weight are partly determined by your genes, but no matter what you weigh, it's in your best interest to remain physically fit and active. Committing to living a healthful lifestyle will minimize the chance that being heavy will shorten your life, and can help reduce your risks of chronic disease.

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How Hypnosis Works

How It Works...

To make this as easy as possible to understand, remove the word hypnosis. It’s just a word… and Hollywood and books of fiction have totally misguided the understanding of what it is and how it works. Think of this is goal based meditation… a process that can get you to achieve your goals without the struggle and force of conscious thought and will power.The word “hypnosis” is the only thing that gets in the way of people understanding what this process is and how it works. If you ever daydreamed, dreamed or used your imagination to create something in your mind that you once did before or never did then you were engaged in self hypnosis… directing your mind to a certain behavior or outcome by using your imagination.

Everyone knows there have been things we either wanted to do and couldn't or didn't want to do but did anyway. That's because our desires are conscious thoughts while our behaviors are created and motivated at a subconscious level. The simple process of hypnosis is the natural, safe and expedient way for behavior modification.

What is Hypnosis?

Understand that the process of hypnosis is the same as guided imagery or visualization, the same techniques athletes and successful achievers use in many areas of life.

We have all been in a hypnotic state; in fact most of us visit this state every day.
• Have you ever been driving and all of a sudden your exit is right there?
• So focused on a movie or a television program that you didn't hear someone calling your name?
• Have you ever been so deep in thought that you almost had to be shaken out of it?
• Or have you ever daydreamed?

Of course, we all do things like this on a daily basis. This is what it is like being hypnotized. When in hypnosis, you can hear everything going on around you, you can hear all of the suggestions you're being given and most times people say to me, " I don't think I was hypnotized." When asked why, the reply is usually, "Because I heard everything you said." This is one of the misconceptions of hypnosis!

The subconscious mind then accepts these suggestions and creates the behavior changes or body changes in order to achieve the given suggestions. When in hypnotic trance, the subconscious mind is 88% more alert than in a conscious state.

When in hypnosis, you can bring yourself out whenever you truly desire too. People have asked, " What happens if the hypnotists/hypnotist walks away or something happens to him or her and I'm in hypnosis"? Don't worry....you will either gradually go deeper and then wake up or simply begin to rise out of the hypnotic state to a fully conscious state. There are various definitions for hypnosis though they all mean the same thing. Simply put, hypnosis can be explained this way. When a person is in a relaxed state, the conscious mind is able to be bypassed in order to directly make suggestions to the subconscious mind. That's basically it. That's all you need to understand in order to grasp the idea. The subconscious mind then accepts these suggestions and creates the behavior changes or body changes in order to achieve the given suggestions. When in hypnotic trance, the subconscious mind is 88% more alert than in a conscious state.

Can Anyone Be Hypnotized

The question alone is yet another example of the misunderstanding of what hypnosis is or how hypnosis works. I wonder how silly it may seem if asked, "Can you breathe?" or "Can you sleep?" or anything else that is done naturally without any thought or strategy. Well, hypnosis or being in what is a hypnotic state is just as natural. You may even be there as you are reading this.

Any time we are in what is called the zone or spaced out, daydreaming or having your head in the clouds we are referring to the same thing, being out of the state of conscious, analytical thinking and entering what is exactly what is a light hypnotic state. We drift in and out of this state all day, every day. Dare I say it… a light trance.
When gauging brain wave activity, there are four levels, Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta. Once we leave total awareness, conscious, analytical state of mind (Beta) we then drift into the Alpha state, which I described previously with a variety of terms. This is considered a light level hypnotic state though a lot of change can be directed in this state. This is why so many hypnosis clients think they were not hypnotized, because it was a lighter level and not what they expected hypnosis to be. Though these same people welcome the positive changes they achieve from this process and learn hypnosis is usually not what most people expect it to be. Theta is the state of mind when we are dreaming when asleep, though still conscious as we are aware of many of our dreams and then Beta, which is to be unconscious.

With this simple understanding it may seem that all people can be hypnotized. Well, not quite. Though the number varies a bit, it is reported that people with an IQ below 70 will not respond to hypnosis and anyone who is too drunk would not be a good candidate either. Therefore it is safe to say that almost all people, especially anyone who comes to a hypnosis session on their own is capable of being hypnotized. Be fore warned of one factor to prevent the hypnotic process from happening… you. If you do not want to be hypnotized, then you won't.

Belief ! Desire ! Expectancy

The most important factor regarding the application of hypnosis is a combination of three things. Belief, Desire and Expectancy. You must Believe it will work...have a genuine Desire for it to work and...Expect that it will work. If these three factors are in place, then you are willing and open to suggestion.

Some changes require a different approach, understanding and strategy but can all be achieved through hypnosis.

We are all victims of habit. Most of us hardly ever recognize our positive habits, like exercise or a healthy diet, for we look at those as expected. We do however focus on all of our negative habits, like over eating and smoking. There are two things to understand, habits are a conditioned response in the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind does not know the difference between a "good" habit or a "bad" habit. The subconscious mind does not know the difference between reality or imagination.

If you do something enough times, the subconscious mind begins to believe that this behavior pattern is what you want and therefore stores it for you and makes it part of your natural behavior.

Then, no matter how much you try to consciously change that behavior pattern ( using what we know as "will power") your subconscious mind wins the mental tug of war and you return to that "stored" behavior pattern. This is why I refer to "will power" as a downfall for it will not work for the vast majority of people in a permanent or even sometimes short term period. The only way to effectively and permanently make a true change in your behavior pattern is to change the remembered pattern in the subconscious mind.

There are four levels of brain wave activity, Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta. The top level, Beta, is complete consciousness and the deepest level, Delta, is deep unconscious sleep. The middle two levels, Alpha and Theta are simply more relaxed states than total consciousness but above deep sleep. This is what is referred to as the hypnotic state of mind, simply being relaxed.

Alpha is a daydream or when you drive up the highway and drift off a bit and Theta is when you are in a dream state, above deep sleep. The light relaxed state of Alpha is all that is necessary to achieve in order to make behavior changes. This is why most people do not think they are "hypnotized" because we have all been misled as to what hypnosis really is.

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As Children’s Freedom Has Declined, So Has Their Creativity

If anything makes Americans stand tall internationally it is creativity.  “American ingenuity” is admired everywhere. We are not the richest country (at least not as measured by smallest percentage in poverty), nor the healthiest (far from it), nor the country whose kids score highest on standardized tests (despite our politicians’ misguided intentions to get us there), but we are the most inventive country.  We are the great innovators, specialists in figuring out new ways of doing things and new things to do. Perhaps this derives from our frontier beginnings, or from our unique form of democracy with its emphasis on individual freedom and respect for nonconformity.  In the business world as well as in academia and the arts and elsewhere, creativity is our number one asset.  In a recent IBM poll, 1,500 CEOs acknowledged this when they identified creativity as the best predictor of future success.

It is sobering, therefore, to read Kyung Hee Kim’s recent research report documenting a continuous decline in creativity among American schoolchildren over the last two or three decades.[2]

Kim, who is a professor of education at the College of William and Mary, analyzed scores on a battery of measures of creativity—called the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT)—collected from normative samples of schoolchildren in kindergarten through twelfth grade over several decades.  According to Kim’s analyses, the scores on these tests at all grade levels began to decline somewhere between 1984 and 1990 and have continued to decline ever since. The drops in scores are highly significant statistically and in some cases very large.  In Kim’s words, the data indicate that “children have become less emotionally expressive, less energetic, less talkative and verbally expressive, less humorous, less imaginative, less unconventional, less lively and passionate, less perceptive, less apt to connect seemingly irrelevant things, less synthesizing, and less likely to see things from a different angle.”

According to Kim’s research, all aspects of creativity have declined, but the biggest decline is in the measure called Creative Elaboration, which assesses the ability to take a particular idea and expand on it in an interesting and novel way. Between 1984 and 2008, the average Elaboration score on the TTCT, for every age group from kindergarten through 12^th grade, fell by more than 1 standard deviation. Stated differently, this means that more than 85% of children in 2008 scored lower on this measure than did the average child in 1984.  Yikes.

You might wonder how creativity can be assessed.  By definition, any test with questions that have just one right answer or one correct pathway to solution is not a test of creativity.  The Torrance Tests were developed by E. Paul Torrance in the late 1950s, when he was an education professor at the University of Minnesota.  During the immediate post-Sputnik period, the U.S. government was concerned with identifying and fostering giftedness among American schoolchildren, so as to catch up with the Russians (whom we mistakenly thought were ahead of us in scientific innovation). 

While most of Torrance’s colleagues focused on standard measures ofintelligence as a path toward doing this, Torrance chose to focus on creativity.  His prior work with fighter pilots in the Air Force had convinced him that creativity is the central variable underlying personal achievement and ability to adapt to unusual conditions.[3]  He set about developing a test in which people are presented with various kinds of stimuli and are asked to do something with them that is interesting and novel—that is, creative.  The eventual result was the set of tests that now bear his name.  In the most often used of these tests, the stimuli are marks on paper--such as a squiggly line or a set of parallel lines and circles—and the task is to make drawings that incorporate and expand on those stimuli. The drawings are scored according to the degree to which they include such qualities as originality, meaningfulness, and humor.

The best evidence that the Torrance Tests really do measure creative potential come from longitudinal research showing strong, statistically significant correlations between childhood scores on the TTCT and subsequent real-world achievements.[4]  As the authors of one article commenting on these results put it, high scorers “tallied more books, dances, radio shows, art exhibits, software programs, advertisingcampaigns, hardware innovations, music compositions, public policies (written or implemented), leadership positions, invited lectures, and buildings designed” than did those who scored lower.[5]

Indeed, the TTCT seems to be the best predictor of lifetime achievement that has yet been invented. It is a better predictor than IQ, high-school grades, or peer judgments of who will achieve the most.[6]  The correlation coefficients found between childhood TTCT scores and real-world adult creative achievements have ranged from a low of about .25 to a high of about .60, depending on which tests are included and how adult creative achievements are assessed.[6]

So, the decline in TTCT scores among school-aged children indeed does appear to be cause for concern.  Kim herself calls it the “creativity crisis,” and that term has been picked up in a number of articles in popular magazines.

Well, surprise, surprise.  For several decades we as a society have been suppressing children’s freedom to ever-greater extents, and now we find that their creativity is declining.

Creativity is nurtured by freedom and stifled by the continuous monitoring, evaluation, adult-direction, and pressure to conform that restrict children’s lives today.  In the real world few questions have one right answer, few problems have one right solution; that’s why creativity is crucial to success in the real world.  But more and more we are subjecting children to an educational system that assumes one right answer to every question and one correct solution to every problem, a system that punishes children (and their teachers too) for daring to try different routes.  We are also, as I documented in a previous essay, increasingly depriving children of free time outside of school to play, explore, be bored, overcome boredom, fail, overcome failure—that is, to do all that they must do in order to develop their full creative potential.

In the next essay in this series, I will present research evidence that creativity really does bloom in the soil of freedom and die in the hands of overdirective, overprotective, overjudgmental teachers and parents.

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And now, what are your thoughts on all this?  In your experience, what fosters or inhibits creativity?  Have you seen evidence that either corroborates or counters Kyung Kim’s findings of a decline in creativity or the suggestion that current schooling practices and other restrictions on children’s freedom inhibit children’s creative development?

As always, I prefer if you post your comments and questions here rather than send them to me by private email. By putting them here, you share with other readers, not just with me. I read all comments and try to respond to all serious questions.  Often, other readers whose answers are better than mine respond to posted questions. Of course, if you have something to say that truly applies only to you and me, then send me an email.

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References

[1] IBM 2010 Global CEO Study: Creativity Selected as Most Crucial Factor for Future Success. http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/31670.wss.

[2] Kyung Hee Kim (2011). The creativity crisis: The decrease in creative thinking scores on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Creativity Research Journal, 23, 285-295.

[3]  Garnett Millar, Christine Dahl, and John Kauffman (2011). Testing the whole Mind—educating the whole child.” Illinois Association for Gifted Children Journal, Spring, 2011 issue.

[4] Mark A. Runco, Garnet Millar, Selcuk Acar, & Bonnie Cramond (2010) Torrance tests of creative thinking as predictors of personal and public achievement: A fifty-year follow-up.  Creativity Research Journal, 22, 361-368.

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Nutritious and Healthy diet

Healthy and nutritious food is very important for maintaining a good health. Healthy food involves, regular and timely food, juices, nuts, snacks and much more. A balanced diet, good food habits are essential for a healthy life.

In the normal course of life, we forget to take necessary nutrition that is required for our body and hence we tend to get into many life style diseases. It is very essential for a person to know and understand the benefits of nature's creation like fruits, vegetables, nuts,etc.

You can find useful articles on nutrition and health benefits of various fruits and vegetables. Read on and add these to your daily life. The value of food is more when it is taken in a systematic manner and also by understanding the benefits of every bite we take.

Custard Apple - Health Benefits: Custard Apple promotes digestion and cures diarrhoea

Apples are rich in vitamins and helps to reduce risks of colon cancer, prostrate cancer and lung cancer.

Radishes and their greens provide an excellent source of vitamin C and a powerful antioxidant. It has anti-inflammatory properties too.  Radish leaves are a good source of calcium.  Radishes contain cancer-protective properties.Â

Chives are known for their beneficial effect on the digestive system and blood pressure. Chives are said to reduce the risk of several types of cancers.

Coconut is known for its antifungal, anti bacterial properties: Coconut oil forms the base of many Ayurvedic medicinal preparations.

Cherries reduce pain and inflammation: Cherries are good source of many vitamins, minerals and are tasty to eat.

Plums lowers age-related macular degeneration: Plums are sweet, juicy and are a good source of Vitamin c, Vitamin A, Vitamin B2 and Potassium.

Spinach when cooked is an excellent source of Iron and Calcium: It is recommended for pregnant women in the first 3 months for its folic acid contents..

Beetroots rich in potassium and fiber: Beetroots contains good amount of folate, potassium and manganese. They are less in calories and are effective in curing skin problems.

Cauliflower is good for the heart and reduces the risk of cancer: Cauliflower is highly nutritious and is effective in curing many ailments. It is rich in folate and is good for pregnant woman.

Mangoes are rich in Iron and Vitamins: Mangoes supply ample potassium, making them ideal for hypertensive patients or anyone looking to replenish energy after physical activity

Tomatoes reduce the risk of heart attack: Tomatoes are a rich source of lycopene. Lycopene is a potent antioxidant.

Musk Melon - Tropical Delight : Musk melon is a tropical fruit which is been cultivated for a very long time. It is a rich source of vitamin 'C' and is effective in reducing body heat.

Cabbage helps cure ulcers and prevents colon cancer: Cabbage is a well known common vegetable. Its is low in calories and is long known for its healing properties.

Bitter Gourd - Health Benefits: Bitter Gourd is a tropical vegetable. It is a well known cure for diabetes.

Avocado - for fitness and health : Avocado is rich in pottasium content. The fruit is also a good source of vitamins.

Papaya - A rich source of Minerals and Fibre : Papaya has high nutritional benefits. It is rich in Anti-oxidants, Minerals and Fibre. It also helps in Skin Treatments.

Oats - Fibre food that cures constipation : Oats have some unique fatty acids and antioxidants which together with Vitamin E slow cell damage.

Nutritional benefits of Watermelon : Watermelon is highly refreshing during summer. It does not contain cholesterol and helps in eye sight also.

Nutritional benefits of Banana : Banana helps in the treatment of Depression, Anemia, Blood Pressure, Brain power, Constipation, etc.

Almond: A highly Nutritious fruit : Consumption of Almond lowers cholesterol levels, reduces the risk of lifestyle diseases and gives overall wellness

Egg: A nutritious food : Egg is a healthy and nutritious food. Lecithin in eggs prevents the absorption of cholesterol of egg and other sources too

Calcium: The bone builder: Calcium Builds Strong Bones. Get calcium from greens, beans, or fortified foods. Vitamin D controls your body's use of calcium.

Healthy food for Stress Free Life: Nutritious and balanced diet is a must to free ourself from the physical and mental diseases and relieve stress

Mushrooms - A highly nutritious food: Mushrooms are rich in minerals, vitamin D (ergosterol), thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), dietary fibre as well as all the essential amino acids and are low in fat and calories.

Gooseberry (Amla) : Rich in Vitamin C: Amla or Gooseberry has many nutritious benefits. The amla has been found to be the most abundant source of Vitamin C in the plant kingdom

Health Benefits of Zucchini : Zucchini when consumed regularly helps maintain blood pressure at normal levels.

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The life-changing benefits of exercise

Exercise is not just about aerobic capacity and muscle size. Sure, exercise improves your health and your physique, but it has even greater benefits for your energy, mood, and brainpower. A study in the ACSM Journal of Health & Fitness asked long-term exercisers (those who had been regularly exercising for an average of 13 years) what motivated them to continue exercising. Rather than being motivated by building muscle or flattening their stomachs, for example, most exercisers cited the feelings of well-being they derived from exercise, along with increased pep and energy, and how exercise helped them sleep better and made them more relaxed.

The important thing to remember is that these benefits can be achieved without spending hours pumping weights in a gym or pounding on a treadmill. Regular mild to moderate exercise can improve your life by:

• Easing stress and anxiety. A twenty-minute bike ride won’t sweep away life’s troubles, but exercising regularly helps you take charge of anxiety and reduce stress. Aerobic exercise releases hormones that relieve stress and promote a sense of well-being.
• Lifting your mood. Exercise can treat mild to moderate depression as effectively as antidepressant medication. Exercise also releases endorphins, powerful chemicals in your brain that energizes your spirits and makes you feel good.
• Sharpening brainpower. The same endorphins that make you feel better also help you concentrate and feel mentally sharp for tasks at hand. Exercise also stimulates the growth of new brain cells and helps prevent age-related decline.
• Improving self-esteem. Regular activity is an investment in your mind, body, and soul. When it becomes habit, it can foster your sense of self-worth and make you feel strong and powerful.
• Boosting energy.  Increasing your heart rate several times a week will give you more get-up-and-go. Start off with just a few minutes of exercise a day, and increase your workout as you feel more energized.

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What is mental health or emotional health?

Mental or emotional health refers to your overall psychological well-being. It includes the way you feel about yourself, the quality of your relationships, and your ability to manage your feelings and deal with difficulties.

Good mental health isn't just the absence of mental health problems. Being mentally or emotionally healthy is much more than being free of depression, anxiety, or other psychological issues. Rather than the absence of mental illness, mental and emotional health refers to the presence of positive characteristics. Similarly, not feeling bad is not the same as feeling good. While some people may not have negative feelings, they still need to do things that make them feel positive in order to achieve mental and emotional health.

People who are mentally and emotionally healthy have:

• A sense of contentment.
• A zest for living and the ability to laugh and have fun.
• The ability to deal with stress and bounce back from adversity.
• A sense of meaning and purpose, in both their activities and their relationships.
• The flexibility to learn new things and adapt to change.
• A balance between work and play, rest and activity, etc.
• The ability to build and maintain fulfilling relationships.
• Self-confidence and high self-esteem.

These positive characteristics of mental and emotional health allow you to participate in life to the fullest extent possible through productive, meaningful activities and strong relationships. These positive characteristics also help you cope when faced with life's challenges and stresses.

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Brain, Body & Spirit

There are many ways to nurture your physical and mental health—and supercharge your body, mind, and soul in the process.

Taking care of your body is a powerful first step towards mental and emotional health. The mind and the body are linked. When you improve your physical health, you’ll automatically experience greater mental health. Similarly, as you exercise your mind and spend time connecting with others, you’ll experience a huge emotional boost.

Enjoying the affection of a pet, enjoying a walk outdoors, volunteering your time, spending time with friends, and laughing out loud are just some of the many things you can do to gain strength, both inside and out.

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How to sleep better tip 1: Keep a regular sleep schedule

Getting back in sync with your body’s natural sleep–wake cycle—your circadian rhythm—is one of the most important strategies for achieving good sleep. If you keep a regular sleep schedule, going to bed and getting up at the same time each day, you will feel much more refreshed and energized than if you sleep the same number of hours at different times. This holds true even if you alter your sleep schedule by only an hour or two. Consistency is important.

• Set a regular bedtime. Go to bed at the same time every night. Choose a time when you normally feel tired, so that you don’t toss and turn. Try not to break this routine on weekends when it may be tempting to stay up late. If you want to change your bedtime, help your body adjust by making the change in small daily increments, such as 15 minutes earlier or later each day.
• Wake up at the same time every day. If you’re getting enough sleep, you should wake up naturally without an alarm. If you need an alarm clock to wake up on time, you may need to set an earlier bedtime. As with your bedtime, try to maintain your regular wake–time even on weekends.
• Nap to make up for lost sleep. If you need to make up for a few lost hours, opt for a daytime nap rather than sleeping late. This strategy allows you to pay off your sleep debt without disturbing your natural sleep–wake rhythm, which often backfires in insomnia and throws you off for days.
• Be smart about napping. While taking a nap can be a great way to recharge, especially for older adults, it can make insomnia worse. If insomnia is a problem for you, consider eliminating napping. If you must nap, do it in the early afternoon, and limit it to thirty minutes.
• Fight after–dinner drowsiness. If you find yourself getting sleepy way before your bedtime, get off the couch and do something mildly stimulating to avoid falling asleep, such as washing the dishes, calling a friend, or getting clothes ready for the next day. If you give in to the drowsiness, you may wake up later in the night and have trouble getting back to sleep.

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The secret to getting good sleep every night

Good sleep strategies are essential to deep, restorative sleep you can count on, night after night. By learning to avoid common enemies of sleep and trying out a variety of healthy sleep-promoting techniques, you can discover your personal prescription to a good night’s rest.

The key is to experiment. What works for some might not work as well for others. It’s important to find the sleep strategies that work best for you.

The first step to improving the quality of your rest is finding out how much sleep you need. How much sleep is enough? While sleep requirements vary slightly from person to person, most healthy adults need at least 8 hours of sleep each night to function at their best.

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Sleep

Do you want to be productive, mentally sharp, emotionally balanced, and full of energy all day long? The way you feel during your waking hours hinges on how well you sleep at night.

Sleep is essential for energy, health, productivity, and emotional balance. And most people don’t get nearly enough. Learning about sleep and healthy sleep habits can help you put a stop to nighttime problems and improve the quality of your rest and with it, the quality of your life.

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Suicide Prevention

Suicide is one of those subjects that many of us feel uncomfortable discussing. If you’re the one feeling suicidal, you may be afraid that you’ll be judged or labeled “crazy” if you open up. Or maybe you’re just convinced that no one could possibly understand. It’s not much easier for concerned friends and family members, who may hesitate to speak up for fear that they’re wrong or that they’ll say the wrong thing.

The important thing to understand is that feeling suicidal is not a character defect, and it doesn’t mean that a person is crazy, or weak, or flawed. It only means that the person has more pain than they feel capable of coping with. But help is out there. Talking openly about suicidal thoughts and feelings can save a life. So don’t wait: reach out.

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Stress

In small doses, stress helps you to stay focused, energetic, and alert. But when stress becomes overwhelming, it can damage your health, your mood, your productivity, your relationships, and your quality of life.

Everyone experiences stress differently but there are some common warning signs and symptoms. Stress can easily creep up on you so that being frazzled and overwhelmed starts to feel normal. You may not realize how much it’s affecting you, even as it takes a heavy toll on your mind, body, and behavior.

You can protect yourself by learning how to recognize the signs and symptoms of stress overload and taking steps to reduce its harmful effects.

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Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia can be frightening, but it doesn’t have to define your life. With medication, therapy, and support, many people with schizophrenia are able to control their symptoms, gain greater independence, and lead fulfilling lives.

Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent many unnecessary complications and improve the chance of recovery, so if you’re worried that you or someone you care about has schizophrenia, don’t hesitate to seek help.

Recovering from schizophrenia doesn’t happen overnight. Finding the right treatments takes time and setbacks happen. But it is possible. In fact, most people with schizophrenia get better over time, not worse. So no matter what challenges you presently face, there is always hope.

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Relationship Help

A relationship is an investment that will build as you continue to devote your time and effort. The more you put in, the more you’ll get back.

As well as commitment and a willingness to adapt and change throughout life, healthy relationships require skills in communication and emotional awareness. Thankfully, these skills can be easily learned. They can even help to repair many relationships.

If your romantic relationship is less than you need or want, or even if it’s on the rocks, there are steps you can take to repair trust and rebuild a satisfying and meaningful connection. A healthy, rewarding relationship can improve your life in all aspects—and can make life worth living.

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PTSD & Trauma

The emotional aftermath of traumatic events can be every bit as devastating as any physical damage. Whether trauma stems from a personal tragedy, a natural disaster, or other overwhelming life experiences, it can shatter our sense of security, making us feel vulnerable, helpless, and even numb.

There is no right or wrong way to feel after traumatic events. But there are many strategies that can help you work through feelings of pain, fear, and grief and regain your emotional equilibrium. Whether the traumatic event happened years ago or yesterday, you can heal and move on.

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Grief & Loss

You may associate grief with the death of a loved one, but any loss can cause grief, including the loss of a relationship, your health, your job, or a cherished dream. After a significant loss, you may experience all kinds of difficult and surprising emotions, such as shock, anger, and guilt. Sometimes it may feel like the sadness will never let up.

While these emotions can feel very painful, accepting them as part of the grieving process and allowing yourself to feel what you feel is necessary for healing.

As you deal with your loss, remember that there is no order or timetable for grief. Everyone grieves differently, but there are healthy ways to cope and heal from the pain.

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Emotional Health

Looking after your emotional health is just as important as caring for your physical health. People who are emotionally healthy are in control of their emotions and behavior. They’re able to handle life’s inevitable challenges, build strong relationships, and lead productive, fulfilling lives. They bounce back when bad things happen and can manage stress without falling apart.

If your emotional health isn’t as solid as you’d like it to be, here’s the good news: just as you can improve your physical fitness by working at it, you can improve your emotional fitness, too. There are many things you can do to boost your mood, build resilience, and get more enjoyment out of life.

It takes time and commitment to build emotional health, but there’s a huge payoff. The more you make healthy choices that strengthen your emotional health, the better you’ll feel.

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Eating Disorders

If you have an eating disorder, you may believe that being thin is the key to being happy, or that if you can control what you eat, you’ll be able to control your life. But the truth is that happiness, confidence, and self-empowerment come from accepting yourself for who you truly are—and that’s only possible with recovery.

Overcoming an eating disorder involves rediscovering who you are beyond your eating habits, weight, and body image. It also involves learning to recognize and deal with your emotions in healthy ways, rather than using food—whether by obsessing about it, avoiding it, or overeating—as a substitute.

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Depression

Feeling down from time to time is a normal part of life. But when emptiness and despair take hold and won't go away, it may be depression. More than just the temporary "blues," the lows of depression make it tough to function and enjoy life.

Depression can make you feel helpless, hopeless, or empty and numb;  but there’s a lot you can do to change how you feel. With help and support, you can overcome depression and get your life back.

The key to recovery is to start small and take things one day at a time. Feeling better takes time, but you can get there if you make positive choices for yourself each day and draw on the support of others.

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