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Thursday March 25, 2010

Food cravings mean that the body has its signals mixed up. When we are exhausted or blue, we have low blood sugar and/or low serotonin, and the body signals the brain that it needs a pick-me-up. This signal causes a sugar craving or carbohydrate craving. There are three basic factors responsible for food craving; hormonal imbalance, dieting, adrenal fatigue. To learn more check out this week's article on Food craving: understanding body signals.

In fitness
Namita

When working out it is best to train larger muscles first and smaller muscles last. Training large muscle groups (thighs, chest, and back) will take a majority of your energy; therefore you need to train your large muscle groups when you are at your strongest. Smaller muscles (biceps, triceps, and forearms) should be trained after larger muscles because they don't require as much energy to train. If you train smaller muscles first then you will not have enough strength left to train your larger muscles.

Why Do People Fail?

This is a loaded question, because people do not fail--they quit. A bridge or a piece of equipment might fail, but it does not quit. It is inherent in human nature to always be doing something. We cannot stand a second or minute of the day not being filled with some type of activity. Even in those times where there is no physical activity, you will find your mind working like a straw caught in a tornado.

We are continually moving and changing, whether toward or away from something. Many of us get stuck in what is termed our "comfort zone." This is the zone in which we feel comfortable and secure and do not want anything to threaten this comfort or security.

An individual sitting on a warm stove has no incentive to move. Heat that stove to white hot and watch that person move. Strong dissatisfaction with your life can do the same thing--it can get you moving.

Life is eternally moving. You either advance or you regress. There is no standing still. The choice of the direction your life will take is yours to make. Nobody else can make that choice for you.

You will find that once you have made a commitment to doing something, the only thing capable of stopping you is you. Naturally, it will have to be something within reason which also forces you to stretch yourself in order to attain it. When you do not stretch, you do not grow.

Do you really want to succeed in life? Never quit. When something isn't working as it should, try another approach. Think of the word QUIT as fouler than the foulest word you have ever heard. Get it completely out of your vocabulary. Be persistent and consistent and you will succeed.

 

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"No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined."
Harry Emerson Fosdick

Tuna and Bean Salad

Makes: 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/4 cup natural rice vinegar

• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

• 1/2 can (about 8 oz.) no salt added garbanzo beans

• 1/2 can (about 8 oz.) no salt added cannellini beans

• 1 dozen kalamata olives, pitted

• 1/2 medium red onion, sliced lengthwise into thin slivers

• 2 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh mint

• 2 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley

• 1 (12 oz.) can solid white albacore tuna in water, drained

• 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

Direction:

• In small bowl whisk together oil, garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper. Set aside dressing.

• In medium bowl gently toss beans, olives, onion, mint and parsley. Add tuna and sufficient dressing to coat. Gently toss and drizzle additional dressing, if needed, to thoroughly coat. Add chopped red pepper and mix well. Cover and place in refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes up to 24 hours before serving.

Nutritional Information:

Per serving: 310 calories, 13 g total fat (2 g saturated fat), 20 g carbohydrate, 26 g protein, 5 g dietary fiber, 330 mg sodium.
 

Food craving : understanding body signals

Food cravings mean that the body has its signals mixed up. When we are exhausted or blue, we have low blood sugar and/or low serotonin, and the body signals the brain that it needs a pick-me-up. This signal causes a sugar craving or carbohydrate craving. Why do we crave for food?

There are three basic factors responsible for food craving:

• Hormonal Imbalance

• Dieting

• Adrenal fatigue

Serotonin is our basic feel-good hormone. Hormonal imbalance or weak digestion can lead to low serotonin. Unfortunately, sugars and simple carbohydrates release a short burst of serotonin — we feel good for a moment, but soon return to our low-serotonin state — then crave more sugar and simple carbohydrates.

Insulin is responsible for maintaining stable blood sugar levels by telling the body’s cells when to absorb glucose from the bloodstream. Being insulin resistant means your body stops responding to insulin, and instead grabs every calorie it can and deposits it as fat. So no matter how little you eat, you will gradually gain weight. Insulin resistance leads directly to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. And a low-fat diet makes it far more likely you will suffer from this condition. At the same time, your cells cannot absorb the glucose they need, so they signal your brain that you need more carbohydrates or sugars. The result is persistent food cravings.

If you eat a low-fat diet in the hope of losing weight, you unintentionally make the problem worse. If, like millions of women, you have eaten a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet for many years, or followed fad diets, the odds are good that you have become at least partially insulin resistant. Millions of women are trying the Atkins Diet or the South Beach Diet. While these diets are an improvement over the conventional low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet, they can worsen your metabolic problems, because dieting itself is stressful to the body. So many women need to heal their metabolism first before even considering weight loss.

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