Have you tried visualization for weight loss? If you are not familiar with visualization, it may sound like a strange or mysterious technique, but it isn’t really.

Visualizing is something that has been proven effective for any goal or desire, including weight loss.

Visualization takes advantage of how our brains operate. The fact is, your brain does not know the difference between what is really happening and what you are imagining. This may be hard to believe, but it’s been proven. One way this has been shown is by experiments with athletes. Athletes such as basketball players were found to gain just as much advantage from visualizing success in performing a certain task as by physically practicing it. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: basketball

Are you a woman who is very desperate to lose weight fast? Then I am sure you have fallen for those bold weight loss ads which get published in women’s magazines one time or other. Truth to be told, if ever there was any truth in the saying “tall hype and minuscule result”, it would surely apply to those magazine ads. These ads make you believe that you would lose weight in just a week or two with the recommended diet programs. Fact is, you would lose only your time and money instead of weight.

These ads are very well-tuned to a certain demographic: educated women belonging to middle and upper classes who want to lose weight fast with the least effort on their part. There are many women, young and old, who are very desperate to lose all the extra pounds as fast as they could.

Naturally, any diet program which claims to fulfill their desire would attract them. What they don’t know is that such diets are good only for a few days; in other words, you would be losing weight rapidly for the first few days after which, it would be an upward trend (read weight gain). Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: basketball, food, food intake, Swimming, Tennis

Workouts are something hated not only by kids but also adults. Now, if you hate workouts as much as your kid then this article would benefit both of you. Believe it or not, a well-balanced workout regimen could single-handedly keep you fit and healthy throughout your whole life. And of course, no one said you need to do boring cardios for hours or spend 24 hours in your local gym. Simple activities could help you and your kids keep the pounds away.

One reason behind the ever-increasing level of childhood obesity is the increasing addiction of children to video games, PSPs, etc. If they sit and watch video games all day, when would they find time for workouts? The only way to break this habit is to take them regularly for a walk along the park. At the beginning, kids may hesitate to move beyond the world of video games.

Good news is that I have a remedy for this too. Ask yourself first: are YOU an active parent? If not, set a daily schedule for morning walks and then when you come back home tell your kid how much you loved and enjoyed the walk as well as how much your body benefitted from it. The more interesting you make it to him, the more he would be willing to walk.

Slowly you could scale it over to the next level which includes jogging, running, swimming, etc. – activities which would help your kid burn even more calories than he would by walking.

But like I said, they won’t make the first move unless you do, and to be honest, you should move your body too as obesity is harming you as much as your kids. When they see that you prefer to walk, run and jog instead of sitting at home and watching movies, they would soon emulate you and do the same.

Also, if there is any sport that you are passionate about or used to indulge in during your youth, you should start participating in that sport again. It could be anything which makes your body move and sweat, such as cricket, basketball, tennis, etc. Note that by ’sport’ I don’t mean chess or other board games; they are as bad as video games.

Like anything else in life, neither you nor your kid would find time for such activities unless you set a schedule for them. You should prioritize your health over even your most important tasks; once you do that, you would automatically find time to do the activities which would keep you away from fat belly and flabby arms.

Of course, the same applies to your kid too.

Tags: basketball, chess, cricket, obesity, Swimming, Tennis

It is said that America tops the obese adult population in the world, which is of course true. However, one seems to overlook the fact that America is also home to the highest population of obese children. If WHO (World Health Organization) is to be believed, our world contains more than twenty million obese kids, most of whom are in the age group of five-eight.

WHO also says that childhood obesity has reached the level of an epidemic in America, so much so that in the past three decades the number of obese American kids has more than tripled. Isn’t your child one of them too? It is time to take control of your kid’s life and help him lead the kind of comfortable and healthy life we would want him to lead. And this is only possible by helping him get rid of the extra pounds.

In fact, if America tops the number of obese kids, even third world countries are not far behind. You would think that an economically backward continent like Africa would have skinny kids because most of their parents are too poor to feed them properly, let alone overfeed them. However, very often our beliefs don’t coincide with reality. Just recently a special task force sent to Africa to gauge the health stats of the people living there encountered more obese kids than malnourished children.

You maybe thinking: why all this hullabaloo about childhood obesity? What is wrong if the belly of your kid if a tad fatter than his peers? The answer is: just like overweight adults, fat kids are also likely to suffer from harmful diseases such as high blood pressure, type 1 diabetes, hypertension, fatigue, heart diseases, and in some cases, even early death.

Believe it or not, the root cause of childhood obesity has little to do with genetics and more with poor lifestyle habits. Often people add two and two and jump to the conclusion that the kid is fat because of his parents. But that is not true at all. Kids emulate the unhealthy habits of their parents and naturally become fat like them. If you and your kids follow healthy lifestyle habits, both of you would be able to get rid of fat very quickly.

Truth to be told, the onus of the rising levels of childhood obesity lies on parents to a great extent. We parents prefer our kids to have junk foods since they can be easily procured from outside and help save the time we would have spent on cooking. A diet rich in fat and sugar could only make your child fatter and fatter. There is really nothing new to be said about it. Unless you are willing to spend a little time and energy in cooking healthy foods at home, don’t expect your kids to become any slimmer.

Apart from making them eat healthy foods such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, it is also important that you try to reduce their intake of soda and fizzy drinks.

Controlling the food habits of your kids is only half the battle won, the other half being that of encouraging them to become more active. If you are concerned about your child’s future and wish to offer him a healthy life, you would need to take him away from Xbox and PSPs to outdoor sports such as cricket, basketball, tennis, etc. Encouraging them to indulge in cardiovascular activities such as swimming, dancing, rope jumping, etc., would also help them burn fat and lose weight.

Tags: Africa, America, basketball, cricket, diabetes, energy, fatigue, food habits, heart diseases, high blood pressure, hypertension, obesity, outdoor sports, Swimming, Tennis, World Health Organization

Even a few years ago the position of ‘epidemic’ was hold either by cancer or drugs. Not any more. Thanks to the fast and unheeded lifestyle lived by most American teenagers, teenage obesity has almost become one of America’s leading epidemics, and this is not an exaggeration.

Believe it or not, it didn’t become an epidemic in one day or year. During the last five decades Americans have become somewhat lazier and started preferring easy and comfortable lifestyle to hard work. American adults were probably the first to fall prey to obesity, followed by children and teenagers. Today American teenagers ape the unhealthy lifestyle habits of their parents, and teenage obesity is the natural outcome of it.

If you are a red-blooded American citizen you would probably voice a loud “NO” against obesity. After all, if a large percentage of a country’s population suffers from the pangs of killer obesity, what would be the future of such a country. It is no secret that people can keep their native country healthy only when they are fit and healthy themselves, and the secret to living a long and healthy life lies in losing the extra pounds.

Apart from the fact that obesity is itself a disease, it also brings forth several other killer diseases into the human body such as diabetes, hypertension, fatigue, irritability, high blood pressure, heart-related problems, stroke, etc., and even though instances of obesity-related deaths are rare, they DO occur nonetheless.

As for remedy, there is really nothing unique and new to be said here. Since it all started with following an easy and fast lifestyle, people need to revert the process by copying the healthy habits followed by their forefathers. In good old times, teenagers used to play outdoor sports such as volleyball, tennis, basketball, etc. Some of them even used to indulge in hula hooping, rope jumping, skiing, scuba diving, etc. Today’s teens prefer to sit at home and watch television or play video games. Is it then any wonder if they become overweight in due course of time?

Coming over to foods – chips, popcorn balls, candies and chocolates are as much favored by a teen as a pre-teen. In fact even adults take a fancy to these delicious foods. When teens see their parents enjoying a packet of popcorn while watching a Hollywood movie, they get even more encouraged to follow the same routine. Add to that the fact that today’s teens attend dozens of parties just like their parents and you cannot expect a party without beer or soda.

Junk foods have entrapped us so much that we have almost made them an integral part of our staple diet by eating them all the time, be it at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Once again the outcome of following such unhealthy eating habits couldn’t be anything else except obesity.

It is difficult to modify a teenager’s eating habits unless you take recourse to coercion in some form or other, which in turn would do more harm than good. The best way to tackle the situation is by monitoring your kid’s lifestyle habits right from the start.

From a very young age, they should be taught the benefits of playing tennis over watching videos games or PSPs. They should also be taught that chips and cookies are not their friends and that they should eat organic fruits and vegetables as often as possible. These simple measures would go a long way in keeping them fit and healthy throughout their whole life.

Don’t forget that you should also follow the same healthy lifestyle you expect your children to follow.

Tags: America, basketball, cancer, diabetes, fatigue, high blood pressure, hypertension, obesity, outdoor sports, scuba diving, skiing, stroke, Tennis, volleyball

You know and I know it too, that exercising is one of the best ways for your kids to remain fit and healthy. Unfortunately, it is not easy to convince little kids about the benefits of exercises. You can do everything possible in your budget: buy home-exercise machines, exercise videos, etc., but your kids would rather play with video games or surf the internet sitting on a chair, than get up and do some workouts. When they see that their parents are sitting on the couch for hours watching television, it makes matters worse.

Here are some steps to make your kids exercise the easy way:

1. Do what you teach them: If you teach your kids that exercise is good for their health, the same set of advice applies to you too. Don’t sit at home for hours; instead, walk the talk by going out to your local gym and spending a couple of hours on the workouts. It will not only keep you fit and healthy, but you would also become a role model for your kids. Kids are in the habit of emulating others. As soon as they see you exercising regularly, they too will emulate it and begin exercising, if for nothing else, then simply out of curiosity.

2. Intensive workouts are not for kids: Don’t let your kids do intensive workouts; they will soon feel tired and bored with them and would start hating exercises altogether. Don’t buy your kids things like exercise equipments and weights as your kids can suffer from bone and muscles injuries. Instead, let your kids do some lighter bodyweight exercises.

3. Engage your kids in other activities: In order to make sure that your kids lead an active and healthy lifestyle, it is important to teach them about a variety of activities instead of letting them stick to a few workouts. Take them out for a swimming or dancing session. Buy them cycles and let them cycle around the neighborhood. Sometimes, let them jog, run, play sports such as tennis and basketball, etc. Sometimes you can even take them to adventurous holidays and let them engage in surfing.

Engaging your kids in a variety of activities will make sure that they lead an active and healthy lifestyle in future instead of being mute spectators to the activities and sports of others. And as you already know, the more active your kids are, the fitter they will be.

Making your kids exercise is not as hard as you think. Just don’t use force, ever. Follow the three simple tips above and you will soon stop worrying about your kids’ health.

Tags: basketball, chair, internet sitting, play sports, role model for your kids, surfing, Swimming, Tennis

When it comes to flabby arms or fatty thighs, people often tend to put the blame squarely on their genes and parents. It is true that genes do affect our body weight to an extent, but they cannot make you so fat as to give your thigh an ugly and bulky look!

If you have fatty thighs, it just means that you have eaten too much of fatty foods (fatty foods = fatty thighs, makes sense eh?) and led a sedentary life. However, if you are willing to do the needful, it is possible to get rid of those fatty thighs in no time! Ready? Okay let me tell you what you need to do for this purpose.

1. Be patient: While I am not trying to be a sexist here, I have found that when it comes to weight loss, women usually tend to become more impatient than men. The fact remains that just as you didn’t gain weight overnight, you also shouldn’t expect to lose the same within twenty-four hours!

Even if you don’t see the scales dropping after a week of rigorous workout and dieting, don’t give up yet and don’t panic! Weight loss takes time and it is possible that you won’t see any positive results in the first few weeks. However if you stay on track and keep doing the things others have done to lose weight successfully, you are sure to reach your goal at some point of time!

It is wrong on your part to assume that losing weight is too hard, and it is equally wrong to believe that obesity is a family curse which you have to bear throughout your entire life. Remember that you have the freedom to choose the way you want to lead your life, and if you wish to become slimmer by getting rid of the extra pounds, you CAN!

two. Don’t shy away from workouts: Women often shy away from workouts, partly because they are strenuous and boring, and partly because they are afraid of acquiring muscular bodies like those of the WWF wrestlers and losing their femininity. That is not true at all!

There are usually two types of weight loss workouts: one which helps you lose weight by burning your fat deposits and the other which makes you strong by build strong lean muscle mass for you. However, neither would be able to provide you a bodybuilder’s body, firstly because a female body lacks the amount of testererone needed to build that kind of body and secondly, it takes more than just workouts to become a bodybuilder (think supplements and pills).

In my opinion, working out is probably one of the best and quickest ways to get rid of fatty thighs! However I don’t recommend doing long boring cardios. Cardios are good for sure, but they alone cannot help you achieve the kind of slim figure you want within a very short time.

For best results, you should combine cardios with intense workouts. Weight lifting is one of the best intense workouts for quick thigh fat loss. As for cardios, walking is simple, easy and effective. Besides walking, rope jumping, running, dancing, swimming, playing outdoor sports such as basketball or tennis, etc., are all equally effective in helping you acquire slimmer and sexier thighs!

Now that you know how to get rid of fatty thighs, what are you waiting for? Get started right now, and five or six months from now you would be able to show off your slim legs proudly to your friends!

Tags: basketball, obesity, outdoor sports, Swimming, Tennis

I don’t need to tell you how much workouts are crucial for quick weight loss. However, if you don’t do the following three things, your workout sessions would just prove to be a waste of time. Let me tell you about the top three things you should do in order to extract the most out of each and every workout session you participate in!

Variety is the spice of life: This is true not only of foods but also workouts! If you want to gain the maximum benefit out of exercises, you should do a variety of workouts so as to keep your body guessing! When you do the same old workout each and every day, your body gets accustomed to it and consequently burns fewer calories than before.

Think about it this way: if you eat the same old food time and again your tongue would get used to its taste and then you would no longer be as interested in that food as before! The same holds true for workouts as well!

So one day you may do some jogging, another day, indulge in swimming, then basketball, cycling, etc. If you are doing intense workouts you should alternate between the various types of intense workouts available!

Replace long boring cardios with interval training: The days of long boring cardios are gone. Why would you spend four hours on cardios when you could gain the same benefit within just five minutes?

Interval training is the new craze among weight loss aspirants. You only need to spend five minutes on it in order to lose weight quickly and easily! Apart from being a huge time saver, another advantage of interval training over cardios is that it helps you burn fat even at rest! Just imagine, won’t it be nice if you could burn fat simply by sitting on your couch and watching your favorite movie? If you want that then you need to start doing interval training!

Snack before exercising: Who said snacking before exercising is not good? If you snack one-and-a-half hour before starting the workout, you have nothing to worry about! When working out, many people become fatigued half-way. This won’t happen to you if you snack before hitting the gym.
The best kind of snack for this purpose is a low-carbohydrate protein bar! You should also drink plenty of water before, during and after exercising! The more hydrated your body is, the easier it will be for you to sustain the intensity of workouts!

Tags: basketball, cycling, food, food time, Swimming

I just found a story at People Magazine that Baron Davis, the 6′ 3″ L.A. Clippers guard, is on Jenny Craig.

What a strange story that a weight loss program that is built for normal people, and maybe even some people that get no exercise, is now being use by an NBA player in the off season to get in shape.

Inspired by current spokeswoman Latifah, Davis, 29, started the plan at the beginning of August to get in shape for basketball season.

“I know Queen Latifah, and when I saw her out there using it, I thought maybe I could use it, too, to work on my health and fitness goals and inspire others,” he tells PEOPLE.

During the NBA off-season, Davis let his fitness slide. “In the off-season, it’s kind of hard to maintain day-to-day,” he says. “I don’t want to get up and cook. And when I pig out, I’m the type of person where there’s no limit to what I can do.” Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: baron davis, basketball, current spokeswoman, energy, jenny craig, L.A., L.A. Clippers guard, Latifah, National Basketball Association, nba, player, Queen, queen latifah

It is said that hosting the Olympic games is an opportunity to showcase your country and this will lead to increased tourism over the coming years. Well China seems to have had another side effect to hosting the Olympics and that is getting more people interested in exercise and fitness.

The end of the Olympic Games has not been the end of exercise for Beijing, for people’s enthusiasm for keeping fit has been encouraged.

In a country where going to gyms was not as common, even in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, as in developed countries the immediate aftermath of the Games has seen greater interest in exercise.

“I liked watching the basketball games most. I myself wanted to play when I saw the players fight hard on the field, so I came here with my friends,” the 19-year-old Liu Bing said at an outside basketball field in downtown Beijing. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: basketball, Beijing, Capital Indoor Stadium, China, CNY, exercise, fitness, olympic games, outdoor exercise, Shanghai, sports fields, the Olympic games, the Olympics, USD, volleyball, Zhu Mo