10 Fitness Tips For Women

Men and women are different, that’s just a fact.  Their bodies are built much differently, which means that certain exercises that are conducive for men may not be so conducive for women.

Unfortunately, for many women heading to their local gyms, the misconception is that their workouts should mirror the same workouts that some of the men are doing.

While this is not to say that they couldn’t do these exercises, or shouldn’t be doing these exercises, there are just some things that will be more beneficial for women.

In this article we’ll explore some fitness tips for women that will hopefully shed some light on this topic, as well as providing useful tips that can be implemented today.

1) Don’t Follow Someone Else’s Routine

This is perhaps one of the most dangerous things that anyone can do starting an exercise program, not just women. What works for some people may not work for other people,  and while there is a possibility that you can just follow someone else’s routine and have success with it, this is just not the case all the time.

Our bodies are built differently from one another, and exercises that someone else may be doing may not be the kinds of exercises that we need to do.   As mentioned earlier, men and women differ greatly, so following the traditional weight resistance exercise plan that a man would follow, just may not be conducive for women.


2) Do What You Enjoy

There are some people in this world you can just give something to, and watch them run with it. There are some people who you can just tell to run on a treadmill or lift some weights and they will do it without asking any questions.

However this seems to be the minority and not the majority.  One of the things that you may find as a woman, is that there are certain exercises and such that you enjoy.

You may not be someone that likes to exercise in a group, so you may opt for walking on your own.  On the flipside of this you may find that you enjoy hanging out with your friends, so you may want to participate in a group exercise class.

The real key here is to do something that you enjoy. The reason you want to do this is that by doing what you enjoy, the chances that you will stick with it will greatly increase.

3) Stop Listening To The Cats

There is a term that some women can be catty.  This is when some are deliberately mean or hurtful.   It’s not fun to be on the receiving end of this, And what you will find is that the type of people who are saying such things are usually jealous of the other person.

If there are people in your life who tend to be catty as you embark on your fitness adventure,  then do yourself a favor and stop listening to them.  These individuals are really just jealous of what you’re trying to achieve and you will be better served by not listening to them.

Surround your self with good people who will encourage you along the way, and get yourself away from listening to the cats.


4) Do What’s Comfortable For You

If we are not comfortable then there’s a chance that we will stop doing something. When it comes to an exercise and fitness program, you want to ensure that what you’re doing is comfortable for you. If it isn’t, then you will need to find something else to do.

While you may be focused and driven to lose that weight, you shouldn’t do so at the expense of your personal feelings.   There are many great fitness programs out there that you can do at home in the privacy of your own house.   Think about what you’re comfortable with and craft your fitness program around that.

5) Stop Comparing

We are big believers that weight loss starts in your head. If you are in the wrong frame of mind, then losing weight will be a difficult thing to try to do.   And oftentimes you’ll see it more as an ordeal rather than a journey to be enjoyed.

There may be someone in your life that is well ahead of you as far as their fitness levels.  There may also be some people that you see at the gym who are in tremendous shape, however the one thing that you need to keep in mind is that all of these people were at the starting line at some point.

They weren’t always as fit as they are when you see them today.   When you’re able to keep this in mind, It will be easy to stop the comparisons and easier to stop being so hard on yourself.

6) Stay In Your Lane

What runs directly alongside comparing yourself to others, is staying in your own lane.  What we mean by this is that you need to realize what your limitations are.   When you see someone running for an hour on the treadmill, and you have not went for a jog in over 10 years, then it would be unrealistic for you to think that you could do the same thing.

When you’re first starting out your exercise and fitness program, make sure that you are staying in your own lane and not trying to jump over into the next one.  This is not only dangerous for you physically, but it can also be dangerous for you mentally as well.

7) Get Your Family Involved

If you are married or have kids, then it’ll be a great idea to get the whole family involved.   Fitness and exercise can be something that the entire family can enjoy, and often times it becomes a time for family bonding as well as a time to get in shape.

If you are married then you may want to think about asking your spouse if they would like to join you at the gym or go for an evening jog.  If you have kids then it would be a great time to get involved in their lives, spend some quality time together and get some playtime in.

You really cannot go wrong when you get your family involved in your fitness and exercise activities.  Not only will this be a great way to spend some quality time together, but it is also a great way for you to build a support team right at home.   This also helps you to stay accountable to actually exercising and staying in shape.

8) Find A Friend

Another thing that you can do to help you to stay on track with your exercise and fitness activities is to find a friend with the same goals in mind.  If you can find someone who is trying to lose weight as well, you’ll be able to find somebody you can work out with and can encourage you along the way.

When we set out to accomplish big goals like losing weight, the journey can get a little tiresome.  It can get difficult at times and the want to give up becomes extremely strong.   When you have someone there who is going through the journey alongside you such as a close friend,  you can lean on one another during these rough times and help to encourage one another.

It gives you a great outlet to talk to somebody when you’re struggling to stay on the straight and narrow with your fitness and exercise program.   What would be even better is if you could get a group of friends together and create a support network outside of your home,  to help achieve your fitness goals.

9) Check Out An All Women’s Facility

If you know for fact that you want to work out inside of a gym to use machines such as a treadmill or weight resistance machines, but don’t feel comfortable being around different types of people, then you may want to check on a facility geared towards women.

A facility such as this understands what your needs and wants and fears are when it comes to losing weight.   With this in mind they can create an environment where you can exercise and get in shape,  while still remaining as comfortable as possible.

If you’re someone who is uncomfortable around the opposite sex when it comes to exercising and fitness, then a facility like this would be an ideal place to work out.

You can check out the facilities in your area online to see what sorts of things they offer, as far as programs and membership packages.  There are some nationally recognized facilities that can be found in most areas, all you need to do is your own research to find them.

10) Set Your Goals

If you already have in mind a certain amount of weight that you want to lose, or if there is a fitness level that you would like to achieve, then what you have to do first is to start setting some concrete goals.

If you don’t know where you want to go, how do you expect to get there?

If you haven’t already done so, we encourage you to sit down and really think about what it is you want to achieve when it comes to your fitness goals.  Do you want to lose a certain amount of weight?  Do you want to run in the next marathon?  Are you just looking to increase your energy and get into better shape?

These are all things that you want to start thinking about before you embark on your fitness and exercise journey.  You really need to think about where you want to go and be able to visualize the kind of body you would like to have.   Armed with these things in mind, and some realistic goals set in place, you will then be able to figure out how you will get there.

What Now?

Where you go from here is really up to you. What you can start to do is talk to some friends to see if they have had the same thoughts as you as getting in shape in this new year.

You can also start to talk to family member such as your children, some of your siblings, or even your parents.  When you can set some fitness goals as a family, You can make it a family affair in losing that weight.

When you’re able to do these sorts of things as a family, great things can start to happen.   You will start to set the standard high for your children and the next generations to come,  so that you can avoid some of the illnesses that come about with obesity.

We highly recommend that you start with setting some goals for your fitness and exercise requirements.  Whether these goals involve you personally, or others such as friends and family, it’s vital that you start putting these goals down to see what you need to do in order to get there.

You can also start to take into account the other responsibilities that you have such as work, hobbies or even other activities that you are involved in.  When you’re able to take a look at such areas, then you will be able to start to set some pretty realistic goals that you want to achieve when it comes to getting into shape.

It’s a new year, and with it comes great expectations that you have not only for yourself and other areas of your life, but also for your health.   We applaud your efforts to want to get into shape and hope that the tips and strategies that we can share with you, will ultimately help you to reach your weight loss and fitness goals.

While losing weight may not be the easiest thing to do, it is definitely one of the most rewarding things that you can accomplish.  

8 Ways To Lose Belly Fat And Keep It Off

Okay, so you are trying to get rid of that belly, huh?  Don’t worry you are not alone.  There are many more people like this out there than you could imagine.

Have you tried that shirt, dress or pair of pants on and found that they just don’t fit like they used to?

Are you tired of going to the beach or anywhere else where your stomach may be on display?
Belly fat is not an area that some necessarily want to talk about, or an area where some want to deal with.

However, if you have been finding that the challenge of losing belly fat and keeping it off has been a losing battle for you, then we hope that this helps.

Here are 8 ways you can lose some of that belly fat and keep it off.



Stay Active

People get busy and there’s no way to get around that. If you have a schedule that keeps you constantly on the go, then you know just how crazy life can get.

As we’re constantly on the go, exercising and watching what we eat can be difficult to do at times.   The unfortunate byproduct of this is that we carry some excess weight that we would rather not.

So what’s the answer to all of this?

Well, if you are unable to exercise, then the next best thing is to try and  are stay as active as possible.  Ideally if you want to keep the belly fat off or lose it to begin with, then you will need to get some type of activity or cardiovascular work in.

Some things that you can do to stay active are things like walking instead of driving if it is possible.

Another thing that you can do to stay active is to take the stairs instead of the elevator, and fitting in times where you can get short bursts of cardiovascular work in such as going for a walk during lunch.

Watch The Foods That You Eat

While many may lead you to believe that exercise can be the solution to your belly fat problems, what you’ll find is that you can continue to work out and run on a treadmill and still keep that belly, IF you aren’t taking the time to watch what you are eating.

Do yourself a favor and read the labels at the grocery store that offer you the nutritional facts for the foods that you will be purchasing.  This will allow you to see just how many calories each of them has, how much fat is in them, and how much of the bad stuff can be found.  You know, stuff like high sugar content and lots of salt.

You also already know the kinds of foods around you that you shouldn’t be eating, and can impede your ability to lose weight.  The types of foods that can be found in this category are snack foods and candy, canned drinks with a lot of sugar in them and foods that are high in fat.

While exercising is a big piece in the fight against losing belly fat, what you’ll find is that your nutrition plays an extremely big role as well.


Go Natural

This tip kind of goes along with the one we just talked about of watching what you eat.

However this one takes it a little further, and asks that you try to choose foods that are more natural in nature as opposed to processed foods.

What this means is choosing foods that do not contain some of the preservatives that you may find in processed foods.

To better illustrate this, we would like you to think about the difference between choosing fresh fruits and vegetables, as opposed to ones that you may find in the canned food aisle, that is loaded with salt and sugars to keep them preserved.

Our bodies really weren’t built to ingest tons of preservatives, which is why it makes sense that natural foods are much more healthy for us than they’re processed siblings.

This tip of going naturally when it comes to foods such as fruits and vegetables,  shouldn’t be restricted just to that area.  Think about other canned foods that you can prepare freshly and naturally.

One that immediately comes to mind is a dish such as chili.   You can often find this dish in a can on a shelf in your local grocery store.  However, what you will find is that it may be chock full of salt and fat.

You can get the ingredients to make a fresh batch of chili in your grocery store.   When you do this you can take control of the amount of fat and salt that goes into it.

While it may take more time for you to go this route, it is the healthier alternative of the two.

Stop Snacking Late At Night

Do you constantly find yourself raiding the refrigerator late at night? Or how about this, do you find yourself driving through your favorite drive-through at midnight because you’re hungry?

If this sounds much like your last few days, then one of the things that you want to do is to stop snacking late at night.   When we eat or snack late at night it can be extremely dangerous.   Oftentimes this is because we have a tendency to reach for the foods that are really bad for us.

Some foods that fall into this category are foods that are high in carbohydrates, foods that are high in salt or foods that are high in fat.   Sometimes some of these foods are a combination of all three (like French fries), which can be very dangerous.

The biggest reason why you want to stop snacking late at night, is that oftentimes you have a tendency of over eating during these sorts of moments.  The problem here is that we go to bed right after we eat, leaving no time for us to burn off those excess calories that we just took in.  If you are a late night snacker, do your best to try and avoid this in the future.

Get Some Extra Weight Work In

If you are already a member of the gym and utilize the cardiovascular machines there,  then you may want to add in some extra work.

While running or jogging can definitely burn some calories off of your body, what you will find is working out with some type of weight resistance program such as lifting weights, can also help to burn off some of those extra calories and excess weight.

Burning off this extra weight can help to take off some of that belly fat that you’ve been looking to get rid of.

You can really pump up your belly fat burning program by adding in a weight resistance workout in addition to your cardiovascular workout, as well as watching what you eat.

Drink Some Tea

There are some individuals who swear by the belly fat busting abilities that drinking tea can bring.  If you have been looking into other ways to add some methods to losing that belly fat and keeping it off, then you may want to consider drinking some tea.

Please keep in mind that tea does have caffeine, which means that if you are affected by drinking caffeinated drinks, then you may want to think twice about this tip.  If you do decide to add something like this into your weight loss program, then be sure to consult with your personal care physician or Doctor to see just how this may affect you.

There is an antioxidant in green tea called EGCG that some have said boosts metabolism.  They have recognized EGCG as the component that helps to mobilize fat cells.

If you already drink tea and enjoy it, then you may want to think about drinking it on a regular basis to help get rid of some of that belly fat.  Green tea especially has been noted as one of the teas that can help boost your metabolism.

Do Some Crunches

Another way that you can get rid of some of the belly fat is to do some crunches.  Now please keep in mind that many people have thought that just doing crunches alone can give you a flat stomach.

That is not what we’re telling you here.

What we are telling you is that by doing crunches in addition to watching what you’re eating, and ensuring that you’re staying active and participating in some kind of cardiovascular activities, then it will help to flatten your stomach.

When you think about it it’s almost as if you’re putting the finishing touches on a piece of artwork.   While that may sound silly to you, think of it this way.   Your stomach contains muscles, and in order to get that muscle tighter and flatter you will want to do some type of exercise to help it along the way.

Doing abdominal crunches or any other type of exercise to help tighten your stomach, will help you to get that flat belly that you have been looking for.

Again, please understand that we are not saying that abdominal crunches alone will help you to lose your belly fat and keep it off.   What we will say is that by combining these kinds of exercises with the proper diet and exercise program, you will put yourself in a better position to have a flatter stomach.

Get Around Like Minded Individuals

This tip deals more with the social aspect of your life,  and truthfully can be the biggest method of losing belly fat and keeping it off.

Think of it this way, when you hang out with your friends what is a tendency that you have?  If you’re like most groups of friends, then you usually have meals together or even consume alcohol together.

It’s difficult to be in this type of circle if everyone is not health conscious.   They say that you become like the people you spend the most time with, so it makes sense that if you hang around with people who like to eat a lot of bad food and drink a lot of alcohol that eventually you’ll be doing the same.

By hanging out with like minded individuals or making friends with people who are trying to lose weight, like to exercise and who watch the types of foods that they eat, it will be much easier for you to stay on the straight and narrow when it comes to a diet and exercise program.

In all likelihood you may already have a few friends like this, and it’s just a matter of hanging around and spending time with them more than some of your other friends who may not have the same types of ideas in mind.

While we are not saying that you should get rid of all of your friends who aren’t on the same page when it comes to weight loss, what we are saying is that you need to be selective in who you choose to hang around with.

This is especially true if you’re not strong enough to resist the urge when they are offering you fatty foods and a beer to drink.

We hope that these eight tips have helped you to get a better idea of the things that you can do to lose belly fat and keep it off.

While there are many other things that you can do to lose your belly and keep that fat off, these tips should help you to reach your goals of losing your belly much more quickly.

Take the time to get some cardiovascular workout in, watch the things that you’re eating and get yourself around people who will encourage instead of discourage you to lose weight.
Following just those three tips mentioned above will help to put you on the right path of reaching your goals of losing your belly.

The Role Of Sugar In Weight Loss

Sugar can be downright addicting.  Have you ever had those moments of weakness when you have reached for a box of donuts or bag of chocolate?

Our intentions are never to eat the whole box or the whole bag, however if you are like most people who are trying to lose weight, then gobbling up every last piece of sugarcoated goodness just seems to happen.

Foods high in sugar can be directly related to an increase in weight gain.  If you don’t believe this to be true, just take a look at the foods in your refrigerator or cupboards that are bad for you.



Now take a look at the sugar content in those foods.  Shocking isn’t it?

We have been told all of our lives that fatty foods are the reason we put on so much weight.  The problem with this line of thinking is that we sometimes get the false  idea that eating everything BUT fatty foods will help us to lose weight.

Unfortunately this just isn’t the case, which is why we will take a look at the role of sugar and weight loss throughout this article.

Why Is Sugar So Bad?

Fructose is the sugar that you have probably heard of that causes all the problems in weight gain.

However, why is sugar or fructose specifically, so bad for you and your body?

In one word – Leptin.   Now you may not be familiar with what leptin is,  but it is something that you need to learn more about if you’re eating lots of food high in sugar, and finding that you just can’t lose the weight.

The effects that fructose has on leptin is staggering.   Leptin is a  hormone that is held by our fat cells.   When we are eating normally and healthy, some of what we eat gets stored within our fat cells.

As our brains begin to see that our bodies are storing enough in fat,  it sends a signal down to the rest of our body with a message that we don’t need to eat anymore.

This beautiful chain of events is supposed to keep us from putting on too much weight.   The body and brain both sense that there is leptin to be found, meaning that we do not need to eat anymore.

Fructose on the other hand,  messes up this chain of events and actually blinds the brain from seeing the storage of leptin.  When the brain sees that leptin is low, it sends a signal that our bodies need to eat more and need to burn less.

Are you starting to see just how detrimental fructose can be on our bodies?

As we become resistant to leptin from consuming too much fructose, our brains get extremely confused.   It does not see the leptin being stored and in turn sends a signal that we need to eat more and burn less.

This strong signal is a reason why it is difficult to just stop eating.   Some say it takes willpower, however if you have ever been on the other end of this then you know just how difficult it can be to utilize this willpower.

This is how a diet high in fructose can wreak havoc on our bodies and actually work against us in the battle against weight-loss.

Fructose Leaves You Feeling Empty

Drinks and foods high in fructose just don’t provide the type of hunger satisfaction that glucose does.

While food and drinks high in glucose can help curb your hunger and make you feel more satisfied, fructose just doesn’t cut it.

What this means for you is that you will continue to keep eating and drinking, well beyond what your body actually needs, and if you’re trying to lose weight this can cause all kinds of problems.

Because fructose does not make you feel fuller after a meal, you will more than likely reach for extras and more foods than you should.  And as you probably know, by doing this you will be putting on more weight.

Are you starting to see just how problematic a diet high in sugar, specifically fructose, can do you more harm than good when it comes to trying to lose weight?

It’s Downright Addicting



While the jury is still out on how addictive sugar can be on the human body,  it really doesn’t take a scientist to figure out that foods high in sugar are comforting for people.   That is why they call it comfort food.

Think about how many times you have had a craving for ice cream, candy or just a soda.   Think about how your brain starts firing in all directions when you start thinking about having your favorite sugary snacks.

For some these snacks could be things such as ice cream, for others it could very well be candy bars and for others it could be large portions of your favorite sugary drinks like soda.
When you think about it, these types of drinks and snacks are in a way just like drugs.   On some level we all know that they’re bad for us, but we just can’t seem to walk away from our favorite drinks and snacks.

If you knew just how much problems this was causing your body, you may be tempted to turn and walk away from these sugary snacks.

However, just like anything that can become addicting, it just isn’t that easy.  For some of us,  we just can’t seem to turn down our favorite drinks or snacks when it comes to sugar content.

So What Do You Do Now?

Now that you know just how dangerous sugar can be on your weight-loss goals, there are some things that you can start to do, starting today.

One of the things that you can do is to try your best to eat or drink your favorite sugary snacks in moderation.   What does this look like?

Well at first it may look a bit difficult,  however if you’re serious about your weight loss then you should get serious about moderating the foods that you love, because honestly they could be slowly killing you.

One way that you can moderate the amount of these types of snacks, is to try to taper off the amount that you consume on a regular basis and replace them with a healthier alternative.
For instance, let’s say that you have a tendency to drink several cans of soda in one day.  For this example let’s say that you drink three sodas a day, one with every meal.

What you can try and do is to cut back to just two sodas a day.  In this example you can replace your lunchtime soda with a glass or two of water.   It may seem weird at first, but the more that you do it the easier it will become.

When you’re ready you can take this even further, and taper off even more.   In this case perhaps you could replace one soda a day with water, then replace another soda a day with perhaps a cup of tea, but don’t add any sugar to the tea.

Some teas have been found to help speed up the drinkers’ metabolism and help in the assistance of weight-loss.

Another thing that you can do is to start looking for healthier alternatives to the food and drinks that you have in your home.

On your next grocery shopping trip, take a look at what you normally buy, THEN take a look at the other brands to see if there are reduced sugar alternatives among them.

You can do this with the foods that you stock your home with, as well as the drinks that you normally buy for you and your family.

You can also cut back on the portion sizes of some of these high sugar foods and drinks.   For example, if someone pours you a glass of soda, fill your glass with more ice or ask them to pour a smaller amount so you can control just how much of it you put in your body.

Just Walk Away

One last tip we would like to leave you with is this.   You probably have a lot of friends and family who like to feed you.   One of the problems with home cooked meals and home-baked goods,  is that oftentimes we just don’t know what the cook is putting into it.

While the person may be well-intentioned, there may be a ton of sugar and fat that is going in to those foods.

What this means for you is that you really don’t know how much sugar you’re taking in by indulging in these sorts of meals.

One of the things that you can do is just walk away.   Now, please understand that we don’t mean for you to be rude, turn your back and just walk away.   No, what we’re talking about is being able to politely decline and walk the other way so you can avoid eating things that can ruin your diet.

As you can see the role of sugar in weight loss is a big one.  If you are ill prepared to deal with it,  you could be ruining your diet without even knowing it.

After 10 Years Of Research On Turmeric, Indian Scientists Discover Two New Anti-Cancer Molecules!

The researchers were inspired by the healing properties of turmeric (haldi) and studied it for 10 years.

Researchers from the Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya (RGPV), Bhopal said they were inspired by turmeric, because it is a time-tested remedy.
“Inspired by the healing properties of turmeric, which is available in every household and is considered to be an effective anti-septic that can be given to almost everyone to treat various ailments, we have studied it deeply for almost 10 long years and have discovered two new molecules,” said Vice Chancellor of RGPV, Professor Piyush Trivedi.

Their research helped them discover two new anti-carcinogenic molecules, code named CTR-17 and CTR-20.

“The molecules elicit anti-cancer activity through a mechanism that involves obstruction of cancer cell division by inhibiting tubulin, a protein which is important for many essential cellular functions, including chromosome segregation during cell division, intracellular transport, development and maintenance of cell shape, cell motility and distribution of molecules on cell membranes,” said doctoral student Dr. C. Karthikeyan.



Unlike other cancer treatments, these molecules only target cancer cells and do not harm healthy cells. 

“They are novel and unique in the sense that they are unlike other cancer drugs, which have major side-effects, especially when one undergoes chemotherapy. These molecules target and destroy only cancerous cells and cause no damage to other vital cells in the body,” adds Professor Trivedi.
The research was carried out in collaboration with Canada-based Advanced Medical Research Institute’s Dr. Hyoun Lee’s team and a US provisional patent application has been officially filed to protect intellectual property rights.

How One Woman Lost Nearly 100 Lbs by Making Weight Loss Fun

"If your workout feels like suffering, try something else."

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Before: 232 lbs
After: 137 lbs

Kacey Lauchnor, 25, grew up in a family with suspect health habits. "If we ever ate a vegetable, it was covered in cheese," says the graphic designer from Herriman, Utah. Her eating habits continued throughout college and after her wedding, and by 2012, 5'6" Kacey clocked in at 232 pounds. "I knew I was getting fat," she says. "But I still thought, I'm not that fat."



After her husband—who had reached 314 pounds himself—was denied life insurance coverage because of his size, Kacey signed them up for a variety of workout classes. "It was hard at first but a lot of fun," she says. "It was always something different—cardio, lunges, squats, kickboxing." By August 2014, she had cracked the 150's, and before the winter holidays, Kacey saw 140 pounds on the scale for the first time she could remember. (Her husband dropped a cool 85 pounds too.)

Here's how Kacey was able to accomplish her weight-loss goals:

Write down the plan. "Willpower doesn't happen in the moment. Always make food decisions—like what you'll eat for lunch—ahead of time so you're not tempted in the moment."
•  Learn what full is. "As I started to focus on eating more slowly, I began to naturally notice when I felt like stopping." •  Find exercise you enjoy. "If your workout feels like suffering, try something else."

RELATED: How One Woman Finally Put the Kibosh on Her Stress Eating and Lost 100 Pounds

For more on Kacey's incredible weight-loss journey, pick up the July/August 2015 issue of Women's Health, on newsstands now. In the meantime, check out more inspiring weight-loss success stories and healthy ways to lose weight.