7 Signs You Are Doing Too Much Cardio Exercise

Tis the season for folks to be hitting the cardio confessionals...
But too many folks are doing too much cardio exercise and expecting to lose weight with cardio, even though cardio is over-rated for weight loss. In fact, you might suffer from the Dark Side of Cardio if you do too much cardio exercise.
So today while I did my short, burst exercise style workout, I watched all those folks on the cardio machines and I noticed they go through some interesting rituals during their workouts.
This got me thinking, and I came up with "The 7 Signs You Are Doing Too Much Cardio".
#1 - You have to spend 5 minutes before your workout flipping through all the magazines in the gym to find one you haven't read before.
#2 - You know the other cardio addicts on the machines beside you (that you talk to everyday) better than you know your own friends.
#3 - You know exactly how many calories you burn per minute on every machine in the gym. (And you use that information to justify every calorie you eat.)
#4 - You simply hate doing it and dread your workouts more than a trip to the dentist.
#5 - The only thing you are losing is precious time - and not belly fat.
#6 - You go to the gym to watch your favorite television shows while doing cardio.
#7 - You're getting overuse injuries from repetitive motion because you keep doing the same activity over and over again everyday.
Listen, cardio is not the be all and end all of exercise for fat loss.
Most of your fat burning results are going to come from your nutrition when starting a weight loss program. So focus on whole, natural foods, and avoid foods that come from a bag or a box. If it's been modified in any way, you don't need it.
Once you've taken care of your nutrition, look for workouts that you enjoy that allow you to build strength, mobility, and fitness. Just don't do the same cardio workout over and over again everyday.
Beware the 7 signs you are doing too much cardio!

4 Reasons Why People Start Looking For Stomach Shaping Workouts

An effective stomach shaping workout can do you a great deal of good. This is such an established medical advice, there should be no doubts at all. And yet, if you are like many typical office workers, the only exercise you get is walking to and from your car to your office or garage. Go jogging, play tennis, work out at the gym? Don't be ridiculous! Not with an 80-hour work week. And yet, some people get off their butts to start working out again, after years of inactivity. Why them and not others? When interviewed, here are the four most common reasons they give.
1. Simple Physical Activities Get Harder
For those people passing the 40-year mark, they start noticing that simple physical activities begin to leave them breathless. The 20-yard dash from the entrance of their office building to the closing lift door leaves them panting and sweating. Bending down to pick up the pen they dropped suddenly requires effort. When they see their reflection, the first thing they see is their belly. The first time they notice this, it's quite a shocker. It gets them looking for good abdominal work out tips to get themselves back into shape.
2. They Start Turning Into The Blob
Especially for singles, when they realize that they couldn't get any dates for the past 3 months, this is a major downer. They step into a bar... and people of the opposite sex no longer check them out. Other men glance at them with smug looks or rude sniggers. For many, the urge to regain both their handsome looks and social life is a strong driving force to get them searching for great ab workouts.
3. The Doctor Said "Exercise... Or Else!"
One thing that almost always sent someone hunting for workout routines for their abs is the result from their latest medical screening. As long as the results are all in the black, it is all too easy to ignore their pants getting tighter. But once their doctor starts warning them that their flab has left them with high blood glucose readings, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and a higher health insurance premium, not being able to see their feet when they look down starts taking on greater significance. No one wants to die young, and this desire often proves to be a strong motive to start working out on stomach shaping routines to get rid of the unnecessary and ugly flab around the belly.
4. Their Wives Start Nagging Them About Their Weight
Family men often start following abdominal work out tips when their wives start complaining that they are starting to look FAT. To keep their wives from worrying about them (or to stop the incessant nagging - take your pick), they start making time to work out three or four times every week. They may have to wake up a half-hour earlier everyday, or sleep a half-hour later, but they dig into some simple workouts to trim the flab around their middle.
Regardless of why people start on their stomach shaping workouts, they end up more healthy and more alert. They live longer, and remain vigorous even to the end of their lives. Whether they do it for themselves or for their loved ones, they often find the workouts worth it.

I'm on a Diet, But Please Order the Pizza!

In today's world of never ending diets and numerous angles for reducing calories and fat content there is one thing that seems to stand out in spite of all of our "good diet" intentions. We want to lose weight but we do NOT want to give up one of our most beloved and favorite foods... "The Pizza Pie".
Yes, that's right...we want a great diet plan but the thought of giving up our unquenchable desire for the infamous pizza pie is simply out of the question. We'll try "whole wheat pizza", "sun dried tomato pizza", "grilled chicken pizza" you name it, just don't leave out that last descriptive word "pizza."
A "watered down" form of pizza is better than no pizza at all! Any form of pizza that suggests we're cutting corners with calories and making headway on reducing fat but still enjoying the taste of one of our favorite foods and past times, well that's an idea worth addressing.
The fact is pizza is one of the most beloved foods in the world. Here's a few facts to ponder that suggest our love for pizza:
• Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza EACH day, that's about 350 slices per second.
• According to a recent Gallup Poll, 82 percent of children ages 3 and 11 prefer PIZZA over chicken nuggets, hot dogs, macaroni & cheese, and hamburgers.
• Gourmet toppings are gaining ground in some areas of the country such as chicken, oysters, crayfish, dandelions, sprouts, eggplant, Cajun shrimp, artichoke hearts and tuna. More recent trends include game meats such as venison, duck and Canadian bacon.
• Pizza is a $30+ BILLION per year industry. There are approximately 69,000 pizzerias in the United States. Approximately 3 BILLION pizzas are sold in the U.S. each year. (Source: Blumenfeld and Associates)
Let's face it, we want an effective diet but we don't want to give up the pizza pie that we've grown to love and adore.If we could only incorporate healthy stuff like whole wheat", some form of "gluten free" flour, or even organic tomatoes that will do just fine.
Whatever we need to do but the last thing we want to do is ELIMINATE the pizza pie.
I guess there will never be a substitute for pizza. It doesn't matter if we're dieting or not. As a matter of fact, you can't have a good and workable diet plan unless you have a diet pizza associated with the plan.
If there's a way to "squeeze in" a "workable" pizza then I might just take a look at your diet plan. If there's no way to do that...well... the diet plan might be a bit to strict for me. Give us all breaks... find a way to work in the taste we've all grown tolove and crave. Find a way to create a PIZZA that will fit into our diet plans, because if you don't, invariably, we're going to wait until no one's looking and we're going to pick up that telephone and order the pie of all pies.
Better yet, we'll crank up the oven and make our own. We want the taste that can't be substituted or denied. We want the one and only pie that can be customized to our taste buds and our taste buds alone. We want our favorite pizza pie and we want it now!

Delicious Ways to Cut Calories

I recently joined Weight Watchers and their plan has made me see where I was going wrong in my diet. Each day I learn new ways of cooking and eating that trim calories from the foods that I eat so that they will fit into the plan. I'm one who loves all the fattening foods and a lot of the non-fat things don't work for me... like non-fat sour cream, non-fat cheese, non-fat mayonnaise or non-fat salad dressing... yuck! I have found a lot of things that work though, so there's hope! Here's some tips I've learned along the way:
1. Trim some calories from fried chicken by taking the skin off first. Yes, it's still fried chicken, but at least you've taken off some calories. Also be sure to drain the chicken well on a paper towel when finished frying; this will also help with the calories. Lastly, eat just one piece. Portion control can be a powerful way to control how much you eat, resulting in calorie reduction. If you eat it slowly and savor it, it will be a much more satisfying and enjoyable experience than gulping down multiple pieces. This applies to any food.
2. If you're an ice cream junky like me, you can still have it! Just buy ice cream bars instead of ice cream that you can dish up yourself. This way you limit how much you have. For me, it's impossible to dish up only a little ice cream, but an ice cream bar treat is great and I know it's only 1 serving. A word of warning: be sure to look at the calories of the bars before buying... some premium bars have more calories than your big dish of ice cream.
3. Another tip for ice cream junkies is to switch to popsicles, juice bars, sherbet or Italian ice. These all have a lot less calories than ice cream but are delicious alternatives.
4. One last tip for ice cream junkies. A delicious treat that is very similar to an ice cream sandwich, but has VERY LITTLE calories: Take 2 chocolate graham crackers and sandwich 2-3 Tbsp. fat-free whipped topping between them... these are so good, you won't believe there's hardly any calories! By the way, I mentioned earlier that a lof of the fat-free stuff I don't like... well, fat-free whipped topping is one that I do like.
Can you tell my biggest downfall was ice cream?
5. Here's a recipe for a delicious salad dressing that's almost fat-free:
Chinese Salad Dressing
1/4 cup lemon juice, canned or bottled
2 Tbsp soy sauce
4 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp table salt
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp black pepper
Mix all ingredients together unitl sugar dissolves. Delicious!
6. Think of all the healthy things you like and play up on them. For me, I love Sushi, Shrimp, Stir-Fries, Salsas, Fruit, Soups, Roasted Vegetables, Salads and Smoothies. You can also get your family members' opinions on the healthy foods they like so there's more options. I made a list of these items to keep my memory fresh, and when I make meals, I try to focus on these types of meals.
7. If you like French Fries, I have found a delicious alternative! Simply slice potatoes, put them on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, spray the potatoes with the spray, season and cook at 400F for 40-60 minutes, until lightly browned & crisp. These are better than the ones drenched in oil... honestly! I tried this same method with sweet potatoes and they are even better, in my opinion; my family prefers the regular potatoes.
8. If you like chips, switch to pretzels. To me, pretzels are just okay, but when I dip them in mustard or salsa, they are much better!
9. Of course there are times when we want to splurge and have an indulgent meal or treat. A great way to do this is to cut back, exercise and eat well for a week or so, then have your indulgence, but still try not to go way overboard. Eat slowly and savor it, this way you will know when you are satisfied, rather than eating through it.
A huge factor in eating well and losing weight is planning, regardless of what plan you are on. If you take time each day to plan out a strategy to keep your eating within limits and create more activity in your life, you will be much more successful than if you don't take time to think about it. If you don't plan, it is too easy to fall into the 'I'll-Start-Tommorrow' trap and eat too much.