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You can boost your energy this Christmas

Alan — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:01:44 +0000

Christmas is a time that draws a lot of energy for most of us, it is time we have to deal with our extended families and prepare food and gifts for a lot of people. While it is usually a wonderful occasion most people end up feeling very tired and this is not just from Christmas Day itself but from all the work that has to be done in the lead up to the big day.

With tiredness many people tend to become more moody and this is especially true at a time of year were the days are short and the nights are long. It’s not possible to simply hibernate all the way through Christmas so it can be a good idea to take some tips from this article to get you through the festive season.

1. Eat energy foods. This is the time to stock up on foods that increase your levels of serotonin, a feel-good hormone that boosts your mood and makes you feel more positive. These foods are rich in an amino acid called tryptophan, and include bananas, turkey, chicken, fish, eggs, nuts, wheatgerm, avocados, milk, cheese and pulses. Add carbohydrate-rich foods to help the tryptophan to convert into serotonin – the best types include complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, wholemeal bread and pasta.

2. Go green. Taking a high-quality natural supplement such as Nature Complete Chlorella & Spirulina 2-in-1 could also help top up your energy levels. That’s because chlorella (a green single-celled alga) and spirulina (a blue-green alga) contain a wide range of nutrients. These include magnesium, which is needed by the body to turn food into energy; iron, which is essential for energy production as it helps carry oxygen to your body’s cells; and protein, which your body also needs to produce energy (up to 70 percent of chlorella and spirulina is made of complete protein).

Nature Complete Chlorella & Spirulina 2-in-1 also contains chlorophyll, a substance that’s thought to flush out fatigue-causing toxins and heavy metals from the body. Not only that, but chlorella and spirulina are nutrient dense, even compared to fresh produce (just 1g of chlorella and spirulina contains a similar amount of vitamins and minerals as 1000g of most fruit and vegetables).

3. Stay active. It may be freezing outside, but a daily walk could boost your energy levels, as well as your immune system. Exercise may also increase your mood – some clinical studies even claim it’s as effective at treating mild depression as some types of antidepressants.

4. Stock up on daylight. If you exercise outdoors your brain will also benefit from as much natural daylight as possible too, which may make you feel less lethargic. Even if you don’t go for a walk, take as many breaks outside as possible and sit near a window whenever you can during daylight hours.

5. Be sociable. Having a night out may be the last thing you want to do if your energy levels are low. But experts believe spending time with other people, especially friends and family, helps to keep your mood – and subsequently your energy levels – up. So start accepting those party invitations now.

• Nature Complete Chlorella & Spirulina 2-in-1 costs £19.95 for 500mg x 180 tablets or £19.55 for 90g powder (around one month’s supply). It doesn’t contain any pesticide residue, fillers, binders or other additives. It is suitable for everyone including children, vegans, pregnant and nursing mothers. Available from The Nutricentre, Holland & Barratt, Waitrose and selected health supplement stores, or online at www.naturecomplete.com

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Speedo want to see you unforgettable swims

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:36:53 +0000

Sposnored Feature

There are few sports where you enjoy such consummate freedom as swimming. Whether you are shooting through the water at speed or doing a gentle breaststroke, the feeling of well being that swimming generates has to be experienced to be appreciated. With this is mind, the famous sportswear brand Speedo are asking everyone to share what, for them, is their unforgettable swim.

To highlight the campaign, they have released a great video featuring the ultimate swimmer, Michael Phelps. This young American, nicknamed the Baltimore Bullet, has to date 16 Olympic medals, including an incredible 6 Golds from Beijing in 2008. These achievements put him onto the record books so many times its hard to believe any swimmer will surpass him. Not bad for a kid who, aged 7, was scared to put his face in the water.

This video shows his journey, in his own words, from that scared kid to a 15 year old world record holder to wear he is today, a name synonymous with the sport and a man who every swimmer aspires to. This video gives a unique insight into someone who can only be described as a sporting phenomenon.

Whether you have done a dramatic swim such as the English Channel or, if conquering a fear of water, swam from one side of the pool to the other, Speedo want to hear about it. View the video, watch Michael Phelps’ story and then click on the link at the bottom to tell everyone about your own unforgettable swim.

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New anti-aging wonder cream selling out at Boots

Alan — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:54:20 +0000

Nip and Fab Tummy Fix

Boots stores are still reporting across Britain that they are still selling out of the new anti-aging wonder cream. Between the stores, Boots.com and the manufacturer’s website, over 10,000 units are being sold every 30 minutes. Tummy Fix, by Nip + Tuck has been successfully trialled on manboobs, double chins and stomachs. Now it has been discovered to be an incredible anti-aging product for the face too.

As it’s guaranteed to last longer and cost less that the expensive treatments, and over 3000 people volunteered for the trials. They all wanted to see if a cream really could tighten, tone and smooth. The results were staggering, with 82% saying that they wanted to continue using it on their faces.

Thousands now swear by this miracle cream, which sells for only £18.95. They all report seeing a difference in skin elasticity, tighter jowls and smoother wrinkles. In little over a fortnight, they reported that their face was toned and tightened, and that their face appeared lifted and the eye area vastly improved.

A Boots spokesperson commented “this product never ceases to amaze us and it’s breaking our sales records daily and weekly. Customers swear by it for a multitude of beauty problems and they’re coming back to buy in bulk before it sells out again.”

A snippet of trial testimonials include:
Amy Williams, Ashford comments “I asked the company if I could trial this product on my face. In as little as a week my face and eye area had significantly lifted, it’s like a mini face lift in a tube, I’ve stopped buying my expensive face cream.”

Jenny Crawford, beautician, Horsham “This product is seriously good it’s toned my face and my wrinkles are softer in under 3 weeks of use.”

Audrey Anderson “I cannot afford expensive face creams at present so jumped at the chance to trial this product on my face. The results have been amazing with many of my friends saying I now look rested and younger. They’ve all gone out to buy the product as it last for ages and is affordable for those on a budget.”

Buy Nip and Fab Tummy Fix from Boots.com

Beauty Innovation From Boots

Enhance your exercise plan and lose the pounds quickly

Alan — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:30:01 +0000

If you have been to the gym lately you may have noticed the premise of protein shakes or other protein building nutrient bars and wondered what the big deal is about protein anyhow. Many people jump on board eating the protein bars and shakes in hopes of losing weight quickly, and the truth is that the tiny nutrient is a great way to boost your weight loss, but you need to make sure that you are consuming protein appropriately if you want to see it stimulate your weight loss because if you use it wrong you will end up bulking up instead.

Protein is primarily used by those trying to bulk up and those trying to gain muscle mass and if you are trying to lose weight you will want to use if for the latter. This is because the only way to burn fat quickly is by building muscle, and the only way to safely keep building muscle is to give them the nutrients they need to heal. Protein will help your muscles tear and then rebuild and heal quickly, which means that the more often this happens the more fat you will burn.

Protein can also cause you to bulk up however, which is not your goal which is why you need to consume protein appropriately. First of all, you will want make sure that if you use any type of protein shake you need to choose a lean protein supplement. Second of all, you do not want to go crazy with your protein consumption, instead taking care to only consume protein before and after workouts. Some people will increase their consumption around the clock, but this will hurt you more than it will help you. Therefore, make sure to only consume a shake after workouts or casually before if you want to see the pounds fall off instead of build up.

Grab a workout mate and watch the pounds shed off

Alan — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:31:47 +0000

The number one reason why diets fail is because without support people burn out quickly and the lofty plans to get to the gym every day and cut back the calories fall by the way side.

Sticking to a strict workout plan and diet plan is hard, which is why having a partner in crime can be the best decision you ever made. That way when one of you gets weak the other one is there to whip you back in shape and get you back to the gym or your diet plan and vice versa.

One of the best ways to stick to a diet and exercise plan is by finding an exercise buddy that wants to lose weight just as much as you do. After all, while you may be able to talk yourself out of going to the gym, if you know that someone else is already on their way to meet you it will be harder to make the decision to sit a day out. When people have someone else to lean on they also have someone else they are responsible to making it harder to quit out early.

Therefore, if you have failed in the past at any true exercise routine this time around you need to grab a girlfriend and make plans to pump some iron. Whether you choose someone who is already in shape or someone who wants to shed a few pounds, the very fact that you have someone watching your every move will inspire you to work that much harder. The more people who want to help you lose weight the better the chance that this time your plans are going to stick, and the higher the chance that you will get off the couch every time.

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Top ways to burn calories after Christmas

admin — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 15:55:20 +0000

Many of us put on weight over Christmas thanks to a series of big meals and plenty of drink thrown in for good measure – and it’s because of this that such a high proportion of New Year’s Resolutions include plans revolving around getting healthy and losing weight. There are more ways in which you can achieve this than you might think, with many of them being incredibly simple to carry out to the extent that they hardly feel like exercise at all. Here follow some simple ideas to give you a head start come January:

· Go for a brisk walk every evening – it’s easy to do and, best of all, it costs nothing. If you think taking a stroll of an evening sounds dull, liven up the journey by loading up an MP3 player with your favourite music or podcast. If all goes well, you can look at eventually working your way up to jogging.

· Exercise your dog – if you have a pet, take responsibility for taking it for daily walks – it can be incredibly relaxing spending time with an animal, so you’ll be burning off some calories while also reducing your stress levels.

· Create your own Gym – Joining a gym is a great way to get fit and shed some weight – but it can also be incredibly expensive. If you’re committed to regular exercise over a sustained period then it’s actually often more cost effective to set aside some space at home or in your garage and buy your own gym equipment. Using fitness equipment such as multi gyms, treadmills , exercise bikes and weights can help to build strength as well as improve fitness, so this is an excellent all-round option.

· Improve your diet – taking regular exercise is all well and good, but if your general diet is poor then you won’t be getting the full benefits. Keep a food diary to motivate you along the way and cut out junk food wherever possible.

· Walk – If you’re planning a trip out and the destination is within reasonable walking distance, ditch the car and use your legs. If you must take the car, park further away than you normally would and walk the rest of the way. Even better, invest in a bicycle and use that to get around instead of the car wherever feasible.

· Take the stairs – If you work on an upper level of your office building, take the stairs rather than the lift – over the course of a year it’ll make a huge difference. Also, get up and walk over to your colleagues if you need to have a conversation, rather than picking up the phone or sending an email.

· Use a basket at the supermarket on a regular basis rather than a trolley to give yourself a mini-workout in an everyday situation and improve the strength in your arms.

With so many options available to you, there’s no excuse for not putting in at least a little exercise during the post-Christmas weeks and months. Make a little effort and you’ll soon see the benefit.

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