Running???????????????????????????

I’ve recently picked up running a few days a week. About a mile to start off with. I’m 5"1 and 146 lbs. I’ve been eating healthier too. I’m wondering how long till I may start seeing results, and what kind of results to expect. I’ve already done my research about mixing up excerises and diets. I just want to hear other peoples experience and stories, how much weight did you lose? what were your results?

How can i get ready for my first cross country high school team, training, stretching, dieting, ect.?

This is the first Cross country team that i have ever been on. I have always been good at running long distances, but I was wondering if anyone could give me any tips, lingo, stretching, diets, training, ect. Also is there any way that i can prepare mentally for a meet?

A Complete Guide To Raw Food Diets

Planning to go into raw food diet? Before you plunge into this type of eating pattern, be sure that you know the basic about raw food diets and be sure as well that you're ready for the sacrifices you have to make. This diet is one of the most effective when it comes to promoting overall well-being, preventing diseases, as well as for losing weight. However, people going into this diet must learn how to do less with meat and fish, and to do more with fruits and vegetables instead. Rawfood diet doesn't completely shun meat and fish, but it largely focuses on plant-based food. And whatever meat and fish are incorporated in the diet, they're prepared raw.

A Look at Raw Food

Raw foodists, the people who follow the raw food eating pattern, believe that fresh and natural foods are the best sources of nutrients. Compared to cooked or heated food, the nutrients in raw food are complete—nothing gets lost in the preparation process, unlike the case with cooked food. Raw foodists believe that heat (temperature above 116 degrees Fahrenheit) dissolves the food's nutrient content. Plus, it also reduces the enzymes in the food, which is an important food component that helps in the digestive process. Therefore, if you are in search of nutritious food, the best is to go raw.

Raw Food Preparation

The primary components of raw food diets are organic food. Among these are the following:

•    Fruits and vegetables
•    Seeds, beans, and nuts
•    Seaweed and sprouts
•    Whole grains
•    Raw milk and other milk derivatives like yogurt and cheese
•    Raw fish and raw meat

Many of these foods are easy to prepare—just think of salads and juices. However, there are also others that require overnight preparation like soaking to ensure that the foods are edible.

There are certain kitchen equipment common among all raw foodists, equipment used to prepare the food. Among these are:

•    Juicer or juice extractor. This equipment is designed to extract juice from fruits and vegetables. Aside from the typical fruit-based juice like orange, some vegetables also make for a great juice—just like carrots.
•    Dehydrator. This equipment is designed for blowing air through foods. It's used to make cookies and crackers without having to subject the food to nutrient-sapping heat.
•    Food processor. This can include equipment like blender or chopper, designed to make preparation of food easier. A food processor can help you make healthy treats like ice cream and smoothies, as well as help you with cutting or chopping veggies and fruits.

All the said equipment are easy to use when preparing raw plant-based food. For preparing meals involving raw fish and meat, among the processes you can use are curing and smoking (the latter isn't approved by all raw foodists).

Going for raw food diets is easy and simple. Although you may have to strictly discipline yourself at first, and although you may have to do a lot of adjustments, all the benefits of the said diet are worth it. Just remember to take the needed precautions to avoid problems.

Comparision Between Vegetarian And Raw Food Diets

Is there a difference between vegetarian and raw food diets? A raw foodist is a vegetarian, but one who generally is not going to cook his vegetables or fruits. A vegetarian is someone who simply doesn't eat meat, fish or poultry, but only consumes vegetables, pasta, and rice. A vegetarian might eat meatless spaghetti sauce or order onion rings in a restaurant. (Not the healthiest choice, but sometimes it's hard to find something to eat in a restaurant if you're vegetarian – even harder if you're a raw foodist.)

There are different categories of vegetarians, like vegans, or fruitarians, and raw foodist is a category of vegetarianism. We haven't seen anything about sushi being considered a raw food, but it is. Raw food, though, generally means eating raw, uncooked fruits, vegetables, dried fruits, seaweeds, etc.

But to be a raw food purist means raw broccoli, not steamed. To a vegetarian, someone committed to not eat meat or fish or animal products, steamed vegetables are just as good, although everyone would agree that steaming can take out nutrients from foods, rendering them less nutritious. A vegetarian might consume dairy or egg products; however a vegan will not consume any animal products at all. And a raw foodist is a vegan who consumes only uncooked, unprocessed raw foods. Proponents of the raw diet believe that enzymes are the life force of a food and that every food contains its own perfect mix. These enzymes help us digest foods completely, without relying on our body to produce its own cocktail of digestive enzymes. It is also thought that the cooking process destroys vitamins and minerals and that cooked foods not only take longer to digest, but they also allow partially digested fats, proteins and carbohydrates to clog up our gut and arteries.

Followers of a raw diet cite numerous health benefits, including:

•    increased energy levels

•    improved appearance of skin

•    improved digestion

•    weight loss

•    reduced risk of heart disease

Raw Food Diets: Benefits And Risks

Raw food diets are nutritious eating patterns popular among those who want to lose weight and those who desire overall well-being. These diets focus on fresh, raw, and natural food while they do away with anything that's cooked or heated. The reason? Well, according to the followers of these types of eating pattern, much of the nutrients needed by the body are lost during cooking and heating of food above 116 degrees Fahrenheit. And if a person really wants to enjoy good health, the best way is to go raw.

The Benefits of Raw Food Diet

Going raw on food offers a lot of benefits, not only in terms of health but as well as when it comes to practical reasons. Among these benefits are the following:

•    Rawfood diet is beneficial to overall health

1.    It reduces unhealthy fats in the body and risks of heart disease
2.    It reduces the occurrence of certain types of cancer like bladder cancer and oral cancer
3.    It also reduces occurrence of cold and flu
4.    It improves digestion due to the preservation of digestion-enhancing enzymes in raw foods
5.    It gives more energy—even if you eat only a small amount of food

•    Raw food diet is also proven to improve aesthetic physical aspects

1.    It's proven to improve the health of the skin, making it look radiant
2.    It also makes a person look younger
3.    It is an ideal means for losing weight

•    Preparation of raw foods is easier and simpler, so it's more practical

1.    Raw foods do not require the complicated process of cooking, and they can be easily prepared with simple equipment like blender and juicer
2.    Cleaning up after meals is also easier when you go raw—no greasy residues or whatsoever
3.    Preparing raw foods do not require a lot of ingredients and utensils, so you can save more on your expenses

All these benefits are more than enough reasons to go raw in your diet. But, before you do so, before you jump into raw food consumption, you must know that there are also some risks with raw food diets. You must be aware of these so that you can counter their effects and get only the best benefits.

The Risks of Raw Food Diet

Raw food diet is no doubt an ideal eating pattern, but it also has some limitations and risks. For one, there are some foods whose nutrient contents are best absorbed when cooked. These foods include eggs as well as some vegetables like tomatoes. Aside from this limitation, there are two risks with an all-raw diet. These are the following:

1.    Food poisoning. First and foremost, most plant foods are exposed to chemicals like pesticides. Therefore, if you're eating raw, be sure that you choose the food you eat. It's also important that you thoroughly wash and clean the food before preparing it.

2.    Nutrient deficiency. Researches have shown that while raw food diet is rich in some nutrients like Vitamin A, it is lacking in other nutrients like Vitamin B12 and iron, calcium, and omega 3. Therefore, if you're going into this kind of diet, you may need to take vitamin supplements.

By knowing all the benefits and risks of raw food diets, it would be easy for you to strike correct balance. This will ensure that you get only positive results and avoid the negative ones.

Raw Food Diets – 5 Benefits of a Raw Food Diet That You Should Know

When starting out on a raw food diet it will be prudent to get some perspective as to where you stand right now. First and foremost, don't just accept the hype surrounding raw food diets and just jump into it. Rather take it slowly and easily and incorporate a raw food diet into your daily life. So here are the most important things that you should know when starting out on a raw food diet: a. Raw food is rich in dietary fiber: This is almost critically important to maintaining a good digestive system, in fact every stomach related problems from stomach burns to gastritis, constipation and even appendicitis. b. Raw food is high in caretenoids like beta-carotene which is extremely important in protecting you against cancer and other life threatening ailments. c. You can eat as much as you like and still not get fat. d. It can help you conquer obesity and help you stay slim. e. It can boost your body's natural defenses against colds, flu, measles etc. Clearly even just incorporating a raw vegan food diet in bits can yield more benefits that you can enjoy. The biggest fact that will most probably stop you is the "routine" that you have become acclimatized to. You know the old 3 meals a day routine that is so common everywhere. While being an office goer might warrant the need to have three meals a day (although by no means necessary) you should try to have little "snacks" or "mini-meals" several times a day. Eat only as much as you feel like. The biggest problem with the three meal routine is that people end up literally stuffing themselves as they wont get to eat for many hours. Try some raw recipes and see what works for you, in the end only you have to gain and there is absolutely nothing to lose.

When starting out on a raw food diet it will be prudent to get some perspective as to where you stand right now. First and foremost, don't just accept the hype surrounding raw food diets and just jump into it. Rather take it slowly and easily and incorporate a raw food diet into your daily life. So here are the most important things that you should know when starting out on a raw food diet:

a. Raw food is rich in dietary fiber: This is almost critically important to maintaining a good digestive system, in fact every stomach related problems from stomach burns to gastritis, constipation and even appendicitis.

b. Raw food is high in caretenoids like beta-carotene which is extremely important in protecting you against cancer and other life threatening ailments.

c. You can eat as much as you like and still not get fat.

d. It can help you conquer obesity and help you stay slim.

e. It can boost your body's natural defenses against colds, flu, measles etc.

Clearly even just incorporating a raw vegan food diet in bits can yield more benefits that you can enjoy. The biggest fact that will most probably stop you is the "routine" that you have become acclimatized to. You know the old 3 meals a day routine that is so common everywhere. While being an office goer might warrant the need to have three meals a day (although by no means necessary) you should try to have little "snacks" or "mini-meals" several times a day. Eat only as much as you feel like. The biggest problem with the three meal routine is that people end up literally stuffing themselves as they wont get to eat for many hours.

Try some raw recipes and see what works for you, in the end only you have to gain and there is absolutely nothing to lose.

A Closer Look At Raw Food Diets

Raw food diets have been around since the 1900s. Over the years, they have evolved into a large movement with many advocates, supporters, and followers. And at present, these types of diet are already among the most popular eating patterns among those who are into weight loss and health improvement programs.

What is Raw Food Diet?

As its name implies, raw food diet revolves around the intake of raw and fresh food. Raw foodists, the people who follow the raw food eating pattern, believe that natural produce are the best foods because their nutrients are still intact. Meanwhile, cooked or heated foods are avoided because their nutritional content is usually lost during the preparation process. Raw foodists believe that exposing food to temperature above 116 degrees Fahrenheit dissolves their nutrient content and also reduces their enzymes, which is an important component that aids in the digestive process.

The Advocates of Raw Food Diet

At present, the raw food movement has already grown and has already attracted a lot of people. In fact, there are already different books advocating the raw food way of eating. Among the people who greatly contributed to this movement are:

•    David Wolfe. Wolfe is one of the biggest advocates of raw food diet, plus eco-friendly and green living. He is a nutritionist that has authored such books as Naked Chocolate and Eating for Beauty. He is also a popular success speaker and is the originator of Sunfood Nutrition, the first company that offers and distributes natural and organic products like cacao and goji berries.
•    Aajonus Vonderplanitz. Vonderplanitz has also contributed a lot to the rawfood diet movement. In fact, he has been into a raw food diet for almost four decades now. He is the president of the group named "Right To Choose Real Food" and he created one variation of the raw food diet, called the primal diet. This diet involves more on raw meat and less on fresh fruits and vegetable, plus honey and dairy products.

These two personalities are among the prominent figures in the raw food diet movement. Others include Hollywood celebrities like Mel Gibson, Demi Moore, and Uma Thurman.

Forms of Raw Food Diets

Raw food diet can be classified into two, although these two types are often overlapping and are actually best combined.

•    Raw Vegetarianism. This type of raw food diet focuses on fresh plant-based foods like fruits and vegetables, seeds, beans, nuts, seaweed, and legumes. These foods can be prepared by juicing, drying, and dehydrating, among others.
•    Raw Animal Diet. This type of raw food diet covers raw sea foods and meat. Vonderplanitz' primal diet is a very good example that falls under this category. Among the processes that can be used to prepare these foods are curing and smoking, although some raw foodists do not adhere to the last process because it still involves heat.

Going for raw food diets is easy and simple. These diets offer a lot of health benefits, as well as practicality when it comes to food preparation. Although it may be a challenge at first, the benefits are all worth it.

 

Differences Between Vegetarian and Raw Food Diets

There are a few distinct differences between vegetarian and raw food diets. Basically, a vegetarian is someone who is committed to not eat meat, fish, poultry or any animal products, but only consumes vegetables, pasta, and rice. On the other hand, a raw foodist is a vegetarian, but one who eats unprocessed, uncooked, organic, whole foods, like fruits, vegetables, nuts seeds, legumes, dried fruits, seaweeds, etc. It denotes a diet that is at least 75% uncooked! Raw foodist cooks very little and definitely doesn’t cook or process fruits and vegetables. Raw foodist simply eats them raw.

Raw foodist, vegans and frutarians are some of the different categories of vegetarians. Yes, raw foodist is a category of vegetarianism as mentioned earlier. However, to be a raw food purist, you should eat raw vegetables like raw broccoli, not steamed. To a vegetarian, who doesn’t eat meat or fish or any animal products, steamed vegetables are just as good, though every person would concur that steaming can take out nutrients from foods and turn them into less nutritious. A vegetarian might consume dairy or egg products but a vegan will not consume any animal products at all. The raw foodist then is a vegan who consumes only uncooked, unprocessed raw foods.

Enzymes are the life force of a food and that every food has its own perfect combination as believed by raw food diet advocates. These enzymes help us digest foods completely, without relying on our body to produce its own cocktail of digestive enzymes.

The cooking process is thought to destroy food enzymes. It can take so much of the basic nutritional value away. Other than that, cooked foods not only take any longer to digest, but they also let the partially digested fats, proteins and carbohydrates to block our gut and arteries.

Below are some health benefits cited by the raw diet followers:

• Improved digestion
• Increased energy levels
• Reduced risk of heart diseased
• Improved appearance of skin
• Weight loss

Not All Fats are Bad Fats

 

I have a confession: I love butter. In fact, I would say it’s on my favorite foods list, right up there with nuts and chocolate. But I also love extra virgin olive oil and avocados, and this amazing toasted walnut oil. Fat is satisfying, it makes food taste better and keeps us fuller longer, stabilizing blood sugar. It is soothing and nourishing, and when consumed in moderation, is a necessary component of our daily diet.

To begin, let’s have a quick lesson in “Fats 101″:

Fat is a macronutrient, just like protein and carbohydrate and something our bodies need. Fats are precursors to hormones, they cushion our internal organs, they regulate our temperature, and they carry fat-soluble nutrients through our bodies. As part of a balanced diet, we need a variety of natural fats.

 

So, how much is too much? That depends on the person. The standard advice is to limit fats to no more than 30% of calories in one’s daily diet. In my experience, what feels right varies from person to person. For example, some people feel better with 20 to 25% fat, while others need a bit more, perhaps 35 to 40% – more along the lines of a Mediterranean-style diet. If you crave a lot of sugar and feel hungry within just a couple of hours after eating, your body may need a little bit more fat. Try adding a few slices of avocado to a meal, or rather than something sweet for dessert, have a small handful of nuts or a spoonful of a natural nut butter. My very favorite: roasted almond butter!

Here are the different types of fats:

Saturated Fats – these are solid at room temperature. They include animal fats (not fish!) such as butter, cream and cheese, and just a few plant-based fats: Coconut, cocoa, palm and palm kernel oils. While some authorities claim that saturated fat should be avoided, others say that these stable fats have been used around the world for thousands of years in their natural state. I personally believe that all natural fats, including saturated fat, can have a place in the diet. They are ideal for cooking in many instances because they are not easily damaged by heat.

Monounsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and some (peanut and olive, for example) may harden when refrigerated. They are found in olive, canola, peanut and avocado, as well as high oleic sunflower and high oleic safflower oils (these are often called “high heat sunflower and high heat safflower” oil). Monounsaturated fats are recognized as highly beneficial: They help keep HDL cholesterol high and they are stable fats for cooking. When using olive oil, be sure to cook on low or medium low heat…olive oil has a low flash point so it burns quickly. You can also combine it with other oils such as canola or high heat sunflower oil for a milder flavor.

Polyunsaturated Fats - these are liquid at room temperature and liquid when refrigerated. You will find them in nuts, seeds, egg yolk, corn, soy and fish. (Polyunsaturateds contain those Essential Fatty Acids you hear about – I’ll do another post soon about all of that!) I never advise cooking with oils that are high in polyunsaturated fat. This is because they are easily damaged by light and heat and are best eaten in their original form such as edamame or corn, or used raw such as flaxseed oil or sunflower oil.

Trans fats – these are created when liquid oils such as soybean or cottonseed have been chemically treated in order to make them solid at room temperature. You may see the words “partially hydrogenated” on a food label – means the same as trans fats. These partially hydrogenated oils, commonly used by food manufacturers, are very unhealthy and should be avoided whenever possible. At Whole Foods Market, you don’t have to worry or read labels because we don’t allow man-made hydrogenated fats in the foods we sell. Common sources of trans fats include most commercial baked goods, processed foods, pie crusts, cookies, crackers and margarine. (FYI: we sell all-natural, good-tasting margarines that are created from natural oils such as palm and canola.)

Some of my favorite ways to add a variety of good fats to meals and snacks are:

• Add a couple tablespoons of chopped walnuts to breakfast cereal or yogurt
• Sprinkle a tablespoonful of pine nuts, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds on your salad
• Add ½ cup of chopped almonds, pecans or walnuts to a cookie or cake recipe, or sprinkle over the top
• When making stir-fry for dinner, add a handful of roasted cashews just before serving
• Top grilled fish or chicken with sliced avocado
• Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over sliced veggies such as cucumber, tomato or steamed veggies. (adds great flavor and extra virgin olive oil is filled with antioxidants and other plant compounds)
• Add chopped olives to tuna or chicken salad
• Put a pat of organic butter on your hot steamed veggies
• Sprinkle finely chopped macadamia nuts or hazelnuts over a bowl of berries
• Eat fish such as salmon, sardines, char or mahi-mahi 2 or 3 times a week
• Make your own buttery spread by mixing ½ cup olive oil and 1 stick softened butter in the blender. Puree until smooth then store in a container with a lid in the fridge – it becomes semi-solid like tub margarine, and is easily spreadable, and contains NO trans fats. Use raw or for cooking.

 

How To Lose Belly Fat

 

• Spare Tire
• Love Handles
• Muffin Top
• Pot Belly

All somewhat comical terms for belly fat. Most people don’t like having that extra flab around their midsections, but we tend to just put up with it. There is much conflicting advice out there, and besides, we’ve failed in the past so there’s no guarantee we’ll succeed anyway.

Take heart, there is a truly effective strategy to lose belly fat, but you may have to loosen up some old preconceptions. Please note that in this article I am specifically talking about fat loss as opposed to overall weight loss (fat, muscle & water).

How To Lose Belly Fat – The Guide

The strategy involves both diet and exercise – nothing new there. However, it entails 2 unique ways of going about it.

The Diet – Become a Fat-Burner

Low-carbohydrate nutrition is the most-effective way of shedding pounds of fat from the body.

Why?

Basically, the body burns energy in the following order:

1. Carbohydrate (from food and stored glycogen)
2. Fat (from food and bodyfat)
3. Protein (from food and muscle tissue)

If you eat what most government guidelines recommend you eat, you are a carb-burner. It then becomes obvious that in order to become a fat-burner, you should remove the current primary energy source i.e. carbohydrate.

When you do this, your body takes a few days to flip a ‘metabolic switch’ and become a fat-burning machine. At that point, the fat you eat gets consumed first, and then you start burning away bodyfat as your primary source of energy. Obviously, you don’t therefore consume copious amounts of fat, and you don’t need to go zero carb to benefit. Anything under 100 grams of carbs a day is considered ‘low-carb’, but ideally under 60 grams would produce great results.

On low-fat diets (which by nature are high-carb diets), when your ‘food calories’ are gone, the body will burn a mixture of both fat and muscle tissue (protein). As muscle is ‘metabolically active’ — it burns calories all day long just by being there — losing it is a disaster for the dieter. Their metabolism will continually slow down over time.

This is one of the main reasons why low-fat diets very often produce temporary results: you lose weight for a while, but then it stops working (as your metabolism has crashed) and you pile it back on – and then some!

The Exercise

Loads and loads of cardio, right? Wrong.

Overdoing cardiovascular exercise will also put your body in a state where it breaks down lean muscle tissue (catabolism). So the question is, how do we complement our fat-burning nutritional strategy with fat-burning exercise.

It’s called ‘Interval Training’, or more specifically ‘High Intensity Interval Training’. The idea is to perform some sort of cardio in ‘fits and starts’ i.e. a period of lower intensity followed by a period of higher intensity.

Why?

Research shows that this type of work burns more fat than steady-state cardio, typically by about 50%. In fact, one study showed a 9 fold increase in fat loss for HIIT compared to low-medium intensity cardio.

Also, with respect to belly fat in particular, research has shown (though the reason is not clear at this time) that HIIT can produce more fat loss in this area than other parts of the body. An Australian study found that the HIIT group lost 3 times more fat and significantly more belly fat than the steady-state cardio group who actually exercised for twice as long!

The even better news is that HIIT need only be performed for 10-20 minutes at a time.

Hopefully you can see that these unique approaches to diet and nutrition will work synergistically to produce truly effective fat-loss:

1. Get your body to burn fat for energy.
2. Then add exercise that will utilize the most fat possible.

There’s obviously more to talk about on this topic, but a single post doesn’t permit me to get into it all. I hope you enjoyed it and if nothing else, you feel inspired to find any weight-loss program that you feel you can work with to bring permanent results.

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