Avocados

The cholesterol-lowering monounsaturated fat in these green health bombs can help keep your body strong and pain free. University of Buffalo researchers found that competitive women runners who ate less than 20 percent fat were more likely to suffer injuries than those who consumed at least 31 percent. Peter J. Horvath, Ph.D., a professor at the university, speculates that the problem is linked to extreme low-fat diets, which weaken muscles and joints. "A few slices of avocado a day are a great way to boost fat for women who are fat shy," says Leslie Bonci, R.D., director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Bananas

Thanks to bananas' high potassium content, peeling one is a speedy solution to that stitch in your side. While a lack of sodium is the main culprit behind muscle cramps, studies show potassium plays a supporting role: You need it to replace sweat losses and help with fluid absorption. Bananas are also packed with energizing carbohydrates. One medium-size fruit has 400 milligrams of potassium and as many carbs (29 grams) as two slices of whole-wheat bread.

Berries

USDA researchers recently placed fresh berries on their list of the 20 foods richest in antioxidants. Just a handful of blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries is an excellent source of these potent nutrients, which protect muscles from free radical damage that might be caused by exercise. Shop for berries by the shade of their skin: The deeper the color, the healthier the fruit.

Carrots

Close your eyes and they almost taste like crunchy candy. Carrots pack complex carbs that provide energy to muscles and potassium to control blood pressure and muscle contractions, says Leslie Bonci, R.D. And a half cup has just 35 calories.

Whole Grain Cereal

Looking for something to nosh before you hit the gym? Raid your cereal stash. The healthiest brands contain endurance-boosting complex carbs and muscle-building protein. Sixty minutes before a workout, fuel up with a 200-calorie snack: cup of whole-grain cereal with 4 ounces of fat-free milk. "When you eat something before exercising, you have more energy, so you can work out harder and perhaps longer. And you'll be less likely to overeat afterward," says Leslie Bonci, R.D.

Chicken Thighs

Skimp on iron and zinc and your energy will flag. Cooking up some juicy chicken thighs or turkey drumsticks is the best way to get more of both. "Dark-meat poultry is significantly lower in fat than red meat yet has all the iron, zinc, and B vitamins that women need in their diets," says Seattle sports nutritionist Susan Kleiner, Ph.D., author of Power Eating.

Hummus

Complex carbohydrates, protein, and unsaturated fatsall the right elements to fuel activitymeet in one healthy little 70-calorie, 3-tablespoon package. Plus, hummus is often made with olive oil, which contains oleic acida fat that helps cripple the gene responsible for 20 to 30 percent of breast cancers, according to Northwestern University researchers.

Eggs

Don't skip the yolk. One egg a day supplies 215 milligrams of cholesterol not enough to push you over the 300-milligram daily cholesterol limit recommended by the American Heart Association. Plus, the yolk is a good source of iron, and it's loaded with lecithin, critical for brain health, says nutritionist Susan Kleiner, Ph.D. What does brain power have to do with exercise? Try doing a sun salutation without it.

Chocolate Milk

There's way more to milk than just calcium. In fact, it's a damn near perfect food, giving you a lot of valuable energy while keeping your calorie count low, says nutritionist Susan Kleiner, Ph.D. The chocolate kind is loaded with calcium, vitamins, and minerals just like the plain stuff, but new studies confirm that milk with a touch of cocoa is as powerful as commercial recovery drinks at replenishing and repairing muscles.

Salmon

Great for heart health, but here's an added twist: New studies are suggesting that monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fats might help lessen abdominal fat. "It's too soon to understand the link, but this could be particularly good for women working to tone their core," says nutritionist Susan Kleiner, Ph.D.

source:http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/08/19/10-best-fitness-foods-for-women/

You wouldn’t think the act of losing weight and dieting would bring heavy emotions and questions to the table. After all, it is just “eat less, move more” right? The tricky thing is, you need to set aside all emotion in order to achieve your goals, but you have to change your emotional response in order to set aside your emotion.

Overwhelmed? Don’t be. If you embrace this idea, it will help you not only achieve fat loss goals, but the same principle can apply to multiple areas of your life.

How “You” Set Goals

I am going to cut to the chase. You are reading this hoping I will share how to go from point A (unhappy fatty) to point B (ecstatic lean) as fast as possible. You want to be lean. You deserve to be lean. You are tired of dieting, thinking about dieting, and your life being ruled by dieting. You are tired of trying to figure out if you should or shouldn’t eat carbs. You are tired of figuring out if you should do intense or moderate training. You are tired of figuring out if you should do full body, splits, or a routine out of Men’s Health latest book.

You don’t care, you just want out and on with your life. Sadly, you lack crazy motivation that only exist with those who win Oscars or one-way tickets to institutions. Some of you even did that, and it didn’t even work.

The Real Problem?

You have been doing this for so long, thinking about this for so long, and worrying about this for so long that it should count towards your goals.

Yes, you think past and present thought, obsession, effort, intensity, and compulsion should factor into your timeline for achievement.

So what do you do? You make a timeline, a goal sheet, a resolution… a proclamation! This proclamation has you achieving your goals as fast as possible. Perhaps 10lbs in 4 weeks or 30lbs in 12 weeks. After all, that is just a little over 2lbs a week and a goal well within reason according to physical standards. You’ve seen other people do it. You have seen endless transformation photos and contests showing even more rates of loss.

You say to yourself “I have the willpower and self-control, because I want this!” I ask you, “How has that been working out for you?”

Depending On Willpower Is Like Depending On The Lottery

Willpower and self-control are not only overrated by the average individual, they aren’t even understood. To understand self-control you have to understand the mental and physical properties behind it. Self-control is a complicated cognitive, society, and physical investigation. If you depend on the “I want it, so it will happen.” model to get you through life, you are going to be met with at best mixed results and at worst, complete society failure and solitary confinement.

A 2010 study titled, “Ego depletion and the strength model of self-control: a meta-analysis.“ examines the issue of self-control and particularly the strength model. In it though, it highlights multiple reasons behind our daily actions. This goes way beyond eating. Want to understand why you didn’t punch someone in the face today? Want to grasp the concept of self-monitoring in society? In short and brash terms, this is some heavy s**t.

When we look at the physical properties needed for self-control that influence the mental, it is very clear why we fail dieting from a willpower model. For example, the prime meal for self-control in the body is glucose. If you don’t get the subtle subtext here, it means the less you eat, the less superpowers of self-control you have.

Even single acts of conscious self-control work to deplete glucose. The more you are someone who worries, tries to resist temptation, and overthinks life and scenarios means you are likely to deplete your energy faster than others.

We also see the more we use it, the less it works in the fashion as it did before. For example, a 2007 study looked at the depletion of self-control with extension of use.  They pitted a group of people who had to exert self-control while watching a movie (no showing of expression, laughing, etc). Then, they followed that test with more demonstrations of self-control (Stroop test, not eating cookies, etc).  As the exercise for self-control went on, it was harder to maintain. This can bring questions about fatigue and motivation, but it can all come back and link to energy. Less energy, less control.

Less food, less energy. Less carbohydrates, less glucose.

Now, things are not black and white, and there is such a thing as self-control training, working on your bodies glucose response, and how diet and fasting can affect this response. This goes beyond simple motivation and a night of watching the Biggest Loser. The main point is not to build a house of cards on a seesaw.

What Is The Best Model For This?

It’s easy to say to yourself, “I will be happy with 1lb of fat lost a week.” It is easy to say to yourself, “I will be happy with .75lbs of fat lost a week.” It is another to truly accept the concept and set up your dieting strategy to fit that model.

I speak often about goal setting strategy and loss methods. A recent 2+ hour audio was focused on nothing but this and has supplied hundreds of members with the “A-ha!” they needed. My dieting philosophy is one of cyclic dieting, and I will be speaking on this in more depth as the months go by. The notion of cycling isn’t new, but I have been working on testing and research for years now. Fast, slow, up and down. From research to anecdotes, it is clear being too hard on yourself and relying on pure self-control to maintain loss is a losing model.

The winning model? True patience and strategy. Not lying to yourself, “Okay, a pound a week is good!” and then fussing when you hit a week where you actually lose a pound or have to make up for the week in water where you lost 3 or 4. You aren’t being logical, your aren’t being strategic — you are being emotional.

Quick Points Of The Article

• Don’t rely on self-control, it physically fails you when you don’t eat.
• Don’t lie to yourself in goal setting. Say, “This is what I will be happy with!” and mean it.
• Know what your goals really are. If you need more help, this article is a great start.
• Cycling solves the problems of any dieter, if they get out of their own way and do it right. If you want to see what a quality program looks like you can check out the Beta 6C-Cycle for members here.
• The more you express worry and concern about what you aren’t achieving, it is like a dose of failure right into the brain.
• Don’t buy a lottery ticket, invest in a sound portfolio. Your life is a lottery if you let yourself win.

If it says it on the internet, it HAS to be true. Oh? Oh! Oh good, then! Because I was a little skeptical of the 97 yr old grandma who looks 15 because she follows one weird old trick and doctors all hate her for it. And to think - she's from my home town! What are the odds??!??!?

We've all seen it. A woman, clearly in her 80's, Photoshopped to look half her age. It used to be, that kind of photo manipulation was difficult and time consuming. I know. I've been using Photoshop professionally for the last 13 years, and unprofessionally several more before that. And there's nothing wrong with it - until the lies start.

But wait! There's good news! If you just listen to our 30 minute talk, with no fast forward buttons, we'll tell you 5 foods you eat every day that are secretly making you fat!... Or killing you!... Or poisoning your children! Whatever. Long as you hang out long enough for us to upsell you on our DVD set. No worries, that banana we pictured in our banner isn't one of them - but you'll have to wait til the end to find out.

The internet is the latest wild west, folks. Complete with snake-oil salesmen! They may not peddle their wares on the side of a stage coach selling bottles of magic elixir (pronounced moonshine with herbal tea mixed up in it), but they're here all the same. Just try and look up your local weather forecast without encountering at least three grease-ball ads.

Weight loss seems like the biggest contender. If there was ever a target market lied to more, I'd like to see it. Are you overweight? If so, then most likely you're self-conscious about that. It's a subject you'd prefer people to just leave alone. And this is one reason you're being targeted.

Another reason of course, is that obesity is becoming a national health epidemic in the USA. The number of obese people in this country is growing every day. In more ways than one.

If you're a member of this group, then you know the lies extend beyond the internet. People have been lying to you on TV for years. Back in the 60's there was a "Vibrating Belt Machine." It consisted of, well, a vibrating belt. It was all the rage. Chances are, someone in your family or neighborhood had one. "Your bum will turn pink, or your money back!" The vibrating belt machine was later proven to have absolutely no health effects whatsoever. Aside from increased circulation in your buns, anyway.

"Well, all of this sounds pretty accurate," you're thinking, "So what are YOU about to sell me on? Perhaps a newly discovered grubworm that produces magical 'anti-fat' properties?"

Nope.

I'm about to sell you on the one truth you've refused to accept. The truth that's been in front of your face all along, but just seems too hard. The truth, that losing weight hurts.

Losing weight takes time. Losing weight requires discipline. You will feel hungry. You will feel tired. You will have to sweat. You will probably look ridiculous. At first, you won't see any changes. For a while, it'll feel like you're doing it all for nothing.

But then... the changes will begin to show. The workouts will begin to become routine. The food will start to taste good to you. The regular mealtimes will feel right to you. The exercise will leave you feeling good. Tired? Yes. Sore? Yes. Sweaty? Yes. But good, too.

Exercise? Feel Good? How?

Exercise increases endorphins - your body's natural painkillers. And your brain releases serotonin - the equivalent of "happy juice," if you will. Combined with the satisfaction of completing a hard workout successfully, these cause an improvement of mood and a feeling of happiness that is significant to say the least, and medicinal according to some studies. Research has actually shown that regular exercise can remedy depression just as effectively as several popular anti-depression medications.

Of course, it goes well beyond physical. In addition to the feeling of accomplishment and pride after finishing a workout routine, and the endorphins / serotonin, there is also an extended, more protracted level of accomplishment growing. Every day that you continue to exercise, eat right, and discipline your body and schedule - something else is growing stronger - your confidence and self-esteem.

There is definitely a silver lining to the weight loss cloud. So don't just look at the pain. Look at the rewards. Don't just think in the short term - look at where you want your life to be a year from now. Don't sell yourself short. There's no reason to live your life prisoner to fat and poor self-image. It's not the life you were meant for or the life you deserve.

Until you attack the problem head-on though, you'll continue to be a target, continue to be lied to, and continue feeling like you somehow deserve this kind of treatment.

Need to lose 20lbs? 50lbs? 100lbs? Don't know where to start?

One of the best choices to get started down the right path, is to spend anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks attending a dedicated, live-in weight loss camp or retreat.

With one-on-one training, dedicated staff, home away from home accommodations, healthy gourmet meals, fun beach activities and more, spending time at a fitness retreat can be one of the most beneficial experiences of your life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Castetter