In the 1930s, big industry lobbied the government to outlaw hemp in any form because it directly threatened their long-established business models with its extremely-efficient applications in paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, paint, biofuel, agriculture, and animal feed, building materials including insulation, and medication among others. As a matter of fact, hemp produces four times the fiber per acre as trees. Let’s take a look at this remarkable substance.

What is cannabis?
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plant with three subspecies: Cannabis Indica, Cannabis Sativa, and Cannabis Ruderalis. Generally, the first two species are referred to as Marijuana and have been through the years to have higher concentrations of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This is the cannabinoid that produces the ‘high’ when consumed. The third species, Cannabis Ruderalis, is a small wild weed that has low levels of any cannabinoids. The has been generally referred to as hemp although, this is not technically correct.

Hemp refers to members of a subspecies of sativa that have less than 0.3% THC because this level of THC is the defining characteristic. However, it can have a high concentration of CBD which inhibits the effect of THC on receptors in the brain. It is THC that makes one ‘high’ not CBD. The word Hemp is only used for Cannabis plants and products that have no meaningful amount of THC, or in other words, hemp will not get you high. Some governments even regulate the use of this word. When hemp was first outlawed in about 1937, it was because those who farmed it and farm hands were supposedly getting high on it according to the government. However, hemp is notable primarily because it consists of a fibrous material that is stronger and cheaper to produce than cotton, has greater insulation properties than fiberglass, more tensile strength than steel cables, and can grow in nearly any non-arctic environment. Therefore, hemp became legal to grow again during WWII because the U.S. Navy needed it for ropes for ships. After the war, it again became illegal to grow.

What are cannabinoids?
Cannabinoids are chemicals found within the Cannabis plant that have some sort of effect on the endocannabinoid system found in all mammals; yes, that includes humans. Endocannabinoid simply means “cannabinoid inside” your body. We all produce cannabinoids and have an innate system that responds to them. We discover more daily about the human cannabinoid system, particularly in the central nervous system, digestive system, and immune system. Currently, scientists have discovered 113 different cannabinoids, which is expected to increase. Along with this has been the discovery of two different kinds of receptors and an indeterminate number of functions they serve. Tetrahydrocannabinol has many effects on the body in addition to producing a high it has strong anti-inflammatory properties.

What is CBD?
Cannabidiol is sort of like a wonder drug, a marvel of nature. It is not psychoactive so, CBD will not make you high and is also a different compound than THC and it will not show up on a drug test. Cannabidiol is extracted from the leaves and flowers of cannabis plants, and once it’s isolated from the rest of the plant, it can be incorporated into many other products. These products range from sublingual oils, to edibles such as cookies and gummy bears, to topical anti-inflammatory lotion, lip balm, eye-wrinkle cream and many others. The basic extraction process of CBD uses either CO2 or alcohol; the latter is the best as it does not harm the terpenoids and flavonoids in the extraction process and these are most important for health.

Cannabidiol can exert many therapeutic effects without side effects, i.e., no negative results. It does this by regulating the production of signals within your cells and acting as an antioxidant, as well as activating several different types of receptors in your body. Thus, without question, CBD may be the ultimate immunostimulant. Much research has been done from the late 1930s in Israel since Hemp became illegal in the U.S. in 1937. While new research is now emerging in the U.S., thousands of anecdotal claims are now available on social media and growing every day. Both research and anecdotal claims have been found to have substantial capacity for treating the symptoms of the following:

• Acne
• ALS
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Anxiety
• Arthritis, including rheumatism
• Cancer
• Crohn’s disease
• Diabetes
• Fibromyalgia
• Glaucoma
• Hepatitis C
• HIV/AIDS
• Inflammation
• Insomnia
• Kidney disease
• Lupus
• Migraines
• Multiple sclerosis
• Parkinson’s disease
• Post-concussion syndrome
• PTSD
• Residual limb pain
• Seizures, especially those characteristic of epilepsy
• Tourette’s syndrome
• Traumatic brain injury
• Ulcerative colitis

How do You Measure and Interpret Weight Status?
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person’s weight in kilograms or pounds divided by the square of height in meters or inches. A high BMI can be an indicator of high body fatness and having a low BMI can be an indicator of having too low body fatness. BMI can be used as a screening tool but is not diagnostic of the body fatness or health of an individual. As a general rule, many people have an average body-fat level of 20-22. Some athletes have are as low as 3%; this level, for extended periods, is unhealthy.

When your weight is higher than what is considered a healthy weight for a given height you would be described as overweight/obese. Likewise, weight that is lower than what is considered as healthy for a given height is described as underweight. At an individual level, BMI can be used as a screening tool but is not a diagnostic of the body fatness or health of an individual.

Both height and weight must be measured to determine BMI. It is generally more accurate to measure height in meters and weight in kilograms. However, the BMI formula below has been adapted for height measured in inches and weight measured in pounds. These measurements can be taken at home using a tape measure or yard stick and scale. Let’s get started with a basic measurement.

(A) Weigh and Measure Yourself to Calculate Your Body Mass Index (BMI)
1. Weigh yourself on your scale (the measurement is assumed to be in pounds).
2. Measure your height in inches utilizing the yardstick or measuring tape. Stand against a wall or door and utilize a pencil to make an imprint at the highest point at the place on your head, then take a measurement.

(B) Evaluating Your BMI to Calculate Your Body Mass Index (BMI)
3. The actual formula for BMI is simple: BMI = (Body Weight/Height^2) x 703. Remember, weight is in pounds and height is in inches. You can get good experience calculating the BMI yourself using the example given next or simply utilize your height and weight measurement and select your BMI from the charts below. To calculate BMI by hand, take your pencil, paper, and calculator to perform the following BMI computation.
4. Take your height in inches and square the number. As an example, you measured 60 inches (5 feet) so, 60^2=3600. This is known as your height in inches squared.
5. Divide your weight in pounds by inches squared. Suppose you weigh 130 pounds then, 130/3600 = 0.036.
6. Multiply that answer (0.036) by the change factor of 703 so, 0.036 x 703 = 25.4. This number is your BMI.
You will note that if you simply used the chart below that indeed what you calculated coincides for someone 5 feet tall (row 3) and 130 lbs (between columns 9 and 10).

(C) Results to Calculate Your Body Mass Index (BMI)
7. Compare your individual BMI result against the following scale:

• If your BMI is less than 18.5, it falls within the underweight range.
• BMI 18.5 to 24.9 is within the normal or Healthy Weight range.
• BMI 25.0 to 29.9 falls within the overweight range.
• BMI of 30.0 or more is within the obese range.

Maintaining a healthy weight is perhaps one of the best steps you can take to ideal well-being and long life.

Precautions
• The BMI is a good indicator for the normal individual from ages 25 to 65 but, has its restrictions. It does not consider the majority or your general body type/shape.
• Recent research has observed that your waist to hip ratio gives an improved indicator than BMI of whether an individual has a lot of body fat. If you use the waist to hip ratio, you should be under 0.9 for men and 0.8 for ladies. Higher ratios show an expanded danger of stroke, diabetes, and heart problems.
• Also note that excessive abdominal fat may be serious because it places you at greater risk for developing obesity-related conditions, such as Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease.

Your waistline may be telling you that you have a higher risk of developing obesity-related conditions if you are:
A man whose waist circumference is more than 40 inches or,
A non-pregnant woman whose waist circumference is more than 35 inches.

You need to remember that your back is essentially a stack of aligned vertebrae cushioned by gel-filled discs. It has a natural, concave curvature that should be maintained. It’s not a big deal if you curve your back outward into a convex position if you do not have a load on it. The lower back is naturally in a concave position and should be kept there always when bearing a load, i.e., such as doing squats in the gym.

By letting your back curve outward, i.e., go into a convex position during heavy lifting exercises, the compression on the discs can cause them to loosen and divide, which can cause problems. Given enough pressure, the gel within can squirt out between the fibers and then harden, where it can press on nerves, result in bulging disc(s), and thus, create pain. Thus, you can see why certain exercises are not ideal – a sit up is one of them.

Advertisement: CytoCharge (click on photo for more info)

The back is not a straight line and thus, it is the muscles that stiffen the back so it can bear the load you’re putting on it. It’s usually the lightest and or the heaviest loads that we put on the back that cause the problem with potential injury, not because of just the weight, but because many have poor technique.

You need to fix your technique to lift heavy and prevent lower back injury.

Fix Your Technique
What is the ideal squat form? Many will tell you that you should squat deep, until your butt almost touches the floor. Wrong! Few people can squat this deep successfully without causing potential back injury, which can take up to 10 years to heal.

An ideal form would begin with feet approximately shoulder width apart, toes pointing slightly outward away from the body so that when you squat, the direction of your knee follows your toe; eyes are straight ahead and your squat is deep enough so that your thighs are about parallel to the floor. However, there’s a little more to it because each of us are uniquely different. For some, if you squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor, your back can become convex in shape and now, you are no longer in good form for a squat, which can cause injury.

So, what do you do? You need to find the squat position that is ideal for you, not for anyone else. Using the basic idea above, test yourself on the floor.

Get down on your hands and knees. Place your hands directly beneath your shoulders, but put your knees (your thighs at this point are perpendicular to the floor, i.e., about straight up) about four to six inches apart to begin. Now, slowly push your hips back until you begin to feel movement in your lower back – this indicates your back is beginning to lose its arch. At this point, widen your knees further apart and repeat the motion. You will keep doing this until you find the deepest range of motion without any change to your lower back. Try it with and without your feet being angled. You will likely find that your stance width is much different than you have been using. The next time you go to the gym, use this new stance you have found for yourself. But, a word of caution, use only light weights at first because likely your muscles will not be accustomed to the heavier loads since now you have slightly different angles pushing those loads.

Advertisement: Don Tolman International (click on photo for more info)

What are some things that will help you be more persistent in protecting your back? Try the following every day:

1. Perform a core-strength exercise such as side bridge, curl up, etc. If it’s a lift day, do one of these in your warmup routines as they will help stiffen the back prior to squats;
2. Do in-place squats, body weight only, every day; just a couple of sets to keep your hips mobile without the risk of heavy weights; and
3. On workout days, and I cannot stress this enough, wear a weight belt once you near your body weight and or surpass it. Then, when you squat, inhale before you squat, perform the squat and stand back to starting position then, exhale. This will keep your diaphragm expanded and is great at helping to prevent your back going into a convex position under heavy load.

There is a way to treat your back pains, but you need to be persistent. And the 8-12 weeks’ repair time that insurance companies say is ideal it not. It can take years to recover from damage to your back that you have done yourself. Happy, pain-free lifting.

Let’s repeat that in a different manner. Have a great attitude, know your goal weight, and keep track of the foods you eat, as well as the general workout time you spend in the gym. The latter is important because you need to add more calories to offset those burned during exercise.

Fitness and health is not about counting calories, but you do need to have a basic idea of how many calories your body requires compared to how many you eat. You also need to be aware of portion size. Most establishments actually serve a double portion. When you sit down to eat it, ask for a box and put half of the meal away then, eat the remainder. Being aware of just the basics helps you to make wise food choices.

Advertisement: Amazon (click on photo for more info)

Are you constantly on the go? That’s not an excuse for eating poorly even though you may find yourself eating at fast-food places more frequently than you desire. Here’s an example: at Burger King you can get a “Whopper” combo meal with a drink, and fries – about 1200 calories or, you can opt for a diet coke or water and a grilled chicken sandwich – about 400 calories. What choice would you make?

Perhaps you’re a Wendy’s fan. If so, have a sandwich and salad or chili with water or a diet drink. What’s the difference between the amount of calories? You should calculate it, which will reinforce making better choices. You will find a large difference between the typical ‘combo’ and selecting something more beneficial/wise.
As little as 100 calories per day less will help you reduce your weight by 10 pounds per year or, if you eat this much more than you need, you will gain 10 pounds per year.

More often than not, it is a matter of simple logic. Decide now not to have that high fat/high sugar combination food such as fast food burgers. Opt for the broiled/grilled chicken and a diet drink or water. Simple choices over a 2-3 month period can significantly reduce your weight – without exercise.

Advertisement: Don Tolman International (click on photo for more info)

Try making your own snacks that are lower in fat and calories such as celery sticks and ranch dressing, various vegetables, small fruits, granola bars that are low sugar, and a wide variety of other foods. It is not about just the carbohydrates either. If you eat lots of carbs, ensure they are high fiber and low sugar, i.e., think brown rice, vegetables such as broccoli, and not soft drink, beer, donuts, or ice cream.

Think of your body as a race car. If you were going up a hill you would need to give the car more gas or, if you were speeding down the straight-a-way. When you slow down, you give the car less gas. Your body is not unlike the race car; feed your body when it needs it and give it the best quality food. If your body were a Ferrari, would you use the cheapest gas?

Advertisement: Amazon (click on photo for more info)

Time appears to be a major issue why people don’t eat breakfast since we are constantly on the go. This problem can be solved by making breakfast for the week on Sunday, putting in containers and then, zapping in a microwave before you race out the door. Try making homemade breakfast burritos, scrambled eggs with veggies or meats as you choose, whole-grain cereal, or oatmeal with raisins. The list is endless, but if you take the time to prepare breakfasts on Sunday, assuming you have a morning time problem during the week. It’s easy to grab one of your containers and quickly heat or even take to the office and heat there if it needs to be heated. Fruits and other quick foods also work. The point is, if you are busy, prepare or purchase something for grab-and-go during the week.

Advertisement: CytoCharge (click on photo for more info)

Don’t skip breakfast because you’re a gym rat. If you cannot do this because of a press for time, drink 4-6 ounces of juice, protein, or other energy drink about 20 minutes prior to your workout. After your workout, be prepared to fuel your body. A good rule for eating after a workout is to eat breakfast about 40 minutes after your workout. No, not an hour and a half, but 40-45 minutes; don’t forget.

Following this type pattern will help you body have the most energy and more importantly, your breakfast will help jump start your day, even if it’s only a piece of toast and cup of coffee. Eat up!

One of the most common injuries in the gym is shoulder injuries; there’s just a lot of moving parts including ligaments, joints, and muscle groups and, this part of the body does an enormous about of work continually whether you workout or not.

Statistics indicate the two most injuries lifts to the shoulders are sitting presses both in front of and behind the neck. People just tend to overdo it in terms of overall weight load for these exercises. Because both exercises are static, the initial push creates lots of stress on the shoulders. We are not recommending you do not perform these exercises, but you must use caution.

To reduce the stress of injuries to the shoulders the advice is for you to:

1. Lessen the amount of weight you use in static positions involving shoulder workouts. If you do use heavy weights, do so more when standing and, to get those weight moving into that overhead press, dip you knees a little and use them to propel your body and weight upward. While many may consider this cheating, you’re not in a competition for the amount of weight you lift and, sparing yourself an injury means you’ll be back to workout again tomorrow instead of in a few days, next week or next month. Trust me, experiences shows this to be true.

2. Reinforce your shoulders and strengthen them to help reduce the chance of injury during shoulder exercises. Adding additional exercises specifically for this will help. Those recommended include Balance Trainer Pushups, One-Arm Bar, Ring Pushups, and Chair or Straight-leg Pull-ups.

Balance Trainer Pushups
Using a balance trainer, place it on the floor and assume a pushup position. Using a wider or narrower hand placement, do 3 sets of 6-8 reps of push ups. Because the balance trainer is flexible, it will help to strengthen the interconnected muscle and sinew groups in the shoulders.

Advertisement: BOSU (click on photo for more info)

One-Arm Bar
This exercise begins like a Turkish Get Up. Start the exercise like a get up. Lay flat on your back and assuming you are right handed, place a small weight dumbbell or kettlebell in your right hand. Your left leg is straight and your right leg is bent far enough so the foot is flat on the floor. The weight is straight up in the air, arm extended, pressed over your shoulder. Throughout the exercise you will maintain this position with the weight. Slowly roll left, keeping your right leg bent at the knee, until the right knee touches the floor on your left side then, return to start. All the while you keep the weight in the same position pressed above the shoulder. Switch positions and hand and do repetitions on the opposite side. Perform 3 sets of 6-8 reps.

Ring Pushup
Using either rings or TRX handles positioned about 6-12 inches above the floor, assume a pushup position and perform your pushups with your body perfectly straight. If you have particular issues or sore areas that do not seem to go away, raise the rings to lessen the work load, just as if doing incline pushups.

Straight or Chair Pull-up
Hang from a pullup bar and either keep your legs straight or bend them 90 degrees from waist so that your legs form a chair where your thigh would be the seat, i.e., thighs are parallel to the floor. From this position, execute your pull up and then, slowly lower yourself. The chair pull up is recommended because it will give induce greater shoulder reinforcement among interdependent muscle groups. Perform 4 sets for as many times as you can, but not to complete failure, perhaps 1-2 reps short of that.

You can switch these with some of your upper body warmups or warmdowns in your program and, you do not need to do all of them, just one each workout day a few times per week. Alternate for best results.

Aside from nutrition, exercise is “the” key for successful weight control. Most people cannot manage their weight successfully unless they combine good nutrition with regular exercise. This can simply be walking. More importantly, the health benefits are significant.

Good nutrition without exercise or vice versa represents an incomplete strategy for losing weight and keeping it off. It makes little sense to exercise regularly but, fail to provide the body with good nutritional support that helps achieve maximum gains in energy, strength, and endurance. Conversely, we cannot expect our bodies to shed pounds and perform at their peak if we provide them with premium fuel in a nutrient-rich diet, but then ignore that fuel’s potential by being sedentary.

Advertisement: Amazon (click on photo for more info)

One thing is certain: if weight loss is your goal, the only sure way to obtain it is to combine exercise with good nutrition. Adhere to this simple advice: Eat less and exercise more!

MyHealthandFitness will help you do this. Proceed to our ‘my workout‘ section and download as many of our trainer-designed workouts as you wish. They will never repeat themselves, will keep you active, and help you keep off that excess weight. Please read our terms of use.

If you cannot do all of the exercises do as many as you can and slowly increase your stamina and workout time. You’ll be glad you did.

You have been working out at the gym for weeks now and things have been going well. However, you lower back, legs, rhomboid muscles and a few other areas do not seem to be as supple as they should and constantly feel tight and fatigued. You have likely reached a point where your body needs some help in adjusting to the work load you have placed on it.

You’ve also been longing for one for a while now so, it’s time for that massage. Although your fatigue seems to have brought on this necessity, how often one should get a massage is a fairly common question. There is no clear answer, but I’ll attempt to put this in perspective.

There are multiple factors that contribute to the frequency of physical therapy/massage, which primarily include the persons size, training intensity, and training frequency.

Advertisement: New Balance (click on photo for more info)

Although massage is mostly used to keep you from injury and over training, it’s great for increasing the flow of nutrients to muscles, reducing tension and stress, increasing flexibility, enhancing nervous system functions, inducing sleep, and increasing appetite.

As a general rule of thumb, the average fitness buff should have a physical therapist check and massage them based on the therapists judgement at least once every 6-8 weeks; more if you’re a competitive athlete of any kind. Depending on your individual uniqueness, scheduled visits will vary. Think of it like a maintenance check for an oil change on your car. Just like that oil change for the car, your body needs to periodically get a massage. I recommend deep tissue types if you are a competitor in fitness and figure, body building, athletics and sports, etc.

Before seeking a massage, you should first try to combat over training. Some common methods to reduce over training include ceasing training for one week and when training always perform a light warm-up and stretching and, cut training time to 30 min/day max. Next, reduce protein intake to 15% of total calories; many fitness buffs use a lot more protein than they really should (pushed in large part by fad diets), pushing it up to 35% or more of daily caloric intake; 25% is generally sufficient as a max, but there are times when you should do more.

Another way to combat over training is to increase complex carbohydrates to 70% of total calories. Your brain actually runs on sugar and this will give you a boost. You can also increase antioxidants to 200% of the recommended dosage. Finally, get a minimum of 9-hours sleep for a few days. These basic techniques can help combat over training. But, the more you have trained, the more in need of a massage you will be. It’s interesting to note that many people will work out for years and never have a massage. If this is you, it’s definitely time to change that habit.

If you still find slow recovery from soreness and other exercise pains, it’s definitely time to visit your therapist.

There are two types of massage; local and full body. For high training loads, a full body massage is advisable (twice per week). These massages should not be deep, but relaxing with rubbing and kneading techniques. If training loads are light or medium, a massage once every two weeks is sufficient.

Local massage is used to treat special areas. An example of a local massage is when you may need extra attention to the hamstrings because of a particular activity that exerts constant work on a specific muscle such as the hamstrings or upper back. When speed-strength training, special attention should be given the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. A massage should be given only by a qualified sports massage therapist. Times needed for the massage generally range from 5-10 minutes for a light local massage; 10-25 minutes for a medium local massage and 20-25 minutes for a hard local massage.

For most athletes, either a local or full massage should be obtained at least once every 3-4 weeks. The harder you train, the more frequent you will need them and the more you will need to go to a full-body massage. The time requirement for a full body massage usually considers the your body size/weight. Generally for those weighting 135 pounds or less time required is about 40 minutes, 136-150 lb person is 50 minutes; 151-200 lb person is 60 minutes and a person over 200 lb is 60+ minutes. Talk to your therapist or ask one of our experts.

To prevent injury and increase skills requires that proper care be taken with the body. A massage is yet another tool to help you maintain better health and well, they feel great. Go get one and you’ll see.

Any definition of beauty really depends on who you ask. There is of course, the age-old adage that beauty is happiness.

In some cultures, talking about women, the preference is for the voluptuous type, dark hair and eyes, and smooth skin. For other cultures a woman’s beauty can be defined by blue eyes, blonde hair, and ‘built like a brick house’ stature. Thus, depending on where one is and when they are in time, from days long past until the present, beauty has and still does vary considerably.

However, have trained a 22-member fitness and figure team and working with countless other clients, beauty really boils down to what you think about yourself. What do you think about yourself? Are you happy with the way you look? Do you wish that you looked different, were slimmer, heavier, etc.? Real beauty is what you think about yourself. If you like what you look like and how you feel about yourself inwardly then, you are absolutely stunning. Your opinion is what matters most.

The inner self, regardless of what it is will radiate outward and no matter how young or old, no matter how you may rate by others on a scale, the inner self will determine your beauty because it is what makes you feel the way you do about yourself. So again, how do you feel about you?

Does your inner self burst through forming an outward smile such that when you walk into a room you light it up because there is, in itself – that light that shines through and is contagious? It does, and often it goes unnoticed by you but, you have your moments and they show through; your soul becomes immediately attractive to others, not necessarily in a sexual way, but in a way that makes him or her that you meet feel better about themselves and most of all glad that you brightened their day. Such moments in time, regardless of culture or geography will make you feel good and most of all they are memorable to those who experience them. That is beauty because skin fades and sags with age, but the inner beauty remains. And, as I notice older people, inner beauty is classy and always remains, even making the aged more beautiful in years.

Advertisement: WebMD (click on photo for more info)

If you follow the trending news, beauty is the beautiful actress walking down the red carpet, the singer in the gold dress on stage, the model walking down the runway, or the beauty queen at the pageant. But take away the pomp and glamour and the makeup and what remains? Would you rather strive for that beauty look on the runway or build the inner beauty that lasts a lifetime and that will always attract? Thus, we see that beauty is greatly distorted in our society because many really do not know what true beauty is.

If you have truly experienced your inner beauty, you will find that you are most happy in circumstances like those described above, or when you hold hands with your friend or lover, or the sweet simplicity of meeting and talking to others and helping them. The memories you have of beauty will not come from that perfect weave or hair style, the perfectly aligned eye brows, or the Louis Vuitton shoes, because those things are temporary in time and place. True beauty won’t be realized from the $1,000 dress you wear or the Rolex watch. Those are the outward signs of not beauty, but glitz.

Whether a handsome man or a beautiful woman, the inner projects the outward. While there is no denying that those who have great inner beauty, coupled with a great exterior, may have a leg up in life. The outward looks will never keep pace with the inner radiating self.

The inner pulsates through life itself, to people and places around you and project more than you imagine. Think about it this way – if you met a man or woman and had a meaningful conversation that excited you about some aspect of life, what would happen a few months later as the conversation popped back into your mind? You would be reveling in the conversation and about how perhaps profound it was and the connection with the personality you may have had. It is not likely you will be thinking of the clothing, jewelry or shoes the person was wearing. You’ll be thinking of it because the inner beauty of both showed through. It always trumps the outer beauty when you think logically.

The beauty of feeling good about yourself cannot be conquered by others. Working out in the gym until you feel the sweat dripping down your back or off your forehead; your hair blowing in the breeze as your ride you bike along the trail or the ocean breeze blowing upon your face as you jog down the beach. Such moments allow you to feel your own inner beauty. You are alive in these moments and it’s all you, not gold studded shoes on a red carpet, but really you, the real you, stripped of the outward ostentatiousness that has become our society. This is the feeling of real beauty. Who can take that away from you?

You can travel the world over and you will meet many people, while creating memorable moments through it all. You’ll be excited and have ups and downs, but it is the inner beauty you have that is truly your beauty and yours alone. Revel in it and celebrate it because as it grows, it will attract more than you can imagine. Inner beauty is always positive, never negative and is always celebrated.

You build your inner beauty through the activities and thoughts you apply constantly. Is there a scale to it? Can you magnify it? Yes, simply be yourself and be happy, because beauty really is happiness. This is your aura and true beauty – seen by others it can never be taken away because it radiates from within. What are your waiting for? Get out there and beautify!

There’s always a lot of talk about the different components of food and, everyone seems to have an opinion about what is right and what is wrong. But face it, whether you’re consuming carbohydrates, fats, or proteins all of them contain calories. If your diet focus is on any one of these alone, you’re missing the bigger picture. Thus, if you want avoid looking similar to the photo above, you want to know the facts about basic health and what you need to do to stay as healthy as you can, particularly with food and lifestyle.

Energy In less Energy Out: The Caloric Balance Equation
We all want to lose weight, well, at least those who are overweight. But, you don’t want to go up and down in your weight like a yo-yo. Ideally, you want to maintain a healthy weight and you want to do it long term.

When it comes to maintaining a healthy weight for a lifetime – calories count!
Weight management is all about balance—this means balancing the number of calories you consume with the number of calories your body uses or “burns off.” Think of it this way; food is energy. Thus, the equation is: energy in – energy out = your weight.

• A calorie is a unit of energy supplied by food. It doesn’t matter what food type the calorie comes from because a calorie is a calorie regardless of its source. Carbohydrates, fats, sugars, and proteins, all contain calories.

• Caloric balance is like a scale. To remain in balance and maintain your body weight, the calories consumed (from foods – energy in) must be balanced by the calories used (in normal body functions, daily activities, and exercise – energy out).

Advertisement: Amazon (click on photo for more info)

Therefore, there are three simple scenarios when balancing the energy in minus energy out (caloric balance):

1. Maintaining Weight: you must eat about the same number of calories that your body uses each day. Doing so will result in a stable weight;

2. Gaining Weight: you are eating more calories each day than your body burns and this is the general case for a great many people, which results in being overweight or obese and can lead to serious health problems. In other words you store the excess calories as fat; and

3. Losing Weight: you are eating fewer calories than your body uses each day. Doing this uses fat storage cells for energy thereby, decreasing your weight. This is the step you need to be at to begin losing weight.

Let’s talk about step 3. To lose weight, you need to watch portion control and eat less energy than your body burns daily. You can compound or multiply fat loss by both eating less and exercising regularly. And, believe it or not, there is a lot of science behind this.
Thus, regardless of your fitness, training, and health goals, if you are maintaining your current body weight, you are in caloric balance. If you need to gain weight or to lose weight, you’ll need to tip the balance scale in one direction or another to achieve your goals.

To be able to do this there’s just a couple of things you need to know. First, it’s all about the energy balance; food is energy. How much energy do food have? Alcohol carbs have 7 calories per gram; carbohydrates and proteins have 4 calories per gram; and fat has 9 calories per gram. Second, it’s all about the math; you need to figure out the number of calories you need, how much your meal plan is giving you, and balance it out – this means eat more, less or the same depending on your weight goals.

Also, it takes about 3,500 calories below your calorie needs to lose a pound of body fat. While this can vary from person to person and your exercise regimen, this is the average and a good base to work from. Therefore, to lose about 1 to 2 pounds per week, you need to reduce your caloric intake by 500—1000 calories per day. There’s also the food choices you make, exercises you perform and a host of related factors. Keep reading the website to educate yourself. Regardless, this is an excellent start.

To learn how many calories you are currently eating you will need to be a calorie counter for a little bit though, you must not get into the habit of doing it all the time. Begin by writing down the foods you eat and the beverages you drink each day and have a daily total. This will help you become more aware of everything you are consuming. By the end of the week you’ll know how well you have been doing. At this point, you’re not trying to change anything, you’re trying to get a handle on your energy use so, eat normal and record it. At the same time, begin writing down the physical activity you do each day and the length of time you do it. You will be able to look up the exercises and determine how much energy you burned and compare that to the total amount of energy from food, in calories, that you ate for the week.

Advertisement: Levenger (click on photo for more info)

Amber tried this experiment. Her total food in calories was about 1,400 calories each day, but on two days, the weekend, she ate almost 1,800 calories. Her total consumed calories for the week was 10,400 calories. She exercised 3.5 hours for the week and burning 875 calories. Thus, we have some numbers to work from.

Amber,s goal weight is 120 pounds. With no activity, she would need to eat her body weight x 10 + 200 or 1,400 calories per day for a total of 9,800 calories per week. How did she do in terms of weight loss or gain? Well, she ate 10,400 calories and burned 875 for net calories of 10,400-875 = 9,525 calories. Considering she needs 9,800 calories to maintain her weight, she had a negative caloric balance of 9,800 – 9,525 = 275 calories. Potentially, she lost about 1/10 pound.

You can see right away that exercise and physical activities (both daily activities and exercise) help tip the balance scale by increasing the calories you expend each day.

Recommended Physical Activity Levels
The recommended amount of exercise includes 30 minutes per day for 5 days per week (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (i.e., brisk walking), as well as muscle-strengthening activities for 2 or more of those days. The muscle strengthening activities should ideally include exercises that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).

However, the above recommended amount of activity is essentially to maintain your current fitness and health level.

If you wish to truly improve and have a better caloric balance, increasing the intensity and or the amount of time that you exercise or are active can have even greater health benefits and may be needed for some to control body weight.

If you have children, encourage both children and teenagers to be physically active for at least 60 minutes each day, almost every day.

Remember that each person’s body is unique and may have different caloric needs. A healthy lifestyle requires balance in several areas: the foods you eat; beverages you consume; the way you carry out your daily activities; and the amount of physical activity or exercise you perform each day.

Although counting calories is not necessary, it can initially help you to gain an awareness of your eating habits so you can achieve a stable caloric balance. Of course, this balance is determined by whether you are gaining, maintaining, or losing weight.