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| Can you believe that fruit juice can have even more calories than soda? It may be a good source of vitamins and phytochemicals, but to keep the calories down, replace half a cup with sparkling water. Better yet, eat fruit, which has the fiber juice doesn’t. |
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| 5-in-1 Fitness Calculator |
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Calculate your BMI (body mass index), Body Fat Percentage, Optimal Weight Range, and Target Heart Rate and Overall Health Risk all in one simple calculation.
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There are all kinds of diets out there. For that matter, there are all kinds of exercise programs out there, too. But what you need most to succeed at making healthy changes in your life is sound, common-sense advice.
 First, understand that change comes not from the outside but from inside—meaning inside yourself. If you want to get a better, healthier body, the most important thing you can do is make a commitment to yourself. Care about yourself enough to make healthy choices; then promise yourself—in fact, make a contract with yourself-- you’ll stay the course. I’ve even included a contract on this web site, and I urge you to download it, sign it and keep it somewhere (on the refrigerator door perhaps or on your night table) where you can see it and renew your commitment to yourself at least once a day. Click here for the contract.
Getting to where you want to go in life is a process. Committing is the first step, but of course many other steps must follow. Change is a progression, and each bit of forward momentum you make will give you confidence to take on the next challenge. You will experience a series of accomplishments, some big, some small, but each important. Think of the process of improving yourself as if you were building a house. You need to set down a foundation (your commitment to yourself), then layer on it, floor by floor, room by room.
I believe there’s a logical progression to the building process. Once you shore up your emotional foundation—that is your commitment, self-control and a truthful understanding of yourself--you need to find a way to put exercise into your life on a regular basis. The third step is to improve your diet by tossing out all the foods you know aren’t on the program and replacing them with healthier choices.
 Most people do not follow this progression. Don’t make the mistake they do and begin with a diet, cutting calories. When you do this you lower your metabolism (the rate at which you burn calories). But if you start by exercising you raise your metabolism. In addition, exercise can provide you with a powerful incentive to eat well. When you exercise, you’ll see changes in your body that, hopefully, will inspire you to eat more healthfully. That’s absolutely essential. Plus, if you’re not eating nutritiously, you’ll really feel it when you work out—it’ll be hard to keep your energy up. Get in the exercise habit before you start tinkering with your diet, and you’ll keep your metabolism going strong so your new eating habits can immediately yield positive results.
When you do turn your attention to food, I think it’s important to get a handle on why you eat more than you should (or the wrong kinds of food). So many people are emotional eaters. That is, they eat because of how they feel rather than because they are truly, physically hungry. No matter how smart you are about nutrition, it’s difficult to apply what you know if you’re struggling with emotional eating. If you’re an emotional eater, you need to address the problem right away.
Once you’ve begun working on emotional eating, you can start thinking about changing your eating habits. This isn’t always easy—after all, food provides pleasure not just sustenance. But I’m a great believer in the idea that eating healthfully can also mean eating well. As some of the recipes and eating advice on this web site will show you, good food can and should be part of a healthy lifestyle.
There’s no single secret to getting a better body. My philosophy is that it’s essential to examine your whole life. Then, you’ll need to make an effort to improve each problem area. Powerful change occurs by taking small steps towards your goal every day of your life. You’ll have bad days as well as good—everyone has setbacks—but if you’re committed to your own well being, I know you’ll succeed.
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