Quitting Smoking—Is It Possible?

Are you sitting in that very difficult place of wanting to stop smoking but no matter how strong your resolve is when you start the day with, by the end of it you have given up trying to be strong and given in to the cravings that seem futile to resist?

 

We all know the statistics for cigarette related deaths and we all know that giving up the habit has immediate benefits for the body that just keeps getting better with time. Yet, more people are learning this, and people are still starting to smoke and others just do not want to give it up enough to follow their resolve to quit. 

 

So what is the solution? Is there a solution? Is quitting smoking possible? The good news is that hundreds are successfully giving up the habit and not returning to it. Others have tried a variety of ways to give it up and have not been as successful. Some of these ways include 

 

·    Just giving up: This technique involves making the decision not to smoke and simply stopping. It has proven highly effective for some people.

 

·    Gradually stopping: Many people try this technique, but with only limited success. The usual response of the body is to crave more nicotine than it is getting and many people who have tried to give up smoking, cite this reason as the main reason they didn’t succeed.

 

·    Nicotine Alternatives: Many people have used nicotine patches and gum as an alternative to smoking it in a cigarette. These alternatives provide a low dose of nicotine that helps the body stave off the cravings that inevitably reduce the resolve to quit. This method is considered a very successful treatment to help a smoker to quit the habit.

 

·    Stop Smoking Clinics: Clinics operated by anti-cancer councils and community groups provide a peer support approach that assists people to stop smoking and are a successful alternative natural treatment option.

 

Most people who give up smoking usually try one or more of these techniques or countless others that are successful. The journey for each person is very individual. If one technique is not successful, try another. Approach your resolve one cigarette at a time. Each time you say no, it will become easier to say no the next time. 

 

Pregnancy Woes and How to Avoid Them

Anticipating the birth of a new baby makes pregnancy an exciting time for most women. It can however also be a time when a woman must potentially deal with a variety of unpleasant conditions that may accompany a normal, healthy pregnancy. While it is impossible to prevent them from occurring, there are ways that a woman can reduce them and control them so she can continue with her life with minimal disruption.

 

A normal pregnancy lasts 9 months and each 3-month period is known as a trimester. Different conditions are common with each trimester and the symptoms associated with each trimester often subside as the next trimester period begins. Learning how to overcome those pregnancy woes will help pregnant women feel more in control of their symptoms and enjoy their pregnancy.

 

1.  First Trimester Symptoms (0-3 months)

 

Feeling excited about being pregnant is often mixed with needing to deal with nausea and vomiting and a feeling of extreme tiredness. The early pregnancy hormones cause these symptoms and while them can’t be prevented; there are some simple safe ways of minimizing them. 

 

·    Eat small meals regularly to prevent a low blood sugar level.

·    Discuss drinking ginger tea with your doctor.

·    Avoid smells and foods that increase the nausea.

·    Rest regularly and where include an afternoon sleep.

 

2.  Second Trimester Symptoms (3-6 months)

 

Nausea and vomiting usually subside during this semester and the chronic tiredness is usually replaced by a feeling of wellbeing and health. As the trimester continues and the uterus starts to enlarge, some women complain of nasal congestion, stretch marks, dizziness increased need to pass urine and constipation. Same ways to control these symptoms include:

 

·    Increase dietary fiber and continue to drink plenty of water.

·    Change position slowly and keep blood sugars stable by eating regularly.

·    Discuss laxatives with a doctor before they are used.

·    Use Vitamin E cream on stretch marks.

 

3.  Third Trimester Symptoms (6-9 months)

 

The final months of pregnancy, may create back pain, general discomfort and fluid retention. These symptoms can be controlled by:

 

·    Wear low shoes and if necessary, support stockings with a doctors approval.

·    Maintain fluid intake, even with fluid retention and frequent need to go to the toilet.

·    Rest where possible. Lie on side not back 

·    Hot showers can reduce discomfort. 

·    Gentle exercise.

 

How to Get Rid of Cellulite

If you are a woman, it is highly likely that you have had, do have or will have cellulite at some stage in your adult life. 90% of all women develop it and contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with obesity. Many women who develop the condition have a healthy range BMI (Body Mass Index). 

 

Cellulite is created by pockets of fat trapped beneath the surface of the skin producing the all too familiar dimpling of the skin that some describe as like orange pill in appearance. Although it is predominately a female condition, some men do develop the condition. It occurs predominately in the areas of the body containing the largest number of fat storage cells, mainly the abdomen, buttocks and thighs. 

 

A good diet and regular exercise will not stop cellulite formation; however, it does improve its overall appearance. It tends to be more obvious in overweight women. Women around the world spend money and time trying to eliminate or prevent the problem, but most find it extremely difficult to remove. 

 

There are different treatments, which have had different results for different people. The major treatments are as follows:

 

1.  Eliminate Body Fat: Although body fat does not cause cellulite, it does make it look worse. Losing weight and exercising will improve overall health and metabolism and will improve the appearance of the problem areas. Caffeine, alcohol and smoking increase the chances of developing cellulite. Reducing intake of these may help.

 

2.  Creams and Massage: There are varieties of creams available that state they treat and reduce cellulite. Some are available through pharmacies and others through specialist beauty products. Health stores sell some herbal creams. Massaging these into the skin is probably the reason they work if you see any improvement, as there have been reports of temporary improvement of cellulite after deep massage. Its long-term effect is debatable. 

 

3.  Cosmetic Surgery: Cosmetic surgery provides limited results as the liposuction removes cells from deeper levels than where the cellulite occurs. It provides minimal improvement.

 

4.  Cellulite Stockings: Comparatively inexpensive, these stockings do not cure cellulite, but they improve the appearance of badly effected buttocks and thighs and many women use them esthetically, with immediate improvement while wearing the stockings.

 

It is important to discuss appropriate treatment plans with a doctor who can advise the best individual treatment approach.

 

How to Get a Flat Abdomen in 30 Workouts

You have been working out at the gym and you are looking great. You know you have worked hard and deserve the results you see in the mirror. Except for that stubborn belly fat that just will not seem to shift no matter how hard you try. Does this sound all too familiar? Do not worry you are not alone. This is a common problem for most people. The good news is, there is a way to get a flat abdomen in 30 workouts, and you do not need gym membership to achieve it. 

 

You are probably watching your weight and ensuring you eat plenty of proteins, good fats and lots of fruits and vegetables, low GI foods and whole grains and fibers. No workout program will work successfully unless combined with a sensible approach to diet. The next step is to check what exercise you are doing to try to flatten that abdomen.

 

Most people think that to lose belly fat you need to do exercises that focus on the abdomen. 

 

Isolated exercises do not work and have limited results giving you that flat stomach you desire. This means your routines do not need to include unpleasant crunches and expensive equipment. The most effective way of removing the fat is by combining interval cardio training to burn the fat, with resistance exercises that focus on the big muscle groups in the buttocks, back and thighs. These are your fat burning muscle groups and by working them you will burn the belly fat and tighten your abdominal muscles at the same time. 

 

Remember quality not quantity is the key to fast abdominal fat loss. A simple workout routine that you should do for 30 days may look like this.

 

1.  Use an exercise bike or tread mill if you have access to them, or otherwise try skipping or running and do interval cardio exercises by interspersing a period of 2 minutes of fast paced cardio that raises your heart rate, with 4 minutes of rest and continue this for approximately 20 minutes (burn calories and raise heart rate).

 

2.  Follow up cardio training with 15 reps of exercises such as squats and lunges with free weights repeated twice each session. 

 

Once the principle of cardio and large muscle group activity is the focus, learning how to get a flat belly in 30 workouts is simple.

 

Vitamin-Rich Fruits You Should Consume Daily

At a time when many people focused on eating well and reducing weight by improving their diet, the importance of eating fruit is well researched and documented. For those who want to lose weight, many of these fruits provide plenty of Vitamin C, a known fat burning vitamin.

 

In the past, this has led to the development of popular fruit-based diets like the grape fruit diet, but there is no requirement to restrict other nutrients to lose weight and fruit forms and essential part of all good weight loss plans and should form part of any healthy lifestyle. Vitamins are essential for normal body function. They affect metabolism, human growth and development and a healthy immune system. They are only required in minimal amounts, and the body either stores or excretes excess amounts in the urine. 

 

Fruits contain many vitamins and provide most of the total daily requirements. . Eating 2 pieces of fruit per day, together with other foods, reduce or eliminate the need for oral vitamin supplements. Eating the fruit whole and not juiced is also the better alternative, to provide the other benefits of the fiber rich whole fruit. Vitamin deficiency is a serious condition, which can lead to major health problems if they are not corrected.

 

Many fruits are like a multivitamin supplement, they contain many different vitamins. The following list of fruits each contains approximately 10 essential vitamins and should be consumed regularly. Apples, avocadoes, bananas, berries, cherries, cantaloupes, grapes, figs, dates, guava, kiwi fruit, oranges, lemons, limes, olives, peaches, pears, nectarines, pineapples, plums, tomatoes and watermelon. The list is not complete and most fruit will provide very high numbers of vitamins.

 

Fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A, D, E and K, are stored in the body for periods lasting as long as 6 months and don’t require the same daily intake requirement as the water soluble vitamins like Vitamins B and C. Despite containing similar groups of vitamins, not every fruit contains the same types of vitamins. The amount and type of vitamins that each fruit provides is variable. 

 

The fruit providing the highest levels of water-soluble vitamin content that should be included in the diet daily are berries including blackberries, raspberries and blueberries, oranges, bananas and apples. Tomatoes and avocadoes, though often eaten as vegetables, are fruits and are excellent choices of vitamins that can be eaten daily. 

 

What Being Healthy Really Means

Health to most people means, “not being sick.” People who are ill are considered to be in “poor health.” For these people, health is simply the absence of sickness. There is another more comprehensive view however, held by groups like the World Health Organization and the International Scouting Movement that suggest that true health is not only physical wellbeing, but also includes, mental, social, spiritual and intellectual wellbeing. 

 

In today’s society, there is a lot of emphasis on maintaining physical health, but most people spend little or no time looking after these other areas of wellbeing. If we are going to measure how healthy we are, we must consider how we are looking after the “whole of us” and not just our bodies. 

 

Being healthy means taking time to consider those areas of our lives that we do sometimes neglect and finding ways to care for them. Research has shown that if we do not do this, then it will affect our physical health. Many of the reasons we say we are in “poor health” are caused by carrying too much stress, and eventually they will produce physical symptoms if we do not learn how to de-stress. 

 

We usually care for the needs of others in preference to caring for ourselves. Self-care however, is not selfish but is a way of ensuring that our bodies are healthy in a holistic sense. We choose to go to the gym after work, which may seem to be caring for our physical body, but if it is something we want to do and we like to do, it will produce health benefits to our mental and social well-being. If we would like to study in a course that interests us as personal development, but consider ourselves too busy to enroll in a course without attempting to reschedule our time, we are not caring for our intellectual health.

 

Giving ourselves permission to self-care as a whole person is the first step to enjoying true health. It is not only important for us personally, it influences our roles as partners, as parents and as colleagues at work. It affects our productivity and our ability to enjoy life and to take advantage of the opportunities that life offers us.

 

When we adopt this holistic attitude for our lives, and in making lifestyle choices, we have begun to understand what true health really means. 

 

How to Start a Home Business

Starting a home business is quite a lucrative option right now because there are so many ways in which you can do it, and when you are managing your own things from home, you do not have to fear anyone firing you from the job. You have a great deal of professional security and the profits you make are really yours!

 

So, if you plan to start a home business, how do you go about it? Here are the ways.

 

1.  Ask yourself what you are good at. Is there something that really drives you, a passion that you would like to convert into a profession? Or, maybe you have some special talent that you would like to monetize. Look within yourself for such options.

 

2.  Think of the practicality of the home business idea that you have in mind. Is it something that you can run as a home business? Perhaps your idea is too noisy or dangerous to implement from home. Maybe it is something that would make a mess in the neighborhood, or maybe it is just something that you can effectively do from your home. So, you have to see whether your home business idea can really be done from your home.

 

3.  The next thing to think about is the feasibility. Will you get enough money out of your investments in the home business you have thought about? Most importantly, are people willing to pay for what you are trying to sell? There should be a market, of course, or your idea is dead in the water before it starts.

 

4.  When you have made all these above considerations, the next thing for you is to sit down and chalk out a master plan for how you would like to go about your business. Make a blueprint, so to speak. This can take time, but it does not matter because a business that is well-planned is also well-implemented. Take everything into account; it is the nitty-gritties that actually matter the most.

 

5.  Set your plan into action. Remember that most home businesses are started on a trial-and-error basis. You might be disappointed at first and then will have to change certain things to make a better business, but that is all in the game. You should be patient and perseverant if you want to see your home business grow.

 

Whatever your home business idea is, these are the points that can help you in converting it into a reality. Go according to this list and you will find things going according to plan most of the time.

 

Creating a Super Mindset to Build Your Home Business

Starting a home business is not impossible, but that should not make you think that it is the easiest thing in the world. It is not! There are various things that can pose a problem in your overall plan, things that can put a spanner in the works, so to say. The biggest constraint, however, is our own mindset. 

 

We have been traditionally coached that businesses are difficult, jobs are easy. We have been conditioned to think that the easiest way to make money—money that is stable—is through working for someone on a salary at a daytime job. That is the reason there are so many people engaged in jobs than there are in businesses.

 

Now, this is not wrong, and, certainly, people are needed to do jobs as well. but, at the same time, what you need to know is that it is not impossible to start out a home business if you want to. Especially in today’s times, you have hundreds of easy facilities that can help you get started. The Internet with its vast brood of resources is entirely at your disposal and you can use it in whichever way is legally possible and implementable to further your business.

 

The most important thing is that you have to coach your mind into thinking that you have the business potential within you. Do you have a wonderful idea that you want to let out, unleash into the world? Do you know you can create something that people will be ready to buy? Or, maybe, give them a service that you are an expert at—a service that has a good demand in the market? Or—the most fascinating thing—can you create something that will have a demand in future and thus start a pioneering business in the process?

 

There are so many ways in which you can get into a home business. Remember that people are shopping online right now, and for these people, it does not matter whether their products are coming out of a multinational corporation or from a home business that someone is running from home in their boxers. The thing that matters to them is that the quality of the product should be impeccable. They do not want any compromises there. If you can give them high quality, there is no reason why you should hold yourself back.

 

There are all the promotional tools you would need to get your business out into the open. Most of these things would not require any investment at all. If, even after reading this you are skeptical about starting a home business, then you just like to live in excuses! 

Building the Right Balance between Your Family Life and Your Home Business

When you have set your mind to be a home business entrepreneur, then you will find yourself faced with various issues and problems that will set themselves before you. Out of these, one of the most profound problems that you will have to tackle is striking the right balance between your family life and your professional life. Things get more difficult here because you are with family most of the time and, though you know how to keep the difference, your family members may not think so. They will intrude upon your professional space more than you expect, and this issue is more complicated when there are children to whom you cannot explain things.

 

Hence, creating the right balance is the problem for most entrepreneurs, here are some ways in which you can go about it.

 

When starting out with your home business, you have to make it a point to involve your family members. Sit and discuss with them. Tell them what you intend to do. Explain to them how starting the home business will be beneficial to everyone. In most cases, such communication is lacking, and then the family members are justifiably not interested. However, if you sit down and talk with them beforehand, then they could be pivotal in the success of your business; they could even contribute to it in various ways.

 

You need to make a plan for conducting your business. Allocate fixed hours for it; these hours should be revealed to everyone in the family. Tell them to treat you as though you have gone outside to work. This works if the people in your family are mature adults and they realize the importance of your work. For kids, you might plan to employ a nanny who should be told about the timings well in advance.

 

Set up an office environment within your home. If possible, keep a separate room for your work, which is your home office. Here, keep a different ambiance altogether. Make it very much like an office. The more you make this resemble an office, the more people will understand that you are serious about your work. It will also create more seriousness within you and you will focus more on your work.

 

Try out these suggestions and you will find that your family does not become an interferer in your work. Instead, they will actually contribute to your work in various ways and help you to take your home business ahead.