2. Breathing
Breathing diaphragmatically decreases your level of stress FACT! This happens because it facilitates or “heightens” the activity of the rest and relaxation part of the nervous system. Thus learning to breathe correctly and doing it regularly will greatly reduce your stress levels.
To breathe correctly; the first third of the breath the stomach expands the second the ribs expand and the chest may lift a little for the last third. On exhalation reverse this., e.g. chest-ribs-stomach. The breath should also be through the nose as this further facilitates rest and relaxation....
Stress from a mental perspective is simply fear. If you think of a stressful event in your past you’ll probably be able to find the link. This perception is interpreted by the nervous and endocrine system to produce the stress response, “fight and flight”. This causes increased release of stress hormones, such as cortisol and “heightening” of the activity of the sympathetic part of the nervous system. In the short term this helps you escape lions from an evolution point of view. However it also prevents you from sleeping well, affect the testosterone production in men, causes increased fat deposition...
A study was published earlier this month examining the effects of sleep on weight loss.
Nedeltcheva, A.V. Imperial, J.M. Schoeller, D.A. and Penev, P.D., (2010) Insufficient sleep undermines dietary efforts to reduce adiposity. Ann Intern Med, 153, 435-441.
The study was split in to two conditions. Both groups consumed 1450 calorie diets however one group was allowed to sleep for up to 8 and half hours whilst the other was only allowed to sleep for 5 and half hours.
They found that reduced sleep reduced the amount of fat loss by 55% and increased the loss of fat-free body mass by 60%. Patients...
This recipe is the most simple but delicious way of cooking beef ever if you are worried about what oil or fat to cook in then this is the recipe for you!
Ingredients
good quality free range organic beef sirloin steak
organic sea salt
take beef and sprinkle both sides with salt just a pinch each side will do
pre-heat oven to 190 degrees
place beef on a baking tray and cover
Cook for 30mins or until the beef is cooked through then remove cover and cook for another 10 minutes or until browned.
And that’s it! cooking doesn’t...
In the first three parts of this series we discussed the importance of body fat, gut health and stress to lower abdominal appearance. In this part we will discuss the role of exercise.
If you’ve taken action on the first three parts of this blog chances are you will develop a flat lower abdominal region. However in order to “tone up” the area or improve the definition further some specific exercises will help.
Before embarking on specific lower abdominal exercises you should consult with a qualified exercise professional. The lower abdominals help flatten out the lower back and...