When it comes to shedding the highest amount of pounds and keeping them off for good, cardio training is the ideal approach. Not only that, but engaging in cardio training on a regular basis decreases the chances of heart-related problems, prevents colds, lessens stress, improves sex life, boosts stamina, and much more.

Nevertheless, relying solely on cardio to achieve weight loss can prove futile. In fact, you need to back your cardio weight loss program with the right diet. Otherwise, the sweat is for nothing. Therefore, if you’re looking to the get the most out of each cardio session while losing the weight, and keeping it off for good, here are the eating principles you should abide by.

Don’t Shock Your System

Most fitness enthusiasts make the mistake of revving up on the cardio while skipping meals as a way of speeding up the weight loss process. Opting for this approach can spell disaster on your weight loss program and health status. Meal skipping slows down metabolism levels and increases the chance of overeating and binging later on in the day. In addition, failure to address your energy needs will turn your workouts into a living nightmare, thus leading to decreased performance, extreme fatigue and other serious health troubles.

As a result, you need to properly address your nutritional needs. The perfect eating guideline is to eat frequently throughout the day. The ideal eating pattern is to consume 4-5 small meals, 3-4 hours apart. Never skip a meal—especially breakfast. By doing so, you ensure the constant delivery of nutrients into your body and keep metabolism levels running high, thus you’ll enjoy each workout and achieve staggering consistency.

Keep a Food Diary

To lose weight for good, you need to develop healthy life-long eating habits, and the best way to do that is by using a food diary. A food diary can help amazingly with your weight loss program. By opting for one, you’ll be taking the guess work out of your training and know exactly what to change in order to get the desired results. You’ll become your own detective on what works best and what doesn’t.

The main function of a food diary is to keep track of every calorie you put into your mouth. By doing so you’ll become crystal clear on your eating habits and will be able to pinpoint exactly where any disservice is occurring. Too many people don’t succeed in their goals simply because they fail to recognize negative unconscious habits. A food diary will help you bring to consciousness your eating habits and change them for the best.

In addition, you can also use a food diary to plan daily calorie intake. While performing cardiovascular exercise, your body will need some carbs for energy, lean protein for muscle building and recovery, and healthy fats such as eggs and avocadoes. Failure to address these energy needs will hamper your performance and may lead to injuries or a painful workout. Luckily you can use the food diary to make sure that you never fall into such pitfall.

About the author

David Dack is a runner and an established author on weight loss, motivation and fitness. If you want more free tips from David Dack, you may visit his running website and for a limited time you can grab his special “Weight Loss By Running” free report. David’s information has helped many lose and keep off the weight through step-by-step techniques presented both in his articles and in his special reports.

Sexual activity in the elderly woman is associated with healthier aging and an overall better quality of life, a new study reports. The researchers analyzed information gathered from 1,200 women in San Diego from ages 60 to 89. They found that:

• 67% of the women ages 60-69 were satisfied with overall sex life
• 60% of women ages 70-79 were satisfied with overall sex life
• 61% of women ages 80-89 were satisfied with overall sex life

Even though levels of sexual activity varied greatly depending on the woman’s age, the satisfaction of sexual activity, successful aging, and quality of life were positive.

Study co-author Wesley K. Thompson, an assistant professor of psychiatry with the Stein Institute for Research on Aging at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, says the following:

What this study tells us is that many older adults retain their ability to enjoy sex well into old age…This is especially true of older adults who maintain a higher level of physical and mental health as they grow older. Furthermore, feeling satisfied with your sex life — whatever your levels of sexual activity — is closely related to your perceived quality of life.

The study shows overall that successful aging may be directly affected by the level of sexual satisfaction.

Source:

HealthDay News

A chemical found in common plastics may undermine a man’s masculinity and his ability to attract a female, or at least that’s what a new study on mice may suggest.

It is the latest research to question the health safety of the hormone-changing compound bisphenol-A, or BPA.

In the study, researchers found that female mice were not attracted to male mice that were exposed to BPA in the womb. They also noted that males exposed to the chemical in the womb were more likely to behave like females.

Researchers said female mice exposed to BPA were unaffected by the chemical.

It’s possible that BPA exposure alters the males’ hormone signals, researchers said, and some say the chemical exposure may have the same effect on people by altering developmental sexual traits in boys and girls.

“BPA has been shown to suppress the early production of testosterone. In short, the females can sense [the males'] compromised state and are less attracted to these males,” said Cheryl Rosenfeld, associate professor in biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri and co-author of the study.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 1 million pounds of BPA are released into the environment each year, primarily uised as an ingredient to harden plastic. The chemical has been widely scrutinized, causing several consumer products, including baby bottles, water bottles and microwavable dishware made with the compound, to be taken off the shelves.

Last year, the European Union and Canada banned the use of BPA in baby bottles. Many U.S. states are following suit by considering a ban on the chemical, as well.

Chemical in Plastics Threatening Masculinity?

Last week, the American Medical Association voted to adopt a policy which recognized BPA as a chemical that interferes with human hormones. The organization now urges makers of BPA plastics to label and identify the chemical in the product.

“While the exact outcomes may differ in humans, there is reason for concern that sex-specific behavioral alterations are a significant risk following prenatal exposure to BPA,” said Dr. Rodney Dietert, professor of immunotoxicology at Cornell University. “Brain, behavior and immune effects are commonly seen with developmental exposure to BPA.”

In a previous study, researchers linked BPA to lower sperm counts and smaller testes in male mice. Another study reported that a female mouse had reduced pregnancy rates when she mated with a male exposed to BPA, said Dr. John Spangler, associate professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

“This study adds to the increasing evidence that BPA is a toxin that we should regulate more stringently,” said Spangler.

Researchers said the mice were fed food laced with BPA at levels considered safe for human exposure, but the American Chemistry Council disagreed, saying “typical human exposures are miniscule compared to the dose used in the study.”

“Given the incredibly high exposure levels of BPA used in this study—a single dose level approximately 250,000 times higher than typical human intake – there is little to be learned from the authors’ work,” the American Chemistry Council said in a statement.

Is the missing ingredient in your love life hiding in your spice rack? Researchers certainly think so.

According to a new study in Australia, the herb fenugreek significantly improved male libido. The research, performed by the Centre for Integrative Clinical and Molecular Medicine, showed that men who took a fenugreek extract twice daily saw significant improvements in their love life.

How significant? The study looked at the effects of a fenugreek-based preparation on the libido of men aged 25 to 52. The men took the extract twice a day for six weeks, while another group had a placebo pill.

Within six weeks of starting the trial, men who took the fenugreek had increases in their libido scores of more than 25 percent. The men who took the placebo saw either no increase or a decrease.

Researchers are unclear how the herb, which is used in curry and other dishes, works to improve libido. Fenugreek does contain some compounds that may effect hormone levels. The compounds, known as saponins, may be responsible for an increase in the production of sex hormones.

Male horniness is not the only place where the herb is alleged to have positive effects. Some new mothers take fenugreek to increase the volume of breast milk they produce. Other people swear that fenugreek reduces inflammation and wards off arthritis. Still other research shows that the herb can reduce cholesterol levels and perhaps help folks with type-1 and type-2 diabetes manage their symptoms.

Could a healthy psychological outlook be tied to better sex?

That’s the finding from a new study comparing the psychological profiles of young adults against their reports of satisfaction in the bedroom.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, studied data from more than 3,200 men and women ages 18 to 26, analyzing the association between self-esteem, autonomy and empathy and three measures of sexual pleasure among those in established heterosexual relationships of longer than three months.

The three measures of sexual enjoyment evaluated included orgasm regularity and the enjoyment of receiving and giving oral sex.

Empathy — defined as the ability to “take [the] other’s perspective” — was tied to sexual pleasure for both young men and women.

For women, empathy, autonomy (“having the strength to follow personal convictions”) and self-esteem all seemed to contribute to pleasure.

“I think the most important point is the association between empathy and sexual enjoyment and that it was consistent across the board between men and women,” said study co-author Adena Galinsky, a doctoral student at Bloomberg School’s Center for Adolescent Health.

Men and women differed in their level of sexual enjoyment. Young men reported the highest level of all three types of sexual enjoyment, with nearly nine of 10 saying they achieved orgasm most or all of the time, compared to fewer than half of young women.

Galinsky said she wasn’t surprised by that result, but did find it interesting that young men were more likely than young women to say they enjoyed giving oral sex to their partners, which breaks the stereotype that males are more concerned with their own sexual pleasure.

Due to a computer programming error, the researchers didn’t have access to full data on the enjoyment of vaginal sex.

The authors write that empathy may be key to sexual enjoyment because “it may increase motivation to give sexual (and other kinds of) pleasure to the partner.” A person who is empathic with his or her partner can enjoy the other’s pleasure “vicariously,” as well, they reasoned.

While men seemed to require empathy alone to boost sexual satisfaction, women may need self-esteem and autonomy as well because of social norms related to sexuality, Galinsky said.

“Research shows higher barriers for women in knowing and saying what they want,” she explained. “It may be more important for them to overcome those barriers, where for men those impediments weren’t there.”

Sexual pleasure was not associated with age, race or ethnicity or social/economic status, the researchers found.

The study, funded by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, was the first to use a representative sample of heterosexuals to find a relationship between key developmental assets and sexual pleasure, the study authors said. The data were extracted from the U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

Charles and Amy Miron, married sex educators and certified sex therapists in Baltimore, said they were pleased to see a study address sexual pleasure in a young population, noting that the subject is generally ignored.

“I think the emphasis shifting to sexual pleasure . . . and moving away from the ‘thou shalt not’ model of thinking is a very positive move,” said Charles Miron, who co-authored How to Talk with Teens About Love, Relationships & S-E-X with his wife.

Amy Miron agreed that the study reinforces “that especially for a woman to be sexually active in our society, she needs to be autonomous. She needs to have a good sense of self.”

Andrew Hough
Telegraph
June 6, 2011

A study has found that men with poor sleep patterns have significantly lower levels of testosterone, which results in a lack of sex drive.