a Sweet Life

Burn the Fats

2009-09-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

Methods to Burn Fat

Goals and Planning

Many people enter a diet with unreasonable goals and unhealthy ideas of how to achieve them. A healthy mindset when starting a diet is the most important step toward ensuring your diet is successful.

Avoid starving yourself. Aside from putting unnecessary strain on an already difficult task, the human body tends to hold on to the nutrients it is being deprived of, including fat. Starving yourself will slow your metabolism, depriving you of energy and actually slowing the fat-burning process.

Give yourself at least a full month to see results. Your body doesn't weight the same amount from day to day, and can vary by as much as five pounds from one day to the next based on the amounts of water and food in our systems. Fad diets promise fast results, but these usually are the result of lost water and other materials, not burned fat.

Healthy eating

A healthy food selection is the cornerstone of any diet, especially one aimed at burning fat .

Many people mistakenly try to cut out meals in order to lose body fat, but this will actually slow your metabolism and make it harder to burn those calories. Instead, eat between four and five small meals per day, evenly spaced throughout the day. This will help increase metabolism, which is key to burning fat.

Even on a diet, your body needs nutrients from all major food groups, even carbohydrates. Instead of cutting carbs altogether (which contain fiber and other essentials), substitute what you would normally eat with something that has less calories. For example, instead of an bagel in the morning, have an English muffin.

Eat the recommended servings (at least five per day) of fruits and vegetables, which are filled with nutrients and have no saturated fat or carbs. Finally, make sure you drink plenty of water.

Exercise

Cardiovascular exercise, such as jogging or swimming, burns calories and fat. This kind of exercise also increases your metabolism, meaning you will increase the rate at which your body naturally consumes calories each day.

How to Burn Fat

Burning fat is at the top of many people’s list of health priorities. Lots of us want to burn as much fat from our body as possible but don’t know the best method for doing so. Fortunately, there are a number of physical activities that burn off the fat and calories. All of them are effective, but the effectiveness is at different levels.

Instructions
Step 1

Begin running if you want to burn the most fat possible. The strain that running puts on the body and the workout it gives the heart provides the most bang for your fat burning buck. A person can burn over 500 calories in an hour simply by jogging.

Step 2

Play physically demanding sports where your body is in constant motion such as tennis and soccer if you want to burn calories and work off your competitive side as well. An adult can burn well over 400 calories simply by getting outside with some friends and playing their favorite sport for an hour.

Step 3

Start lifting weights if you are interested in burning fat and replacing it with muscle. Bench pressing, squats and other weight lifting activities burn away the fat and convert your flab into muscle. A person can burn between 200 and 400 calories depending on the amount of weight and effort put into your regimen.

Step 4

Try walking if these more strenuous activities seem over your head. Walking can be a great way to burn fat when done regularly and with a little more effort than usual. A brisk walk, such as walking the dog, can burn up to 250 calories and shave a great deal of fat away.

Step 5

Work harder around the house if you don’t have time to exercise. Packing boxes will trim 250 calories from your body, while playing with your kids can burn almost 175 calories.

How to Burn Body Fat Fast

Losing weight can be a difficult task and involves breaking bad habits. To successfully burn body fat fast, lots of varied exercise and a healthy diet are required. Some of these methods, such as fasting, can result in a loss of several pounds in the course of a week. Diet and exercise will take longer but are just as effective.

No cheating! Tips for maximum results

Want to make the most of that cardio session? That weight routine? Don't cheat. It's easy to do, yet harder than many think to actually do right. Here are some tips for good form and optimum results:
Walking: A swift, steady pace (between 3.8 and 4.4 mph) for at least 30 minutes works well. If possible, incorporate hills into your walks for a built-in interval session.
Running: Don't slouch or look down. Keep your shoulders back, pump your arms, and count your breaths as you run.
Elliptical/stairclimber: Don't lean on the machines. This is the biggest mistake people make. Rest hands lightly on the handles, just enough to keep your form. Work up to a point where you can let go of the handles completely, and then pump your arms during the session.
Weight training: Smooth, controlled movements are essential for correct form, positive results and to reduce the chance of injury. Generally, you should exhale while exerting, and inhale while bringing weight back down. Never hold your breath while lifting weights. This can cause dizziness, fainting or even heart attack or stroke. To avoid putting unneccesary strain on the heart, breathe out as you lift the weight.
Stretching: Again, breathing and good form are critical. Never stretch to the point of pain. You should stretch muscles to the point of tightness, and hold for up to 30 seconds. Do not bounce while stretching, and breathe normally through the holding period.

How to be Really Really Really Happy ^_^

2009-09-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

So happiness - isn't that the thing that all of us strive to find and keep? Nobody is happy all of the time, but some people are definitely more fulfilled than others. Studies on what makes people happy reveal that it doesn't have much to do with material goods or high achievement; it seems to whittle down to your outlook on life, and the quality of your relationships with the people around you.

Steps

1.Be optimistic. No matter what happens, good or bad, the effect on our happiness is only temporary and we tend to rebound to our baseline level. Some people have a higher baseline happiness level than others, and that can be attributed in part to genetics, but it's also largely influenced by how you think. So while the remainder of this article will help boost your happiness, only improving your attitude towards life will increase your happiness permanently. Here are some excellent starting points for doing that:

2.Follow your gut. Now, some of our decisions are more crucial than picking out posters, but by the time you're poring over your choice, the options you're weighing are probably very similar, and the difference will only temporarily affect your happiness. So next time you have a decision to make, and you're down to two or three options, just pick the one that feels right, and go with it.

3. Make enough money to meet your basic needs: food, shelter, and clothing. Any money you make beyond that will have negligible effects on your happiness. Remember the lottery winners mentioned earlier? Oodles of money didn't make them any happier, and it won't make you any happier. Once you make enough money to support your basic needs, your happiness is not significantly affected by how much money you make, but by your level of optimism.

Your comfort may increase with your salary, but comfort isn't what makes people happy. It makes people bored. That's why it's important to push beyond your comfort zone to fuel your growth as a person.
Don't assume you're the exception, as in "Sure they didn't use their lottery money wisely, but if I won it, I'm spend it differently, and it'd definitely make me happier." Part of the reason many people are unhappy is because they don't think research-based advice about happiness applies to them, and they continue chasing more money and achievement and material goods in vain.

4.Stay close to friends and family. Or move to where other members are- so you can see them more. We live in a mobile society, where people follow jobs around the country and sometimes around the world. We do this because we think increases in salary will make us happier, but the fact is that our relationships with our friends and family have a far greater impact on our happiness than our jobs do. So next time you think about relocating, consider that you'd need a salary increase of over thousand of money to compensate for the loss of happiness you'd have from moving away from your friends and family.But if your relationships with your family and friends are unhealthy or nonexistent, and you are bent on moving, choose a location where you'll be making about the same amount of money as everyone else; according to research, people feel more financially secure (and happier) when they're on similar financial footing as the people around them, regardless of what that footing is.

5.Stop expecting your job to make you happy. Many people expect the right job or the right career to dramatically change their level of happiness, but happiness research makes it clear that your level of optimism and the quality of your relationships eclipse the satisfaction you gain from your job. If you have a positive outlook, you'll make the best of any job, and if you have good relationships with people, you won't depend on your job to give your life a greater sense of meaning. You'll find it in your interactions with the people you care about. Now that doesn't mean you shouldn't aspire towards a job that'll make you happier; it means you should understand that the capacity of your job to make you happy is quite small in comparison to your outlook on life and your relationships with people.

6.Smile. Science suggests that when you smile, whether you feel happy or not, your mood will be elevated. Moreover, studies show that happiness is contagious. With this in mind, consider the implications for happiness that the very act of smiling at another in passing has on not only our psyche, but that of the larger good. More importantly, when we smile at another, it shouldn't be with the expectation of having a smile in return. Sometimes the people we are smiling at who don't return the gesture may be the ones who need the smile the most. Just the act of doing something positive -- sharing a smile -- might be enough to send our neurochemicals in the right direction, regardless of the response.

Tips

Just because something seems to make other people happy doesn't mean that it really does. People are very good at pretending they're happy, especially when they've invested so much into the things that are supposed to make them happy; it's hard to admit that you've been placing all your eggs in the wrong basket.

Timeless Secrets of Happy People

1. Forget the past

One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.

You won’t be happy if you carry the burden of the past. Did you make mistakes? Did you have terrible experiences? Whatever they are, you should let them go. There’s nothing you can do about the past, so you’d better let them go and focus your energy on the present.

2. Take responsibility for your life

The secret of Happiness is Freedom, and the secret of Freedom, Courage.

To be happy you should have freedom and the most essential freedom is the freedom to choose. No matter how bad a situation is, you can always choose how you respond to it. People can annoy you, but it’s up to you whether or not you will resent.

But, as the quote above says, freedom takes courage. Freedom to choose requires the courage to take responsibility for your life. You shouldn’t blame someone else when something goes wrong. Take the responsibility and you have the power to choose.

3. Build relationships

Life’s truest happiness is found in friendships we make along the way.

Relationships is where we can get true happiness in life. The reason is simple: only through relationships can we love and be loved. Make relationships your top priority and you are on your way to true happiness.

4. Develop multiple passions

The more passions and desires one has, the more ways one has of being happy.

Passions lead you to happiness. So not only should you discover your multiple passions, you should also expand yourself to new passions. This way you will create new ways to happiness.

The key to expanding to new passions is curiosity. If you are curious, you will have an endless stream of exciting things waiting for you.

5. Build your character

Character is the basis of happiness and happiness the sanction of character.

Building your character is essential for happiness. When you are true to yourself and others, you will be in peace.The way to start building character is by making promises and keeping them. For example, you make promise to yourself that you won’t smoke. When you keep it, you are building your character. Or you make promise to others to be punctual. When you keep it, you build your character.

6. Be who you are

The summit of happiness is reached when a person is ready to be what he is.

You can only be happy if you become who you are. Don’t live other people’s life by trying to meet their expectations. People may expect you to have certain job or certain way of living but don’t be intimidated by them. Find who you are and be yourself.

7. Live your life purpose

The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose.

To have a fulfilling life, you should find your life purpose and follow it faithfully. Find what matters to you and build the courage to follow it. Having a one-liner will help you internalize and communicate your mission.

8. Count your blessings

Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have.

Being happy is easy if we are grateful. Unfortunately, seeing what we don’t have is often easier than seeing what we have. Sometimes we need to experience loss before appreciating what we have. So don’t take things for granted. Look at what you have and soon you will have plenty of reasons to be happy. You may start with these simple things.

9. Have positive mind

It is not the place, nor the condition, but the mind alone that can make anyone happy or miserable.

Happy people know how to control their mind. They don’t let negative thoughts come in. While a situation may seem bad to others, happy people look at them in a positive way. They always believe that no matter how bad a situation seems, there is always something positive to take from it. Your mind can make or break you, so guard it well.

10. Work creatively

Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.

When you work creatively on something you will find happiness. There is a well-known phenomenon regarding this called flow. When you are in the state of flow, you are fully focused on the task at hand that you no longer realize the passage of time. This state of flow allows you to achieve high productivity and being happy at the same time.

11. Start with what you have

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet.

Happy people don’t need something they don’t have to be happy. They don’t need certain job or certain level of income. Instead, they learn to be happy with what they already have. They have learned the art of contentment. Be content with what you have and you will be happy.

12. Change

They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.

Being happy requires you to constantly grow. In fact, the process of learning itself is essential for happiness.

13. Use your talents

True happiness involves the full use of one’s power and talents.

There are two lessons to take from this quote. First, you should find your talents and second, you should use them to the fullest. Working in your talents is a sure way to enjoy your work because it’s something you are “hardwired” to do. Using your talents fully will make you even happier because of the satisfaction of doing your best.

14. Beware of small things

The happiness of most people we know is not ruined by great catastrophes or fatal errors,

This is very true. Often it’s not big things that ruin your happiness. It’s the small things that do. Perhaps you don’t like someone or break some “small” promises. But even small leaks can sink your ship of happiness, so beware of them.

15. Distill your ambitions

Where ambition ends happiness begins.

While wanting to achieve more in your life is good, being obsessed by it is not. Do your best to improve yourself but don’t be obsessed by it.

16. Make others happy

Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.

This is my favorite secret of happiness. The way to being happy is to make others happy first. The more you help other people and make them happy, the more you will be happy. Happiness doesn’t come through selfishness but through selflessness. You reap what you sow.

17. Practice compassion

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

Compassion is perhaps the highest level of selflessness we could have. As this quote aptly says, practicing compassion can make both others and you happy.

But of course, it requires practice. Start with thinking about the people around you. Look at their needs and find ways to meet them. Even if you don’t do it out of compassion in the beginning, your compassion will grow over time.

********

All in all, this quote by Aristotle can summarize the lessons above:

Happiness depends upon ourselves.

It’s you who decide whether or not you are happy in life.

I choose to be happy. What about you?

Super Friends

2009-09-17T08:16:00.001-07:00

A picture of a Happy Memories with my best buddies way back in college days.This first picture was taken when we're still on our second year, and the last pic was during our pinning ceremony.[third year summer in the year of 2008].

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."

I am very thankful having good friends in college whom I always trust and lean on, no matter what I was going through.They were the best "Friends" which I truly treasured and respected.They were my so called "Grounded" friends. Wondering why we called up ourselves grounded? Here's the story:Once upon a time, there was a bakery outside our school having this funny warning on the siopao's displayer [ don't know the right term], "Don't touch me, I'm grounded", which caught each of our attention and made us laugh all the time we passed by on that area. So eventually, the gals decided to called up the group as grounded. Isn't it amazing and unique? ^_^

So much for that, here's the catch, whatever the story behind on your group was, as long as you were honest to each of the member and just being always there no matter what, always ready to sacrifice even for some a simple things, you will be truly a blessing for them and for yourself as well.-- Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.

Friendship is a great bind and what makes this relationship so beautiful is the fact that over a period of time it grows deeper and till the end of your life you are surrounded by the beautiful company of your friends. From the day you started to walk , when you went to school, your college days, the day you married your friends always supported you stood by you in times of need. Different meanings of Friendship are beautifully articulated with emphasis on the value of friendship and its after affect on the growth of individuals.

Friendship is believed to be the foundation of many relationship for its with friends that you can freely interact with your friends share your thoughts and unfulfilled desires.--Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.

I miss you guys!!!

How do you say b_u_t_t_e_r_f_l_y?

2009-09-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

" Love is like a butterfly which you cannot catch, if you sit down quietly it may come to you. "

As we go through our path,
Love is always been considered to be the most magical and unexplainable emotion or feeling that we always want.

Like this creature, as lovely as butterfly truly makes a person fly when they found the twin soul of their lives.

As lovely and pretty as butterfly, everyone wishes to be one -- free from all the sorrows and pain.

The butterfly's attractiveness derives not only from colors and symmetry: deeper motives contribute to it. We would not think them so beautiful if they did not fly, or if they flew straight and briskly like bees, or if they stung, or above all if they did not enact the perturbing mystery of metamorphosis: the latter assumes in our eyes the value of a badly decoded message, a symbol, a sign.

Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine.

"I do not know whether I was then a woman dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a woman..."