Skinny? 10 tips to gain weight

Everyone talks about weight loss, but what about those who are desperate to gain a few kilos?

"I am a 50 kg weakling!" complains Kishore, who has tried all kinds of remedies including high calorie weight gain powders, liver tablets, weight gain drinks and even colon cleansing.

Before we tackle that, though, let us first understand how do you know you are underweight? Simple. Calculate your Body Mass Index. If it is less than 18.5, you are underweight.

Your BMI or body mass index is your weight in kilos divided by the square of your height in metres. (The normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9).

There are numerous supplements in the weight gain market that might help increase daily caloric intake, yet they have no benefits when compared to smart food choices.

• Your mantra for today -- exercise

The basic principle of weight gain is simple: You need to consume more calories than you expend. Follow these 10 tips.

i. Eat more calories

This involves some calculation. The approximate normal daily caloric requirement for an average male who performs light activity is 2,200; for a female, it is 1,900.You need to eat around 1,000 extra calories per day to gain less than half a kilo a week.

Do the math. Eat larger portions and eat at least five meals a day.

Your actual caloric requirement can differ depending on your height, weight, activity level and your body's metabolic rate.

ii. Make smart choices

For example, choose dairy products, fish and meat over bread. Choose eggs over vegetables.

Eat foods with high protein content such as beans, pulses and peas, and foods with high starch content such as potatoes, rice and tapioca.

• One hour spinning = perfect body

iii. Protein is important

Increase your protein intake. Your body needs a lot of protein to build new muscle. But since most of the calories for weight gain comes from carbohydrates and fats, do not replace them with protein.

iv. Snack a lot

Consume a lot of high-calorie snacks (not junk food) such as cheese sticks, milk shakes, muffins, dried fruits, yoghurt and breakfast bars.

• 16 healthy Ayurvedic mantras

v. Fluids help too

Drink a lot of fluids that supply nutrients and calories; milk, fresh fruit juices and energy drinks are good examples.

vi. Intensify workouts

Aerobics are great, right? Not for weight gain!

You need to exercise really hard and intensely to gain muscle mass.

• Is walking better than running?

vii. Weights are the way to go

Focus on free weight exercises (which do not require machinery) that target your large muscle groups. For example, you need dumbells, not fancy gym machines.

Free weights put the most stress on muscles and stimulate the maximum number of muscle fibres.

The best weight training exercises for building muscle mass are free weight exercises like squats, dead lifts, bench presses, barbell rows, pull ups and bar dips.

These exercises are best done under supervision, but they don't need machinery.

viii. Space out your workouts

If you have a high basic metabolic rate -- which means you expend a lot of energy even at rest -- you need short intense workouts instead of long periods of low-stress activity.

• Are carbs bad for you?

ix. Creatine?

Creatine supplements can help some athletes gain weight. It is not known if it is because it gives them spurts of energy or because it adds water weight.

More research is needed in this area before Creatine becomes that magic pill. Creatine supplements are available at all major health food stores, but do not take it without consulting your doctor.

x. Be consistent

It might take a long time, usually a few months, for the weight to actually show. Some people get frustrated and quit when they fail to see drastic results.

Your body will only responds to a consistent schedule. No weight gain programme will work for you if you are not regular.

Heredity does pay a major role in determining your weight. Effective weight training and a smart diet can help you exceed your genetically predetermined weight.

What's the Burn? A Calorie Calculator

A few months ago I got into an argument with someone who's far smarter than I am. I should have known better, but you know how these things go. Needless to say, I lost the argument. Still, I learned something important in the process.

David Swain is a bicyclist who likes to ride across the country every couple of years. Since I spend most of my time on my feet, I figured I could teach him something about walking and running. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to Swain's Ph.D. in exercise physiology, his position as director of the Wellness Institute and Research Center at Old Dominion University, and his work on the "Metabolic Calculations" appendix to the American College of Sports Medicine's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription.

Both Swain and I are interested in the fitness-health connection, which makes walking and running great subjects for discussion. To put it simply, they are far and away the leading forms of human movement. Every able-bodied human learns how to walk and run without any particular instruction. The same cannot be said of activities such as swimming, bicycling, skateboarding, and hitting a 3-iron. This is why walking and running are the best ways to get in shape, burn extra calories, and improve your health.

Our argument began when I told Swain that both walking and running burn the same number of calories per mile. I was absolutely certain of this fact for two unassailable reasons: (1) I had read it a billion times; and (2) I had repeated it a billion times. Most runners have heard that running burns about 100 calories a mile. And since walking a mile requires you to move the same body weight over the same distance, walking should also burn about 100 calories a mile. Sir Isaac Newton said so.

Swain was unimpressed by my junior-high physics. "When you perform a continuous exercise, you burn five calories for every liter of oxygen you consume," he said. "And running in general consumes a lot more oxygen than walking."
What the Numbers Show

I was still gathering my resources for a retort when a new article crossed my desk, and changed my cosmos. In "Energy Expenditure of Walking and Running," published last December in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, a group of Syracuse University researchers measured the actual calorie burn of 12 men and 12 women while running and walking 1,600 meters (roughly a mile) on a treadmill. Result: The men burned an average of 124 calories while running, and just 88 while walking; the women burned 105 and 74. (The men burned more than the women because they weighed more.)

Swain was right! The investigators at Syracuse didn't explain why their results differed from a simplistic interpretation of Newton's Laws of Motion, but I figured it out with help from Swain and Ray Moss, Ph.D., of Furman University. Running and walking aren't as comparable as I had imagined. When you walk, you keep your legs mostly straight, and your center of gravity rides along fairly smoothly on top of your legs. In running, we actually jump from one foot to the other. Each jump raises our center of gravity when we take off, and lowers it when we land, since we bend the knee to absorb the shock. This continual rise and fall of our weight requires a tremendous amount of Newtonian force (fighting gravity) on both takeoff and landing.

Now that you understand why running burns 50 percent more calories per mile than walking, I hate to tell you that it's a mostly useless number. Sorry. We mislead ourselves when we talk about the total calorie burn (TCB) of exercise rather than the net calorie burn (NCB). To figure the NCB of any activity, you must subtract the resting metabolic calories your body would have burned, during the time of the workout, even if you had never gotten off the sofa.

You rarely hear anyone talk about the NCB of workouts, because this is America, dammit, and we like our numbers big and bold. Subtraction is not a popular activity. Certainly not among the infomercial hucksters and weight-loss gurus who want to promote exercise schemes. "It's bizarre that you hear so much about the gross calorie burn instead of the net," says Swain. "It could keep people from realizing why they're having such a hard time losing weight."

Thanks to the Syracuse researchers, we now know the relative NCB of running a mile in 9:30 versus walking the same mile in 19:00. Their male subjects burned 105 calories running, 52 walking; the women, 91 and 43. That is, running burns twice as many net calories per mile as walking. And since you can run two miles in the time it takes to walk one mile, running burns four times as many net calories per hour as walking.
Run Slow or Walk Fast?

I didn't come here to bash walking, however. Walking is an excellent form of exercise that builds aerobic fitness, strengthens bones, and burns lots of calories. A study released in early 2004 showed that the Amish take about six times as many steps per day as adults in most American communities, and have about 87-percent lower rates of obesity.

In fact, I had read years ago that fast walking burns more calories than running at the same speed. Now was the time to test this hypothesis. Wearing a heart-rate monitor, I ran on a treadmill for two minutes at 3.0 mph (20 minutes per mile), and at 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, and 5.5 mph (10:55 per mile). After a 10-minute rest to allow my heart rate to return to normal, I repeated the same thing walking. Here's my running vs. walking heart rate at the end of each two-minute stint: 3.0 (99/81), 3.5 (104/85), 4.0 (109/94), 4.5 (114/107), 5.0 (120/126), 5.5 (122/145). My conclusion: Running is harder than walking at paces slower than 12-minutes-per-mile. At faster paces, walking is harder than running.

How to explain this? It's not easy, except to say that walking at very fast speeds forces your body to move in ways it wasn't designed to move. This creates a great deal of internal "friction" and inefficiency, which boosts heart rate, oxygen consumption, and calorie burn. So, as Jon Stewart might say, "Walking fast...good. Walking slow...uh, not so much."

The bottom line: Running is a phenomenal calorie-burning exercise. In public-health terms--that is, in the fight against obesity--it's even more important that running is a low-cost, easy-to-do, year-round activity. Walking doesn't burn as many calories, but it remains a terrific exercise. As David Swain says, "The new research doesn't mean that walking burns any fewer calories than it used to. It just means that walkers might have to walk a little more, or eat a little less, to hit their weight goal."

What's the Burn? A Calorie Calculator
You can use the formulas below to determine your calorie-burn while running and walking. The "Net Calorie Burn" measures calories burned, minus basal metabolism. Scientists consider this the best way to evaluate the actual calorie-burn of any exercise. The walking formulas apply to speeds of 3 to 4 mph. At 5 mph and faster, walking burns more calories than running.
	Your Total Calorie Burn/Mile	Your Net Calorie Burn/Mile
Running	.75 x your weight (in lbs.)	.63 x your weight
Walking	.53 x your weight	.30 x your weight

6 Flat Stomach Exercises Guaranteed To Strengthen Your Core

The idea of a flat stomach is so appealing to us that we’re willing to wear garbage bags and do thousands of crunches if there’s even the smallest chance that it’ll give us the midsection we’ve always wanted.

[Toned and flat tummies require hardwork...and eating smaller portions.]

The bad news is that it takes more than exercise to flatten any stomach. The good news is that exercise combined with eating smaller portions will tone and flatten your stomach. Are you willing to put in the work required for a positive outcome? If so, keep reading for 6 stomach exercises that will give your gut a good workout!

Basic Crunch

Plenty of exercise gurus have negative things to say about the classic crunch, but when done correctly this is a great way to burn and tone your upper abdominal area.

Lie on your back in the sit up position with your hands crossed on your chest. Bend your knees so they’re in a 90 degree angle, keeping your feet flat on the floor. Exhale as you lift your shoulders off the floor using your stomach muscles as best you can. Inhale as you make your way back down to the floor, lightly touching your shoulders to the floor. Repeat at least 10 repetitions per set.

Remember to keep your abdominal muscles tight throughout your workout and exhale up and inhale down for the most effective way to flatten your stomach.

Reverse Crunch-Up

Start the reverse crunch up by lying on your back on the floor and placing your hands palms down next to your hips. Lift your legs in the air with your feet facing the wall and knees bent. Your legs should be in the basic crunch position, only in the air.

Lower your knees to your chest and raise your butt off the ground, using your abdominal muscles. Keep your stomach muscles tight as you complete each rep of the reverse crunch up. Breathe out as you lower your knees and breathe in as you return to starting position. Protect your back during the reverse crunch up by NOT swinging your legs. The point of this exercise is to work your stomach muscles, not your legs.

[Reverse crunch ups flatten your lower abs when done frequently and correctly.]

For best results do 3 to 4 sets of 20 repetitions. With the right diet, your lower abs could be ready for beach season before sweater season is over!

Oblique Crunch Up

If you’re tired of those hellish love handles making it difficult to wear fitted clothes or if you’d like to slouch without belly rolls, you could use a few reps of the oblique crunch ups. Working on your obliques will help shed a few inches around the midsection, something I’m sure we could all use.

Start in the Basic Crunch position on your back with your feet flat on the floor. Place your left ankle across your right knee and place left hand next to your hip while you place your left hand on the side of your head. Using your stomach muscles lift and twist your body up until your right elbow is nearly touching your left knee. Exhale on your way up and inhale as you lower your shoulders back to the floor.

Do a minimum of 3 sets of oblique crunch ups, resting in between. Your athletic ability and how much flattening your stomach requires will determine how many reps you perform. Each set should be a minimum of 15 repetitions and as many as 30. Push yourself to reach your exercise goals, but listen when your body is in pain.

The Bicycle

The bicycle is both my favorite and most hated flat stomach exercise. It’s my favorite because it works well and probably more important, I feel like I’m getting a good tummy workout. I hate it because its so effective and sometimes difficult that it makes me feel like a legless pig struggling for stability! Luckily for me (and you) the only thing that matters is that IT WORKS!

Begin the bicycle with your back flat on the floor and your hands behind your head for support. Your legs will be slightly bent in the air so they can perform the bicycle pedaling movements. Straighten your right leg out to a 45-degree angle, at the same time turn your upper body so that the left elbow is attempting to touch the right knee. Return to starting position and perform the same moves on the other side.

[Performing the bicycle correctly is essential for a flat tummy not to mention avoiding back injuries!]

When your elbow moves toward your knee you should be exhaling. In between that movement you should inhale. Do 3 sets of the bicycle, performing 20 repetitions so that you work out each side evenly.

Cardio

That’s right, in order to properly flatten your stomach you need to have both strength training as well as aerobic exercise. The stomach exercises above will help tone and tighten your ab muscles, but what about the extra fat covering up that hidden six-pack?

That’s where aerobic exercise comes in. It is impossible to get a flat stomach without a regular dose of cardo exercise and that’s just something we all have to learn and accept. Cardio helps your body burn calories and fat over every inch of your body, belly included. No matter how many reps of flat stomach exercises you do will make a difference if you choose to skip the fat burning stage in the weight loss process.

If your body isn’t quite ready for a 30 minute run, consider a rigorous walk or lengthy bike ride. Pick your aerobic poison and start melting away the fat that’s shielding your hard-earned belly from the spotlight. Get the flat stomach you want by running or walking on the treadmill, elliptical machines, or exercise bikes. Go dancing or tighten your tummy by doing laps at the local pool. Whatever your exercise routine, don’t forget the importance of cardio to achieving a flatter stomach.

Stretching

Ok so stretching isn’t exactly an exercise, but it is an essential part of any exercise regimen. Stretching helps warm up your muscles prior to exercise to prevent muscle strains, sprains, tears as well as back injuries. In addition, stretching helps improve flexibility which helps you perform your exercises correctly and improves sexual performance. Stretching also improves the blood and nutrient supply to muscles, which decreases muscle soreness after a gruesome workout.

Aside from doing all those things, you’ll be happy to know that stretching for about 10 minutes burns 27 calories. Not much to write home about I know, but you get all those benefits PLUS you burn an additional 27 calories! Over the course of a year of regular physical activity you could burn nearly 3 pounds of fat by stretching. Imagine losing 3 pounds of belly fat just from stretching!

Think of stretching as an added benefit to your fitness routine. You can improve flexibility and avoid injury while burning a little bit more. More than that however, stretching is crucial to weight loss of any kind because it allows you to keep your body in the condition that allows you to keep exercising for weight loss.

Why Diets For Women Fail

Most diets on the market today cater to the fairer sex, who’s under more pressure than ever to be thin and stay thin. Diets for women often fail because they don’t adequately address the underlying reasons for the weight gain.

{The reason most “mainstream” diets for women fail is they don’t help you stop the behaviors that lead to YOUR weight gain. All weight gain is not equal!}

The science behind most diets for women is based on half-truths that simply sound compelling to a desperate dieter. When you peel back the layers on some of the most popular diets for women, you’ll see that it’s nothing more than a fad wrapped up in science and calling itself legitimate.

Keep reading to find out why diets for women tend to fail so often.

Lies

At the risk of sounding too harsh, I’m just going to put it out there that many diets for women fail because they are flat out lying. Eliminating steak from your diet or drinking nothing but lemonade for weeks might help you lose weight today, but about tomorrow and the next day, and the day after that?

Many of these diets for women fail because they aren’t honest about what is really needed for weight loss. You need to burn more calories than you consume to create a calorie deficit, which is required for weight loss to occur. If your goal is to lose 1 pound each week, you need to find a way to burn 3,500 calories per week. Maybe some of these fad diets for women will help you achieve that goal, but what happens in a few months when you’re sick to death of a high protein-low carbohydrate diet?

Magic Foods

Another reason diets for women fail women is because they always promise more than they can deliver. There are foods that burn fat you can eat that will help with weight loss, but there are no “magic” foods that when eaten will mysteriously melt away excess fat. If you want to lose weight, eat foods for fat loss instead of zero calorie and fat free foods.

{Wouldn’t it be great if you could just stop eating chocolate and POOF! Off comes the weight?!?}

The truth is that the only “diet” that guarantees weight loss is a well-balanced diet that includes good carbs, lean protein (in moderation), fresh fruits & vegetables, and of course fiber! These are the only so-called magic foods that will help you lose weight and keep it off.

Pills

While we do live in a particularly pharmaceutical age, pills cannot solve all problems. So many diets for women come in pills that are filled with miniscule amounts of ingredients that do contribute to weight loss, if consumed in appropriate doses. Green tea pills are among the most popular diets for women because the weight loss benefits of green tea are well known and very well documented.

These diet pills for women however, rarely list how much of each ingredient is contained in each capsule so you have no idea if these pills are working. Furthermore diets for women that include pill popping often come with side effects that greatly outweigh any benefits. Diets for women often fail because these pills are nothing more than capsules of false promises.

Exercise

One of my biggest pet peeves about diets for women is how so few of them focus on the importance of regular exercise to weight loss and overall health. While I do admit that overeating is the #1 contributor of weight gain, eating less isn’t the ONLY solution to that problem. Exercise not only helps burn off fat and build muscle, it also keeps your heart healthy and other illnesses at bay.

With so many women performing double even triple duty as homemaker, breadwinner and soccer mom extraordinaire, it’s more important than ever that they take control of their health and well-being, something most diets for women pay little attention to.

Confidence

Losing weight is about more than just looking good; it’s also about feeling good too. Many diets for women fail because they only remind women of how much they want to look good, rather than how shedding excess weight will contribute positively to their lives.

Losing weight is about your health and quality of life first and many of these diets for women fail because they don’t understand that fact. Losing weight and getting healthy is something a woman should do for herself and her family and loved ones who rely on her to be there for them.

Does Sugar Make You Fat?

Anyone who has tried and tried again to lose weight knows the importance of minimizing sugar in our diets. If you’ve ever uttered the words, “no dessert for me, I’m on a diet,” then you probably want to know if sugar makes you fat.

When it comes to sugar and fat gain there is a lot of misinformation out there. Before we delve into whether or not sugar makes you fat, we must understand that all sugars are not created equal.

If you’ve ever wondered, does sugar make you fat, keep reading to find out the answer!

Counting Your Sugar

If you’re not sure how to translate those grams of sugar into a number that means something to you, let me tell you how. Take the grams of sugar per serving and then divide by four; that is how many teaspoons of sugar your food has.

Wait, how many? Yep that’s right, now you know something those sugary food distributors don’t want you to know!

One teaspoon of sugar has 16 calories, and when it comes to whether or not sugar makes you fat calories are where you want to look.

Weight Gain & Calorie Deficit

Does sugar make you fat? Yes, sugar will make you fat if you get a lot of calories from sugar and you fail to burn more of those calories than you consume. One way to make sure you burn more calories is to engage in regular exercise.

Why Sugar (May) Make You Fat

Let’s be clear on thing; sugar is not a dietary evil void of all nutritional value. In fact our bodies use sugar for survival, particularly with energy. In fact some healthy foods like fruits and vegetables are broken down in the body as sugar.

Ok, moving on.

There are actually a few ways in which sugar can make you fat, that is contribute to the storage of excess fat. First, excess glucose—key word excess—causes your liver to exceed it’s sugar capacity, which means you’re eating too many foods high in sugar. What happens when your liver is packed with sugar (i.e. fuel)? That excess sugar is converted into fat, fatty acids to be specific, and stored as…FAT.

{Just 10 of these gummy bears has 13 grams of sugar!}

Once that sugar has been converted (by the liver) it travels through your bloodstream and gets stored in the places you tend to store fat, such as the thighs, belly, breasts and hips.

This same process occurs when too many simple carbs (bagels, soda, beer & pretzels, for example). The insulin levels spike when simple carbs are consumed, causing your body to stop burning fat so that the recently consumed sugar can be converted to energy. When your muscles are filled with energy, the excess insulin (sugar) is converted, then stored as fat.

So yes sugar can make you fat, but mostly if your diet contains a lot of high sugar foods.

Let’s take a look at the amount of sugar in a few popular food items;

FOOD	SUGAR (in grams)	SUGAR (in teaspoons)
Oatmeal	0.4	0.1
Cheerios	1	0.25
Banana	14.4	3.6
Apple	18.9	4.7
Jelly Beans	28	7
Snickers Candy Bar	30	7.5
Pepsi	42	10.5

Let this chart serve as a reminder that you should always monitor the amount of sugar you consume, especially when snacking. If you’re concerned about sugar making you fat, then the nutrition label will be your new best friend!

Like most other things associated with weight loss, sugar consumption is perfectly fine if done in moderation. Moderation however means getting your sugar from healthy sources that will be broken down easily, unlike calories from soda and candy.

3 Abs Diet Recipes To Help You Burn Belly Fat

Burning belly fat and getting killer abs requires more than hundreds of crunches. In fact many with the abs they’ve dreamed of say that killer abs are created in the kitchen. That’s where abs diet recipes come in handy.

[Your first instinct is to say these 2 spend all day in the gym,but they spend a good deal of the day in the kitchen too!]

The key to flat abs that you can be proud to show off is a diet that energizes you for more physical activity, curbs hunger and helps burn calories. Keep reading to find out abs diet recipes that will do that and much more!

Abs Diet Foods

Knowing how to whip up a few abs diet recipes means knowing which foods and food groups will help you accomplish your abdominal goals. Whole grain foods like whole wheat pasta and brown rice will satisfy you to prevent overeating. Low fat dairy products will increase the amount of calories you burn, and lean proteins will help keep your belly trimmed and toned so you can go shirtless or wear that little black dress you’ve been eyeing!

Abs Diet Breakfast Recipe – Siesta Omelet

Ingredients:

2 egg whites, whisked
1/3 cup black beans
1/3 cup corn
2 scallions, chopped
1 tomato, diced
Fat-free cooking spray

Directions: In a coated small skillet, add scallions, corn and black beans. Cook until warm, about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. In another coated skillet, add egg whites, swirling around to cover bottom of skillet. Cook until omelet is set, about 2 minutes. Add corn mixture inside omelette and top with diced tomatoes.

Makes one breakfast omelette.

Smoothies should be included in all abs diet recipes because they give you a healthy dose of fruit, which you need for killer abs. Smoothies are also a great opportunity to get acquainted with low fat dairy foods like Greek yogurt and fat free milk. Getting good abs means abs diets recipes that you can make after a long day at work.

[Choose your favorite fruit (or veggie) and blend away for amazing abs!]

Abs Diet Recipe – Smoothie Snack

Ingredients:

½ cup  mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
1 banana
¼ cup nonfat Green yogurt
½ orange, juiced
1/3 cup crushed ice

Directions: Combine ingredients in a blender and run until smooth.

Recipe makes 1 smoothie.

Eating for awesome abs doesn’t mean that you have to forget about your favorite dishes; it just means you need to give them a healthy makeover. When it comes to a dish like tacos choose a lean protein like chicken breast to keep fat content low without sacrificing much-needed protein.

Another trick when it comes to a dish like tacos that can prevent overeating is to add bell peppers to fill them out so you don’t need to pile up on cheese and sour cream. Finally, tortillas matter. Choose small whole wheat or corn tortillas to lower calorie count without sacrificing your midsection.

Abs Diet Recipe – Peppery Tacos

Ingredients:

3 ounces chicken breast
Juice of 1 lime, plus 2 lime wedges for serving
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 garlic cloves, crushed
3 teaspoons olive oil
½ onion, sliced
1 cup bell peppers, red, yellow, and orange, thinly sliced
¼ cup corn
2 small corn tortillas, steamed
1/4 cup salsa
1 tbsp. sliced pickled jalapenos (optional)

Directions: Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic and lime. Broil chicken until done, about 6 minutes. Slice thinly, against the grain. In a skillet, heat oil. Add onion and peppers and cook about 5 minutes before adding corn. Cook another 5 minutes until peppers are slightly charred. Assemble tacos topping with salsa and jalapenos.

How To Get Rid of Cellulite – Get Rid of Cellulite on Your Thighs

Cellulite, it is unsightly, ruins confidence and is actually quite treatable! So much focus has been on how to prevent cellulite that those already suffering from it feel completely left out of the conversation. Until today, that is.

{Cellulite is a byproduct of unhealthy living, which doesn’t always mean being overweight.}

What many cellulite cream peddlers fail to disclose is that cellulite occurs in 4 stages, which means that it is possible to diminish and even get rid of cellulite on your thighs among other places. Keep reading to find out what you can do to get rid of cellulite!

What is Cellulite?

Put simply, cellulite is fat cells that have protruded through the surface of the skin. It is these pockets of fat that have no place to go, that gives cellulite its dimply appearance.

Now that you know what cellulite is, let’s talk about how to get rid of cellulite!

Can I Get Rid of Cellulite?

Yes, cellulite does not have to be something you suffer in silence. The stage of your cellulite will determine how effective efforts are to get rid of cellulite. During phase one, cellulite is not visible and it is this stage that it is easiest to get rid of cellulite on your thighs, butt, belly and anywhere else that causes you worry.

The remaining three phases are when cellulite becomes visible, but in phase two it is only visible when the skin is pinched together. The final 2 phases are when cellulite is most visible and very difficult, if not impossible to treat.

The most important stages in getting rid of cellulite are the stages in which you have little, if any, visible symptoms. That is why we’ve compiled a list of ways you can get rid of cellulite on your thighs, hips, belly and butt!

Popular Cellulite “Cures”

There are many products on the market that claim to help rid your body of cellulite, however the effectiveness of many of these products seems to be anecdotal at best.

Many cellulite creams may work depending on which phase your cellulite appearance is, but most of them are costly and provide little if any relief from the appearance of cellulite. These creams promise to show you how to get rid of cellulite, but mostly they help you get rid of your money.

Cellulite pills have not been proven to work either, and many contain ingredients like iodine that can lead to other health problems. Many of these studies for these pills have produced no noticeable results among test and placebo groups.

Some may resort to liposuction as a means of getting rid of cellulite but this is the worst possible cellulite cure. Liposuction rids problem areas of fat that is deep down, and we know that cellulite is a surface skin fat problem. While many of these cellulite treatments have gotten plenty of publicity none have the effectiveness of basic lifestyle changes to stop the progress, and therefore the appearance of cellulite.

Keep reading for realistic and inexpensive ways to get rid of cellulite!

Avoid Toxins

Toxins, whether in our food or the environment play a large roll in breaking down healthy skin cells. When you want to learn how to get rid of cellulite, the first thing you should do is cut back on your nights of binge drinking because alcohol is a toxin.

Stop smoking altogether if you want to get rid of cellulite on your thighs or anywhere else because cigarettes are just toxin sticks, helping your fat bunch up and up until it’s is visible and more difficult to treat.

{Ridding your body of cellulite is another reason to eat more fruits & veggies!}

Eat Fresh Foods

Add more fresh produce to your diet, and make it organic produce when you can. A lot of processed, pre-packaged and fast food is packed with toxins (food coloring, saturated fat & artificial flavors to name a few) to make it more convenient to eat. Many so-called experts recommend a home detox diet, but simply adding more fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet will go a long way to teach you how to get rid of cellulite.

Many fresh fruits and vegetables are powerful antioxidants that protect against toxins…in case you needed another reason to eat your produce!

Another great benefit of fresh produce is that fruits and vegetables are packed with water, which is an essential part of any healthy diet.

Drink More Water

Whether your goal is to lose weight or simply get rid of cellulite, drinking more water is good advice. In terms of getting rid of cellulite though, water plays an important role in keeping your skin hydrated and moist.

More importantly however, drinking enough water will make it easier to flush out unavoidable toxins in the environment, also known as free radicals.

Maintain A Healthy Weight

This probably goes without saying, but even if the beautiful people do have cellulite, your chances of needing to get rid of cellulite are increased by excess body fat. Maintain a healthy body weight by enjoying a well-balanced diet and getting regular physical activity, and you can start to worry less and less about cellulite rearing its ugly head.

Adding more physical activity to your life will also help get rid of cellulite on your thighs by helping you maintain healthy blood circulation, which is one of the worst side effects of cellulite.

Don’t wait until you don’t have to pinch your skin to spot cellulite to get rid of it; by then your chances of success diminish greatly. Get rid of all the junk that you shouldn’t be eating (or drinking) anyway and follow these tips to get rid of cellulite on your thighs!

The King of All Exercises or Back Injuries? How to Squat Safely and Effectively!

All too often I hear war stories about guys who had their back go out numerous times during free-bar squats. It may be because their body is not built for it or more likely it is due to their idiotic obsession with squatting 500 pounds and being proclaimed a “huge monster” for doing so. Forgive me for going
with the later assumption.

[Even the King of the Jungle needs a rest. Traditional squats move over, it's time you had some company on lower body exercises]

Now I’m no doctor but having that kind of weight straddling your neck and shoulders just screams serious injury and compression damage to you spine. But let’s dig into the research because it’s somewhat surprising…

Do Squats Lead to Back Injuries?

For such a basic exercise movement, squatting sure stirs the pot regarding its risk to lower back injuries with personal trainers and scientists alike.

Yes, they are the devil and should be avoided at all costs…
Researchers from the University of Bristol have confirmed the increase of compressive forces acting on the spine. More specifically, researchers have suggested that these forces acting on the lumbar spine during half-squats carried out with a loaded barbell can be equal to six to ten times an individual’s body weight. (NOTE: Force and weight are fundamentally different concepts… don’t get too hung up on it, just know we’re talking heavy weight here). This may increase the risk of a rupture of an inter-vertebral disc or even a stress fracture of a vertebra. Ouch!

On the other side of the debate, there is research that shows squatters and weightlifters actually have a relatively low frequency of back pain and injury.

No, they’re awesome like bacon and eggs…
A study from the American College of Sports Medicine detected a low risk of back pain for weightlifters and the incidence of back pain in former lifters was less than in the general population. The study mentioned good spinal flexibility, lifting with a straight back, and strong para-vertebral muscles (muscles which run between the vertebrae) as important factors in protecting these strength trainers from back troubles.

Wait, I’m confused? Are squats good or bad?

For every study that criticizes squats as “back and knee injuries” waiting to happen, there are noticeably more studies that speak highly of it’s ability to affect body composition (weight loss), increase leg strength, and/or jumping ability.

What are some alternatives to traditional squats?

People easily get stuck with the idea of having to do squats at most workouts because it carry’s the label of the “king of all exercises”. Nonsense! Variety makes your workout less of a chore and more enjoyable so forget about using traditional free-bar squats every time. Instead, spread the load out over your entire back with a machine hack squat (the back pad puts the load over more surface area). How about prisoner squats? With your hands placed behind your head it helps maintain your good form throughout the movement. Or maybe you want to get a little European with a Bulgarian Split Squat?

But I like free-bar squats, should I still use them?

Of course you can. Squatting, just like any other exercise, is a safe activity when its done using proper form. The following tips should help you reduce your risk of injury while you squat your way to a better body:

1. Depth Check
If your new to this exercise squat only to the point at which the tops of your thighs are parallel with the floor. Over time, as your strength, coordination and comfort improve, you can increase the depth of your squats because studies have proven more quadriceps muscle activation occurs as squatting depth increases.

2. Forget Failure
Another popular slogan “training to failure” need not apply here. Avoid squatting when you are fatigued as the possibility of your form suffering and/or losing control of the barbell are much more likely. After last week’s serious throat injury to USC Trojans’ tailback Stafon Johnson during a bench press exercise, I shouldn’t have to say much more.

3. Buffalo Stance
Catchy song, hilarious video. Always should be feet-shoulder-width apart. Sure there are other stances out there but master this one and you’ll have a solid foundation.

4. Mass Control
Control on the way up, control on the way down. If you jerk or rock back and forth then you’re probably using too much weight.

5. Warning Signs
When I see guys reaching for knee wraps and/or weight-lifting belts I cringe. Masking your back or knee pain is simply ignoring your body indicators that you should stop and reassess your 

Do Wrist and Ankle Weights Work for Weight Loss?

Take a peak at your local department or sporting good store flyer and I bet you’ll see plenty of “sales” for fitness equipment this time of year. This isn’t by accident. We’re in the midst of “weight loss resolution” season where people are usually on the lookout for exercise shortcuts in order to lose weight and “tone-up” – minus the hard work of course.

[Honestly ladies? Would you wear fitness accessories at the expense of your coordinated outfit?]

A fitness item trying to make a “Brett Favre-esque type comeback” is the wrist and ankle weights we left in 1980s. Back on the market and attempting to be more stylish and functional with a new name to boot -wearable body weights – they promise to burn off all those calories you consumed between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But how well do these “new” exercise accessories measure up to their fat loss claims?

I spoke to some users at my gym and surfed the online forums to get a sense of how effective these accessories really are. Now I’m no Chris Hansen of 20/20 fame, but here’s what I found in my travels.

Weights under your clothes

Most often referred to as weighted “sleeves”, they were developed by a bariatric physician (doctors who specialize in cause and prevention of obesity). They are typically worn on your lower arms and/or legs adding four to seven pounds. The added weight is meant to enhance your daily caloric burn by adding a small amount of anatomically correct weight to your arms and/or legs.

A company called BodyTogs seems to be the major player in this fitness section with prices hovering around $60-$70 for a pair. Looking at the company website, they claim wearing these sleeves on your forearms and legs for up to 10 hours a day may be as effective as a 3.2 km run.

Not sure what you think, but wearing something as a snug as these sleeves for 10 hours while doing my day-to-day activities doesn’t sound very appealing. From talking and reading about people who have used them it sounds like I’m not alone in the (un)comfort factor.

From a weight loss perspective, there are “die-hards” who swear by them because of the increased heart rate and calorie burn they experience while wearing the sleeves.

Final Verdict? A professor of kinesiology at Midwestern State University has gone on record to state the initial findings did show “increased work” while walking on a treadmill for 20 minutes. Scientifically, I’m still trying to find how significant these findings are.

Nice Bangles

It’s not cool anymore to wear puffy ankle or wrist weights in solid colors. Instead, they need to be fashionable and wearable during everyday activities. Enter weighted bangles and anklets by a company appropriately named Banglz. They too claim to help your body burn more calories while also building muscle. A pair will put you back roughly $25.

Most female users loved the ankle weights as they felt it affecting their legs and glutes almost immediately. Even though the wrist weights were quite fashionable, many could not tell much of a difference during everyday activities because they were too light in weight (1/2 a pound).