Diet - 7-Day Detox Diet Plan

Flush out toxins and rid water retention with this one-week detox menu!

Detox diets needn't leave you feeling famished and tired. Try this realistic one-week detox diet meal plan to cleanse your system and improve your well-being. Begin your day with half a lemon squeezed into hot water, caffeine-free tea or fruit juice, then incorporate the following nutritionally-balanced meal plans to keep you functioning at your best while you flush out the toxins from your body naturally.

Day 1
· Breakfast: Sandwich, ham and lettuce on wholemeal bread, and 1 glass of soya milk.
· Lunch: Fish noodle soup and 1 wedge of papaya.
· Snack: 1 cup of apple chips.
· Dinner: Curried mixed vegetables, stir-fried garlic wholegrain rice and 1 kiwi fruit.

Day 2
· Breakfast: Tuna spread on rye toast and 1 glass of carrot juice.
· Lunch: Chicken porridge and half a mango.
· Snack: 100g bar dark chocolate.
· Dinner: Baked salmon, fresh vegetable salad with low-fat mayonnaise and corn soup

Day 3
· Breakfast: Oats and muesli with low-fat yogurt and strawberries.
· Lunch: Skinless chicken, celery, 1 bowl of steamed rice.
· Snack: Handful of dried cranberries.
· Dinner: Spaghetti with meat sauce and boiled broccoli.

Day 4
· Breakfast: Home-made smoothie, blended using soya milk and banana.
· Lunch: Egg salad sandwich on wholemeal bread and 1 wedge of pineapple.
· Snack: 3 pieces of plain digestive biscuits.
· Dinner: Grilled chicken, bean and pasta salad and 1 glass of orange juice.

Day 5
· Breakfast: Low-fat peanut butter on oat crackers and half a grapefruit.
· Lunch: Stir-fried prawn noodles and 1 slice of watermelon.
· Snack: 1 cup of low-fat frozen yogurt.
· Dinner: Turkey, sliced tomatoes and lettuce on wholegrain bread.

Day 6
· Breakfast: Omelette with bacon bits and diced spring onion, and 1 glass of tomato juice.
· Lunch: Stir-fried fish in sweet and sour sauce, 1 bowl of steamed rice.
· Snack: Handful of unsalted almonds.
· Dinner: Tuna and buckwheat pasta, 1 bowl of miso soup and 1 kiwi fruit.

Day 7
· Breakfast: Wholemeal toast and 1 cup of low-fat yogurt.
· Lunch: Chicken fingers and fresh fruit salad sprinkled with finely chopped nuts.
· Snack: 4 pieces of wholemeal crackers.
· Dinner: Seafood pasta and 1 apple.

Source:
http://www.shoppinglifestyle.com/diet/article.asp?id=603

Diet - Detox Diets

Get the scoop on detox diets. Plus, a healthy detox shopping list to get you started.

Lose the excess weight, beat cellulite for good, flush out toxins naturally, banish the bloat and improve your skin's clarity: These are just some of the promises that detox diets hold. It's no wonder that so many celebrities are huge fans of detox diets! So forget about bizarre juice and deprivation diets: Try a sensible detox plan to cleanse your system.

Planning your detox diet
Following a realistic one-week detox plan can help you drop the extra weight as well as improve your well-being. Here are the basics to help you get started on a simple detox plan.

1. Morning detox drink. Start each morning with half a lemon squeezed into hot water, instead of your usual dose of caffeine. Alternatively, non-caffeine tea, herbal tea, freshly-squeezed fruit juice are also great choices.

2. Avoid toxins including cigarette smoke, food additives, alcohol and caffeine. Advocates of detox diets say these toxins that accumulate in our bodies are the causes of health problems like weight gain, cellulite, headaches, bloating, fatigue and dull skin, so the purpose of detox diets is to kick-start the process of removing these toxins from the body.

3. Drink sufficient water. Stay sufficiently hydrated by aiming to drink around two litres of water everyday. The fluids will help flush out toxins from your system.

Foods to include:
1. Fresh, dried fruits and fruit juices including apples, bananas, oranges, pears, cranberries, grapefruit, mangoes, strawberries, mangoes and peaches. If you purchase pre-packed fruit juices, make sure they're labelled 'unsweetened'.

2. Vegetables, beans and lentils. Fresh, frozen or canned, take your pick from cabbage, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peppers, kidney beans, navy beans, red lentils, green lentils. Toss them in a bowl, mix in olive oil, flax oil or balsamic or wine vinegar for an appetitizing salad dish.

3. Oats and brown rice. These high-fiber foods aid bowel movement and will help you flush out toxins naturally.

4. Unsalted nuts and seeds such as almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pistachio, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. But skip the salted ones as their high sodium content can lead to water retention and bloating.

5. Poultry and seafood. Eat poultry such as skinless chicken and turkey as well as any seafood including cod, mackerel, prawns, crab, salmon and tuna.

Foods to avoid:
1. Red meat. Avoid red meat and red meat products like beef, pork, burgers, sausages.

2. Dairy products including milk, cheese, butter and cream.

3. Junk foods. Stay away from high-fat and high-carb, sugary snacks that have little nutritional value, including chocolate cookies, cream wafers, muffins, doughnuts, butter cakes and sweets.

4. Caffeine, alcohol and fizzy drinks. Caffeine and alcohol are toxins that can build up in our system, so ban coffee, tea, alcohol and sodas from your detox plan.

5. High-sodium foods including chips, canned soups, soya sauce and salt.

6. Wheat products Any food that contains wheat including bread, croissants, cereals, cakes, biscuits, pies, pastry, quiche, battered or breadcrumbed foods, etc.

Source:
http://www.shoppinglifestyle.com/diet/article.asp?id=602

Fitness - How To Increase Your Metabolism

Metabolism is a biological term which is made up of two process (anabolism and catabolism) in the body. As in our body various changes takes place which can be categorized into physical and chemical changes. Metabolism is the chemical change in the body since it involves building and breaking down of chemical substances (present in food).

Metabolism is associated with energy. In anabolism simpler substances combines to form compound substance, fat which gets stored in the body as body fat and it is break down at a later stage for releasing energy whereas catabolism is the breakdown of food particles in the body with the help of oxygen to release energy required for performing various functions inside the body as well as for daily routine functions.

The rate of metabolism depends on certain factors such as age, sex, occupation, the amount of body tissues and activeness. The metabolism rate decreases with the growing age, it is lower in females than males and it is higher in a more active person whose occupations requires physical work than sitting work.

Here are some tips for increasing the rate of metabolism in the body by simple exercises.

Cycling
Cycling for an hour or half increases the metabolic rate for at least 12 to 14 hours. As cycling increases the heart rate and flow of blood and it burns out extra calories in the body which results in increased metabolic rate.

Jogging
Jogging for half an hour helps in burning extra calories present in the body and increases metabolic rate of the body due to which we never feel tired.

Yoga
In yoga there are aasanas such as prayanaam and others which help in increasing the metabolic rate of the body and in burning extra calorie in the body.

Regular Exercises
Regular exercises helps in increasing the metabolic rate and if possible you can exercise twice a day for maintaining the constant metabolic rate throughout the day.

Aerobics
It is one of the commonest method which is employed for increasing the metabolic rate of the body as it requires jumping, and other exercising techniques.

So you can increase your metabolism without much efforts by these simple exercise but you should never over do these exercises you should continue till you feel comfortable and then you can stop for rest.

Source:
http://www.womanjunction.com/topic/fitness/how-to-increase-your-metabolism/