A healthy diet for women’s fitness consists of all sorts of fruits and vegetables, including herbs and spices. These natural wonders not only add flavor to your food, they provide many health benefits as well. Basil, a fragrant herb that’s found in many Italian dishes, can inhibit the growth of bacteria in the body.

You can add basil to salads or salad dressings to kill any bacteria that might be present. Of course, this doesn’t take the place of washing your veggies prior to eating, but because salads are eaten raw, the extra protection of a bacteria buster, like basil is good to have on your side.

The oils in basil inhibit bacterial growth. These oils include, estragole, linalool, eugenol, cineole, sabinene, myrcene, and limonene. A solution containing just 1% of the oil of basil can be used to rinse vegetables to kill infectious bacteria that cause diarrhea.

Rich in flavonoids, basil is effective in preventing cell damage and with its anti-inflammatory properties can help ease arthritis. An oil in basil acts similar to an aspirin on the body and like aspirin, basil can provide many of the same benefits.

Full of nutrients such as vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, manganese, magnesium and potassium. Basil is an excellent choice for women’s health. It is good for the heart, because it helps to prevent build-up in the arteries and fights free radicals. The magnesium helps blood vessels to relax which increases blood circulation.

It’s not difficult to grow your own basil, for a fun and fragrant touch to your garden. This way you always have fresh basil when you want it. However, it does require care and attention and many women are too busy to devote the time needed to growing fresh basil.
Available at produce markets and grocery stores, you can purchase fresh basil and store in your refrigerator. Select basil that is nice and green with fresh looking leaves. Don’t buy it if the leaves are brown and spotty or droopy. You can always purchase dried basil for a longer shelf life and it tastes almost as good as the fresh. Be sure to keep it in a tightly capped jar in a cabinet.

For some delicious recipes that include basil and other healthy herbs, vegetables, fruits and protein, check out the Healthy Cooking section of Fitness4Her.com. There’s a treasure trove of great meals that the whole family can enjoy. A Fitness4Her Members Only privilege, you can have access to healthy recipes, and energizing exercises that will help you to lose weight if you need to or just get in shape. Dedicated to women’s fitness, your Fitness4Her membership is free. So join now.

If you want to fight infection and help to prevent or prolong the onset of disease in your body, make sure you get plenty of oregano. Often thought of as just an herb to season tomato sauces or other Italian dishes, fresh oregano is a wonderful source of fiber when eaten in larger quantities. The fragrant smell attracts the olfactory glands and causes that mouth-watering sensation of a hungry appetite.

Oregano has anti-bacterial properties that help to fight infection. It is said that Hippocrates, born around 460 BC used oregano on his patients. He may not have known the full nature of infection, but he was aware that eating oregano could prevent it. This benefit is due to the oils thymol and carvacrol found in oregano.

An excellent antioxidant, it can be compared to the benefits found in apples and blueberries. Like spinach and other leafy vegetables, fresh oregano is nutrient and vitamin rich. A good source of vitamin C, vitamin A, iron, manganese and calcium as well as containing omega-3 fatty acids.

Oregano is one of the few herbs in which the flavor is stronger when it is dried rather than fresh. Most commonly associated with Italian dishes, the smell and savory taste of oregano were the main culprits responsible for the pizza craze that hit this country after World War II.

Oregano is usually purchased dried in spice jars at the grocery store. However, some stores sell it fresh. You can also buy seeds or seedlings and grow your own fresh oregano. When storing oregano, put it in a plastic bag filled with air and place in the crisper of the refrigerator. When using fresh oregano, you will probably need to use three times as much as you would of the dried variety to achieve the same intensity of flavor. Other spices that go with oregano are garlic, parsley, sage, thyme, pepper, basil, and dried onions.

There are many recipes that call for oregano, both fresh and dried. If you’re stuck and looking for some new ideas of what to cook for yourself and your family, I’ve got a treasure chest full of healthy meals to share with you. Many of them include oregano and some of the other spices listed above. Just click on the Healthy Cooking category for your choice of recipes. You must be a member of Fitness4Her to get access, so join today. It quick and easy to do, plus it’s free. So join today and cook up a healthy meal with the savory essence of oregano.

Do you ever feel like you go to the gym day after day, exercise like crazy, eat very little, but you are still not losing the weight that you did when you first started working out? It’s at this stage that many ladies lose their motivation.

Is this the inevitable? Will everyone who is trying to lose weight plateau at some point or another? Most ladies claim it happens when you least expect it. You begin exercising and dieting, lose a significant amount of weight and even step up your work out. But then, nothing changes. Day after day, it’s the same routine.

The same routine may be part of the problem. Doing the same routine, even though you take it to the next level, may keep you in this state of limbo. Mix up your workout routine by adding aerobics like running in place after each exercise. You can also add a 15-minute walk or jog in addition to your regular 30 minutes of exercise.

Keep a fitness journal of everything you eat and drink to keep you accountable and help you maintain focus on your goal. Fitness4Her advocates keeping a journal as part of my diet and exercise program. By keeping a record of your food and beverage consumption, you can make decisions on portion control or foods that you are eating. It has been proven that people who keep a fitness journal have a much greater success than those who do not.

Start your day with positive affirmations. Tell yourself that you are losing weight and believe what you say. Look at yourself in the mirror—can you see the changes that are taking place? Do your clothes fit better? Are you stronger and more energetic? These are all signs that your efforts are paying off.

Don’t give up. Whatever you do, don’t give up. Keep focused and continue to work hard towards your fitness goal. You will lose weight and it will stay off this time. You can plot to plummet instead of plateau. Fitness4Her is here to help you—I believe in you and know you can do it!

Start a discussion by leaving a comment below:

Starting a diet isn’t always easy, but there are times when something in our lives propels us forward and we begin a diet program that is fast and effective. However, after a while, our motivation begins to wane causing our resolve to weaken, paving the way for us to fall temptation to some of our old ways of eating. I find when that occurs it always helps to hear some new diet tips. If not new, perhaps a different twist on an old one.

1. When dining out, eye out half of your meal and bag the rest. A typical restaurant entree has 1,000 to 2,000 calories, and that doesn’t even count the bread, appetizer, beverage, and dessert.

2. If you want dessert, share one with someone, usually just a taste will do.

3. Eat your meal on a salad plate instead of a dinner plate.

4. Never eat out of a bag or jar, always put your food on a plate and eat it from there. It’s important that you see the food that you are eating in order to mentally satisfy your appetite.

5. Eat an apple and drink a glass of water before going out to eat, this will keep you from eating all the bread in the bread basket.

6. To lose an easy 5 pounds per year, switch from whole milk to 1 percent.

7. Juice has as many calories as soda. Set a limit of one 8-oz glass of fruit juice a day. If you just love to drink juice, try pouring half water and half juice.

8. Get calories from foods you chew, not beverages. Have fresh fruit instead of fruit juice.

9. Keep a fitness journal. It will make a big difference in your success.

10. Remember the Chinese saying: “Eat until you are eight-tenths full.”

11. Substitute mustard for mayo.

12. Eat more soup. It’s a comfort food that fills you up. Choose non-creamy varieties that have less calories.

13. Avoid or reduce high calorie drinks like soda, sweet tea, lemonade, etc. If you cut out sodas, you could lose up to 25 pounds in a year, from that one change alone.

14. Take your lunch to work. You can control portions and contents.

15. Sit when you eat. This helps to satisfy your appetite much more than standing to eat. You are relaxed and better able to focus on your meal.

16. Resist the urge to add salt to your food. If you can, eat a few bites first before choosing to add salt. This gives your taste buds a chance to adjust to the different flavors in your food.

17. Drink 8 glasses of water each day. Water helps to wash the toxins from your body and helps to fill up your stomach, slowing your appetite somewhat.

18. Eat a lunch comprised mostly of veggies at least three times a week, be sure to include protein with every meal.

19. As often as possible, eat your meals from home. This way you have control over how the food is prepared and of your portion.

20. Avoid entirely or limit drinking alcohol to weekends, only.

Share your diet tips in the comment space below:

Do you ever feel like no matter where you go, no matter what you see, there seem to be constant messages about dieting and losing weight? You may even feel like you are suffering from so much information that your brain just doesn’t want to even think about dieting, the effects of dieting or how to diet wisely.

Sure, there’s a plethora of information available on diet, some good…some bad. But there’s always lots of information out there about subjects that interest a large number of people and dieting happens to be one of those subjects.

It could be, the reason that you notice all of this abounding information pertaining to diet is because you too have a specific interest in dieting. Once the desire to lose weight overcomes you, you begin to search out ways to begin dieting, seek out tips to make it easier to stay focused and pay special attention to success stories of others who have lost weight.

When the diet bug bites, you naturally hunger for all the fortitude you can muster to keep you committed to your goal. That’s where diet information is most helpful. The only problem is that sometimes what you read conflicts with other information that you’ve heard. It’s often hard to know what to believe.

The best way to help you decipher the good info from the bad advice is to use a little common sense. If it sounds too crazy, then it probably is. If something claims instant weight loss, beware. You should focus on healthy eating choices that you can live with for the rest of your life. Dieting is not about a quick fix.

If the diet information is too strict for you to follow, then it may not be the plan for you at this time. Perhaps you need to modify it. Cutting out one thing at a time may work better for you that eliminating a whole list of food at one time. No one know you better than yourself, so you must measure the advice against what you know will work best for you.

Along with dieting, exercise is one of the best ways to help you lose weight. Exercise and regular movement are necessary for a healthy lifestyle and aids in your overall weight loss plan. Aerobic exercise helps to burn calories and strength-training exercises build muscle. Remember: the more muscle you have the more calories you can burn—and that tip is true!

Start a discussion in the comment space below: