Fitness4Her

Women's Fitness

Rest, Refresh and Rejuvenate

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Your sleeping habits affect your body, mind and soul. If you get less than 6 to 7 hours of sleep each night, you could be at a greater risk of developing heart disease and other diseases. Getting plenty of rest will allow your body time to restore, refresh and rejuvenate after a full day of activity.

Getting adequate rest benefits your heart, brain function, appearance and overall mood. Lack of sleep has been linked to higher blood pressure and cholesterol, two factors that play a big part in heart disease. Sleep reduces stress and increases production of melatonin, a hormone that is thought to protect against cancer.

Sleep makes you more alert and helps improve your memory–key benefits for an active mind. When you are sleep deprived, simple decisions can become more difficult, making it hard to complete complex tasks. You might make more mistakes when you are tired, which is usually a signal that you need to take a break.

It is important to get adequate rest whenever you are involved in learning. Just as your brain needs sufficient sleep before learning something new, it needs lots of rest in order to process and retain the information that has just been learned.

Sleep refreshes your body, mind and soul. Your eyes and face appear more refreshed and relaxed following a good night’s rest. Your skin will become more radiant and your hair will have more vitality when you give your body the rest it needs. Every cell in your body is affected by sleep. While you are sleeping, your body repairs any damage done to cells.

If you exercise regularly, then you need adequate rest in order to repair and restore muscles. This is why it is a good idea to alternate the muscle groups you work on each day to allow time for them to recover. Many times an active lifestyle with plenty of exercise makes it easy to get a good night’s sleep since your body is working hard and becoming fatigued at the end of the day.

Getting a good night’s sleep is not always easy. Most women need 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. Of course, it is also important that the sleep you get is quality, restful sleep. If you often have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, you should talk with your doctor.

Make your sleeping environment as quiet and peaceful as possible. Stop eating for at least two hours before going to bed. This way your body’s energy can be used for healing and rejuvenation rather than digestion. Avoid caffeine or any stressful mental activity in the hours right before bedtime. Try to relax with a good book, some soothing music, enjoyable conversation or meditation instead.

Have A Healthy Happy Heart

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A happy heart is more than just a state of mind. Keeping your heart healthy and happy is one of the best things you can do for your body, mind and soul.
Unfortunately, heart disease is still the leading cause of death for both men and women. Surprisingly, one in four women will have a heart attack and because women experience heart trouble differently than men, many times women ignore or don’t fully understand the symptoms.
Exercising, eating a heart-healthy diet and getting plenty of rest are paramount to keeping your heart healthy. Monitor your blood pressure and cholesterol levels and follow your physician’s advice for taking care of your heart.
Regular cardio exercises like walking, jogging, cycling or rowing can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol. These fun activities also burn calories and along with a low-fat, high-nutrition diet, can help you to lose weight and keep it off.
The Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity, 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of the two.
That’s about 30 minutes a day, five days a week. If that’s more than you can do, start with 30 minutes a day, three days a week. As you progress, you can add more days or exercise longer, aim for 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity.
Remember if you are short on time it’s fine to break-up your workouts into six 10-minute sessions during a day. You’ll still get the same heart-health benefits.
Interval training provides some great benefits and may help you reach your goal weight quicker. Try combining alternate short bursts of intense activity with intervals of lighter activity, for example, include short bursts of jogging or fast walking into your regular walks.
You can also add exercise to your daily activities with these tips.
• Take the stairs instead of an elevator.
• Walk or ride your bike to work or to do errands.
• March in place while watching television.
• Add weights to any exercise routine.
• Stand longer, sit for shorter periods of time.

Like Lycopene For Healthy, Beautiful Skin And Other Health Benefits, Too

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Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that can help to prevent sun damage and make your skin supple and beautiful. A brightly colored antioxidant, lycopene gives the skin an attractive, healthy glow. It has also been known to prevent the oxidation of cholesterol thereby to slow the development of atherosclerosis, a thickening of the arterial walls of the heart.

Mostly found in tomatoes, the lycopene content is increased when the tomatoes are cooked. Another good way to get the most lycopene from your tomatoes is to pair them with olive oil. Olive oil has many great health benefits, too. You can rub the tomatoes with olive oil, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and enjoy it as a snack or accompaniment to your regular meal.

Antioxidants help to combat free radicals and if you exercise outdoors you need the extra boost of antioxidants to help protect your skin cells from damage. Lycopene also protects against cancers of the cervix, pancreas and breasts as well as protecting against heart disease.

Pink grapefruit, also contains lycopene, although not as high of content as tomatoes, pink grapefruit is low in calories and helps to metabolize proteins so that your body can get the maximum benefit. If you are trying to lose weight, grapefruit is a great food to include in your diet.

Watermelon is another good source of lycopene. A fruit that is low in calories and sugar content, watermelon keeps your skin hydrated too. It’s such a sweet fruit, but its high water content makes it an excellent choice when you want to improve your skin’s suppleness and lose weight too.

Supplements containing lycopene are also available. It is always best to get your nutrients from the foods that you eat, however, if your diet doesn’t include some of the antioxidants you need, you may want to consider taking a vitamin supplement.

Fitness4Her is a diet, exercise program and journal designed exclusively for women’s fitness. With healthy recipes, step-by-step exercises and the support of an online membership site, members can access articles, reviews and blogs that offer tips and updates on the latest in fitness and health.

Sleep Like A Beauty, Awake Refreshed

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Have you ever noticed a correlation between sleep and losing weight? Many people, especially women, are so busy, that they don’t get a good night’s sleep. Doctors have revealed that a good night’s sleep plays a big part in weight control. According to experts, there is a critical link between sleep deprivation and obesity. Americans are sleeping less than ever and are getting bigger than ever. People who sleep less than seven hours per night are more likely to be overweight or obese. Studies show that the lack of sleep impacts the balance of hormones in the body that affect appetite. The hormones ghrelin and leptin, important for the regulation of appetite, can be disrupted by a lack of sleep.

Sleep like a beauty and awake rejuvenated and refreshed. Getting your beauty sleep is not just a phrase. When a woman doesn’t get enough rest, it starts to show in her face. Continuous sleep deprivation will cause lines in the face to deepen, bags and dark circles under the eyes and over all inflammation that causes the face to look as if it has aged.

A woman’s body requires rest. Rest and sleep provide an opportunity for the body to cleanse, repair, and rejuvenate on a deep cellular level. Sleep is a time for your body to repair damage caused by stress, ultraviolet rays and other harmful exposures. Your body needs this rest in order to work with the nutrients that you have been feeding it. Since your cells actually produce more protein while you are sleeping, this down time allows them to repair and rejuvenate.

When your body is in need of sleep, it goes into a state of stress. The body’s functions are put on high alert and that causes an increase in blood pressure and a production of stress hormones such as cortisol. An increase in blood pressure intensifies your risk for heart attacks and strokes. The stress hormones also, make it harder for you to sleep. Stress causes an overproduction of cortisol, the hormone responsible for a fat belly.

Eating a stable diet that includes healthy proteins, lots of vegetables and fruits and drinking plenty of water each day will help your body maintain a proper balance of activity and rest. Getting at least 30 minutes of exercise each day helps to regulate the body’s internal clock, allowing you to rest better and be more energized when you are awake.

Be Honest With Your Doctor

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It may come as no surprise, but many women and men lie to their doctor about their aches and pains. People are afraid of being judged about their habits and behaviors. Unfortunately, when you aren’t completely honest with your doctor, they can’t properly advise you about your health and may not be able to diagnose your illnesses. Since the doctor is only seeing you for a short appointment, he or she really needs your help in determining your health.

Tell your doctor about all of the aches and pains that have given you concern since your last visit. Some of these might not be important, but sometimes little aches and pains can be indications of bigger problems. No matter, how embarrassed you are about different habits, the doctor needs to know if you are smoking, drinking excessively or using illegal drugs.

Your doctor needs to know other things about you, too. How regular and severe your periods are, and whether you have had any changes in your bowel movements, too. Your doctor will want to know how much over-the-counter medication you take on a regular basis, to help when prescribing other medicines. Tell your doctor how you deal with pain, whether you need to take something right away or if you are able to manage your pain without medicine.

Talk to your doctor about your weight management concerns, too. Discuss your diet and ask for advice on nutritious foods to eat. Fad diets that claim outrageous results can sound good but are very misleading. Consult with your doctor about the best diets that deliver consistent, healthy results. Remember weight loss isn’t effective unless you can make lifestyle changes that keep your weight under control. If the diet is too restrictive, it’s probably not something you want to adhere to for the rest of your life.

Discuss your workout program with your doctor. He or she will be happy to hear you are exercising regularly. Be honest with your doctor and be open to discussion. Many doctors are fit and healthy and are very excited to discuss fitness goals. Your doctor may even have some suggestions for exercises that you can add to your current workout plan.

Tell your doctor if you are concerned about any health issues you have encountered while exercising. For instance, if you have experienced heart palpitations during exercise, be sure to let your doctor know. Remember to bring along your fitness journal to guide you in your discussions. You only have a short time to spend with your doctor, so be sure you get the best benefits coming to you.