thehealthlives

  Are You Ready to Make a Healthy Lifestyle Change When it comes to weight loss, the usual buzzwords you might hear often include the words 'lifestyle' and 'change'...as in, you need to make one to be successful at losing weight. It may seem like losing weight is a simple goal—do some exercise, go on a diet, and voila! But, if it were that simple, I'd be out of a job and you'd be too busy working out to read this. While magazines and infomercials make it seem effortless, losing weight takes hard work and that often means changing different aspects of your life like, how you spend your time, how you schedule your day, and how/what you eat. If the way you live doesn't allow for these changes, how far will you get? What's Your Lifestyle Like? The reason lifestyle is so important is because how you live determines your choices and these choices decide how healthy you are and whether you're on the road to weight loss. Where do you fall on the healthy life

  How to Get Rid of Lower Belly Fat Everyone has a unique body type and stores excess fat in different areas. But there's one common area that many people seem to struggle with: the lower belly. No matter how much they exercise, they just can't get rid of it. Although belly fat can be frustrating, there are some very good reasons why we store excess fat in this area. Understanding the biology of your body and other contributing factors will help you accept the things you cannot change and shift your focus to attainable health and fitness goals. Causes of Lower Belly Fat People tend to store an extra layer of fat in their lower belly due to age, body type, and other factors. Genetics: Genes determine body type and that controls how body fat is distributed.1 For example, an apple-shaped body tends to store more fat around the belly, while a pear-shaped body will tend to store more fat in the hips and thighs.2 Menopause: The hormonal changes of menopause can lead to an increase in

  10 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight Weight loss is a process—one that doesn't always happen as quickly as you might like. While safe, healthy weight loss does take time, there are reasons you might not be losing weight that are worth considering as you gauge your progress. For example, maybe you're committed to a regular workout, but you're not burning enough calories. Or maybe you're burning enough calories but you're then consuming too many in return. Perhaps you are exercising enough and eating well, but you have a medical condition interfering with your ability to lose weight. Many things can influence weight loss, some of which may be more obvious than others. It's worth considering all of them as you work to make changes that will get you results. 1 Not Getting Enough Sleep Tired woman Blake Sinclair / Getty Images Lack of sleep can contribute to weight gain. A 2018 review found those who slept fewer than seven hours a night were more likely to have

  8 Ways to Move More During the Workday Getting enough movement into your week if you have a sedentary job can be very challenging. Research shows that the average person gets a little over 5,000 steps per day, with some reports indicating the average to be as low as 3,000.1 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends adults get a minimum of 150-minutes of moderate or 75-minutes of high-intensity cardiovascular exercise (or an equivalent combination of the two) as well as 2 days of resistance training that targets every major muscle group each week.2 If you are only getting 5,000 steps per day, you likely are not reaching those goals. The Importance of Movement A large portion of the energy burned through the day comes from a type of activity called non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). This type of movement accounts for all non-planned or intentional exercise. It includes any kind of walking, fidgeting, or other calorie-burning activities that are a byproduc

  How to Walk 2,000 More Steps a Day and Keep Weight Off If you want to be less sedentary but aren't sure where to start, why not try walking more? For those who aren't ready to commit to a full-on workout program, simply getting in some extra steps every day is an excellent goal. Using a little creativity, it's possible to increase your daily steps without taking extra time out of your busy day. Walking 2,000 steps is equivalent to about a mile, depending on your stride length. Make a conscious effort to move more throughout the day to boost your total mileage. How to Count Your Steps Track your total daily steps with a pedometer, activity monitor, a watch with GPS, or pedometer app on your mobile phone. This can help you understand how many steps you're typically getting, and track your progress as you work to accumulate more steps. Choose your tool: Buy a step-counting pedometer or activity monitor, or download a pedometer app. Set it up: Set your pedometer or app, s

  What Is the Average Calorie Intake for Men? Both men and women should understand their daily calorie needs in order to make sure they are meeting their dietary needs. Calories provide energy in the form of heat so that our bodies can function. The average calorie intake for men will vary depending on factors such as age, activity level, and goals. To determine how many calories you should consume in a day, you should decide if you want to lose, gain, or maintain your current weight. You will also need to calculate your daily energy requirements. The more specific information you can provide, the more precise your calorie number will be. The Average Calorie Intake for Men You can use estimates to guess your caloric intake. For example, the USDA uses a 2,000 calorie per day diet as an example on the Nutrition Facts label. The number is used to provide information about Daily Values and Percent Daily Value (%DV).1 But it is not a recommendation to eat 2,000 calories. The use of a calori

  A Practical Guide to Losing Weight for Your Wedding Many people want to lose weight for their wedding day, but that doesn't mean you should feel pressured to do so. If you are hoping to look and feel like your best self on your big day, it's important to look beyond a certain number on the scale. Instead, you can modify your lifestyle to include a healthy, balanced diet and regular exercise to maintain a healthy weight for the long term. As your wedding day approaches, you may be feeling more motivated than ever to reach your weight loss goal—perhaps even in a short timeframe. But it's important to pursue your goal safely. Getting Started Weddings can cause jitters for everyone. Jumping straight into a crash diet will only add to your anxiety. So-called "crash" or "fad diets" are often based on eating far fewer calories than is sustainable. With these diets, you may see a change in the scale, but it can be deceiving. Often, your body is losing water ra

  Eating Fruits and Vegetables, Plus Exercise Could Boost Happiness, Study Says According to previous research, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can lower inflammation and related depression symptoms.1 Exercise can increase the release of feel-good hormones like serotonin.2 But those aren’t the only mechanisms at play when it comes to improving your mood, according to a recent study in the Journal of Happiness Studies.3 Researchers found that eating healthy foods along with exercising regularly gave people a boost in happiness and life satisfaction. Some of this boost in mood may be directly related to delayed gratification. “We see that the causation goes in the other direction, from lifestyle to happiness,” says lead researcher Adelina Gschwandtner, PhD, senior lecturer in economics at the University of Kent. “Hence, it is really the fruits, veggies, and exercise that make you happier. So, it pays to make the effort to have a healthy lifestyle because, in the end, you’ll be happi

  How to Lose Weight in Your 50s and 60s Have you noticed that your body has started to change now that you've hit middle age? It's common to see changes on the scale and how your clothes fit as you get older, but this doesn't have to impact your health. While you can't necessarily stop or reverse all the changes that come with getting older, engaging in physical activity, following a balanced diet, and living a healthy lifestyle can help you stay fit as you age. Here are a few things you can do to achieve all of these. Know Your Numbers One number often associated with health is body mass index (BMI). But this isn't the best indicator of health for older adults because the recommended BMIs for this age group are different—specifically, they are higher than for younger adults.1 Or maybe you weigh yourself on the scale at home to help keep track of weight-related changes in your 50s and 60s. This can provide some insight, as can knowing a few additional numbers that

  How to Live a Healthier Lifestyle The phrase 'healthy lifestyle' is an abbreviated definition of what it looks like to live a vibrant, active life with a healthy body and healthy mind. Creating a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to mean drastic changes. Making gradual small changes to your daily routine can have a big impact. What Is a Healthy Lifestyle? You know the obvious behaviors that describe someone who is healthy and takes care of themselves. A healthy person doesn't smoke, tries to maintain a healthy weight, eats healthy foods with plenty of fruits, vegetables and fiber and, of course, exercises on a regular basis. Then there are other elements to add to the list. A healthy person also knows how to manage stress, gets good quality sleep each night, doesn't drink too much, doesn't sit too much—basically, does everything in moderation all the time. When you look at everything that could possibly go into a healthy lifestyle, you can see just how hard all o