If you want to build muscles there are some things you should be aware of before you start. Here are a few pointers that can help you reaching your goals.

Eat 5-6 meals per day

To build muscles the body needs a regular intake of energy. If you want your muscles to grow, you will have to eat more than 3-4 meals per day and increase to 5-6 meals per day. Remember that the meals should not be big and unhealthy; instead they should be divided into breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2-3 healthy snacks.

Increase your Protein Intake

Protein is the most important thing when you want to build muscles. The best way to keep you protein intake at a proper level is through protein-shakes. A protein-shake is very good alternative as a snack.

You need Carbohydrates after practice

Try to get Carbohydrates directly after practice because your body is working at a higher speed and needs its recovery. Your muscles need the energy after practice. Check the food pyramid for foods rich in carbs.

Rest between every set

By taking longer breaks between every training-set your muscles will have time to rest and recover. The rest will make it possible for you to work on heavier weights, which is important if you want to build muscles. Rest about to 2 minutes after each set.  (Remember that this applies to muscle building and not fitness training).

Split Routine

A “Split Routine” is recommended if you want to build muscles. A Split Routine means that you work more intensively on a specific muscle group within a workout. During the “Split Routine” workout you will not be training your whole body, only a few specific muscle groups. During the following workout, you will be concentrating on new muscle groups. With this routine you will give your muscles time to recover.

The Diet is important

The diet is also important. 60-70% of the success will depend on your diet!

Be patient

It takes time to build muscles. You need to be patient as well as dedicated.

Go slow the first two months of your training so your body can adapt to the new routines and also avoid injuries.

The Dietary Guidelines are jointly issued and updated  by the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Health and Human Services. A committe was appointed in 2008 to start the review of the new guidelines. Four out of six meetings have been held and the remaining two will take place during the first half of this year. There will be a release of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines later this year, but the exact date is still unknown. We can however disclose that according to the USDA timetable the 2010 Dietary Guidelines are scheduled to be released in Fall 2010. It will be the seventh edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Lets be open to the new guidelines as they will guide as to a  healthier lifestyle.

Find out why the Let’s Move Campaign is so important for Americans, and why First Lady Michelle Obama is involved in this campaign.

1/3 of the children are Overweight or Obese

Since the 1980s, childhood obesity rates have tripled in the United States. Today almost 1/3 of the children in the United States are overweight or obese. Between 1998 and 2006, the prevalence of American obesity swelled by 37%.

1/3 of the children will have Health Problems

1/3 of all American children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point of their lives. Many American children will suffer other health problems related to obesity, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma.

Obesity costs $147 billion

The health care costs related to obesity is about $147 billion per year. The spending on obesity eats up 9.1% of America’s total health care. In less than a decade, the annual medical costs due to obesity have doubled.

Solving Childhood Obesity

The Let’s Move campaign has a national goal to solve childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will have a healthy weight when they reach adulthood.

Mobilizing Public and Private Sector Resources

To reach this goal the Let’s Move campaign will have effective strategies and will mobilize public and private sector resources. The Let’s Move campaign will provide communities, schools and families with tools to help children becoming more physically active with healthier eating habits.

Bancroft Elementary School in Washington

It all began on June 16, 2009 when Michelle Obama started a national conversation about healthy eating and nutrition of America’s children. The discussion took place at the White House Kitchen Garden with students form Bancroft Elementary School in Washington, DC. This conversation led to the Let’s Move campaign.

Videos

• First Lady Michelle Obama in the White House Kitchen Garden discussing Health and Nutrition of the American kids:

• Let’s Move – Kick-off:

Hire a Nutritionist to Decide the Food Menu in Schools

Bill Cosby stresses the importance of schools hiring a dedicated nutritionist to decide the food menu in schools. Food needs to be nutritious. 50% of a kid’s daily calorie intake comes from food served in school, and this is why it’s crucial to serve healthy food if we are going to fight obesity.

Fill the Vending Machines with Healthy Snacks and Drinks

Vending machines in schools are another problem that increases the risk of developing obesity. They are often filled with unhealthy snacks and sodas. Bill Cosby urges that vending machines should be packed with healthier foods and beverages such as fruits and fresh squeezed juices etc.

Walk the Stairs during Recess

In order to fight Obesity, Bill Cosby points out that children need to move their bodies more. Teachers can help children to be more physically active. He suggests that during recess teachers could join children in walking up and down the school stairs. They should to this exercise a few times a day.

Don’t watch TV commercials

Many TV commercials for children include unhealthy snacks and sodas. Action figures and heroes on TV are often related to unhealthy food products, which in turn encourages children to consume these unhealty products. Those are some of the factors that increases the risk of developing obesity at an early age. Bill Cosby thinks that children shouldn’t be exposed to these kinds of TV commercials. Instead, Bill Cosby suggests that you should try and occupy your children with something else during the commercial breaks.

Serve Smaller Portions

Bill Cosby’s message to parents is to stop pushing your children to eat so you don’t waste any food. Instead, serve smaller portions and don’t forget the healthy snacks, such as fruits and vegetables, between meals. If you eat smaller portions and have healthy snacks between meals you will have a lot of energy to last throughout the day. You will not have the need for an unhealthy snack and thereby reducing the risk of developing obesity.

Revive the Family Dinners

Prepare your dinner together with your children. Eat you dinner at the same time every day. This structure will keep your children from eating unhealthy foods. Bill Cosby explains further that parents are important role models. Being a healthy role model is a very powerful thing. By spending time together during dinnertime is a good healthy eating habit. Not only do you get time spent with your child, but it also fights the likelihood of developing obesity.

Negotiate with your Kids

Bill Cosby explains that children love to negotiate and that this can be useful when you want to fight obesity. Sitting down as a family and deciding which foods to eat for breakfast, dinner or snack can be helpful in the long run. Start negotiating and compromising with your kids because it will show your kids that their opinions, feeling and needs are respected and these kids will most likely return the respect. As Michelle Obama so wisely said, Obesity is not about weight or how you look; Obesity is about how you feel about yourself.

More Supermarkets

Bill Cosby stresses the importance to have access to supermarkets, grocery stores, farm markets in order to buy healthy fresh food for you family. Many low income neighborhoods don’t have access to stores that sell fresh healthy food and this is something that we need to change in order to fight obesity.

First Lady Michelle Obama appeared on Larry King Live, on February 9, 2010,  and talked about Obesity.

Michelle Obama has started a national movement on Obesity to tackle the epidemic of childhood obesity and to make kids healthier. As a spokes person, Michelle Obama helps to provide information and tools to the American people in order to improve our children’s health.

Obama’s kids had a high BMI

On the Larry King Live show, Michelle Obama shared her own experiences with healthy eating habits. During the presidency campaign the Obama family lived in stressful environments while touring around the country. This led to poor eating habits with too much fast food and soft drinks. As a result their kids developed a little too high BMI (Body Max Index).

Michelle Obama pointed out that the family struggled with unhealthy eating habits, even though they had access to all the information that was out there. This incident made them rethink and realize that what they needed was small changes.

Obama’s new healthier eating habits – Small changes

Michelle and Barack Obama sat down and talked with their kids about the changes they were going to implement in their eating habits. The family talked about the damaging affect that processed foods have. They introduced healthier food and drinking choices such as more fresh squeezed juice, milk etc. The Obama parents never talked about weight gain with their children, instead they focused on balancing their diet and portion sizes.

Balancing the diet – Eat right 70% of the time

Nowadays, the Obama family eat right about 70% of the time. If the kids eat fast food on occasions, such as birthday parties, that is OK as long as they don’t eat unhealthy food on a daily basis.

The food in schools needs to be nutrition rich

On the Larry King Live show, Michelle Obama talked about the importance of a nutrition rich school food. Michelle Obama pointed out that school lunches can be a lot healthier and more nutritious. 50% of a child’s calorie intake comes from food that has been eaten in school. Therefore, it’s very important that parents can rely on the responsibility of schools to provide their children with nutrition rich lunches. The positive news is that hundreds of schools are already working on improving their school lunches and this will hopefully inspire other schools to take action.

Obesity is not about what you look – Obesity is about what you feel

The Obama parents never talked about weight, instead they focused on eating right and changing their eating habits as well as their fitness habits. On the Larry King Live show, Michelle Obama said something very wise: “Obesity is not about how our kids look. It’s about how they feel; how they feel about themselves.”

Chocking fact: 1/3 of Americans are Obese!!!

Michelle Obama pointed out the chocking fact about Obesity in America. 1/3 of Americans over age 20 are obese. Amongst the African and Hispanic communities the figures on Obesity are even higher; nearly 2/3 in these communities are obese!

Improving prevention

First Lady Michelle Obama also talked about the importance of improving prevention health care, On the Larry King Live show. She explained that USA is spending billions of dollars to treat obesity-related conditions. Michelle Obama pointed out that Type 2 Diabetes, that used to be an adult disease, is today a common disease amongst the kids in America.

“Let’s Move”

Michelle Obama mentioned the organization “Let’s move” on the Larry King Live show. The nationwide campaign “Let’s move” is joined by First Lady Michelle Obama, community leaders, teachers, doctors, nurses and parents to tackle the challenge of childhood obesity and to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation. In the past 30 years Obesity rate has tripled and this means that, for the first time in history, American children may not live as long as their parents. According to the organization “Let’s move”, about 150 billions of dollars are spent to treat Obesity related conditions and that number is growing…

Focus on Moving Your Body

Michelle Obama pointed out that not everyone is interested in sports, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t focus on fitness. Fitness can be as simple as to make sure that you move your body. Try and include movements throughout the day. Dance to music, play with your kids, clean the apartment, go for a walk, take the bike instead of the car, etc.

Turn off the TV

Monitor how much time that is spent in front of the TV and implement new habits. Go out for a walk after dinner. Make sure your child go out and play instead of sitting in front of the computer or TV during leisure time.

Eat Dinner with your Family

According to studies, structure in eating habits as well as sleeping habits decreases the likelihood to develop Obesity. Michelle Obama spoke highly about eating prepared food during regular hours. This way you will increase your chances of healthy food choices and habits. Pick up an old tradition and have  dinner with your family.

Portion Sized Meals

Eat many small meals instead of large meals. This will make sure that you have enough energy throughout the day. Many small meals will also help you to avoid the unhealthy snacks since your cravings for sugar and reduces.

Eat right 70% of the time

The Obama’s do eat burgers sometimes. If you eat right 70% of the time, you can allow yourself to enjoy unhealthy foods at occasions. The Obama’s children eat right most of the times and this is why they can allow themselves to enjoy cake or fast food on occasions such as birthdays etc.

Don’t talk about weight – Talk about the positive changes

Michelle Obama said something very wise during the interview on the Larry King Live show. She said that Obesity is not about weight and it is not about how you look. Obesity is about how you feel. Obesity is about how you feel about yourself.

It’s important that you approach this matter with love and optimism. Focus on the changes and the benefits that will follow. Focus on the increased energy level you will have and how your overall health will improve.

Simple and small changes

When the Obama family realized that they needed to change their eating habits, the first thing they did was discussing the new changes that needed to be done. Michelle and Barack Obama sat down and talked with their children. They explained how badly processed foods are for the body and talked about the changes that needed to be done. They implemented some simple and small changes in their daily lives with great success.

If you want to lead a healthier life style and fight Obesity, start by implementing one or two changes, then add more changes to your new healthier habits. For example:  Focus on smaller portion sizes. Don’t make your kids eat up their food just to save money. Serve smaller portion sizes instead and eat healthy snacks between the meals. Turn off the TV and go for a walk instead. Eat prepared dinner with family on regular hours. Drink water instead of Coca Cola. Eat fruit instead of chocolate. Take the bike instead of your car etc.

Nutrition Rich School Food

Michelle Obama explained that 70% of children’s calorie intake comes from foods and beverages served in school. This means that, if we want to fight Obesity, we as a society must take a stand and make sure that our children’s school lunches are nutrition rich. We must make sure that the vending machines at schools are filled with nutrition rich snacks and beverages.

Access to Fresh Food

Michelle Obama focused on the importance of having access to supermarkets, grocery stores, farm markets etc in order to be able to buy fresh food products. Make sure that you have access to at least one supermarket in your neighborhood to ensure better food choices for yourself and your family. We can help each other as a society and influence so all people can have access to fresh food in order to fight Obesity.

The Food Industry want us to eat more

It’s in the best interests of the food industry to keep us eating more. They are in the business to make a profit. When you do find organic foods, they cost more, even though less is spent in spraying the organically grown food. Natural food is not a moneymaker for big business, so it’s more of a niche product, and thus commands higher prices.

Agri-chemicals are harmful

You can take up healthy eating in spite of what big business wants to put on your dinner table. Select organic foods when they are available. Agri-chemicals are being used now that have tested as harmful. These chemicals multiply in our bodies over time, as we eat more of them, and they may be factors in our obesity and overall lack of good health. Organic foods have more good nutrients for your body.

Avoid  genetically-modified foods

Don’t eat genetically-modified foods if you can avoid them. Look on the label of foods you buy, and select GM-Free products when you can find them. Check soy products especially closely, because there is a lot of GM use in raising soy products.

Foods with additives can cause allergies

Avoid eating foods that have many additives, particularly if you are prone to allergies. The chemicals found in processed foods can cause allergic reactions, and sometimes behavioral issues in children. Processed foods always contain additives, and the more thoroughly a product is processed, the more additives it contains.

Eat locally grown produce

Eat locally grown produce whenever you can. This will mean eating mainly seasonal produce, which is the cheapest and freshest you can find, and usually the healthiest for you, as well.

Your health will improve

The exact foods you want will not always be available, of course, so these aren’t hard and fast rules. But if you use these guidelines as much as you can, you’ll be on your way to healthy eating. Your health will improve, since natural foods can sustain us and bring about good health. There is a great deal of information about natural foods on the Internet, if you want to avail yourselves of the best ways to purchase and prepare natural food for a healthy diet.

Weight loss

Chili peppers can help you to lose weight. Japanese studies have shown that chili stimulates fat burning and also has a regulatory effect on appetite. Chili peppers increases you metabolism and curb your appetite for sweets and fatty foods.

Increases your metabolism

Research has shown that Capsaicin, the substance that makes chili peppers hot, increases your metabolic rate by 30 percent for several hours after your meal. Although you will get better effect if you increase the amount of chili peppers, you should be careful.  Start slowly, especially if you are a woman. Since women have more taste buds per centimeter on their tongue, they are more sensitive to chilly. However, if you eat chili peppers frequently you will increase your tolerance.

Anti-inflammatory

The substance Capsaicin in red chili peppers has also been shown to stimulate endorphin release and is an anti-inflammatory compound. This substance has been used as a treatment for certain types of chronic pain.

Headaches and Migraines

Chili peppers can also relieve headaches and migraines. The Capsaicin inhibits the key brain pains transmitter, called Substance P (a neurotransmitter related to the sensation of pain).

Lowers High Blood Pressure

Chili peppers help adjusting the blood pressure fluctuations, by strengthening our blood vessels. Chili peppers also make us sweat, which causes fluid loss. This fluid loss will temporarily reduce the overall blood volume.

Protect Your Heart

According to studies, people around the world who use red peppers liberally in their diet have significantly lower rates of heart attack and stroke than cultures that don’t eat as much chili peppers. Studies show that Capsaicin may prevent blood clots and may also protect the heart by reducing cholesterol, triglycerides and platelet aggregation..

Nutrients

If you include Chili peppers in your diet you will get a lot of important nutrients and antioxidants. Chili peppers are naturally high in vitamin A and vitamin C. Chili pepper contains more vitamin C than an orange so if you need some extra vitamin C, add some chili pepper to your diet.

Chili peppers also contain vitamin K,  Bioflavonoid,  Phytonutrients and fiber.

Cold Feet

A well-known effect of chili-flavored food is that your body will get warm. Capsaicin, a component in chili peppers, has been used as a remedy for cold feet. You can place powdered peppers inside stockings to alleviate cold feet. This will definitely keep you warm during those cold winter nights.