Archive for July 23rd, 2010

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Can You Lose Weight By Becoming a Vegetarian?

July 23rd, 2010 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Fitness, Weight Loss

There is no doubt there are many benefits to the vegetarian lifestyle.  Maybe you are contemplating taking it up yourself.  Perhaps you are wondering if you can lose weight by becoming a vegetarian.

Well there’s not a simple answer to the question “will I lose weight by becoming a vegetarian?”.  If you eat more than your body needs you will put on weight.  This can be said for vegetarians and meat eaters too.  Similarly, you can lose weight on both types of diet too.

However, having said that, the facts show that someone on an everyday vegetarian diet consumes around 500 calories less than someone on a meat included diet.  But, and here’s the interesting part, the vegetarians actually eat more food.

The reason for this is that a healthy vegetarian diet is high in complex carbohydrates.  These are the foods which are high in fibre and starch and low in fat and calories, things like legumes and whole grains.

For every 3500 calories you cut from your diet you will lose one pound.  So, losing the 500 calories a day from meat is a great start to your diet of at least one pound per week.  But you still might not lose any weight at all simply by cutting out meat, especially if you replace it with things like cheese and milk.

To successfully lose weight on a vegetarian diet you should plan all your meals in advance and include a good variety of vegetables, grains and fruit.  This way you will be less likely to reach for the junk food , scupper your diet and your health in general.

Don’t go thinking you are going to be tied to your cooker or peeling vegetables for all eternity either.  These days there are a fabulous range of vegetarian convenience foods available if you are in a hurry.  Most supermarkets will have their own range as well as the better known brands.  Those of you in the UK will probably already be familiar with the Linda McCartney range of ready meals.

A word of caution here.  Remember to keep an eye on the way your veggies are cooked.  You can’t just choose fries as the “vegetarian option”.  Fried is still fried!  Try to stick to boiled, grilled, steamed or sautéed vegetables wherever possible.  Oh, and hold the mayo!!

I hope this article has been of interest to you .  If you are considering becoming a vegetarian and would like some great recipe ideas please visit www.myvegetarianlife.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Do Paschimottanasana

July 23rd, 2010 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Fitness, Yoga

The Sanskrit word ‘Paschimottanasana’ is made of three words: ‘Paschima’, ‘tana’ and ‘Asana’. The meaning of ‘Paschima’ is ‘posterior’ and ‘tana’ means stretch. It is named so because while doing this pose we stretch our back or the posterior part of the body.

How to Do Paschimottanasana

  • First of all you are to sit on your Yoga Net or on the floor.
  • Then stretch your legs forward on the floor and arrange your torso and head in the straight line upward.
  • The pelvis should make right angel to you legs.
  • Once your legs are stretched fully, hold your big toes with index fingers. You should make hooks of your fingers.
  • If you feel pain in doing so you can lift your legs upward and then catch hold of the toes as shown above. Then slowly try to push your legs downward so as they fully touch your yoga mat.
  • Alternatively you can keep your palms holding your whole paws.
  • After the toes are in your fingers, try bending your hips forward, slowly and not causing any pain. If your feel pain, take rest and try it later. No yoga teacher would insist that you should do over stretching of any muscle.
  • Finally get your torso parallel to your legs. This will make your body looking folded from your back.
  • It would be better if your head is touching your knees.
  • You can remain in this posture as long as you can. But avoid remaining for long time in the beginning.

Benefits of Doing Paschimottanasana

  • This posture is relatively easy to do. By taking a little care about your back muscle, you can do it without much trouble.
  • This is one type of forward bend postures of yoga. It would provide a comprehensive exercise to the abdominal and pelvic muscles.
  • It also stretches kidney and upperside of the back.
  • You can feel very much relaxed after doing this asana, as it would provide good exercise to you back and leg muscles.
  • The muscles of hands would also get a good stretch.
  • Those who complain about having pain in their back, they can feel better after doing this pose regularly for one week.
  • Yoga teachers advise this pose to those who want to shed their extra pounds of fat.
  • After doing Paschimottanasana for two weeks, you might find your tummy lighter and the belly proceeding inside.
  • Those persons who are having larger belly should do this posture after consulting a physician. Preferably they should do this pose in the presence of a trained teacher.

For reading similar articles about yoga postures with images, visit the following links.

FORWARD BEND YOGA POSTURES

POSTURES FOR HIP JOINTS

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