A Woman

"Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.

What, sir, would the people of the earth be without woman? " Mark Twain

What a paltry thing, after all, is man, man uncomplemented by woman! Left to himself, he stagnates; linked with a woman, he rises—-or sinks. A gentle touch stimulates him, a confiding heart makes of him a new creature. Under the rays of feminine sympathy, he expands who else would remain inert. Fame may allure him, friends encourage him, fortune cause him a momentary smile, but only woman makes him; and fame, friends, fortune, all are naught if there be not at his side a sharer of his weal. A man will strive for fortune, strip himself for friends, scour the earth for fame; but were there no woman in the world to be won, not one of these things would he do.

Two friends are walking along and they encounter a beautiful lady. One is 25 pounds overweight and looks like he hasn't exercised in years. The other gent has the same slim waistline he had decades ago in college. He beams with self confidence and clearly enjoys life to the fullest.

Which guy will this attractive woman be more interested in?

You don't have to spend a fortune. Many healthy, happy, and contented folks have never set foot in a fancy health club. ( And there are many who do - regularly! ) The point is - you can get healthy and enjoy a better quality of life and never need to part with much of your hard earned cash.

Get yourself some inexpensive home fitness equipment and shed those extra pounds without even leaving the house!

Kickstart Your Heart

Do you want to gain even more health benefits from your exercise and physical activity? Gradually add more time to your weekly routine. Start with moderate activities and then add vigorous activities little by little.

To mix it up, you can try 30 minutes of biking fast to and from your job 3 days a week. Then play softball for 60 minutes 1 day. Then lift weights for 2 days.

Try to double your weekly activity time. Work to be active 5 or more hours each week. This activity level can lower your chances of getting breast and colon cancer.

Try something new - like playing competitive tennis, jogging or running, swimming laps, jumping rope, or doing heavy yard work. Pump up the volume so that during exercise, your breathing is hard and fast, and your heart rate is increased substantially within a safe heart range.

Everyone in the family can be physically active. Find fun activities that easily fit into your regular family life.

Start moving more:

✸ Walk or ride bikes with your family.
✸ Dance salsa, merengue, or cumbia.
✸ Play soccer, basketball, baseball, or volleyball with your friends.

Your options are nearly endless! Whatever you choose - have fun. Enjoy your journey to a slimmer, more muscular body. Start getting some exercise every day. Do some strength training every other day - building muscles and burning more calories.

If losing weight is one of your goals this year - Start Today! Health experts agree - the quickest way to lose weight and keep it off is exercise and healthy eating.

10 Steps to Ward Off Stress

Are you on the skids with stress? Do you ever feel like you’re overwhelmed with problems coming at you from every direction? You can defeat these feelings of helplessness and avoid many stressors altogether! Start by building resilience. Building resilience is not a new fad.

Try these 10 Steps to help you build resilience and avoid or prepare yourself to better handle stress:

1) Build effective, supportive relationships with others. Many people find great benefits from the simple act of serving or helping others who might be less able to help themselves. Volunteer your time and share your talents. You might just be surprised by the benefits derived from helping others!

2) Avoid seeing any crisis as insurmountable. Break the challenge into as many small pieces as you can and tackle each one with all you’ve got. If something isn’t working – change the plan and keep moving!

3) View change as an inevitable part of life. And realize that new opportunities are often just around the corner.

4) Be proactive. Set short term goals to improve yourself or tackle the issue at hand. Move toward your goals. Keep moving and don’t let things just happen to you.

5) When faced with issues or problems, act decisively. Evaluate the facts. Get help if you need it. Prepare a list of your options. Then Take Action! Don’t just go with the flow.

6) In the midst of a crisis (or sometime soon after), ask yourself, Can this change my life for the better in some way? Find the benefit and pursue it! This may not always be easy or even immediately visible. Keep looking! ( If every challenge was easy we’d never learn anything. )

7) Maintain a healthy, positive view of yourself. Exercise regularly and build your self esteem. Celebrate your success and you’ll be improving your ability to withstand adversity.

8) Practice looking towards the positive outcome. Avoid the habit of zeroing in on the worst part about a crisis or adverse experience. Find the silver lining. And the nearly inevitable opportunity to emerge from your present challenge with something positive.

9) During a tough time, practice looking forward to the hoped-for conclusion and resolution. See yourself succeeding. Avoid and dismiss your worst fears. Remember you are what you think most often. Think and focus on success!

10) We saved the best tip for last. Take care of yourself by maintaining your physical and mental health, because this makes it easier to bounce back when adversity strikes. Avoid, as often as possible those foods we all know are unhealthy. Instead try to include a varied and healthy diet of natural foods – fruits and vegetables. Nuts and beans. Have some cold water, wild caught salmon once or twice a week. Eat more spinach. And get some exercise every day! The natural high you’re sure to experience after rigorous exercise is well worth the 20 or 30 minutes you invest.

Want a Slimmer Body? Try Something New!

If you ever find yourself wanting better results in your effort to drop those extra few pounds - Try Something New!

Its so easy to get into a routine - daily exercise sometimes takes a back seat to the countless demands on your time. Where does all that time go?

Many of us are seeing the need to make the most of our precious time for exercise. Why not get the most bang for your buck? Burn more calories. Get better results in less time. Sometimes - all it takes is to try something new.

The combination of exercise and diet offers the most flexible and effective approach to weight control.

Aerobic exercise use the body's large muscle groups in continuous, rhythmic, sustained movement and require oxygen for the production of energy. When oxygen is combined with food (which can come from stored fat) energy is produced to power the body's musculature. The longer you move aerobically, the more energy needed and the more calories used. Regular aerobic exercise will improve your cardio-respiratory endurance, the ability of your heart, lungs, blood vessels and associated tissues to use oxygen to produce energy needed for activity. You'll build a healthier body while getting rid of excess body fat.

In addition to the aerobic exercise, supplement your program with muscle strengthening and stretching exercises. The stronger your muscles, the longer you will be able to keep going during aerobic activity, and the less chance of injury.

Exercise plays an important role in weight control by increasing energy output, calling on stored calories for extra fuel. Studies show that not only does exercise increase metabolism during a workout, but it causes your metabolism to stay increased for a period of time after exercising, allowing you to burn more calories. Why not burn all the calories you can in your limited time?

Many health enthusiasts have discovered the amazing benefits of rowing. Try something new - get yourself a top quality Indoor Rowing Machine.

Hard Work Means Lasting Results

If you want to lose weight fast - forget the pills and miracle weight loss potions so readily available at every counter. Instead, for lasting results - work hard. Exercise daily. Build your strength - gradually you will be able to achieve not only weight loss - but the lifelong benefits of better health and fitness!

Christ did not say, "Come unto me all ye pleasure hunters, ye indolent and ye lazy;" but "Come all ye that labor and are heavy laden."

"There is but one method of attaining excellence," said Sydney Smith, "and that is hard labor."

"I do not see," says Emerson, "how any man can afford, for the sake of his nerves and his nap, to spare any action in which he can partake. It is pearls and rubies to his discourse. Drudgery, calamity, exasperation, want, are instructors in eloquence and wisdom. The true scholar grudges every opportunity of action passed by as a loss of power."

"Adversity is a severe instructor," says Edmund Burke, "set over us by one who knows us better than we do ourselves, as He loves us better too. He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper. This conflict with difficulty makes us acquainted with our object, and compels us to consider it in all its relations. It will not suffer us to be superficial."

Strong characters, like the palm tree, seem to thrive best when most abused. Men who have stood up bravely under great misfortune for years are often unable to bear prosperity. Their good fortune takes the spring out of their energy, as the torrid zone enervates races accustomed to a vigorous climate. Some people never come to themselves until baffled, rebuffed, thwarted, defeated, crushed, in the opinion of those around them. Trials unlock their virtues; defeat is the threshold of their victory.

"Every man who makes a fortune has been more than once a bankrupt, if the truth were known," said Albion Tourgée. "Grant's failure as a subaltern made him commander-in-chief, and for myself, my failure to accomplish what I set out to do led me to what I never had aspired to."

"What is defeat?" asked Wendell Phillips. "Nothing but education." And a life's disaster may become the landmark from which there has begun a new era, a broader life for man.

"To make his way at the bar," said an eminent jurist, "a young man must live like a hermit and work like a horse.

Whatever you seek - in terms of better health or success in life - you can achieve with hard work and focused effort! You can enjoy life more and have a slimmer, stronger body. Exercise and eating healthy foods result in better health and fitness.

Start today. Get some home fitness equipment and work out before you work or school. Catch your favorite TV shows while you pound away those extra inches around your waistline.

Work Hard - Exercise and Lose Weight Fast!

There is no great mountain in the world that has a natural, smooth road with an easy grade all the way to the top. Losing weight and getting in better shape often requires some hard work. It involves getting around, or going over, or removing obstacles that block your path.

Everyone encounters similar difficulties, obstacles, and resistance on the road to better health and fitness. If you cannot pass them, your ambition or willpower might suffer.

Persevere. Don't ever quit the journey.

Many successful weight loss and fitness experts will tell you in order to assure your success you must develop little tricks to help you overcome the nearly inevitable obstacles.

Put a picture of a skinny - good looking celebrity on your refrigerator. Or a helpful, encouraging quote. These will remind you of your quest when you find yourself hitting the freezer for that late night carton of Ben and Jerry's.

Frequently affirm your desire. Tell yourself everyday "I am losing 2 pounds this week and 20 pounds before Summer finally comes around". Experts suggest that these positive affirmations really do help you succeed. Make them specific - "I'm losing 2 pounds this week!" ( And it helps if you keep them within reason. Don't try to lose ten pounds in 1 week - that is too hard on your body and rarely sustainable. )

If you believe you can - you can exercise and lose weight fast. Your can overcome those never ending bumps in the road and cruise to better health and a leaner, sexier body!

Work hard - exercise every day if you can. Eat plenty of protein and keep your metabolism at an optimum level for burning more calories. Simple habits - practiced daily have lead to awesome results. Try it! What have you got to lose - except a few unhealthy habits and a few inches around your waistline.

Visualize yourself looking great at the beach or your favorite vacation spot this Summer! See yourself looking hot in that sexy little bikini. You can shed those extra pounds and tighten up your abs!

The best way to lose belly fat - and keep it off is with a healthy balance of aerobic exercise and strength training! Focus on losing those extra pounds.