Health Tips

Not exercising as often as you'd like? We all get sidetracked now and then. So we asked top fitness experts to create 4 routines that anyone can ease into—and they all take 20 minutes or less. In a study from Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA, exercising 15 minutes a day 3 or 4 times a week was all women needed to shed abdominal fat. Try 1 plan or all 4! In just 2 weeks, you'll notice a tighter belly, a loss of 1 to 2 pounds, better muscle tone (and higher metabolism), and more energy!

1. "I gain weight more easily since turning 40"

Boost Metabolism with a Strength Circuit

This full-body circuit routine—doing one strength exercise after another without rest—builds fat-burning muscle fast while targeting belly bulge with ab moves. A University of Hawaii study found that circuit-training raises your heart rate higher than vigorous running (15 beats per minute faster). The moves alternate between upper and lower body, so your heart works harder pumping blood up and down your body. "All that extra work means a bigger calorie burn," says trainer Juan Carlos Santana.

Your Workout At A Glance:

Weeks 1 + 2: Perform the routine 3 times a week on nonconsecutive days. Using light dumbbells (3 to 5 pounds), do 1 set of 12 to 15 repetitions of each move in the order given. Do the exercises without stopping or rest for no longer than 15 seconds.

Weeks 3 + 4: Repeat the circuit twice so you're doing a total of 2 sets per exercise.

Keep It Up: After 4 weeks, try increasing the weights by 1 to 3 pounds. You'll burn fat, tone muscle, and build bone even faster!

	1. LATERAL LIFT Tones legs and butt Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, hands on hips, then slowly squat until thighs are almost parallel to ground. As you push back up, lift left leg out to side as if you were going to step out—leg should create a 45-degree angle with ground. Hold for 1 second, then return foot to ground. Squat with both feet once more, then repeat with right leg. That's 1 rep.
	2. CHEST FLY & PRESS Tones shoulders, chest, and triceps Lie faceup with dumbbell in each hand, elbows and knees bent, feet flat. Raise arms above chest, palms facing each other. Slowly lower arms out to sides as far as you can, then raise back to start. Next, bend arms and lower weights until upper arms touch ground, elbows out to sides to form a T. Straighten arms, pressing weights above you. That's 1 rep.
	3. PLIé SQUAT Tones legs and butt Stand straight with feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointed out. Hold one end of dumbbell in each hand in front of you, arms hanging straight down. Squat slowly until thighs are almost parallel to ground. Slowly rise back up, pushing down on heels to help contract glutes and hamstrings.
	4. ONE-ARM ROTATION ROW Tones back and biceps Stand with right side next to bench or bed, holding dumbbell in left hand. Rest right hand and knee on bench and bend at waist—back should be almost parallel to ground, left arm hanging down, palm facing forward. Slowly pull weight up to side, rotating it as you go so palm faces behind you at top. Lower weight, rotating it so palm faces forward at bottom. Complete reps, then switch sides to work right arm.
	5. LUNGE Shapes legs and butt Stand tall with dumbbell in each hand, feet hip-width apart, arms hanging straight down at sides, palms facing in. Step 2 to 3 feet forward with left foot and lower your body until left thigh is almost parallel to ground. Right leg should be extended behind you with only ball of right foot on ground. Push off left foot to return to start position, then repeat with right leg. That's 1 rep.
	6. TUCK & CRUNCH Tones abs Lie faceup with knees bent, feet on ground. Touch hands lightly to sides of head, pointing elbows toward knees. Curl head and shoulders up as you raise knees toward elbows try to touch thighs with elbows then slowly lower. Avoid pulling head forward with hands.
	7. UPPERCUT Tones shoulders and arms Stand tall with dumbbell in each hand, arms at sides, palms facing forward. Curl both weights up to shoulders, then draw hands in toward each other until weights touch in front of chest. Press weight in right hand above head, palm facing you. Lower back to chest, then repeat move with left hand. Lower back to chest. Separate weights so hands are in front of shoulders, then curl weights back down.
	8. ROTATING KNEE Tones abs and obliques Lie faceup with knees bent, feet on ground with arms out to sides, palms facing up. Keeping legs together, lift butt and feet an inch off ground and slowly rotate legs to right, lowering them to ground without touching. Hold, return to center, then twist to left. Alternate from right to left. If the move is too intense, rest butt on ground between reps.

As women begin to enter menopause, weight loss becomes increasingly difficult to achieve. Menopause weight gain is but one of the many symptoms that plague women during this transitional phase of their lives as their child bearing years draw to a close with the cessation of their menstrual cycles. Still, it is a small comfort to women fighting the "battle of the bulge" to say that weight gain in menopause is a normal part of the aging process.

What Happens to the Body During Menopause?
When a woman's body begins to produce less and less estrogen and the reproductive system starts to shut down, the body experiences a period of transition during which changing levels of hormones create a host of symptoms. These may manifest as hot flashes, heart palpitations, depression, anxiety, irritability, mood swings, poor concentration, vaginal dryness, urinary urgency, erratic periods, and weight gain.

The average onset of menopausal symptoms, often referred to as perimenopause, is 50.5 years but it is not at all uncommon for women in their early 40s to begin to detect changes in their bodies. While in theory the lead-up to the actual cessation of menses is a year to five years, some women go through ten to eleven years of managing an array of symptoms in their lives.

While conventional medical wisdom has tended to treat menopause as a disorder to be cured, more and more women are honoring it as a natural process - a part of being a woman - and managing the transition through natural means rather than with hormone replacement therapies that have been linked to stroke and to cancer. A good support system, usually represented by other women who have already gone through the process or who are on the same journey, is a vital aspect of managing all elements of this life transition.
How Can I Stop the Added Pounds of Menopause?
After entering menopause, weight loss should not be attempted through crash dieting. If you deprive yourself of too many calories your body goes into starvation mode. Choose a varied diet low in fat and high in fiber from fruits and vegetables. Given the fact that your metabolism has slowed down as a consequence of the natural aging process, you need to cut anywhere from 200 to 400 calories a day out of your daily intake of food.

Menopause weight loss is a tricky subject because there are psychological factors involved. Be careful to eat only when you are hungry. Don't use food to "feed" the depression, anxiety, and frustration that are common menopausal issues. In the face of those problems, burn off steam and calories with a program of aerobic exercise

The Carbohydrates Addict's diet is a low-carbohydrate eating plan. The diet recommends eating low-carbohydrate meals and one "reward meal" daily. The reward meal combines carbohydrates, protein and vegetables. It must be eaten within an hour from start to finish. The Hellers' diet is based on the theory that many overweight people are carbohydrate addicts; they suffer from a biological condition caused by a hormonal imbalance. Excess insulin is produced after eating carbohydrates, resulting in all-day food cravings and a willingness in the body to store fat. The plan holds that converting to this low-carbohydrate plan reverses such biological conditions, reducing appetite and body fat storage. The body will convert to burning fat for energy versus burning glucose from carbohydrate digestion. In general, although the finer points may differ, this can be viewed as a modified Atkins plan.

Disadvantages:

There are no long-term randomized studies to support the theory of carbohydrate addiction. Enjoying carbohydrate foods is not enough for an addiction diagnosis. Also, there are no long-term randomized studies to support the safety of this diet. Eating a low-carbohydrate diet leads to consuming larger amounts of fat and protein. Although debated by the medical community, long-term low-carbohydrate diets are believed to increase risk for colon cancer and osteoporosis. High-fat and high-protein diets could cause kidney function loss, elevate cholesterol levels and increase risk of heart disease. Following this diet long term will be a challenge for many.

Advantages:

Weight loss may occur with this diet. It provides a comprehensive list of foods to consume. It encourages drinking plenty of water daily. It is less restrictive than the Atkins' diet.

The Atkins diet is a high-protein, high-fat, low-carbohydrate plan. The diet allows for unrestricted amounts of meat, cheese and eggs while severely restricting carbohydrates, including sugar, bread, pasta, milk, fruits and vegetables. Atkins' diet is based on the theory that eating carbohydrates creates a production of insulin, a hormone secreted from the pancreas, leading to increased weight gain and hunger, which is a true physiologic response. When converting to this approach, the plan holds that dieters will experience reduced appetite and their bodies will use stored fat for energy versus burning glucose from carbohydrate digestion. Burning fat for energy will supposedly lead to weight loss.

Disadvantages:

The medical community continues to debate the potential damaging effects of long-term, high-protein diets on kidney function, cholesterol levels, and possible increased risk of heart disease, osteoporosis and cancer. The Atkins diet restricts carbohydrates and limits the amounts of fruits, vegetables, milk and other high-fiber foods. These foods naturally provide essential vitamin and minerals to maintain health. Atkins diet followers may have difficulty maintaining this diet long term. The problem is taste. The only way to really satisfy taste without carbohydrate is by increasing fat. And this is another concern with the Atkins plan. Weight loss occurs predominately through a process called ketosis, and a majority of it (at least initially) is fluid loss. There have been no long-term randomized studies to support the safety of this diet.

Advantages:

People like eating high amounts of protein foods that are often restricted on other diets. Those who have been unsuccessful on other low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets will often lose weight with this plan. The diet is easy to follow; no point system, calorie counting or complicated meal plans are involved.

calorie is a calorie. Eat too many... gain weight. Eat fewer calories... lose weight. Not so complicated, right? Wrong, for those who believe weight loss is more than a calorie equation. Everywhere you turn there are so-called new-and-improved ways to lose weight. Americans spend $33 billion annually on weight loss foods, products and services, according to the American Dietetic Association. With that amount of spending, it's no surprise there are an overwhelming number of "fad" diets and other weight-loss products on the market.

When considering a weight-loss plan, start with this proven formula: Successful weight-loss programs incorporate changes to achieve long-term healthy lifestyle behaviors, including eating practices and daily physical activity. Consult your physician and registered dietitian. They will help design a plan that is safe and meets your needs. In general, be wary of diets that offer the following:

• Fast weight loss
• A quick fix
• Claims that sound too good to be true
• Foods defined as "good" and "bad"
• Less than 1,000 calories daily
• A required vitamin/mineral supplement or food product
• Elimination of a major food group (carbohydrates, fats, proteins)
• Lack of long-term randomized scientific studies proving the diet works and is safe. A randomized study distributes participants in a deliberately random way into either the non-tested diet group or the special diet group.

The following review examines the advantages and disadvantages of several popular diet plans. Most of the diets are based on low-carbohydrate approaches. These hotly debated low-carbohydrate diets were subject of a recent study in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" that found more research is needed on the safety and efficacy of such plans. The article analyzed hundreds of published studies about low-carbohydrate plans and found a lack of scientific evidence for or against the diets. "It is also important to note that in most of the studies contained in the analysis, weight loss occurred when study participants were on diets for longer periods, and when they ate fewer calories," according to a statement by Robert H. Eckel, a physician and chair of the American Heart Association's Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism Council.

Keeping that in mind, let's look at a few popular diets, and go through some of the pros and cons, and the theory behind their potential effects.