The Pros and Cons of a Lemonade Diet

The lemonade diet also known as the lemon juice diet is a fad that really caught on among dieters and has become very popular. So is all the hype about the lemonade diet true and does it really make you lose weight fast?

The lemonade diet is a pretty harsh diet. You are only allowed to drink lemon juice for a period of 10 to 12 days. During this period, you are not allowed to consume any other food.

The recipe for the lemon juice is pretty simple. You will need to mix 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with honey or maple syrup. Then add 10 teaspoons of cayenne pepper and water.  You will have to make and consume about 12 glasses of this juice daily.

The purpose of the lemon juice diet is to detoxify the body and aid in fat loss. You might be wondering if this diet is safe or effective. After all, 10 days without food does seem dangerous and unhealthy. So, let’s look at some of the pros and cons of the lemonade diet.

One of the advantages of the lemonade diet is its detoxifying features. Since the lemon juice has detoxifying qualities, the body is able to detoxify itself effectively.

The disadvantage is that it’s not proven that the lemonade diet actually does any detoxification. The liver and kidneys are more than capable of detoxing a body without any harsh diets.

Another advantage of the lemonade diet is that those who go on it claim to lose weight quite fast. Since the diet is so restrictive and no fats or carbohydrates are being consumed, it is possible to lose a few pounds during this period.

The negative side to this is that the diet causes insulin spikes and obviously cannot be maintained for a long period. It causes cravings for food and once you’re off the diet and back to eating normal food, you will gain back the weight you lost and possibly a few pounds more. The diet due to its highly restrictive nature is stressful and you will experience irritation and anger easily.

There are several other negative possibilities with the lemonade diet. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the cons far outweigh the pros. The lemonade diet does more harm than good.

There is nothing like a sensible diet and regular exercise to keep you in good health. Fad diets like the lemonade diet, adversely affect your metabolism which drops since your body thinks that it’s on starvation mode and tries its best to hold on to the remaining fat.

Furthermore, the weight that you may have lost may just be water weight and not really fat. That makes the loss temporary and an illusion. Once you’re off the diet, the weight will pile back on and reality can be painful.

To summarise, the lemonade diet is not something that anyone should strongly consider as part of a long term weight loss solution. There is no substitute than good ‘ol exercise and a healthy diet plan.

The Importance of Keeping Your Heart Strong and Healthy

The heart is the most important organ in your body and there is absolutely no doubt about that. The heart is a muscle and just like any other muscle, it needs to be worked and kept healthy.

The unfortunate thing is that most people neglect to strengthen their hearts. Even avid gym goers, especially the guys who lift the heavy weights neglect to exercise their heart which is actually the most important muscle.

The heart can only be worked through cardiovascular exercise. You will need to be panting and gasping for air when you exercise for your heart to get a good workout and get stronger. Resistance training though beneficial has only limited benefits.

Cardio training is usually tiring, involves sweating profusely and generally is not fun. Being breathless at the end of an intense workout is your body’s way of saying that your heart got a good workout. The question is… Are you willing to endure the pain of an intense cardio workout?

This article hopes to convince you that the answer should be a strong yes.

A strong heart does not tire easily. You can go about your day actively and not feel drained or exhausted by the end of the day. You heart will be better able to handle life’s daily stresses. For example, if you are running late for work, you will be able to sprint to your office and make it just on time without feeling half dead by the time you reach. This is a simple example, but you get the idea.

A healthy and strong heart also beats at a lower rate when it’s resting. Overweight people have hearts that are overworked. That’s why you see them panting for small things like walking to the shop or climbing a flight of stairs. The heart is weak and not able to function well.

The heart is a miraculous organ and has the ability to heal and restore itself. It is never too late to train your heart. Daily exercise will show improvements within about 3 weeks because the heart is a very responsive muscle.

Many out of shape people who start walking or jogging daily are able to report improvements in their stamina and recovery. The heart craves exercise and responds very well. It’s much easier to build stamina than it is to build muscle. Yet, this is neglected because it’s tiring and you can’t show off a strong heart the way you can flash a big bicep.

Even a heart that has been affected by heart disease can be healed and helped through exercise and a healthy diet.

A 15 minute workout with just you and a skipping rope will be wonderful. The beauty about working out your heart is that it does not require hours of hard training. A short 15 minute heart pounding workout three times a week will keep your heart in great shape and working well. Of course, if you can afford more time, that would be great and will keep your heart in tip top shape.

Finally, common sense will indicate that other than exercise, you should avoid smoking, sleep well, have a diet rich in fiber, avoid excessive consumption of alcohol and see your doctor every now and then to check up on your health. If you do all this, you will have a strong and healthy heart that will keep going for a long time.

The Best Fat Burning Workouts

Losing weight and burning fat requires time, effort and sacrifice. It goes without saying that you will only lose weight in a healthy way if you combine the right exercises with a proper diet and keep up the regimen with consistency and purpose.

This article will focus on the exercise aspect of your weight loss program. You will need to do the correct exercises to burn as much fat as possible. If you’re not maximising your workouts, you’ll not burn fat fast.

This will demotivate you and make your fat loss journey a struggle. Like a hamster spinning a wheel, you’ll be doing a lot but not getting anywhere. Observe the tips below and watch the fat melt off your body in record time.

The key to losing fat quickly is combining cardio with resistance training. The reason most people don’t reach their fat burning potential is because they only do one and not the other.

Cardio refers to cardiovascular activity and it is the cornerstone to weight loss. Walking, running, swimming, cycling, rowing and skating are examples of cardio activities. Basically, any exercise that raises your heart rate for a continuous period of time can be considered a cardio activity.

The more intense your cardio workout, the more calories you will burn and if your diet is good, you will burn off more fat. Cardio activities should last for 30-60 minutes. It should never go on for more than an hour at a time.

There is often strong debate about whether one should engage in fast cardio or slow cardio. Another hot topic is if you should do cardio on an empty stomach.

The best advice I can give you is this. Cardio at any time is good but you will burn fat faster if you do it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. However, do it at a moderate pace. If your cardio is too strenuous, you’ll burn precious muscle.

It’s always advisable to alternate between slow and fast cardio on different days to spice up your training and keep your body guessing.

The next part of your workouts should be resistance training. That means working out with weights, resistance bands or other muscle building apparatus.

The heavier the weights, the more calories you burn and the faster you drop those pounds. Your body burns more calories when it has more muscle.

Women often feel that working out with weights will give them a masculine body. This is a common misconception. Weight training will tone up their thighs, butt and give their body a fit, feminine shape.

Building muscle is not easy and most men themselves, struggle with it. So, women can rest assured that resistance training will make them fit and fab without turning them into the Hulk.

Resistance training should last for about 30 to 45 minutes. That should be sufficient to raise your metabolic rate and make you a fat burning machine. The goal here is to burn fat, improve your muscle tone and raise your metabolism.

Both cardio and resistance training must be combined for you to have the best fat burning workouts.

For example, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays you could do weight training. On the other days, cardio would be your choice.Or you may wish to work out with weights for about 30 minutes and follow it up with a 30 minute run.

This would be an excellent workout. Combine both and you will have workouts that will burn the most stubborn fat in no time at all.