But, what about building muscle? Once men hit middle age, they tend to shy away from strength training. But, older men stand to gain all the benefits from a stronger physique that younger men do: better overall health, improved posture, more power and stamina, a more attractive and younger-looking body and, perhaps most important of all, a bolstered self-image that translates into confidence.

Strength training adds years to your life. It’s been proven again and again. However, the main reason people in their 40s and 50s should train isn’t for the length of their life but for the quality of it. It’s one thing to live to be 90, but if you’re feeble and helpless, you’re not going to enjoy those years. Strength training beats aging by making life worth living longer.

Muscles are as able to respond to training in the fifth and sixth decades of life as they are in the third and fourth. Aging doesn’t cause significant muscle cell loss, as much as cellular atrophy (diminished density). So, since the object of weight training is to increase the size of muscle cells and not the number, you have virtually as much muscle to work at age 50 as you did at 25.

Of course, not everybody pushing 40 has been working out regularly throughout life, and many are concerned that budding middle age is not a safe time to start. It’s recommended that men over 35 check with their doctor before starting up an exercise program. It is true that the risks of injury or complications are greater after that age — especially if you train incorrectly.

What weight training really does is allow you to make a statement about what your life is going to be like as time passes. Most age-related sacrifices are the result of falling for false notions of what you can or can’t do as you get older. The best example of this is allowing your muscles to weaken because of the myth that there’s nothing you can do about it.

Everybody has his own physical potential at any age, and the closer you get to it, the better your life will be. If you’re 48 and you’re hesitant about strength training because “in two years I’ll be 50, for heaven’s sake,” you’re cheating yourself. In two years, you’re going to be 50 no matter what. It’s a question of what kind of 50 you want to be.

From eDiets – The premier online diet, fitness, and healthy living resource

Eston R. Dunn recently received his Master’s in Health Science from Stafford University. Eston has been in exercise videos and is certified in exercise leadership/weight-room training through the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA), personal training through the American Council on Exercise (ACE), and health-fitness instruction from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

Once you have an exercise habit, it becomes automatic. You just go to the gym, there is no force involved. But after a month, two months or possibly a year off, it can be hard to get started again. Here are some tips to climb back on that treadmill after you’ve fallen off.

1. Don’t Break the Habit – The easiest way to keep things going is simply not to stop. Avoid long breaks in exercising or rebuilding the habit will take some effort. This may be advice a little too late for some people. But if you have an exercise habit going, don’t drop it at the first sign of trouble.
2. Reward Showing Up – Woody Allen once said that, “Half of life is showing up.” I’d argue that 90% of making a habit is just making the effort to get there. You can worry about your weight, amount of laps you run or the amount you can bench press later.
3. Commit for Thirty Days – Make a commitment to go every day (even just for 20 minutes) for one month. This will solidify the exercise habit. By making a commitment you also take pressure off yourself in the first weeks back of deciding whether to go.
4. Make it Fun – There are thousands of ways you can move your body and exercise, so don’t give up if you’ve decided lifting weights or doing crunches isn’t for you.
5. Schedule During Quiet Hours – Don’t put exercise time in a place where it will easily be pushed aside by something more important. Right after work or first thing in the morning are often good places to put it. Lunch-hour workouts might be too easy to skip if work demands start mounting.
6. Get a Buddy – Grab a friend to join you. Having a social aspect to exercising can boost your commitment to the exercise habit.
7. X Your Calendar – One person I know has the habit of drawing a red “X” through any day on the calendar he goes to the gym. The benefit of this is it quickly shows how long it has been since you’ve gone to the gym. Keeping a steady amount of X’s on your calendar is an easy way to motivate yourself.
8. Enjoyment Before Effort - After you finish any work out, ask yourself what parts you enjoyed and what parts you did not. As a rule, the enjoyable aspects of your workout will get done and the rest will be avoided. By focusing on how you can make workouts more enjoyable, you can make sure you want to keep going to the gym.
9. Create a Ritual - Your workout routine should become so ingrained that it becomes a ritual. This means that the time of day, place or cue automatically starts you towards grabbing your bag and heading out. If your workout times are completely random, it will be harder to benefit from the momentum of a ritual.
10. Stress Relief - What do you do when your stressed? Chances are it isn’t running. But exercise can be a great way to relieve stress, releasing endorphin which will improve your mood. The next time you feel stressed or tired, try doing an exercise you enjoy. When stress relief is linked to exercise, it is easy to regain the habit even after a leave of absence.
11. Measure Fitness - Weight isn’t always the best number to track. Increase in muscle can offset decreases in fat so the scale doesn’t change even if your body is. But fitness improvements are a great way to stay motivated. Recording simple numbers such as the number of push-ups, sit-ups or speed you can run can help you see that the exercise is making you stronger and faster.
12. Habits First, Equipment Later – Fancy equipment doesn’t create a habit for exercise. Despite this, some people still believe that buying a thousand dollar machine will make up for their inactivity. It won’t. Start building the exercise habit first, it’s more economical to join a gym than purchasing all the equipment necessary for a personal gym. 
13. Isolate Your Weakness - If falling off the exercise wagon is a common occurrence for you, find out why. Do you not enjoy exercising? Is it a lack of time? Is it feeling self-conscious at the gym? Is it a lack of fitness know-how? As soon as you can isolate your weakness, you can make steps to improve the situation.
14. Start Small - Trying to run fifteen miles your first workout isn’t a good way to build a habit. Work below your capacity for the first few weeks to build the habit. Otherwise you might scare yourself off after a brutal workout.
15. Go for Yourself, Not to Impress – Going to the gym with the only goal of looking great is like starting a business with only the goal to make money. The effort can’t justify the results. But if you go to the gym to push yourself, gain energy and have a good time, then you can keep going even when results are slow.

by Scott H Young

Complex Carbohydrates

Skipping complex carbs at lunch is sure to land you in the hunger zone later in the day. Not only does your body digest them slowly, keeping you full longer, but they also happen to be very nutritious. “Whole grains are rich in fiber, which is key for a healthy digestive tract and preventing several types of cancer,” says Mark Spielmann, RD, nutrition manager of La Rabida Children’s Hospital in Chicago. When choosing bread, make sure it has at least two or three grams of fiber per slice and is made with 100 percent whole wheat. But you don’t have to limit your carbs to bread. “Sweet potatoes are a very complex carbohydrate, especially when you eat the skin, which will be digested slowly, keeping you full for several hours,” says Megan Moore, RD, from Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. They’re also rich in vitamin A and vitamin C, and help lower blood pressure, too.
Suggestions: Whole-grain bread, whole-grain pasta, brown rice, sweet potatoes

Protein

Because your body digests proteins slower than other food groups, incorporating them into your midday meal will provide you with some serious lasting power. Moore suggests salmon, an excellent source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for your heart. She also recommends chicken, which is easy to incorporate into almost any lunch. But fish and poultry aren’t the only good sources of protein. Next time you’re at the salad bar, throw in black beans, kidney beans, lima beans, pinto beans or navy beans for extra protein and extra fiber.
Suggestions: Salmon, chicken, tuna, nuts, tofu, beans, turkey, lean beef, eggs

Choose from these nutritious afternoon snacks for a healthy post-lunch treat.

Lowfat Dairy

Just because you don’t like milk doesn’t mean you have to skip your dairy intake. “One ounce of 2 percent cheese will provide 3.5 grams of fat and 5.5 grams of protein, helping to keep you full,” explains Moore. When choosing dairy, pick reduced-fat versions to limit saturated fats but maximize lasting power. “Ending your meal with a container of lowfat yogurt provides protein and calcium—and satisfies your dessert craving,” Speilmann notes.
Suggestions: Lowfat milk, reduced-fat cheeses, yogurt, soy milk

Assorted Fruits

Fresh fruit makes for a perfect lunchtime dessert that won’t cause your energy to crash in the late afternoon, unlike other sugary options. But it’s also an excellent add-in to salads and sandwiches. “The high amount of monounsaturated fat [about 6g per 1/4 cup] in an avocado will fill you up significantly,” says Moore. She suggests slicing it over a salad or making a spread for your sandwich. “Apples contain 5 grams of fiber and are about 80 percent water, so they fill your belly—making them a great ‘dessert’ option.” Spielmann also recommends raisins, which are sweet, portable and loaded with fiber. 

Suggestions: Oranges, apples, avocado, mangos, blueberries, raisins and bananas

Satisfying Lunch Suggestions
Need ideas on how to incorporate the ingredients above? Check out some of our favorite midday meals:

• Whole-grain pasta salad with roasted or steamed veggies
• Whole-grain spaghetti with vegetable marinara
• Roasted vegetable sandwich on whole-grain bread with grainy mustard
• Roasted turkey sandwich with spinach on a whole-grain bagel
• Canned or grilled tuna on a bed of spinach greens
• Roasted chicken with a heap of raw vegetables on the side, dipped in fat-free dressing
• Whole-wheat pita stuffed with diced chicken, black bean spread, spinach and red peppers

Original article appeared on WomansDay.com

More than any other time of year, this week we take stock of our accomplishments and our heart’s desires and make a plan for the future.

On this blog we’ve discussed various strategies of goal-setting: how to set goals, use technology like texting to help you achieve fitness goals, and optimally reflect on your goal achievement.

As you sit down with a shiny new journal and some pretty pens from Santa to sketch out your ideal version of the year ahead, how should you frame your goals?

The Power of Questions

A study led by Ibrahim Senay, a professor at the University of Illinois, and published earlier this year in Psychological Science, suggests that phrasing goals in the form of a question may be more effective than phrasing it as a statement or declaration.

In two of a series of experiments, the researchers told participants they were studying handwriting and asked them to write out “I will,” “Will I,” “I,” or “Will” twenty times. Following the writing exercise, they asked them to write out their intentions to exercise in the following week and to share their reasons for exercising.

Students who wrote out “Will I” were more likely to intend to exercise, and reported wanting to do so for reasons of intrinsic or internal motivation (versus external motivation like the pressure of others).

This seems somewhat counter-intuitive – doesn’t saying, “Will I get to the gym tomorrow?” feel more wishy-washy and less effective than “I will go to the gym tomorrow!”? The authors suggest that phrasing intentions in the form of a question may prompt one to think more about the reasons behind wanting to engage in the goal-directed behavior and may make one feel more autonomous and in control of one’s life – which may increase motivation.

Also, as Ed Yong over at Discover Blogs points out, no one likes being told what to do – even when we’re the ones giving the orders!

Ask Yourself

Back to you and your journal and the dawning new year. Sketch out some possibilities for improvements, opportunities, and new discoveries over the next year.

Then ask yourself: Will I?

I think you will.

Posted by Sarah Rose Cavanagh, Ph.D.

Here are five suggestions for “do-habits” that are very helpful to adopt to radically improve your life.

1. Do it first thing in the morning.

How you start your day tends to have a big influence on that day. It sets the context in your mind. I believe that one key to better consistency and improvement in your life is what you do early in the day. Two ways to get a good start to your day are these:

• Do the hardest/ most important/ most uncomfortable thing first in your day. If you start your day by doing it you will feel relieved. You feel relaxed and good about yourself. And the rest of the day – and your to-do list – tends to feel a lot lighter and easier to move through. It’s amazing what difference this one action makes.
• Start small. To get from a state where you just feel like sitting on your chair and doing nothing much to one where you take action over and over you can do this: start small. Getting started with your biggest task or most difficult action may seem too much and land you in Procrastination land. So instead, start with something that doesn’t seem so hard. One of my favorites is simply to take a few minutes to clean my desk. After that the next thing doesn’t seem so difficult to get started with since I’m now in a more of a “take action” kind of mode. Experiment with this one and the previous tip and see which one that suits you the best. Or mix them up as you wish.

2. Do it one more time.

Don’t give up too soon. It is very easy to give into feeling that you done something enough times and it will never work. You have tried it as many times as you would expect people to do. But these expectations I believe are often a bit unrealistic.

Society, TV and advertising tell us that there is an almost instant solution to any of our problems. You can easily lose 30 pounds within a month. Or with little work and time invested have another extra 20,000 dollars in the bank.

So it is not unreasonable to think that success will come quickly. But instead of doing something as many times as you think others have done it, talk to and read about people who have actually done what you want to do. This will give you a more realistic picture of reality.

Oftentimes you may have to do it more than one more time. But I have often found that doing it just one more time, doing it that extra time even though you may start to feel that this won’t work, can bring the results you want in many cases. I actually feel a little bit of excitement sometimes when I feel like giving up because then I remember that at this point success is often not that far away.

3. Do the unusual thing.

When faced with a choice in your daily life, step back for a minute and think. Then take the option that is and feels unusual for you.

If you often back down just don’t for this one time. If you are often get into arguments with people then just this one time don’t and instead just let it go or treat the other person with kindness. Do the opposite of what you usually do and see what happens (while using common sense of course). Do something new and something you wouldn’t expect from yourself.

This is a fun a great way to get new experiences and learn things you wouldn’t if you kept going like you usually do.

Getting stuck in the same old routine until it becomes a rut can suck the life out of you. Doing the unusual thing in small and big situations, no matter how it goes, is a great way to feel alive again.

4. Do less.

How do you find time to do what you really want? How do you not get caught up in minor tasks and fill you day with them?

By setting limits. By being a bit ruthless and cutting down on the least important stuff. At some point you will probably have to be honest with yourself and realize that you can never fit all that you want into your day or week. Something has to go. Not only because it takes up time. But also because you only have so much energy, focus and creativity available during your day. If spend it on the less important things then all of that will be gone each day before you get to the big stuff.

It may not be fun to give up a couple of those TV-shows or hanging out on Facebook. But to make room for something new you sometimes have throw out a couple of old things.

5. Do your best.

Why should you do your best? Why not coast a bit and do just what is expected?

Three reasons:

• You get better results. Sometimes immediately. Often not right away, but as all your awesome work adds up you start to see new and exciting results.
• You raise your self-esteem. When you do what you think is the right thing – like doing your best – then your self-esteem goes up. If you just coast then you tend to feel kind of lame about yourself. So do awesome work and you feel awesome about yourself. Do ok work and feel ok about yourself.
• Deservedness. When you feel awesome about yourself you do also feel like you deserve more in life. So you go after it and you won’t self-sabotage as much when opportunities pop up.

by Henrik Edberg at http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2010/11/18/change/

Sugar-free products have no sugar in them. Period. Instead, they use artificial sweeteners, such as Nutra-Sweet®, Splenda®, saccharine and other carbohydrate-free products. Carbohydrates are the key factor. Diabetics need to watch their carbohydrate intake, and sugar is just one type of carb. If you look at the nutrition label on a product, sugar-free foods will have a very low carbohydrate count—less than a half-gram per serving. That’s what a diabetic shopper looks for.

No Sugar Added (also called NSA) products do not use sugar as an ingredient, but there may be other natural sugars present in the food. Milk contains natural sugars (lactose), and vanilla, eggs and other ingredients have naturally occurring sugars. Other natural sweeteners include honey, fructose, corn syrup and dextrose. These ingredients aren’t sugar, but they will still raise your blood glucose levels. If you look on a nutrition label, No Sugar Added foods will have a higher carbohydrate count. If you’re looking for healthier types of sweeteners and don’t have a need to restrict carbs, then NSA foods are a great choice.