Wedding Trends for 2010

March 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Wedding
With the warmer weather now here, we know that the wedding season is just around the corner.  And as always, we are faced with brides-to-be asking us questions on what the wedding trends are for this year.

So, let’s take a look at some of the trends that we expect to see more of this year -

1. Color Motif

If you are having a fall or winter wedding, the more popular colors to choose from this year are: deep red, teal, violet, mocha and sage. However, if you are having a spring or summer wedding, the trendier colors are turquoise, platinum, coral, pale yellow or champagne.

2. Wedding Dresses

When choosing your gown, it will come as no surprise that strapless wedding dresses continue to be the more dominant style for this year. In addition, we are seeing the off-shoulder look for brides. This look accentuates your neckline and draws attention to your jewelry.

When it comes to the length of the gowns, floor-length styles remain to be the popular choice although it seems like a shorter-than-floor-length style will make a comeback this year. Gowns with crystal, cubic zirconia, and/or pearl embellished bodices are also very popular at the moment.

3. Bridesmaid Dresses

More and more brides now are letting their bridesmaids choose their own dress. The bride just chooses the color and then, lets the bridesmaids choose the style of dress they want. In some cases, the bride even lets the bridesmaid choose their own colors. This provides variety as well as an element of fun.

One advantage of following this trend is that you are guaranteed that your bridesmaids like what they are wearing and that they are likely to use the dress again. A word of warning if you choose to follow this trend – Be sure that your bridesmaids are clear as to how formal you want their dresses to be. You do not want to end up with one casual bridesmaid and one bridesmaid with a fully beaded gown. Make sure they are clear on what your requirements are.

4. Flower girls

While the basket of flowers are still the popular choice for flower girls, we are seeing more and more flower girls who are opting for fairy wands and fairy wings. Whichever option you prefer, you can finish off the look with a floral head wreath or a nice, sparkling tiara.

5. Bridal Bouquet

A big majority of the wedding bouquets now have flowers wrapped in wide satin ribbons. You can choose to dress up your plain, satin ribbon by putting beads, pearls, crystals or brooches. Some also opt to have the ribbon monogrammed. The rose continues to be the most popular and elegant bouquet flower while lilies, peonies, hydrangeas, tulips and orchids represent the trendier choices.

You may also prefer the “just-picked” and looser casual look compared to the more tightly-bound bouquet shapes of previous seasons. Colorful and vibrant flowers also continue to remain popular. And more and more mothers are carrying small posies rather than wearing the traditional corsage.

6. Wedding Favors

You will notice that more and more couples are opting for useful and personalized favors instead of the decorative pieces which will likely end up in the trash anyway. Choose favors which you think your guests will appreciate and actually use.

In some cases, you can also opt for favors that serve two purposes. For example, favors that act as placecard holders which the guests can also take home with them. Or you can put all the favors together to make a nice centerpiece for the guests’ table.

These are just some of the wedding trends we see this year. If you are having your wedding this year, all you have to remember is to get creative and to follow the choices that would make your wedding the best one there is.

Filed Under Flowers, Wedding Tagged With 2010, bridal bouquet, bridesmaids, color motif, flower girls, Wedding, wedding dress, wedding trends

What Flower Colors Mean

March 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Flowers always have a way of cheering women up.  And no matter what any woman says, all of us love to receive flowers.  Flowers are a great way to show your appreciation or your love. It is a great way to say thanks or to show your admiration.

But did you know that the color of the flower is equally as important as the type of flowers that you choose?

Flowers are said to convey what we feel and over the years, the symbolism behind the color of the flowers has been ingrained in tradition. Every color has a meaning and each color has a way of conveying what you feel. Understanding these colors can help you choose the perfect color to express your feelings.

Here is a guide which you can use to decide which color is perfect for you:

Red FlowerRed: There is no better way to say “I love you” than a bouquet of red roses. Red has always been the color of passionate love. It knows no boundaries and exudes an energy like no other. It symbolizes beauty, courage and heat and has the power to transform any flower into a symbol of desire and strength.

White: White flowers conveys purity and innocence. It is a popular choice for bridal bouquets and is also perfect for mixing in with the red flowers to add innocence to the passionate love of red. White also symbolizes innocence, humility, modesty and reverence. Above all, it exudes pure and simple beauty.

Pink: If you find that red is too powerful for you, pink may be a better option as pink is the youthful counterpart of red. It symbolizes innocent happiness and shows a love that is both caring and carefree. Pink flowers conveys joy, youth and innocence.

Purple: Purple flowers are great when you want to show your admiration. Purple has always been tied to royalty and as such, symbolizes dignity, pride, accomplishment and success. Whether they are grouped together or mixed with other colors they do well to provide depth and contrast.

Lavender: If purple is the color of royalty and pink is the color of youth, lavender is a symbol of femininity all grown up. Lavender flowers have a way of reflecting the grace and feminine beauty of those who receive it. It shows respect and is perfect for letting others know how much you appreciate how well they put themselves together.

Blue: While blue flowers are hard to find, blue flowers have a calming effect on those who receive them. It symbolizes peace, serenity and openness. When mixed with other colors, blue flowers can help create a sense of tranquility and a gentle ambiance.

Yellow: Yellow flowers are a great choice for cheering up your friends. The color yellow brings happiness, new life, and is guaranteed to make anyone smile. It evokes feelings of joy and lightheartedness and symbolizes friendship, new beginnings and happiness.

Orange: Orange flowers mixes the passion of red with the happiness of yellow. It is a vibrant color and symbolizes warmth, energy and enthusiasm. Orange also conveys a passion for life, satisfaction and complete confidence.

Filed Under Flowers Tagged With flower colors, Flowers, meaning of flower colors, Send Flowers

Keeping Weight Off After Your Diet

March 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Your diet is over, but the hardest part comes right away. Do you need help to control your weight after getting rid of the extra pounds? Then these guidelines will offer huge help in maintaining your brand new look with little effort. Read these idea that will change your life and spare your from panic attacks for gaining weight.

Following a strict diet and workout plan is a real achievement, however you can do it for eternity. When you get to the finish line it would be wise to keep a kind of order in your nutrition and activities that will help you in keeping your initial shape. The best way to do it is to skim through these principles designed to keep extra-pounds away after the critical weight loss.

Learn how to win the battle against munching and sloth with some simple ideas. Make the best of your day with finding the right schedule that will improve both your mood and new figure. Find out more on the rules of keeping weight after diet.

  • Don’t forget about exercising. You might got bored of an exhaustive daily workout plan. However this time you won’t have to make huge effort, instead opt for less and regular physical activities.
  • Devote at least 20 minutes per day for a refreshing aerobic or cycling to keep the pounds from coming back. Walk instead of opting for the car, choose the healthy option.
  • Mix the exercise plans. The best way to rule out monotony is to experiment with several workouts, that would make both your mood and figure pleasant.
  • There are so many plans that can be done with great ambition and fun, think about aerobic, dance lessons, or other social activities.
  • Weighing is essential. During your diet you might have weighed yourself on a daily basis. There’s no need to go on with that freaky habit, instead make it weekly.
  • Check at the end of each week whether you gained weight or you managed to keep it. It is worth choosing a pair of pants that will show you whether you got bigger, put on this tiny weight-watcher to calm your doubts.
  • Don’t skip breakfast. This meal is essential to get your metabolism on the right track. Especially if you start the day very early, the nutrients will help you in getting surviving the day without munching and extra-treats. As the main source of energy choose healthy and nutritive foods.
  • Check the portions. You don’t want to overeat yourself right on the first day. As soon as you establish a regime in your life, you’ll learn how to consume only the necessary food to feel satisfied. Be careful, avoid eating until you feel stuffed, obey the golden rules especially on the first days after the diet.
  • Don’t wait till starvation. It is vital to eat as soon as you’re hungry. It would be an extremely bad idea to wait until you starve and then have a nice meal. It will with a 100% chance lead to overeating. The key to success is to control your hunger and body functions. Your metabolism will also suffer if you torture it with huge and un-digestible food.
  • Keep a colorful diet. There’s no need to go on with the same diet that made you lose so much weight. Instead try out more recipes that presuppose the eating of healthy foods, vegetables and fresh fruits. Plan your meals beforehand and ease your job of making up new dishes.

If you are worried you may struggle doing it on your own also consider taking part of the Medifast Maintenance Program which is designed to help you maintain a healthy weight while learning how to do it on your own.

Filed Under Health Tagged With diet, management, off, weight

Ten Ways to Know Your Relationship is Great

February 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I spend much of my time pointing out where things went wrong with this person’s approach, or that person’s relationship, etc. I thought it might be time to look at what makes a relationship “right”. That is, how do you know you’re in a relationship that can last? Here’s my top 10:

10. You feel good about yourself and your world.

A good relationship makes you feel great. It should fill in your “gaps” and make you feel whole. It should give you emotional strength and help you to feel that everything is ok and will continue to be. Another good sign is that you’re better able to survive disasters at work, at home, etc. not because you know someone will be there to solve them, but because you know that YOU can.

9. You look forward to spending time together.

Far too many couples stay together out of habit. They don’t really look forward to being together and try to find
ways to avoid it. For example, they always try to include other friends, go to an event so that they’ll have something to do, etc. Another sign is fear of the “conversation lag” where nobody has anything to say. If your relationship is “right”, you’ll enjoy spending quality time together – even when it’s quiet.

8. You respect your partner, and “talk him or her up”.

Is there anyone that agrees with everything someone else says or thinks? (I can tell you – nobody agrees with everything I say!) There’s no reason you have to agree with everything your partner says or thinks either. However, you should RESPECT them for it – right or wrong.
Further, when you respect someone – really respect them – you find yourself “talking them up” to people. You say things like, “You know, my girlfriend said something that I don’t agree with, but it really made me think” or “My husband really knows about wood working – you should ask him about it.”
What this really shows is your focus – if you find you’re always talking about yourself, you’re not focused on your partner – or the relationship.

7. You are really interested in what he or she thinks.

Along with respect, you’ll find that you are interested in your partner’s thoughts on different things – and you ask. You might have heard the President of your company say something and you ask your wife to get her take on it. Or, you may have come up with an idea that you want your boyfriend to think about – and you’re not afraid of getting shot down.

6. You are aware of, but ignore their quirks.

Everyone (even YOU!) has his or her little quirks. Your partner’s quirks might even appear cute to you, or at least harmless. If they’re getting to you, you should look more closely at your relationship in general.

5. Problems don’t make you think about breaking up.

All relationships have problems. It’s natural and healthy. However, if every time you fight you feel ready to
break up, you should re-think your relationship. People that have good, solid relationships see disagreements as a chance to learn more about their lover, and to get closer. Thus, they don’t fear them, but they don’t create them either!

4. You aren’t scared about losing him or her.

Once you start investing your feelings in a relationship you risk being hurt. This isn’t my rule – it’s just the way it is. However, if you dwell on the possibility of being hurt, you can’t really enjoy the relationship. Further, you shouldn’t be concerned that your lover isn’t happy. If the relationship is secure – you’ll know it.

3. You’re together “just because”.

Many people start dating and then coordinate their lives such that they have to be together – either for finances, kids, family, work, the dog, etc. Is there something keeping your relationship together? If you’re together just because you both want to be, you’ve got a good reason to stay together! If you’re together because you have to be, you’ll likely to start having problems.

2. You appreciate other attractive people, but aren’t interested in them

There is someone more attractive than your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife. I don’t care whom you’re with! If your relationship is good, you still like the way other people look, but don’t find it necessary to compare them to your partner. After all …

1. You are in love.

If you don’t know that you’re in love, you’re not. Love is very difficult to explain, but one of the best explanation I’ve seen is this:

“Love is when you are more concerned with the well being, safety and happiness of someone else than your own.”

That’s a pretty powerful idea, and something I hope everyone gets to experience.

Filed Under Dating Tagged With good, great, relationship, ten

How to Know Your Diet Isn’t Working

February 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Let me ask you a simple question: do you feel you’re getting the best results from your current food program? After all, we all want the same things: increased energy, a fit and sexy body, to live longer and healthier, avoid and heal health challenges, and a sound nutritional approach.

Sometimes it happens that you may be doing well for a while with your diet, but imperceptibly you move away from the results you’re looking for, and sooner or later you realize, “this diet isn’t working for me anymore!”

To prevent that from happening, here are some warning signs to watch out for and what to do about them.

1. Cravings

It’s perfectly normal to experience cravings for cooked and processed foods when you transition to a mostly raw or all raw diet. The problem occurs when these cravings persist and don’t go away.

In my experience, there are two causes for cravings: nutritional and emotional. I will review nutritional causes now, as emotional causes are complex and beyond the scope of this article.

Nutritional causes are fairly simple: if you’re not eating enough calories from fruits and vegetables, you *are* going to crave cooked and processed foods.

The trick is to be able to consume enough fruits to get your calories, without consuming more fat than you need to (and at the same time consuming enough greens for minerals).

Eating too much fat will also cause cravings, while a nutritionally-sound low-fat approach is the best remedy against cravings.

Keeping in mind that the average active woman needs 1800 to 2500 calories per day, and the average active man 2500 to 3000, a short visit to www.fitday.com should let you know if you’re consuming enough calories from fruits and vegetables.

2. No Energy to Exercise

If you have no energy to exercise, or are not making progress in your fitness program, it’s probably because you’re not consuming enough calories and/or you are consuming too much fat. It’s often a sign that your diet is not working.

An energy deficit will be obvious when you follow a fitness program. If you’re barely consuming enough fruits and vegetables to meet your dietary needs, you can’t expect to have extra energy to exercise.

Also, an excess of fat in the diet can cause a “run-down” feeling which may prevent you from experiencing the energy to exercise.

We often tend to “under-estimate” the amount of fruits and vegetables we should eat, and “over-estimate” the amount of fat that it’s okay to eat.

By checking out that your daily consumption of fruits and vegetables is adequate to meet your energy needs, you can also verify that your fat consumption by calories is less than 10-15%.

3. Waking up in the morning tired

Waking up in the morning still tired is also a sign that your diet may not be balanced. This is often caused by eating excessive quantities of fat, especially coming from nuts and seeds, and/or eating late at night. My suggestion would be to try eating only fruits and vegetables, without fat of any kind, for about 3-4 days, and avoid eating later than 7 p.m., and see how you feel.

Chances are that you’ll start waking up in the morning much more refreshed and energetic!

When that happens, just make sure that when you reintroduce fats into your diet it’s in small amounts.

4. Inability to maintain weight

Two things can happen here. Either you haven’t been able to *release* the weight you were carrying around in excess, or you’re getting thinner than you’d like to be.

In the first case, if you’re still struggling to reach your ideal weight, even though you’ve transitioned to a raw food diet, you may simply have the wrong nutritional and lifestyle approach.

If you’re getting thinner than you’d like to, you should also review the articles on weight. Know that the best thing you can do is to combine strength training (basically lifting weights or high-resistance bodyweight exercises) and *eat big*!

If you wish to gain significant muscle mass, you can, even on a raw food diet. But you’ll need a good training program and to consume sufficient calories from fruits and vegetables. For a woman, that means at least 2500 calories per day on average, and for a man at least 3000.

5. You’re confused

Another sign that you may be heading towards a diet “disaster” is having the feeling of confusion and doubt. Eventually, that feeling may intensify and lead you to either give up entirely or try other programs that won’t work.

The solution to this is to gain sufficient knowledge to avoid this confusion, go to the root of emotional issues behind food, and join a group for coaching and community that can provide you with constant support and inspiration to continue on the path of radiant health.

Your next step? To take what you’ve just learned and put it to the test right away!

Filed Under Health Tagged With diet, diet program, training program, working

Getting Past the Arguments in Your Relationship

February 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

One of the hardest things to handle in a relationship is conflict. While a good and fair fight can clear the air and help you to feel closer to your lover, many fights are just hurtful and destructive. Fights that never go anywhere, that are repeated year after year, or that leave you feeling awful about yourself are not going to help your relationship. Those are the kinds of fights we need to take another look at, and find out what is going on underneath. This is true for any conflict that doesn’t feel right, not just those you have with your lover.

With most fights, there are layers of what we mean, feel, intend, hope for, and believe, and what we actually say. We may only say a little of how we feel, or we may even say the opposite of how we’re feeling on a much deeper level than the surface. Problems arise when we don’t come from the deeper levels.

Some people think that the top layer of what they feel and think is all that there is, yet they feel something’s missing in their relationship. Others know how they feel but instead of stating their feelings as their own, they blame how they feel on their lover, leading to hurt feelings and arguing that goes nowhere. This is often the time that people call it quits on a relationship.

Many break-ups occur because we do not know how to get to our inner depth, or getting to it, how to share it. What we want to say isn’t what comes out of our mouths. We argue about something meaningless in order to get space from our lover, rather than feel the anxiety or fear we may have about setting boundaries or looking at what we need. We argue to feel more alive, instead of looking at what is missing in our life. We argue about what our lover spent money on, rather than face our own issues about money. We argue as a way to control our lover, rather than face our fear of being controlled. Regardless of the content of the argument, until we are prepared to express and respect our lover’s deeper feelings, beliefs, and meanings (and s/he respects ours), very little change can take place.

We can work around our lover’s “sensitive points,” expect them to do the same for us, and make compromises, but how far does that really take us? While problem-solving can help, particularly in the immediate future, often it isn’t enough for the long run. As long as the deeper issues remain unaddressed, our relationship will be flattened, soured, or lost to meaningless fights.

So how do you get underneath the arguments? By being vulnerable and risking being as open and as honest about yourself as you can with your lover. Take anything you argue about and ask yourself what is upsetting you. Usually people will respond with answers that are about their lovers – s/he spends too much money, s/he is defensive, s/he doesn’t listen to me. Now try asking yourself the following questions:

  • What about that bothers you?
  • How do you feel about it?
  • How do you react to it, and what does it mean to you?
  • What if anything are you afraid of?
  • What do you believe it means about you or your relationship?
  • Does it remind you of anyone?

Try not to get bogged down in intellectual answers. Even if you know the answers, see if you can connect to your feelings about it and notice whether any other thoughts, feelings, associations, or memories come to you spontaneously. Sometimes the best stuff just suddenly occurs to us.

Next, find an opportunity when you and your lover aren’t rushed or distracted, and share how you are feeling about the issue. When mentioning something about her/his behavior that affects you, phrase it within your own experience (”When I think that you are not listening to me I feel…I then worry that…it reminds me of…which feels…to me). Even when you want to mention something that your lover does, focus on you and your deeper responses. You may want to ask for something specific (”Could we set aside times to listen to each other?”) which your lover can consider, but initially it is usually best to have you and your lover listen to and understand each others’ deeper responses.

You might be tempted to leap to a solution, but this is only the beginning. If you settle on a solution too quickly, you could miss something that still needs to be unearthed.

The listener’s job is to listen attentively and to verbalize understanding for the other’s feelings, regardless of whether or not the listener agrees with her/his lover’s perception of the events. For example, maybe you think that you’re the one who’s always listening to your lover, and it is s/he who doesn’t listen to you. It’s okay that you do not agree with her/his version of reality, but for now, offer only your understanding of how s/he feels and what it means to her/him. It is important that you suspend your difference of opinion and only offer understanding.

When you’re finished with that, switch roles. Feel free, as the one who just listened, to say something like “When I hear you say that, I feel…because I believe that I do listen…. This reminds me of…and I feel…and I don’t know what else to do. I feel that you don’t listen to me. When this happens I feel….” It’s important to not argue about who does or doesn’t listen, or what you each do, but rather, the original speaker should now listen and offer understanding for how it must feel. Keep going back and forth and see what happens. You may not notice anything for a while, but you might. If you don’t, try not to worry or rush the process; something usually shifts over time, especially if you keep going deeper. You never know what you might discover – it may be a completely different issue than you originally thought. Only by staying with your deeper feelings and reactions will you discover what is underneath the arguments.

By each of you truly understanding the others’ perspective without judgment, you’ll be able to move through this barrier in your relationship. Stick with the formula, even if it feels unnatural, and you may find that the two of you are laughing about what started the whole disagreement.

Filed Under Dating Tagged With arguments, getting, past, relationship

Making Your Diet Work With Your Life

February 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Are you one of the million that has a very hectic life? Do you let your diet wilter away because you have no time to cook healthy meals? If so it is time to make a change. Instead of packing on the weight because you are always so busy take control of your life again and start losing weight.

Finding the Right Plan

With the wide variety of dieting plans available out there today you are going to be presented with multiple choices. This may be the most difficult decision you make with your weight loss wants. All of the dieting plans will have different benefits and different downsides. You will want to look through thoroughly to ensure you get exactly what you want and need. If you are someone with any health issues such as diabetes you will also want to look into the diet to ensure that it can work with these issues and not cause any harm to your health.

Making your diet work with your life doesn’t have to be the most complicated thing you do. With the variety of options available there is at least one plan out there that will work perfectly with your health needs. One plan that seems to work with just about everyone happens to be the Medifast Diet. This diet has been designed to work with many health ailments including Type2 diabetes.

It can also be molded into a very hectic life with ease because of the simple meal preparations and the ability to get 5 quick Medifast meals in throughout your day no problem. You will be required to follow the guidelines to a tee to ensure that the diet works properly, but this is also not difficult to do.

Benefits of Medifast

  • Easy to follow
  • Meals are easy to prepare
  • Incorporate into your life with ease.

Affording Your Medifast Diet

For those that are worried they are going to be unable to afford the Medifast Meals you’ll be happy to learn that there are many Medifast Coupons for 2010 available. Each month there will be an update to the Medifast coupon codes so that you can get the latest discount on your Medifast Diet. Whether you are ordering one of the Medifast Variety Plans or combining multiple Medifast meals  in one order there is going to be a Medifast coupon available to you.

Pricing will vary with what you are looking into purchasing. You do not have to purchase the pre-designed meal plans. You do have the option to develop your Medifast Diet on meal preferences. If you are new to Medifast though consider utilizing one of the Variety plans to get a good trial of what Medifast has to offer meal wise. The variety plans are designed to incorporate the main Medifast meals which will give you are good view of what Medifast has to offer. Once you are more comfortable with what Medifast offers and how you can personally design your own plan you will easily be able to develop your own Medifast diet plan on what you prefer and still keep improving your health and weight.

Do not waste anymore time feeling unhealthy and overweight when you have the opportunity to lose weight easily with the help from a Medifast Diet. Remember to get your Medifast coupon so you can get a discounted price on your order. It won’t matter if it is your first Medifast order or the 100th, everyone is eligible to utilize the Medifast coupon codes.

Filed Under Health Tagged With diet, discount, meals, Medifast, Medifast coupon codes, Medifast Coupons, Medifast coupons for 2010

Dating Made Simple… Finally!

February 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

With the onset of the internet dating has become a whole new ball game. Gone are the days when you had to get dressed up and head out to the club’s or rely on a heavy social calendar to find that perfect partner. No longer do you have to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger, sit through endless boring evenings with people with who you have nothing in common or get embarrassed when friends and family decide to play match maker.

We are now in an age when dating is so easy once you know how. With so many dating agencies around the possibilities are endless, an almost limitless number of profiles for you to read through in the comfort of your own home and the ability to start dating several steps removed from the starting block armed with almost everything you need to know about a person before you even go on a first date.

No pick up lines, no playing hard to get, just a natural progression from the initial contact that is totally within your control.

The clever ones have taken dating one step further by making good use of all the targeted information that is now available on the net written by people that are most experienced in the field. They have learned everything there is to know about why you should be honest about yourself, avoid playing games and be proud of who you are.

The clever ones in the dating scene have learned how to relax and portray their character full of confidence. They have learned the art of seduction, how to make the best use of body language and how to capture who ever they meet from the very first date and hold on to them for as long as they want to.

None of it is rocket science, it’s all about the level of effort you are prepared to put in to find and keep that perfect partner.

Take for example the first time you meet. Dating is all about first impressions, it doesn’t matter if this particular date is the one for you but at the outset you don’t know and you can never recover that initial meeting. The very first time you set eyes on each other is lost for ever after the first few seconds. You may have met up with several people that really aren’t right for you but never let past experiences make you underestimate the need to make first impressions count.

Most people head out for that first date nervous and concerned about what people might think. They lack the confidence they need to carry it off but at the end of the day you are who you are, does it matter what other people really think. You might not think you have the best looks, you may think you are over weight but then we’ve all now seen what a good makeover can do and how many people do you see out there drawing in the crowd when the main things they have going for them is confidence and the ability to make the most of their assets.

Confidence is all about looking beyond what you don’t like about yourself, focusing on what is good and learning how to make the most of everything you have. Stop seeking approval from others and learn to be who you are. And it has to be said, with internet dating it’s never been so easy, your first meeting is with someone who has already seen your photo, they’ve already learned nearly everything they need to know about you and they still want to meet up. If you’ve been honest in your profile what is there to be nervous about? Just make an effort, show off your assets and go out there and enjoy yourself. If it doesn’t work out so what, they obviously weren’t right for you, you just move on until you find that match made in heaven.

Filed Under Dating Tagged With Dating, made, simple

What is an Ideal Weight Part III

February 21, 2010 By 3 Comments

What is Body Fat Percentage?

Your body fat percentage is the weight of your fat divided by your total weight. The result indicates your essential fat as well as storage fat.

Essential fat – this is the amount of fat we need to survive. Women require a higher percentage than men. Essential fat is 2%-5% in men, and 10%-13% in women.
Storage fat – this consists of fat accumulation in adipose tissue, some of which protects our internal organs in the chest and abdomen.
Total body fat percentage – this is essential fat plus storage fat.

The American Council on Exercise recommends the following percentages:

Essential fat

Women 10-12%
Men 2-4%

Total fat

Athletes

Men 6-13%
Women 14-20%

Non-athletes classed as fit

Men 14-17%
Women 21-24%

Acceptable

Men 18-25%
Women 25-31%

Overweight

Men 26-37%
Women 32-41%

Obese

Men 38% or more
Women 42% or more

Many experts say that calculating people’s body fat percentage is the best way to gauge their fitness level because it is the only measurement that includes the body’s true composition. Any male whose body fat percentage is over 25% or female over 31% is either overweight or possibly obese.

Body fat percentage would not make the couch potato seem fitter than the 100 meter Olympic champion – as was the case with BMI.

There are various ways of calculating a person’s body fat percentage. None of them can give a 100% accurate figure, but the estimates are accepted as fairly close. Examples include near-infrared interactance, dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and bioelectrical impedance analysis.

Many gyms and doctor’s practices have devices that can tell you what your body fat percentage is.

Conclusion

This article has briefly explained three ways to help you find out whether your weight is ideal, and what your target should be if it is not. You can work out your BMI, WHR, or Body Fat Percentage.

BMI and WHR can be done easily in your home. WHR is more accurate than BMI. However, BMI is a useful indicator if you are an “average” person – not an Olympic athlete or a dedicated weight trainer.

If you embark on a weight loss regime that includes exercise and diet, bear in mind that the exercise will probably increase your muscle mass, which may increase your weight, even though your waist may shrink. Muscle weighs more than fat.

It might be better to aim for target waist, hips and chest measurements. A Waist-hip ratio goal is also possible. If you feel really dedicated, check your Body Fat Percentage; if you are not happy with the reading, discuss a realistic target with a nutritionist, sports scientist, or personal trainer and go for it!

Filed Under Health Tagged With ideal, part III, weight

What is an Ideal Weight Part II

February 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

What is the problem with BMI?

BMI is a very simple measurement which does not take into account the person’s waist, chest or hip measurements. An Olympic 100 meters sprint champion may have a BMI higher than a couch potato of the same height. The couch potato may have a big belly, not much muscle and a lot of body fat on his hips, upper thighs, in his blood and other parts of his body. While the athlete will have a smaller waist, much less body fat, and most likely enjoy better health. According to a purely BMI criteria, the couch potato is healthier.

BMI does not take into account bone density (bone mass). A person with severe osteoporosis (very low bone density) may have a lower BMI than somebody else of the same height who is healthy, but the person with osteoporosis will have a larger waist, more body fat and weak bones.

Many experts criticize BMI as not generally useful in evaluation of health. It is at best a rough ballpark basic standard that may indicate population variations, but should not be used for individuals in health care.

Put simply: experts say that BMI underestimates the amount of body fat in overweight/obese people and overestimates it in lean or muscular people.

What is Waist-hip ratio (WHR)

This is the ratio of the circumference of your waist to that of your hips. You measure the smallest circumference of your waist, usually just above your belly button, and divide that total by the circumference of your hip at its widest part.

If a woman’s waist is 28 inches and her hips are 36 inches, her WHR is 28 divided by 36 = 0.77. Below is a breakdown of WHR linked to risk of cardiovascular health problems.

Male WHR
Less than 9 – low risk of cardiovascular health problems
0.9 to 0.99 – moderate risk of cardiovascular health problems
1 or over – high risk of cardiovascular problems

Female WHR
Less than 0.8 – low risk of cardiovascular health problems
0.8 to 0.89 – moderate risk of cardiovascular health problems
0.9 or over – high risk of cardiovascular problems
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The WHR of a person is a much better indicator of whether their body weight is ideal and what their risks of developing serious health conditions are, compared to BMI. Various studies have shown that people with apple-shaped bodies – who have larger WHRs – have higher health risks compared to people with pear-shaped bodies – who have lower WHRs. An apple-shaped person will have more fat accumulating on the waist, while a pear-shaped person has the fat accumulating on the hips.

A woman with a WHR of less than 0.8 is generally healthier and more fertile than females with higher WHRs. They are less likely to develop diabetes, most cancers, or cardiovascular disorders. Similarly, men with a WHR no more than 9 are generally healthier and more fertile than men with higher WHRs, and less likely to develop serious conditions or diseases.

Studies indicate that if WHR were to replace BMI as a predictor of heart attack worldwide, figures would include many more people.

What is the problem with WHR?

WHR does not accurately measure a person’s total body fat percentage, or their muscle-to-fat ratio. However, it is a better predictor of ideal weight and health risks than BMI.

Filed Under Health Tagged With BMI, ideal, part II, weight
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