No one dreams of aging ungracefully. After all, you don’t spend your life trying to increase your number of wrinkles, dying your hair grey before its time, or trying to add on those few extra pounds that seem to come with advancing years, yet they seem to happen almost automatically. Or do they?

Unless you practice certain behaviors that repel these common signs of aging, you’re going to draw them closer to you like water to a sponge. What are these behaviors that will keep you young as long as possible?

A Regular Exercise Regimen

Getting regular physical activity helps you age with poise in a number of ways. First, it keeps your heart healthy which allows you to live life to the fullest. You will be able to engage in various activities that you enjoy well into your senior years like golf, mountain climbing, or simply playing with your grandchildren, without worrying about increasing your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

(This is Part 3 in our three-part series: How 3 Ancient Alternative Methods Can Help You Lose Weight. CLICK HERE to read Part 1, Acupuncture. CLICK HERE to read Part 2, Can Hypnosis Help You Lose Weight?)

Meditation is part of our earliest recorded history. Long ago, it was used mostly in conjunction with religious practices. Some say that meditation is the oldest form of mental, spiritual and physical health and wellness practice in existence.

The earliest known root of meditation is with the Hindus in India who used forms of meditation to discern the true nature of Brahman. Buddha reached “enlightenment” while he was meditating under a Bodhi Tree. Those that followed Buddha, however, did not believe that mediation was a way to understand a higher being but rather a way of sensing ones connection to all things. Forms of meditation are present in all major religions.

There are many lessons to be learned when we study the ways that ancient groups of people acted. We can learn about art, architecture, food, family, religion, languages and health. Much of our current system of doing things is rooted in some very old, but wise, cultures.

Some very old ways of preventing and treating illness are still practiced in many parts of the world today.

America is just learning. We have been completely focused on putting our trust in doctors and pharmaceutical companies that we’re not accustomed to alternative ways to approach health. We have been conditioned to not consider alternative ways of treating our health.

However, many dedicated people are using ancient and alternative methods of healing and preventing disease. These people believe that what was done so very long ago, and is still being used today, has great value and can help in many ways.

You can’t walk into a store after the first of the year without seeing shelves full of delectable chocolates and candies that say “Be My Valentine.” While it’s great to want to share your feelings with those you love, adding to their waistline isn’t exactly a great way to show your sweetheart that you care. It’s like saying, “I love you, but I want to make sure you don’t live a long and healthy life.” It just doesn’t make sense.

This Valentine’s Day, take a different approach. Choose a gift that truly shows the special people in your life that you want them to be around for as long as possible. Give them something that encourages their health, rather than takes it away. Don’t know what to get? That’s okay because we have lots of ideas for you.

Fitness Products

If your honey likes to exercise or at least wants to work out more because he or she knows that it is good for them, here are some gifts you may want to consider for your active sweethearts:

It’s that time, yet again!  Is weight loss one of your resolutions for the New Year? If you’re like most people, this resolution is high on your list year after year – to get healthy and lose weight. Would you like 2014 to be the last time you make a weight loss resolution?

While it may seem like losing your love handles and jiggly thighs is a resolution that just keeps repeating itself, that doesn’t have to be the case. You can reach your weight loss goal this year, and here are our best suggestions to help you reach those goals, once and for all:

Define why you want to lose weight. You can’t go after something and expect to get it if you don’t have a clear understanding of why you want it. Take some time and think about why weight loss is important to you. Make a list of the positive ways your life will change once you reach a lower, healthier weight, and keep that vision in front of you at all times.

During the holidays you’re surrounded by homemade dishes and desserts that make your mouth water and your taste buds beg for “just one little bite.” But you know that if you give in and gorge on all of these tempting foods, you’re going to gain back the weight you’ve worked so hard to lose – and then some.

So, how do you navigate in and out of the kitchen during this food abundant holiday? By making a few simple changes to the foods you normally eat you can avoid feeling deprived and still enjoy some of your traditional holiday favorites. Here are 10 tips to get you started.

Tip #1: Save up to 56 grams of fat per cup of gravy by refrigerating it first and then skimming off the visible, hardened fat. (This works for meat dishes too!)

Tip #2: If you can’t bear the idea of Christmas without green bean casserole, just swap potato chunks for the cream soup. Then top it with almond slices instead of fried onions for a protein powered crunch!

If you ask most any weight loss expert about how easy their program is to follow, they’ll tell you that it is very easy. But are they just trying to make a sale or is it true that their plan is simple to follow? What’s the answer? It depends.

The Plan vs. The Mindset

Generally when someone wants to know if the diet plan is easy, they think they are asking about the mechanics of it, or how the plan works. For instance, eating every three hours or adding certain foods into your menu would fall under this umbrella of information and certainly help you lose weight.

However, in reality, the person posing the question is more than likely asking about how easy it is to change their mindset to properly work the plan. This is a completely different question.

What would you say if you were told that every time you grab a diet soda from the fridge or vending machine that the liquid you are consuming almost guarantees your weight loss failure? Would you believe it?

Or how would you feel knowing that with every sip or guzzle that you take in the name of health and fitness you are pushing yourself further and further from your goal of being fit and trim instead of getting closer to it?

What if you learned that the more diet soda you drink, the greater the likelihood that you are going to wind up adding weight to your body despite the word “Diet” displayed prominently on the side of the can?

Although you may be inclined to disbelieve these statements, you may be surprised to learn that they are true – and there has been a ton of research, available to the public, to prove it.

The Science Behind ‘Diet’ Soda

Some people just don’t like to exercise. Maybe you’re one of them? This prompts the same question over and over again: “Is it really necessary that I exercise, or can I lose weight without having to buy a gym membership and work up a sweat?” Here’s your answer…

The Role of Exercise in Weight Loss

Let’s first look at the facts.  When it comes to losing weight, getting regular physical exercise offers a number of advantages, even if “regular” is 30 minutes 3 days a week. These weight loss advantages include, but are not limited to:

When you are on a weight loss journey, you’re always looking for ways to speed up the fat loss process. You know that it is going to take some time to get rid of the excess weight that you are carrying, but the sooner you can reach your goals, the happier you will be.

One way to do this is to take a fat burner. These are supplements that raise your metabolism by shifting it from neutral into overdrive, helping you create the body that you desire. A few of the supplements that can help you do this are: