A balanced diet means eating plenty of different types of foods that provides a person with enough nutrition to keep them healthy.

This means:

• Eating within your daily calorie intake limit
• Eating a variety of food that contains protein, fat and carbohydrates (macro nutrients) and also has enough vitamins and minerals (micro nutrients) to keep you healthy!

Woman should limit calories to 2000 a day to maintain weight, and men 2500 a day.

There are seven essential factors for a balanced diet: carbs, protein, fat, fibre, vitamins, minerals and water.

Carbohydrates, used for quick energy, should make up 40%-65% of a balanced diet and are in foods like grains, sugar, fruits, and vegetables. Proteins, which are used for body structure, include meat, grains, and beans and should only make up 10% – 30% of a balanced diet.

1. Make half your plate veggies and fruits

Vegetables and fruits are full of nutrients that support good health. Choose fruits and red, orange, and dark-green vegetables such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and broccoli.

2.  Include whole grains

Aim to make at least half your grains whole grains. Look for the words “100% whole grain” or “100% whole wheat” on the food label. Whole grains provide more nutrients, like fiber, than refined grains.

3. Don’t forget the dairy

Complete your meal with a cup of fat-free or low-fat milk. You will get the same amount of calcium and other essential nutrients as whole milk but fewer calories. Don’t drink milk? Try a soy beverage (soymilk) as your drink or include low-fat yogurt in your meal or snack.

4. Add lean protein

Choose protein foods such as lean beef, pork, chicken, or turkey, and eggs, nuts, beans, or tofu. Twice a week, make seafood the protein on your plate.

5. Avoid extra fat

Using heavy gravies or sauces will add fat and calories to otherwise healthy choices. Try steamed broccoli with a sprinkling of low-fat parmesan cheese or a squeeze of lemon.

6. Get creative in the kitchen

Whether you are making a sandwich, a stir-fry, or a casserole, find ways to make them healthier. Try using less meat and cheese, which can be higher in saturated fat and sodium, and adding in more veggies that add new flavors and textures to your meals.

7. Take control of your food

Eat at home more often so you know exactly what you are eating. If you eat out, check and compare the nutrition information. Choose options that are lower in calories, saturated fat, and sodium.

8. Try new foods

Keep it interesting by picking out new foods you’ve never tried before, like mango, lentils, quinoa, kale, or sardines. You may find a new favorite! Trade fun and tasty recipes with friends or find them online.

9. Satisfy your sweet tooth in a healthy way

Indulge in a naturally sweet dessert dish—fruit! Serve a fresh fruit salad or a fruit parfait made with yogurt. For a hot dessert, bake apples and top with cinnamon.

A medium apple has 95 calories. A 55 gram bar one or 48g lunch bar chocolate has a whopping sugar-spiking 228 calories, this is 11% of your daily intake in one chocolate bar. You can enjoy two baked apples and still have a few calories to spare for a little honey instead of that chocolate.

A shocking statement considering how fat people get on Pizza and burgers! But there are T&Cs attached to this statement.

Burgers and Pizza are unhealthy as they contain high levels of salt and fat. Popular pizzas contains high quantities of cheese and processed meas. This can increase your risk of heart attacks and strokes, and some cancers.

Nevertheless, pizzas and burgers every now and again will not increase your weight if the calories from those pizzas and burgers remain within your daily caloric intake.

The secret is to eat the pizza slowly. It takes about 30 minutes for your body and mind to register that it has eaten enough food! So eat the Pizza slices slowly, take your time and enjoy the food. Eating 3 slices in 30 minutes still tastes the same as gulping a full pizza in record time, in fact – it actually tastes better!

To maintain weight, an average man needs 2500 calories a day, and a woman 2000.

A man can still lose weight by eating 3 slices of pizza and a woman will not add any weight on 3 slices!

How is this possible? Well, here is your example!

If a man eats 1500 calories of food during the day (meals, sugar and snacks!), and has exercised enough to burn 400 calories, he will still have ample calories left for the day! 3 slices of pizza will add +-300 calories per slice to his daily intake. His total caloric intake for the day with the 3 slices will be 2000 calories.

At 2000 calories a day, an average man will lose 0.5Kg in a week! Wow!
A woman requires 2000 calories to maintain weight! Wow!

The trick here though is eating just 1500 calories during the day (and exercising 400 calories off) before scoffing those 3 slices!

Sugary snacks quickly add calories up, even small sweets! A small Jelly beans bag contains 60grams of sugar! This adds a whopping 250 calories to your diets! You will need to sacrifice just under ONE large pizza slice for those Jellies! Hmmm.. But you usually buy the larger 125 gram packet, don’t you?

To keep track of your daily caloric intake, an app is recommended. You can now track every meal and stay on target!

Prepare your meals in advance, and pre-pack them for work or school. Stay with the following safe guidelines: Smaller, healthier, low fat, low sugar, high protein, high fibre.

Each meal and snack quickly adds the calories up! Have small healthy, high fiber, high protein meals during the day.

Cut out all the sugar in your day – your coffee, tea and drinks adds calories quickly – when sweetened!

*Disclaimer here: Depending on the pizza composition, calories can be lower or higher. Always research the number of calories in your favorite pizza and work it into your diet!

Chicken n’ Mayo & Feta Pizza – Large (pan base) = 288 calories per slice
Triple Decker Meat Pizza – Large = 345 calories per slice
Big King XXL burger = 995 Calories for the burger alone!
McFeast Deluxe burger = 865 calories for the burger alone!
Know what you eat!

Who doesn’t love Pizza?

At 250 or more Calories per slice, you get far more than a full day’s worth of Calories from a large pizza. The larger the pizza, the more toppings, the ticker the pizza and the more stuffings, the higher the calorie count!

A large slice of chicken mayo pizza (thick base) comes close to 300 Calories. A triple stacked pizza stuffed with cheese griller sausages comes in at a whopping 600 Calories.

To reduce your caloric intake when the Pizza craving starts, try these tip to get your Pizza craving satisfied while reducing the calories.

First and most important, know how many Calories you are eating in your day. On your craving day, reduce or eliminate your sugar intake and increase your vegetable and salad intake during the day! Keep count of your calories and check how many sliced of Pizza you can have to stay within your daily Caloric goal. Woman need 2000 Calories a day to maintain their weight, and men 2500 Calories a day.

Plan a single cheat day in the week and make pizza your cheat meal for that week.

Order a medium instead of a large, or split the Pizza and fridge half the pizza immediately before eating, or share the pizza with a friend.

Reduce the number of layers, toppings and stuffing – this will cut the calories and you probably won’t even miss the extras once you have finished eating.

Take thin base instead of thick base. It might seem “better value for money” by taking thick base, but if you consider how much time you will need to work it off, that value drops quickly!

Processed meats are Calorie loaded. Cut the pepperoni, sausage and cheese grillers!

Before eating and satisfying your Pizza craving, start with a salad and drink plenty of water. Research shows that people who start with a large mixed salad reduce their meal Calories by 12%.

Do an additional 30 minutes of cardio on that day. This will be equivalent to a slice of pizza – this means that one slice of Pizza won’t count! What a pleasure! But don’t add an additional slice over your daily caloric allowance – Keep the caloric goal the same!

Many people who drink caffeine beverages experience tiredness, caffeine crashes and hangover symptoms. How do they prevent this from happening?

Caffeine crash

A caffeine crash usually occurs a few hours after a person has consumed a moderate to high dose of caffeine, when they were previously in a tired state. There is a reason for this!

Symptoms of a Caffeine Crash

• Extreme tiredness
• Inability to concentrate
• Irritability
• Dozing off

What are the reasons for a caffeine crash?

In simple terms:

Caffeine stops the “you are getting tired and need to take a nap, or go to sleep” chemical (called Adenosine) from attaching to the brain.

As the caffeine starts to wear off as caffeine gets metabolized, the “go to sleep” chemicals will now be flooding the brain! The brain is now telling you to “pass out urgently” (CRASH!), rather than being nudged to do so.

Adenosine promotes sleep and suppresses arousal. When awake the levels of adenosine in the brain rise each hour .

When a person is already feeling tired, they have increased levels of adenosine in their brains. If they consume caffeine, the caffeine molecule blocks the adenosine from attaching to its receptors in the brain. However, while the caffeine is keeping a person alert and energetic adenosine is continuing to build up in the person’s brain.

After a few hours, as caffeine is metabolized, its effects begin to wear off. The built up adenosine then floods its receptors which signals the body that it is time for sleep, but at a level much more intense than normal.

This is the feeling of the caffeine crash.

How to Avoid a Caffeine Crash

• Get enough sleep
• Reduce caffeine beverages
• Eat a healthy breakfast

The first step in avoiding a caffeine crash is to get adequate rest.

Starting out the day with normal adenosine levels helps prevent a crash.

Spread out your caffeine consumption throughout your workday.

Instead of having two coffees back to back in the morning, have one in the morning and another at lunchtime. Better still, cut out the coffee and energy drinks, and replace it with green tea , or you cannot stomach green tea, normal tea!

Keep your caffeine dose within reason. A single dose of more than 200 mg of caffeine at one time can lead to a caffeine crash. You can trick your mind by replacing half your instant coffee dosage with a caffeine free portion (1/2 spoon caffeinated & 1/2 spoon of caffeine-free of the same brand – for example).

Don’t consume caffeine on an empty stomach. Food provides real energy for your body and caffeine only provides a temporary sense of energy. Without real calories, the body will quickly feel fatigued and tired once the caffeine wears off. Eat a healthy breakfast along with your dose of caffeine.

Caffeine Hangover

What goes up must come down. When a person comes down from having too much caffeine, it can feel like a hangover.

Caffeine puts you on a chemically induced “high”.

Drastic changes in daily caffeine consumption can trigger a caffeine headache which is similar to the way someone feels when they are hungover from alcohol.

Because of the high levels of caffeine, the neurotransmitter adenosine was able to build up in the brain. Once the caffeine is metabolized, the brain is flooded with adenosine which causes feelings of extreme tiredness and lethargy.

Too much caffeine can also cause nausea and vomiting which is another may it can mimic the consumption of too much alcohol.

How to Avoid a Caffeine Hangover

Get plenty of sleep, eat a healthy diet, and then use caffeine to give you that extra edge of alertness and productivity that will help you do your job or your studies without overdoing it.

Caffeine is not a replacement for sleep.

To tan, you will need to spend some time in the sun.

Tan faster than ever before

Get as much safe sun exposure in a week – without burning. Slow and easy tanning over a period of time is the best way to tan.

Boost your tan – fastest tanning

Boost your tan by increasing melanin by using MT2.

Melanotan II was first synthesized at the University of Arizona. Researchers there knew that one of the best defenses against skin cancer was melanin activated in the skin, a tan.

They hypothesized that an effective way to reduce skin cancer rates in people would be to induce the body’s natural pigmentary system to produce a protective tan prior to UV exposure.

The body’s naturally occurring hormone α-MSH causes melanogenesis, a process by which the skin’s pigment cells (melanocytes) produce the skin’s pigment (melanin).

They tested to see if administering this endogenous hormone to the body directly could be an effective method to cause sunless tanning. What they found was that while it appeared to work, natural α-MSH had too short a half life in the body to be practical as a therapeutic drug. So they decided to find a more potent and stable alternative, one that would be more practical and so Melanotan 2 was born.

Foods that enhances tan

Carrots. When carrots are consumed regularly (and in moderation), the skin adapts a more natural and healthy-looking hue.

The following food will enhance your skin tone, when eaten regularly and in moderation:

Tomatoes, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe and apricots. Like carrots, these carotenoid rich fruits and veggies improve your skin’s color while providing other health benefits.

Spinach and kale. These dark, leafy greens should definitely be a staple in your diet, as well as broccoli, as they are the secret to glowing skin.

Olive Oil. Although olive oil doesn’t contain any carotenoids, antioxidants and omega-3s, it will give your skin a moisture boost for a healthier appearance.

To lose weight and to keep it off requires a lifestyle change.

You need to eat healthier and increase your cardio or activity.

Eating healthier means reducing fatty foods and cutting out sweet drinks. This means stop eating takeouts and start eating healthy home-prepared meals – this means steamed vegetables and low-fat meats and fish.

When someone over-exercises, they might over-eat as well.

The trick here is to train your brain and body to either eat smaller portion of high-protein food, and having meal replacements.

So how much time is required to lose weight?

Science shows that 150 to 250 minutes a week is required to start burning off the fat.

This means 35 minutes a day, or if training daily is not possible, getting most of your exercise on a weekend, with a few extra minutes during the week, will work, as long as your moderate top vigorous exercise is 250 minutes a week.

You can also increase your intensity (such as running instead of walking), which will increase the burning rate and reduce the amount of time to lose weight.

How Much Exercise Per Day to Lose 1Kg?

If you’re curious about how much exercise it would take to burn one pound of body fat. You can use an activity calculator to help provide the answer. You need to burn about 3500 calories to lose 1/2Kg of weight.

 These activities would help a 70kg-pound person burn roughly enough calories to lose 1/2Kg:

5 hours of running or roughly 40 minutes per day
14 hours of walking or 2 hours per day
5 hours of vigorous swimming or about 40 minutes per day
6.5 hours of biking (12-13 miles per hour) or just under an hour each day
7 hours of intense aerobics class or 7 one-hour classes per week

That is a lot!

So the best way to reduce this effort, is to reduce your food intake.
The inconvenience of feeling peckish or hungry, is easier than exercising what seems like an eternity.

The most important thing is weighing yourself weekly, not daily.

If you have not lost anything, reduce your food by 10% and increase your exercise by 10%.

Check your results and adjust until your weight goal is being met. You should aim for a maximum of 1Kg a week.

“Super food” lists don’t include beet root juice, but they should.

Beet juice may boost stamina to help you exercise for longer, it improves blood flow and lowers blood pressure.

Beet root is rich in natural chemicals called nitrates. Through a chain reaction, your body changes nitrates into nitric oxide, which helps with blood-flow and blood pressure.

In some studies, drinking about 2 cups of beet juice daily or taking nitrate capsules lowered blood pressure in healthy adults.

Beet juice may also help your stamina when you exercise. In one study, people who drank beet juice for 6 days had better stamina during intense exercise.

Beet Juice Nutrition

One cup of raw beets has 58 calories and 13 grams of carbohydrates.

A cup of beet juice is usually around 100 calories and 25 grams of carbohydrates, because of the way it is processed.

Beets are good sources of folate, potassium, vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants, as well as nitrates.

Other good food sources of nitrates include spinach, radishes, lettuce, celery, and Chinese cabbage.

Eating cooked beets won’t give you the same quantity of nitrates, because cooking hampers some of the nitrates, but is still good for your health.

If you start drinking beet juice, you should know that it may make your urine and stools look reddish.

Delicious beetroot juice (Juicer recipe)

Ingredients

1 medium beet (rinsed, lightly peeled and quartered)
1 (or 2) medium apple (peeled, cored and quartered)
1 Tbsp size piece of fresh ginger (skin removed)
3 whole carrots (rinsed and peeled)
Unfiltered apple juice or cold water (optional)
Juice from 2 lemons (variant on flavour)
Ice (recommended)

Optional ingredients you may try for variety and boost to your vitamins and minerals intake

Handful of kale leaves or spinach 
4 stalks of celery (reduce carrots to 2)

Place all ingredients (except the ice and lemon juice) in a juicer, adding 1/8 to 1/4 cup of apple juice or cold water if needed to get it moving and to thin the drink, according to taste.

Add the lemon juice (you may try the recipe without the lemon juice for a smoother taste)

Add ice for a better tasting drink.

Will keep in a fridge for 24 hours.

*Kale Is Among The Most Nutrient-Dense Foods on The Planet

Vitamin A: 206% of the DV (from beta-carotene)
Vitamin K: 684% of the DV
Vitamin C: 134% of the DV
Vitamin B6: 9% of the DV
Manganese: 26% of the DV
Calcium: 9% of the DV
Copper: 10% of the DV
Potassium: 9% of the DV
Magnesium: 6% of the DV
It  also contains 3% or more of the DV for vitamin B1 (thiamin), vitamin B2  (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), iron and phosphorus 

*Spinach is a superfood. 

It is loaded with tons of nutrients in a low-calorie package. Dark, leafy greens like spinach are important for skin, hair, and bone health. They also provide protein, iron, vitamins, and minerals.
Serving Size    100 g

Calories 23
Amount Per Serving | % Daily Value 
Total Fat 0.4g     1 %
Saturated Fat 0.1g     0 %
Sodium 79mg     3 %
Total Carbohydrate 3.6g     1 %
Dietary Fiber 2.2g     9 %
Sugar 0.4g     
Protein 2.9g     6 %

Vitamin A     188 %
Vitamin C   47 %
Calcium     10 % 
Iron    15 %

To get a better body at home still takes work!

For the next 30 days, do 100 pushups – every day.

You can split it up during the day, watching TV, when you wake up or before bedtime, as long as you do 100 pushups that day!

No cheating, do 100 reps, do not skip any reps, and do not carry anything forward.

In the standard pushup, the following muscles are targeted:

chest muscles, or pectorals
shoulders, or deltoids
back of your arms, or triceps
abdominals
the “wing” muscles directly under your armpit, called the serratus anterior

For the next 30 days, do 100 weight-free squats every day.

This will give you great legs and a great butt

Don’t fall for labels without reading between the lines.

Protein breakfast cereals

“Protein breakfast cereals” are expensive, have little protein and contains sugar. Stick with standard oats for a healthy alternative, and decide whether to add a scoop of whey powder, or to have eggs for protein.

Bran flakes and shredded bran

“Bran flakes or shredded bran” – check the label for added sugar and the suggested serving size. You could be consuming 3 or more teaspoons of sugar per realistic serving size, and if you consume it with milk, it will be even more sugars!

Unhealthy spreads

Breakfast treats like “Chocolate Nut” spreads “Can be part of a balanced breakfast”! FALSE! These things are just melted chocolate bars spread on toast.

Instant Soups

Healthy soups – a suggested serving is usually less than what is included in a container. These soups have so much sodium in them, that they even beat a whole bag of potato chips. It is recommended to limit sodium to less than 2,300 mg per day.

The recommended sodium intake is less than 2,300 mg per day.

Instant “cup” soups contain 650mg or more per sachet. Some have more than 1000mg per sachet.

Instant “cup” soups contain 650mg of sodium, and sometimes more. Some cup soups have more than 1000mg per serving.

Energy bars

These are just glorified candy bars.

350 / 400 calories per serving is a whole lot of calories in a compact format!

Fruit bars

Would you like 6 1/2 Orios in a single serving? One “healthy” fruit bar can contains as much sugar as 6 ½ Orios!

Hydrating sports drinks

“Electrolytes, sodium, potassium” and high amounts of sugar! These drinks are not needed if you train moderately for 30 minutes, or even an hour.

There are sugar-free alternatives, which is a better option. If you suffer from muscle cramps, supplementation may be an option. Read the label of the supplements and cut the sugars.

The electrolytes in human bodies include:

• sodium
• potassium
• calcium
• bicarbonate
• magnesium
• chloride
• phosphate

Low fat milk

90 calories per glass of skimmed milk. Skim milk is water with lactose sugar. Full fat milk has 149 calories per glass as it contains fat, so even though it may seem that skim milk is better, it is higher on the glycemic index (GI) scale than whole milk by a solid five points, which could explain why it’s associated with a greater risk of diabetes risk!

GI is a measurement of how fast a carbohydrate breaks down into glucose in the body and therefore how quickly your blood sugar rises or falls.

Whole milk is actually healthier than skim milk.

It is still best to cut the milk and replace it with water when possible.

Bran muffins

Bran muffins are just normal muffins that include additional bran. The sugar, fat and flour is the same as regular muffins.

Dried fruit

Dehydrated fruits sound great, they taste great, but they pack many more calories per gram than the original fruit.

Eat fresh fruits and skip the dried fruit.

Fruit Juice

Fruit juice is easy to consume, and it contains a lot of sugar – without the benefit of fibre.