How to Lose Weight without Dieting

There are plenty of fad diets that may help you lose weight, they also leave you feeling hungry and food-deprived. For all those who don't have the time or inclination to undertake a crash diet or even hit the gym. If you want to slim down the healthy and painless way, try the following. After all, it's not what you eat but how you eat.

# CHEW MORE, EAT LESS

The longer time you spend chewing, the lesser calories you consume. Chewing for longer prevents over-eating, by giving the brain more time to receive signals from the stomach that it is full. It is not only great for digesting, but it also helps in limiting your portion size. Try chewing your food 35 to 50 times per mouthful.

# DON'T SKIP BREAKFAST 

No matter how late you are running to work, avoid missing breakfast. There is a reason why it is called the most important meal of the day. Your body (rather your brain) expects to be refueled a few times each day, so when you skip breakfast, you feel so hungry that when lunch time comes, you overeat or maybe choose foods items that are not the healthiest choices. Missing breakfast slows down your metabolism. More importantly, always eat your breakfast, within an hour of waking up, as your body has gone without food the entire night.

# CONCENTRATE ON YOUR FOOD

How many times has your mother reprimanded you to not talk, read or watch TV while eating food? Not without a reason. When you are multitasking during meal times, your brain isn't focusing on the amount of food that you are consuming and you are more prone to piling on pounds. This doesn't mean that you cannot enjoy a meal with your friends. You can do so, but just pay attention to what you are putting in your mouth!

# DON'T OVERCOOK YOUR MEALS

Overcooking food kills or reduces the number of nutrients your meal contains, and when you don't get enough nutrients, you don't feel satisfied and soon start to get junk food cravings. To combat this, try eating more raw foods like sushi and salads. Steam, bake, blanch or grill vegetables and grill or bake meat and fish. Avoid microwaving.

# FRUITS BEFORE MEALS 

It is advisable to eat fruits at least 30 minutes before any heavy meal. This way, the fruits will digest quickly. Eating fruits on an empty stomach detoxifies your system and supplies you with a great deal of energy for losing weight.

# HAVE SMALLER MEALS, MORE OFTEN 

Ideally, you should eat five to six times per day, with a two to three hour break between each meal or snack. Eating more frequently gets your metabolism going and keeps it working at an elevated level continuously throughout the day. But don't use this rule as an excuse to overeat.

# AVOID EATING AFTER 8 PM 

It's good to eat your last meal before eight in the evening. This way you don't land up binging on a snack before dinner time. If you find it hard to resist, have some herbal tea or brush your teeth after dinner immediately to switch your mind off from the idea of eating.

# THINK AND DRINK 

While everyone knows it's necessary to drink at least eight to 10 glasses of water, very few know when one should consume it. When you drink is as important as what you drink. If you drink water in-between meals, the liquid slows down digestion, diluting the acid in your stomach and so the nutrients from the food that you eat are not well absorbed. To avoid this try to drink water 15 minutes before or after a meal, and if you really need to drink while you eat, limit yourself to small sips only.

Pedicure in 5 easy steps

Requirements: Nail clippers, cotton pads, nail polish remover, cuticle cream, a nail file, a loofah, a good foot scrub and moisturiser 

Step 1:

First, you need to trim and shape your nails. Remove your old nail polish with the nail polish remover and trim your nails neatly. Make sure you cut straight across and don't cut the corners too much, as this can lead to painful ingrown nails. Use a nail file to give them the desired shape.

Step 2:

Give your feet a nice foot bath. In a basin or tub, fill warm water enough to cover up to your ankles and add some bath salts. You can also add a few drops of any essential oil of your choice. Also add a few smooth pebbles to the water. These will provide a gentle massage as you place your feet on them. Soak your feet and relax for 15-20 minutes. Dry them with a towel.

Step 3:

The next step is exfoliating. Once you are done with the foot bath, dry you feet and rub some cuticle cream on the base of each toe nail. Leave it for a few minutes. In the meanwhile, using a foot scrub and remove all the dry and dead skin cells. Be firm but do not scrape too hard. Next, wipe off the cuticle cream and push back the cuticles gently with a cuticle pusher.

Step 4:

Once you are done scrubbing, wash your feet clean and moisturise them. Moisturising helps soften, hydrate the skin and protects it from cracking. Rub a generous portion on your feet and massage well. Regular foot massages also help keep nerve endings stimulated, improve blood circulation and nourish the skin and foot muscles.

Step 5:

Now your nails are ready to get decorated. Paint them with a colour of your choice. Always apply a base coat. Wait for it to dry and then apply a coat of nail polish. Let it dry completely before you apply the next coat. This will make your nail polish last longer.

Taking care of your Hands during Winter

Hands are the most neglected during the winter.  

# Exfoliate

Exfoliating your hands during winter is a must. Your hands tend to become dry and dark due to exposure to the rays of the sun as well as due to the chilly air. Take some scrub and massage it onto both hands and leave it for some time. Wash it off after five to ten minutes. 

# Moisturise

Start with a routine of moisturising your hands every time you wash them. Use a hand lotion or cream especially for the winters. Look for products made with natural ingredients. For the day time, use a one with an SPF of 15 and above. 

# Treat cuts and wounds 

In case you get a cut or a wound during the winter, make sure you treat it immediately. If you do not treat it, there are chances that you might get some infection and that can cause further issues.

# Wash your hands often 

It is important for you to wash your hands with a cleanser as many times as possible. This way you will not carry infections which might lead to cold or a cough. Also use a hand sanitiser as often as you can.

Turmeric for Supple Skin

Turmeric is a staple ingredient in most Indian cuisines. It has many therapeutic effects. 

Indians have been using turmeric to beautify themselves since ages now. 

If you have an uneven skin tone and would do anything to get that perfect peaches and cream complexion, then turmeric's what you need. Turmeric evens out the skin tone by reducing the traces of pigmentation. 

Mix a little turmeric powder along with cucumber juice or lemon juice and apply on skin. Wash it off after 15 minutes. But remember to do this everyday to notice a significant change in your skin colour. 

Turmeric makes for an awesome body scrub. This is why most Indian brides used to smear a paste of turmeric and besan on their bodies before their wedding to get skin that is super smooth, baby soft and glowing. 

Application of turmeric and a little milk cream also makes the skin supple and improves its elasticity. 

How much water should you drink in a day and why?

There are so many factors used to determine it. These can include your health, where you live, or how active you are. Knowing about your body’s fluid needs will help you get a good estimate of how much you need. We lose water from our bodies by sweating, urinating, and breathing. 

You must replenish this loss with drinking water and eating foods that are high in water content, such as melons and tomatoes. The average, healthy man should drink about 13 cups of water a day, and a healthy woman about 9 cups a day. There is an “8X8” rule: 8 glasses of 8 ounce fluid a day. 

Women who are breast-feeding or pregnant should drink more water. If you exercise, you must drink enough water to make up for the loss that you experience when you sweat and such. Living in an area that is high in humidity also causes you to sweat, meaning that you will require a higher water intake. 

Those who have been ill, including vomiting, fever, or diarrhea should also drink more fluids. We need to keep enough water in our bodies because most of our organs require water to function. This includes flushing of toxins, carrying nutrients to the cells, and giving your ears, nose, and threat tissues a moist environment. 

Low water levels lead to dehydration which an drain your energy, making you tired, or causing a headache. Keep adequately hydrated and live a great and healthy life!

Tea or Coffee

Tea and Coffee are similar, there are differences. Both are part of the same family, and are grown similarly. They both contain caffeine, but in different amounts; coffee contains more than tea when made, but when dry, tea has more caffeine. The amount of caffeine in coffee can cause us anxiety, while the caffeine in tea can help us concentrate better. 

Tea contains quercetin, which has been shown to help prevent cancer and cardiovascular problems; coffee contains none of this. Tea also has ingredients that can help with inflammatory disorders, arthritis, and blood clots. 

Coffee is not all bad though; it contains ingredients to help with Parkinson’s and asthma. Both coffee and tea contain antioxidants, which are good for our bodies. In teas, these help help reduce cholesterol and lower our stress levels. In coffee, these help us regulate our blood sugar and prevent gallstones. 

Some people like both, some like neither, and some like one or the other. Both have health benefits, so either is good to have. Pick the one you prefer, and enjoy!

Benefits of Ginseng

Ginseng has been around for thousands of years, and is one herb that people have been using to help improve their health. This herb is known to help one’s body restore itself, and typically has no side effects. If you are recovering from an illness, ginseng can help. It gives us a great sense of well-being, and helps with stamina. Improvement of physical and mental performance is another area in which it can help. Some common ailments that ginseng is great for helping with include hepatitis C, erectile dysfunction and menopause symptoms. If you have high blood glucose levels or blood pressure, it is great for helping to regulate those as well. Both men and women tend to get stressed at certain times in our lives, and ginseng can help lower these levels of stress. Many people use ginseng to lower cholesterol, get more energy and/or endurance, and even prevent infections. If your age is really showing, ginseng makes a great anti-aging supplement. Some of the side effects that ginseng can create are headaches, gastrointestinal, and sleep problems. Some people suffer from an allergic reaction after taking this herb. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, you should not take this because of the estrogen-like effects that it produces. 

Minerals in our Water

Most of us think that water is just that: pure water. However, many times a good spring water will contain a ton of minerals and nutrients that we need to help keep us healthy and balanced. To begin with, water contains bicarbonate, which is present in all of our organs and fluids. This mineral is a buffer to help maintain the correct pH balance in your body. It also helps you to aid with digestion. Water and bicarbonate tends to be enough to help with an upset stomach. Sodium, which is also known as salt, is also found in our spring water. This helps to regulate the water present in the body. Sodium also helps you to generate electrical signals to your brain, and communicate with the muscles and central nervous system. Water also contains tons of calcium, which we know to be important for our bones. Calcium also helps the body to clot blood, develop muscles, and assist the central nervous system to function. Lastly, magnesium is a mineral that is vital to our bodily structure and its function. Most of this is stored in our skeletal system, and helps us to create energy. Water not only helps to keep us hydrated, especially during the summer, but also contains some of the nutrients and minerals that our bodies need. So go drink some water and start living a little healthier now.

Honey helps relieve Cough

Winter often brings sickness and colds. These in turn cause us to cough, which can be annoying, uncomfortable, and sometimes even painful, and often can prevent us from sleeping at night.Coughing serves the purpose of expelling mucus and/or irritants from the lungs. Coughing is a natural body reflex stimulated by the respiratory system. 

There are two types of coughing, and each is treated differently. The first type is the chest cough, which causes phlegm to loosen and expel. The second type is the dry cough, which does not produce phlegm. There are many things that we can use for these coughs, but here we will focus on honey and its effects on the dry cough. Note that honey should not be used for chest coughs as this will restrict the phlegm from releasing. However, honey is a great treatment and prevention for the dry cough. Honey helps with dry coughs by coating the back of your throat, which will soothe the irritation, as well as prevent stimulation of the sensory nerves. And although this is only a temporary solution, a tablespoon of honey straight, or mixed with hot water and lemon, will at the very least help you get a night’s rest. Research has even shown that honey can be more effective than over-the-counter medications. It should be warned that one should not give honey to children under the age of 1 because of the health risks. However, if you are suffering from a dry cough and are looking for a suppressant, honey may be just the solution you need.

Drinking Green Tea helps to Improve Memory

Green tea has many benefits for the human body, including weight loss, lower cholesterol, protect against cardiovascular diseases, and is full ofantioxidants. Recently, scientists have found that green tea can also help improve your memory. The main ingredient in green tea is epigallocatechin-3 gallate, or EGCG. EGCG is an antioxidant that has been found to protect the body from degenerative diseases that often come with age. Research has found that EGCG helps neuron cells generate. EGCG also has been shown to help in the creation of neural progenitor cells. These are similar to stem cells which are known to turn into other types of cells. These cells can improve our cognitive  functions, including both short and long-term memory.  This is why green tea and its ingredients can help fight off degenerative diseases, as well as memory loss. There are many other benefits that can come from drinking green tea. Among these include a reduction in the risk of esophageal cancer; delaying Alzheimer’s symptoms; calming and relaxing those that suffer from depression; reducing wrinkles to improve your skin; lowering high blood pressure; and lastly slowing the rise of blood sugars, which is beneficial for diabetics. Green tea has so many benefits that one would be foolish not to drink it.