Food Allergies ( EXAMS & TESTS )

To diagnose a food allergy, your doctor will start with a medical history and a physical exam. Your doctor will ask about any family food allergies. He or she will ask detailed questions about your symptoms and how soon they begin after you eat a suspected food. It is important to find out whether you have a food allergy or food intolerance. Your doctor may ask you to keep a record of all the foods you eat and any reactions.

Your doctor may ask you to try an elimination diet, an oral food allergy challenge, or both.

• In an elimination diet, you do not eat groups of foods that likely cause allergic reactions or specific foods based on your history and other tests. If the symptoms go away when you do not eat the food, the food is suspect. If the symptoms come back when you eat the food again, it may confirm that the food is causing the allergy. The diet usually lasts for 10 to 14 days.
• In an oral food allergy challenge, you eat increasing amounts of both suspect and nonsuspect foods while being observed. Your doctor watches to see if and when a reaction occurs. If you have reactions only to the suspect foods and not to the others, the diagnosis can be confirmed. This test usually is the best way to determine whether a food allergy exists.

You may also have allergy tests. These include:

• Skin tests. A liquid containing an allergen is put on the top layer of skin, and the skin is pricked. If the skin reacts with a raised itchy area (called a wheal), it usually means that you are allergic to that allergen. Skin tests are quick, simple, and relatively safe. But results can be false-positive, meaning that even though your skin reacts to the food, you are able to eat it without symptoms. If you are extremely allergic, skin testing may be dangerous.
• Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A blood sample is taken from a vein and tested for immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies, which are produced in response to particular allergens.

Food allergy tests that are not helpful or are unproved include:⁴

• IgG4 antibody.
• Provocation/neutralization.
• Cytotoxicity.
• Applied kinesiology.

Food Allergies

SymptomsSymptoms of food allergy can affect many parts of your body, including your:

• Digestive system. Symptoms include stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, itching in the mouth and throat, and rectal bleeding (rare in adults). These symptoms occur more frequently in children than in adults.
• Skin. Symptoms include hives or welts, swelling, itching, redness, and atopic dermatitis. Skin reactions are common in children.
• Respiratory system. Symptoms include coughing; wheezing; an itchy, stuffy, runny nose; sneezing; and difficulty breathing.

Children usually have the same symptoms as adults. Symptoms of milk or soy allergies in children may include eczema, runny nose, and wheezing. But sometimes the only symptoms are extreme crying (colic), vomiting, blood in the stool, diarrhea, constipation, or poor growth.Symptoms vary in severity from mild to life-threatening and can appear from within minutes to days of eating a food. The most severe reaction is anaphylaxis, which affects many body systems and can result in death. Anaphylaxis usually occurs minutes to an hour after you eat the food and can reoccur 1 to 2 hours later. Common triggers for anaphylaxis are peanuts, nuts, and seafood. In children, peanuts cause anaphylaxis more often than other foods.^{4, 5} Aspirin, exercise, or alcohol can increase the risk for anaphylaxis.⁴

Symptoms may be more severe if you also have another type of allergy, such as an allergy to pollens or mold. Tobacco smoke, stress, and colds can also make symptoms worse.There are many other conditions with similar symptoms, such as food poisoning and inflammatory bowel disease.

Got Dust Mites?

If dust mites and their allergens trigger you or a loved one's symptoms, efforts to obliterate them probably aren't working.

Many people attack the problem with chemical agents, high-tech vacuums, ionizers and air-filtration gadgets, and mattress and pillow encasings, as well as by washing linens in hot water -- but all are actually useless desperate measures, according to a new review of the literature.

The meta-analysis involved scrutiny of 54 studies of 3,000 people with asthma and appears in The Cochrane Library this month. Most homes are loaded with mites and allergens; even if their numbers are reduced, what remains is sufficient to induce asthma attacks, the researchers conclude. "I realize that our findings are unwelcome," says lead author Peter Gotzsche, director of the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Denmark, "but those are the facts." To stave off symptoms, in other words, relying on your medication will have to do.

Diabetic Teens and Sports

Parents should probably be more concerned about not allowing their diabetic teens to play sports than allowing them to play. Physical activity is not only an essential component of controlling diabetes-it also improves your child's current and long-term health.
Be Sure Your Teen is Ready and Prepared Before giving your teen the go-ahead to play sports, schedule a doctor's visit for a physical to determine diet, insulin needs and exercise readiness. Your physician may advise your teen to start slowly and work up to more strenuous levels of exercise, especially if your child's overweight and out of shape. Make sure your teen follows your physician's recommendations to the letter.
Tell coaches and sports directors about your teen's diabetes and how to handle an emergency. Make sure your child brings a supply kit that includes a diabetic testing kit, written health plan, emergency contact information, insulin and healthy snacks to workouts and games.

Monitor Glucose Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can occur during or after exercise. Your doctor may advise testing glucose levels before and after a workout so your teen can eat and medicate as needed. If hypoglycemia symptoms occur, stop the activity, test your child's glucose level and correct the problem as directed by your physician. Make sure your teen knows to eat a snack to boost the glucose level, if needed.
Symptoms of hypoglycemia include shakiness, weakness, sweating, lightheadedness, anxiety, hunger, headache and mental confusion or problems concentrating.
If the body doesn't have enough insulin to use the glucose that's released during exercise, the glucose stays in the blood and results in hyperglycemia (high blood sugar). If your teen is hyperglycemic, physical activity should stop until the blood sugar level is back to its safe range.
Symptoms of hyperglycemia include exhaustion, increased urination and thirst, weight loss, vision changes, moodiness, numbness or tingling in hands or feet, muscle cramps and yeast infection.

Sports to Avoid Avoid sports that pose greater danger if low blood sugar levels go down during the activity, such as rock climbing, hang gliding or scuba diving. To be safe, check with your child's doctor before trying any new sport or physical activity.

Wellness Tips for Managing Diabetes

Diabetes is a serious chronic illness that can lead to heart attack, stroke, eye, nerve and kidney disease, limb amputation and other complications. So take charge and stay healthy.

Why It's Important to Manage Your Diabetes
You will be a diabetic for the rest of your life. Your body will never properly produce or use insulin, the hormone that converts sugar, starches and other foods into glucose (blood sugar), which serves as a main source of your body's fuel. Instead of entering your cells like it should, glucose builds up in your blood and you secrete it through your urine, losing the fuel your body needs for energy.
But managing your diabetes helps your body digest and metabolize glucose properly so you get the energy you need to function properly and stay healthy.

Monitor your blood glucose There are two blood glucose-monitoring tools you should use.

• The A1C. Your healthcare provider administers the A1C typically twice a year to monitor long-term glucose control.
• Self monitoring (SMBG). Use your own meter to determine how your meals, physical activity and medications are affecting your blood sugar levels on a daily and hourly basis, which shows how to best manage your diabetes every day. Ask your doctor how often to use SMBG, how to use it correctly and how to interpret the results

Discipline yourself to follow a healthy lifestyle Managing your diabetes takes willpower. Put your health needs before anything else. Your new healthy lifestyle will become routine before you know it.

• Diet: Load up on fresh vegetables and fruit, poultry, fish, lean meats and whole grains. Avoid packaged foods because they contain too much sugar, salt and fat. Follow your dietitian's or physician's meal-planning, portion size and calorie and carb limit advice.
• Exercise: Your medical team will determine how much and what kind of exercise is right for you, based on your health. Your customized exercise routine will help control your diabetes and reduce your risk of long-term complications.

Take your diabetes seriously Diabetes won't go away. If you don't monitor your blood sugar and follow a healthy lifestyle you'll exacerbate your condition and pile on additional medical complications. It's up to you to manage your diabetes so your diabetes doesn't manage you.

Know Your Diabetes ABCs

If you have diabetes, remembering to monitor your blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels is as easy as ABC.

What They Are While being diabetic increases your possibility of having a heart attack, stroke and other diabetes-related problems, monitoring your A1C (blood glucose), blood pressure and cholesterol levels helps you reduce these risks. Here's what you need to know about your diabetes ABCs.

• A stands for the A1C test, which indicates your blood glucose level for the past three months. For most people, the A1C goal is a reading below 7. High blood glucose levels can harm your heart, blood vessels, kidneys, feet and eyes.


• B stands for blood pressure. For most people, the goal is a reading that's no higher than 130/80. The higher your blood pressure the harder your heart needs to work and the greater the possibility that you will have a heart attack, stroke or kidney disease.


• C stands for cholesterol. There are two types: LDL ("bad" cholesterol), which can build up and clog blood vessels, causing a heart attack or stroke; and HDL ("good" cholesterol), which helps remove cholesterol from your blood vessels. For most people, the LDL goal is a reading that is under 100 and the HDL goal is a reading above 40.

What You Should Do If you've been diagnosed with diabetes, ask your physician what your numbers are and what they should be, and follow a diabetes-healthy lifestyle that combines diet and exercise as designated by your health care team. And monitor your ABCs!

The Diabetes Diet

The good news about a diabetes diet is that it isn't as bad as you might think. The bad news is….Hold it! There isn't any bad news! Even diabetics with a sweet tooth can have their cake and eat it too, so to speak.

Everything In Moderation

"Everything in moderation" is the perfect axiom for a diabetes diet that is not only healthy-it's satisfying! Following your doctor's and nutritionist's directions and remembering these rules will go a long way in keeping your blood sugar (glucose) under control.

• Plan meals and snacks in advance. Eat multiple small meals and snacks every day, monitoring your portion sizes and calorie, protein, fat and carbohydrate counts as recommended by your physician or nutritionist. Include all of the food groups.


• Keep an exchange list handy, especially when eating out. Exchange lists show what foods have similar amounts of carbs, protein, fat and calories. So if you're planning to have a small apple (which qualifies as one carbohydrate serving) but you're tempted to have pasta, you can substitute one-third cup of cooked pasta (which also qualifies as one carbohydrate serving) for the small apple.


• If you like sweets, substitute apple sauce (without added sugar) or artificial sweeteners for sugar in cake, cookie and muffin recipes. Go easy on eating or cooking with sugar.


• Eat the same proportions of calories and carbs at the same time of day every day. DO NOT splurge occasionally on calories and fat and DO NOT skip meals, because the changes in your dietary routine will cause your blood sugar to rise.


• Get plenty of fiber. Whole grain breads, fruit and low-fat, low-sugar high-fiber cereals are loaded with vitamins and minerals. They help reduce cholesterol and improve blood sugar, too.


• Eat a wide variety of fresh, colorful fruits and vegetables, plus baked, broiled and grilled fish, poultry and lean meats. They offer important nutrients without adding fat and cholesterol to your diet. There are so many varieties to choose from you'll never be bored.


• Ask your physician if you can drink alcohol. It's processed in your body similarly to fat.


• Get your family on your diet. A diabetes diet is healthy for everyone. Combined with exercise, it can even help prevent the onset of diabetes.

Walk, run, ride a bike! Get involved in one of the several American Diabetes Association events where you can exercise, have fun and boost your health while you raise money for diabetes research, education and advocacy.
Train For and Enter a Marathon with Team Diabetes: Team Diabetes is the marathon-training program for a marathon fundraising event of the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Participants solicit donations as they train to run or walk a half or full marathon. Everyone at every level of walking and running is welcome. Your local ADA chapter provides training and support.
Tour de Cure: Tour de Cure is a series of fundraising cycling events held nationwide to benefit the ADA. It's not a race--it's a ride with routes designed for everyone from occasional riders to experienced cyclists. Participants travel a designated route supported from start to finish with rest stops, food to fuel the journey and fans to cheer them on!
Step Out: Be a Red Strider and walk in a Step Out event. Red Striders are people who live with any type of diabetes who can walk as an individual or on a team with friends, family or coworkers to stop diabetes--one step at a time. The Red Strider Program showcases the courage it takes to live with this diabetes.
School Walk for Diabetes: School Walk for Diabetes is a fundraising and educational event held in elementary and middle schools. In addition to raising funds for research, information and advocacy the event educates parents and teachers about the warning signs of diabetes in children, teaches kids the importance of exercise and healthy eating, and promotes community service and school spirit.

Exercise Without Really Exercising

Non exercise activity thermogenesis" is the energy you burn off doing everything but formal exercise. Researchers say this kind of movement can be just as important to maintaining a healthy weight as official sweat sessions.
Here are some ideas:
Stand up. Get up and stretch at least once every 30 minutes. You can stand (and sometimes pace) while talking on the phone, having a meeting or folding laundry. To communicate with co-workers, walk over to their desks rather than sending e-mail -- or ask if they'd like to take a walk as you discuss an idea.
Get fidgety. Tap your toes, bounce your legs, wiggle your fingers, turn your head and even clench the muscles in your buttocks while you're sitting at a desk or stuck in traffic.
Make house chores pay off. Alternate between upstairs and downstairs work so you have to climb the stairs often. Listen to music and dance around as you dust or wash windows. And tackle big jobs such as leaf raking, painting and reorganizing packed closets. If you really want to up the calorie burn, wear ankle weights the entire time. Add more steps. Park further away from a store, take stairs rather than elevators and escalators, and stay off moving walkways at airports.
Combine relaxation and sweat. If you don't want an exercise bike or treadmill in front of your television, you can still sit on an exercise ball or even in a rocking chair. You and your kids also can do sit-ups, jumping jacks or silly dances during commercial breaks.
Chew gum. Again, the goal is motion -- even if it's small steps. Even chewing up each bite of food more before swallowing can help.

Help Others as a Child Psychologist

If you desire a rewarding career helping children learn to successfully manage psychological disorders and heal emotional wounds, consider becoming a child psychologist.

What They Do
Child psychologists administer diagnostic tests, assess, diagnose and treat children who exhibit learning disorders, emotional development problems (such as challenges with social adjustment), and psychological disorders such as attention deficit disorder, plus substance abuse and family issues. They may create behavior modification plans to help the patient succeed and meet goals, and meet with physicians and other specialists to create specialized treatment programs. Sometimes other family members are included as a group or individually in the treatment process. Child psychologists may have their own private practice or see patients in a mental health facility, hospital, school or substance abuse center. Some teach in a college or university, conduct research or work in the advertising industry.

Qualifications
Child psychologists must have a doctoral degree in Child Psychology, Counseling or a related psychological field. To treat patients typically requires a 1-year supervised internship. Licensure and certification vary by state. To earn a Ph.D. involves research and analysis skills and the completion of a dissertation and usually takes from 5 to 7 years, depending on the school's program requirements.

The Demand
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the demand for psychological services in hospitals, schools and mental health facilities is expected to expand by 15 percent between 2006 and 2016. Median annual earnings of wage and salary clinical, counseling, and school psychologists in May 2006 were $59,440. The middle 50 percent earned between $45,300 and $77,750. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $35,280, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $102,730.
Increased demand from government, social service agencies and schools and an emphasis on prevention of emotional disorders, substance abuse and family problems will drive growth in this field.

Tis the Season for High Blood Pressure

Partying and rushing around throughout the holiday season can raise even healthy people's blood pressure, which can increase your risk of heart and kidney disease, heart attack and stroke.
To help prevent the "silent killer" from crashing your holidays, follow these tips:

1. Eat to Your Heart's Content

• At parties and buffets, fill up first on veggies (without the creamy dips) and keep rich hors d'oeuvres and desserts to a minimum. Avoid "mystery" foods.

• Say no to salt: chips, nuts, pretzels, anything! And if you're doing the entertaining, buy unsalted or low-salt alternatives. Ditto for processed, pre-packaged and canned foods. Don't add salt to anything!

• Under-indulge in red meats, fats and sweets. Eat more fish.

• In restaurants or at banquets request low or no fat. Same for salt. Call ahead to ask for a special healthy meal, if possible.

• Get plenty of potassium. Delicious natural sources such as bananas, avocados and apricots reduce the negative effects of sodium.

• Make healthy food choices whenever you're not socializing.

2. Stay (or Start Getting) Physically and Mentally Fit

• Get regular exercise, including aerobics, muscle-strengthening and stretching, and take relaxing breaks--to reduce both your blood pressure and those artery-damaging cumulative spikes in stress.

• Short on time for long workouts or yoga classes? Walk your dog a little longer. Park further away from the entrances to stores and offices. Pick up your walking pace. And squeeze in some quick daily naps, meditation breaks or other stress-reducing activities.

• Slim your chances of gaining weight - and shed some pounds if needed. Even a little weight loss can reduce strain on the heart and lower or prevent hypertension.

• Do your shopping when stores are least likely to be crowded.

3. Watch What You Drink

• Limit soft drinks and alcohol - their high sugar content raises blood pressure. Soft drinks also contain salt. Even diet sodas pose a risk because fructose raises blood pressure, too.

• Limit your caffeine intake to 2 cups a day.

4. Take Your Meds

• If you take high blood pressure medication, don't let rushing around and changes in your routine throw you off schedule.

5. Don't Smoke

• Smoking increases your blood pressure while you smoke and for many minutes after.

Follow these guidelines always and enjoy many more years of happy and healthy holidays!

Get Your Glow On

Ah, that holiday atmosphere! The chilly outdoors and toasty indoors dry the air--and your skin. Here are some tips to help you glow even when you're not next to a fire.

1. Humidify your environment.

• Humidifiers add moisture to the air which moistens your skin. Place humidifiers throughout your home and in your office.

2. Liven up your face.

• Masks, chemical peels or microdermabrasion exfoliate (remove) dead skin cells and reveal a fresher-looking you. Exfoliation also boosts your skin's penetration of moisturizers, creams and oils.
• If you have dry skin, avoid harsh peels or masks. Don't use clay-based products because clay draws moisture out of your skin.
• Stay away from alcohol-based toners or astringents because they strip oil from your skin.
• Use products with vitamins A, C and E for antioxidant protection.

3. Use oil-based moisturizers--the oil creates a barrier against moisture loss.

• "Ointments" contain the most oil because they contain 80% oil and only 20% water.
• Use products that contain "humectants" such as glycerin, sorbitol or alpha-hydroxy acids, which attract moisture to your skin. Those with non-clogging oils such as avocado, mineral, primrose or almond oil are best.
• Your daytime moisturizing ointment should contain a broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 15 or more. Apply 30 minutes before going outside to protect your skin from sun damage. Yes, even weaker winter rays can harm your skin.

4. Be good to your lips.

• Keep them moist and soft with a weekly lip scrub and moisturizing regime.
• Prevent dryness and chapping by applying gloss, balm or lipstick.

5. Be wise about your eyes.

• Moisturize with a gentle product that's formulated for use around the eyes.
• Prevent puffiness by elevating your head with 2 or more pillows when you sleep so fluid doesn't get trapped in your lower eyelids.
• Use cold compresses to reduce dark circles.

6. Get your beauty sleep.

• Because your face is relaxed and less affected by gravity when you sleep, those 8 hours in dreamland help smooth facial wrinkles and lines.
• Research suggests that anti-aging products are more potent when you use them at night and that skin may be more receptive to active ingredients while you sleep.
• Skin cell regeneration is slightly faster at night. So don't forget to apply your facial ointments before

Kids should get moving to avoid obesity

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• Vigorous exercise may be an especially good way to keep kids lean, but sitting around, in and of itself, doesn't appear to have a major role in making them fat, new research shows.

Nevertheless, there are still plenty of reasons to avoid too much sedentary "screen time," Dr. Ulf Ekelund of the MRC Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, UK and colleagues say, given potential negatives including "violence and aggressive behavior, poor academic performance, and poor body image."To help tease out the role of time spent in different types of activity in making children fat, independent of screen time and otherwise being a couch potato, Ekelund and his team looked at 1,862 children 9 to 10 years old, 23 percent of whom were overweight or obese.Using a wristwatch-like device to measure the amount and intensity of activity children got throughout the day, the researchers looked for associations between this activity and children's waist size, amount of body fat, and body mass index (BMI). Kids also reported how much time they spent watching TV or using a computer.Sixty-nine percent of the children were getting at least an hour of moderate physical activity a day, while 58 percent reported having less than two hours of screen time daily.While children who spent more time not moving had bigger waists and a larger percentage of body fat, much of this relationship could be attributed to the fact that they spent less time engaging in moderate physical activity.But the time children spent engaging in vigorous activity, and their combined moderate activity-vigorous activity time, had the strongest ties to waist circumference and fat mass.For instance, every 6.5 minutes a child spent doing vigorous activity like playing ball, bicycling, or running around outside was associated with a 1.32-centimeter reduction in waist size, the researchers found. But 13.6 minutes of moderate physical activity only reduced waist size by half a centimeter.Based on the findings, the researchers say, children should still be encouraged to limit their sedentary time, but this alone won't be enough to tackle childhood obesity."Interventions may therefore need to incorporate higher intensity-based activities to curb the growing obesity epidemic," they conclude.Boys in the study got an average of a half-hour of vigorous activity each day, while girls got 22 minutes. "There is no clear cut answer" as to how much vigorous activity is optimal, Ekelund noted in an email to Reuters Health."For most health outcomes, the more activity you do the better." But, he added, people who do lots of strenuous activity may still put on too much weight if they take in too many calories.

Dieting Made Easy(continue)

Cut the cheese content

Most of us bring our lunches to work and the most common thing we pack in the old lunch bag is a sandwich. So, if you are eating five sandwiches a week, it's important to cut the calorie and fat content in each sandwich, without killing its taste. Here is a little trick that will help you do just that: Cut the cheese content.
Instead of using slices, include shavings (shredded cheese) in your healthy sandwich. You will cover the same surface area of bread, however, you'll be using much less cheese.
The same principle can be applied to salads, or cheese can be melted on to add flavor to other foods. Simply reduce the quantities used by opting for shredded cheese rather than slices; in the long run, you will consume a lot less calories and fat, which will, in turn, reduce your weight.

Measure what you eat

It's true that sandwiches aren't the same without mayonnaise, but men usually like to spread a lot of mayonnaise on their bread. The next time you prepare a sandwich, measure the amount of mayonnaise you actually add to the sandwich. That way, you can actually see how many grams of fat you'll be eating with each sandwich. You'll quickly see that those servings will get smaller and smaller and before you know it, you'll want to switch to a lighter brand of mayonnaise.
This minor change to your eating habits will really make a noticeable difference in your weight, while keeping the taste differences to a minimum. Please remember that these little tips can also be applied to margarine, butter and all kinds of cheese. This is a simple tip that will make dieting easy.

Cut out the bread

Finally, when you're at a restaurant and the waiter places the basket of bread on your table, try to toss it aside. The worst thing every man does is eat half the basket before the meal arrives. Take, for example, someone that eats three slices of bread each time he goes out to eat. These three slices can add as much as 200 calories to the entire meal; and if your meal consists of 1,000 calories, you just added 20% to it.
Bread is processed carbohydrates and the insulin release the bread triggers tells the body to store the extra calories as fat. Thus, to keep it simple, try to stay away from all types of bread as much as possible, especially later in the day.

dieting made easy

The good thing about these dieting made easy tips is that you can lose weight without letting all of your snack-eating friends know that you're watching your food intake. Furthermore, the next time you go out on a date, she won't be turned off by thinking you're a pickier eater than she is for requesting the low-calorie menu or your salad dressing on the side. Read on, follow these simple weight loss tips and watch your waistline undergo some noticeable improvements.

Choose juices with pulp

Most of us don't like drinking water all day long. We find that it lacks flavor and that it simply doesn't quench our thirst as well as soft drinks or juices do. So, if you're a big juice drinker, replace pulp-free fruit juice with juice that is rich in pulp. The reason is simple: Juice with more pulp will fill you up more quickly than processed juice. Becoming full faster means that you'll consume less juice by day's end, thereby reducing the amount of excess calories.
Pulp is loaded with fiber, an essential nutrient that your body not only needs, but will make you feel a lot more full throughout the day. More pulp can also help prevent insulin spiking, which usually results in an energy crash that comes from strained juices. As a rule of thumb, drinking juice with extra pulp will reduce your total juice consumption by one-fourth.

Choose whole wheat breads

The same principle can be applied to bagels or bread. Instead of buying white bread, stick to whole wheat. The added fiber in whole wheat bread will kill your appetite quicker than if you were eating white bread. Therefore, instead of eating two portions of the processed version of the bread, you might only eat one, resulting in a cut in your caloric intake. Products containing whole wheat are also believed to keep blood-sugar levels stable over a longer period of time. To make this dieting made easy tip even more effective, cut your portions in half and eat them over a longer period of time.

Our tips on dieting made easy continues after the jump... Next Page >>

The Right Time To Train:

at night

Most of us enjoy training at night, after a hard day's work. First, it is a question of habit. Most people train after work to socialize and to be part of the group . Second, most people simply do not seem to have the energy nor the willpower to train in the morning.

The gym is usually busier at night, which makes it more appealing to those who want to be seen working out and for those who lack motivation. Having a lot of people around when you train is obviously more appealing than being alone with your benchpress.

Training at night is also efficient because most of the day's fat and energy can be burned during that workout. This will allow one to sleep without excess baggage, which turns into fat during the night. Usually after a workout, one will feel like eating something light and healthy like chicken or tuna. Such a snack is another advantage to going to sleep with a low fat reserve in your body.

There are two main fallbacks to training in the evening. First, people who have a hard time falling asleep might find it even more difficult after an exhausting workout. This is because a workout pumps up the adrenaline level in your body, therefore increasing the blood flow streaming through your veins and making it hard to fall asleep.

Second, if someone lacks personal discipline, he might skip his training period too often and postpone his workout for another day. The most popular excuses are I'm too tired or I'll go tomorrow .

Hopefully, these tips will help you choose the best time for your training period. Until next time, train hard and remember to eat properly.

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The Right Time To Train:

People, in general, find that going to the gym is a real drag. They try to squeeze training periods into their schedules; whether it's in the morning, at night, or during lunchtime, as long as it's done. For those with the dilemma of choosing the right time to train, here are a few pointers to help you choose the best training period.

morning

In general, training in the morning is a real energy booster. A morning training routine does not only give you an energy boost, it will also free up your evenings; allowing you to enjoy activities that are less demanding and more relaxing.

The body might still feel sleepy early in the day, but it is actually fully rejuvenated from a good night's sleep, and ready to take some physical workout abuse. In the morning, muscles are relaxed and more responsive to the effects of weight and cardiovascular training. That means that for those who practice weight training, the muscles will be more responsive to growth and toning because they are well rested. You will be able to lift more weight, more often.

Training in the morning will also be very efficient for those wanting to lose fat. In the morning, the body does not have a lot of energy (food) from the long period of sleep. Therefore, once all sugars from breakfast are burned, the muscles will immediately start burning fat cells for energy, resulting in higher fat burning rates.

One fallback of training in the morning is that it will cut in on your sleep time, but chances are that if you train in the morning, you will be exhausted in the evening and will go to bed earlier. It is a question of getting used to it. A little reminder is to eat well after your workout, even if it's 6:00am and you're not hungry, eat the necessary nutrients to stay healthy and allow your body to recuperate during the day.

lunchtime

For those of you who have the time and easy access to a gym, training during your lunch break can be quite appealing. Time constraint is usually the biggest problem of working out during lunch time. Training, showering, and eating in 1 hour is almost impossible. Everyone of these components is important for having a successful and lasting training routine.

On the other hand, if someone has the time to train properly, shower and eat in a two-hour lunch break, it might just be a perfect setup. Making a habit of training during the afternoon will free up your evenings, relieving you of the morning stress, and allowing you to sleep in the morning. Again, remember to refill your body with proper nutrients after your afternoon workout.