The Power of Positive Thinking

Positive thinking is a mental attitude that admits into the mind thoughts, words and images that are conductive to growth, expansion and success. It is a mental attitude that expects good and favorable results. A positive mind anticipates happiness, joy, health and a successful outcome of every situation and action. Whatever the mind expects, it finds.
Not everyone accepts or believes in positive thinking. Some consider the subject as just nonsense, and others scoff at people who believe and accept it. Among the people who accept it, not many know how to use it effectively to get results. Yet, it seems that many are becoming attracted to this subject, as evidenced by the many books, lectures and courses about it. This is a subject that is gaining popularity.
It is quite common to hear people say: "Think positive!", to someone who feels down and worried. Most people do not take these words seriously, as they do not know what they really mean, or do not consider them as useful and effective. How many people do you know, who stop to think what the power of positive thinking means?
The following story illustrates how this power works.Allan applied for a new job, but as his self-esteem was low, and he considered himself as a failure and unworthy of success, he was sure that he was not going to get the job. He had a negative attitude towards himself, and believed that the other applicants were better and more qualified than him. Allan manifested this attitude, due to his negative past experiences with job interviews.
His mind was filled with negative thoughts and fears concerning the job for the whole week before the job interview. He was sure he would be rejected. On the day of the interview he got up late, and to his horror he discovered that the shirt he had planned to wear was dirty, and the other one needed ironing. As it was already too late, he went out wearing a shirt full of wrinkles.
During the interview he was tense, displayed a negative attitude, worried about his shirt, and felt hungry because he did not have enough time to eat breakfast. All this distracted his mind and made it difficult for him to focus on the interview. His overall behavior made a bad impression, and consequently he materialized his fear and did not get the job.
Jim applied for the same job too, but approached the matter in a different way. He was sure that he was going to get the job. During the week preceding the interview he often visualized himself making a good impression and getting the job.
In the evening before the interview he prepared the clothes he was going to wear, and went to sleep a little earlier. On day of the interview he woke up earlier than usual, and had ample time to eat breakfast, and then to arrive to the interview before the scheduled time.
He got the job because he made a good impression. He had also of course, the proper qualifications for the job, but so had Allan.
What do we learn from these two stories? Is there any magic employed here? No, it is all natural. When the attitude is positive we entertain pleasant feelings and constructive images, and see in our mind's eye what we really want to happen. This brings brightness to the eyes, more energy and happiness. The whole being broadcasts good will, happiness and success. Even the health is affected in a beneficial way. We walk tall and the voice is more powerful. Our body language shows the way you feel inside.
Positive and negative thinking are both contagious. All of us affect, in one way or another, the people we meet. This happens instinctively and on a subconscious level, through thoughts and feelings transference and through body language. People sense our aura and are affected by our thoughts. Is it any wonder that we want to be around positive persons and shun negative ones? People are more disposed to help us if we are positive. They dislike and avoid anyone broadcasting negativity.
Negative thoughts, words and attitude bring up negative and unhappy moods and actions. When the mind is negative, poisons are released into the blood, which cause more unhappiness and negativity. This is the way to failure, frustration and disappointment.
Practical Instructions
In order to turn the mind toward the positive, inner work and training are required. Attitude and thoughts do not change overnight.
Read about this subject, think about its benefits and persuade yourself to try it. The power of thoughts is a mighty power that is always shaping our life. This shaping is usually done subconsciously, but it is possible to make the process a conscious one. Even if the idea seems strange give it a try, as you have nothing to lose, but only to gain. Ignore what others might say or think about you, if they discover that you are changing the way you think.
Always visualize only favorable and beneficial situations. Use positive words in your inner dialogues or when talking with others. Smile a little more, as this helps to think positively. Disregard any feelings of laziness or a desire to quit. If you persevere, you will transform the way your mind thinks.
Once a negative thought enters your mind, you have to be aware of it and endeavor to replace it with a constructive one. The negative thought will try again to enter your mind, and then you have to replace it again with a positive one. It is as if there are two pictures in front of you, and you choose to look at one of them and disregard the other. Persistence will eventually teach your mind to think positively and ignore negative thoughts.
In case you feel any inner resistance when replacing negative thoughts with positive ones, do not give up, but keep looking only at the beneficial, good and happy thoughts in your mind.
It does not matter what your circumstances are at the present moment. Think positively, expect only favorable results and situations, and circumstances will change accordingly. It may take some time for the changes to take place, but eventually they do.
Another method to employ is the repetition of affirmations. It is a method which resembles creative visualization, and which can be used in conjunction with it. It is the subject of another article on this website.

Yoga for you!

Yoga and Meditation Heal your Mind

Yoga and Meditation Benefits

The word meditation stands for relaxation of your body mind and soul or interacting with yourself and almighty at a place with no disturbing factors. It has been found that regular meditation can help in weight loss. It increases self-awareness, so you're less likely to succumb to emotional eating when you're practicing meditation.

Meditation strengthens your focus and amazingly enables you to pay attention to what you are doing. Meditation makes you a person who can think ahead or think about the consequences of actions that you are going to take. You become mindful of your actions or its consequences, including eating. For example, when you pay attention to how your body reacts to having a grilled sandwich or a cheeseburger, you'll find that you feel sleepy and sluggish and that your thinking gets fuzzy. As a result, you think of better choices instead of going for that burger.

Breathing and meditation go hand in hand. When you meditate, you concentrate on your breathing while dismissing any distracting thoughts. This takes practice. After about 10 minutes a day of practice, you'l1 soon be able to get your mind off of food in any stressful situation which means that even you are hungry and there is plate full of candies you will manage to stay away from it.

Meditation is a gradual process and needs some steps to be followed strictly. There are typically four steps in a meditation process to get desired results.

• Place : Set aside a special place you can go each day. This is your meditation spot where you won't be disturbed. A corner of your bedroom is often a good place to meditate.
• Posture : you must sit in the most comfortable place in your home or can go out in a park, either on the floor with your back supported or in a chair. If you like, you can lean against a wall, using a cushion for added support. There are special positions available such as lotus position for meditation
• Breathing : At first concentrate on just breathing, without trying to control or change your normal breathing pattern.
• Dismiss distractions : If you get distracted by passing thoughts, avoid delving into them. Tell yourself that you'll deal with them later. Then return to concentrating on your breathing. If you find that your thoughts keep racing, keep a pad and pencil nearby. Write down the worries, concerns, or problems that you're afraid will distract you from meditation and promise yourself that you'll deal with them when you're done.

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Unite your Body with your Mind and Soul. Articles on Yoga giving information on various aspects of Yoga Therapy for Weight Loss and Other Benefits of Yoga.

Articles on Obesity, Fitness and Health, Diet and Nutrition, Family Nourishment and other issues concerning healthy living. Body Mind and Soul Retreat, Spiritual Healing, Yoga Meditation, Relax Mind and Body, Nourish the Soul.

NEWS and Articles found in this section will help you update your knowledge base on obesity and other health problems you might not be aware of as on yet. An enormous amount of health issues that we face in a daily life routine have somehow trapped us in an endless maze. One needs to be aware of the possible solutions the health problems because most of them originate from home and can be solved at home itself. Yoga Articles will help you treat yourslef with calm and silent spiritual healing. Yoga treatment is a great way to lose weight as it has no side effects and it helps you build inner confidence through out the Yoga Therpay for weight Loss.

Maintaining Ideal Weight - Yoga Can Help

Ideal weight! the slogan itself explains its meaning that is having the perfect weight proportional and complementary to the height. The most accurate evaluation of your ideal weight takes into account the composition of your body - how much of your weight is lean body mass (including muscles and bone) and how much is body fat and water. For optimum health, body fat should be no more than 20% of total body weight for men and 30% for women. So in a way fat is good if it is approximately equal to the desired limit.

Water is the most essential body component. Over 70% of our body is made of water and is involved in virtually every process inside. It is not only the transporter of nutrients but maintains vital metabolic functions. It not only keeps our skin clean, healthy and protects it from parasites and germs, water forms part of each cell and tissue. Body is composed of billions of cells and when our water intakes fall, cells get dehydrated, waterways passing through each cell are closed, hindering proper absorption; internally the whole system goes on alert that result in a feeling of anxiety, panic and uneasiness etc.

Body fat guidelines!

As informed above it is generally accepted that men should have less than 20% total body fat and women 30% or less, However, it is not threatening experts suggest that an excess is not particularly hazardous to health until an individual accumulates 35% and 40% total body fat respectively. Such levels definitely constitute and mark the presence of obesity and potentially, if not most probably, have a detrimental effect on one's health.

Source of body fat!

Fat is produced by the body when an excess intake of calories in the form of food or drink occurs. Obviously if you put extra amount of packs in a bag it will look bulgy and fatty. When the diet provides the body with more calories than it needs for general maintenance and its current level of physical activity, this excess energy has to go somewhere and it can’t come out through an opening so very generously it is stored in the form of body fat.

Weight vs fat!

Body fat is not completely alien to body weight. But there is a real difference between the two. Weight could be fat, water or even muscle tissue, whereas fat is fat. The loss of weight through excess sweating as experienced in the sauna/steam room or after exercising is not fat but water. Such weight returns immediately you consume fluid. Consequently if you lose say two pounds in a session you will replace it with approximately the next two pounds of water drunk (one pint of water weighs a pound and a quarter). But what if fluid loss is replaced by a high calorie drink you may end up gaining fats as a result of your weight loss attempt.

Ideal weight! the slogan itself explains its meaning that is having the perfect weight proportional and complementary to the height. The most accurate evaluation of your ideal weight takes into account the composition of your body - how much of your weight is lean body mass (including muscles and bone) and how much is body fat and water. For optimum health, body fat should be no more than 20% of total body weight for men and 30% for women. So in a way fat is good if it is approximately equal to the desired limit.

Water is the most essential body component. Over 70% of our body is made of water and is involved in virtually every process inside. It is not only the transporter of nutrients but maintains vital metabolic functions. It not only keeps our skin clean, healthy and protects it from parasites and germs, water forms part of each cell and tissue. Body is composed of billions of cells and when our water intakes fall, cells get dehydrated, waterways passing through each cell are closed, hindering proper absorption; internally the whole system goes on alert that result in a feeling of anxiety, panic and uneasiness etc.

Body fat guidelines!

As informed above it is generally accepted that men should have less than 20% total body fat and women 30% or less, However, it is not threatening experts suggest that an excess is not particularly hazardous to health until an individual accumulates 35% and 40% total body fat respectively. Such levels definitely constitute and mark the presence of obesity and potentially, if not most probably, have a detrimental effect on one's health.

Source of body fat!

Fat is produced by the body when an excess intake of calories in the form of food or drink occurs. Obviously if you put extra amount of packs in a bag it will look bulgy and fatty. When the diet provides the body with more calories than it needs for general maintenance and its current level of physical activity, this excess energy has to go somewhere and it can’t come out through an opening so very generously it is stored in the form of body fat.

Weight vs fat!

Body fat is not completely alien to body weight. But there is a real difference between the two. Weight could be fat, water or even muscle tissue, whereas fat is fat. The loss of weight through excess sweating as experienced in the sauna/steam room or after exercising is not fat but water. Such weight returns immediately you consume fluid. Consequently if you lose say two pounds in a session you will replace it with approximately the next two pounds of water drunk (one pint of water weighs a pound and a quarter). But what if fluid loss is replaced by a high calorie drink you may end up gaining fats as a result of your weight loss attempt.

Safe Weight Loss Through Yoga

Yoga Safe Weight Loss ? Myth or Truth !!

Weight loss! The magic word that can produce ripples in the body mind and soul of every obese person who want to achieve it one day. The desire to shed those extra pounds suddenly erupts as a volcano one day and you start undergoing the mental trauma for a quick weight loss. But one may ask that why are you competing with nature, the weight you put up in last few years, how can it be removed from your body within hours. We are not against weight loss that might seem to you. But what we oppose is sudden reduction in your BMI just to look good and cool. Instead of taking this high degree of risk you can go for a safer option i.e. safe weight loss. This article will help you to loose weight safely and intelligently. So just relax your body mind and soul and go through the text below.

Safe weightloss is a process of gradual and natural weight loss. It is a far better option to opt for if you are someone who is a novice in weight loss world. Safe weightloss programs do not promise fast, easy results that set your body up for failure. On the contrary Safe weight loss programs are designed to lose more fat, and build less lean tissue- this means weight loss of about 1- 2 pounds a week and no more. You have to ride your body mind and soul simultaneously and spiritually. Synthetic pills though effective are prone to side effects forcing you in danger of health hazards.

A comprehensive approach to maintaining good health and body mind soul spirit includes increasing self-responsibility for wellness, healthy lifestyle choices, health-promoting diet and a positive mental attitude.

Some of the safe weight loss techniques include safe dieting and weight loss programs that encourage moderate physical activity to burn calories and build lean tissue. It is a matter of fact that a typical adult gains weight slowly, over time because of the hyper active schedule than most of the aged counterparts. Because of bad eating habits and lack of physical activities at work one day it reaches that point where you and others notice it. And all that you want is sudden removal of that bulgy and not so cool part of your body; you want that extra weight off right there and then! Many weight loss programs capitalize on this, promising instant results with very little effort. That is why so many people who go for dieting, regain the weight that they lose within no time. Here at obesity go we design safe weight loss programs and nutritionally sound and health conscious eating plans for the short and long term success of our members.

Homemade Facial Masks

Facials increases and improves natural cellular regeneration by aiding in faster cell renewal of skin. Common ingredients used in home made facials are eggs, lemon, milk, honey, cucumber, tomato, essential oils and lots more fruits, herbs and other ingredients. Following are a few homemade facials that will help make your skin beautiful and vibrant.

Homemade Facial Masks :Effective Tips on how to make your own facials at home

Mash 1/2 banana and add 1 tablespoon honey and 2 tablespoons sour cream. Apply to face and let set for about 10 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Honey facial Mask - Take 1½ tbsp. honey, 1 egg white , 2 tsp. glycerin , 1/3 cup flour and Whisk the honey, egg white and glycerin, and then add the flour. The result should be a thick paste. Apply to face and rinse after 15 minutes This mask effectively moisturizes and tightens the skin, making it smooth and soft.

Grind 1 tablespoon almonds into a fine meal in a blender or food processor. Mix almond meal together with 1 tablespoon honey and 1 egg white. Apply to face and let set for about 15 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Mash half of an avocado and apply to entire face. Let set for about 20 minutes and then gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Simply cut a slice from a ripe peach and rub it all over your face. You'll look pretty silly with peach smeared on your face, but leave it on for 20 or more minutes and then rinse off. If the peaches in your supermarket are less than juice-dripping ripe, as is the case for most of the year, you can take a whole peach, pit it, and puree it in the blender and smear that on your face (and then eat the leftovers, yummy).

Some more Homemade Facial Recipes

• Soak 1 cup dried apricots in water until softened. Puree in blender or food processor with 2 tablespoons skim milk powder. Apply to face and let set about 15 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.
• Puree 1/2 peeled, sliced cucumber in a blender or food processor and add 1 tablespoon yogurt. Apply to face and let set about 20 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.
• Crush a handful of strawberries and mix well with 1 teaspoon honey. Apply to face and let set for about 15 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.
• Mix 1 1/2 teaspoons honey, the juice from 1/2 of a lemon, and 1 small carton plain yogurt. Stir in 1 whipped egg white. Apply to face and let set about 15 minutes. Gently wipe off with a damp wash cloth.

Homemade Clay Facial Masks of Sandalwood

Mix two teaspoons of sandalwood powder and two teaspoons of water to obtain a smooth paste. Apply to your face, avoiding the eye and lip area. Let the mask dry (about 15-20 minutes). Rinse with warm water, using fingertips to gently loosen the mask. Do not scrub skin while removing - especially if you have acne - as it will aggravate troubled spots. Once the mask is removed, splash face with cold water to tighten pores. Your skin will be left feeling soft, smooth and refreshed.

The above Homemade facial masks Recipe are natural and very Good for your face and will make your skin glow from the inside, so ahead and try one of the Homemade face masks.

Face Pack Recipe Submitted by Shilpa Padwal

Take honey, cucumber juice and multany mitti and mix all. Use this pack on face and leave it overnight.

Easy to made Facial Mask at home Submitted by Healthyglo123

I discovered that if you pierce the end of a cod liver oil capsule and empty the contents ( use the lid off a coffee jar or something) and then a star flower oil capsual, mix these two together, Add a dash of tea tree ( for cleaning and cleansing ) a tea spoon of brown sugar and a splash of lemon juice it tackels the t zone and combination skin perfectly. You have tightened poors that have been cleaned. a natural glow restored by the codliver oil and the sugar will act as an exfoliant. leave on for no more than five minutes i have learnt through experience. *Please note, that as with all recipies some alergic reactions may occour if ou know you are allergic to any of the above ingreediants then do not attempt this face mask*

Grab some mud from your garden and smear on dry skin, leave for half an hour and wash with ice cold water, then apply moisteriser. Another good Mask for beautiful face in my opinion. Suggested by Rose.

Take two tea spoon pure honey, add one tea spoon tomoto mix it properly. Apply on face for 25 minutes, wash it with cold water. Try this for 15 days without using any soap or other face material, you will be stunned by changes in your skin. You will have no pimples, no marks and last but not the least your skin will become fair as never before. (Facial Mask suggested by Teju)

For dry skin just beat 3 eggs, 2cups brown suggar, 1 cup of milk, and leave for 10 minutes than peel off.

This is a very easy Homemade Facial Mask: First add 2 eggs, and 1 cup of milk in a bowl set aside than with a potato pealer peal an appel than trow the peals away (or compost them) and than peal the appel down to the core than mix the appel shavings with the milk and eggs add a 1/4 cup of cinomin and blend it all in a blender or a food proseser for about 15 mins. Then leave on for 30mins.

Readers' Best Tips for Staying in Touch

Not so long ago, keeping in touch with Grandma meant slipping up the street for a slice of peach pie served up with town gossip, home remedies for the kids, and a bag of fresh tomatoes to take home. For today's far-flung families, however, leisurely drop-in visits are harder to come by. But the stuff of daily life is still what holds families together--the weird jokes cousin Bonnie tells, the way your brother's face looks when he laughs, the fact that Uncle Andy always loses at cards. The question is, How do you share all that richness with loved ones who live hundreds of miles away?

As we have with so many other creative challenges, we put the question to FamilyFun magazine readers. In your wide array of replies, the old-fashioned postal system figured prominently (albeit with very creative twists). But you also impressed us with your command of modern technologies, from audio- and videotape to fax machines and the Internet. Instead of "slipping up the street" to see Grandma, families now cruise up the information superhighway. Of course, nothing substitutes for a face-to-face chat over a good pie. But when it comes to staying in touch, our readers have found the next best things to being there.

Importance of Sleep

Many people have come to think of sleep as a luxury that can be cut back on to make time for other “more important” daily activities without much consequence. However, research seems to indicate otherwise. It is impossible to be in truly good health without getting adequate sleep on a regular basis. Cutting back from the standard eight hours of sleep to four hours of sleep for just one week produces striking changes in glucose tolerance and endocrine function resembling the effects of advanced age or the early stages of diabetes.

Chronic sleep loss may speed the onset or increase the severity of type–2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and memory loss. Researchers in Australia suggest that sleep loss can be similar or worse than drinking too much alcohol. Staying awake for as little as 18 hours affects the body much the same as drinking alcohol to the legal limit. Sleep depravation plays a part in 2 out of 3 auto accidents in the US.

Many body organs are able to rest and recover during quiet relaxation, but the cerebral cortex of the brain that coordinates higher nervous activity is only able to recover during sleep. For the brain, the early part of sleep is the most important. The immune system is also greatly affected by sleep. With proper sleep, it can speed recovery from infections, prevent accidents, and ward off potential heart attacks. The adrenal system does the majority of it recharging and recovery between the hours of 11:00pm and 1:00am. The gallbladder also dumps toxins during this time. If you are awake, the toxins can back up into the liver and cause further health problems.

To get a good night sleep:

Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Get a bare minimum of 7.5 hours each night. (For many people, up to 9 hours is optimum.) You should be able to wake up without an alarm.

Your sleeping area should not be too warm. Not more than 70 degrees F. is best.

Make the room as dark as possible. This is especially important if your work schedule requires you to sleep during the day. Use as little light as possible if you must get up to use the bathroom.

Warming up cold feet may induce more restful sleep. Wearing socks or using an old fashion hot water bottle may help if you have trouble falling asleep.

Avoid alcohol before bed. Alcohol will keep you from falling into the deeper stages of sleep where the body does most of its healing.

Discipline - Be Clear, Be Firm, Be Consistent - by: Helen Williams

Children learn best by being given clear, firm and consistent direction from parents who are clear, firm and consistent in their approach.

How to Discipline Children by Being Clear:

Firstly find and maintain clarity within yourself and then follow through on simple, clear instructions. Clarify for your self what being clear means.

It is about being plain, obvious, and understandable in a clear, short sentence that explains exactly what you mean.

It isn't about maybe this or maybe that.

Often parents have no idea that they chop and change their minds within minutes. To become clear about your own patterns of behavior, observe yourself and ask for your partner's help in this.

"We are going to tidy up your toys in five minutes", is clear and direct. Follow this with,

"Please help me tidy up your toys now" and it means just that.

Be firm with yourself about this. It doesn't mean soon, or later, but now.

I have seen parents give out this simple instruction, then become distracted themselves by a television program, conversation or magazine. What their children observe is parents saying one thing and doing another and this gives a much distorted message. Multiplied over many times each day, is it any wonder that children cease to follow simple instructions?

How to Discipline Children by Being Firm:

Firstly find and maintain firmness for yourself and then follow through with firm clear directions in a firm, clear tone.

Clarify for your self what being firm means.

To be firm is to be certain, definite, and determined. It is also being loving, kind and calm.

It means saying no and meaning no, or saying yes and meaning yes and sticking to it. It's about now being now. How often does your no become perhaps, later, maybe giving in, next time, soon, or alright then? This is a very common fault in how to discipline children and again it leads to numerous mixed messages for children.

Resolve within yourself and with your partner's help to ascertain how often you are both easily swayed into changing your decisions. Are you allowing your children to manipulate you? Imagine how simple your life will become when you are clear and firm within yourself.

It is every child's right to KNOW they can trust their parent's boundaries. So firstly, become firm with your own boundaries and then apply this to your parenting discipline.

"It is bedtime, (bath time, meal time) in five minutes" is a clear direction. Now follow through on this.

Giving the direction in a calm, clear, firm tone of voice helps your children to understand that you mean what you say. Being firm is about being in control of both yourself and the situation.

How to Discipline Children by Being Consistent:

Firstly find and maintain consistency for yourself and then follow through with a firm, clear, consistent approach.

Clarify for yourself what being consistent means.

To be consistent is to be reliable, dependable and constant.

These words immediately convey comfort don't they?

Let's look at the opposite of being consistent. Contradictory, unpredictable, changeable. That's definitely lacking in comfort and safety.

So how do you want to be seen by your children?

To begin with it can seem quite time consuming to concentrate on clear, firm, consistent guidelines. Be aware that this is very true. It takes concentrated effort and time to change old habits to new ones, but if you maintain consistency, you will be very surprised how quickly new patterns of behavior are formed.

Parenting Discipline In Summary: With parenting discipline we are teaching our children how to have self control, self discipline and to become self reliant, so they are able to make good choices for themselves.

The only way children can learn to do this is by being given the opportunities for this learning.

This means not over protecting them, or doing everything for them, but maximizing their opportunities to learn through personal experience and observation, even when this means making mistakes.

Can you see the opportunities here to change some of your own patterns of behavior into superior ones?

Clear, firm, consistent parenting is quality parenting. You learn to trust your own responses and your children are surrounded by your loving constancy.

This is the recipe for creating a happy, well adjusted family.

Making The Right Healthy Food Choices

Eating healthy is something we all would like to do, although it can be hard. In order to eat healthy, you must first make the right food choices. Eating healthy is all about what you eat, which makes the choices very crucial to your results.

Grains - You should consume 6 ounces of grains per day. To do this, you can eat 3 ounces of whole grain cereals, breads, rice, crackers, or pasta. You can get an ounce of grains in a single slice of bread, or 1 cut of cereal.

Vegetables - These should be varied, as you should eat 2 1/2 cups of them each day. You should start eating more of the dark vegetables, such as broccili and spinach. Carrots and sweet potatoes are good as well. You should also eat more dry beans such as peas, pinto beans, and even kidney beans.

Fruits - Fruits are very important. You should try to eat 2 cups of them each day. Focus on eating a variety, such as fresh, frozen, canned, or even dried fruit. You can drink fruit juices as well, although you should use moderation when doing so.

Milk - Milk is your calcium rich friend. For adults, 3 cups is the ideal goal. For kids 2 - 8, 2 cups is where you want to be. When choosing milk products or yogurt, you should go for fat-free or low-fat. Those of you who don't like milk or can't have it, should go for lactose free products or other sources of calcium such as fortified foods and beverages.

Meat and beans - Eating 5 ounces a day is the ideal goal, as you should go lean with your protein. When eating meat, always bake it, grill it, or broil it, as this will prevent grease from adding to the equation. You should vary your protein as well, with more fish, beans, peas, and nuts.

When cooking your food, you should also limit solid fats such as butter, margarine, shortening, and lard. These foods may add flavor to your dishes, although they can also help raise your cholesterol as well. Therefore, you should try to add these foods and any foods that happen to contain them.

To help keep your saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium low, you can check the nutrition facts label. This label can be found on the food package and will tell you all the information you need to know about the food item.

By picking your foods wisely and watching what you eat, you'll help control your lifestyle. Exercise is great as well, as it goes along perfect with a healthy eating lifestyle. No matter what your age may be, eating healthy will help you keep your active lifestyle for years and years - even help you and your health in the long run as well.