It’s Friday afternoon at 4:30 and the clock couldn’t be moving any slower. It’s been a long week and you’re more than ready for the weekend to begin.

The only problem (besides the last 30 minutes feeling like an eternity) is you haven’t had your workout yet. You’re thinking to yourself, “I’m not in the mood to workout”, and it’s the last thing on your mind with the exciting weekend you have planned. In order to avoid skipping the gym, put a few of these motivational ideas to good use.

Take a pre-workout supplement
A lot of avid gym-goers that are faithful to their workout routine take a pre-workout supplement before every workout. Pre-workout supplements enhance your workout with ingredients such as caffeine and creatine, which give you a boost of energy and help you maintain more mental focus.

When looking for the right supplement for you, consider one that’s fast-acting so it will absorb immediately into your bloodstream ,therefore creating rapid energy results. Products can come in powder form and are then mixed with water, while others come in pill or tablet-form. One tablet that I’m a personal fan of is called Chilli-Slim. It contains caffeine and will give you the motivational boost to get started.

A pre-workout supplement should be taken about 30 minutes prior to a workout. If it’s a drink, make sure to finish it before you begin. Sipping on it during your workout will defeat the purpose.

Eat right
About 1-2 hours before you plan on hitting the gym, make sure you get a small-but-decent meal in your system. The meal should include a lean protein, an essential fat, and a slow digesting carbohydrate.

Working out on an empty stomach is NOT healthy. This meal will also provide energy for your workout. If it’s been several hours since you’ve last eaten, be careful not to overeat on this meal. Do not try and makeup for any meals missed for the day – your body is like a funnel and can only handle so much food at one time. If you give it more food than it can handle, that’s when the food begins to store as extra fat.

The 1-2 hour timing guideline is very important because if you eat too soon, you’ll run out of energy before you even get to the gym. Similarly, if you’re eating too close to your workout the nutrients will not have enough time to get into your system therefore you won’t be receiving the energy you were looking for soon enough.

Getting yourself to the gym when it’s the last thing you feel like doing can be tough. But by following these simple steps, you’ll not only increase your chances of getting yourself to the gym physically, but mentally

The acai berry is an inch-long reddish, purple fruit . It comes from the acai palm tree (Euterpe oleracea) native to tropical Central and South America and has been a traditional food of the native people of the Amazon for hundreds of years. Acai derives from a word of indigenous peoples of South America meaning "fruit that cries." The fruit is used as a natural ink or dye and the wood is used in house construction (palm thatched roofs). Ethnobotanists have recorded no less than 22 different uses for all parts of the Acai tree. Due to what is being called the 'acai craze' in the United States, one proposed project in Brazil has called for the planting of five billion acai trees in the next 10 years.

How does it work?

The acai berry has been shown to contain a number of antioxidants (3) , including anthocyanins (4) which may boost the skin's ability to prevent oxidants from harming connective tissues. It also contains phytosterols which may protect epidermal collagen, and flavonoids, which may exert anti-inflammatory properties.  omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids, which are vital to proper cell contraction and regeneration; monounsaturated oleic acid, which may help the body to absorb omega-3 oil through the cell membrane more effectively; as well as phytonutrients and minerals such as potassium, iron, phosphorus and calcium. Acai berry purportedly posseses more proteins than an egg, and the vitamins B1, B2, B3, C and E. The oleic acid content of açaí has been reported to be the same as in olive oil.

What do we use it for?

In recent times, research on acai fruit has been centered on its potential antioxidant properties. Acai fruit has also shown anticancer (1) and anti-inflammatory activity (2)diseases casued by oxidative damage such as heart disease. It has also been used as immune stimulant, energy enhancer. Anthocyanins and flavonoids found in Acai fruit are powerful antioxidants that help defend the body against life's stressors. They also play a role in the body's cell protection system. Free radicals are harmful byproducts produced by the body. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants may interfere with aging and the disease process by neutralizing free radicals. By lessening the destructive power of free radicals, antioxidants may help reduce the risk of some diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. Some studies state that the antioxidant capability of the acai fruit is even greater than that of cranberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, or blueberry. It has been reported that the antioxidant properties of Acai berries may also be effective at promoting weight loss although further research is still needed to confirm this.

How should we take it?

No typical dose has been set for acai berry as yet but effective doses appear to be 2000mg of whole acai berry. No contraindications are known.

Refs:

1. Pozo-Insfran, D., Percival, S. S., and Talcott, S. T. Acai (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) polyphenolics in their glycoside and aglycone forms induce apoptosis of HL-60 leukemia cells. J Agric.Food Chem 2-22-2006;54(4):1222-1229.

2. Schauss, A. G., Wu, X., Prior, R. L., Ou, B., Huang, D., Owens, J., Agarwal, A., Jensen, G. S., Hart, A. N., and Shanbrom, E. Antioxidant capacity and other bioactivities of the freeze-dried Amazonian palm berry, Euterpe oleraceae mart. (acai). J Agric.Food Chem 11-1-2006;54(22):8604-8610.

1. Jensen, G. S., Wu, X., Patterson, K. M., Barnes, J., Carter, S. G., Scherwitz, L., Beaman, R., Endres, J. R., and Schauss, A. G. In vitro and in vivo antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities of an antioxidant-rich fruit and berry juice blend. Results of a pilot and randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study. J.Agric.Food Chem. 9-24-2008;56(18):8326-8333.
2. Rodrigues, R. B., Lichtenthaler, R., Zimmermann, B. F., Papagiannopoulos, M., Fabricius, H., Marx, F., Maia, J. G., and Almeida, O. Total oxidant scavenging capacity of Euterpe oleracea Mart. (acai) seeds and identification of their polyphenolic compounds. J.Agric.Food Chem. 6-14-2006;54(12):4162-4167.

by ROSALIND RYAN, femail.co.uk

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-112432/Could-slimming-supplement-help-lose-weight.html#ixzz1lu4tZAKD

As the bikini panic starts to set in, many of us may be feeling desperate that the gym sessions and low fat lunches aren't having the desired effect.

We've all heard the warnings about quick-fix diet pills. But a new breed of weight loss tablets - known as slimming supplements - is now emerging to tempt us.

Derived from a variety of vitamins and minerals, such as kelp from seaweed or fatty acids from animal proteins, these supplements have a better image than traditional diet pills because they contain natural ingredients.

But do they work? A small number of studies are starting to show a positive effect for some supplements. However, many of these studies have only been carried out using animals so their effect on humans could be different. Experts are also divided over how safe these supplements are and the effects of taking too many.
CLA
What is it?
CLA stands for conjugated linoleic acid, a type of essential fatty acid found in animal fats. One reason that we may not be eating enough CLA is that we have cut back on these fatty foods to improve our diets. Luckily CLA is also found in milk so you can drink this as part of a healthy, balanced diet.

How does it work?
CLA may have an effect on body composition - reducing the amount of fat in the body and increasing the amount of lean muscle tissue. The theory is it works by reducing fat storage and boosting the breakdown of fat in the body.

Enthusiasts believe CLA works by speeding up the action of an enzyme which helps break down fat in the blood. At the same time it slows down another enzyme responsible for helping the fat cells absorb fat.

Has it been proven?
In one animal trial, piglets fed a diet containing CLA had less body fat and more lean muscle than the piglets kept on a normal diet.

In a Norwegian study on humans, one group of healthy volunteers were given a daily dose of CLA and another group were given a placebo - a pretend pill - and both groups were told not to diet. After 12 weeks there was no significant difference in weight loss between the two groups, but those taking the CLA had lost more body fat.

Professor Mike Pariza from the University of Wisconsin, a pioneer of CLA for weight loss, says that CLA can also reduce the ratio of fat to muscle when you put weight back on after dieting.

But in contrast, another American study found no effect on weight, fat stores or muscle in healthy women who took CLA every day for nine weeks compared to those on a dummy dose.

Lyndel Costain, consultant nutritionist for the Medical Research Council, says, 'Human studies with positive outcomes do not show weight loss, but rather a change in body composition. If the headlines about CLA's weight loss benefits are true, we'd all be queuing for a supply of this miracle fat buster, but there is not enough evidence in humans yet to recommend it as a slimming pill.'

Where can I get it? http://www.selecthealthy.com/cla-1000mg.html