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With all the new advances in nutrition and exercise research it seems to be a contradiction that obesity and over weight is on the rise in north America. It's pretty clear that we know more now than we ever did about how to eat properly and how to exercise for weight loss and overall health. research in nutrition and exercise shown us exactly what we need to do to lose weight, get into great shape, and stay that way? If science has progressed in these fields of research, why hasn't it resulted in a more fit, healthy, and slimmer population?

The truth is that the opposite is happening to the population. The percentage of overweight, obese and unhealthy adults is rising right along side our scientific knowledge of how to fight it. What is even more alarming is the rise in the percentage of overweight and obese children. We are teaching our children our bad habits.

This is sending a pretty clear message to me. The information we get from scientific research is not reaching the general population. Or more accurately, the message isn't being supported enough by government and industry in our daily routines.

For example: Science would dictate that you should eat modest portions of whole foods, with plenty of fruits and vegetables as a staple of a healthy diet. The reality is that most of us can find half a dozen fast food restaurants within 5 minutes of our houses that are offering us the exact opposite of what we know we should be eating. Even more troubling is the fact that if everyone actually tried to eat the daily recommend amount of fruits and veggies there wouldnt be enough to go around. Author and acclaimed nutrition researcher Marion Nestle points out in her book What to Eat that the north American food supply of fruits and veggies doesnt even add up to the daily recommend amount for each person. The food industry will only produce the food they know they can sell. And we as a population just dont buy that much produce.

The repeated and relentless marketing messages to eat more we receive on a daily basis can overpower most of our better intentions when it comes to making food decisions.

The one message you will never hear from the food industry is eat less. However almost all diet studies that show any significant amount of weight loss have one thing in common: the people in the study consumed less calories.

This is the paradox. Science tells us to lose weight we need to eat less. But the food industry which surrounds us every day is telling us to eat more. And the voice of the food industry is much louder than the voice of science. Just think of how many fast food restaurants, convenience stores, radio and tv commercials, flyers, coupons and other food ads you are exposed to in a day. Then think of how many daily messages you get reminding you to eat a sensible diet with moderate portions and whole foods.

Its not a fair fight, and I dont have to tell you which side usually wins in the battle for your attention. Look no further than the rising obesity, overweight, diabetes and heart disease rates and you have your answer.

Food manufacturers and restaurants know how to push your buttons and entice you to purchase their products, and lots of them too, this is unlikely to change any time soon. It will always be your personal challenge and responsibility to choose to eat less in a society that will forever continue to tell you to eat more.

John Barban is a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a varsity strength and conditioning coach. His trademarked http://www.6minuteCircuits.com Circuit training Workouts is designed to get a full body cardio and muscle toning workout in the comfort of your own home. John is a senior contributor at http://www.grrlathlete.com where you can sign up to get insider information in the nutrition and fitness industry. You can ask John a question on the http://www.grrlathlete.freeforums.org dedicated to support women with their fitness and nutrition goals.

Trying to shed some extra weight? Unhealthy diets are NOT the way to do things! Avoiding foods from certain food groups can have unpleasant side-effects such as dull complexion, limp hair, tiredness and even bad breath. Is that what you want in exchange for losing a little weight? I guess not.

The proper way of doing things is to increase your metabolism rate so that you burn more fats even when you are resting! At least 30 mins of cardio activity 3 times a week should help you see some results. Some cardio activities include running, cycling, swimming and brisk walking. Be sure to choose an activity that you like so that you will stick to it. If you have the time, why not increase your exercise program to 30 mins 5 times a week? If you feel that you don't have time to dedicate to exercising, taking the stairs, doing housework and walking the dog also help increase your metabolism rate, though much less than if you were doing intensive workout. Some little things you can do if you are very busy at work are, alighting one bus-stop earlier and walking to your destination, cycling to work instead of taking the bus or fetching your own coffee at work instead of getting your colleague to do so.

exercise also promotes better blood circulation, which in turn gives you a glowing and radiant complexion! As you sweat, dirt and oils from your pores are also pushed out, so exercise can also help keep pimples at bay. However, remember to cleanse your face properly after exercise to prevent dirt from clogging up the pores again. Good luck with your exercise program!

about the Author:
Valerie is the owner of A Starry Blanket, a personal blog housing her rants, raves and experiences in daily life.

She also runs a blog shop selling affordable handmade gifts. Visit Dreamy Gifts now to browse through the items available. (Gifts are sold within Singapore only.)

You own a Playstation 2 but aren't quite sure what other items to buy with it. What games should you buy? Do you need extra controllers? Are memory cards required? Are any other accessories required? Follow these directions below and you can answer all your questions and start enjoying your console to the fullest.

Games After choosing the system, the biggest decision is what games will you buy to go along with it. The Playstation 2 console is just an expensive DVD player if you don't buy games, so you need to address this question right away. The first way to choose games is pick something related to a hobby of yours outside of gaming. Do you play football, skateboarding, like cars, or fishing, like a particular movie? There are games for all of these hobbies, movie tie in games, and many more. The second option for choosing your games is start with a list of the most popular games released on the Playstation 2. They are:

Grand Theft Auto Vice City, Final Fantasy X, Madden 2006, Splinter cell, Gran Turismo 3, and SOCOM Navy Seals

These games aren't made for everyone, so be sure you check the ratings and descriptions before buying one. The Playstation 2 has one of the broadest game lists of any system so you are bound to find a game that exactly fits your particular likes.

Controllers The Playstation 2 console originally came with one controller out of the box but two controller slots. buying a second controller can be a great investment, especially if your friends play games too or multiple people in the house play. The small investment will greatly increase your enjoyment of the system because you can play with friends at the same time. If you buy a multi-tap adaptor you can use four controllers at the same time. Unless you buy the multi-tap adaptor there is no need to buy more than one controller.

This is a great time to mention the difference between sony brand controllers and third party controllers. sony contollers are more reliable, while third party controllers are less expensive but can break easier. I only recommend buying sony brand controller for the most part. The one exception to this is logitech brand controllers. logitech makes a high quality wireless controller that is very reliable.

Memory cards - You will need at least one memory card to save your games on the Playstation 2. The sony brand 8 MB memory card can save quite a bit of game data. Unless you play lots of sports games, you will only need one memory card. If you really love your sports games, be sure to pick up a couple extras because they need lots of space to store all the data needed to play an entire season.

Accessories - The Playstation 2 has lots of other accessories you could buy including network adaptors, steering wheels, and even a hard drive. The most useful of these is the network adaptor which plugs into the back of the system and allows you to connect to the internet for online games. Many of the most recent games on the ps2 support online play so you will need this network adaptor. (Quick side note: if you buy a Slim PStwo system you do not need to buy this adaptor because it is already built into the system). The other accessories for the ps2 have their uses too but are not quite as beneficial as the network adaptor.

These directions should have helped you choose the games, controllers, memory cards, and accessories you want with your Playstation 2. now get out there and enjoy your new gaming purchase.

JJ Hendricks is the owner of JJGames.com, an online retailer of used Playstation 2 games, accessories, and systems. To find out more about the Playstation 2 or to start creating your own bundle, visit => http://www.jjgames.com/system/ps2