www.faceworks.co.uk Faceworks is a 20- minute ‘workout’ for the face. It lifts, tones and revitalises for fantastic results – for all areas of your face. This is just one of 12 exercises. Do this exercise every day for two weeks – the muscles have to be worked enough to tone and lift. Like all exercises this takes a little time and effort! The film shows the 48-year-old founder of Faceworks, Elaine Bartlett. To see photos of Elaine and some of her clients, both before and after Faceworks, click the website link at the top.

Get rid of a double chin by making smart and health conscious diet decisions. Find out more about getting rid of a double chin withtips from a fitness specialist in this free video on toning and building muscle. Expert: Bob Mathews Contact: power1k.com Bio: Bob Mathews is the owner of Perfect Body System and has been in Phoenix, Arizona for the last 15 years. He’s trained with Barry Goldwater and other devoted clients over the years. Filmmaker: Dustin Daniels

“She’s not Fat, she’s just a Big Girl”
Just because it doesn’t jiggle doesn’t mean it’s not fat !
If I could just have a dollar for every time I have heard a girl say that she doesn’t like to train legs because they get too big, or a gentleman tell me how he’s not fat, he’s just solid. I have news for you all … it is FAT!
There are different ways in which our body stores fat.
1. SUBCUTANEOUS.. The most obvious in fat that is held underneath the skin. This subcutaneous fat (under the skin) is what we see as rolls or that dimpled cellulite. It has mind of its own and you cannot flex it or suck it in. You cannot hold your breath and have a double chin tighten or a flabby arm feel firm. This fat is the ugly stuff that is shunned by society.
2. IMTG … INTRAMUSCULAR TRIGLYCERIDES. Droplets of fat can also be stored in muscle and it gives the appearance of a more ’solid’ physique, it is this fat that is often mistaken for muscle. Fat is also stored in the not so pretty muscles, like your heart and other organs.
Men and women matched for training experience and performance ran for 90 minutes at 65% of their VO2 max. 42% of the calories used in the women were from fat, of the calories used by the men only 20% came from fat (Tarnopolsky et al 1990)
Interestingly women are known to burn more fat (as a percentage of total energy expenditure) than men during exercise.
We are able to know this as we can test the ‘Respiratory Exchange Ratio’ (RER). The RER tells us the rate of carbohydrate and fat utilization based upon how much carbon dioxide is produced in our breath compared with how much oxygen we consume.
During exercise up to 50% of the fat used as energy comes from fat that is held within muscle (IMTG) the rest comes from that fat held under the skin and from the fat in our blood. In women there is strong evidence to show that women use a greater amount of IMTG during exercise. This will all be explained when I discuss how fat is actually broken down and vanished from the body, but for now, consider this. If women do indeed burn more intra muscular fat during exercise than do men, then wouldn’t that explain the frustration that we feel when we see very little difference for all our hours of training. We only see that subcutaneous fat that sits as rolls underneath our skin and we are less appreciative of the fat breakdown that occurs within the muscle.
VISCERAL FAT You cant pinch it and it wont jiggle or have dimples. Visceral fat sits deep inside the abdominal cavity and it surrounds your vital organs.
It is absolutely the most dangerous fat to have,
yet ironically it is not the ’stubborn’ kind of fat that hangs around despite all efforts. Duke University concluded that moderate exercise (30 minute brisk walk) can keep visceral fat at bay and by increasing the intensity you are able to get rid of the toxic tissue all together.
Sedentary people will see visceral fat accumulate year after year, this is no joke. It might be great to balance your beer can on but visceral fat is undisputedly a precursor for Insulin resistance (and so Type II diabetes), hypertension and cardiovascular heart disease. This is the stuff that will affect your quality of life and ultimately the length of your life.
There seems to be a strong hormonal influence with multiple endocrine associations being linked to visceral fat. Elevated cortisol and insulin levels are the villans but they are accompanied by higher androgen levels (in women) lower testosterone levels (in men) and lower growth hormone levels in both men and women.
Both men and women have androgens. Androgens are thought of as steroid hormones that are responsible for the masculine traits, but everyone has them and they are in fact a precursor for all estrogens. However in some women the androgen levels may be higher and then we see more of the ‘apple’ shape, the women with slimmer hips but wider waists. It is therefore also linked to estrogen levels and when estrogen levels drop (menopause) women experience the ‘middle aged’ spread when they add weight to their mid section, an area where they had been unaccustomed to holding onto weight. Estrogen hormone therapy can reverse this affect but the shift to abdominal weight is a common occurrence in both men and women as they age. As we age men see their testosterone levels drop and women experience a drop in estrogen. In both cases our own growth hormone levels are declining from about the age of 30 onwards. While this downward shift is taking place we might unknowingly be adding to the problem with elevated insulin and cortisol levels.
Cortisol in the simplest of terms is our stress hormone. Stress can be emotional and/or physiological. As cruel as life can be sometimes both of these hormones prove challenging as we age. Stress with work, family, health and the environment adds up and our bodies ability to deal with insulin can be reduced also. Poor diet exacerbates the insulin issue with the sugary foods and sodas creating an enormous strain on our physiological well being. You can read a lot more about insulin in by Carbohydrate E bood (www.joannelee.com) but to drastically summarize, Insulin is produced in response to a rise in our blood sugar. When we consume high carbohydrate foods (especially refined sugars) we elevate our blood sugar and insulin is produced to regulate and bring our blood sugar back down. Inactivity and poor nutrition demand an unhealthy overproduction of insulin, eventually even insulin cannot deal with the problem and we become insulin resistant … Type II diabetes.
The problem as I see it is that people don’t think that they are sick unless they have something tangible, like a cough or a broken bone. The most dangerous conditions are fermenting on the inside and as a society we are happy to take a pill if the doctor says our blood pressure is too high and maybe another pill is our cholesterol is a concern. The problems linked to type II diabetes include blindness, kidney, nerve and heart disorders. Type II diabetes used to be called ‘Adult onset Diabetes’ as it was a condition linked to advancing age. It is outrageous that it had to be renamed to Type II diabetes as too many younger people were being struck down as a result of lifestyle choices.
Visceral fat is dangerous; it has strong links to hormonal changes. Specific conditions because of their hormonal challenges are linked to visceral fat, conditions such as Polycystic ovary Syndrome, menopause, growth hormone deficiency, depression, Cushing Syndrome and of course aging. The avoidable conditions include smoking, excess food and/or alcohol and lack of regular exercise.
The good news is that, unlike ’stubborn’ fat, visceral fat is much more responsive to exercise. 175 men and women (all overweight and sedentary) were split into four groups. All of the people in the study were starting to show signs of fat accumulation problems.
Group 1 … No exercise
Group 2 …Low dose moderate (walked 12 miles per week)
Group 3 … Low dose intense activity (12 miles jogging per week)
Group 4 … High dose vigorous intensity activity (20 miles jogging per week)
No one in the study changed their diets
The study lasted 6 months for the inactive group, the other 3 groups had to do 8 months as they spent 2 months getting fit enough to participate in the study.
(Duke University author Dr Chris Slentz) The study concluded that there was no significant difference in visceral fat levels in the low dose exercise groups but as the intensity increased the faster they lost their visceral fat. At first it was thought that to ask inactive people to run 20 miles per week might be too much, but all of the people in group 4 were able to get to this level quite easily.
Group 4 saw visceral fat levels drop by 6.9% in 6 months; they also lost 7% of their subcutaneous fat (the jiggly stuff under the skin) Group 1 didn’t change anything and all participants gained visceral fat!
As a general rule then we can say that if you don’t want to add to the visceral fat you have already then daily moderate exercise should be implemented, but if you want to lose that deadly pot belly then it’s time to turn up the intensity and not to be held back by preconceived ideas of what you are capable of.

As I was searching for more information on varicose veins’ cure, I sat on the swivel chair in front of the PC in a relaxed but poised position: upright with my right leg over my left leg. What I thought of as a comfortable sitting position could have led me to get more of the unwanted varicose veins. The topmost DON’T in preventing and relieving varicose veins was: DON’T cross your legs when sitting. It was like touching a hot plate; I immediately uncrossed my legs and leaned forward to read more.
Other than not crossing the legs, here are some great preventive measures that you ought to know so as not to have those gory spider veins marring those pretty legs:
• Regular exercise helps in the continuous flow of the blood. It is understandable that time is quite a problem. Choose an exercise activity that is not so time consuming, like walking a good distance will be great.
• Watch your weight, a very heavy body gives burden to the legs that hold it upright.
• If your job requires standing for a long period of time, shift your weight from one foot to the other time and again. If it is possible, always sit on breaks and relax tired feet.
• Elastic stockings can best support legs.
• See to it that your clothes, even you underwear are comfortable and not too tight especially on the waist, groin and leg areas.
• High-fiber foods can help prevent constipation that could also contribute to varicose veins. Eat as much fiber-filled foods as possible.
• Salt can be a factor in swelling of the body. Reduce your salt intake.
• Find time to exercise your legs even when sitting. It can help in the circulation of blood. A simple leg stretching and feet and ankle rotation can relieve soreness and can revive those veins.
• Leg elevation at the end of the day is highly recommended. Prop your feet on a chair or on the wall at home when you watch TV or a few minutes before you go to sleep.
• Long travels constrict and numb your legs and feet. If you can, get up and move about in your vehicle (for travels on buses, trains and airplanes) or pull over every 30 minutes when traveling in a car to relax and stretch your legs.
• Choose an aisle seat or the one nearest an exit door when attending long conferences and meetings. This way, you can easily go out and stretch every fifteen to thirty minutes to avoid cramps.
Researchers show that women are not the only victims of varicose veins. In fact, recent studies show that a large percentage of men also get varicose veins. Varicose veins are brought about by a lot of things from being overweight to genetics to aging. Most factors that contribute to acquiring varicose veins are the work (especially if it includes long periods of standing up), pregnancy, stomach disorders such as constipation; and then there’s improper posture.
As always, the adage that prevention is better than cure is very true. Although major treatments and operations are not exactly needed in curing varicose veins, the pain could be uncomfortable, not to mention unsightly especially for a woman. There are dermatological ways to remove varicose veins but, if you can help it, prevent it from appearing on your body parts by doing the self-help tips that are stated above.