Weight and Diet

The Atkins Diet – Common Mistakes

The Atkins diet is one of the simplest weight loss plans to follow. Although the principles are clearly set out in the books, there are some common misconceptions that occur for dieters. These mistakes can make a big difference in the amount of weight you lose and effectiveness of the diet overall. If Atkins isn’t working for you, or you find yourself suddenly gaining weight after weeks of effective dieting, make sure you aren’t making any of these common mistakes.

First, make sure to be patient with your weight loss. If you lose 8 lbs per week on the Induction phase and then slow down once you enter ongoing weight loss phase, this is perfectly normal. The level of carbohydrate grams that are acceptable on the Induction portion of the diet are not meant to carry you through the rest of your dieting experience. Induction is meant to break you of carbohydrate cravings and detoxify your body from sugar. Starting with the ongoing weight loss phase, you will begin introducing small levels of carbohydrate grams each week. This may slow down weight loss a bit from the level it was at during Induction, but this is completely normal.

Also, people are different and react differently to the diet. Some people lose weight in spurts, and other lose weight more steadily. A plateau can last for a few weeks and then voila, you’ve lost five pounds in a matter of a few days.

Make sure you are avoiding caffeine in all of its forms as well as aspartame, a common artificial sweetener. Both of these chemicals can impact blood sugar levels negatively. Look out for caffeine in coffee and diet sodas. Watch out for aspartame in diet sodas and sugar-free gelatin. These can cause cravings for sugar and take your body out of ketosis after just one serving.

Watch your daily intake of cheese. Although cheese is on the acceptable foods list, it does have small amount of carbohydrates. Your best bet is to limit your cheese intake to 4 oz per day. You can have more on special occasions, but it should not be used as your mainstay for protein. Meats, eggs and tofu are much better choices and don’t contain carbohydrate grams.

Remember to emphasize vegetables during Induction and beyond. Your carbohydrate grams should be primarily derived from leafy, green vegetables and other acceptable vegetable choices. Vegetables fill you up without spiking your blood sugar. They provide essential fiber and nutrients that help your weight loss efforts and overall health. After induction, you should have 3-4 cups of salad and 1 cup of cooked vegetables each day. Make sure the vegetables you are using are on the acceptable foods list. Eliminating vegetables from your diet can shut down your metabolism and cause your weight loss to stall.

It is also very important that you eat regularly while you are on the Atkins plan. Never go more than five waking hours without eating a combined snack of protein and fats. Two things happen when you skip meals. First, you cause a blood sugar drop that will have you craving carbohydrates like bread and sugar. Secondly, continued periods of not eating will slow down your metabolism and make it even harder to lose weight.
Finally, make sure you are drinking enough water each day. Water has a myriad of benefits for every human being, not just those on the Atkins diet. Thirst can sometimes be masked as hunger, so staying well hydrated will keep you from craving foods you shouldn’t be eating. Water also helps you avoid constipation, which is an occasional side effect of the Atkins diet. Drinking 8 eight ounce glasses of water per day will also help you flush out the toxins from your system that are produced when you burn fat.

These common mistakes can make people frustrated with the Atkins diet when there is no need to be. If you are just starting out on the diet, make sure to prepare yourself for these mistakes. If you’ve been on the diet for some time, evaluate your eating habits and make sure you are following the program correctly.

Home and Garden

Alarm Monitoring System – How It Works

Burglar alarms are in electronic form. A simple set-up of an alarm system includes a sensor that is connected to one or more control units. When the sensor is triggered, the control unit seeks for a way to announce the alarm.

Basically, alarm systems can either be hardwired or wireless. The wired systems are usually used with sensors, smoke detectors for example, which demand power for reliable operation. Wired types come with the advantage of detecting tampering. However, wired systems are expensive to install. On the other hand, wireless alarm systems are easier to set-up. Instead of wires, they utilize transmitters. Wireless systems require constant supervision and maintenance to ensure efficient operation. If for example, the sensors or batteries have not been constantly checked, the system may not perform at its peak.

Alarm monitoring is employed in systems with a remote alarm output. In such systems, the control panels are connected to predetermined monitors, and they are configured in various methods. One includes a direct connection of the system to a responder, or a central station, such as a police quarters. However, this kind of configuration is becoming less popular because it is expensive. Direct monitoring connections can usually be found only in Local Government institutions, State, or school campuses where there is a dedicated security.

More conventional alarm systems make use of Public Switched Telephone Network, or PSTN. This configuration features a digital phone dialer unit which will dial the central station, which in turn will announce the alarm. The monitoring system can identify the physical location of the sensor that has been triggered with the use of certain programmed encoders. Most alarm control panels are designed with backup dialer ability that can be used when the primary PSTN route is not functioning well. The secondary dialer can be connected to a separate phone line (or an encoded radio, mobile phone, or internet interface gadgets) to entirely evade the PSTN. This is because if the primary lines have been tampered, alarms could still be raised via the redundant dialers and early warnings of pending problems can be advised.

In situations where the building is remotely located, PSTN service may not be feasible and channeling a direct line may be too expensive, there is still a way so your security can be monitored. And that is by using wireless phones or radio networks as the principal communication line. The use of the Internet as a main communication method is still very controversial within the alarm monitoring business. This is because an alarm signaling method needs to observe urgency and immediacy, and the authorities are doubtful of the quality of service of public internet.

When monitored, the alarms and speaker phones permit the central station to communicate with the owner, or even with the intruder. For monitored burglaries, the speaker phones let the central stations to convince the prowler to back off and give up as police units have been sent off.

Considering some factors, such as the location of the zone triggered and time of the day, the alarm monitoring center may perform various actions automatically. Some instructions they may initiate include calling the police stations, fire department or ambulance. They may also choose to check if the alarm is true. Some systems come with video surveillance to capture the actual acts of intrusion or other emergency cases on tape.

Weight and Diet

The Atkins Diet and Snacks

We live in a society of nibblers. Long gone are the traditional three square meals per day. Today, people eat at their desks, catch a snack in the afternoon and eat late night goodies. Most, if not all, of these snacks are carbohydrate based and full of sugar. This poses a challenge to people who are trying to follow the Atkins plan. Snacking is a necessary part of keeping your blood sugar up, but most packaged snack foods are forbidden on the plan.

Sweet snacks are high in calories, full of empty carbohydrates and offer no nutritional value. But they sure are popular. There is actually a Snack Food Association that tracks sales of packaged snack foods. It is estimated that Americans eat 3.1 billion pounds of chocolate. Snacking has increased more than a third since 1988. Sales of snack foods gross over $30 billion a year.

If you’ve been a snack food junkie you’ve become used to eating carbohydrates of the worst kind. Snack foods are made from highly refined carbohydrates like white flour, white sugar, corn meal and corn syrup. They are high in trans-fats (which is a contributor to clogged arteries). All in all, they are probably one of the worst food choices you could be making.

But there is hope! You can conquer your love of snack foods by making Atkins-friendly snacking choices. Before you can make the switch, make sure to educate yourself. Understand just how dangerous trans fats can be by reading up on them. Then read the ingredients label of your favorite snack foods. You may be shocked to discover how many trans fats, artificial flavorings and preservatives that you are eating.

Next, get rid of all of the snack foods in your house. If its not there, then you can’t eat it. Junk food is not good for anyone in your home so ignore your family’s complaints and do what is best for the health of everyone.

Now you’ll need to replace those snack foods with some better choices. Giving up your snack foods is not the same as giving up snacks. Snacks should be a part of your daily eating plan because it will help you from becoming too hungry and indulging in high-carbohydrate treats.

There are plenty of low carbohydrate snacks that are easy to make and simple to have around the house. String cheese sticks or small cheese rounds are very easy to keep in the refrigerator. Meat snacks are also a good choice. You can buy jerky strips and other meat products that keep well for long periods of time. When you buy cheese or meat sticks, make sure to read the labels carefully for hidden carbs.

There are low carb instant soups available that are very easy to make and satisfying if you are craving something hot. Low carb soy chips and celery can help with “crunchy” cravings. Try adding peanut butter or cream cheese spread to add more protein to these snacks. Also, you can’t beat a handful of nuts for a high-protein, quick snack.

All of the previously mentioned snacks are good for the initial phases of the Atkins diet and beyond. If you are past the induction phase, you can enjoy berries with cream as a snack. There are also many acceptable fruits that make good snacks for the pre-maintenance phase.

Health and Fitness

Weight Loss Techniques That Work Fast

Other than physical appearance weight affects a person in many ways. This could be the overall quality of life, self-esteem, depression, health risks, and physical incapabilities. There are a lot of positive changes once a person experience weight loss. It is for this reason why a lot of people are searching for a weight loss technique that will surely trim down those fats and get a super slim head turner body.

The first thing that an over-weight should do is seek a doctor to recommend the best weight loss regimen. This will be done after a full physical examination, which leads to the determination of proper weight loss technique. And to lose weight fast and effectively four aspects of life should be changed: what to eat, how to eat, behavior and activity level.

Here are fast tips that can change an over-weight’s life:

First: Fast weight loss composes of a multi-faceted technique that consists mindset, exercise, and in other cases, diet supplements. Begin by learning a diet food plan that can easily be accustomed with. Incorporate an exercise plan that allows even at least fifteen minutes a day like brisk walking, running, swimming, and dancing.

Second: Set realistic approaches. The ability to focus and have proper mindset enables someone on a diet to quickly lose those extra pounds. With discipline and proper mind set, a dieter will never be discouraged and lose focus.

Third: Listen as the body speaks. Each and everyone’s body metabolism reacts differently to different fast weight loss programs and plans. Try substituting one program for another to compensate the body’s reaction. Exercise program must be suitable to one’s body, as others are not able to exercise as rigorously as others can. If walking is all that can be done, then walk for this is proven the best exercise. Muscles burn more calories than fats so it’s also best to put on a little muscle and looking good too.

Fourth: Eat more fibers for it makes a person full sooner and stays in the tummy longer, slowing down the rate of digestion. A single serving of whole grain bread moves fat through the digestive system faster. Grains turn into blood sugar that spikes the body’s insulin level. Thus, making the body more energized and ready to tell the body when it should stop burning fats or start storing.

Fifth: Keep away from fried foods especially deep-fried as this contains a great amount of fat. Although fish and chicken appear leaner than beef, this white meat can contain more fat than when a beef is fried. It is recommended for those on strict diet to opt for grilled food as this does not have or contain less amount of fat after the food is cooked.

Sixth: Takes lots of fluid. Drinking at least six to eight glasses of water a day keeps the body refreshed. Since weight loss depends on how the body eliminates body wastes, the body must stay hydrated.

All in all, discipline and consistency is still the best practice and the key to a rapid weight loss success. Light dieting, workout, and right amount of supplementation applied in a regular way everyday will result in faster weight loss than having a massive action only to be followed a return to old habits as this would only lead to gaining more weight than when the weight loss plan has started.

Family

Chores To Help your Child Learn About Work Ethics

Chores can help develop a sense of responsibility and self worth in your child. It should be understood by all family members they are expected and necessary to a household running successfully and efficiently. They can help create a sense of unity and family and is a great place for your child to learn about teamwork. Parents should take special care to handle the delegation of chores to children so they don’t become a source of frustration or create arguments.

Allow your child to have an active say in the delegation of chores. Give them choices. We all have household chores that we don’t like to do, but if it’s a chore the child enjoys doing then there’s less likelihood it will create a battle in the end. The child will most likely appreciate having the chance to be heard and having a choice.

It’s imperative that you set parameters early on for the successful completion of a chore. They may not perform up to snuff when they first start performing the chore, but show them where improvement is needed and praise them for a strong effort. Also make sure the child understands there will be repercussions if they only put forth a minimal effort. Ensure the child understands the need for the chore’s effective and efficient completion. Set consequences for substandard completion as a team. Make sure they see that if they don’t perform their chores, it affects the other members of the team. Spouses must work together and be a strong example for their children by completing their own chores each day.

And don’t allow a child to undermine your authority by battling with you over a designated chore. Stand your ground and don’t give in, and emphasize the consequence and negative effect an uncompleted chore has on the family.

Keep an open mind when a child wants to discuss their thoughts or express their opinions about chores. Make sure the conversation stays positive and on target.

Technology

Bluetooth Security

These days, all communication technology faces the issue of privacy and identity theft, with Bluetooth being no exception. Almost everyone knows that email services and networks require security. What users of Bluetooth need to realize is that Bluetooth also requires security measures as well.

The good news for Bluetooth users is that the security scares, like most scares, are normally over dramatized and blown entirely out of proportion. The truth being told, these issues are easy to manage, with various measures already in place to provide security for Bluetooth technology.

It’s true that there has been some Bluetooth phones that have been hacked into. Most devices that are hacked into are normally those that don’t have any type of security at all.

According to Bluetooth specialists, in order to hack into a Bluetooth device, the hacker must:
1. Force two paired devices to break their connection.
2. Steal the packets that are used to resend the pin.
3. Decode the pin.

Of course, the hacker must also be within range of the device, and using very expensive developer type
equipment. Most specialists recommend that you have a longer pin, with 8 digits being recommended.

Fundamentals of security
The “pairing process” is one of the most basic levels of security for Bluetooth devices. Pairing, is two or more Bluetooth devices that recognize each other by the profiles they share – in most cases they both must enter the same pin.

The core specifications for Bluetooth use an encryption algorithm, which is completely and entirely secure. Once the devices pair with each other, they too become entirely secure.

Until they have successfully paired, the Bluetooth devices won’t communicate with each other. Due to this pairing process and the fact that it is short range – Bluetooth technology is considered to be secure.

As the news has indicated, experienced hackers have developed ways to get around this level of basic security. There are ways to get around this threat, as you can install software to prevent hackers from getting in.

With Bluetooth becoming more and more popular, it’s really no wonder that security is always in question. As Bluetooth gets bigger and better, security will always be something that no one really takes lightly.

If you’ve been concerned about Bluetooth security in the past, rest assured that newer devices will offer bigger and better security. Preventing hackers from getting in is something every owner is concerned about – and the manufacturer’s are very aware.

Home and Garden

Air Purifiers: Worth The Investment?

Do you own an air purifier, if not, there is a good chance that you would be interested in owning one in the future, if you aren’t already interested. That is because air purifiers are rapidly increasing in popularity. Why you may ask? Air purifiers are rapidly increasing in popularity because they make indoor air healthier and cleaner. This means that by owning an air purifier, your home or your office space could become a pleasant place to be, instead of an unhealthy or an unpleasant place.

When it comes to air purifiers, despite the fact that they are popular, there are still many individuals who wonder whether or not they should get one. This is because many individuals wonder whether or not air purifiers are actually worth the buy. Are you one of those individuals? If so, you may be in for the surprise of your life. That is because, in most cases, air purifiers are not only a good buy, but they could also be considered quite a deal.

Quite a deal, you wonder? When it comes to air purifiers, there are many individuals who feel that they are expensive to purchase. While air purifiers can be expensive to purchase, you need to remember one thing. They result in clean air, which is easier to breathe. Can you put a price tag on that? That is why, when you think about, air purifiers are a great deal; thus making them definitely worth the buy. However, as great as air purifiers are, you need to remember that they are not all the same. That is why it is important that you know what you are buying.

When buying an air purifier, you need to examine the overall cost of an air purifier. The overall cost of owning an air purifier isn’t just the price that you pay at the store; it is the price overtime. With many air purifiers, you are required to change the filter every few months. This ups the cost of an air purifier. For that reason, you are advised to examine the cost of a replacement filter, before making your purchase. If you are concerned with the cost of a replacement filter, you will want to examine air purifiers that do not use filters, just collection grids. These types of air purifiers may cost more money, up front, but they could end up saving you money, in the long run.

It is also important to examine what you will be using your air purifier for. A large number of individuals use air purifiers if they have pets or if they have a smoker inside the house. Unfortunately, not all air purifiers are designed to remove these types of particles from the air. Therefore, if you plan on using an air purifier for smoke or for pets, you are advised to thoroughly read the descriptions of each air purifier that you are interested in buying. Buying the wrong type of air purifier can turn an otherwise good purchase into one that is definitely not worth the buy.

By keeping the above mentioned points in mind, you should be able to find and purchase the air purifier that best fits your needs and the needs of your household. This is, in turn, will make your next air purifier purchase definitely worth the buy.

Computers

Offsite Computer Backup Advantages

Creating backups of your data and files is a very important way of staying on top of disaster and missing data. Both small and large businesses, including individuals, always look towards a backup of information to keep them going in the face of disaster. Even though backups are a great way to keep your data safe and protected, there are some flaws with the traditional methods.

When you create backups of your data, you must store them somewhere where they can’t be damaged or someone else can access them. For businesses, offsite backup is a well known and popular way to backup files. It offers you several different advantages when compared to other ways, such as CD, DVD, external hard drives, and even servers. One of the biggest advantages to offsite backup is the fact that the backups aren’t stored in your office or business.

Offsite backup companies store your data in state of the art safes, to protect them against fire, flood, and even prying eyes. This can be extremely beneficial if unexpected things have a habit of occurring around your office.

Another great thing about offsite backups are the fact that they can be used as stores for your data. You won’t need to rely on online space, as you can easily go to the company who is storing your data and go through it anytime you wish. You can also use online space with most companies as well. You simply upload your data to their online storage area, then go back anytime you wish and view it. This is a very handy feature, similar to a hosting company.

Another benefit of offsite backup is the fact that your data will always be protected, and you won’t have to use CD or DVDs to do it. CD and DVD storage is great for individuals, although there will be quite a bit of them for most businesses. This can get somewhat costly, but more importantly, it will use a lot of space to store the backup files. They can also become damaged or lost, unlike offsite backup storage.

Offsite storage is also great if your business is in a bad area. If Mother Nature has a habit of bashing your area with floods, fires, or hurricanes, you should look into offsite backup storage immediately. They have ways to protect your information from harm, including anything Mother Nature can dish out. There is no need to worry about natural disasters, system failures, hard drive crashes, or data failure with offsite backup storage.

Even though you may not realize it, the data will be available anytime you need it. Online backup services are available anytime, day or night, and can be accessed anywhere you are. Most are easy to set up, and offers you very impressive security measures. They are also fast and very efficient, which is great for those who need to access their files immediately.

When it comes to offsite backup, you can store virtually any file you need to, such as text files, e-books, contact record, pictures, music, and anything else you can think of. The storage for online backups are virtually endless, capable of storing everything you need.

All in all, offsite backup storage is ideal for any business or corporation. You can store your data with an online offsite backup, or choose to do it physically in an offsite safe. The choice is entirely up to you. No matter which method of offsite backup you choose – your data will always be protected, and best of all – it will always be there anytime you need it.

Home and Garden

Repairing Your Carpets

How often you need to repair your carpet depends on you. There are instances such as burns, crushing, fading, furniture, bleeding, sprouting, and carpet beetles where you’ll want to take action. Most of the time, you can finish a repair job without needing a professional, although there will be times when you will need professional assistance.

Burns
Burns occur when a cigarette butt or flame comes in contact with the carpet. If the burn is small, the burnt fibers of the carpet can be cut out with scissors. If the burn is large, you’ll need to replace the area with a new piece of carpet. You can do this yourself if you know how, or have an installer do it.

Fuzzing
This occurs when loose fibers come out on the edges of the carpet. To fix this, simply cut the fibers that are sticking out.

Furniture marks
Heavy furniture can result in indentations being left on the carpet. To get rid of these nasty marks, you should sprinkle your carpet with some club soda, place a towel over the area, then iron it. Do this a couple of times and you will see your carpet begin to re-fluff.

Shading, crushing, and matting
A lot of traffic on the surface of the carpet will cause it to flatten, which may give some types of carpet a shaded appearance. If this happens, you should brush and vacuum the area. If you can’t fix the problem, you may need to hire a professional, as this can sometimes be very tricky.

Shedding and snagging
Shedding is a problem of usage, as the fibers will surface on the carpet. This isn’t a defect in manufacturing, but a normal problem. To fix it, you’ll need to vacuum the area. The snags on the other hand are tufts that have pulled out of the surface of the carpet. They will occur more often with loop pile than cut pile carpets. You should never pull them off, but instead cut them off neatly with a pair of scissors.

Sprouting
A carpet is known to have sprouts only when there are tufts on it, which are longer than the rest. As pulling on them will only damage the carpet more, you should trim them off with scissors and level them down to the rest of the pile.

Static electricity
This depends on the carpet material, construction, and padding. Humidity will play an important role as the moisture in the air is absorbed by the carpet fibers. A humidifier will help to retain moisture, and you can also spray the surface of the carpet with an anti static agent.

Carpet beetles
The best way to deal with carpet beetles is with a strong vacuum suction. You should always avoid spillage and keep the surface of the carpet clean of food. The carpet beetles are quite annoying, as they feed on wool, hair, hides, fur, grain, seeds, and flour. If the carpet is infested bad, you professional cleaner is the way to go.

Bleeding or crocking
Bleeding of the carpet is the loss or transfer of the color from one section to another. Good underlayments can help to prevent bleeding to a certain degree. Crocking on the other hand is the loss of the carpets color when it is rubbed. To avoid this, simply avoid getting your carpet wet.

A carpet installation job that is one right can help you reduce your repair worries to quite an amazing degree. You can always call a pro as well, as their services will often end up being much cheaper than if you were to go ahead and replace the entire carpet.

Home and Garden

Alarm System For Your Vehicle

When you purchase a vehicle, you will want other electronic gadgets such as a stereo. This means that aside from the net cost of the car, you spend some more dollars for extra equipment. The equipment that you install in it is often more vulnerable and appealing to burglars because they can easily be sold compared to the automobile.

And sad to say, it has already become a profession for some. You never know who among the people are burglars, and you cannot also change the fact that they live through this means. And they are just waiting for the right moment to attack. Their precious moment is when you least expect them, when you are most occupied and your car is sitting helpless.

The least thing that you can do is secure your automobile and lower the chances of your car being a target. But unlike the yard sign that you post in your house to deceive burglars, it may not quite work with your car. And the best thing that you can do is to actually install an automotive alarm system.

Another expenditure? Yes. But will you compromise your valuables and even your own safety just for a little amount? Consider this, at times, you will be rushing to work and it will not be impossible to accidentally leave your handy gadgets in the car. It’s when the day is already over that you realize what you’ve left. If the car is not secured, your mind will not be either.

But if you have installed a security system, you will have less to worry about. There will surely be authorities to take care of your automobile’s intruders when they set off alarm of your vehicle. The security system will take charge when it is impossible for you to do so.

When installing a security system, ask the company agent first on how the structure functions. This way, you can maximize the purpose of the burglar alarm. It is important that you know the details of its system. The automobile has comparatively less openings than a house, so it is less complex to mount the sensors in its windows and doors. The magnetic contacts mounted on these openings sets of the alarm when any of the doors and windows is forcedly unlocked. With the remote control in your pocket, it is easy for you to activate and deactivate the system.

For vehicle owners, the automobile burglar alarm system is a primary consideration. Although the system will cost you, your safety and the security of your belongings is something you cannot put a price into.