You have made the commitment to exercise regularly and settle into a healthy lifestyle. It is not always easy to keep up with working out on a regular basis so providing yourself with an energy boost prior to your workout will make the workout go more smoothly, you will feel better, and therefore, are more likely to keep it going.

There are many perfect fuel foods for energy boosts and muscle repair, but women’s bodies are different than men’s. Here are just five of the best fitness fuel foods you should be eating before a workout.

Yogurt: Yogurt gives you an energy spike perfect for before a workout and it is easy to digest. It is pre-workout food at its best.

Cereal: Fuel up with whole grain cereal and fat free milk. It will give you more energy for a better and longer workout.

Oranges: One orange has all the vitamin C requirements for the day and they are portable, perfect for eating on the go. Being rich in vitamin C means they help repair muscle tissue after a workout.

Ground Flaxseed: Flaxseed is fiber packed and a daily dose of 1-2 tablespoons is all you need. Toss it into your cereal and you won’t even notice it is there, it cannot get any easier than that.

Bananas: Bananas are high in potassium, which you need to replace fluids lost from sweating. The carbohydrates in bananas also provide an energy boost to sustain a good workout.

Super charge your workouts with a little fitness fuel beforehand and you’ll find yourself having more energy for a longer and better workout. It will not take long to see the results in the mirror.

If you are a pure non-vegetarian, you will probably raise a hue and cry at the thought of turning vegetarian! But the truth is that meat of any kind is tough on your smart cells. If Nature intended you to be a non-vegetarian, she would have equipped you with claws, and sharp pointed teeth to tear into any flesh; given you acidic saliva to digest the animal protein; a round stomach with the capacity to produce plenty of hydrochloric acid, fewer intestines to shorten the process of digesting the meat so that you could expel it before it putrefies inside; a liver that could dispel more uric acid than it does.

Instead, we have hands with moveable fingers that can delicately pluck and peel fruits; blunt teeth and molars that crush and grind; alkaline saliva to digest plant protein; a stomach that produces small quantities of hydrochloric acid; more intestines that hold on to the food and give time for your smart cells to extract the required nutrients, a liver that can expel small amounts of uric acid.

Look around at your circle of friends. If you find one of them is suffering from gout, you can be sure he is a heavy red-meat eater. You can almost bet that he eats salami or sausages for breakfast, a steak for lunch and meat for dinner. Then, one day, after a leisurely weekend of imbibing an overdose of scotch-on-the-rocks and liberal helpings of cold cuts as hors d’ oeuvres, and a plate piled with Mutton Moghlai, he would have slept feeling well-dined and content. Only to be jolted awake with his big toe pounding with pain. The gout had struck!

What happened? His prolonged meat-eating habit had put an overload on his liver. The excess uric acid had no place to go in his system, so it turned into crystals and settled in the joint of his big toe – and, pow! (What does his doctor recommend? To stay off meat and eat only vegetables, at least until the inflammation recedes.)

The onset of gout is only one side of the unhealthy coin. Meat is so high in indigestible fat content that it clogs up your arteries and can lead to a heart problem. It gives you no energy because though it contains carbohydrates, its also has undigestible animal protein and a high content of fat. That’s the reason you feel heavy after a meaty meal. In fact, your smart cells sweat working overtime to digest the meat and use up all the carbohydrates and energy in knocking the meat into digestible shape!

Meat also has neither fibre nor healthy plant protein. The animal protein is tough on your smart cells and turns toxic – turning your insides into mess. You get indigestion, bad breath and a heartburn. The toxies load your immune system and also make you vulnerable to disease.

Lastly, look at your mental make-up. When you see a plump goat, do you get that predatory gleam in your eye that makes you stalk and kill it? Or if you’ve been to a sea-food restaurant which has a large aquarium filled with lobsters and are asked to pick one for dinner haven’t you turned away with a shudder? Okay, you might argue, I don’t see the live specimen when eating it.

Of course, you don’t. You are just habituated to eating meat. But, remember, ultimately meat is dangerous to your health. However, if you just cannot do without it, we suggest avoid red meats – beef, mutton, pork ­completely and go in for lean meats like chicken and fish. This way, at least you won’t be overstraining your smart cells while satisfying your taste buds. Even a chicken cooked in an oil-less masata, however, has enough fat to knock your smart cells out and make you put on weight. So, cook your chicken curry the previous day and refrigerate it overnight. The next afternoon skim the thick layer of fat that has coagulated on the surface and then heat it before serving. This way, at least, you are reducing your fat intake, Along with your non-vegetarian dish, pile your plate with plenty of vegetables so that you don’t gorge on the meat alone. And eggs? They are not really worth including in your meals, for the yolk is high in fat and cholesterol. Which means that eating only the white albumen is best. In any case, they contain enough sulphur to strain your liver and kidneys. So, if you must. have an egg only once in ten days so as not to ‘eggsasperate’ your taste buds!

The culture of eating cooked food is deeply embedded in us. But we cannot ignore the value of raw foods. Make sure that your thali has plenty of salad and sprouts. For, the time taken by the body to digest and absorb various foods is:

13 hours – raw vegetables, fruits, sprouts.

24 hours – cooked vegetables and pulses.

72 hours – non-vegetarian and fried food.

Next to the – raw state, steaming is best. So is boiling, provided you do it in minimum water. Deep frying damages the nutritional value and the oil makes you fat, and raises your blood cholestrol level. Finally, the word ‘vegetable’ springs from the Latin vegetus meaning fresh and full of life. It is what our scriptures called pranic shakti, meaning life-force, depicting strength and energy.

Do ring in these little changes in your lifestyle. The two Es – exercising and eating right – will promote more than health. When you feel good about yourself, you will enjoy healthy relationships, a richer life. Fine-tune your mental dynamics. Don’t ask yourself “Will this taste good?” Rather, ask, ‘Will this taste good to my body’s smart cells?” In that question lies your best answer.

Have you ever wanted to become a model and have a fitness model body to die for? Having a sleek and gorgeous body is the dream of many women and men. There are talent scouts looking for the next top model, whose smile and presence will pay well and encourage others to live better.

The fact is that millions of people who desire to be a model, don’t have a solid plan or the discipline to give it what it takes. There are all kinds of shortcuts including weight loss pills of almost every color and size that promise to burn fat, and have you in tip top form in days. That’s nonsense – and if you start buying them, you will have exactly that – no cents left.

Whether you become a model or not, having a sleek figure is worth pursuing. A healthy way to get a fitness model body is to eat natural foods in the right portions and combinations. Many top models eat sparingly to reach a specific size. If you want to be a fitness model, you need to build an eating program that you can enjoy while it helps you get leaner. Second, when you find natural foods that helps you control calories automatically, you have a real winner.

The four foods groups that top body builders swear by offer a variety of choices to put the fun of eating in and take the boredom out. Those top natural food categories include lean protein, fruits, starchy and whole grains, and vegetables. You can build up a delicious menu from a number of choices that will increase your eating pleasure and get rid of a boring diet.

For example, you may make a light lunch of salmon, mashed yams, a spinach salad and an apple. That not only sounds tasty, it is tasty! By rotating among ten or so different natural foods, you can add variety to your diet and get the fitness model body that you will have the zest to enjoy.