Health Beauty & FitnessHealth, Beauty, Fitness Tips

Change your attitude. A different perspective may be the most important key to successfully achieving and maintaining your New Year weight loss goals. If you view exercise and eating healthy as painful, restrictive, boring, time consuming and impossible to sustain over a period of time, you are already setting yourself up for failure. If you look at exercise as a break from a stressful day at work; a way to boost your energy and mood; a chance to get completely physical and give your mind a rest and a way to improve your quality of life immediately, you are much more likely to stick with it. Alternatively, look at healthy eating as a way to nurture your physical body, amplify your mental focus and prolong your stamina.

Set realistic goals. This will prevent the frustration that can eventually make you abandon your New Year weight loss plan altogether. An average weekly weight loss goal of 1 to 2 lbs is realistic. Genetics play a major role in how your body responds. Wanting arms like a particular celebrity can be motivational, but only if you have a similar body type. In setting your New Year weight loss goals, prepare for plateaus on the scale. Lean muscle gains will show as weight gain on the scale. A more accurate way to monitor your progress is to measure body fat, rather than total weight.

Plan your workouts. Make appointments in your calendar specifically for working out. Don’t set yourself up for failure by scheduling more time than is realistic. Choose alternate workout times in advance for those situations that invariably crop up and prevent you from following through.

Keep a food journal. By tracking what and when you eat you can identify adjustments that need to be made and keep yourself more accountable.

Know your obstacles. Even the most committed fitness enthusiast doesn’t always want to exercise and eat healthy. Some days are easier than others. Know that you will have to work on it every day. If you have an upcoming event that could cause you to fall back on some of your old habits, prepare for it in advance. Find out what physical activities are available on your vacations and which places serve the healthiest food.

Reward yourself. If you deprive yourself completely, you will most likely abandon your plan. Make sure that you reward yourself weekly with your favorite dessert or treat. Just make sure you don’t go overboard!

Enlist help from a professional. You are more likely to achieve your New Year weight loss goal if you get help. A good health and fitness professional can create a goal-specific exercise plan that fits your schedule. This will enable you to see results more rapidly. The quicker you see a change, the more committed you will likely be in the long-term.

If this is your first pregnancy, you are probably wondering what you can expect to feel like when you are 32 weeks pregnant. The baby has been kicking quite a bit lately and your belly has become larger. If you were to see your baby on an ultrasound at this stage, you will see that it is able to suck its thumb. Your visits to the doctor office will change from this week onwards. Up until now, your doctor wished to see you once a month, but after this visit you will have a two-week schedule for your visits. If you have any questions, you should start writing them down and bring them with you when you do see the doctor so that you can get as much information as possible.

 

When you lie down, you will be able to see the imprint of a tiny foot moving across your belly and you will actually feel the baby turning over. This is an exciting time in your pregnancy because the baby starts to become a real person. When you are asleep, you may be awakened suddenly by a sharp kick or movements ?quite often just under your ribs. The baby will start to have hiccups in the 32nd week, which you will feel as short jerky movements inside you. You can alleviate the discomfort that this causes by moving around or drinking a glass of water.

 

The baby will start to turn in the uterus so that its head is down towards the birth canal. It won start moving downwards just yet, but it will start getting in the right position for delivery. Since the baby is starting to put on a lot of weight, you will notice weight gain as well ?often as much as a pound or two per week. Within the next two months, the baby will double its current weight.

 

In the 32nd week, the baby is able to blink its eyes, look around, pee and use its hands to making grabbing motions. There may or may not be hair. According to old wives?tales, if you have experienced a lot of heartburn during your pregnancy, the baby will have lots of hair when it is born. The baby usually weighs about four pounds by this week and measures about 17 or 18 inches in length.

 

As the baby grows, you will have increased aches and pains in your stomach and lower back. This is due to the pressure the baby places on your kidneys and your muscles. The ligaments in your stomach, hips and buttocks are still stretching, which accounts for the pulling and stretching pains you feel in these areas. You may also experience slight contractions as the baby starts to move downward, but they are mild and do not last very long.

 

This is the time when you should start finalizing your plans for the baby arrival ?completing the nursery and starting to stock up on diapers, blankets, undershirts and sleepers.

Pregnancy and birth are the two most important events, a mother will experience in her life. Both deserve careful and thoughtful planning.

 

From conception to birth

 

The countdown to a baby’s birth actually begins about two weeks before it is conceived or the first day of the woman’s last menstrual period. Conception can only occur during ovulation, which happens about the middle of the month of menstrual period.

 

An average full term pregnancy consists of a nine-month growth period-approximately 280 days. During the first three months, also known as first trimester, the baby develops all its internal organs, arms and legs. During the second trimester, which is from 4th month to 6th month, the baby continues to develop its eyes, head, bones and other external organs. The third trimester is from 7th month to 9th month or until birth.

 

Fetal development

 

 First month- In this initial stage, the baby is only ¼ inches long. Heart, backbone and spinal cord begins to form.

 

Second month-Baby is now approximately 1/8 inches long. Eye, nose, lips and teeth starts to form. Heart functions at this stage.

 

Third month-Baby is now 21/2 inches long. It now develops to a recognizable form. Most internal organs and tissues grow in this stage.

 

Fourth month-Baby is now 61/2 inches long. Fingers, palms, tooth buds starts to grow. Gender is identifiable by this time. The pregnancy really begins to show from this month onwards.

 

Fifth month-Baby is about 8 to 10 inches long. Mother begins to feel the fatal movement inside the womb. The hair begins to grow on baby’s head.

 

Sixth month-By this time, the baby is 14 to 16 inches long. It is during this period that bones harden, growth and weight gain are rapid and baby’s movement is visible from outside.

 

Seventh month- Baby is now 14 to 16 inches long. During this month the eyelids, which formed in the second month begins to open. It can see as well as it can hear.

 

Eighth month-Baby is 16 to 18 inches long. Most body organs are developed by this time except lungs.

 

Ninth month-Baby is 19 to 29 inches long. Growth finally begins to slow, as the baby is ready to come out. Now the baby is fully developed in form and can survive outside the mother’s body.

 

This is the order in which a new life progresses from conception to birth. When the beautiful little baby enters the world, on an average, the weight will be anywhere from 6 to 9 pounds and measure between 18 to 25 inches.

 

From birth to 2 years of age

 

Watching a baby grow and develop new skills is an exciting time. Many factors can affect a baby’s development. These include inheritance, culture health, opportunity, freedom and most importantly, love and affection.

A baby’s development is monitored in the following areas:

1. Physical development

2. Intellectual development

3. Language development

4. Emotional development

5. Social development

 

From birth to six month-The first six months of a baby life are little critical in their development. Within a very short span, they do many things like roll over, sit up, crawling etc. Although your baby is tiny and helpless, their brain is very active at this period. A child of three months can lift its head when lying on tummy. At four, the child is able to roll from its tummy to back. Babies can sit without support when they are about six months old.

 

From 6 month to 1 year-Six months to one year is a prime time for babies to develop hand skills. They have learned to balance the head; they can almost balance the body, they know how to co-ordinate both hand and eye simultaneously. Everything will be taken to the mouth now, including feet. They can focus on near objects and can follow other people’s movements. They can distinguish between the family members and the strangers. The child of this age can respond to the nursery rhymes with clapping and jumping to the tunes.

 

1 to 2 year-During this time, the child is increasingly more mobile and aware of himself and others. The desire to explore each new object will increase. The baby will recognize himself in the mirror; imitate the behavior of others especially of adults. He will form simple phrases and sentences, follow instructions, recognize familiar names.