How to Exercise for Weight Loss

Studies comparing the roles of calorie reduction and exercise in weight loss have generally found that the greater benefit comes from the dieting. But combining exercise and diet is usually best. Exercise not only burns calories and makes you trimmer and fitter, it also helps prevent the loss of muscle mass and the drop in metabolic rate that usually accompany dieting. And once you’re at your desired weight, exercise is an effective way to prevent or minimize future weight gain.

For overall good health, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend that adults do at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity exercise (such as 30 minutes, five days a week) or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic exercise. To lose weight and maintain weight loss, aim higher: 300 minutes a week at moderate intensity or 150 minutes at high intensity. To meet the goals more easily, you can break up your exercise—even into periods as short as 10 minutes.

You should also aim to be more active all around—taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking farther away from your destination (or, better yet, walking instead of driving for shorter distances), and avoiding too much TV or other “couch potato” time. Find activities and sports you enjoy so you will be more likely to stick with them (working out shouldn’t feel like “work” after all). Using some type of fitness tracking device or smartphone app can be motivating.

Another perk of exercise: It can help ease snack cravings, some research has found. In a study in PLOS ONE, for example, overweight people reported reduced cravings for high-calorie sugary snacks after a brisk 15-minute walk. And in an earlier study in Appetite, people who walked and then did computer work ate half as much chocolate from a bowl at hand as those who rested before the task. Brief bouts of exercise may help elevate mood, similar to what chocolate and sugary foods do. Any kind of physical activity may do the trick.

Doesn’t exercise make you hungrier, though, so you may end up eating more calories than you’ve burned off? Most studies suggest that when people exercise moderately, they tend to eat only slightly more than when they don’t work out. But it’s hard to generalize, since appetite regulation is a complex process, involving blood sugar levels, a variety of hormones and other chemicals, and psychological factors. Exercise’s effect on your appetite may also depend on your gender, body weight, and fitness level, as well as on the frequency, duration, and intensity of your workouts. And the effect is likely to be different once exercise becomes habitual, because of the body’s adaptation processes during a long-term exercise regimen. However your appetite is affected by exercise, watch how much you eat afterwards, and don’t use food as a reward for your workout efforts.

How to customize the images, colors and borders in Powerpoint

How to customize the images, colors and borders in Powerpoint

You don't want to use the same old boring template everyone else uses in PowerPoint. PowerPoint has a great set of special effects, graphics, animations, and template themes. There’s just one problem: Everybody else has the same effects, animations, and template themes that you have. The last thing you want is to look unoriginal. Here’s how to make something unique that will help you stand out from the crowd.

Redesign an existing template

Let’s start with an easy one. On the main menu, select the template titled Crimson Landscape Design slides. The background on this slide is an image. The easiest way to customize it is to select a different image.

1. From the Design tab, click Format Background.
2. In the Format Background box under Fill, verify that the ‘Picture or texture fill’ button is selected.
3. Under ‘Insert picture from,’ click ‘Online...’. In the Insert Pictures dialog, type gradient design in the Bing Image Search box.

4. Highlight your chosen image and click Insert.

5. If you don’t like the selected image, click the Undo icon, press Ctrl+Z, or click Reset Background at the bottom of the Format Background submenu.

This straightforward gradient is simple and elegant, but you could add a few more design elements.

6. From the Insert tab, click Shapes, then select a shape from the graphic shapes list.

7. Add or draw that shape onto the slide, then click the Drawing/Format tab.
8. Select a Shape Fill from the Shape Styles group, then click Gradient from the Colors menu.

9. Choose a Gradient from the options menu or select More Options.

10. On the Format Shape submenu, click Gradient Fill, then make adjustments to the gradient on the Gradient Stops bar.

Design an original template

For original templates, the sky’s the limit—but keep these guidelines in mind to avoid common design errors.

• You can use public domain clip art, stock images, original art and/or photography, company logos and designs, or just create slides from the PowerPoint effects.
• Simple is elegant: Too many design elements create clutter that competes with the slideshow’s message.
• If your design background is limited, browse thru PowerPoint’s templates online for ideas.
• Design a theme that matches the topic and your company’s corporate identity, not your personal preferences.
• Create a color palette for your theme. Your company’s brand colors are good place to start.

1. Open a Blank Presentation. PowerPoint's default is a blank white slide with two lines of text: Title and subtitle. Enter both, then select a font: typeface, size, and color.

More design tips:

• You can use display fonts for titles, subtitles, headers, and subheads, but not when stacked. For example, if you use a display font for the title, use a san serif or milder font for the subtitle.
• The title should never be more than two-thirds larger than the subtitle. [***larger how?***]

2. Continue by selecting a background color. In the Customize group under the Design tab, click Format Background. In the Format Background submenu, select Fill, then choose a color from the color palette.

3. So far, nice font, boring background. Because the company name is Starlight Tours and the subtitle is First Class Accommodations thru the Tarantula Nebula, a background image of that Nebula would be appropriate, but it might also be too busy. Try the Hubblesite gallery. You can’t resell these photos or print them onto mass produced t-shirts, but single use is okay.

Visit the Hubble site and download an image of the Tarantula Nebula. Under the Insert tab, click Pictures, navigate to the Pictures folder, select the nebula you just downloaded, and click Insert.

4. The image inserts at a reduced size. Notice that when it’s selected, the Ribbon menu displays a new tab (Picture) above the Format tab. Select this tab to display the Format/Picture menu. Next, click the handles around the picture and stretch down and over to fill the slide. If the image is disproportionate, oversize it, then use the Crop button to remove the excess.

5. You can also click the up and down arrows in the Size group, or select the tiny menu options arrow in the bottom right corner of this group to display the Format Picture submenu. Use the options on this menu to size the image more precisely.

6. Next, select Send Backward > Send to Back from the Arrange group to move the image behind the text.

Special effects

This starry background is cluttered. Text will get lost in the muddle. But if you must use this image, PowerPoint has several ways to help.

1. First, select the title (then the subtitle). From the Home tab, select Font > Bold, Paragraph > Center.

2. With the text still selected, click the tiny menu options arrow in the bottom right corner of the Drawing group.

3. On the Format Shape submenu, select Text Options.

4. Under Text Outline, select Solid line, Color: Blue, Width: 0.75 pt.

5. Click the nebula image to access the Format/Picture tab. Select the tiny menu options arrow in the bottom right corner of this group to display the Format Picture submenu. Once displayed, click the picture icon to display the Picture Corrections submenu.

6. Under Picture Corrections, adjust the sharpness, brightness, and contrast as needed.

7. Under Picture Color, set the saturation to 50 percent to fade the image and allow the background color to bleed through. This makes the text stand out more.

8. Re-adjust the size of the image under Crop, then crop again if necessary.

9. Once again, click the nebula image to access the Format/Picture menu. Select the tiny "menu options" arrow in the bottom right corner of this group to display the Format/Picture submenu. Once displayed, click the Picture icon to display the Picture Corrections/Color/Crop submenu.

10. Under Picture Color, in addition to saturation, you can also change the color tone or recolor the image—not individual objects, but the entire image, like a color screen. Just click the little down arrow in the Recolor box and select a color screen from the list.

Artistic effects

Consider using one of PowerPoint’s artistic effects to alter the image further. It’s not Photoshop, but many of these effects are similar to Photoshop’s artistic effects.

1. Select the nebula, click the Format tab, then click Artistic Effects in the Adjust group. Go ahead and experiment. It’s fun.
2. Every designer should provide the client (or the boss) with options. The long list of Artistic effects include: Marker, Chalk, Glowing Edges and more.
3. My second, third, and fourth choices were Marker, Chalk, and Glass.

Best effect plus a border page

4. After some experimenting, I chose Glowing Edges: not too busy, dark enough for the text to stand out. For the pages with body text, hoever, I needed even less clutter.

5. For the body text pages, insert a dark shape across the center of the nebula page and size it about a half-inch smaller than the page on the top and bottom. Select a black fill and a medium blue outline (match the color used on the font). This gives the illusion of a matching border for the remaining pages.

6. Enter the body text for this page, then duplicate this slide for each page in your presentation. It’s easier and faster to type over body text (with defined styles), than start with a new text box.

The Right Diet for You

There’s no single diet that’s right for everyone. Where do you fit in?

Carbs vs. protein vs. fat? Various popular eating plans—such as the Zone, Dukan, Atkins, Pritikin, and Ornish—are based on wildly different ratios of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Some people lose weight more easily on low-carb/high-protein diets, while others do well by eating more carbs and less fat, partly due to genetic reasons. Experiment to find which balance works best for you. Whatever the fat/carb/protein ratio of your diet, opt for “good” carbs (in vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains), “good” fats (in fish, nuts, seeds, vegetable oils), and healthy life protein (in legumes, white-meat chicken, low-fat or nonfat dairy). And remember that the total number of calories you eat matters more for weight control than what proportion of them comes from each macronutrient.

Calorie-counting vs. mindful eating? Just as some people like to count calories or use some point system or portion-controlled foods, others will prefer a more mindful approach, which helps them naturally cut down on calories without having to keep track.

Solo vs. group? Many people do well by having a diet and exercise partner, joining a structured weight-loss program such as Weight Watchers, or consulting a dietitian who can set up an individualized lifestyle plan and monitor progress. Others may be more successful on their own.

Most important is to find an eating plan that you can stick with over the long term, since the relatively easy part is losing weight; more difficult is keeping the lost weight off.

Weight Control: Two Traps to Avoid

If you’re trying to follow a healthy diet, perhaps even lose some weight, could hidden obstacles be preventing you from staying on track? Here’s a look at two traps not to fall into, based on studies published recently in the Journal of Consumer Research.

Don’t judge a food’s healthfulness by its name. In a study from the University of South Carolina in Columbia and Loyola University in Baltimore, dieters rated a dish as healthier and more nutritious when it was called a salad versus a pasta dish, even though the ingredients—diced vegetables, pasta, cheese, salami and dressing over a bed of lettuce—were identical. Dieters also ate more candies when they were called fruit chews instead of candy chews.

As the authors point out, the food industry does a good job of confusing people by altering the names of products to make them sound healthier (and lower in calories). Sugary drinks, for instance, are marketed as flavored waters, potato chips are called veggie chips and milkshakes have become smoothies.

Take-home lesson: “Focus on the ingredients of foods rather than their names, as many foods are healthy in name only,” says lead author Caglar Irmak. Pay attention to portion sizes, too, of course.

Beware of the influence of overweight people on your eating behavior.Contrary to what you may think, you are more likely to indulge in unhealthy foods if you see someone who is overweight, according to a study from the University of Colorado. Participants filled out questionnaires that included a photo of either an overweight or normal-weight woman. Afterwards, when given the chance to dip into a candy bowl, those who had seen the photo of the overweight person took significantly more, on average. Similarly, people ate more cookies after viewing an image of an overweight person. This study offers more support for the notion that obesity can be socially contagious. As shown in a study in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007, people are more likely to become obese if they have family and friends in their social network who have become obese.

Take-home lesson: “Reminding yourself of your personal health and weight goals can help you stay on track and avoid overeating, whoever you are with,” recommends lead author Margaret Campbell.

How to manage Windows 10 devices from your Microsoft account

How to manage Windows 10 devices from your Microsoft account

Windows 10 isn't just an operating system that works locally in your computer. It's also an operating system that works in combination with Microsoft online services such as with Bing and OneDrive. Furthermore, in Windows 8, the software giant introduced the Microsoft account, leaving the old time local account as a secondary option.

A Microsoft account is a fairly new account type designed to allow users to connect across devices with a single username and password. When you sign in with a Microsoft account, all of your settings, passwords, people, documents, photos and videos, and music will roam with you everywhere to any device connected to a Microsoft service.

We are no longer tied to a single device. We have multiple hardware, and every time we connect new devices with our Microsoft account, they get registered into our account. While it's great to know that we can view how many devices we are using with our Microsoft account, it's important to keep the lists under control for various reasons:

• If you have a Windows Phone connected to your Microsoft account, and you sell it, the other person won't be able to setup the Find my phone feature until you remove the device from your account.
• In Windows 10, Microsoft is reducing the number of devices you can install an app or game you have purchased to only ten devices. On every new install of a Windows 10 device, you have been prompted to enable sync, which creates a backup of all your settings for each computer, phone, or tablet. This "backup" also gets stored in the cloud. If you ever reinstall Windows 10, you will be asked if you want to restore the settings from a previous install. After a while, these device backups will keep piling up, using valuable OneDrive space.

In this Windows 10 guide, we're going through the steps to keep the list of devices under control.

Removing devices you no longer use

If you used to own a Windows Phone, Surface Pro 3, or any other computer, you could remove these devices by going to "Your devices" in your Microsoft account online. Simply click the Remove link, check the box confirming the device you're removing, and click Remove.

Tip: If you're removing your old phone, you may also want to check your devices doesn't have Reset Protection enable.

Avoid reaching the ten devices app and game install limit

Windows 10 limits the install of an app or a game to 10 devices. To avoid reaching the limit, you can remove devices you no longer use. Simply go to Apps & games devices, and carefully remove the devices you want by clicking the Remove link, then check the box to confirm the device you're removing, and click Remove.

Note: It's worth pointing out that you can do the same for Music, Movies & TV devices.

Deleting old device backups from OneDrive

If you want to free up some of the storage space in OneDrive, keep your device backups organized, or you no longer have one of your devices, you can go to OneDrive > Device backups, and remove old backups by clicking the Delete button.

There you have it. These tips you see today will help you to keep your Windows 10 devices under control and keep enjoying apps and games.

How to enable pop-up email notifications for Windows 10's Mail app

How to enable pop-up email notifications for Windows 10's Mail app

The built-in Mail app for Windows 10 isn’t the most full-featured email client you can find, but it’s a nice, light alternative to a web client. One thing you may be wondering, however, is why you aren’t seeing pop-up Action Center notifications when you receive new emails.
Easy! You have to turn them on first. But let me warn you: once you turn on notifications you’ll get notified for every mail message you receive. Firing up your PC in the morning means a barrage of new mail notifications that come in one by freakin' one.

Getting notified

To start, make sure app notifications are active. They should be by default, but let’s just check in case you turned them off. Open the Settings app and go to System > Notifications & Actions. Under “Notifications” make sure the slider for “Show app notifications” says “On.”
Next, scroll down to “Show notifications from these apps” and make sure the slider for Mail is also turned on.

Now open the Mail app, select the acocunt you want to see notifications for, and then click on the Settings cog at the bottom of the left-hand navigation panel.
A Settings panel will pop out from the right side. Select Options and scroll down to the “Notifications” section at the bottom. By default, the Show in action center slider will be turned on by default, but that just allows notifications to appear in the slide-out Action Center panel.

To actually see notifications as new messages roll in you have to check the box for “Show a notification banner” to see banners pop-out in the lower right corner of your screen. If you’d like to hear the Windows 10 chime each time you get a new notification click the box next to “Play a sound as well.”
Once that’s done, click away from the Options panel to make it disappear. That's it! Your Action Center notifications for the Mail app are ready to roll.
If you want to see notifications for multiple accounts, open that account’s inbox in the Mail, app, click the Settings cog and repeat the process above.

14 Keys to a Healthy Diet

14 Keys to a Healthy Diet

1. Consume a Variety of Foods

Not all the nutrients and other substances in foods that contribute to good health have been identified, so eating a wide assortment of foods helps ensure that you get all of the disease-fighting potential that foods offer. In addition, this will limit your exposure to any pesticides or toxic substances that may be present in a particular food.

2. Keep an Eye on Portions

Sure, you can eat all the broccoli and spinach you want, but for higher-calorie foods, portion control is the key. In recent years, serving sizes have ballooned. In restaurants, choose an appetizer instead of an entree or split a dish with a friend. Don’t order anything that’s been “supersized.” When reading food labels, check serving sizes: some relatively small packages claim to contain more than one serving, so you have to double or triple the calories, grams of fat and milligrams of sodium if you’re planning to eat the whole thing.

3.Eat Plenty of Produce

Aim for 2½ cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit a day, for a 2,000-calorie diet. If you consume more calories, aim for more; if you eat fewer than 2,000 calories, you can eat less. Include green, orange, red, blue/purple and yellow produce. The nutrients, fiber and other compounds in these foods may help protect against certain types of cancer and other diseases. Legumes, rich in fiber, count as vegetables, though are moderately high in calories. Choose whole fruits over juice for more fiber. Frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are good options.

4. Get More Whole Grains

At least half your grains should be whole grains, such as whole wheat, barley and oats. Whole grains retain the bran and germ and thus all (or nearly all) of the nutrients and fiber of the grain. Look for a product labeled “100% whole wheat” or “100% whole grain.” If it doesn’t say that, look for a whole grain listed as the first ingredient, though there still may be lots of refined wheat (also called “white” or “enriched” flour) and/or sugar. Another option is to look for the voluntary “Whole Grain Stamp” from the Whole Grains Council.

5. Limit Refined Grains, Added Sugar

The refined carbohydrates in white bread, regular pasta and most snack foods have little or no dietary fiber and have been stripped of many nutrients. On food labels, watch out for “wheat flour” (also called “white,” “refined” or “enriched” flour) on the ingredients list. Also, limit foods with added sugar, such as soda and candy. These are sources of empty calories that contribute to weight gain. Many sugary foods are also high in fat, so they’re even more calorie-dense.

6. Enjoy More Fish and Nuts

Nuts, fatty fish, avocados and vegetable oils supply healthy unsaturated fats. Recent research suggests these foods, though high in calories, tend not to promote weight gain because they are satisfying. Still, it’s best to eat them in place of other high-calorie foods. For instance, substitute olive or canola oil for butter. Fatty fish helps reduce heart disease risks and has other benefits, largely because of its omega-3 polyunsaturated fats.

7.Cut Down on Animal Fat

Saturated fats, especially from red meat and processed meat, boost LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. To limit your intake, choose lean meats, skinless poultry and nonfat or low-fat dairy products. It’s also a good idea to replace saturated fats with “good” fats, found in nuts, fish and vegetable oils, not with refined carbohydrates such as white bread and snack foods.

8. Shun Trans Fats

Trans fats are supplied by partially hydrogenated vegetable oils used in many processed foods (such as commercial baked goods, snack foods and stick margarines) and fast foods (such as French fries). Trans fats raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and also reduce HDL (“good”) cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease. Since 2006, when a trans fat labeling law went into effect, many food makers have eliminated or greatly reduced these fats in their products.

9. Don't Worry About Cholesterol

Though a 300-milligram daily cap on cholesterol intake has long been advised, there's abundant evidence that cholesterol in food has little, if any, effect on blood cholesterol in most people. Thus, many experts no longer recommend limiting dietary cholesterol (found only in animal foods, notably eggs and shrimp). Rather, the best way for most people to lower their blood cholesterol is to reduce their intake of saturated fats (as in meats) and trans fats (from partially hydrogenated oils in processed foods).

10. Keep Sodium Down, Potassium Up

Excess sodium raises blood pressure in many people and has other harmful effects. People over 50, blacks and those with hypertension, diabetes or chronic kidney disease—that’s most adults—should limit sodium to 1,500 milligrams a day (about two-thirds of a teaspoon of salt). Everyone else should aim for less than 2,300 milligrams a day. At the same time, consume more potassium, which lowers blood pressure. Potassium-rich foods include citrus fruits, bananas, potatoes, beans and yogurt.

11. Watch Your Calcium and Vitamin D

These nutrients are vital for bone health. Get calcium from low-fat or nonfat dairy products and fortified foods such as some orange juices and soy drinks. If you can’t get 1,000 to 1,200 mg a day from foods, take a calcium supplement. It’s hard to consume enough vitamin D from foods, and getting it from sunlight is risky. Many people—especially those who are over 60, live at northern latitudes or have darker skin—may need a D supplement (800 to 1,000 IU a day).

12. Choose Food Over Supplements

Supplements cannot substitute for a healthy diet, which supplies countless other potentially beneficial compounds besides vitamins and minerals. Foods also provide the “synergy” that many nutrients require to be efficiently used in the body. Still, for many people a basic multivitamin/mineral pill can provide some of the nutrients they may fall short on. In addition, many people need calcium as well as vitamin D supplements to meet recommended intakes.

13. Be Aware of Liquid Calories

Beverages supply more than 20 percent of the calories in the average American’s diet. Some liquid calories come from healthy beverages, such as milk and 100 percent fruit juice. But most come from soda and other sweetened beverages and alcoholic drinks, which have lots of calories yet few, if any, nutrients. Soft drinks are a major source of sugar and calories for many Americans, especially children. Though juice is more nutritious than soft drinks, it’s also high in calories, so most people should drink no more than one cup a day.

14. Limit Alcohol

If you drink, do so in moderation. That means no more than one drink a day for women, two a day for men. Older people should drink even less. A drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1½ ounces of 80-proof spirits. While alcohol in moderation has heart benefits, higher intakes can lead to a wide range of health problems. Even moderate drinking impairs your ability to drive and may increase the risk of certain cancers. Some people, including pregnant women and those who have certain medical conditions, should avoid alcohol altogether.