How Many Carbs Should I Eat, a Day?

Everyone eats carbohydrates. You pretty much can not get around it. We need carbs for energy after all. But the question still remains: how many carbs should I eat in a day? Are there drawbacks from eat too little or too many carbs? What are the side effects of eating carbs or abstaining from eating carbs? Well once again, as with protein, it depends on what you do on a daily basis. Furthermore, ingestion of carbs should be focused more around the question: WHEN should I eat carbs during the day?

As with how much fat to eat in a day and how much protein to eat in a day, it all depends on a couple factors:

* job

* insulin resistance

* activity level

* target body weight

* exercise goals

* lifestyle

The most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans, as stated by the Department of Health and Human Services, suggest that roughly 50% of your daily calories come from carbs. Thus, a person who eats approximately 2,500 calories per day should take in about about 300 grams of carbs. This number is not altogether bad for the average American, but we have to take into consideration the sources of those carbs.

These are the kinds of carbs to avoid at all costs:

* sugary snacks and pastries

* sugar-sweetened soft drinks or fruit juice

* candy

* cookies

* regular fried greasy chips

* processed, packaged snack foods

* high sugar kids cereals

* processed white flour products such as white bread and pasta

These foods offer virtually no nutritional value, and they contain far too many calories. Some of these foods also contain saturated and trans-fats that are bad for your heart, and sugary foods can lead to such maladies as type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Specifically if you are already insulin resistant, you should avoid these bad carbs as they will just ruin your day by making you tired, slow, dumb, and hungry.

Instead choose these kinds of carbs:

* fresh fruit

* vegetables

* whole wheat and whole grain products

* beans, nuts, and other legumes

When Do I Need More Carbs?

People that exercise with high intensity or with prolonged endurance, can benefit from a high carbohydrate intake before exercise. It is feasible to consume a high carbohydrate meal before a marathon, or a moderately high carbohydrate meal before lifting weights or martial arts training. It is not a good idea to consume too many carbs in one sitting, but 50 grams is not out of the question if you are preparing for a physically draining event.

During and after exercise is also a key time to consume carbs. In fact this is the only time it is recommended to consume sugary carbs. I tend to sip on Gatorade during a workout and my post-workout drink contains about 40 grams of carbs in the form of dextrose. If allowed to choose, I would choose Biotest Surge as my post-workout drink of choice. This is a product that is specially formulated to replenish lost glycogen stores and restart protein synthesis after a demanding workout.

When Do I Need Fewer Carbs?

There is no need to eat carbohydrates at night. Ever. Some folks believe in consuming a high-carb meal the night before an event like a marathon, but I just don't see it. I would say eat that meal in the morning if the event is in the late morning or early afternoon. The best time for a high carbohydrate meal is in the morning, when your body is prepared to uptake glycogen for energy for the day. Lunch should be a moderate carb meal as you don't want to get that 'bonk' feeling in the middle of the afternoon. Also consider that if you don't plan to exercise during the day then there is really no need to gulp down many carbs at any point in the day.

Carbs and Fat Loss

If you are on a fat loss diet, then there is definitely no need to eat more than 100 grams of carbs in any one day. I don't necessarily support Atkins, but there are valid points to that diet. When I am in the middle of a hardcore cutting phase, trying to get as lean as possible in a given time frame, I will only consume 20-30 grams of low glycemic index carbs for breakfast.

For lunch I will try to avoid most carbs, opting for whole grain bread or a salad if necessary. My pre-workout drink is typically 1/2 a serving of Biotest Surge, I sip on Gatorade during the workout, then finish off with 1 serving of Biotest Surge after the workout. On non-workout days, I skip all of that and choose a protein bar, cheese, or a meat snack instead.

Dinner is always low carb during a diet. Soup, meat and vegetables, and salad are all great choices for low carb dinners. Appropriate snacks are meats, cheeses, protein bars or shakes, veggies, and other super-low carb foods. Typically in the midst of a diet phase, I eat around 75 grams of carbs on a non-workout day, and maybe 120-140 grams of carbs on a workout day.

In conclusion, I recommend that if you are moderately active, you should derive maybe 30% of your daily calories from carbs. Sure, my opinion differs from specialist government agencies, but that is only because I have seen low carb diets work. I have also seen Americans grow obese and suffer from a long list of carbohydrate induced diseases.

A 200 lb man on a 2500 calorie diet would probably eat maybe 180 grams of carbs in a day, all from unprocessed whole food sources. A 140 lb woman on a 1500 calorie diet might only eat 100 grams of carbs in a day.

Someone on a strict diet might limit themselves to 50 grams of carbohydrates a day regardless of sex or weight. Just remember to avoid those nasty sugary processed carbs so that you can stay healthy, avoiding energy crashes and adult-onset type II diabetes.

Is Cosmetic Surgery For Adolescents Advisable?

While ten or fifteen years ago cosmetic surgery was only available to the rich and famous, it is rapidly becoming the norm for many members of the general public. Also it seems as if the age of people willing to go under the knife is getting lower. A few years ago a girl who wanted cosmetic surgery, more precisely breast implants at the age of sixteen, made headline news, now it is rapidly becoming the normal. Seemingly the adolescent issues many youngsters have can be quickly remedied by a trip to the surgeon.

The reason so many youngsters are deciding to undertake cosmetic surgery is complex and hard to define. One surgeon has claimed that there is simply an increased visibility with so many people now having cosmetic surgery. While before it was just the famous, now teenager's parents are regularly heading to the surgeon to adjust their appearance. The media has also made cosmetic surgery a far more viable option by publicising the different operations available; blaming the media however can be seen as a knee-jerk reaction.

The common question of 'what would you have done?' is often bandied around the dinner table and as such has entered the consciousness of not only teenagers, but adults as well. It is important to be objective however; cosmetic surgery is a relatively common phenomenon and as long as procedures are carried out safely there is no real problem with people improving the way they look. Whether or not they need it is down to their own body image.

Teenagers however are notorious for having a poor body image and seemingly cosmetic surgery is the quick and easy answer. While it may be a quick fix, surely there are ways to improve self esteem without going under the knife? But a teenager should not be able to possess the thousands of pounds it costs to have cosmetic surgery. In this respect, surely it is the parents who have a responsibility to educate their children if their self esteem is low. This however is not always possible, and can be seen as hypocritical, especially when the parent has undergone surgery themselves.

The benefits of cosmetic surgery are clearly there, if problems of self esteem focus on a particular part of the body it may be worth altering this body part. This can be essential for some who have serious problems with their facial features. If someone has large problems the benefits of cosmetic surgery can be truly life changing, completely boosting confidence and the way in which they carry out there day to day life. Such processes can be breast asymmetry and the readjustment of jaw lines.

Responsible cosmetic surgeons take into account the psychological effects of any surgery and will evaluate patients on how they may react to these effects. The key principle is to make an assessment based upon a patient's physical, emotional and psychological maturity. By the assessment of these factors it is possible to evaluate the viability of surgery of any particular patient. Of course if the patient fails to impress on the surgeon a sense of maturity it should be unlikely that surgery may go ahead. There are of course unscrupulous operators that may ignore these principles in favour of massive earnings, thankfully these are few and far between.

So for those who may want to undergo cosmetic surgery it is worth considering the reasons behind your decision and whether these will be acceptable to a surgeon. Responsible surgeons will take on those who have the maturity to deal with surgery and who have good reasons for going under the knife.

Careful deliberation is essential, especially in younger patients. If it is possible for the patient to see past the adolescent period, and the social pressures to conform, surgery may not be the answer. That said if it is a severe deformity or an operation that will be truly life changing cosmetic surgery may bring great benefits.

How Diet Effects Your Sleep

What you eat during the day and evening can affect your sleeping patterns. If your diet consists of a high amount of processed foods you may want to try eating more wholesome products. You may want to eliminate, reduce, or substitute the amount of sugars, fats, and preservatives from your daily intake of food. This may benefit your ability to fall asleep at night as well as improve your general health. Eat a well balanced diet by following the recommended daily food allowance. Make sure you are meeting the daily requirements for fresh fruits and vegetables. Eat complex carbohydrates and choose protein that is low in fat.


You can also choose healthy meat substitutes, such at tofu and vegetarian burgers. Become aware of any food allergies that you have and try to avoid them. If your body is allergic to certain foods it may affect the way you think and feel. This could be a contributing factor to your sleep problem. Some common food allergies that are known to contribute to insomnia are corn, dairy products, wheat, and chocolate. Try to schedule your last evening meal at least four hours before bed. Eat a healthy, well balanced meal. Try not to overeat as this may cause you to become tired after your meal. You want to avoid feeling tired or napping in the early evening hours as this will greatly hinder your ability to fall asleep at bedtime. As well, try to eat enough so that you are not hungry later and find your self reaching for foods that are high in fat or sugars. If you find that you are hungry before bed you may find that a small snack an hour or two before bedtime will help.


Avoid foods that are high in protein, fats, and sugars. You should also avoid foods that are too heavy or spicy. Try a bit of cereal and milk or one serving of low-fat yogurt. The key idea is to provide your body with a bit of nourishment to avoid hunger pangs and not overindulge in an evening snack. The goal is to reduce your hunger and allow your body to rest and relax. Make sure that you drink enough water during the day. Studies show that your daily recommended water intake should be around 8 glasses, or 2liters.If your body is well hydrated it won't signal you to wake up during the night.


Try to avoid drinking water or other liquids one hour before bed if the need to urinate wakes you up during the night. The healthier you eat the more balanced you will feel both physically and emotionally. The target here is to get you to sleep regularly and deeply without waking during the night.

mind and Brain!

The mind does not act directly on the brain, but uses the subtle bodies as medium. Before going deeper into the subject, let it be clear to the reader that the human being consists of seven layers or seven bodies, which are explained in more detail in my previous works. They are the physical, the etheric, the astral, the mental, the spiritual, the cosmic and finally the Nirvanic bodies. In this context, we will deal with the first four bodies and basically the mental body, which is the fourth one. The mind stands as an exit between the first three bodies (physical, etheric and astral) and the last three layers, the spiritual, the cosmic and the Nirvanic. Hence this diagram or yantra, as it is called in the Eastern philosophy.


The point represents the mind through which one may go downward on the ladder of evolution to the grosser level of existence or upward to the higher rungs that represent the higher levels of consciousness. Each triangle represents the number three. The inverted triangle represents the downward pull of matter while the other represents the upward pull towards the Divine.
This article aims to show how stress, tension and many illnesses are formed. The mind can be compared to a bucket of water in the depth of which there are mud and litter. When the water is calm and undisturbed, the mud and the litter remain at the bottom. There is neither any ripple nor dirty water and everything seems calm, cool and clean. However, if a single pebble or any object is thrown into the water, ripples will be created. If the ripples are big, depending on the size of the object thrown, the deposited mud and litter will be disturbed and will emerge on the surface. The water, which was cool, calm and placid, no longer appears so. Similarly is the mind of man. The mud and litter are the unconscious layers and the evil that they conceal in their depth.


We experience the world mentally through our ten senses. These are firstly the five motor senses comprising of hands, feet, sexual organ, anus and mouth, and secondly, the five sensory organs through which we acquire knowledge, namely feeling, vision, taste, hearing and smell. Messages from the outer world have as media these senses. Once they reach the mind, our intelligence uses its discriminative power to react. For example, if I see a beautiful car, the image goes to my mind via the sight instrument, which consists of the eyes. The mind or the intellect will start reasoning using past knowledge: “This is a car, it is beautiful and runs fast.” In this way, daily events enter the mind through the senses and create impulses, which in turn do not touch the brain directly, but pass through the astral nerves of the astral body to affect the astral brain, and from there to the etheric body then to the brain. The impulse or the message that the mind sends to the physical brain is too powerful to be received directly. This could cause great damage to it.


Psychological as well as physical illnesses arise when impulses that emanate from the mind as feelings or thought-waves are not transformed or expressed. In such cases, the feelings or thought-waves, which are electrical and powerful impulses, are blocked in the nerves of the physical or subtle (etheric and astral) bodies, thereby causing much damage. Thus, the psychic layer of the person becomes blocked or suppressed and the latter will know a very difficult evolution or none at all. Most of the problems of the world today are based on that science. Sexual obsession, schizophrenia and many other illnesses are a result of suppressed emotions and thoughts. It has been proved scientifically that if a child who is plucking a flower is suddenly prevented from doing so (and this type of foolishness is normally done by parents!), that may result in cancer at a later age. This may appear foolish and ridiculous. In fact, by performing such a simple action, the child may have deployed much energy in the form of love, enthusiasm and other feelings. If all these are suppressed, then the impulses triggered for performing the action will not return to their source, but will be blocked in the physical or the subtle bodies. Try to imagine how many feelings, thoughts and desires have been suppressed in us from birth! And mystics say that we have been carrying the burden of these blockages since many births. This has made our body, mind and heart sensitive from one angle.


Furthermore, we can choose to suppress our ambitions and feelings in which case we may become neurotic because that will definitely affect our physical nerves and psychic centre’s. Some people say, “I have consulted so many doctors, yet nothing has been found to be wrong. Then why do I continue to suffer?” Many people who suffer from nervous problems manifest strange symptoms, which lead people to say that they are possessed by a spirit. The cause is subtle. Psychology, psychoanalysis and psychotherapy can and are helping much, but it is not enough. These types of therapy and analysis help to cure only to a certain extent. There are specific mental and physical exercises that may help substantially in curing stress, tension and the illnesses connected to the mind and body.