How To Flatten Out Your Belly

 

1. Tangy citrus fruits:

Fruits like orange, lemon, kiwi, tangerine, fresh limes serve as excellent fat burners.

Citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C that boosts metabolism and burn fat faster compared to other fruits.

When you start a weight loss regime, consume citrus fruits with many other fat-burning fruits like apple, watermelon, grapes and strawberries for quick results.

2. Coloured vegetables:

Vegetables are rich in minerals and low on calories.

Veggies like cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, beans, and peas are all rich in minerals and have nil fat content in them.

Instead of cooking vegetables with a lot of oil and spices, go for stir-fry veggies with a little olive or sunflower oil.

3. Various dals:

Pulses or dal are rich in amino acids, low on calories, and fat. Sprouts are also rich in amino acids and can be included in your healthy diet.

4. Oats for breakfast:

Oatmeal contains insoluble fibre and some carbohydrates that don’t let you feel hungry for a longer time and give you strength for better workout.

5. Nutty snacks:

A handful of almonds or walnuts are good enough to keep you away from hunger and do not add to your calories.

6. Eggs are best:

Eggs are protein rich, low in calories and fat to boost your metabolic rate.

7. Oily Fish:

Salmon, mackerel, tuna are rich in protein are boosts metabolism. It contains good fatty acids (omega 3 acid) that burn your belly fat.

8. Lots of water:

Water increases your metabolism and kicks start the fat burning process.

Workouts For Belly Fat:

Exercise 1:

 

Leg Rotation works on your belly fat and stuffed cellulite in your thighs and hips.

• Lie flat on the ground and lock your hands behind your back while palms facing downward.
• Lift both your legs in the air at about 45 degrees angle from the ground.
• Start rotating them first in clockwise direction for 10 times and repeat the same in anti-clockwise direction without any break.
• Initially, start with 2 clockwise and 2 anti-clockwise rotations and with single legs.
• Beginner can bend their knees and then rotate.
• Do 5-6 sets without any rest.

You will feel the strain in your abdominal muscles and your thighs.

Exercise 2:

• Lie in the same position as the previous asana with hands locked at your back.
  
  

   
• Lift your legs up at 45 degrees angle and lift it up and down.
• Repeat another 5-6 sets.
• Begin with single legs i.e. first 10 up and down with your right leg and then left leg.

The first few days will be painful but gets better with practice.

Exercise3:

Crunches do wonders to cut down belly fat. Its time you get started doing this abs crunching exercise in the right way.

 

i. Lie down flat on a mat with your knees bent and feet on the ground. Alternatively you can.
also lift your legs off the floor at 90 degrees angle.
ii. Now lift your hands and place them behind your head or keep them crossed on your chest.
iii.Inhale deeply and as you lift your upper torso off the floor, exhale.
Do this for 10 times as a beginner and repeat another 2-3 sets.
As you lift your torso, sit at 30-40 degrees angle off the ground to feel pressure on your abdominal muscles.

Exercise 4:

 

  i. Lie on the floor and keep your hands either by your side or behind your head as in crunches.

ii. Now lift both your legs off the ground bent at the knees.

iii. Bring your right knee close to your chest keeping your left leg out.

iv. Taking your right leg out, bring your left leg close to your chest.

So these are a few exercises and the right diet to help you get those flat abs you always lusted for.

 

 

#stylecraze.com

Beyoncé takes the no.1 spot in the 15th Annual Forbes Celebrity 100 list

Beyoncé has played 95 shows during her tour and brought in a whopping $2.4million per gig.....no wonder she has taken the no.1 spot in the 15th Annual Forbes Celebrity 100 list!



Not only did hit song ‘Drunk In Love’ go platinum, but with ad campaigns with the likes of Pepsi and H&M, as well as a line of fragrances and a clothing company, Bey is estimated to have earned $115million in the past year.

Jay also placed high on the Celebrity 100 list this year, in sixth position with an extimated $60million in earnings.


Check out the top 10 below:


1. Beyoncé Knowles - $115 million
2. LeBron James - $72 million
3. Dr. Dre $620 - million
4. Oprah Winfrey - $82 million
5. Ellen DeGeneres - $70 million
6. Jay Z - $60 million
7. Floyd Mayweather - $105 million
8. Rihanna - $48 million
9. Katy Perry - $40 million
10. Robert Downey Jr. - $75 million

#mtv.co.uk

Kenyans' reactions to legalized polygamy

Last month a controversial bill legalizing polygamy became law in Kenya.

Yalda Hakim reports for BBC Our World on how it is being received:

In the chilly dawn deep in Kenya's Rift Valley, three women make domestic preparations for the day. One cooks breakfast, another makes pancakes, the third fetches milk for tea.

But Alice, 62, Mary, 56, and Joyce, 54, are doing this for the same man, the husband to whom all three are married.

He is Isaya Ntokot, a 76-year-old with 15 children and 48 grandchildren.

There is nothing unusual about this - in fact, three wives for a wealthy man like Mr Ntokot is considered not at all excessive, and unless you are Muslim, Kenyan men can marry as many women as they like.

The Masai accept polygamy as a way of life and these women grew up with fathers who had married several wives.

They all expected that one day they too would become part of a group of women who would share one man.

The three wives claim to live harmoniously, though Alice, as the first wife, feels she has more authority than the others.

The family of Isaya Ntokot (centre, in green) is not considered especially large

"I advise them on what to do," she says. "Because we are friends, it's easy. It would be harder if we didn't get on so well. If I disagree with them on something, I just try and stay calm."

These women had little choice but to enter into "customary" marriages rather than having civil or church weddings.

Before the new act was passed, they lacked legal protection because customary marriages were rarely registered and therefore not recognised in a court of law.

This left many women vulnerable. If a husband died, they could be disinherited, and their children risked losing their rights and legitimacy. Now a customary marriage will be treated as equal to Muslim, Christian, Hindu and civil ones, giving all wives legal recognition and rights.

Women's rights groups have hailed this aspect of the law. What they find absolutely unacceptable is that male parliamentarians used their majority to vote down a clause requiring a man to inform any existing wives of his intention to marry again.
'Africa not Europe'
As the bill was being debated one male member of parliament, Mohammed Junet, declared:

"When you marry an African woman she must know the second one is on the way, the third one is on the way, the fourth one is on the way".

"This is Africa Mr Speaker. We are not living in Europe, we are not living in America."

Female deputies stormed out in protest.

Wanjiku Muhia, one of just 69 out of 349 women MPs, is in a customary marriage herself and voted for the bill because of the protection it offers. But she also says it is sending out the wrong message.

"I'm very disappointed as a woman, and this law has taken Kenyan women back to the 18th Century, or thereabouts," she says.

She is not disputing the idea that "African culture is polygamous," she says, "but we are finding it disrespectful that some [men] can just bring another woman without informing the first wife".

Ms Muhia says she would leave if her husband brought home another woman, and that many others would do the same.

"Where are we heading, we are going to have many divorces," she says.

Some men clearly feel threatened by such talk. Nderitu Njoka, who runs a men's empowerment group, says Kenyan men often suffer economic, legal and even physical abuse at the hands of women - and he defends polygamy.

"If your first or second wife doesn't respect you as a man - does not care for you, cook for you, do all those things that she's supposed to do, then you're not supposed to just stay there and live a stressful life."
'Dumped'
In Nairobi's vast Kibera slum, Maurice Adongo splits his time between his two wives. They live in separate houses, less than five minutes away from each other.

He married Bridget, wife number two, 11 years into his marriage with Veronica. He thinks it's a perfect arrangement, but Veronica disagrees.

"I feel like I have been dumped," she says. "Some things a couple should sit down and talk about, but when your partner thinks bringing another woman into the relationship is the answer, and you disagree, it's not going to work."

The worst part for Veronica was that Maurice didn't tell her. She found out from neighbours and says she was heartbroken.

Veronica was upset when Maurice took a second wife

Maurice would not have been able to take a second wife if his marriage with Veronica had been a church or civil wedding.

Yet church or civil weddings can be very expensive in Kenya, so many opt for traditional ones.

Activists are now trying to educate people about the difference between customary and civil marriage. They're also looking for ways to make civil marriages - under which polygamy is not allowed - easier.

The new law, however, means polygamy is likely to become more entrenched. That is a concern for Christian leaders like Robert Burale, who says lawmakers are encouraging promiscuity and the end of the nuclear family.

"Imagine a man's first wife is 45 years old and he brings in a 19-year-old girl, how would a 45-year-old woman compete with a 19-year-old girl in all matters, and in the bedroom?" he asks.

"These women will also look for younger men. And then you start seeing men in the streets fighting."

Even in the Rift Valley, where the practice is deeply embedded, polygamy has its opponents. "I don't think it's right at all, no matter what they say," says Maasai community worker Joyce Kiereini.

"I'm sure that they know it's not correct, but it's because of being selfish men they want to continue running around with other women."



#culled from bbc

 

How to Lose Weight in 10 Days at Home

 

Here is a simple10 days’ routine for you to lose weight at home. It demonstrates what you should be eating, at what time and in what quantities.

Days	Morning beverage	Breakfast (within 9 am)	Lunch (within 1.30 pm)	Evening beverage	Evening intake( by 5)	Dinner (within 9)
Day 1	Hot lime juice with honey	Oats or protein meal*	Small cup of rice + 3 different steamed vegetables (avoid potatoes) + 1 or 2 chapattis (a kind of flat or unleavened bread)	Green tea without sugar	Small cup of sprouts (or) fibre content fruits	2 to 3 chapattis(numbers depend on your intake but not more than 3)
Day 2	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’
Day 3	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’
Day 4	Hot lime juice with honey (or) green tea without sugar	Protein meal*	1 medium cup of wheat rice + 1 chapati+Steamed veg or veg salad	‘’	A cup of veg salad +2 chapattis	A cup of veg salad+2 chapattis
Day 5	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’
Day 6	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’
Day 7	Green tea	Protein meal*	1 medium cup of wheat rice (or)2 chapattis + 1 cup of raw veg salad	‘’	A small cup of sprouts(or)A small cup of fiber containing fruits	Protein meal*
Day 8	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’
Day 9	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’
Day 10	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’	‘’

Protein meal*- a protein meal can be sprouts which are rich in protein (or) shakes made with soy proteins.

Here is a Quick Recipe for Homemade Protein Shake 

Ingredients you need:

• 120 ml of skimmed milk
• 120 ml of soy milk
• 3 spoons of oat meal
• Cardamom or vanilla essence

Recipe:

Step 1
Add 120 ml of skimmed milk, 120 ml of soy milk, 3 spoons of oat meal and 1 drop of vanilla essence or 2 cardamoms into a blender together.

Step 2
Blend the mixture for 60 seconds and drink it immediately.
This is the most commonly followed recipe of protein shake. However, you can try and explore other options as well. The idea is to intake protein. Now how you do it, we leave that up to you.

HOW IT WORKS:

1. Hot lime water with honey (or) Green tea when consumed on an empty stomach, regulates metabolism. Hence they help in reducing weight. This makes it necessary to consume it as a part of the weight loss program.
2. Consuming oats or protein meal helps control and reduce your calories intake. Again, these food items make for a healthy and nutritious breakfast. At the same time, they are good source of proteins which enhance weight loss. Protein helps keeping you full for longer. This helps control your untimely hunger pangs.
3. The first three days’ calendar requires you to make moderate changes to your normal routine. There is a reason behind this. It’s difficult to change your eating habit drastically overnight. Hence, it is necessary to slowly minimize the food consumed and so we do over a period of 3 days. Since day one is when you start up with your weight loss program, having a cup of rice along with chapati will reduce your hunger, fulfil your carbs craving to some extent. The three different steamed vegetables will give you extra fullness with low calories.
4. After three days, the food consumption is further reduced where rice is substituted with wheat rice. Wheat rice is an excellent source of fibre. This fibre helps in weight reduction and it simultaneously gives fullness. The quantity of chapati is also reduced to one. Vegetables are an essential part of a healthy diet and hence they are added more in quantity.
5. Now is the time to reduce your food consumption even more. So you either have wheat rice or 2 chapatis. At this stage, your body gets used to this type of eating habit where less food is consumed.
6. These same eating habits are also followed for dinner time where the food consumption is reduced day by day.
7. Consuming sprouts or fruits as an evening snack helps to prevent food craving and also gives you fullness in a healthier way. This is said to enhance weight loss tremendously. Apart from the diet, exercise plays a vital role in weight reduction program. Go in for simple exercises like skipping or walking. When it comes to skipping, start with minimum 50 jumps and gradually increase it by 30 jumps every day. It is also really important to follow the water therapy (discussed at length below). Without proper water intake, your weight loss will not be easy at all!

Include these additional tips in your weight loss program for 10 days and see the results for yourself.
1. Increase Water Intake (the water therapy)
Water is a very important factor in any weight reduction program. Consumption of water cleanses the toxins from the body in the form of urine. Drink about 4 to 5 litres of water every day.
Different bodies have different requirements of water. A simple way to track how many litres of water your body needs in a day is to divide your weight by 20. The result you will get from this equation will give you the litres of water you must consume every day. For example: If you weigh 70 kilos, then dividing it by 20 gives 3.5 as result. So you must drink a minimum of 3.5 litres of water every single day. This is an essential step for weight loss in 10 days.

 

2. Green Tea Instead of Coffee or Tea

Drinking a cup of hot green tea every morning on an empty stomach can cleanse the toxins in your body. It can also help reduce the problem of constipation. Green tea has low calories and starting your day with it instead of tea or coffee is very good tip for weight loss.

3. Hot Water With Lemon and Honey
Hot water with lemon and honey is a great trick for losing weight. To make:

• Mix a spoon of lime juice and half a spoon of honey to hot or lukewarm water.
• Drink this every morning on an empty stomach to aid your weight loss in 10 days.

4. Reduce The Intake of Carbohydrates

Rice contains a lot of calories and carbohydrates in it. Reducing the intake of rice can reduce weight to a great extent. If you want to lose weight, it is essential to reduce these carbohydrates intake ta a great extent.

5. Increase Protein Intake

Protein is a muscle builder that can effectively reduce the fat in our body. It can also convert the loose fat into muscles. Increase the intake of protein and replace carbohydrates food with protein food.

6. Increase Fiber Intake

Soluble fibers are a great source for reducing weight. Consuming foods that contain soluble fibers will shed the weight by reducing the bad cholesterol in your body.

7. Avoid The Problem of Constipation

Constipation can delay weight reduction process a lot. This is because the toxic and waste components are not flushed out from your body. Make sure you keep your system clean and toxin-free.

8. Avoid Junk Food
Want to lose weight in 10 days? Avoid junk food. completely! Junk foods like pizza, burgers, sausages, etc. do not contain any nutritive value. All they offer is fat and added weight. Junk food is the most common factor for putting on weight. Steer clear of these items.

9. Soy Protein

This protein is a plant-derived protein and helps in weight reduction as its low in fat. Adding the right amount of soy protein to your diet can help you reduce weight further.

10. Protein Meal Twice a Day

A meal that is rich in protein can promote weight loss enormously. So it’s necessary to consume a protein rich meal at least twice a day. Preferably have it for your breakfast and dinner. It can either be protein shakes or salads that are rich in protein.

11. Consume Calorie-less Food

The trick to losing weight in ten days is to consume calorie-less food to reduce weight. Add boiled food to your diet and avoid foods that are sweet, rich in fats or fried.

12. Get Rid of Food Craving

Food craving is very common and an uncontrollable factor among obese people. Never consume snacks or food when you have food craving sensation. Instead, drink plenty of water to avoid it.

13. Prefer Sprouts to Snacks

Boiled sprouts are rich in nutrients and have fewer calories. They can be consumed twice a day for brunch or in the evening time 2 hours before dinner. They provide you better nutrients than any other snack. Plus they aid your weight loss.

14. Not More Than 3 Meals a Day

Never consume more than 3 proper meals a day. And most importantly, only the meal for your lunch can be heavy; whereas your breakfast and dinner should always be light. This is one of the most important tip on how to lose weight in 10 days naturally list.

15. Proper Exercise

Working out is very important to lose weight and the simple equation to stay fit is: Proper diet + work out =FIT. You need not necessarily hit a gym to work out. You can start it at home with simple exercises like sit ups or skipping for about 10 -15 minutes a day. You can also go for morning or evening walks and jogging.

16. Consume Fruits with High Water Content and Less Calories
Fruits and vegetables like water melon, cucumber, and papaya have very less calories. They can be consumed for brunch or in the evening as salads as they make you full. These fruits are best suited for weight loss as they have more water and lesser calories.

17. Avoid Carbonized Drinks

Any carbonized drinks or beverage must be avoided during a weight loss program. Instead of these carbonized drinks, try and have lime juice, green tea or tender coconut water.

18. Keep a Count of Your BMI and BMR

Check your body metabolic index (BMI) and body metabolic rate (BMR). This gives you the amount of calories you should consume and the amount of calories that are burnt in your body – giving you a better clarity of your body system.

19. Avoid Red Meat

Red meat is highly dangerous as it not only leads to obesity but also diseases like cancer. So avoid it at all costs during your weight loss program and otherwise also.

20. Avoid The Three White Poisons- rice, Sugar, Salt

Rice, sugar and salt MUST be avoided in your diet to the extent possible. You cannot totally avoid these but you sure can control their consumption quantity.

21. Prefer Salads For Juices

Liquid foods like juices get digested quickly where as salads stay in your body for about 6 hrs, making you feel fuller for long. Consume salads instead of juices but do not add bananas, pine apple, jack fruit or any other calorie rich fruits to your salad.

22. Maintain Your Sugar Level
It is necessary to maintain your sugar level at 140. If your sugar level shoots up more than 140, your pancreas produces more amount of insulin to convert the sugar into fat. This happens each time you consume food. So in order to control this, you should consume foods that maintain your sugar level.

23. Never Skip Your Meals

When you skip your meal thinking that you might lose weight, you actually gain weight. This is because the hunger stays in your body and the next time you consume food, you end up consuming twice the quantity. This is also another important tip for you to abate the worry on how to lose weight in 10 days naturally.

24. Reduce Your Food Consumption to 1/3 of What You Consume Now

It is clear that the food that you are consuming now leads to obesity. So you will have to reduce this quantity to one third. If your hunger still persists, consume fiber-rich fruits or vegetables as your dessert.

25. Do It Now!

Last but not the least, do not postpone! Some get tempted by food or have no time to start the weight loss program. Remember that it’s now or never. Start your weight loss program and strictly stick to your diet.
You must make a special note of the fact that the tips shared here are extremely simple. They are quite practical in their approach and easy to follow. These tips, when followed religiously will earn the desired results within 10 days only – Something that most other weight loss programs with drastic and radical changes don’t. Just stick to these natural methods you will discover the new fitter you soon.

#stylecraze.com

Beyonce to star alongside Will Smith in new movie, 'Hancock2'

Rumours have it that Beyoncé will act alongside Will Smith in Hancock 2, playing the role of Carly Kicker.
In the 2008 debut, Hollywood actress Charlize Theron played the leading lady.
This movie would be the first film she's starred in since 2009's Obsessed, and 2013's animated feature Epic.