Dawn Doneza Freelance Writer

New Year, New You. This New Year, challenge yourself to become the healthiest you can be. Join the Online Fat Loss Transformation Challenge and not only set the year right with a healthy body you can be proud of, but also get a chance to win $300! Online Fat Loss Transformation Challenge Here are the mechanics: Only 20 slots available. First come, first served basis. Participants are required a registration fee of $34.99. Contest period runs from January 1 to April 1, 2016. Only one contestant will win the Grand Prize of three hundred dollars ($300). All contestants will vote on the winner. Additional Privileges: Contestants with referrals will receive a $5.00 discount off their monthly rate for each person they refer, as long as they stay in the challenge. Contestants will each have a customized workout program which they can access from their devices using an app. The app can also be used to communicate directly with {instructor}. All contestants will receive a MR F...

It's cold season once again. We Filipinos don't experience autumn or winter but we definitely have a cold season we reserve for the -ber months and we usually exclaim out loud that the cold breeze is an indicator that Christmas is coming. That is probably why when the -ber months starts (which is September) people are already decorating their houses for the holidays. :D But with cold weather comes dry skin. It seems like our sebum production has taken to hibernation and what we're left with is skin that lacks moisture. Our lips are no exception. The blasts of cold winds leave our lips chapped, cracked, and sometimes bleeding.  So how to combat this? I'll share with you 3 steps I take to prevent my lips from chapping. Stop Licking. First off, stop licking your lips. It is a common habit for chapped lips sufferers to constantly lick lips when they get dry, but this is only going to worsen the situation because the enzymes in our saliva break down the natu...

Online coaching has taken the storm these past few years. People turn to online guides to help with various tasks and inspire themselves to be better. And with the advent of health consciousness, more and more people are turning to online nutritional coaching to motivate themselves achieve their goals and live healthier lives. It may seem so easy to pick a coach from a wide variety available online, but finding one who actually cares for your process and progress is not as easy as it seems. Here are three roles your chosen online nutritional coach should also be. Cheerleader. Your online coach should motivate you to achieve your goals. He focuses on empowering you to make the right decisions and build consistency, and is accountable that you stick to it and push you to never give up. Guide . Like a guide in nature, your online coach should know the path to success and foresees the obstacles that stand in your way. He should be able to help you maneuver the pitfalls and help you focus ...

A common mistake most people do when exercising is they omit to stretch before and after they work out, saying they'll warm up when they start exercising, or that they don't really need it afterwards. But properly stretching pre- and post-workout is beneficial to the body and actually helps in keeping fitness on track. Stretching is beneficial pre-workout by balancing the mechanics of the body. It prevents injuries by warming up the muscles, connective tissues and joints for them to be able to perform a greater range of motions. It raises the body temperature and heart rate to prepare the body for the strenuous activity ahead. Not only will the body become more flexible, the performance also improves over time. As for post-workout, stretching is beneficial because it helps cool down the body by loosening up tight muscles and slowing the heart rate. It is a good idea to incorporate a slow walk post-workout as a way to cool down and be sure to perform static stretches for 5-10 mi...

We all know that diet and exercise are the basics for losing weight, but despite cutting back on calories and having a regular workout routine, we are still not seeing the results we are aiming for. Here are nine reasons of what's possibly tripping us up. Choosing the lowest calorie foods We know that to lose weight, we must forego the calories. But choosing the low-fat or fat-free products are doing us more harm than good. When manufacturers remove the fatty ingredients, they replace them with more sugar, sodium and chemicals to make up for the flavor lost. And since the fat-free products taste lighter than its regular counterpart, we are often duped into eating more of them than usual. Skipping the weights Cardio is essential to weight loss, and it’s so easy to incorporate them into our routine or on a busy day. What we fail to do, however, is to make time or find courage to take on the weights. Fitness expert Aimee Nicotera explains that lifting heavier weights could poss...

The holidays, although fun and festive, is usually the culprit to wreaking havoc to the strict implementation of our fitness routine. Thanksgiving is no different. We can only imagine the scrumptious dinner prepared and our self-control flies out the window, as with our fitness goals and visions. This actually sets us back and makes all our work leading up to this day futile, and we’d have to start all over again. So how do we avoid this set back and not let Thanksgiving ruin our momentum? Here are a few ways. Stop Eating When You’re Full First up, and most important to remember, stop eating when you’re full. Don’t force more food just because it tastes really good, or you would only have it once a year, or because mom cooked it especially for you. Know when your stomach is satisfied, and don’t allow your taste buds to control you. To enjoy the feast, try out as many food as you want by taking only a very small serving of each, and don’t go back for seconds! Work the Room Ins...

I think I've discovered a new way to burn more fat and get my clients flatter stomachs. As a fitness trainer, the number one thing people come to me for is to get help in getting abs - or flatter bellies. Now, since I like to experiment with different workouts, cardio programs and eating plans, I tend to use my clients as guinea pigs. My clients don't mind. They're actually pretty good sports about it. Sometimes during these experiments, I discover better ways to get faster results, and there are times my experiments don't work out despite being good in theory. Recently I've shifted my focus on finding new and faster ways to lose more inches off the mid section and get my clients flatter, more defined abs. And, I think I discovered the perfect flat belly formula. Now I say think because up until now I've only tested this with my current clients. I've never tested this system with common folks - the ones who are not into working out. That would be the TRUE TE...

New Year. It's the time of the year when we swear to ourselves to improve and make a big difference in our lives. I bet one of your resolutions has something to do with health and keeping fit. That's because one of the most common New Year's Resolution is going to the gym (especially after feeling guilty about all the weight gain incurred during the holidays). But did you know? 77% of people fail to follow through on this resolution! Don't be one of them! Here are 5 tips to help you keep it. 1. Do it for yourself. Don't do it just to follow the trend. Your family or friends might have invited you to join them, and although that sounds like fun, if you're only doing it so you don't feel left out, chances are you'll lose interest pretty quickly. And if they stopped going, does that mean you'll stop too? 2. Find something you actually enjoy. Going to the gym and running on treadmill everyday will bore you pretty quickly. There are other ways to ke...