Today we hear the word diet much more than we hear the word nutrition. There are so many diets on the market that it’s easy to get lost in the fad and forget what nutrition truly is. There is the Atkins Diet, the Zone Diet, Weight Watchers and many others, from Slim Fast to the various one-food diets, such as the cabbage soup diet or the grapefruit diet. Society has become fixated on the ‘diet’, instead of quality nutrition. Unfortunately, this fixation isn’t working. America is the fattest nation in the world, with high rates of diabetes, heart disease and other life threatening illnesses. While diets are becoming more popular, nutrition is suffering.What is a diet?While many people think a diet is a set of rules you follow to try to lose weight, your diet is actually the food that you eat to supply your body with the nutrients it needs to function properly. While an average American diet consists of large quantities of processed sugar, white flour, meat and fast foods, a healthy diet is one that supplies the body with vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and enzymes. These nutritional building blocks affect your energy levels, your quality of life, and have a direct affect on your mood, memory, eyesight, body functions and lifespan. Without a healthy diet that supplies the body with much needed nutrients, you are more susceptible to colds, infections, and illnesses. Your diet, in other words your nutrition, is what sustains your life.Nutritional LabelsThere is much confusion surrounding nutritional labels. Most people look strictly toward the top for calories, fat grams and serving size information. The truth is that nutritional labels offer a look at the nutrients in one’s food, such as vitamins A, C, D and E, as well as calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and folic acid. This information, although lower down on the nutritional label, is very important information if you are seeking to supply your body with nutrients, as opposed to empty calories.The most important aspect of a nutritional label, although almost completely overlooked, is the actual ingredients within your food. While it may be easier to check to see how many calories and fat grams a certain food product has in each serving, when it comes to healthy nutrition the most important ingredient is what you are actually ingesting. It may have only 220 calories, but where are those calories coming from? Are you ingesting mostly corn syrup and sodium phosphate, or high amounts of preservatives, such as sorbic acid and sulfur dioxide? The ingredients in your food are the tell-tale clues to how much nutrition you are actually taking in. If your food is strictly cheese and flour, as opposed to nutrient providing vegetables and vitamins, it doesn’t really matter if the calories are low.A Nutritional DietNutrition comes from vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Food sources that are rich with nutrients are whole, living foods that are supplied from the earth. Dark leafy greens offer more calcium than milk, while beans and grains offer high amounts of iron. It is easy to turn your focus from diet to nutrition. And when you do, you might find yourself eating a diet that is rich in nutrients and optimal for losing weight.
Nutrition Vs Diet – Are You Getting the Nutrients Your Body Needs?
What Can Marketing Make You?
When it comes to business, spending money on things with an unpromised, unspecified or uncertain return is a tough pill to swallow. Most business owners budget very carefully – they want to know what they’re spending their money on and why; how their money is working for them. Marketing is one of those gray areas where, especially for the not-totally-new-school business owner, it can be difficult to grasp the concept of allocating large amounts of dollars toward something you only hope will work in the end.That’s why a business mindset of scarcity is much more common than one of abundance – because when the results are unpredictable, it’s easier to just stick with what you’ve got. But instead of asking, “what will marketing cost me?” more business owners are exploring the possibilities that emerge when they ask, “what will marketing make me?” And I’m here to tell you.The reason why more companies (and small businesses in particular) are opening up their minds – and their wallets – to a new way of thinking is because they have most likely found at least one of the following five things to be true:1. Marketing Makes You MoneySure, marketing costs money. But it’s not supposed to be a blindfolded spend frenzy. If you know enough about marketing to test the waters with some high-value organic techniques that will get you a lot of mileage, then go for it, by all means. This will help inform your strategy down the road so that you have an idea of the areas where you need help, and so that you can reasonably predict your marketing expenditure.However, if you seek the advice of a professional, the right marketer will set your mind at ease by not expecting you to dump huge amounts of money into their accounts up front and by explaining each strategy they propose, as well as why they’re priced the way they are. Then they’ll put together a quote which should not only align with your goals, but illustrate the anticipated return in proportion to the suggested spend.Let’s face it, ‘marketing’ is a broad term but, in essence, the purpose of any marketing strategy is to get you found. Your product or service will only make you money if it is used by people, and awareness precedes use, wouldn’t you say? Whether you employ digital marketing methods such as building a great website, blogging, email marketing, social media, and paid ads; or go old-school with direct mail, circular ads, door-to-door advertising, and cold-calling, the intent is the same: get people to buy from you.Marketing, when done right, should bring opportunities to your sales force, traffic to your website, and rings to your phone. Ask yourself: if you don’t have a website, then how are you getting found? How long will your current strategy be sustainable? Will it help you grow? If you have a website but it’s not bringing you business, then it isn’t working. Word of mouth success is wonderful, but do you have a plan in place for customer retention and acquisition? The answer shouldn’t be “how much will marketing cost me?” but rather, “how much do I want to make and how can marketing get me there?”2. Marketing Makes You ReputableHow many times have you visited an establishment based on a word-of-mouth recommendation from a friend? Probably quite a few. Ever been somewhere really fantastic that you wouldn’t have otherwise selected if not for a positive review? Exactly! It doesn’t matter if people love your business if they’re not spreading the word, and a digital presence makes it much easier for your great reviews to be found by the masses. Publishing testimonials and success stories on your website is a wonderful way to market yourself and show prospects that they can trust your brand just like other customers have. Furthermore, getting yourself listed on well-known and highly trafficked directory sites makes it easy for people to do their homework before they buy – which is an integral part of the customer satisfaction experience.3. Marketing Makes You CredibleNot to be confused with reputation, credibility is a major factor in many buyers’ decisions. How do you distinguish yourself from competitors? What makes you more of an expert on your particular field or subject area? What sets your product apart? Well, don’t tell me – tell the world! You need a platform from which you can showcase your skills, expertise, or must-have product.Blogging and social media marketing are excellent ways to use your own unique voice to educate buyers and demonstrate thought leadership without always delivering an overtly hard sell. People like information, and they’re more likely to trust you if the information you provide is relevant to their problems, needs and experiences in such a way that makes them want to come back and keep getting information from you (instead of just hearing your sales pitch and then leaving to continue shopping around elsewhere). This is especially vital for less well-known companies that don’t have as much publicized feedback or presence. In order to stand up against your competitors, you must demonstrate credibility.4. Marketing Makes You AccessibleIt’s one thing to have a website. But if you’re just starting out or if no one knows your name, it’s not enough to just have a website. How are you driving traffic to that website? Waiting and hoping are not measurable techniques that deliver results. You need a strategy, and you need SEO.Maybe you’ve heard of search engine optimization (surely you’ve used that little thing called Google). Basically, SEO is tied into the design and function of your website so that search engines (like Google) can display your content to people who are looking for related information. If your website isn’t optimized, then it’s just sitting there. Sure, someone can type your URL and probably even search for your business name on Google – if they know your name. But if you’ve got a niche product or service or you’re brand new to an area, no one will know to do that. You need your company or product to pop up in the search results whenever someone types in “Philadelphia wedding photographer,” or “men’s custom tailored vintage suits” (you get the idea).5. Marketing Makes You AttractiveThis should be self-explanatory. Let’s be honest, we do tend to judge books by their covers, and we are (even if ever so slightly) biased toward companies – and people – who present themselves well. Marketing and branding are all around you. If you’re anything like me, you’re a sucker for the pretty packaging in the cosmetics aisle at Target (or the highly visible promise of a product that does it all, is portable, and comes with a warranty).The same goes for your brand identity, whether you’re a large organization or a music teacher! The way you present yourself to the masses will play an important role in the amount of opportunity that converts to business. Online presence is becoming so important that it’s almost unacceptable to have a sub-par website. For people who still use business cards (and who aren’t constrained by corporate marketing guidelines), being memorable and capturing someone’s attention with a 3.5-inch piece of paper requires some creativity. What’s on the cover is not always a measure of what’s inside, but the cover should at least make someone want to open the book. The way your business appears to others is a reflection of the way your business will eventually appear to your banker.Lack of Marketing Costs You EverythingShort of quoting JFK for emphasis, there’s really no other way I can say it (you got it, right? Please tell me you got it). Don’t wait around doing cost analysis and pinching pennies. While you’re doing that, your competition is outperforming you. A marketing strategy doesn’t have to cost thousands. Figure out what you can spend and shop around. Start small: any improvement is a good investment. You can always scale up when your initial investment pays off.Of course, marketing isn’t the only ingredient for success. You should also deliver great customer service, quality, value, and purpose. Marketing attracts customers, but it’s your responsibility to keep them around. Remember – the internet provides complete freedom of speech. Once you build a presence, it will be just as easy for people to find negative feedback about you if it exists. In this way, let a marketing strategy hold you accountable to your business for stepping up your game in every way. You owe it to your company, and perhaps even your livelihood.So, in short, become easy to find, add content that makes people glad they found you, let the world know how satisfied your customers are, and present your business in the most appealing way possible and you’ll see why a focused marketing strategy pays off more than sticking to the status quo. You and your business can become these five things and more – just embrace it!
5 Ways to Kick Off Your Healthy Lifestyle
Becoming healthy is one topic on many peoples lips, “is the world really as unhealthy as health experts say” is a question asked by many. There are so many different views as to what is considered a healthy lifestyle. Here are five options included following.1. Pick what results you want from a healthy lifestyle: Quite often many people want to loose weight and think that a healthy lifestyle will kick this into affect. This is true, with a good and healthy balance of eating and exercise. Other people consider other factors of a healthy lifestyle these being the social aspects of sporting and gym cultures, also just exiting the house for a common walk is considered healthy and could also prove to be a social aspect too.2. Fast food or health food: Fast food has rapidly evolved over the last decade and is a more convenient option for people on the move. Along with the unhealthy options on menus all over the world, there are many fast food places seeing that a health food option is much better then an unhealthy option. There are now many dedicated outlets that specialize in healthy food for the benefit of weigh loss and also just for the benefit of a healthy lifestyle in general.3. Gym and outdoor sports: The gym is fast becoming a very convenient option for the working household with many gyms now with a crèche facility you can make the gym a social outlet for the whole family while exercising. Regular exercise is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Gym is a very efficient and practical option to people who are unable to join sporting clubs due to the hours they work or because of other commitments. Home gyms and circuit training is also an option for people with limited time and can exercise on there own. All options provide a great option for a social outlet and also for self confidence boosting as healthy lifestyle will provide a lot more energetic and happiness with yourself and others in day to day life.4. Social activities: Involving yourself in social activities is a great start to a healthy lifestyle not only does it give you a conversation but also the social life needed as a human. Whether your socialising with workmates after work enjoying a brew responsibly or running in the afternoon with a family member or girlfriend. A good responsible social life is what I consider a definite in a bid to enjoy a healthy lifestyle.5. Doing research: One major step to a healthy life is considering all your options especially in regard to exercise and eating. Eating the right foods in moderation with a regular exercise routine is the most appropriate and the healthiest way to become healthy. You will notice many diets each of which is up to the individual person and whether you choose to implement a diet plan or stick with a healthy option of appropriate foods and regular exercise.A healthy lifestyle is definitely a positive step in everyone’s life and hopefully you can take something from this article and use it for an advantageous result and head towards a healthier lifestyle.