Dec 11, 2017
What Weight Loss Equipment Should You Buy?
What Weight Loss Equipment Should You Buy?
Combined with dieting, exercise is the most efficient way to shed down those extra pounds. Not only will exercising improve how you look, but it will also improve your overall health, and regular exercising will keep on paying dividends even in your old age.
The effects of exercise are cumulative. The more calories you burn, the more you speed up your metabolism, which in turn makes it possible to lose more weight. If you are going to take your exercising seriously it’s a good idea to know what home equipment is available for your weight loss regime and what will best suit you.
Among the most effective, and maybe the best known of them all, is the treadmill. There are a huge variety of treadmills out there, with every imaginable option and style. For example, there are treadmills that are powered by your own walking and others which are powered by electricity. There are treadmills with a motor designed to run for two hours a day and treadmills made to be used for twelve consecutive hours. The end result is a very wide range of products available to choose from. The prices vary depending on the specific item, buts its worth taking the time to work out exactly what you need before making your choice.
The exercise bike is another classic home exercise machine. Unlike the treadmill, it provides a workout for both the upper and lower body, which holds a lot of appeal for conscientious enthusiasts. Like the treadmill, there is a large range of different models each providing their own features to help you with your weight loss plans.
Another popular piece of weight loss exercise equipment is the elliptical machine. These machines combine multiple exercises, and the advanced models will give you both an upper and lower body workout. If you haven’t seen an elliptical machine before, it is helpful to think of it as a hybrid between a ski machine and a stair climber.
One item that might not immediately strike you as a serious piece of workout equipment is the trampoline. It is, however, a great way to burn excess calories, not to mention it is really fun. The bigger trampolines are often set up in backyards and used for workouts and recreational play, while smaller models, called mini trampolines, are designed for indoor use. Either way, besides being exciting and fun, trampolines are also quite affordable. If you think bouncing on a trampoline gets boring, you can play some fast invigorating music while you exercise, that certainly gets the blood flowing as subconsciously you try to move with the rhythm of the music.
If you don’t have a lot of room in your home, you will find some home exercise products that are collapsible when not in use. These items also tend to be a bit cheaper than the larger equipment items. Yoga and Pilates items, or resistance bands and exercise balls fall into this category. When it comes to choosing weight loss exercise equipment for home, you are only restricted by your budget and the amount of space you have available.
Combined with dieting, exercise is the most efficient way to shed down those extra pounds. Not only will exercising improve how you look, but it will also improve your overall health, and regular exercising will keep on paying dividends even in your old age.
The effects of exercise are cumulative. The more calories you burn, the more you speed up your metabolism, which in turn makes it possible to lose more weight. If you are going to take your exercising seriously it’s a good idea to know what home equipment is available for your weight loss regime and what will best suit you.
Among the most effective, and maybe the best known of them all, is the treadmill. There are a huge variety of treadmills out there, with every imaginable option and style. For example, there are treadmills that are powered by your own walking and others which are powered by electricity. There are treadmills with a motor designed to run for two hours a day and treadmills made to be used for twelve consecutive hours. The end result is a very wide range of products available to choose from. The prices vary depending on the specific item, buts its worth taking the time to work out exactly what you need before making your choice.
The exercise bike is another classic home exercise machine. Unlike the treadmill, it provides a workout for both the upper and lower body, which holds a lot of appeal for conscientious enthusiasts. Like the treadmill, there is a large range of different models each providing their own features to help you with your weight loss plans.
Another popular piece of weight loss exercise equipment is the elliptical machine. These machines combine multiple exercises, and the advanced models will give you both an upper and lower body workout. If you haven’t seen an elliptical machine before, it is helpful to think of it as a hybrid between a ski machine and a stair climber.
One item that might not immediately strike you as a serious piece of workout equipment is the trampoline. It is, however, a great way to burn excess calories, not to mention it is really fun. The bigger trampolines are often set up in backyards and used for workouts and recreational play, while smaller models, called mini trampolines, are designed for indoor use. Either way, besides being exciting and fun, trampolines are also quite affordable. If you think bouncing on a trampoline gets boring, you can play some fast invigorating music while you exercise, that certainly gets the blood flowing as subconsciously you try to move with the rhythm of the music.
If you don’t have a lot of room in your home, you will find some home exercise products that are collapsible when not in use. These items also tend to be a bit cheaper than the larger equipment items. Yoga and Pilates items, or resistance bands and exercise balls fall into this category. When it comes to choosing weight loss exercise equipment for home, you are only restricted by your budget and the amount of space you have available.
Weight Loss Tips
There are many overweight and even obese people in the world who really wish that they could lose a few pounds but for one reason or another never quite reach their weight loss goals.
Here are a few simple weight loss tips which just might help;
" Write it down - even on the bad days when you've had a moment of weakness and eaten something which has made you feel guilty - write it down. If you get into the habit of writing everything down you will really begin to understand what you are actually doing. You might be surprised at just how much you actually eat and how often you give in to temptation, only then can you do something about it.
" Don't ban all of your favourite foods - we're only human. If you like to eat takeaways then treat yourself every now and then. The best idea is to save up the calories and then you will feel like you've really earned the treat. Sticking religiously to boring food is a sure way to failure. You can also tweak many of your favourites with ingredients which make them lower in fat - replace butter with low fat spread; olive oil spray is another fantastic friend for those who are trying to lose weight.
" Stick a picture on the fridge - some people use a photograph of themselves when they were at their heaviest but that doesn't work for everybody. Others prefer something like a holiday photograph of somewhere they'd love to visit just as soon as they'll look good on the beach.
" As soon as you've dropped a dress size treat yourself to some new clothes - okay, so you might not have reached your goal yet and still have a couple of sizes to go but this will at least remind you of how well you've done and help to stop you from going back to your old ways and clothes sizes. Give your larger clothes away to a charity shop so that they're gone.
" Don't forget that losing weight starts in the kitchen and getting fit starts with exercise - but combining the two can really help to speed up the weight loss process. Don't get stuck in a boring exercise routine because variety really is the spice of life. Swim, walk, run, dance, go for a cycle ride, play tennis with friends, just do something.
" Don't beat yourself up about the bad days, and don't give up. Everybody has the occasional bad day but don't let that be an excuse to give in. If you start afresh every morning that will help to sort out that problem. Just for the record, everybody has bad days . . . you are not alone.
" Measure things - not just your weight, but measure your food on the kitchen scales and the amount of alcohol you give yourself at home. It really is very easy to fool yourself and you may be surprised at how generous you are being with the portion sizes. Generous portion sizes equate to generous amounts of calories, remember that.
There are plenty of subtle ways which can really help you to achieve your weight loss goals - it is just a case of finding out what works for you.
Weight Loss And Depression
Weight Loss And Depression
Losing weight can be a difficult battle for anyone. This is especially true when the health problem is depression. Mental health not only takes a toll on the mind, but the entire body.
Can you lose weight with depression? Yes, but it may be a difficult road. There are many hurdles that you must overcome and they will be both mental and physical. If you are not in a good state of mind, which is generally what happens with depression, then losing weight may seem impossible.
Depression can cause weight gain because many sufferers are "emotional eaters." Obesity and being overweight are serious issues when it comes to all kinds of mental illnesses since hunger starts as a brain function. Too many die from this, usually from heart disease, so this needs to be curved. Another thing that affects weight gain in depression sufferers is medication. Certain types are known to affect hunger and make a person eat more. Sadly, it can be both the depression and the medication affecting your weight gain. If you notice something like this happening to you, you should see your doctor right away.
While weight loss is possible when depressed, it is definitely not easy. Doing things like eating a sensible diet and exercising properly will work to help those with mental illness lose weight. The problem is not so much getting on a healthy diet and exercise plan, but missing one key piece to the puzzle: a healthy mind. When the mind isn't healthy, as the case with many depression sufferers, then the chances of maintaining the weight loss go way down. The person may start losing weight and feel like they have to overdo or they may get hit a setback and give up. When you have a negative outlook on yourself and your life, you tend to be unnecessarily hard on yourself. Stemming from this is a chance that you worsen or your depression or, even worse, develop an eating disorder.
Researchers are having a difficult time trying to devise foolproof plans to help those with depression lose weight. There are too many factors and too many types of depression that have lead to a wide gap in results. They all agree that it is possible for people with depression to lose weight. They also agree that it can be very hard for them. However, making slow positive changes, such as implementing healthier diets and exercise plans can help the person start to feel better and start to lose weight. There may be some types of depression where breaking bad habits is impossible without something to remind the person that it's an unhealthy choice. They can try carrying some type of reminder like a card to combat this.
As you can see, depression and weight loss can be a tough road to take. There are many things to consider, but it can be achieved. If you have depression and need to lose weight, make sure to consult with your doctor to find a healthy and safe plan that works for you.
Losing weight can be a difficult battle for anyone. This is especially true when the health problem is depression. Mental health not only takes a toll on the mind, but the entire body.
Can you lose weight with depression? Yes, but it may be a difficult road. There are many hurdles that you must overcome and they will be both mental and physical. If you are not in a good state of mind, which is generally what happens with depression, then losing weight may seem impossible.
Depression can cause weight gain because many sufferers are "emotional eaters." Obesity and being overweight are serious issues when it comes to all kinds of mental illnesses since hunger starts as a brain function. Too many die from this, usually from heart disease, so this needs to be curved. Another thing that affects weight gain in depression sufferers is medication. Certain types are known to affect hunger and make a person eat more. Sadly, it can be both the depression and the medication affecting your weight gain. If you notice something like this happening to you, you should see your doctor right away.
While weight loss is possible when depressed, it is definitely not easy. Doing things like eating a sensible diet and exercising properly will work to help those with mental illness lose weight. The problem is not so much getting on a healthy diet and exercise plan, but missing one key piece to the puzzle: a healthy mind. When the mind isn't healthy, as the case with many depression sufferers, then the chances of maintaining the weight loss go way down. The person may start losing weight and feel like they have to overdo or they may get hit a setback and give up. When you have a negative outlook on yourself and your life, you tend to be unnecessarily hard on yourself. Stemming from this is a chance that you worsen or your depression or, even worse, develop an eating disorder.
Researchers are having a difficult time trying to devise foolproof plans to help those with depression lose weight. There are too many factors and too many types of depression that have lead to a wide gap in results. They all agree that it is possible for people with depression to lose weight. They also agree that it can be very hard for them. However, making slow positive changes, such as implementing healthier diets and exercise plans can help the person start to feel better and start to lose weight. There may be some types of depression where breaking bad habits is impossible without something to remind the person that it's an unhealthy choice. They can try carrying some type of reminder like a card to combat this.
As you can see, depression and weight loss can be a tough road to take. There are many things to consider, but it can be achieved. If you have depression and need to lose weight, make sure to consult with your doctor to find a healthy and safe plan that works for you.
Dec 3, 2017
Home Gardening
Home Gardening
The term gardening can mean several things so this discussion is going to center around home gardening for the purpose of producing some food. It is good to take a little time to do some planning and thinking through what plants you will want to have for your produce.
First the location has to be decided upon. Pick a location that drains well, as it won’t do to have water standing around in puddles. The plants won’t do too well in those circumstances. Choose an area that receives a lot of sunlight during the day. Hopefully the soil is good and loamy, but if not mix in compost, manure and even some topsoil if need be. The more of these items that are mixed into the soil, the better will be the harvest.
Avoid sandy or clay soils and shady areas. Stay away from trees and shrubs, as they should not compete with the vegetables and vice versa.
Before it’s time to plant, make a diagram of what you would like to plant and in what areas. Attempt to show what rows the plants will be located in, which vegetable are planted where and the distance between rows. Keep the early plants such as radishes, lettuce and onions close together. Plants that will grow taller should be grouped together at the north end of the garden. Corn, pole beans and tomatoes would fall into this category and the idea is too keep them from shading the other plants.
Be sure to allow extra room for watermelon, cantaloupe and squash.
Corn should be planted in several short rows to increase pollination, rather than one or two long rows. Plant the same vegetables at different times of the year to increase the overall yields. For example, make smaller weekly plantings of beans, carrots, cabbage, and lettuce instead of a single large planting.
To prepare the garden, a rototiller will work, and in smaller areas a shovel can be used to turn the soil. A hoe and rake for battling weeds, a trowel for more detailed weed surgery, a garden hose and sprinkler for watering, and a good duster or sprayer for control of pests just about runs the gamut for needed equipment.
Fertilizer and mulch should be on hand for continued feeding of the soil. String and short stakes are helpful for marking rows and longer stakes are necessary for tomatoes. Some of the plants can be started by seed, but others do better outdoors when started as a small plant. Tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage and peppers do better starting from plants.
For fertilizer, a soil test done at the friendly county cooperative will be the best option of what and how much fertilizer to apply initially and periodically to the garden. The people who work there are experts in this area and will be able to advise properly in this area.
There is nothing better than enjoying produce that has just been harvested from the backyard garden. It is really not as much work as some people think and it is the best way to obtain fresh vegetables for the dinner plate.
The term gardening can mean several things so this discussion is going to center around home gardening for the purpose of producing some food. It is good to take a little time to do some planning and thinking through what plants you will want to have for your produce.
First the location has to be decided upon. Pick a location that drains well, as it won’t do to have water standing around in puddles. The plants won’t do too well in those circumstances. Choose an area that receives a lot of sunlight during the day. Hopefully the soil is good and loamy, but if not mix in compost, manure and even some topsoil if need be. The more of these items that are mixed into the soil, the better will be the harvest.
Avoid sandy or clay soils and shady areas. Stay away from trees and shrubs, as they should not compete with the vegetables and vice versa.
Before it’s time to plant, make a diagram of what you would like to plant and in what areas. Attempt to show what rows the plants will be located in, which vegetable are planted where and the distance between rows. Keep the early plants such as radishes, lettuce and onions close together. Plants that will grow taller should be grouped together at the north end of the garden. Corn, pole beans and tomatoes would fall into this category and the idea is too keep them from shading the other plants.
Be sure to allow extra room for watermelon, cantaloupe and squash.
Corn should be planted in several short rows to increase pollination, rather than one or two long rows. Plant the same vegetables at different times of the year to increase the overall yields. For example, make smaller weekly plantings of beans, carrots, cabbage, and lettuce instead of a single large planting.
To prepare the garden, a rototiller will work, and in smaller areas a shovel can be used to turn the soil. A hoe and rake for battling weeds, a trowel for more detailed weed surgery, a garden hose and sprinkler for watering, and a good duster or sprayer for control of pests just about runs the gamut for needed equipment.
Fertilizer and mulch should be on hand for continued feeding of the soil. String and short stakes are helpful for marking rows and longer stakes are necessary for tomatoes. Some of the plants can be started by seed, but others do better outdoors when started as a small plant. Tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage and peppers do better starting from plants.
For fertilizer, a soil test done at the friendly county cooperative will be the best option of what and how much fertilizer to apply initially and periodically to the garden. The people who work there are experts in this area and will be able to advise properly in this area.
There is nothing better than enjoying produce that has just been harvested from the backyard garden. It is really not as much work as some people think and it is the best way to obtain fresh vegetables for the dinner plate.
Benefits of Gardening
Benefits of Gardening
When I was a little girl, I recall an experience when a lady moved into a broken down house right down the street from mine. I remember feeling bad for her because her house looked sad and broken down. She was obviously broke and couldn’t afford anything more then what she had. Little did I know that this woman’s house would end up being the most beautiful house in town.
Every year the area outside her house would blossom, not only that but she had blossoms popping up ALL YEAR LONG! Gardening is what brought that little ladies house to life every single year. She was a gardening genius! Since I have been married and moved into my own little home I’ve thought a lot about that lady.
Most gardening enthusiasts out there will agree with me when I say that it is one of the greatest forms of artistic expression out there. Besides the fact that it is beautiful, it offers so many benefits to you and your home. Some of which include-
Satisfaction:
Through personal experience I have found that it is extremely hard to be unhappy when you are surrounded by blossoms, greenery, and vegetables! Professors at the University of Texas can back be up when I say that it can cure depression. After asking a wide range of 300 people how they would rate their happiness in life, they found that gardeners gave significantly higher scores than everyone else. With this information alone I would even dare to say that gardening can be as helpful as Prozac when it comes to depression.
Health:
Another benefit of planting is that it can be incredible for your health. We already know that happiness is a side effect—which is a major health plus. Another plus is that you can experience optimal health while planting your own veggies and fruits. Home grown veggies provide all of the nutrients and suppliments that your body could ever want.
Cleanliness:
One of the genius benefits that comes to planting is that if you plant the right things you can ward off all kinds of preditors to your home. Grass alone will keep all kinds of bugs away from your house. However there are many other plants that will keep dangerous pests out of your home and yard! Here is a sort list of things that you can plant to keep certain bugs away-
• Basil- to get rid of flies and mosquitoes.
• Chamomile- to fight of aphids.
• Marigold- to rid of tomato worms.
• Mint- white cabbage moths and aphids.
• Sage- for flea beetles and slugs.
• Tansy- flying insects, squash bugs, ants, and flies.
The list is endless and super easy to find if you do your research right. There are so many online websites that offer lists of plants that will ward off pesky insects from your home. That aspect alone offers a major benefit to me living out in the desert.
As you can see, gardening offers some major rewards and benefits to your life. Not only that but it is super easy to get started. Go online today and start researching your area and what plants will do well!
Good Luck!
When I was a little girl, I recall an experience when a lady moved into a broken down house right down the street from mine. I remember feeling bad for her because her house looked sad and broken down. She was obviously broke and couldn’t afford anything more then what she had. Little did I know that this woman’s house would end up being the most beautiful house in town.
Every year the area outside her house would blossom, not only that but she had blossoms popping up ALL YEAR LONG! Gardening is what brought that little ladies house to life every single year. She was a gardening genius! Since I have been married and moved into my own little home I’ve thought a lot about that lady.
Most gardening enthusiasts out there will agree with me when I say that it is one of the greatest forms of artistic expression out there. Besides the fact that it is beautiful, it offers so many benefits to you and your home. Some of which include-
Satisfaction:
Through personal experience I have found that it is extremely hard to be unhappy when you are surrounded by blossoms, greenery, and vegetables! Professors at the University of Texas can back be up when I say that it can cure depression. After asking a wide range of 300 people how they would rate their happiness in life, they found that gardeners gave significantly higher scores than everyone else. With this information alone I would even dare to say that gardening can be as helpful as Prozac when it comes to depression.
Health:
Another benefit of planting is that it can be incredible for your health. We already know that happiness is a side effect—which is a major health plus. Another plus is that you can experience optimal health while planting your own veggies and fruits. Home grown veggies provide all of the nutrients and suppliments that your body could ever want.
Cleanliness:
One of the genius benefits that comes to planting is that if you plant the right things you can ward off all kinds of preditors to your home. Grass alone will keep all kinds of bugs away from your house. However there are many other plants that will keep dangerous pests out of your home and yard! Here is a sort list of things that you can plant to keep certain bugs away-
• Basil- to get rid of flies and mosquitoes.
• Chamomile- to fight of aphids.
• Marigold- to rid of tomato worms.
• Mint- white cabbage moths and aphids.
• Sage- for flea beetles and slugs.
• Tansy- flying insects, squash bugs, ants, and flies.
The list is endless and super easy to find if you do your research right. There are so many online websites that offer lists of plants that will ward off pesky insects from your home. That aspect alone offers a major benefit to me living out in the desert.
As you can see, gardening offers some major rewards and benefits to your life. Not only that but it is super easy to get started. Go online today and start researching your area and what plants will do well!
Good Luck!
The Lazy Fitness Program
The Lazy Fitness Program
Although we probably all want to keep fit, for most of us we can’t do it for one reason or another. It may be that we are just busy, we have health issues, or we are not sure what to do. Yet exercising is so easy to do, so why don’t we more of us do it? Probably because that when we think of exercise we imagine a man running at 100mph on a treadmill, dripping sweat, with muscles like the Hulk. However that is far from the truth of the reality. You will find below some very easy to do exercises.
Weight Lifting
Now you are not going to have to run out and order 100kg weights from the nearest sports store. All you need to start with is a couple of bags of sugar, or tins of rice pudding. While sitting down hold the weights as far out in front of you as you can and count to 10. Then put them straight up above your head and count to 10. Then put your arms out to the side in a cross formation, and again count to 10. Then repeat as many times as you can, but it should hurt your arms as that means it is doing some good. After a few weeks you may feel as though you can step it up with some proper handheld weights.
Walking
Amazingly, proof is starting to appear that walking is one of the best exercises anyone can do. We are not talking about strolling around the shops, but walking non-stop for 15 to 30 minutes at a reasonable pace. This will get your heart beat increasing, and a cardio will help keep things like heart disease. It is better if you can include a hill, and you may want to vary it by travelling to other places for a walk. If you have a dog then that is an incentive, if not, ask a neighbor can you take theirs.
Leg Muscles
If you have stairs at home or work, then use them. Stairs are great at giving a number of muscles in your legs and hips a great workout, and they also force you to pull in your stomach muscles. Do not run up and down stairs, as that is dangerous, but keep going until you are out of breath. If you do that every day them after a few weeks you will notice that you are doing more.
Doing any kind of exercise will certainly help your overall health, and as well as protecting your heart, it can help keep diabetes type 2 at bay, boost your immune system, and improve your memory. After a few weeks you will also fell much healthier, and you will see another side to life. Never overdo it when you are starting out, just do everything slowly so that you learn what you limits are. But once you have been at it for a few weeks things will get a lot easier.
Although we probably all want to keep fit, for most of us we can’t do it for one reason or another. It may be that we are just busy, we have health issues, or we are not sure what to do. Yet exercising is so easy to do, so why don’t we more of us do it? Probably because that when we think of exercise we imagine a man running at 100mph on a treadmill, dripping sweat, with muscles like the Hulk. However that is far from the truth of the reality. You will find below some very easy to do exercises.
Weight Lifting
Now you are not going to have to run out and order 100kg weights from the nearest sports store. All you need to start with is a couple of bags of sugar, or tins of rice pudding. While sitting down hold the weights as far out in front of you as you can and count to 10. Then put them straight up above your head and count to 10. Then put your arms out to the side in a cross formation, and again count to 10. Then repeat as many times as you can, but it should hurt your arms as that means it is doing some good. After a few weeks you may feel as though you can step it up with some proper handheld weights.
Walking
Amazingly, proof is starting to appear that walking is one of the best exercises anyone can do. We are not talking about strolling around the shops, but walking non-stop for 15 to 30 minutes at a reasonable pace. This will get your heart beat increasing, and a cardio will help keep things like heart disease. It is better if you can include a hill, and you may want to vary it by travelling to other places for a walk. If you have a dog then that is an incentive, if not, ask a neighbor can you take theirs.
Leg Muscles
If you have stairs at home or work, then use them. Stairs are great at giving a number of muscles in your legs and hips a great workout, and they also force you to pull in your stomach muscles. Do not run up and down stairs, as that is dangerous, but keep going until you are out of breath. If you do that every day them after a few weeks you will notice that you are doing more.
Doing any kind of exercise will certainly help your overall health, and as well as protecting your heart, it can help keep diabetes type 2 at bay, boost your immune system, and improve your memory. After a few weeks you will also fell much healthier, and you will see another side to life. Never overdo it when you are starting out, just do everything slowly so that you learn what you limits are. But once you have been at it for a few weeks things will get a lot easier.
Wrong Weight Loss
Wrong Weight Loss
The single, most important thing about weight loss is the method. It all starts there. Results can be achieved with a number of different methods, and there is always more than one way to get from A to B, but the method you use to get there often contributes to whether or not you arrive.
Equally, there are some method to lose weight that are shortsighted, unlikely to work, or just plain dangerous.
The most popular, almost "tried and tested" method of weight loss is dieting. The problem with dieting is that it doesn't really work, and where people do manage to succeed with it, they often end up putting the weight back on, plus more, further down the road.
For me, dieting is just counter-intuitive. The key to losing weight is burning calories, not starving yourself of them. To burn calories, you need to have a fully functioning metabolism. If you can burn more calories in a day than you can eat, then you will start to lose weight.
This is where the miconception about dieting comes in. People think "Instead of burning more calories, I will just take fewer in".
Actually, this doesn't make sense. When you take fewer calories on board, your body doesn't have enough fuel to work properly, so it reduces the metabolism to compensate. You are taking less on, but you are also burning less.
There might end up being some weight loss at some point, but as soon as you start eating again, you put the weight back on rapidly.
Moreover, when your body does burn fat to turn it into fuel, it actually uses up protein first. If you are not eating enough to replace those proteins, all that will happen is you lose muscle mass, which does reduce your weight, but the fat will still be there underneath.
Eventually, you might be on of the lucky ones to hit their "target weight" using this method. Hooray! You can eat again! Now you are piling fat back on top of fat. This is not going to have a good outcome.
What is my solution?
It just makes sense to give your body the fuel it needs. I am not saying to go out and eat as much as you want, I am saying eat smart. There are healthy, nutritious foods out there that will give you everything you need, but for only 100-200 calories.
This is going to help keep your body working efficiently, burning calories and fat, but keep your muscle mass, only take on a few hundred calories, and not have to starve yourself in the process.
People who use this method not only find it easy to keep going, they tend to wind up healthier, and as a result they keep the weight off.
I'm not one to believe "My method is the best and everything else is terrible," but I do think it appears more like common sense than dieting. It makes sense to me that if you give your body what it NEEDS, it will function correctly, and will reach its ideal weight naturally.
The single, most important thing about weight loss is the method. It all starts there. Results can be achieved with a number of different methods, and there is always more than one way to get from A to B, but the method you use to get there often contributes to whether or not you arrive.
Equally, there are some method to lose weight that are shortsighted, unlikely to work, or just plain dangerous.
The most popular, almost "tried and tested" method of weight loss is dieting. The problem with dieting is that it doesn't really work, and where people do manage to succeed with it, they often end up putting the weight back on, plus more, further down the road.
For me, dieting is just counter-intuitive. The key to losing weight is burning calories, not starving yourself of them. To burn calories, you need to have a fully functioning metabolism. If you can burn more calories in a day than you can eat, then you will start to lose weight.
This is where the miconception about dieting comes in. People think "Instead of burning more calories, I will just take fewer in".
Actually, this doesn't make sense. When you take fewer calories on board, your body doesn't have enough fuel to work properly, so it reduces the metabolism to compensate. You are taking less on, but you are also burning less.
There might end up being some weight loss at some point, but as soon as you start eating again, you put the weight back on rapidly.
Moreover, when your body does burn fat to turn it into fuel, it actually uses up protein first. If you are not eating enough to replace those proteins, all that will happen is you lose muscle mass, which does reduce your weight, but the fat will still be there underneath.
Eventually, you might be on of the lucky ones to hit their "target weight" using this method. Hooray! You can eat again! Now you are piling fat back on top of fat. This is not going to have a good outcome.
What is my solution?
It just makes sense to give your body the fuel it needs. I am not saying to go out and eat as much as you want, I am saying eat smart. There are healthy, nutritious foods out there that will give you everything you need, but for only 100-200 calories.
This is going to help keep your body working efficiently, burning calories and fat, but keep your muscle mass, only take on a few hundred calories, and not have to starve yourself in the process.
People who use this method not only find it easy to keep going, they tend to wind up healthier, and as a result they keep the weight off.
I'm not one to believe "My method is the best and everything else is terrible," but I do think it appears more like common sense than dieting. It makes sense to me that if you give your body what it NEEDS, it will function correctly, and will reach its ideal weight naturally.
Weight Loss Without Hunger
Weight Loss Without Hunger
Losing weight doesn't mean that you have to go hungry and that's a fact. The problem with so many fad diets is that you end up starving hungry and then what happens? You've guessed it, you cheat and head to the fridge for a midnight muffin - just because you eat something in secret doesn't mean that it won't count. You are only cheating yourself. Ditch the muffins, ditch the diets and follow a few healthy eating habits to make sure that you can lose weight without half starving yourself and driving yourself crazy.
The secret to weight loss without hunger is eating plenty of the right things and not eating lots of the wrong types of food. Even healthy foods can quickly become unhealthy if they are not prepared in a healthy way. Some foods can fill you up without piling on the pounds, other foods will pile on the pounds without even filling you up.
Feeling full isn't about how many calories you've eaten; it's all about how much food you've eaten which is a very important and often misunderstood idea.
" Eat lots of the right foods - by this I mean fruit and vegetables which are packed with goodness, full of flavor, bursting with nutrients and fiber yet generally low in calories, at least they are until you add lots of oil! Munching your way through broccoli, tomatoes, apples, spinach, kale, pears and strawberries will help to fill you up without making you heavier. Choose lean proteins like skinless chicken and turkey, fish is good too. Grilled turkey or chicken is great, fried chicken kind of defeats the object of the exercise as does apple pie.
" Eat smaller meals more frequently - that should help to keep hunger at bay. Eating five or six small meals each day and spreading out your daily food intake can help you to lose weight, just so long as you're eating the right types of food. If you find it difficult to reduce the portion sizes just use smaller plates - simples.
" Exercise is another important thing to remember when you are trying to lose weight. Not only does exercise help to burn up unwanted calories but it can also help to firm and tone any flabby bits which may be left behind. You don't have to join a gym or walk on a treadmill for an hour each day if you don't want to, just move more!
" Remember that what you drink is almost as important as what you eat. Cut out the alcohol or at least cut it down if possible, choose wine over beer if you really fancy a tipple. You should also drink plenty of water during the day and ditch the soda. Carbonated soda drinks are packed with calories and sugar but not much else - they don't fill you up but they do help to pile on the calories.
Just incorporating these few lifestyle changes should really help the weight to start dropping off without leaving you feeling so hungry that you're tempted to gnaw your own fingers. It can be done.
Losing weight doesn't mean that you have to go hungry and that's a fact. The problem with so many fad diets is that you end up starving hungry and then what happens? You've guessed it, you cheat and head to the fridge for a midnight muffin - just because you eat something in secret doesn't mean that it won't count. You are only cheating yourself. Ditch the muffins, ditch the diets and follow a few healthy eating habits to make sure that you can lose weight without half starving yourself and driving yourself crazy.
The secret to weight loss without hunger is eating plenty of the right things and not eating lots of the wrong types of food. Even healthy foods can quickly become unhealthy if they are not prepared in a healthy way. Some foods can fill you up without piling on the pounds, other foods will pile on the pounds without even filling you up.
Feeling full isn't about how many calories you've eaten; it's all about how much food you've eaten which is a very important and often misunderstood idea.
" Eat lots of the right foods - by this I mean fruit and vegetables which are packed with goodness, full of flavor, bursting with nutrients and fiber yet generally low in calories, at least they are until you add lots of oil! Munching your way through broccoli, tomatoes, apples, spinach, kale, pears and strawberries will help to fill you up without making you heavier. Choose lean proteins like skinless chicken and turkey, fish is good too. Grilled turkey or chicken is great, fried chicken kind of defeats the object of the exercise as does apple pie.
" Eat smaller meals more frequently - that should help to keep hunger at bay. Eating five or six small meals each day and spreading out your daily food intake can help you to lose weight, just so long as you're eating the right types of food. If you find it difficult to reduce the portion sizes just use smaller plates - simples.
" Exercise is another important thing to remember when you are trying to lose weight. Not only does exercise help to burn up unwanted calories but it can also help to firm and tone any flabby bits which may be left behind. You don't have to join a gym or walk on a treadmill for an hour each day if you don't want to, just move more!
" Remember that what you drink is almost as important as what you eat. Cut out the alcohol or at least cut it down if possible, choose wine over beer if you really fancy a tipple. You should also drink plenty of water during the day and ditch the soda. Carbonated soda drinks are packed with calories and sugar but not much else - they don't fill you up but they do help to pile on the calories.
Just incorporating these few lifestyle changes should really help the weight to start dropping off without leaving you feeling so hungry that you're tempted to gnaw your own fingers. It can be done.
Weight Loss - Are You A “Fad” Diet Junkie?
Many of know that we are overweight and need to do something about it, but what does come as a shock is when you get on the scales and that nasty little indicator tells you that not only are you overweight but you are obese.
But you are not alone, did you know that over 100 million Americans try to lose weight in any given year and that 95 percent of them will fail and gain back whatever they lost within a matter of years? What’s even more depressing is that some people spend the whole of their lives jumping from one diet program to another. The problem is that many of these so called “fad” diets or supposed weight loss drugs can cause you to gain even more weight in addition to destroying your good health.
Whilst many people are obsessed with weight loss to improve their appearance, this should not be the predominant reason. Being obese is an indicator of poor health and a big contributor to heart disease, digestive issues, and diabetes to name just a few.
Obesity has been shown to contribute to nearly half a million deaths a year worldwide. In summary, you are seriously jeopardizing your health jumping from one diet to another and not following through on a proper nutrition and exercise plan. So how do you deal with the problem?
Set Yourself Realistic Weight Loss Goals:
No matter how many diet plans or programs or “miracle pills” you see promising instant and rewarding weight loss, they are not realistic. There is no miracle food, to instantly dissolve your weight, and those that promise eating one particular food or taking a pill to resolve your obesity problem and just leading you down the path to disappointment and poor health.
You need to set yourself realistic weight loss goals that you can stick to and that don’t leave you feeling weak and wanting more. The fundamentals of good nutrition are that a person must eat a well balanced diet with a variety of foods. It is stating the obvious to say that you need to cut out junk foods, fast food takeaways and sugary drinks, but you might be surprised how many people follow a diet yet still include all of these things into the daily food intake.
It is important to incorporate some exercise into your routine, and increase that until you are comfortable with the level. If you have been living a sedentary life, don’t go like a bull at a gate. In fact it is better to have a talk with your own medical practitioner before starting any weight loss and exercise program. Start off with something simple like a daily walk or some other activity that you enjoy. You might be pleasantly surprised how quickly it can become a routine to look forward to.
Slow and Steady Wins The Race:
You will find that by following a nutritious diet that incorporates the right food groups and including an exercise routine on a regular basis that you follow and stick too, the weight will start to come off, and stay off. You will start to see increases in your energy levels and an overall feeling of better health.
Things To Do Today To Lose Weight
Things To Do Today To Lose Weight
In order to lose weight you've got to do something about it - not think about doing something about it - but take action NOW. Here are just a few things which you can do NOW to start you on your weight loss journey. These really are the first step towards a fitter, healthier, lighter you.
Check Your BMI
You might already know what your BMI is (Body Mass Index) but if you don't then check it out today. If you discover that your BMI is in the overweight range then find out what your ideal weight would be and use that as a preliminary target weight. If your BMI indicates that you are obese then you need to aim to lose up to 10% of the starting weight. The healthy BMI range is pretty wide but just getting within that range should be your first goal.
Swap Your Snack
Whatever snack you were planning to snack on next, take it and swap it for something which is healthier. Lots of popular snacks are packed with fat and sugar and are major culprits in helping us to pile on the pounds. These snacks are calorie laden and, to be honest, we can well do without the extra. Forget all about cookies, crisps, chocolate and candies and snack on a piece of fresh fruit or a handful of dried fruit. Change this habit today and start changing your life - that's step one towards a fitter, healthier, lighter you.
Swap Your Drinks
Any drinks which have high sugar content should be swapped for those which don't. Sodas and fizzy drinks should be swapped for things like water or sparkling water - add a slice of lemon for a little extra zing. Cut down on your alcohol intake too - alcohol is very high in sugar and calories and is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to helping you pile on extra pounds. Start today and get into this life changing habit - you know it makes sense.
Take a Walk
Think about your lifestyle and your daily routine then work out how and when you can fit in one walk every day. Fast walking is a terrific way to burn calories and is something which most people can fit into their daily routine with just a little forethought. Maybe you can walk to work if you get up a few minutes earlier, how about parking the car further from work and walking the last couple of miles or jumping off the bus a few stops earlier to walk the remainder of the way. If you plan how you are going to fit a brisk walk into your daily routine every day and make it a habit you are certainly heading in the right direction.
What's for Breakfast
The last thing you should do today to lose weight is plan what you're going to have for tomorrow mornings breakfast. Can you make something healthy from the foods you have in the kitchen? Just think about it and do your best.
In order to lose weight you've got to do something about it - not think about doing something about it - but take action NOW. Here are just a few things which you can do NOW to start you on your weight loss journey. These really are the first step towards a fitter, healthier, lighter you.
Check Your BMI
You might already know what your BMI is (Body Mass Index) but if you don't then check it out today. If you discover that your BMI is in the overweight range then find out what your ideal weight would be and use that as a preliminary target weight. If your BMI indicates that you are obese then you need to aim to lose up to 10% of the starting weight. The healthy BMI range is pretty wide but just getting within that range should be your first goal.
Swap Your Snack
Whatever snack you were planning to snack on next, take it and swap it for something which is healthier. Lots of popular snacks are packed with fat and sugar and are major culprits in helping us to pile on the pounds. These snacks are calorie laden and, to be honest, we can well do without the extra. Forget all about cookies, crisps, chocolate and candies and snack on a piece of fresh fruit or a handful of dried fruit. Change this habit today and start changing your life - that's step one towards a fitter, healthier, lighter you.
Swap Your Drinks
Any drinks which have high sugar content should be swapped for those which don't. Sodas and fizzy drinks should be swapped for things like water or sparkling water - add a slice of lemon for a little extra zing. Cut down on your alcohol intake too - alcohol is very high in sugar and calories and is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to helping you pile on extra pounds. Start today and get into this life changing habit - you know it makes sense.
Take a Walk
Think about your lifestyle and your daily routine then work out how and when you can fit in one walk every day. Fast walking is a terrific way to burn calories and is something which most people can fit into their daily routine with just a little forethought. Maybe you can walk to work if you get up a few minutes earlier, how about parking the car further from work and walking the last couple of miles or jumping off the bus a few stops earlier to walk the remainder of the way. If you plan how you are going to fit a brisk walk into your daily routine every day and make it a habit you are certainly heading in the right direction.
What's for Breakfast
The last thing you should do today to lose weight is plan what you're going to have for tomorrow mornings breakfast. Can you make something healthy from the foods you have in the kitchen? Just think about it and do your best.
The Rise Of Blogging
The Rise Of Blogging
Blogging is the process of writing and maintaining an interactive web presence that also allows visitors to respond with posts, comments and messages. Blogs, which is short for web log, cover a variety of subject, but one main core object is usually what the blog is centered around.
Actually, blogging could be looked at as a form of social networking in that it is so interactive and available for people to participate. The bloggers can share information and receive comments and posts in relation to the subject at hand, and relationships can be built and nurtured.
Blogs can become quite intricate and detailed, as people respond, visit, debate and simply exist on blogs. They can promote a cause, a business, academic features, and an event and just about anything else anybody can think about. Images, textual content, links to other blogs and websites, are all available for use on blogs. There is nothing like a picture to emphasize the point of the subject being discussed and to add clarity to the discussion.
Audio and video are also for blogs in order to add a little life to what sometimes become a bit stodgy. The writing and setting up of blogs is easier now than ever because of better software designed to ease the process.
The influence of blogs has become a way of changing political adventures and news mistakes. A blog caught the attention of Senator Trent Lott’s miscue about endorsing Strom Thurmond’s racial position, which led to Lott’s resignation from the senate. When Dan Rather, the noted newscaster, falsely accused President George Bush of not serving properly in the military, blogs produced records proving him wrong, and CBS news had to apologize.
From there blogging really took of as a free wheeling method of allowing individuals and organizations into the mainstream. Here the people have a voice and can promote anything from good health to their brand of politics. New trends and societal movements can develop and have a major influence in a matter of a few years.
It is because of this that the entire collection of blogs is called the blogosphere. This entire collection of ideas, opinions and all manner of informative blogs is paid close attention to by the news media.
Blogs are a great way to promote products. If a product needs exposure, a blog can help greatly in the exposure and marketing of the product. A sample of the product can be sent to geographically and specific people as a free gift for evaluation and then when the results are in, they can be publicized on the blog. Comments and posts from visitors on the blog will also help give it a boost in the search engines, and also have mention made on other websites.
Blogging has certainly come of age. A well-put together blog can catapult an idea, a concept or a product to the top of the list, by simply being smart and writing to the audience about what they want to hear, see and try. They will comment about it, and hopefully give a good account about the concept. The power of people who are connected comes to play in blogging situations, because everybody always has something to say about anything.
Blogging is the process of writing and maintaining an interactive web presence that also allows visitors to respond with posts, comments and messages. Blogs, which is short for web log, cover a variety of subject, but one main core object is usually what the blog is centered around.
Actually, blogging could be looked at as a form of social networking in that it is so interactive and available for people to participate. The bloggers can share information and receive comments and posts in relation to the subject at hand, and relationships can be built and nurtured.
Blogs can become quite intricate and detailed, as people respond, visit, debate and simply exist on blogs. They can promote a cause, a business, academic features, and an event and just about anything else anybody can think about. Images, textual content, links to other blogs and websites, are all available for use on blogs. There is nothing like a picture to emphasize the point of the subject being discussed and to add clarity to the discussion.
Audio and video are also for blogs in order to add a little life to what sometimes become a bit stodgy. The writing and setting up of blogs is easier now than ever because of better software designed to ease the process.
The influence of blogs has become a way of changing political adventures and news mistakes. A blog caught the attention of Senator Trent Lott’s miscue about endorsing Strom Thurmond’s racial position, which led to Lott’s resignation from the senate. When Dan Rather, the noted newscaster, falsely accused President George Bush of not serving properly in the military, blogs produced records proving him wrong, and CBS news had to apologize.
From there blogging really took of as a free wheeling method of allowing individuals and organizations into the mainstream. Here the people have a voice and can promote anything from good health to their brand of politics. New trends and societal movements can develop and have a major influence in a matter of a few years.
It is because of this that the entire collection of blogs is called the blogosphere. This entire collection of ideas, opinions and all manner of informative blogs is paid close attention to by the news media.
Blogs are a great way to promote products. If a product needs exposure, a blog can help greatly in the exposure and marketing of the product. A sample of the product can be sent to geographically and specific people as a free gift for evaluation and then when the results are in, they can be publicized on the blog. Comments and posts from visitors on the blog will also help give it a boost in the search engines, and also have mention made on other websites.
Blogging has certainly come of age. A well-put together blog can catapult an idea, a concept or a product to the top of the list, by simply being smart and writing to the audience about what they want to hear, see and try. They will comment about it, and hopefully give a good account about the concept. The power of people who are connected comes to play in blogging situations, because everybody always has something to say about anything.
Starting A Blog (For Newbies)
Starting A Blog (For Newbies)
Blogging has never been more popular. It offers people with limited experience of HTML coding and web design an easy means of creating their own website. There are several blogging platforms available, but for the purpose of this article we will focus on the two most widely used; Blogger and Wordpress.
When it comes to blogging newbies, Blogger offers the most user-friendly service. Since it is owned by Google, there is a very good chance that you will not even need to set up a new account. If you have ever used any of Google's other services, all you need to do is log into Blogger with your existing details and look for the 'New Blog' button. Enter a name for your blog and you are ready to start writing content.
The old adage of a picture being worth a thousand words is definitely true of blogging, and Blogger offers users the easiest means of adding images to blog posts. Adding an image in 'compose' mode will automatically upload the picture from your computer to Google's default image hosts, Picasa and Google+. You do not need to worry about image hosting websites or inserting URLs into your posts.
The final advantage of Blogger is that you can purchase and implement your own domain name in a matter of minutes. It is all done through the dashboard and Blogger will automatically deal with the page re-direction. Your own domain name is not essential, but will help with branding your blog.
So we have established that Blogger has an incredibly user friendly interface - why would you use Wordpress? Well, the predominant reason that Wordpress is popular is that it is the blogging platform with the best potential for creating professional looking websites. It offers better opportunity for customizing templates, themes and layouts, allowing the user to move away for the typical blog appearance.
If you do not know a lot about web design this might not seem like a significant benefit. But if you want to monetize your blog in anyway, either at present or in the future, then it is a point you should consider. Once your traffic starts to rise, you may want to invest in some professional web design to optimize your site's potential. This process will be much more straightforward if you are already using the Wordpress platform.
Setting up a Wordpress account does not take long. It is as simple as creating a user name, a password, and coming up with a unique blog name. As with Blogger, users can also opt to re-direct the hosted blog to their own domain name. However, you can also use the software on an existing website if you find the ease of adding content appealing. A Wordpress blog can be installed through your cPanel interface.
No matter what your level of expertise, Blogging offers an easy means of creating great web content. Researching the best blog host to suit your needs will be time well spent in the long run.
Blogging has never been more popular. It offers people with limited experience of HTML coding and web design an easy means of creating their own website. There are several blogging platforms available, but for the purpose of this article we will focus on the two most widely used; Blogger and Wordpress.
When it comes to blogging newbies, Blogger offers the most user-friendly service. Since it is owned by Google, there is a very good chance that you will not even need to set up a new account. If you have ever used any of Google's other services, all you need to do is log into Blogger with your existing details and look for the 'New Blog' button. Enter a name for your blog and you are ready to start writing content.
The old adage of a picture being worth a thousand words is definitely true of blogging, and Blogger offers users the easiest means of adding images to blog posts. Adding an image in 'compose' mode will automatically upload the picture from your computer to Google's default image hosts, Picasa and Google+. You do not need to worry about image hosting websites or inserting URLs into your posts.
The final advantage of Blogger is that you can purchase and implement your own domain name in a matter of minutes. It is all done through the dashboard and Blogger will automatically deal with the page re-direction. Your own domain name is not essential, but will help with branding your blog.
So we have established that Blogger has an incredibly user friendly interface - why would you use Wordpress? Well, the predominant reason that Wordpress is popular is that it is the blogging platform with the best potential for creating professional looking websites. It offers better opportunity for customizing templates, themes and layouts, allowing the user to move away for the typical blog appearance.
If you do not know a lot about web design this might not seem like a significant benefit. But if you want to monetize your blog in anyway, either at present or in the future, then it is a point you should consider. Once your traffic starts to rise, you may want to invest in some professional web design to optimize your site's potential. This process will be much more straightforward if you are already using the Wordpress platform.
Setting up a Wordpress account does not take long. It is as simple as creating a user name, a password, and coming up with a unique blog name. As with Blogger, users can also opt to re-direct the hosted blog to their own domain name. However, you can also use the software on an existing website if you find the ease of adding content appealing. A Wordpress blog can be installed through your cPanel interface.
No matter what your level of expertise, Blogging offers an easy means of creating great web content. Researching the best blog host to suit your needs will be time well spent in the long run.
Search Engine Optimization Strategies You Must Use
Search Engine Optimization Strategies You Must Use
Building a website with the intent of creating residual income on the Internet is something that many people have tried. It's actually not that hard to create a website, add affiliate links, and place it on a server. Designing the website is actually not that hard to do either simply because WordPress makes it easy to choose from thousands of different themes that will cater to what you are selling. But when it comes to search engine optimization, this is where most people fail. They lack the skills necessary to properly create their website, and promote it in a way that will actually help it rank well on the search engines. There are a few tips and strategies that you always need to implement in order to ensure top ranking for the website that you create. In this article, we will present these tips in an attempt to help you achieve top rankings on any of the search engines, which will inevitably help you sell more products and services.
Ranking on the search engines is a little more difficult than it used to be. There are many things that you need to consider including the amount of backlinks that you get, how quickly you get them, where they are coming from, and the PR of the website that is linking back to you. You also need to consider on-site search engine optimization which focuses upon the content that you have on the website, the title of your website, and also the domain and whether or not it has the keyword within it. Internal linking is something else that you need to think about. Visitors, and search engine spiders, need to be able to easily navigate your website. This will help people find what they're looking for, and allow the search engines to index the content you are providing. But there is one thing that many people neglect when it comes to SEO, and that has to do with authority sites.
Most people don't understand that by linking out to authority sites, you can actually improve your rankings. Some believe that by doing so, you are actually hurting your site rankings because outbound links have been rumored to lower your placement on the search engines. In reality, the opposite is actually true. Google and the other search engines want to see websites that are actually providing great content, and also linking to it. Therefore, by adding outbound links to authority sites, you can actually improve your rankings quite dramatically.
In regard to outbound links, the hyperlink text that you use needs to be quite random. For instance, you want to use different keywords for your link text, or else the search engines will understand that you are artificially trying to rank higher by gaming the system. By using random text, or keywords that are related to your primary keyword, you can actually improve your rankings and not alert the search engines to your intentions.
By using these two tips for search engine optimization, you should be able to improve your rankings on any of the search engines by simply linking out to websites that will improve the visitor's overall experience.
Building a website with the intent of creating residual income on the Internet is something that many people have tried. It's actually not that hard to create a website, add affiliate links, and place it on a server. Designing the website is actually not that hard to do either simply because WordPress makes it easy to choose from thousands of different themes that will cater to what you are selling. But when it comes to search engine optimization, this is where most people fail. They lack the skills necessary to properly create their website, and promote it in a way that will actually help it rank well on the search engines. There are a few tips and strategies that you always need to implement in order to ensure top ranking for the website that you create. In this article, we will present these tips in an attempt to help you achieve top rankings on any of the search engines, which will inevitably help you sell more products and services.
Ranking on the search engines is a little more difficult than it used to be. There are many things that you need to consider including the amount of backlinks that you get, how quickly you get them, where they are coming from, and the PR of the website that is linking back to you. You also need to consider on-site search engine optimization which focuses upon the content that you have on the website, the title of your website, and also the domain and whether or not it has the keyword within it. Internal linking is something else that you need to think about. Visitors, and search engine spiders, need to be able to easily navigate your website. This will help people find what they're looking for, and allow the search engines to index the content you are providing. But there is one thing that many people neglect when it comes to SEO, and that has to do with authority sites.
Most people don't understand that by linking out to authority sites, you can actually improve your rankings. Some believe that by doing so, you are actually hurting your site rankings because outbound links have been rumored to lower your placement on the search engines. In reality, the opposite is actually true. Google and the other search engines want to see websites that are actually providing great content, and also linking to it. Therefore, by adding outbound links to authority sites, you can actually improve your rankings quite dramatically.
In regard to outbound links, the hyperlink text that you use needs to be quite random. For instance, you want to use different keywords for your link text, or else the search engines will understand that you are artificially trying to rank higher by gaming the system. By using random text, or keywords that are related to your primary keyword, you can actually improve your rankings and not alert the search engines to your intentions.
By using these two tips for search engine optimization, you should be able to improve your rankings on any of the search engines by simply linking out to websites that will improve the visitor's overall experience.
The Benefits Of Using A Content Management System
The way webpages and websites are constructed has changed considerably over the last decade or so. Hard-coded HTML pages which were once so popular have largely been replaced with content management systems, or CMS for short. Many platforms are available for creating CMS and in this article we explore and discuss their benefits.
One of the biggest advantages in using a content management system to build your webpages is that a number of individuals can collaborate when new content is added. Individual users can be assigned roles which can vary from administrators who have full access to all areas of the website, to contributors who are only able to add additional material. In addition, other users can have rights as editors or, depending on the system used, authors.
This has great benefits for the owner of the website, as individual writers can contribute posts or pages written in their own style. It has also in direct benefits in terms of search engine optimization because the search engine will regard the website as having more authority when a number of different authors contribute to it. Another benefit is that other content, such as rich media like audio or video files, can easily be added to a content management system without the user having any technical knowledge or experience – ideal for situations where a business encourages the workforce to add their own materiel.
The old-fashioned practice of hiring a web designer to create pages for you, link them together with hyperlinks and construct a navigation menu has almost disappeared since the introduction of CMS. Web designers now focus their talents on building responsive and engaging content management systems for their customers, and no longer have to worry about updating or adding content. They are free to utilize their skill where it is needed most instead of completing numerous amendments for the user.
From the user’s point of view, this also means that there is no delay between deciding to add extra content and actually seeing it live. Updating is done in real time, so posts written daily will show up as soon as they are published. Once again, this is great for ranking well in the search engines as it will be seen as fresh, topical content and that is exactly what is required these days.
Where the post is lengthy, an extract can be shown instead of the full article if required. Another real benefit of a CMS is that as content is added, it will build gradually into an archive that can be linked to either at the foot of a page or in a sidebar. This means that content is never lost, and a valuable resource will appear over time
There are many open source CMS platforms available including WordPress, which started life as a blogging platform, Drupal and Joomla! All of these are free to use, and while this is an attractive and tempting option for inexperienced users to build their own website, it is still a good idea to consult a professional if a professional result is required.
Making a Good Website through Quality Design
Making a Good Website through Quality Design
If you gathered a dozen people in a room, and asked them how they define exactly what web design is, you would likely receive a dozen different answers. However, even though website design represents different things to each of us, its effects are viewed by us every day online. An individual that works as a computer programmer will likely describe website design as something uniquely different than how a graphic artist would approach the process. However, there are specific features that are common in all types of website design.
Quality Content
A key component to any successful website is the uploading of quality content. If the appearance of the website is not aesthetically pleasing, no one will stay on the site long enough to read any of the content, no matter how interesting, compelling or useful it is.
Because of that, the website needs to be creatively designed and offer a unique experience for every online visitor. Its design should be different than everyone else out there, but attractive enough to have traffic returning to your site to see every new update of available services, products or information you provide.
Never Be Annoying
One of the pitfalls of many web designers is that their background, or images are unappealing or annoying. While it is not required that the website be a masterpiece of artistic design, it should at the same time not produce massive headaches by staring at it. We have all visited websites that are impossible to view for any longer than a few seconds without needing to squint or feeling dizzy.
A creatively designed website will be one that offers beautiful backgrounds and appealing features that contain readable text, beautiful imagery and calming colors.
Easy to Navigate
It is imperative that you make all key components on your website easy to locate. Recognize that every online visitor is not computer savvy, or understands how to properly move around the site. In fact, nearly every individual that seeks information using the Internet wants to find their data quickly.
The easiest way to have individuals return to your site time and again is to provide the right navigational tools. This minimizes the amount of wasted time on the site, and allows them to focus and or key in on the exact components, features, services and products they are searching for.
Consistency of Design
It is important that the website design remain consistent throughout the entire site. Whatever type of web page theme and/or color scheme you choose, maintain it throughout the entire site. Consistency is crucial to quality website design. It minimizes the distraction and confusion that your visitors would face on improperly designed sites. The easiest way to see consistency on clever pages is to look at other sites to see how their continuity moves from page to page.
The most cleverly designed websites are those that make their online visitors always feel welcome. It is a sure fire way of making people want to come back to the site. Be sure and allow them to easily locate contact pages and feedback forms. This will develop a strong relationship between your readers and you.
If you gathered a dozen people in a room, and asked them how they define exactly what web design is, you would likely receive a dozen different answers. However, even though website design represents different things to each of us, its effects are viewed by us every day online. An individual that works as a computer programmer will likely describe website design as something uniquely different than how a graphic artist would approach the process. However, there are specific features that are common in all types of website design.
Quality Content
A key component to any successful website is the uploading of quality content. If the appearance of the website is not aesthetically pleasing, no one will stay on the site long enough to read any of the content, no matter how interesting, compelling or useful it is.
Because of that, the website needs to be creatively designed and offer a unique experience for every online visitor. Its design should be different than everyone else out there, but attractive enough to have traffic returning to your site to see every new update of available services, products or information you provide.
Never Be Annoying
One of the pitfalls of many web designers is that their background, or images are unappealing or annoying. While it is not required that the website be a masterpiece of artistic design, it should at the same time not produce massive headaches by staring at it. We have all visited websites that are impossible to view for any longer than a few seconds without needing to squint or feeling dizzy.
A creatively designed website will be one that offers beautiful backgrounds and appealing features that contain readable text, beautiful imagery and calming colors.
Easy to Navigate
It is imperative that you make all key components on your website easy to locate. Recognize that every online visitor is not computer savvy, or understands how to properly move around the site. In fact, nearly every individual that seeks information using the Internet wants to find their data quickly.
The easiest way to have individuals return to your site time and again is to provide the right navigational tools. This minimizes the amount of wasted time on the site, and allows them to focus and or key in on the exact components, features, services and products they are searching for.
Consistency of Design
It is important that the website design remain consistent throughout the entire site. Whatever type of web page theme and/or color scheme you choose, maintain it throughout the entire site. Consistency is crucial to quality website design. It minimizes the distraction and confusion that your visitors would face on improperly designed sites. The easiest way to see consistency on clever pages is to look at other sites to see how their continuity moves from page to page.
The most cleverly designed websites are those that make their online visitors always feel welcome. It is a sure fire way of making people want to come back to the site. Be sure and allow them to easily locate contact pages and feedback forms. This will develop a strong relationship between your readers and you.
Improve Your Rankings With Website Design Strategies
We know that having a picture-perfect website is something that many people covet today. If you are selling something on the Internet, or even if you have a real-world store, you want your website to look its best. In most cases, people will pay a graphics designer and a webmaster to create a website that is not only beautiful to behold, but represents their products and services in a way that they think will help boost sales. Unfortunately, sales are based upon traffic. If you don't have traffic, you are simply not going to make as much money as you want to with your website online. One of the best ways to improve your earnings is to get better rankings on the search engines. The best way to accomplish this, in most cases, is to use intelligent website design. In this article, we will show you how to use web design strategies to your advantage, especially when it comes to making money on the web.
Internet marketing is something that can be very lucrative. People that attempt to make money online unfortunately fail most of the time. Even though they have a website that is selling their products and services, they lack the traffic necessary, especially targeted traffic, that will actually be interested in what they have to sell. To get targeted traffic, one of the easiest ways is to rank well on the search engines. If you think about it, when people are searching for something in particular, we will use a specific keyword to help them find what they are looking for. Unfortunately, this is a very difficult task, unless, of course, you understand a couple beneficial website design strategies.
When you create a website, it is best to place your larger graphics below the fold. This means, when your website loads, even if it takes a little while to do so, people will see your website, and the small graphics at the top. This could be your logo for your company, and perhaps a couple graphics representing the products and services that you have for sale. After 5 or 10 seconds, the rest of the graphics will load, and the visitors will not know that they were delayed. This will improve your bounce rate greatly because people will see that your site has loaded and they will begin to look at what you have to offer.
Another tip you can use for site design is to use HTML. Even though most people use WordPress blogs because they are so easy to work with, HTML can load an entire website in a few seconds or less. This will also help reduce your bounce rate, and keep your visitors happy because they will see everything appear the moment after they click on the link. And the faster your site loads, the higher the search engines will place you in the search engine listings.
By using the steps to improve your site loading speed using these simple web design strategies, you can keep people from clicking away, and also, potentially, make more sales from the targeted visitors that find your website due to your improve rankings on the web.
How To Reduce Your Bounce Rate
The recent changes in algorithms deployed by most major search engines mean that the metrics we once thought were important have now changed. One of the new metrics that is being measured is bounce rate, but many people do not understand what it is all what they can do to reduce it.
The "Bounce–rate" of a web page or post is a measure of the speed with which a visitor leaves it. So, for example if a visitor arrives on your webpage and immediately hits the back button, the bounce rate will be registered as 100%. We do not know the exact calculation that is used by the search engines, but what is clear is that the higher the bounce rate the less interesting and engaging your page is considered to be. This in turn means that the lower the bounce rate the search engine measures, the better the ranking will be.
Google in particular has told us many times recently that what it wants to see in order to rank a page well is quality content and user engagement. There are several tactics you can use to improve your visitors' experience when they visit your webpages:
Make your text visually appealing. A lot of people are intimidated by large blocks of text and cannot be bothered to read it, so break it up into smaller paragraphs and use fewer sentences in each paragraph. Use bullet points, subheadings and different text colors to increase the variety.
Use callouts and images sprinkled through your page to keep people's attention longer. Be very careful when using images that you are not breaching any copyright laws. A variety of text styles including Johnson boxes can be used to break up long passages of text.
Incorporate video and animation into your posts to keep people's interest and encourage them to explore further. Most are YouTube videos that have an embed option are suitable for sharing on your webpage.
Encourage interaction by asking for Facebook likes and shares, retweets from Twitter users and re – pins from Pinterest users. Finish your post with an open question and invite visitors to comment. These techniques are great ways of building relationships with your visitors, and if they are interesting your potential audience is much larger as they will be broadcast to all their contacts.
Always include a link to related content after each post you make. Anyone using WordPress or a similar CMS should be able to install a plug-in that will do this automatically, but if that option is not available simply link to other posts on your blog with the same tags all belonging to the same category.
By following these simple measures you can dramatically reduce your bounce rate, and in the process show the search engines that your content is engaging by the fact that it is being shared. It takes no longer than normal to incorporate these strategies into your writing and will really pay dividends if you get into the habit of doing it.
How To Plan For The Design Of Your Website
When you want to embark on designing your own website, there are things that you need to consider. A good website needs to be planned out first. This ensures that your audience will have a good browsing experience. Go over the following tips on how to plan for a good website.
One of the first things you should do is to decide who your audience is going to be. The type of audience in your target will influence how your content will be structured. It will help you think about what information is needed.
If your website audience includes children, you will have to make sure that all of your content is appropriate for children. Keep your language simple. If your website is meant for every member of the family, you will need to structure the content that is appropriate.
A lot of people are using their mobile devices to surf the web and take care of business. If your audience is often on the go, you should make sure that your website is scalable for mobile devices. You may need to design a simpler version of your website just for your mobile audience.
A big responsibility of running a website is keeping the content fresh. You need to update your content regularly so that your audience will not think that your content is stale. Consider using a part of your home page to keep your audience apprised of the latest developments in your company.
If you intend to sell products on your website, you will need to create a shopping area that uses secure server space provided by your hosting company. Security of private information is very important to shoppers. It is your responsibility to ensure site security in the shopping cart area. You will also need to convey to your audience that you take their privacy very seriously in order to earn their confidence in buying from your website.
In order to attract visitors to your website, you will need to do some promoting. There are a number of ways in which you can market your website. Look into doing that through the popular social media channels. Your goal is to encourage visitors to share your website with their friends and family in order to spread the word about your business.
Do not forget about search engine optimization. This is an important step in order to help search engines find your website. Think about what keywords you should incorporate into your content make your information as helpful and valuable as possible to your audience.
You can design the website yourself, but sometimes you may need to consult a professional to make your website function the way you want it to. Perhaps you need some special scripts written. There are many web professionals who can help you with all or part of your website.
After you have proofread your content thoroughly, it is ready to be launched. You now have a presence on the world wide web.
Dec 1, 2017
Donate Car to Charity California
Car Donation California
You've come to the right place – our Kars4Kids crew in California can pick up virtually any car donation, regardless of condition, and usually without a title too.
Free towing in CA within 24 to 48 hours
Tax deductible receipt
Vacation voucher Details
To Donate
You've come to the right place – our Kars4Kids crew in California can pick up virtually any car donation, regardless of condition, and usually without a title too.
Free towing in CA within 24 to 48 hours
Tax deductible receipt
Vacation voucher Details
To Donate
Mesothelioma Law Firm
Mesothelioma Lawyers
Originally hailed as an uncommonly useful material used in a variety of applications to make things lighter, stronger, fire resistant, more flexible, and other desirable attributes, we know now that asbestos is a profoundly hazardous substance that causes many health problems. One of the most well-known diseases caused by exposure to asbestos is mesothelioma and it affects over 2,000 people each year in the U.S. and many thousands more throughout the rest of the world.
Sadly, it is estimated that millions of people all over the world have been exposed to asbestos in their daily lives and medical science is still discovering how this exposure affects their health and the health of those around them. As awareness has grown about the disease and the numbers of victims has risen, companies that were lax about controlling asbestos in the workplace have faced litigation from victims represented by law firms and mesothelioma lawyers specializing in bringing mesothelioma cases to court.
What is Mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma is an uncommon form of cancer which creates malignant cells in the body’s mesothelium, the membrane that covers many of the body’s internal organs. The cancer cells begin to develop and multiply and the cancer is capable of spreading from the source to other organs and areas of the body. Symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, anemia, fever, abnormal blood clotting, and others depending on the cancer’s location.
What causes Mesothelioma?
The single biggest cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos fibers in the home or workplace. Although there have been recorded cases of mesothelioma where the victim has had no asbestos exposure, the vast majority of victims have worked with or worked in an environment where asbestos dust was present.
Who is at Risk for Mesothelioma?
The vast majority of mesothelioma victims are people who have worked in industries such as mining, construction, shipbuilding, heating and cooling installation, and places where asbestos is processed and produced. The risks of contracting mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases scale with the length of time a worker has been exposed. There is additional evidence that suggests that people living with workers in asbestos-related industries may also be at increased risk from coming into contact with dust and fibers brought into the home on workers’ clothing.
What to do about Mesothelioma?
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, it is highly recommended that you contact a mesothelioma lawyer with experience bringing mesothelioma cases to trial. A mesothelioma settlement can help to defray medical expenses and provide for your family in the event of your passing. MesotheliomaLawyers.net is dedicated to providing timely information about mesothelioma, its causes, and assisting those who suffer from this condition. Check back often for new information about mesothelioma and options for mesothelioma victims and their familes.
mesotheliomalawyers.net
Originally hailed as an uncommonly useful material used in a variety of applications to make things lighter, stronger, fire resistant, more flexible, and other desirable attributes, we know now that asbestos is a profoundly hazardous substance that causes many health problems. One of the most well-known diseases caused by exposure to asbestos is mesothelioma and it affects over 2,000 people each year in the U.S. and many thousands more throughout the rest of the world.
Sadly, it is estimated that millions of people all over the world have been exposed to asbestos in their daily lives and medical science is still discovering how this exposure affects their health and the health of those around them. As awareness has grown about the disease and the numbers of victims has risen, companies that were lax about controlling asbestos in the workplace have faced litigation from victims represented by law firms and mesothelioma lawyers specializing in bringing mesothelioma cases to court.
What is Mesothelioma?
Mesothelioma is an uncommon form of cancer which creates malignant cells in the body’s mesothelium, the membrane that covers many of the body’s internal organs. The cancer cells begin to develop and multiply and the cancer is capable of spreading from the source to other organs and areas of the body. Symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, anemia, fever, abnormal blood clotting, and others depending on the cancer’s location.
What causes Mesothelioma?
The single biggest cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos fibers in the home or workplace. Although there have been recorded cases of mesothelioma where the victim has had no asbestos exposure, the vast majority of victims have worked with or worked in an environment where asbestos dust was present.
Who is at Risk for Mesothelioma?
The vast majority of mesothelioma victims are people who have worked in industries such as mining, construction, shipbuilding, heating and cooling installation, and places where asbestos is processed and produced. The risks of contracting mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases scale with the length of time a worker has been exposed. There is additional evidence that suggests that people living with workers in asbestos-related industries may also be at increased risk from coming into contact with dust and fibers brought into the home on workers’ clothing.
What to do about Mesothelioma?
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, it is highly recommended that you contact a mesothelioma lawyer with experience bringing mesothelioma cases to trial. A mesothelioma settlement can help to defray medical expenses and provide for your family in the event of your passing. MesotheliomaLawyers.net is dedicated to providing timely information about mesothelioma, its causes, and assisting those who suffer from this condition. Check back often for new information about mesothelioma and options for mesothelioma victims and their familes.
mesotheliomalawyers.net
How Much Does Car Insurance Cost?
How much is car insurance going to cost you? It’s not an easy question to answer. The quote you receive could be painfully high or comfortably low based on a number of different factors. But for what it’s worth, the average amount spent to insure a car in the U.S. was $815 a year in 2012, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
However, as anyone who pays much less — or more — than $815 a year can tell you, there are a lot of variables that affect your car insurance rates.
Some factors, including where you live and what kind of car you drive, can be tough to change. Others, such as your driving habits and the level of coverage you choose, are a bit easier to tweak. I’ll break down these factors and discuss what (if anything) you can do to save a dime on your car insurance.
Comparison Shop to Lower Your Car Insurance Cost
Before we get started, it’s important to mention one thing you can always do to save some money: Shop around. It’s easiest to start online. Our quote generator below can help you do that quickly, eliminating the hassle of calling individual insurers and repeating the same information. Just enter your ZIP code and you’re on your way:
Find the Best Car Insurance Rates
Enter your ZIP code below and be sure to click at least 2-3 companies to find the very best rate.
Cost Factor No. 1: Basic Demographics
Your age, sex, marital status, and location all weigh heavily on how much you car insurance costs. That’s because your insurance company has an enormous amount of data that tells them how each of these things makes you more or less of a risk for filing claims.
For instance, if you’re younger (typically, age 25 or below), unmarried, and male, you’ll pay more than an older, married female, who is statistically less likely to file a claim.
Location also has a huge impact on your car insurance rates. State laws that regulate car insurance can have a big effect. Michigan, the most expensive state for car insurance premiums according to Insure.com, tops the list because residents get unlimited lifetime personal injury protection for medical expenses resulting from crashes. Montana comes in second, in part because crash fatality rates are very high, and insurers think driver safety laws are too lax.
You’ll also almost always pay more in densely populated areas, where you’re at more risk for an accident. This is likely why Washington, D.C., Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Jersey are all among the top 10 most expensive states. Areas prone to natural disasters can mean car insurance costs a premium, too, which is why Louisiana is fourth on the list.
How to save: Unfortunately, this is the toughest category for eking out some savings. You’re unlikely to move or get married just to save on how much car insurance costs.
Still, it’s worth at least keeping in mind how big an impact where you live can have on what you pay. According to CarInsurance.com, even ZIP codes that aren’t terribly far from one another can vary dramatically on average costs. For more details on how costs vary from state to state, keep reading.
How much is car insurance? A state-by-state breakdown
Below, you’ll see how the cost of car insurance varies by state, according to two measures. The first number is the average expenditure per state, drawn from 2012 data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. This figure is the total amount collected in each state for liability, comprehensive, and collision premiums, divided by the total number of insured vehicles.
The second number compares the average premium for similar coverage across every state and Washington, D.C., according to a 2015 study by Insure.com. The study averaged quotes for a full-coverage policy for the same customer driving 20 of the best-selling cars in 10 ZIP codes per state.
As you’ll see, just because a state has a high average expenditure doesn’t necessarily mean it has a high average premium (and vice versa). Remember that the first number takes into account how much customers actually choose to spend — they may opt out of pricier coverage options or choose lower coverage limits — whereas the second number is simply an average of quotes for a policy that includes everything.
State Average spent on car insurance (rank) Average premium for a complete policy (rank)
Alabama $659 (37) $1,320 (22)
Alaska $873 (13) $1,410 (18)
Arizona $781 (18) $1,103 (37)
Arkansas $679 (35) $1,239 (27)
California $749 (22) $1,643 (9)
Colorado $737 (25) $1,245 (26)
Connecticut $986 (9) $1,690 (7)
Delaware $1,065 (6) $1,542 (13)
District of Columbia $1,154 (2) $1,799 (3)
Florida $1,127 (4) $1,742 (5)
Georgia $768 (20) $1,519 (14)
Hawaii $735 (27) $1,114 (34)
Idaho $534 (51) $877 (49)
Illinois $731 (28) $1,079 (39)
Indiana $637 (40) $1,033 (41)
Iowa $561 (49) $886 (48)
Kansas $632 (42) $1,147 (33)
Kentucky $759 (21) $1,341 (21)
Louisiana $1,112 (5) $1,774 (4)
Maine $582 (47) $805 (51)
Maryland $966 (11) $1,590 (11)
Massachusetts $976 (10) $1,460 (16)
Michigan $1,048 (7) $2,476 (1)
Minnesota $718 (29) $1,222 (29)
Mississippi $748 (23) $1,584 (12)
Missouri $683 (34) $1,112 (35)
Montana $658 (38) $1,866 (2)
Nebraska $616 (44) $1,086 (38)
Nevada $906 (12) $1,248 (25)
New Hampshire $716 (30) $905 (47)
New Jersey $1,129 (1) $1,595 (10)
New Mexico $695 (32) $1,237 (28)
New York $1,152 (3) $1,013 (42)
North Carolina $611 (45) $986 (44)
North Dakota $576 (48) $1,377 (19)
Ohio $634 (41) $843 (50)
Oklahoma $737 (26) $1,496 (15)
Oregon $741 (24) $1,211 (30)
Pennsylvania $827 (16) $1,304 (23)
Rhode Island $1,034 (8) $1,656 (8)
South Carolina $772 (19) $1,210 (31)
South Dakota $556 (50) $1,180 (32)
Tennessee $673 (36) $1,263 (24)
Texas $858 (14) $1,449 (17)
Utah $713 (31) $1,059 (40)
Vermont $642 (39) $957 (45)
Virginia $691 (33) $1,008 (43)
Washington $809 (17) $1,110 (36)
West Virginia $846 (15) $1,716 (6)
Wisconsin $598 (46) $930 (46)
Wyoming $618 (43) $1,371 (20)
National average $815 $1,311
Cost Factor No. 2: The Car You Drive
You probably didn’t think about how your car would affect your insurance rates when you bought it, and you probably won’t trade it in just because of your rate. However, just as your insurance company assumes you’re a bigger or smaller risk based on your own demographics, it assigns risk based on the car you drive, too.
How to save: When it’s time to shop for a car, keep this rule of thumb in mind: The faster the car can go, the bigger the risk of a crash, and the more you’ll pay.
If you drive a sensible family car such as a minivan, sedan, or SUV, you probably won’t pay nearly as much as someone who drives a pricey, high-performance sports car. In a recent analysis, the Nissan GT-R Nismo, Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Convertible, Dodge SRT Viper, Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet, and Audi R8 5.2 Spyder Quattro were the most expensive to insure. On the flip side, the Jeep Wrangler Sport, Jeep Patriot Sport, Honda CR-V, Dodge Grand Caravan, and Honda Odyssey were easiest on the wallet.
You can also save a bit of money by considering a used car, which will almost always be cheaper to insure than a new one. Anti-theft devices such as alarms, anti-lock brakes, and other safety-focused equipment can also save you some cash.
Cost Factor No. 3: Your Driving History
This one is probably the most obvious factor affecting your car insurance, and it may seem like the fairest one. The more tickets and violations you have, the higher your rates are going to climb. Some tickets will be worse than others: For instance, if you’re cited for DUI or reckless driving, your insurance premium could nearly double, according to Bankrate.
Speeding or running a red light will still raise your rates, but much less. In fact, your insurer may not raise your rates after one speeding ticket. The increase you see may also partially depend on how fast you were going. The average bump is 21% if you were caught going up to 15 mph over the speed limit, but that rises to 30% if you were flooring it at 31 mph or more over the limit.
How to save: You can’t rewrite the past, but you can be a safer driver going forward. If your insurer offers one, you can even consider installing a tracker that records data on driving habits such as mileage, sudden acceleration or deceleration, excessive speed, rough turns, and whether you drive a lot at night. Typically, you won’t be penalized for bad driving, but you could be rewarded for good driving. You may also be able to save by taking a defensive driving course.
Cost Factor No. 4: Your Credit Score
If you’re wondering what your credit score has to do with how much you pay for car insurance, it’s a good question. Insurers cite an abundance of data showing the higher your credit score, the less likely you are to file a claim. The reverse is also true: If your credit score is poor, you’re at a greater risk for filing a claim. This controversial practice is actually illegal in a few states (California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts), but otherwise, it’s fair game.
How to save: There’s no quick fix for bad credit, but raising your credit score is still enormously worthwhile because it affects far more than what you pay for car insurance. Paying your bills on time for an extended period is one of the best things to do for your credit score. Reducing large balances and being judicious about opening new credit accounts can also help. For more on what your credit score affects and how to raise it, check out our article, What is a Good Credit Score?
Cost Factor No. 5: Your Driving Habits
Your driving habits make up your daily driving routine. Do you commute daily via car, and for how long? Do you ever use your car for business purposes? Does your car gather dust until the weekend because you use public transportation during the week? Do you park on the street, in a shared lot, or in your own private garage?
All of these things add up to paint a picture of your risk of getting into a crash. Accordingly, they can affect your car insurance premium.
How to save: It sounds obvious, but the less you drive, the less of a risk you are for your insurance company. Moving closer to work to reduce your mileage, taking public transportation, or carpooling are a few tactics that can save you a lot of money — just be sure to report any such chances to your insurer so that you can reap the benefits.
Cost Factor No. 6: The Amount of Coverage You Choose
When you’re shopping for car insurance, there are a couple of numbers that will weigh heavily on what you pay. The first is your limits — that is, the maximum amount your insurance company will pay in the event of a claim. Limits are usually written like this: $50,000/$100,000. That means your insurer will pay up to $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident.
The second number to know is your deductible. That’s how much you’ll pay out of your own pocket when you make a claim. A common deductible is $500, but they can go as low as around $100 and as high as $1,000 to $2,000.
How to save: You don’t want to overpay for coverage you don’t need, but you also don’t want to skimp and leave yourself on the hook for thousands after an accident.
You’ll be required to have a certain minimum limit depending on where you live. For instance, as a Tennessee resident, I’m required to have at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability coverage as well as $15,000 in property damage liability coverage.
However, just because you are only legally required to have a certain amount of coverage doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to carry only the minimum, even if that will save you money. That’s because you could lose your assets, such as your savings or even your house, if someone’s medical or property damage bills exceed your ability to pay when you’re at fault.
That means if you have significant assets, you’ll want to protect them with more coverage. Experts often recommend $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident as a minimum.
Your deductible can be a better place to save. Agreeing to pay $1,000 instead of $100 in the event of a claim can save you a lot of money — but it’s a tactic you should only use if you have that $1,000 stashed away in your emergency fund, ready to pay that bill should you need it.
Cost Factor No. 7: The Type of Coverage You Choose
The types of coverage I discussed above — bodily injury liability and property damage liability — are required when you buy car insurance. There are some other types of coverage that you may be able to skip, however.
How to save: Instead of blindly paying for every kind of coverage, carefully evaluate whether they make sense for your individual situation.
For instance, personal injury protection (PIP) isn’t required in all states. It helps pay for your or your family’s medical bills after a crash. However, it’s probably not necessary if you and your family have adequate health insurance. It also doesn’t make sense to pay for roadside assistance if you’re already a member of AAA.
Comprehensive and collision coverage will be required if you’re financing or leasing your car, but are optional if that’s not the case. Comprehensive covers damage to your vehicle from car theft, vandalism, and other calamities that don’t involve actual crashes. Collision coverage is similar to comprehensive coverage, but covers actual crash-related damage to your vehicle.
If you’re not required to have comprehensive or collision, it might make sense to drop this pricey coverage if you drive very infrequently or if your car’s value is very low.
How Much Does Car Insurance Cost? A Lot — If You Don’t Shop Around
Remember that one of the best things you can do to save on car insurance has nothing to do with who you are, where you live, the coverage you select, or how you drive. Instead, it’s simple comparison shopping: You should always look around to make sure you get the best deal, since each company places a slightly different emphasis on the factors I outlined above.
One other critical reason to shop around is that different insurers offer different discounts. Some will offer you a break for being a good student, a member of certain organizations, active-duty military, or for bundling other policies such as home insurance with the same company. That’s on top of common price breaks for driving less, driving a low-risk car, or having a good credit score, among the other factors I discussed in this article.
Online quote tools can be particularly helpful as you start your search. However, remember that the quicker the quote, the more information you’ll have to provide further down the line. Given how many variables affect how much car insurance costs, you’ll eventually have to provide a fair amount of personal information to get the most accurate price. Good luck!
how much does car insurance cost?
However, as anyone who pays much less — or more — than $815 a year can tell you, there are a lot of variables that affect your car insurance rates.
Some factors, including where you live and what kind of car you drive, can be tough to change. Others, such as your driving habits and the level of coverage you choose, are a bit easier to tweak. I’ll break down these factors and discuss what (if anything) you can do to save a dime on your car insurance.
Comparison Shop to Lower Your Car Insurance Cost
Before we get started, it’s important to mention one thing you can always do to save some money: Shop around. It’s easiest to start online. Our quote generator below can help you do that quickly, eliminating the hassle of calling individual insurers and repeating the same information. Just enter your ZIP code and you’re on your way:
Find the Best Car Insurance Rates
Enter your ZIP code below and be sure to click at least 2-3 companies to find the very best rate.
Cost Factor No. 1: Basic Demographics
Your age, sex, marital status, and location all weigh heavily on how much you car insurance costs. That’s because your insurance company has an enormous amount of data that tells them how each of these things makes you more or less of a risk for filing claims.
For instance, if you’re younger (typically, age 25 or below), unmarried, and male, you’ll pay more than an older, married female, who is statistically less likely to file a claim.
Location also has a huge impact on your car insurance rates. State laws that regulate car insurance can have a big effect. Michigan, the most expensive state for car insurance premiums according to Insure.com, tops the list because residents get unlimited lifetime personal injury protection for medical expenses resulting from crashes. Montana comes in second, in part because crash fatality rates are very high, and insurers think driver safety laws are too lax.
You’ll also almost always pay more in densely populated areas, where you’re at more risk for an accident. This is likely why Washington, D.C., Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Jersey are all among the top 10 most expensive states. Areas prone to natural disasters can mean car insurance costs a premium, too, which is why Louisiana is fourth on the list.
How to save: Unfortunately, this is the toughest category for eking out some savings. You’re unlikely to move or get married just to save on how much car insurance costs.
Still, it’s worth at least keeping in mind how big an impact where you live can have on what you pay. According to CarInsurance.com, even ZIP codes that aren’t terribly far from one another can vary dramatically on average costs. For more details on how costs vary from state to state, keep reading.
How much is car insurance? A state-by-state breakdown
Below, you’ll see how the cost of car insurance varies by state, according to two measures. The first number is the average expenditure per state, drawn from 2012 data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. This figure is the total amount collected in each state for liability, comprehensive, and collision premiums, divided by the total number of insured vehicles.
The second number compares the average premium for similar coverage across every state and Washington, D.C., according to a 2015 study by Insure.com. The study averaged quotes for a full-coverage policy for the same customer driving 20 of the best-selling cars in 10 ZIP codes per state.
As you’ll see, just because a state has a high average expenditure doesn’t necessarily mean it has a high average premium (and vice versa). Remember that the first number takes into account how much customers actually choose to spend — they may opt out of pricier coverage options or choose lower coverage limits — whereas the second number is simply an average of quotes for a policy that includes everything.
State Average spent on car insurance (rank) Average premium for a complete policy (rank)
Alabama $659 (37) $1,320 (22)
Alaska $873 (13) $1,410 (18)
Arizona $781 (18) $1,103 (37)
Arkansas $679 (35) $1,239 (27)
California $749 (22) $1,643 (9)
Colorado $737 (25) $1,245 (26)
Connecticut $986 (9) $1,690 (7)
Delaware $1,065 (6) $1,542 (13)
District of Columbia $1,154 (2) $1,799 (3)
Florida $1,127 (4) $1,742 (5)
Georgia $768 (20) $1,519 (14)
Hawaii $735 (27) $1,114 (34)
Idaho $534 (51) $877 (49)
Illinois $731 (28) $1,079 (39)
Indiana $637 (40) $1,033 (41)
Iowa $561 (49) $886 (48)
Kansas $632 (42) $1,147 (33)
Kentucky $759 (21) $1,341 (21)
Louisiana $1,112 (5) $1,774 (4)
Maine $582 (47) $805 (51)
Maryland $966 (11) $1,590 (11)
Massachusetts $976 (10) $1,460 (16)
Michigan $1,048 (7) $2,476 (1)
Minnesota $718 (29) $1,222 (29)
Mississippi $748 (23) $1,584 (12)
Missouri $683 (34) $1,112 (35)
Montana $658 (38) $1,866 (2)
Nebraska $616 (44) $1,086 (38)
Nevada $906 (12) $1,248 (25)
New Hampshire $716 (30) $905 (47)
New Jersey $1,129 (1) $1,595 (10)
New Mexico $695 (32) $1,237 (28)
New York $1,152 (3) $1,013 (42)
North Carolina $611 (45) $986 (44)
North Dakota $576 (48) $1,377 (19)
Ohio $634 (41) $843 (50)
Oklahoma $737 (26) $1,496 (15)
Oregon $741 (24) $1,211 (30)
Pennsylvania $827 (16) $1,304 (23)
Rhode Island $1,034 (8) $1,656 (8)
South Carolina $772 (19) $1,210 (31)
South Dakota $556 (50) $1,180 (32)
Tennessee $673 (36) $1,263 (24)
Texas $858 (14) $1,449 (17)
Utah $713 (31) $1,059 (40)
Vermont $642 (39) $957 (45)
Virginia $691 (33) $1,008 (43)
Washington $809 (17) $1,110 (36)
West Virginia $846 (15) $1,716 (6)
Wisconsin $598 (46) $930 (46)
Wyoming $618 (43) $1,371 (20)
National average $815 $1,311
Cost Factor No. 2: The Car You Drive
You probably didn’t think about how your car would affect your insurance rates when you bought it, and you probably won’t trade it in just because of your rate. However, just as your insurance company assumes you’re a bigger or smaller risk based on your own demographics, it assigns risk based on the car you drive, too.
How to save: When it’s time to shop for a car, keep this rule of thumb in mind: The faster the car can go, the bigger the risk of a crash, and the more you’ll pay.
If you drive a sensible family car such as a minivan, sedan, or SUV, you probably won’t pay nearly as much as someone who drives a pricey, high-performance sports car. In a recent analysis, the Nissan GT-R Nismo, Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Convertible, Dodge SRT Viper, Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet, and Audi R8 5.2 Spyder Quattro were the most expensive to insure. On the flip side, the Jeep Wrangler Sport, Jeep Patriot Sport, Honda CR-V, Dodge Grand Caravan, and Honda Odyssey were easiest on the wallet.
You can also save a bit of money by considering a used car, which will almost always be cheaper to insure than a new one. Anti-theft devices such as alarms, anti-lock brakes, and other safety-focused equipment can also save you some cash.
Cost Factor No. 3: Your Driving History
This one is probably the most obvious factor affecting your car insurance, and it may seem like the fairest one. The more tickets and violations you have, the higher your rates are going to climb. Some tickets will be worse than others: For instance, if you’re cited for DUI or reckless driving, your insurance premium could nearly double, according to Bankrate.
Speeding or running a red light will still raise your rates, but much less. In fact, your insurer may not raise your rates after one speeding ticket. The increase you see may also partially depend on how fast you were going. The average bump is 21% if you were caught going up to 15 mph over the speed limit, but that rises to 30% if you were flooring it at 31 mph or more over the limit.
How to save: You can’t rewrite the past, but you can be a safer driver going forward. If your insurer offers one, you can even consider installing a tracker that records data on driving habits such as mileage, sudden acceleration or deceleration, excessive speed, rough turns, and whether you drive a lot at night. Typically, you won’t be penalized for bad driving, but you could be rewarded for good driving. You may also be able to save by taking a defensive driving course.
Cost Factor No. 4: Your Credit Score
If you’re wondering what your credit score has to do with how much you pay for car insurance, it’s a good question. Insurers cite an abundance of data showing the higher your credit score, the less likely you are to file a claim. The reverse is also true: If your credit score is poor, you’re at a greater risk for filing a claim. This controversial practice is actually illegal in a few states (California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts), but otherwise, it’s fair game.
How to save: There’s no quick fix for bad credit, but raising your credit score is still enormously worthwhile because it affects far more than what you pay for car insurance. Paying your bills on time for an extended period is one of the best things to do for your credit score. Reducing large balances and being judicious about opening new credit accounts can also help. For more on what your credit score affects and how to raise it, check out our article, What is a Good Credit Score?
Cost Factor No. 5: Your Driving Habits
Your driving habits make up your daily driving routine. Do you commute daily via car, and for how long? Do you ever use your car for business purposes? Does your car gather dust until the weekend because you use public transportation during the week? Do you park on the street, in a shared lot, or in your own private garage?
All of these things add up to paint a picture of your risk of getting into a crash. Accordingly, they can affect your car insurance premium.
How to save: It sounds obvious, but the less you drive, the less of a risk you are for your insurance company. Moving closer to work to reduce your mileage, taking public transportation, or carpooling are a few tactics that can save you a lot of money — just be sure to report any such chances to your insurer so that you can reap the benefits.
Cost Factor No. 6: The Amount of Coverage You Choose
When you’re shopping for car insurance, there are a couple of numbers that will weigh heavily on what you pay. The first is your limits — that is, the maximum amount your insurance company will pay in the event of a claim. Limits are usually written like this: $50,000/$100,000. That means your insurer will pay up to $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident.
The second number to know is your deductible. That’s how much you’ll pay out of your own pocket when you make a claim. A common deductible is $500, but they can go as low as around $100 and as high as $1,000 to $2,000.
How to save: You don’t want to overpay for coverage you don’t need, but you also don’t want to skimp and leave yourself on the hook for thousands after an accident.
You’ll be required to have a certain minimum limit depending on where you live. For instance, as a Tennessee resident, I’m required to have at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability coverage as well as $15,000 in property damage liability coverage.
However, just because you are only legally required to have a certain amount of coverage doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to carry only the minimum, even if that will save you money. That’s because you could lose your assets, such as your savings or even your house, if someone’s medical or property damage bills exceed your ability to pay when you’re at fault.
That means if you have significant assets, you’ll want to protect them with more coverage. Experts often recommend $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident as a minimum.
Your deductible can be a better place to save. Agreeing to pay $1,000 instead of $100 in the event of a claim can save you a lot of money — but it’s a tactic you should only use if you have that $1,000 stashed away in your emergency fund, ready to pay that bill should you need it.
Cost Factor No. 7: The Type of Coverage You Choose
The types of coverage I discussed above — bodily injury liability and property damage liability — are required when you buy car insurance. There are some other types of coverage that you may be able to skip, however.
How to save: Instead of blindly paying for every kind of coverage, carefully evaluate whether they make sense for your individual situation.
For instance, personal injury protection (PIP) isn’t required in all states. It helps pay for your or your family’s medical bills after a crash. However, it’s probably not necessary if you and your family have adequate health insurance. It also doesn’t make sense to pay for roadside assistance if you’re already a member of AAA.
Comprehensive and collision coverage will be required if you’re financing or leasing your car, but are optional if that’s not the case. Comprehensive covers damage to your vehicle from car theft, vandalism, and other calamities that don’t involve actual crashes. Collision coverage is similar to comprehensive coverage, but covers actual crash-related damage to your vehicle.
If you’re not required to have comprehensive or collision, it might make sense to drop this pricey coverage if you drive very infrequently or if your car’s value is very low.
How Much Does Car Insurance Cost? A Lot — If You Don’t Shop Around
Remember that one of the best things you can do to save on car insurance has nothing to do with who you are, where you live, the coverage you select, or how you drive. Instead, it’s simple comparison shopping: You should always look around to make sure you get the best deal, since each company places a slightly different emphasis on the factors I outlined above.
One other critical reason to shop around is that different insurers offer different discounts. Some will offer you a break for being a good student, a member of certain organizations, active-duty military, or for bundling other policies such as home insurance with the same company. That’s on top of common price breaks for driving less, driving a low-risk car, or having a good credit score, among the other factors I discussed in this article.
Online quote tools can be particularly helpful as you start your search. However, remember that the quicker the quote, the more information you’ll have to provide further down the line. Given how many variables affect how much car insurance costs, you’ll eventually have to provide a fair amount of personal information to get the most accurate price. Good luck!
how much does car insurance cost?
We spoke to the new generation of female comedians dominating 2017
What is it really like for a woman in comedy these days? With more female stand-ups at the Edinburgh Fringe than ever before, it is about pushing forwards despite a male-heavy industry where you are often still valued for your looks, rather than your brain.
Are women funny? That’s the tediously perennial question – still hotly debated online – but one that surely has been answered more than enough times to leave little room for doubt. For the millennial generation, there have been a number of awe-inspiring waves of female-led UK comedy with the likes of Victoria Wood, French and Saunders, Jo Brand, Smack the Pony, Katherine Tate, Black Books’ Tamsin Greig paving the way for the women on stages and TV screens today: Sarah Millican, Katherine Ryan, Bridget Christie, and Miranda Hart to name but a few.
The rite of passage that is Edinburgh Fringe is seeing more women flocking to the Scottish capital to showcase their wares than ever before, and more female-written and -performed shows, such as Michaela Cole’s Chewing Gum and Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, are snapping up awards and admiration for their edge and innovation.
Yet Funny Women’s Lynne Parker and Hazel O’Keefe, who organises Women In Comedy Festival, despair that promoters still struggle to find a single woman to put on their comedy night bills (or anyone other than checked-shirted, skinny-jeaned straight white blokes, for that matter) despite hundreds of female comedians passing through their doors each year. An alarming proportion still report being greeted, post-gig, with the charming, backhanded: “I don’t normally find women funny, but...”. And while a cushioned single spot is commonly reserved for a woman on our ever-popular banterous panel shows, we are still some way off seeing an all-female version (according to research by Stuart Lowe, it’s happened once since 1967).
So what’s it really like for a woman in comedy these days? I spoke to some comedians set to make the country laugh in 2017 (which, let’s face it, will be needed more than ever) to find out.
Full story : female comedians
Hackers Can Control Your PC With This 17 Year Old Microsoft Word Bug
With the growing size of software every year, it’s entirely possible that some unattended vulnerability can allow hackers to take advantage of the software and compromise computers.
The case of MS Office is no different. A recently patched 17-year-old remote code execution bug (CVE-2017-11882) is known to have acted as the Nitrous boost for the Cobalt malware which uses the famous tool Cobalt Strike used for penetration testing.
The bug exists in MS Office when the software fails to properly handle the objects in memory. If a user has admin rights, the scope of the attack worsens as an attacker can issue commands and take control of the machine. The list of affected Microsoft products include:
Office 2016 (32-bit & 64-bit)
Office 2013 SP1 (32-bit & 64-bit)
Office 2010 SP2 (32-bit & 64-bit)
Office 2007 2007 SP3
The security patch was made available to the users earlier this month. According to Fortinet, the actors were quick to take advantage of the vulnerability and tried to fulfill their deeds.
Fortinet has reported the Cobalt malware campaign that targeted Russian speakers with a spam mail, including an RTF document containing the malicious code, notifying about some policy changes in Visa payWave service.
Cobalt malware ms office 1
Fake notification mail
The RTF document was password protected (credentials provided in the mail) to prevent it from being detected. An archive file containing the body of the email was also present in the email.
cobalt malware ms office 2
Attached document
One thing that looks odd and can be used to spot something fishy is when the document is opened, it runs a PowerShell script and downloads Cobalt Strike tool to gain control of the system.
The security firm notes that the attackers used “trusted Microsoft Windows tools to run client-side scripts, which can be overlooked by traditional AV products.” They were able to load the Cobalt module with writing it as a physical file.
Users are recommended to install the security update to reduce the risk of such attack vectors.
Link : hackers-can-control-pc-microsoft-bug-cobalt-malware
The case of MS Office is no different. A recently patched 17-year-old remote code execution bug (CVE-2017-11882) is known to have acted as the Nitrous boost for the Cobalt malware which uses the famous tool Cobalt Strike used for penetration testing.
The bug exists in MS Office when the software fails to properly handle the objects in memory. If a user has admin rights, the scope of the attack worsens as an attacker can issue commands and take control of the machine. The list of affected Microsoft products include:
Office 2016 (32-bit & 64-bit)
Office 2013 SP1 (32-bit & 64-bit)
Office 2010 SP2 (32-bit & 64-bit)
Office 2007 2007 SP3
The security patch was made available to the users earlier this month. According to Fortinet, the actors were quick to take advantage of the vulnerability and tried to fulfill their deeds.
Fortinet has reported the Cobalt malware campaign that targeted Russian speakers with a spam mail, including an RTF document containing the malicious code, notifying about some policy changes in Visa payWave service.
Cobalt malware ms office 1
Fake notification mail
The RTF document was password protected (credentials provided in the mail) to prevent it from being detected. An archive file containing the body of the email was also present in the email.
cobalt malware ms office 2
Attached document
One thing that looks odd and can be used to spot something fishy is when the document is opened, it runs a PowerShell script and downloads Cobalt Strike tool to gain control of the system.
The security firm notes that the attackers used “trusted Microsoft Windows tools to run client-side scripts, which can be overlooked by traditional AV products.” They were able to load the Cobalt module with writing it as a physical file.
Users are recommended to install the security update to reduce the risk of such attack vectors.
Link : hackers-can-control-pc-microsoft-bug-cobalt-malware
10 Reasons Why Your Computer Hates You More Than Ever | Fix Slow Computer
Do you use a computer nowadays? The answer could be yes because that might be the machine you’re using to read this post. So, without doing any useless talk, let’s come to the point. What is the reason you think our computers or any other hardware run into problems? It could be one or many.
Other than the obvious and inevitable ones like aging, unexpected power surge, hardware failure, people not taking good care of their computer can be a topic of utmost concern. It can reduce the life expectancy of your machine and make it slower by the day.
Why your computer hates you? Why is it so slow?
So, if you’re among the careless ones and do one or many things mentioned below, your slow computer would most likely hate you if it were a person.
1. You deprive your PC of software updates and security patches
If you want to know the answer to the question “Why is my computer so slow?”, Chances are high you may find it on the software update screen. You might realize that tons of software updates and bug fixes are pending.
Software updates are important; your vendor might have done changes and updates to improve the machine’s overall performance.
So, not letting your computer update regularly would deprive it of new features, as well as, security patches for the latest bugs discovered now and then. And you should also keep the virus definitions of your antivirus software up to date.
The same goes for other software you’re using on your computer. Problems related to a particular app can affect the overall performance of your system.
2. You don’t care if there is dust and filth are all over your computer
dust inside computer
I can recall days in college, my roommate’s computer had layers of dust deposit, and he didn’t even take the pain to wipe it once in months.
If you want to prevent your computer from dying a premature death, keep in mind, dust and electronics don’t go along, ever. It shouldn’t be a thing that you have to wash your hands after using your computer.
Dust deposit also occurs inside a computer around the cooling fan, thus, trapping the outbound heat from the components within the body itself. Eventually, the internal hardware wears out faster than it should, and it is a reason for a slow computer over time. So, you need to keep your computer neat and tidy if you want it to last for a few years. Don’t forget to read our article on how to prevent your computer from overheating.
3. You don’t think before downloading stuff
System Update Malware Main
Don’t be that person who just fills their computer with things he doesn’t even know what they do or if they’re needed. It’s also the case that people don’t pay attention while downloading or installing software and end up getting adware and other freebies.
These free tools can be bad for your computer and might open gates for malware invasion. That’s how ransomware sneaks into people’s computer. Becuase they click any random link and the rest happens in the background. Consider using some anti ransomware tools if you think some ransomware might land on your computer.
4. You’ve stored digital garbage on your hard drive
garbage in computer hard drive
Now, filling your hard drive with data won’t cost anything to you nor me. It’s your hard drive, and you can do whatever you want. But doing the same on a regular basis might upset your computer, especially, if most of the data is absolute garbage. Like, the photos of your childhood crush that are still lying in that hidden folder, or the videos in the study folder you have already watched.
In the case of Windows, features like System Restore and Hibernate require some space on your hard drive to store related data. Moreover, keeping unnecessary things on your hard drive increases work for the antivirus software and the defragger, as they have to handle more files while scanning.
Filling the hard drive up to the brim can have its disadvantages. Your PC needs some space vacant to work efficiently. The recommended amount of free space you should leave is between 10 to 15%, if you can manage more, it would be better.
Here is how you can free up around 20GB of hard drive space in Windows 10. To get more space, you should regularly clean the recycle bin and temporary files.
5. You load tons of programs during startup
Another answer to “Why is my computer so slow?” is that you allow too many applications to load on startup. Not to mention, most of them are installed by the OEM. Your PC will definitely hate you if you’re lazy enough to disable the unnecessary ones.
Slow computer fix: disable startup programs
disable startup programs windows 10
In Microsoft Windows 10, you can disable startup program by visiting Task Manager > Startup. Click the desired application in the list and click Disable. Similarly, you can prevent apps from loading at startup on your other operating systems like MacOS, and Linux distros. Similarly, you can read various other tips and tricks to make your Windows PC faster and improve performance.
6. You never shutdown or restart your computer
shutdown computer
Many people are often confused if they should keep their PC running forever, properly Shutdown after every use, or at least, Restart it once in a while. You can clear your confusion by reading our detailed post on whether you should restart your PC or not.
A system restart clears your computer’s RAM and shuts down all the processes. It helps the system get a fresh start after incidents of freezing or software crash, and solve problems like RAM leakage, or broken installations. So, use this slow computer fix and reduce your worries.
Read our complete guide explaining the difference between Fast Startup, Hybrid Sleep, Hibernate, Sleep, Shutdown
7. You never fix issues on your computer
Now, some apps or malware has been messing around with your system for a while, and you don’t seem to care much because all you believe is Netflix and chill, and Facebook. As a response, your angry computer slows down to the level that one day you can’t use it. Then you’ll be left with two choices: fix what’s broken or get a new machine.
Software related problems can be easily fixed. Like you can repair your hard drive using various tools mentioned in this post. For Windows, various common issues include the 100% disk usage, high RAM and CPU usage due to the ntoskrnl.exe process, etc.
You shouldn’t forget the hardware part. A faulty RAM chip or a hard drive going rogue can cause problems for your computer. It would make the computer lag and crash more often. So, consider replacing malfunctioning hardware as soon as possible.
8. You connect to unknown WiFi networks
free wifi public places
Everything that’s labeled “free” isn’t always good. Things are similar in case of WiFi. If you find open WiFi networks at public cafes, airports, parks, don’t immediately rush to connect to the network and soak some internet out of it. And here I am not talking about the WiFi networks other than ones authorities have deployed as a part of customer service.
The free WiFi network could be bait set up by some attacker trying to get access to people’s computer using different WiFi hacking apps to steal information and install malicious stuff including ransomware.
Moreover, you should turn off the Bluetooth radio on your computer. It’s also equally vulnerable as tons of attack vectors take advantage of Bluetooth.
9. Your computer’s security isn’t tight enough
computer security
Do you use the most famous password, 123456? Then you’re very well putting your innocent PC which thinks it’s password-protected at risk.
For various password cracking tools, guessing your so-called strong password is like a child’s play. Here are some tips sourced from experts that can help you create hard to crack passwords. If you are running Microsoft Windows, you can try these alternative sign-in options instead of typing a password.
10. You’re running your daddy’s operating system
OLD COMPUTER
Even though I still have a soft corner for Windows XP, I won’t prefer the deceased veteran over Windows 10. Apart from the feature updates offered by the new versions, new operating system versions also enhance the security by fixing bugs discovered in the past. And since the new OS versions are the part of their developers’ mainstream support, new bugs are fixed first for them.
The story is similar in the case of other operating systems, be it the macOS or some Linux distribution. Even your beloved old OS would want you to be a part of the evolution and switch to a newer version.
So, these were some reason I think might slow down your computer, and your digital friend might stop loving you if you don’t change your habits. If you have something to add, you can drop your suggestion in the comments.
Link : https://fossbytes.com/reasons-why-my-computer-slow-fix/
Other than the obvious and inevitable ones like aging, unexpected power surge, hardware failure, people not taking good care of their computer can be a topic of utmost concern. It can reduce the life expectancy of your machine and make it slower by the day.
Why your computer hates you? Why is it so slow?
So, if you’re among the careless ones and do one or many things mentioned below, your slow computer would most likely hate you if it were a person.
1. You deprive your PC of software updates and security patches
If you want to know the answer to the question “Why is my computer so slow?”, Chances are high you may find it on the software update screen. You might realize that tons of software updates and bug fixes are pending.
Software updates are important; your vendor might have done changes and updates to improve the machine’s overall performance.
So, not letting your computer update regularly would deprive it of new features, as well as, security patches for the latest bugs discovered now and then. And you should also keep the virus definitions of your antivirus software up to date.
The same goes for other software you’re using on your computer. Problems related to a particular app can affect the overall performance of your system.
2. You don’t care if there is dust and filth are all over your computer
dust inside computer
I can recall days in college, my roommate’s computer had layers of dust deposit, and he didn’t even take the pain to wipe it once in months.
If you want to prevent your computer from dying a premature death, keep in mind, dust and electronics don’t go along, ever. It shouldn’t be a thing that you have to wash your hands after using your computer.
Dust deposit also occurs inside a computer around the cooling fan, thus, trapping the outbound heat from the components within the body itself. Eventually, the internal hardware wears out faster than it should, and it is a reason for a slow computer over time. So, you need to keep your computer neat and tidy if you want it to last for a few years. Don’t forget to read our article on how to prevent your computer from overheating.
3. You don’t think before downloading stuff
System Update Malware Main
Don’t be that person who just fills their computer with things he doesn’t even know what they do or if they’re needed. It’s also the case that people don’t pay attention while downloading or installing software and end up getting adware and other freebies.
These free tools can be bad for your computer and might open gates for malware invasion. That’s how ransomware sneaks into people’s computer. Becuase they click any random link and the rest happens in the background. Consider using some anti ransomware tools if you think some ransomware might land on your computer.
4. You’ve stored digital garbage on your hard drive
garbage in computer hard drive
Now, filling your hard drive with data won’t cost anything to you nor me. It’s your hard drive, and you can do whatever you want. But doing the same on a regular basis might upset your computer, especially, if most of the data is absolute garbage. Like, the photos of your childhood crush that are still lying in that hidden folder, or the videos in the study folder you have already watched.
In the case of Windows, features like System Restore and Hibernate require some space on your hard drive to store related data. Moreover, keeping unnecessary things on your hard drive increases work for the antivirus software and the defragger, as they have to handle more files while scanning.
Filling the hard drive up to the brim can have its disadvantages. Your PC needs some space vacant to work efficiently. The recommended amount of free space you should leave is between 10 to 15%, if you can manage more, it would be better.
Here is how you can free up around 20GB of hard drive space in Windows 10. To get more space, you should regularly clean the recycle bin and temporary files.
5. You load tons of programs during startup
Another answer to “Why is my computer so slow?” is that you allow too many applications to load on startup. Not to mention, most of them are installed by the OEM. Your PC will definitely hate you if you’re lazy enough to disable the unnecessary ones.
Slow computer fix: disable startup programs
disable startup programs windows 10
In Microsoft Windows 10, you can disable startup program by visiting Task Manager > Startup. Click the desired application in the list and click Disable. Similarly, you can prevent apps from loading at startup on your other operating systems like MacOS, and Linux distros. Similarly, you can read various other tips and tricks to make your Windows PC faster and improve performance.
6. You never shutdown or restart your computer
shutdown computer
Many people are often confused if they should keep their PC running forever, properly Shutdown after every use, or at least, Restart it once in a while. You can clear your confusion by reading our detailed post on whether you should restart your PC or not.
A system restart clears your computer’s RAM and shuts down all the processes. It helps the system get a fresh start after incidents of freezing or software crash, and solve problems like RAM leakage, or broken installations. So, use this slow computer fix and reduce your worries.
Read our complete guide explaining the difference between Fast Startup, Hybrid Sleep, Hibernate, Sleep, Shutdown
7. You never fix issues on your computer
Now, some apps or malware has been messing around with your system for a while, and you don’t seem to care much because all you believe is Netflix and chill, and Facebook. As a response, your angry computer slows down to the level that one day you can’t use it. Then you’ll be left with two choices: fix what’s broken or get a new machine.
Software related problems can be easily fixed. Like you can repair your hard drive using various tools mentioned in this post. For Windows, various common issues include the 100% disk usage, high RAM and CPU usage due to the ntoskrnl.exe process, etc.
You shouldn’t forget the hardware part. A faulty RAM chip or a hard drive going rogue can cause problems for your computer. It would make the computer lag and crash more often. So, consider replacing malfunctioning hardware as soon as possible.
8. You connect to unknown WiFi networks
free wifi public places
Everything that’s labeled “free” isn’t always good. Things are similar in case of WiFi. If you find open WiFi networks at public cafes, airports, parks, don’t immediately rush to connect to the network and soak some internet out of it. And here I am not talking about the WiFi networks other than ones authorities have deployed as a part of customer service.
The free WiFi network could be bait set up by some attacker trying to get access to people’s computer using different WiFi hacking apps to steal information and install malicious stuff including ransomware.
Moreover, you should turn off the Bluetooth radio on your computer. It’s also equally vulnerable as tons of attack vectors take advantage of Bluetooth.
9. Your computer’s security isn’t tight enough
computer security
Do you use the most famous password, 123456? Then you’re very well putting your innocent PC which thinks it’s password-protected at risk.
For various password cracking tools, guessing your so-called strong password is like a child’s play. Here are some tips sourced from experts that can help you create hard to crack passwords. If you are running Microsoft Windows, you can try these alternative sign-in options instead of typing a password.
10. You’re running your daddy’s operating system
OLD COMPUTER
Even though I still have a soft corner for Windows XP, I won’t prefer the deceased veteran over Windows 10. Apart from the feature updates offered by the new versions, new operating system versions also enhance the security by fixing bugs discovered in the past. And since the new OS versions are the part of their developers’ mainstream support, new bugs are fixed first for them.
The story is similar in the case of other operating systems, be it the macOS or some Linux distribution. Even your beloved old OS would want you to be a part of the evolution and switch to a newer version.
So, these were some reason I think might slow down your computer, and your digital friend might stop loving you if you don’t change your habits. If you have something to add, you can drop your suggestion in the comments.
Link : https://fossbytes.com/reasons-why-my-computer-slow-fix/
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