Elaine

To figure out how many calories you should have, first start with where you are. In other words, figure out how many calories it takes to maintain your present size and then reduce from there. You can go about this in many ways. Most people simply choose an arbitrary number like 1200 calories and that's what they eat, but in nearly every case that's not nearly enough calories to ensure adequate nutrition, not to mention the deprivation that sets up.

While losing weight and to this day, I eat over 2000 calories a day on average and I've maintained a good weight for my height for over 17 years. Remember, your body requires calories to maintain itself.

Basic Calorie Requirements Calculation Based on Activity Level:

Sedentary : 13 X Weight = Avg. cal/day

Sedentary is not exercising at all

Moderately Active: 16 X Weight = Avg. cal/day

Moderately Active is exercising approximately 3-4 times per week

Very Active: 19 X Weight = Avg. cal/day

Very Active is 5-7 strenuous exercise sessions per week.

If you weigh over 200 pound now, and you'd like to weigh closer to 150, here is a calculation you could use to get started: Assuming you are going to be adding enough exercise to quality as Moderately Active, we'll use 16 as our modifier:

150 pounds X 16 calories per pound = 2400 calories

Less 500 (Using the common 500 calories per day reduction) gives us a total of 1900 average calories per day

If you started to incorporate a plan that allowed an average of 1900 calories every day, you'd start to lose weight. The mistake most people make is to reduce calories too much, which ultimately sacrifices muscle plus sets you up for feeling deprived. It's far better in the long run to go more slowly, keeping as much muscle as possible while burning calories via exercise. Remember too, even if you don't eat quite that many calories on many days, you might eat more on the weekends for instance, so it ends up being closer to your goal of 1900 average per day. Take the total calories for the week divided by seven.

Remember, this average calorie number gives you plenty of wiggle room during the week. You can have some treats along with everyone else, or add more on weekends. Instead of constantly saying, "I can't, I'm on a diet," now you can say, "Thank you, that looks delicious," and enjoy some. It doesn't ruin your diet plan because you've got a large enough calorie allowance that if you are more careful some days than others, it will work out to the average number of calories you want. I tend to eat far less calories during the week than on weekends and my totals generally average out to 2000 to 2200 calories per day.

The 500 calorie reduction is a well accepted amount. You can reduce your calories further, but I wouldn't recommend it. It doesn't benefit anyone to try for faster weight loss, in fact, if you reduce your calories too much you end up wasting muscle in the process, which is exactly what you do not want to do. If you want faster results, it's better to add more activity, thereby burning more calories at rest.

You may be thinking I'm nuts, recommending 1900 calories per day, but I can say for a fact that if you eat too little (1000 - 1200 calories is too few, IMO) then you set yourself up for all of the following:

Deprivation. You're going to feel deprived, mentally and physically. 1000 calories isn't enough for your basic metabolic needs, much less to fuel yourself for your activity needs. Add more food! Just have a bit more than you're already having, so for instance, if you are allowed 1/2 cup of vegetables is a whole cup going to ruin all your progress? I doubt it. Eat a whole cup, or go ahead and have two oranges. Fruits and vegetables are very low calorie but provide high nutrition.

Sure, some vegis and fruits are high in sugar, but it's natural sugar. I seriously doubt our planet grows any killer foods - it is more likely the food industry which has processed those foods to become nothing more than a dried powder, then add back more sugars, and chemicals so it will resemble the original product, is more harmful than a simple apple or banana?

If you are diabetic or must watch the sugars, have a small bit of protein along with the higher glycemic food, such as an ounce of cheese with your apple. Notice I said an ounce of cheese, not a slab big enough to feed a small country.

Metabolic Slow-Down Feeding yourself too few calories sets you up for metabolic slow-down. Studies have shown time and again that a heavier person can find it difficult to lose weight, even though eating very low calories, simply because their body's metabolism is burning at such a slow rate. As you probably already know exercise helps to speed up your metabolism but so does eating. That's why they say breakfast is so important, not only to fuel yourself but because it starts the metabolic furnace burning, and it continues to burn all day. If you don't eat anything until noon, you don't stoke your furnace to start burning until then either.

Has the ultra low calorie approach worked for you so far? If not, why not try something more reasonable? Tag along with a friend who doesn't have a weight problem and you'll see how sometimes they eat more, sometimes less, but on average they eat enough to fuel their body and maintain their weight.

Adding more food gives you additional eye appeal. If you split up 1000 calories over the course of an entire day you're looking at pretty skimpy portions on your plate each time you eat. I like to feel like I'm getting enough to eat and I do this by rounding out my plate with extra vegetables.

If I'm having a frozen entree for instance, I'll cook up a cup or more of frozen vegetables to add to my plate. The extra vegis really fill me up, providing the satisfaction I need, and I often have a bit extra vegetables to throw away. Is that wasting food? No, it's smart. Far better for me mentally to have extra food to toss away than to be licking the plate because I'm still hungry. I'm also not likely to start wanting something else to eat right after dinner if I'm feeling content with the amount I've eaten.

Make an effort to learn to like your food as is. Plain mixed vegetables with nothing on them are delicious. It took me awhile to stop putting butter on them, and then even quitting the Molly McButter (just chemicals and sodium). I eat them plain and yes, they are great. Nature made our fruits and vegetables naturally sweet and all those "extras" we are used to using like butter on vegetables or potatoes certainly make things taste all yummy but they also make us larger than we need to be. Those "extra" calories add up.

Slowly Make Adjustments to What or How Much You Eat

Wean yourself off adding sugar to your cold cereal. Read the label; all processed cereals contain a ridiculous amount of added sugar. There's no need to add more. My only exception is brown sugar on oatmeal. I don't sugar my cereal at all anymore but it took me awhile to make the change. Start by adding a bit less, then next week cut back a bit more until you break the habit entirely. Tiny changes make up for big results over time.

If you feed yourself well, and focus on increasing your activity, even if only a little, then you will continue to lose fat, build muscle and get more shapely, all the while increasing your metabolism so you can eat more food!

~~ Kathryn Martyn Smith, Master NLP Practitioner, EFT counselor, author of free e-book: Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss, and owner of OneMoreBite-Weightloss.com

Get The Daily Bites: Inspirational Mini Lessons Using EFT and NLP for Ending the Struggle with Weight Loss.

Coppin State University

Coppin State University is a 52-acre campus in West Baltimore, very much an urban campus, however, its lovely shaded walks and fountains give it the atmosphere of a serene residential college. Most of the buildings are new, modern and comfortable.

Coppin students get on-the-job training with national and local companies and agencies through cooperative education and internship programs. Coppin State University offers 23 undergraduate majors and ten graduate degree programs.

Coppin State University is part of the University System of Maryland and has the unique mission of primarily focusing on the problems, needs, and aspirations of the people of a large city and its immediate metropolitan area.

Out of state tuition is $11,235
In-State tuition is: $4.714
Room and Board: $5,800

Groucher College

Groucher College is an independent co-educational institution dedicated to the interdisciplinary traditions of the liberal arts and an international perspective on education.

Groucher College is the first college in the nation to pair required study abroad with a special travel stipend for every undergraduate. In addition to studying abroad, many students complete internships and service-learning projects that further enhance their learning.

The college sits on a beautiful 287-acre wooded campus just north of Baltimore, Maryland. The curriculum at Groucher College emphasizes international and intercultural awareness throughout. Students are also encouraged to explore their academic interests from a variety of perspectives beyond their major disciplines.

Tuition is $28,900 with room and board at $8,925.

Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University opened its doors as Americas first research university in 1876. It has a history of ideas having many brilliant thinkers drawn to its doors. From these brilliant minds have come ideas that have changed the methods of business, the sounds of music, the practice of medicine, the world of literature, the process of engineering, and the direction of science. Students come to Johns Hopkins to continue this rich tradition of engaging in active thinking.

At Johns Hopkins University they are not passive learners, but are involved participants in a process of investigation that challenges them to set their goals high and gives them the knowledge to reach those goals.

Tuition at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland is a whopping $31,620 per year with an average of $9,924 for room and board.

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.

Written by: Connie Limon. Visit http://www.charmcitybaltimore.info for more information about living, working and vacationing in Baltimore, Maryland. Visit http://www.camelotarticles.com and submit your original articles for web site promotion.

2007 Connie Limon. All rights reserved

The idea of sailing for recreation would have seemed ridiculous to the seafarers who explored the seas that cover two-thirds of the earth's surface, and who helped to develop nations through world trade and conquest.

Empire Exploration. Trade, exploration, and conquest were the driving forces that made the great seafaring nations prosperous and powerful. It helped to develop empires, for example the British Empire, and you may have heard the well known song including the words,

Britain rules the waves. Key to these empire expansions was the domination of the sea and the ability of their naval designers, builders, and sailors to produce and handle the huge variety of sailing ships on which there power depended.

Sailing and Trade. For thousands of years, the world depended exclusively on sail power, both for short and long distances across all types of waterways. Whether on great rivers, or seas or oceans, sail power was the only alternative to muscle power applied to paddles and oars. The Polynesian.In the Pacific Ocean, the Polynesian islanders developed the proa, a unique multihulled craft, using hollowed-out tree trunks for the main canoe, with a stabilizing outrigger to help keep it upright. Although it was mainly paddles driven, it had a lateen-type sail for motive power. These fragile craft made many long ocean passages, with the navigator using only the stars in the sky, the wind, and the sea as his guides to making a distant landfall. The Chinese.The Chinese solution to sail power was the Chinese lugsail, commonly referred to as a junks. A junk rig had a short mast and woven sails, supported by long bamboo battens. These were an efficient solution, simple and easy to handle, easy to repair, thereby requiring a small crew to sail them. Arabians.The square-sail rig became common in most European countries, although it was really only suitable for sailing on downwind courses. Arabian dhows developed their characteristic huge lateen (triangular) sails as a capable sailing solution. A dhow could sail upwind well and was fast compared to square-rigged ships. Its disadvantage being the large crew that was needed to handle it, but that was not a problem in an area where inexpensive and amenable labour was plentiful.

Vikings. In every part of the world, ever culture developed there own solutions to harnessing the wind, and building boats proficient enough to carry people and cargo long distances. These local solutions therefore created unique craft, some of which still survive. For example, Viking longboats travelled thousands of miles under oars and their simple square sails.

Materials. Wood was the natural choice of building material for these ships, which come in all shapes and sizes, but, if wood was lacking, human ingenuity still allowed boats to be built from woven reeds. It was not until the advancement of iron and steel, which allowed builders to produce cheaper and stronger hulls, that wood began to be replaced with iron and steel as the main boat-building material. Designs for warships, merchant ships, and fishing vessels all evolved with the advancement in materials, to suit their function. This resulted in many types of boats; each with special strengths and advantages. The famous Thames Barges, for instance, evolved as the best design solution for carrying cargo in the shallow waters of the Thames Estuary and on the East Coast. These barges were sailed by a crew of two, usually a man and a boy. Hundreds, if not thousands, of boat designs evolved, each with its own specific characteristics to suit local needs.

Clipper Ships. Perhaps the design pinnacle of cargo carrying sailing ships was the magnificent clipper ships of the 19th century, so-called because they clipped short the time required for a given passage. Designed and built for speed, they raced across oceans to be first to market and capture the best prices for their precious cargoes of wool and tea. The Cutty Sark is perhaps the most famous clipper ship of all. The clippers raced across oceans to be the first to bring goods to Western markets, capturing the best prices. But the days of sail where numbered for the both cargo and warships. Steam, then motor outclassed sail for speed and reliability, although they came at a cost. Today, newer materials are also available, such as GRP and carbon fibre, which evolve further the advancement of sailing, and it subsequent maintenance. Sailing today now offers relaxation, competition, or adrenaline-surging excitement. This is depending on how you choose to enjoy it, and the type of boat you chose to sail in.

About the Author. Gordon McCulloch is a professional engineer and teacher. He has worked and sailed in boats all his life. He was brought up near the coast, served with the Merchant Marine, and now occupies himself with all forms of water sports, in which he has developed his skill as a webmaster. Feel free to visit and comment on his website site at http://www.keelbilge.com .

Please feel free to use this article in any way you wish. It appears on my website at www.keelbilge.com , where I have included some photos to give the article a flavour. All I ask is that you include my website URL address. I would also be happy to answer any questions you may have by contacting me at GCCMCCULLOCH@aol.com

You look at it every day and wish it would just go away; that little pouch below your belly button that keeps staring back at you. You do crunches, sit ups, the works, and yet there it is just hanging around. There are all sorts of cute names for it: snack pouch, spare tire, love handles, and the list goes on. All you know is that you want it gone.

The American Council on Exercise calls the bicycle one of the most effective ab exercises out there. This exercise is one of many that should be completed as part of a lifestyle change which includes both diet and exercise. Just doing ab exercises all day will not get rid of the excess fat that you have around your waistline.

The following four areas of diet and exercise will help you gain the toned, flat stomach that you are craving.

1.Fat Intake

How much fat is in your diet? The American Food Pyramid says that a healthy diet is one that Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts, and is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

Following the food pyramid will help you find the fats you need in good foods like nuts and plant oils as opposed to potato chips and ice cream. You should be taking in less than 30% of your caloric intake from fat so check your labels when youre purchasing packaged products. Many products now have the trans fats listed as well, so you can see which percentage of fat belongs to which group; saturated, non-saturated, trans, etc.

2.Carbohydrate Intake

Maybe your friends were on lo-carb diets and were amazed at the weight they lost. Maybe you tried one too? Carbohydrates are amazing in that each molecule attracts four water molecules to it and they hang out together inside your muscles. When you start decreasing the amount of carbohydrates you take in, you start to see weight loss in the form of fat loss. Oops, I mean WATER loss. No more carbs means no more four molecules of water hanging on, means lower numbers on the scale. Carbohydrate intake is essential for brain activity as well as muscle function. Our bodies feed off of glucose and glycogen which is supplied directly by carbohydrates. Eating whole wheat and whole grain is the way to go- stay away from white products; rice, pasta, bread, etc. Brown is best. Carbohydrate intake should be no more than 65% of your diet.

3.Cardiovascular Exercise

Running, cycling, swimming, aerobics; they are all using oxygen and so the prime energy source comes from muscle glycogen and fatty acids. The furnace is on and its burning fat. You may have heard that cardio is good for burning fat, and that is true. Cardio exercise should be done for a minimum of 20 minutes and hopefully for longer and should be done at least three times per week, hopefully more. According to the American Council of Sport Medicine, If weight loss is your major goal, participate in your aerobic activity at least 30 minutes, for five days each week.

You cant melt fat off of one area specifically, but it will come off over the whole body in time. We all lose fat from different places first. Just remember that cardio is a complement to the diet and the floor work that will also do.

4.Floor Work

Abdominal exercises were once believed to be something we could do everyday. We now know that the abdominals are like any other muscle and they need time to recover and rest.

Floor work is an essential component in getting a toned tummy. There are four main abdominal muscles that we can work: the rectus abdominus, which runs from the sternum to the pubic bone, the transverse abdominus which runs horizontal all around the torso connecting near the spine, and there are the obliques- internal and external which run alongside our ribs in opposite directions.

Exercises:

Hip lifts:

Lye on your back with your legs straight up in the air. Keep your back pressing into the floor and think about tightening a belt around your waist. Slowly pull your belly button to the floor and as you do so, feel your hips lifting gently off the floor as your legs are lifted. Do not lift with the legs, but instead with the abdominals. Repeat 10-15 times.

The Plank:

Facing the floor, get on your hands and knees, keeping your shoulders over your hands. Straighten out your body and keep your toes on the floor. You should be straight like a board with your abs pulling in tight. Breathe in and out naturally. Hold for up to one minute. Repeat 4-5 times.

The Bicycle:

Lye on your back with you knees bent. Slowly pull your upper body off the floor and support your head with your hands. Activate your abs by pulling your belly button to the floor and release any pelvic tilt. Take one shoulder and turn your torso to face your opposite knee. Go to the other side. Think of riding a bicycle as you turn slowly from side to side. Repeat for 20 repetitions.

Double Leg Drop:

Lye on your back with your legs straight up in the air. Keep your back pressing into the floor and think about tightening a belt around your waist. Keeping your abs pulled in at all times, slowly drop your legs toward the floor, keeping them pressing together. If you feel your back begin to arch, pull your legs back to the starting point. Inhale on the way down, exhale on the way up. Only go as far as you are comfortable with and go slowly. Repeat 10 times.

Diet and exercise are the only ways to get to your goals and they need to become part of a new lifestyle if youre going to maintain the body you want. Quick fixes, pills, drinks, diets, etc are only good for short term and could have long term effects that dont equate to your ultimate goals.

Nicole Palacios BSc, has been an integral part of the fitness industry for the past 11 years, working first as a group fitness instructor, and more recently as a personal trainer. She is certified through ACE and the BCRPA as a personal trainer, and is also a supervisor of fitness leaders. Her passions include fitness writing, weight training, and helping her clients pursue their fitness dreams. She has also started a Stroller Fit walking and toning group for moms in Vancouver, Canada.

Check out her website at http://www.perfectfit.ws, or contact by email at Nicole@perfectfit.ws

The Internet has become the place to get an education because it allows people to pursue their education in their spare time. Online education also allows individuals to continue working while they receive their education so that they can maintain their standard of living. Many choose online fashion design schools because there is not such a school in their area. Another common reason to choose to attend an online fashion design schools is that they allow you to begin getting some real experience under you belt at the same time you get a formal education. Because you are allowed to continue working while you attend online schools by the time you graduate you can not only have a degree, you can also have some relevant experience, which will make you a more attractive candidate for positions you may apply for right out of fashion design school.

There are several online fashion design schools available, you just need to choose the programs that are right for you. You may find that many of the schools focus on aspects of the profession that do not interest you, or perhaps their area of expertise just does not apply. It's important that you are sure that the online fashion design school that you choose is able to teach you the things that are relevant to your career choice. With so many options, you do not have to settle for anything less than what you need and want to jump start your career and prepare you for a successful career.

The great thing about most of the online fashion design schools is that you don't have to attend classes at any one time. You will be assigned text or assignments and you must complete them by a certain date. As long as you are able to fit your studies into your life you will find that this type of education is very effective. Of course, it takes someone with a lot of motivation to get through these online fashion design schools because it is easy to slack off or put something off until later. If you want to get a degree you need to be sure that this is something that you will stick with long term.

Another thing to look into when you are considering online schools is accreditation. You'll want to be sure that some governing body accredits the online school that you choose so that your diploma or certificate means something if and when you complete your degree or certificate program. Many people complete programs after months of hard work only to realize that the program that they attended was not accredited, so no one in the profession gives the certificate or education any weight, it is as if you have no formal education at all. Check out any school before you pay one cent or read one word out of a textbook to ensure that your time and money will be well spent.

Online fashion design schools allow many people who have always had a passion for design attend school and actually pursue fashion design as a career. Many people put their fashion design dreams on hold while they go about their life, but now fashion design can come to the forefront again in very little time, allowing more and more people realize their dream. Fashion design school can also be a lot more affordable when you do it online, so that those that just couldn't afford it in the past can now attend fashion design school and go after the career that they have longed to pursue.

Clark Hunter Online Fashion Design Schools

This is the day that you will sit for your nursing boards, and take the NCLEX. Be sure that you have you ATT, (Authorization To Test) form with you. You will not be able to test without this form. You will also need to present picture identification. Of course now is not the time to ask yourself if you have studied enough, but hopefully you have. Many people who sit for the NCLEX have fears that they have not studied enough.

The truth is, that if you are taking the exam within a month or so after you have graduated from nursing school and have spent at least three hours per day studying various NCLEX tutorials, you should be just fine. It is important to relax. Remember, you have had two intense years of nursing practice and material. In addition to the material that you have studied in nursing school, you probably also had to do training modules on the internet. Try not to let yourself get caught up worrying about others who didnt pass the NCLEX.

You do not know others study regime, focus only on yourself and what you have done to prepare for the nursing boards. If you are already working as a graduate nurse, it may be wise to ask for a day or two off prior to taking your boards. Many hospitals will gladly oblige in allowing their newly hired graduate nurses some time off to study for their boards. After all, the hospitals want their graduate nurses to get their Registered Nurses Licensure.

Hospitals will not allow graduate nurses to pass medications until they have their license. Hospitals will also pay you for the day that you sit for your nursing boards. It behooves those graduate nurses to begin work in a hospital setting soon after graduation. Many hospitals have two to three week classroom orientation for new nurses. These orientations cover hands on demonstrations of various nursing skills such as chest tube management, how to draw blood through PIC lines, I.V. insertion, tube feeding, PCA (Patient Controlled Analgesic Pumps) and many other skills.

This learning also benefits those who are preparing for the NCLEX, which is why it is advisable to start working prior to taking the boards. Now lets get back to the NCLEX testing day. The place of testing will be a Pearson Vue testing center. When you approach the main desk, you will be asked to present your Authorization To Test form and a picture I.D., usually your drivers license. The receptionist will then ask you to sign in and give you number. You will be given some reading material regarding the test and be asked to take a seat and return to the desk after you have finished reading.

Once you have returned the reading material, you will be given a key. This is a key to one of the lockers in which you will put your belongings. You cannot take anything into the testing room with you. This includes any pocket change, comb, hair clips, wrist watch and anything else that you can think of that you may carry on your person. The next step is to verify your identification. You will be photographed and fingerprinted. Upon being called into the testing area, you will be fingerprinted again prior to entry into the testing room. The testing room is in constant view of the administrator, and there is also a camera above each person testing. You are given an erasable white board with marker for calculations. You are instructed to raise your hand if you need to leave the testing area or to use the facilities, after which the test administrator will escort you out. The test is scheduled for a maximum of six hours or two hundred and sixty five questions, or there about.

Due to the fact that the test is based on a computer adaptive testing format or CAT, you may finish the test before reaching the maximum number of questions. The number of questions that you finish with does not have any bearing on whether you passed or failed. Those that pass may do so with answering only seventy five questions or two hundred and sixty five questions. While testing you are allowed to take a break at any time, but the time is counted toward the total six hours. Once you have completed the test, you must raise your hand and be escorted out by the test administrator.

They will return your license to you and fingerprint you one last time. You can find out if you have passed or failed the NCLEX within forty eight hours, including Saturdays and Sundays, either by checking the Pearson Vue web site, or by phone. There is a small charge between seven and ten dollars for this service. It usually takes about five working days from the time that your results became available to receive your Registered Nurse Licensure from the Nursing Boards of your state. The hospital can also access the results for you as well.

Once you have received your Registered Nurse Licensure, the rate of pay goes up from graduate nurse to staff nurse by several dollars or more, depending on the hospital organization. Your nursing license is good for one year. During this time it is not mandatory to collect continuing education points toward license renewal. However, after one year, you will renew your license and will have to begin to earn continuing educational credits toward renewal of your license after two years. The state of Michigan requires twenty five continuing educational units for Registered Nurse License renewal. It is important to keep documentation of your continuing educational credits toward your license, because you can be audited by the State Board of Nursing at anytime. Failure to provide the State Board of Nursing proof of continuing educational credits or CEUs may result in a temporary suspension of your license.

Remember, you license is public knowledge. Anyone can access the State Nursing Boards to see who has had their license suspended or who is facing disciplinary actions. Therefore it is very important to protect your license at all time and to know your states Nurse Practice Act by laws. In abiding by the rules and regulations of your State Board of Nursing you will ensure safe practice as well as protect your license.

The nursing entrance test study guide provides nurses the assistance they need with the nursing entrance test. The nursing study guide helps nurses. Visit http://www.thenetstudyguide.com for more information.

Best wishes to all and much success in your futures. For more information on nursing education, visit http://www.thenetstudyguide.com.

If you would like to find out more in regards to taking the NCLEX, you may contact your State Board of Nursing and Pearson Vue.
References:
Pearson Vue telephone: 1-866-496-2539
NCLEXExamination Candidate Bulletin
NCSBN (National Council of State Boards of Nursing)

When mortgages were first introduced, there was very little choice for the home-buyer. Mortgage borrowers had a regular, fixed salary and worked to much more standard hours than today. Nowadays, more and more people work to 'flexible' hours or work from home; career breaks too are common and the average salary now consists of factors other than just hours worked, such as profit-related pay, maternity and paternity payments, overtime and performance bonuses. As a result, a person's salary can fluctuate greatly from month-to-month.

Because of the hectic and ever-changing nature of today's working environment, many home-owners demand a greater flexibility from their mortgage products, and lenders have been quick to introduce several new products into the mortgage market to accommodate these demands. One of the most popular mortgage products to enter the market in recent years is the flexible lifestyle mortgage, which offers a host of benefits to consumers looking to purchase a property of their own.

The flexible lifestyle mortgage was introduced into the UK from Australia in the mid-1990s, and they are still sometimes referred to as 'Aussie' mortgages. This type of mortgage allows you to make extra repayments towards your mortgage when you have extra money available, but also allows you to reduce or even skip payments when necessary. In order for a mortgage to be considered as 'flexible', it should have the option to settle early without penalty charges, and to take payment holidays or make overpayments without incurring extra charges. Flexible mortgages should also offer a drawdown facility which allows you to effectively re-mortgage and release cash without the need for additional paperwork.

Flexible mortgages should also offer interest on a daily or monthly basis, as prior to the arrival of flexible mortgages in the UK, lenders would charge interest on an annual basis meaning that borrowers who made over-payments on their mortgages were not receiving any benefits straight away, as it could take up to a year before the capital was reduced by the over-payment. On a mortgage where interest is calculated on a daily basis, any overpayment reduces the mortgage balance immediately, so the borrower is charged less interest from the next day. This means that a borrower who pays their mortgage on a weekly basis and can make an over-payment every so often can shorten the length of the term of the mortgage and could save thousands of pounds!

If your flexible mortgage has a drawdown facility, then another advantage is ability to use it as a form of savings account. This is a much more cost-effective way of saving for home improvements or arranging a personal loan, as while your overpayments are in the mortgage account, the interest you pay is calculated on a smaller capital amount. A drawdown facility allows you to take any overpayments back, but you have still saved yourself from paying a substantial amount of interest during the time your money was in the mortgage.

The downside to flexible mortgages though are that they normally don't come with the most competitive interest rates, so you need to look at the long-term picture and compare them with other types of mortgage to find out if a flexible mortgage would offer the best deal. Furthermore, in order to take payment holidays or make an under-payment in a flexible mortgage, you would need to compensate for any shortfall through over-payments in order to stay within the original payment schedule.

A flexible mortgage could be the answer to financing a home purchase in today's hectic lifestyle, but if you are looking to purchase a property in the future, make sure you explore all the options available to you. There are many comparison websites, such as Moneynet, which can check the mortgage market for you and help you to find the most suitable product and the best deal available for your circumstances.

Andrew Regan is an online, freelance journalist.

Massage therapists have been taught that successful marketing attempts are primarily word-of-mouth (WOM) advertising. We are influenced to use advertising tools such as business cards, coupons, fliers, and newsletters to help generate customers. To many, these epitomes are the Holy Grail in becoming successful but much to their disappointment, these efforts fail to generate a sufficient number of customers.

Many advertising tools used by massage therapists are used in a manner that results in disappointment. Learning how these advertising tools should be used in a well thought out marketing strategy is paramount to a successful advertising venture.

A marketing strategy is a planned selling effort that utilizes the most effective advertising tools directed towards a preferred customer. Mistakenly, many massage therapists are taught that everyone will benefit from their services; therefore, everyone is their preferred customer. Although the demand for massage therapy services is increasing, there are still a number of individuals for which massage will not be an option whether it is by choice or health.

Massage therapy customers can be categorized into three primary groups.

▪ Stress and Tension Reduction

▪ Pain Management or Injury Care

▪ Pampering and Self-Wellness

Identifying which category your primary customer belongs will help you to direct your marketing efforts towards the correct audience. Those that are already familiar with and interested in your services will give you the more successful results.

For instance, one massage therapist had blogged that her most successful advertising attempt was through newsletters with a $10 coupon. Whether she was aware of it or not, she aimed the newsletter to individuals that were already within her preferred customer group.

This is even true with whom you choose to leave your business cards. Your business cards are an excellent way to attract customers to your practice. Recognizing where these potential customers are categorized will help you to develop a strategy to lure them to make their first appointment by using the back side of the card. Use it as a punch card for a free or reduced rate treatment, to announce a discount rate for bringing a friend or family member, or as an appointment reminder.

Fliers have long been a traditional method of advertising for massage therapists, even for Phoebe on Friends. Distribution to your preferred customer is the best route for these popular circulars; not on the random windshields of uninterested and environmentally conscience individuals. Get permission from local businesses where your preferred customer frequents and leave them there for interested parties to pick up.

Yes, the many different variances of word-of-mouth marketing are excellent ways to attract customers and even retain customers, if you know the "who, what, when, where, and how" of your preferred customer. Starting with that understanding will save your much time and resources. Try these tips here and begin your journey to a more successful massage therapist entrepreneur.

From providing therapeutic massage and spa treatments to building a massage therapy brand to a local massage therapy chapter, Cherisa Chapa, LMT provides multiple services to the industry of massage therapy through her web site, http://www.chapaenterprises.com .

Acupuncture is the ancient Chinese method of using tiny needles to stimulate specific areas or "meridians" of the body and to rebalance the body's energy, or chi. Because acupuncture is especially effective for chronic conditions, many pregnant women are turning to acupuncture to provide drug-free relief from many of the unpleasant symptoms of pregnancy.

An Australian study showed that women who received acupuncture treatments regularly before their 14th week of pregnancy had less nausea and shorter bouts of morning sickness than women who did not receive the treatment. Acupuncture has also been used to treat the more serious condition hyperemesis gravidarum, which causes serious vomiting that persists throughout pregnancy.

During the second trimester, acupuncture has been used to successfully treat heartburn and hemorrhoids. In the third trimester, acupuncture can provide relief from sciatica, joint pain and carpal tunnel syndrome, which many women develop late in pregnancy. Acupuncture has even been used to relieve pain during labor and delivery.

Pregnant women seeking to use acupuncture to treat conditions developed during pregnancy should be sure to visit a licensed and experienced acupuncturist. For example, although acupuncture can be used to treat edema, or swelling of the ankles, edema can be an indicator of a serious problem. An acupuncturist experienced in treating pregnant women would be more likely to recognize this problem and refer the patient back to her obstetrician.

The most serious risk of using acupuncture during pregnancy is that it may stimulate labor if it is improperly applied. Choosing an experienced practitioner reduces this risk to almost negligible levels. In fact, many women have turned to acupuncture to purposefully stimulate labor when their baby is overdue. Some women have found that labor induced by acupuncture is gentler than labor induced by drugs such as Pitocin.

In addition to benefits during pregnancy, labor and delivery, acupuncture has been used to promote fertility and to treat infertility. In a small German study, women who used acupuncture in conjunction with in vitro fertilization had a 42.5% success rate compared to 26.3% in women who used in vitro fertilization alone. Fertility specialists attribute this to the overall improvement of health that comes from receiving regular acupuncture treatments.

Finally, acupuncture may have some benefits in treating post-partum depression. Although no research has been done to support the efficacy of acupuncture treatments on post-partum depression, anecdotal evidence shows that some women do benefit from its use. Because acupuncture does not cause harmful drug interactions, it can be a useful complimentary therapy.

Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Alternative Health, Nursing, and Weight Loss

Accidents account for most damage to private property, for instance, fire, flood etc. Probability of accidents can be reduced but not completely prevented.

Thus the only way to protect your property is taking out insurance, and the best extent it is insured the better.

Insurance is aimed to cover the insured party against losses related with such damage.

There are numerous insurance companies offering different insurance policies and cover schemes. You should be only careful choosing the insurance company to deal with. The Internet today is best way to
get latest insurance online quotes
and choose the best insurance company. Your choice could be made more reliable by checking out online company reviews. These are reviews from past customers and also people writing about their own experience with a particular insurance company. Let us recommend some simple actions in the case of possible accidents connected with any damage to your property.

In the case of theft and robbery one should inform the police promptly and do not touch anything until police arrives. The insurance agency of the suffered owner should be informed as soon as possible. It should be also taken measures to prevent recurrence of robbery by changing keys, putting back windows, etc.

In the case of fire one should summon first aid for injured and call the rescue and fire fighting service. Try to extinguish or delimit the fire, help the firemen locate utilities, emergency exits, etc. After the localization of fire, call your insurance agency to assess the damage.

In the case of natural disasters (windstorm, hail, floods, etc.) one should take measures to prevent further damage to the property and contact its insurance agency as soon as possible. It is recommended also to take a photo of the place.

Gregory Mamnya Your independent guide to the Balboa Insurance, also called Balboa Insurance Group. Affordable Canadian insurance company, Wawanesa Insurance, leader in the Canadian insurance market.

Competence means providing correct, knowledgeable service, performed with accuracy and confidence.

Competence is a two-part process. You must demonstrate competence in the way you do your job, but you must also find ways to maintain your technical competence.

Demonstrating Competence

Here are a couple of good techniques to use to demonstrate your competence.

Tell the user what you are going to do before you do it. This technique is called headlining, in the sense that a newspaper article's headline tells you what you are going to read before you read it. As a user, it is very frustrating to be dealing with a technical support provider who does not tell you what he or she is doing. When there is silence on the phone, the user may be confused, and this does not assure the user of your competence. You know you have not done a good job of headlining if, after a period of silence, your user says, "Are you still there?" The user does not feel cared for if she has to guess if you are still on the line.

Headlining is the mark of a professional Help Desk provider. It is easy and quick to do, and creates a high degree of end-user satisfaction. Use headlining when you need to take a moment to look up some information in the database. You can say, "It will take me just a minute to look that up in the database." This gives the user the assurance that you are working on their behalf.

Another way of providing assurance to users is to build their confidence in your ability to help them. This can be done with a solution statement delivered once you understand and have confirmed the user's problem. A solution statement simply tells the user that you can help them solve the problem. You can say, "From what you have told me, I know how to solve the problem."

Maintaining Technical Competence

Our world in Information Systems and Technology evolves so quickly that maintaining technical competence can seem overwhelming at times. Here are four keys to maintaining your technical competence:

Be curious. Curious people are always exploring. When you're curious, life is more interesting and you find new ways of doing things, you find things you didn't even know existed, and you maintain a childlike sense of wonder and awe.

Read...a lot. The fact that you're reading this article speaks highly of you. It's not that you're reading this particular article (as much as your author wants to believe that!), but that you're reading any article about how to do your job better that speaks so highly of you. There are thousands, perhaps millions, of blogs and forums on the Web dealing with the same technologies you support. Microsoft and most other vendors provide extensive support documentation at their sites. Microsoft even has free hands-on labs and how-to guides. Get one of the O'Reilly Cookbooks for the technology you support and work through recipes that are most interesting to you.

Build a sandbox. I first heard of an IT "sandbox" when I was working with some individuals from Kimberly-Clark Corporation in a PKI training session. The IT "sandbox" is another name for a testing lab where you can experiment without worrying about system failure. Today, it's often not necessary to set up a physical lab with multiple physical computers. Instead, you can use tools like VMWare, Virtual PC, or Xen to create a virtualized lab environment in which you can test and experiment to your heart's content without worrying about affecting end-users. Some virtualization products are available for free; others at very low cost. (I use VMWare Workstation.) Use Google to learn more about virtualization and the vendors who create virtualization products.

Get trained! As a training provider to the IT world, you'd certainly expect me to make this recommendation, but it's important. Training, whether in a college classroom, a seminar environment, in a workshop, or at a conference exposes you to new ways of doing things and thinking about things. Electronic delivery of training can be an excellent solution, but participating in in-person classes allows you to interact with the instructor and the other students. It's through such interaction that you discover new concepts and new solutions to old problems. I discovered when I returned to college that just being in an educational environment got me thinking in new and positive ways. Additionally, great teachers and trainers challenge you and help you step outside your comfort zone which is how you affect positive change in your career and in your life.

Being great at your job isn't necessarily easy, but it's immensely rewarding in terms of personal satisfaction, career options, and financial rewards.

Next week, we'll talk about empathy and its importance as part of the tech support process.

Copyright (c) 2007 Don R. Crawley

Don R. Crawley is president and chief technologist at soundtraining.net the Seattle training firm specializing in business skills and technical training programs for IT professionals. He works with I.T. pros to enhance their work, lives, and careers. For Don's article, "Ten Ways to Delight Your End-User", click here