Learn the Art of Cuddling...

How many times has your girlfriend been mad at you coz you 'forgot' to cuddle her?
The chances are many. While women love very few things more than cuddling with their partners, guys somehow, always manage to not get the art of cuddling right. Either they are too sloppy, appear uninterested or rather ridiculously manage to actually doze off sometime in the middle. All these traits are hazardous (to say the least) and can definitely alter the fate of your relationship. So men, play close heed while we disclose the bare essentials about the Art of Cuddling.

1. The Hold/Touch

Gentlemen, be exactly as your title suggests: GENTLE. She is not your PSP or ipad who you clutch onto for dear life. Hold her gently, wrap her in your arms, squeeze her just the right amount. Your touch will let her know how much you love her. Yes, women are excellent at such body language reading. So let the love you feel for her seep through your gentle soft touch & hug into her skin.

2. Smell and Feel

Cuddling is not just about hugging your girlfriend as if she were a teddy bear. You need to let all your senses do the doing. Smell in her hair, and neck; move your finger (slowly) up and down her shoulders and arms. Play around with your senses, only to excite hers.

3. Talk

Cuddling, usually involves no talking. But a few sweet nothings and some sweet talk here n there would do you good. Show her your romantic side. Talk about your idea of an ideal date WITH HER, tell her how stealing a glance with her in a crowded room makes you feel at ease instantaneously and voila! she'll be yours in a jiffy.

Prepare Yourself For the First Kiss...

Have you ever considered the possibility that when you meet an attractive woman, chances of her being followed by several other potential suitors is very high?
She may also have a steady boyfriend as attractive women are rarely ever single. Most men are well aware of this fact and this gets in the way of them making their moves. To get her attention you have to be different from all your competitors.

The best way of doing this is to differentiate yourself from "the pack” and get her to chase you. To be different, you have to develop yourself -- inside and out -- so you can offer her the unique experience of being with a man who is better than all other guys she has been with. So here are some great tips to help you create that magical experience for her.

Believe that you deserve better

The fact is that when it comes to beautiful women most men simply refuse to believe that they actually deserve success. This in turn affects their confidence. Unless you believe, you can’t act with conviction. Confidence is something that can’t be feigned and women can sense a FAKE from a mile. So if you believe that you don’t deserve to enjoy the company of attractive women, you are actually psyching yourself to all the wrong things and sabotaging your chances.

What you can do
* Foster the belief that any woman should thank her stars to have got her hands on a guy like you.

* Try writing at least three reasons why you believe this is true. Keep adding something to the list everyday and watch it grow. As the number of your accomplishments increase, so will your confidence.

Work on your insecurities

To attract beautiful women you have to tide over all those deep seated insecurities that you have so lovingly nurtured during your hitherto unsuccessful dating career. Don’t try to cover them up. Because the more you try, the more obvious they will appear to women. It’s quite like seeing a woman wearing too much makeup to cover the acne on her face. The harder she tries to conceal them the more they hit the eye.

What you can do
* Instead of hiding your insecurities feature them till they stop bothering you. An excellent way of doing this is to use them to in your jokes when you flirt with women.

* If you are insecure about your hair loss say something like “This is never going to work out. You just keep looking at my gorgeous head. How would you feel if I kept staring at your gorgeous legs?”

Take charge

Like every other guy, you too must have given up innumerable chances of starting a conversation with a woman you found attractive because you didn’t want to interrupt or bother her even when it seemed that she was open to being approached. You gawked at her or kept glancing at her and looked away when she caught your eye. Most men are unconsciously seeking PERMISSION to do every little thing. It’s like you haven’t yet got out of the “May I come in, ma’am” syndrome. Asking for permission has been drilled into the psyche of Indian men. So if the girls nod or give you a smile (which they often don’t), you walk towards them tentatively and mumble something to them, with a sickly smile on your face.

What to do
* Stop looking for permission.

* Visit places like malls and parties and start conversations with girls at random. It’s really not that difficult. A man with the freedom to take action when and where he wants is rare -- and women find this kind of "bold" guy VERY attractive.

Be a Man

All women want to share their lives with a real man. So how does a woman know when she's in the presence of one? Well, a real man knows how to stay comfortable and confident around beautiful women. In addition, he’s also very relaxed around powerful, high-status people, like his boss. He is not intimidated by competition from other men and actually welcomes them.

What to do:
* Try and work on your cool quotient. A very simple way of doing this is to develop that nothing- to lose attitude.
* Don’t get intimidated by high-profile people. Be respectful but not subservient. If there is anything that you disagree with voice your opinion. This will go a long way in helping in bringing out the man in you.

By incorporating all the above mentioned tips in your daily life, getting the chick of your choice will become the easiest thing in the world. As the saying goes “Change your Vision and the world will change around you.”

Learn the Art of Kissing...

All men want to be master kissers; only a few actually manage to be one.
No man will accept the fact that he isn’t a good enough kisser and needs to work on his ability to kiss. But secretly, all men at one point in their lives have browsed articles that tell them more about how to kiss amazingly well. We believe that even the best one’s can do better, which is why we present to you, tips that will help you Learn the Art of Kissing.

1. Hold, Don’t Grab

When your girlfriend is standing/sitting very close to you, just close enough to allow you to kiss her, hold her gently. Most men make the common error of latching on to their girlfriends. Such a movement makes most women feel unsafe and uncomfortable. So, hold her tender and allow the mood to set in.

2. Lips & lick

Hold her face in your hand and kiss her lips first. Then tongue them. Please don’t shove your tongue down her throat right away. It will be the most unpleasant thing to do. Allow your tongue to feel the smoothness of her lips and allow her to feel yours. It is very important that you work your lips. Don't just leave your mouth open as if you were breathing in air. Move it and give your jaw muscles some much needed exercise. Play it slow and let the tempo build.

3. Tongue-play

Do it like the French! Play with your tongues: tongue kiss, kiss her tongue and even suck on it. Use the tongue as your foremost weapon and play with it. Along with this, engage in kissing and biting (gentle), and you are bound to get her excited and aroused. However, the most important thing here is not to smear her face & lips with saliva. Eeeeks! Let that happen, and you can be sure this would be your last kiss with her.

4. Full throttle

Once you have spent enough time kissing and tonguing and gone through with the above subtle steps, you can now completely tongue her. But again, don’t be hasty. Do it gradually and with the flow.
Armed with the knowledge of the ultimate art of kissing, you can kiss your intimacy nightmares good bye: at least till you don't jump into the next step without proper guidance from us.

Tips to lose weight naturally

Weight loss remains a major health issue for many of us despite the onslaught of weight loss tips and medical aids that surround us.

Most of the contemporary solutions border on providing unrealistic weight loss solutions or are too time-consuming. Drastic dieting is never recommended since it can leave you malnourished and damage your body in an unredeemable manner. In order to lose weight naturally, i.e. without using any magic pill or gymming like a maniac, use the following tips:

Consider Whole Grains As Your Friends

Try to eat a larger concentration of foods made from whole grains (rotis, whole wheat breads, cookies and oatmeal) rather than refined or processed foods. Whole grains are more complex for the body to metabolize, taking a longer digestion route. This keeps the body busy for a longer period, ensuring that energy is released throughout the day. This helps to decrease the frequency and intensity of hunger pangs, particularly the sugar cravings.

Psychological Preparedness

Don’t be shy about your weight loss goals. In fact, use the people around you to your advantage. Announce it amongst your friends and family that they should thwart you every time you are headed for a bit piece of creamy cake or a cheese-loaded pizza.

Know Your Food

You need to be more alert when picking up packaged food items. Remember that non-saturated fats and essential fatty acids are the good kind of fats that your body needs for its basic functions. Food items bearing labels of low-fat or low-sugar might not necessarily contain lesser calories. Instead, try to make smarter substitutions. For instance, you can choose eggless baked items and juices without sugar.

Use Water As A Weight Loss Tool

Try to drink water every time you get hungry or you are about to have a meal, i.e. just before a major meal like a lunch or dinner. This is a simple and effective way of instantly quenching your hunger to a certain extent. More water also raises the metabolic rate or the rate at which the body uses calories, meaning you are losing more calories per hour.

Manipulate Yourself To Reduce Food Intake

Try to eat slowly, breaking your food into more bites. This will ensure that you derive more pleasure out of each bite, allowing each morsel to provide more satiety, ensuring your calorie intake at the dining table remain limited. Rather than taking single, big servings, try to take numerous small servings. This helps to establish the perception that you have been serving yourself repeatedly and also makes you more conscious about the amount of food you are about to consume.

Use Fiber To Your Advantage

Try to include more fiber in your diet. This should include soluble and insoluble fiber for ensuring that the digested food in your intestines absorbs more water. This in turn ensures that the feeling of being full is achieved quicker. Insoluble fiber is found in leafy salads that also help you limit your food intake naturally. This is because the raw state of most salad ingredients means that you need to chew a lot more. The extra chewing and salivating that accompanies it helps to control the hunger pangs for a few hours.

Overcome Your Snacking Habits

Snacking is perhaps the biggest sin a dieter can commit. To ensure that you stay away from the urge to bite into a chocolate or cookie, keep your mouth busy with sugar-free chewing gum. Try to sip iced or hot herbal teas prepared with minimal amount of sugar throughout the day. These are low cal aids that help to establish the feeling of feeding yourself without consuming too many calories, preventing the urge to snack.

Keep Away From Salt

Salt is responsible for retention of water within the large intestine. Further, salt tends to keep our blood pressure high, making us more prone to sweating. These factors raise our thirst and the tendency to consume beverages, including teas and colas, which contain sugar.

Burn Your Sugars

If you cannot do without your daily intake of sweet or sugar-concentrated items, try to snack upon them during the morning hours. This ensures that the body will be using the calories extracted from your favorite milkshake throughout the day, reducing the number of calories stored as fat.

Exercise Easily

You don’t need to take upon heavy gym routines to exercise your problem areas. For instance, climbing up and down the stairs is one of the easiest, most accessible types of cardiovascular exercise that works-out your hips, legs and thighs beautifully. Combine this with undemanding calorie-burners like brisk walks, walking to the nearby market, walking when talking on your mobile and taking upon more household chores.

Weight Loss Precautions You Shouldn’t Ignore

Maintaining your body frame is vital at the time of losing weight. Weight loss often causes loss of vital protein, weakening the muscles that are necessary to maintain the elasticity of our tissues. To ensure that you don’t lose too much of your lean muscle mass, ensure you consume egg whites on a daily basis. Avoid the yolk since it contains a high amount of cholesterol.

Perfecting Power Nap

Researchers have found in recent years that the human body requires only as much sleep as the brain will allow it. 

In other words, so long as the brain is functioning at full capacity, there’s no great requirement for sleep. The big thing is that the brain needs a rest every now and then, and apparently, the brain can refresh itself and go on “like with a full tank of gas” with just a short, 20-minute power nap.

These short 20-minute power naps for people who are really engrossed in their work, almost always provide a fresh burst of new ideas and energy. They tend to eliminate the need for caffeine boosts during the workday. And, they guarantee a reserve of energy so that the working day isn’t followed by an evening in which he falls asleep on the couch watching TV or at a social event. 

:Reasons for a Power Nap:

1. Less stress.

Curling up in a sunny patch on the floor or even lying your head down on your desk for a quick snooze brings relaxation. Research found that stress hormone levels were lower in those who took stress-reducing actions such as napping. Take a break each day from the stresses and reduce your risks, find a quiet, comfortable spot and take a nap. Even a short power nap can leave you feeling refreshed, renewed, and more focused. 

2. Increased alertness and productivity.

If you have the opportunity for a power nap, particularly after a poor night of sleep, by all means, take one. You will feel more alert and energetic afterwards, and once rested after your mid-afternoon nap, your mood, efficiency, and alertness level will improve greatly. Scientists have even proven that taking a 20-minute nap approximately eight hours after you have awaken will do more for your stamina than sleeping another 20 minutes in the morning. Of course when you first come out of your afternoon nap, you will feel a bit groggy for around ten minutes, but once your decline in motor dexterity dissipates, you will reap the rewards of being well rested and ready to go for the rest of the day.

3. Improved memory and learning.

Naps aren’t just for the very young, old, and sluggish. Daytime dozing may enhance a person’s capacity to learn certain tasks. That, at least, is the eye-opening implication of a new study in which college students were challenged to detect subtle changes in an image during four different test sessions on the same day. 

Participants improved on the task throughout the first session. The students’ speed and accuracy then leveled off during the second session. The scores of the participants who didn’t nap declined throughout the final two sessions. In contrast, volunteers who took a 20-minute power nap after completing the second practice session showed no ensuing performance dips. What’s more, 1-hour power nappers responded progressively faster and more accurately in the third and fourth sessions. It looks like napping may protect brain circuits from overuse until those neurons can consolidate what’s been learned about a procedure.

4. Good for the heart.

Taking 40 winks in the middle of the day may reduce the risk of death from heart disease, particularly in young healthy men, say researchers. They studied 23,681 individuals living in Greece who had no history of coronary heart disease, stroke or cancer when they first volunteered, and found that those who took a 30-minute siesta at least three times a week had a 37% lower risk of heart-related death. The researchers took into account ill health, age, and whether people were physically active. So go ahead and nap — a short daily snooze might ward off a heart attack later in life. It is known that countries where siestas are common tend to have lower levels of heart disease.

5. Increased cognitive functioning

In a recent study, researchers at NASA showed that a 30-minute power nap increased cognitive faculties by approximately 40 percent! Tests carried out on one thousand volunteers proved that those who continued working without rest, made lower scores in intelligence tests like the IQ test. More importantly, their capacities to work and memorize decreased in comparison to those who napped after lunch.

In concordance with NASA’s work, biology students at Berkeley determined that the nap must be short in order to produce maximum effectiveness. Over forty five minutes, the beneficial effects of napping disappear and it is therefore suggested to take a fifteen to thirty five minute “power nap”. This is the time necessary for the organism to rest and enables brain neurons to recuperate.

6. Get motivated to exercise

Sufficient sleep and naps help motivate exercise. Some 28 percent of adolescents say they are too tired to exercise, due to sleep. As adults, let’s not let tiredness ruin our jogs. You’re guaranteed to run longer, faster, more efficiently and mindfully when your body has it’s required amount of zzzz’s. So, store-up, shore-up and build-up your energy reserve with a power nap. It’s easy (free!) and proven effective.

7. Boost your creativity.

Rest and relaxation isn’t only vital to your health — it might also make you a more creative person. People tend to be more imaginative after a good night’s sleep. Other experts agree that taking a nap or stepping away from a problem or project refreshes the mind and could lead to better ideas later. Power napping allows your brain to create the loose associations necessary for creative insight and opens the way for a fresh burst of new ideas. So if you feel stuck, then you might want to take a nap. Return to the problem after diverting your attention for a while. The best part is that there’s no need to feel guilty, because taking some “me time,” in this case, could help your business in the long run.

8. Make up for midnight tossing and turning.

Some of the most recent research suggests that a bad night’s sleep can stress the body as well as the mind. One such study, suggests that missing sleep throws the body’s metabolism off kilter. Scientists at the University of Chicago studied physical changes in 11 young men who slept four hours per night for six nights in a row. They found that sleep deprivation seemed to trigger a diabetes-like condition, harmed hormone production, and interfered with the ability to use carbohydrates.

According to some studies, power napping is clearly beneficial to someone who is a normal sleeper but who is getting insufficient sleep at night. Researchers still don’t understand the underlying neurobiology, but it looks like sleep time is cumulative. They compared the alertness of people who slept eight hours a night to that of people who slept less but took a nap during the day. Both groups were equivalent. 

9. Protect yourself from sleepiness.

Scientists had also found benefits in the “prophylactic” nap for people who have to stay up late. It can protect you from sleepiness. If you have to be up all night, a two-hour or a four-hour nap does provide additional alertness the next day. Research conducted by NASA produced similar results. Naps are clearly useful for some people, including shift workers, students, and anyone doing long-haul work, such as pilots on transcontinental runs.

10. Better health.

Napping in general benefits heart functioning, hormonal maintenance, and cell repair, says Dr. Sara Mednick who is at the forefront of napping research. A power nap, says Mednick, simply maximizes these benefits by getting the sleeper into and out of rejuvenating sleep as fast as possible.

Getting the perfect nap

1. The first consideration is psychological: Recognize that you’re not being lazy; napping will make you more productive and more alert after you wake up.

2. Try to nap in the morning or just after lunch; human circadian rhythms make late afternoons a more likely time to fall into deep (slow-wave) sleep, which will leave you groggy. 

3. Avoid consuming large quantities of caffeine as well as foods that are heavy in fat and sugar, which meddle with a person’s ability to fall asleep. 

4. Instead, in the hour or two before your nap time, eat foods high in calcium and protein, which promote sleep. 

5. Find a clean, quiet place where passersby and phones won’t disturb you. 

6. Try to darken your nap zone, or wear an eyeshade. Darkness stimulates melatonin, the sleep- inducing hormone. 

7. Remember that body temperature drops when you fall asleep. Raise the room temperature or use a blanket. 

8. Once you are relaxed and in position to fall asleep, set your alarm for the desired duration (see below). 

How long is a good nap?p?

THE NANO-NAP: 10 to 20 seconds. Sleep studies haven’t yet concluded whether there are benefits to these brief intervals, like when you nod off on someone’s shoulder on the train. 

THE MICRO-NAP: two to five minutes. Shown to be surprisingly effective at shedding sleepiness. 

THE MINI-NAP: five to 20 minutes. Increases alertness, stamina, motor learning, and motor performance. 

THE ORIGINAL POWER NAP: 20 minutes. Includes the benefits of the micro and the mini, but additionally improves muscle memory and clears the brain of useless built-up information, which helps with long-term memory (remembering facts, events, and names). 

THE LAZY MAN’S NAP: 50 to 90 minutes. Includes slow-wave plus REM sleep; good for improving perceptual processing; also when the system is flooded with human growth hormone, great for repairing bones and muscles. 

Contrary to popular opinion, napping isn’t for the lazy or depressed. Famous nappers have included Bill Clinton, Lance Armstrong, Leonardo da Vinci and Thomas Edison. The moral of the story: to be ultra-productive, just rest your head. You snooze, you gain. Give it a try for yourself and see if you aren’t amazed at the results.

Why Chewing Gum is Bad for You

What is chewing gum made of?

No one quite knows. There's flavor, color and sugar, but they're everywhere you look.

So what exactly are you chewing. More importantly, why is some of it bad for you?

Carcinogenics

According to research by the Canadian government, there's a draft list of 17 substances that shouldn't be on in chewing gum. These include Vinyl acetate; according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the WHO's cancer research initiative, vinyl acetate causes tumors in rats. However, it is believed that only trace amounts of vinyl acetate entered the the gum base material.

Also Read: How to Prevent Prostate Cancer

Sugar?

Sugar? Kind of. It's actually the preservative Butylated Hydroxyanisol (BHA), which is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen", according to a recent report on carcinogens the American government's National Toxicology Program. It gets sweeter with sugar-free gums that contains artificially sweetened aspartame and acesulfame K. The former can become toxic during storage or being heated, and cause brain damage in high doses.

Its phenylalanine content makes it dangerous for those afflicted with phenylketonuria (PKU), and it also causes, and worsens epileptic seizures, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis (MS), lupus, attention deficit disorder (ADD), diabetes, thyroid problems, Alzheimer's disease, chronic fatigue, depression and eye conditions (macular degeneration, diabetic blindness and glaucoma)

Acesulfame K has caused cancer in animals.

Then the more authentic tasting sucralose, which is produced by chlorinating sugar, and can cause shrunken thryroid glands and kidney and liver problems at high doses to animals. Human testing revealed an increase in blood glucose levels, and regular consuming it will mess up your gastrointestinal tract, leading to cramping and bladder problems.

Laxative

The zylitol, mannitol and sorbitol are good for fighting tooth decay, but the slowly digested sugar alcohols stay in your gut longer pull water into your intestine, creating a laxative effect in doses higher than grams, causing diarrhoea, bloating and stomach pain.