The advantages of online shopping are almost too numerous to list. No longer are consumers limited by physical boundaries. As more and more companies expand their online stores, the options that potential buyers possess multiply exponentially. More online sellers mean more options, more competition, and lower prices for customers.
Add to that the simplicity of shopping from the comfort of your own home and it is easy to see why so many people choose to buy on the web. However, if you are new to shopping online, there are a few simple measures that you’ll need to take to ensure your safety. Identity thieves lurk on the internet and prey on unsuspecting victims.
Shopping online can be a great convenience, but beginners need to know how to protect themselves. By following these tips, you can start taking advantage of the ease and excitement of online shopping in no time.
Research the Seller
Before you buy from a company, find out what they are all about. Is it a nationally known company? Do they have a real, physical location where you can actually go and talk to someone? If you aren’t sure about buying from an online company, don’t hesitate to look for a phone number and get a real person on the line before you trust them with your money. You can check a company’s reliability by searching online for customer reviews. There are also outside consumer organizations that should have information on any legitimate businesses. Look around. Do a little bit of research. If you can’t find any information on a company, odds are that it is a less than trustworthy website.
Look out for Red Flags
There are many ways to spot an online con artist. Be wary of “free” offers. Oftentimes they will promise something for free if you pay up front first. Don’t trust these offers. Nobody is really going to give you a free mp3 player.
Keep an eye out for get rich quick schemes. Con men will try to trick people into investing hundreds of dollars with promises that it will turn into thousands. The only person that is going to make money off of these schemes is the scammer.
Sellers also try to get around postal fraud by telling potential customers not to send anything by traditional mail. Don’t trust someone who tells you to send money by a private courier or a special overnight delivery service. If they are a legitimate company, they will wait.
Protect Your Sensitive Information
Before you use a credit card to buy something online, you need to make sure that the website uses proper encrypting software. Encryption takes personal information like your social security or credit card numbers and disguises it as gibberish. Only the company you’re patronizing can decrypt the information. If a computer hacker tries to peek in while the information is in transit, it will appear a scrambled mess
Make sure that when you are on the page where you enter your credit card information, the web address starts with “https://.” That “s” on the end means that the transaction will be properly encrypted. There may also be a small padlock icon to the right of the web address or in the bottom right hand corner of your browser. Make sure you check for these important details.
Use a Credit Card
If you pay online using a credit card rather than sending cash or a check, your purchase will be protected under the Fair Credit Billing Act. It also leaves a paper trail, which is something every con artist wants to avoid. If an online seller encourages cash and private courier services you can bet that they are trying to get around some laws. Any trustworthy business should accept your credit card. Just make sure they are encrypting your information.
Start Small
Have you followed all of these tips and you are still on the fence about whether a site is legit or not? Does everything look like it is in order but you still have a nagging feeling in your stomach? If you are new to online shopping, these can be common feelings. The best way to build your confidence and to see if you can trust an online seller is to start small. Order a used book before you spring for that new DVD player. Buy a memory card before you go all-out on a new camera. Once you get in the swing of ordering online you will begin to get a feel for which companies you can trust.
Shopping online can be a fun and rewarding experience. You can find great deals and open yourself up to a wider variety of products than you could ever have imagined. Just remember to watch out for con artists, research the businesses that you buy from, and protect your private information. Follow these tips and you will open yourself up to a world of possibilities through online shopping.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
How to get rid of flabby upper arms
When we gain weight, fat accumulates in many common areas such as our stomach, thighs, and the back of our arms. Flabby arms is an area that most people like to tighten up when they plan to get into shape. Like fat in other parts of our bodies, it can seem like a stubborn spot. Where many people make a mistake is thinking that they can spot reduce the arms by doing tricep exercises every single day. While it tricep exercises do develop that muscle, it isn't very effective at burning overall fat if they are the only exercises you do.
The way to get rid of flabby arms is to burn fat for weight loss. In order to do so effectively is a matter of eating the right foods and doing the right exercises. Food plays a huge role in how much weight can be lost. More often than not, we continue to eat the wrong foods because we cut out one or two things we feel are "unhealthy." Refined sugar is one of the biggest reasons for weight gain. It's easy to avoid in foods that you know are sweet but consider foods that aren't like bread, some cereals, and most processed foods. Sugar is can be in several foods you wouldn't consider.
It is much simpler to eat foods that are natural without any added ingredients. A good diet that helps many people eat healthy is called the "clean eating diet" or "eating clean." You may already be familiar with this way of eating if you have ever flipped through a body building magazine. They are well known for eating this way as they are very aware of their fat, calories, and sugar intake.
Flab Burning Exercises
Now that we've got the eating portion down, we can get to the exercises that will melt the fat in your arms and entire body. Strength training, calisthenics, and HIIT (high intensity interval training) are all great exercises that build muscle and burn fat. Muscle development is the primary method for fat burning. The more muscle you have, the more fat and calories you will burn.
Be aware of how much steady-state cardio that you do. Long periods of this type of cardio can increase the risk of muscle loss. The last thing you want to do is undo your progress of muscle building by overdoing your cardio workouts.
Good tricep exercises to perform while you are reducing body fat include:
* Push-ups
* Tricep dips
* Dumbbell tricep extensions
* Tricep rope extensions
The above exercises will help to develop the back of the tricep which will show through once you begin to lose excess weight.
The way to get rid of flabby arms is to burn fat for weight loss. In order to do so effectively is a matter of eating the right foods and doing the right exercises. Food plays a huge role in how much weight can be lost. More often than not, we continue to eat the wrong foods because we cut out one or two things we feel are "unhealthy." Refined sugar is one of the biggest reasons for weight gain. It's easy to avoid in foods that you know are sweet but consider foods that aren't like bread, some cereals, and most processed foods. Sugar is can be in several foods you wouldn't consider.
It is much simpler to eat foods that are natural without any added ingredients. A good diet that helps many people eat healthy is called the "clean eating diet" or "eating clean." You may already be familiar with this way of eating if you have ever flipped through a body building magazine. They are well known for eating this way as they are very aware of their fat, calories, and sugar intake.
Flab Burning Exercises
Now that we've got the eating portion down, we can get to the exercises that will melt the fat in your arms and entire body. Strength training, calisthenics, and HIIT (high intensity interval training) are all great exercises that build muscle and burn fat. Muscle development is the primary method for fat burning. The more muscle you have, the more fat and calories you will burn.
Be aware of how much steady-state cardio that you do. Long periods of this type of cardio can increase the risk of muscle loss. The last thing you want to do is undo your progress of muscle building by overdoing your cardio workouts.
Good tricep exercises to perform while you are reducing body fat include:
* Push-ups
* Tricep dips
* Dumbbell tricep extensions
* Tricep rope extensions
The above exercises will help to develop the back of the tricep which will show through once you begin to lose excess weight.
Benefits of exercising for women
Yes, exercise helps you burn fat. But if you want to stick to your program, you'll want to also focus on many of the other powerful benefits exercise offers women. Here's additional motivation to get off the couch.
Benefit #1. Exercise can reduce your risk of breast cancer by keeping estrogen levels low.
Benefit #2. Among women in the United States, coronary heart disease outpaces everything else, including breast cancer, as the leading cause of death. Fortunately, heart-smart workouts help make costly, risky medical procedures like coronary bypass operations unnecessary by lowering levels of artery-clogging blood cholesterol. Research shows that women who exercise have 25 percent more HDL (high-density lipoprotein), the good cholesterol, and 20 percent less LDL (low-density lipoprotein), the bad cholesterol, than those in the low-fitness category. The HDL is desirable because it transports LDL away from the artery walls, where it tends to accumulate and slow or block the flow of blood to the heart.
Benefit #3. Exercise improves the way you breathe and builds muscle. That makes groceries easier to carry, jars easier to open, and babies easier to hoist. It makes walking easier. It makes climbing stairs easier. It even makes chores like pushing a vacuum cleaner easier.
Benefit #4. Exercise is one of the most effective ways to shake off a bad mood. If you've had a run-in with your boss, for instance, a brisk walk can help you recover from the stressful encounter. Performed regularly, exercise will help keep your moods from swinging dramatically whenever stressful events occur.
Benefit #5. Exercise relieves menstrual discomfort by taming surging hormones, regulating ovulation, and reducing associated discomfort such as tender breasts, bloating, and anxiety.
Benefit #6. Exercise eases changes associated with menopause. Experts aren't sure exactly why, but one study showed that menopausal women who exercise moderately on a regular basis have more energy and less moodiness, anxiety, depression, sleep difficulties, night sweats, and hot flashes than those who don't.
Benefit #7. Exercise strengthens bones. As our bones age, they lose calcium and other minerals, a process known as osteoporosis. The slowdown in estrogen production that occurs at menopause can accelerate this process. The mineral loss makes the more porous bones break easily. Hip and wrist fractures are hallmarks of osteoporosis, as is a curved sine. Exercise can prevent or forestall the development of osteoporosis because it helps maintain and stimulate bone development and growth.
Benefit #1. Exercise can reduce your risk of breast cancer by keeping estrogen levels low.
Benefit #2. Among women in the United States, coronary heart disease outpaces everything else, including breast cancer, as the leading cause of death. Fortunately, heart-smart workouts help make costly, risky medical procedures like coronary bypass operations unnecessary by lowering levels of artery-clogging blood cholesterol. Research shows that women who exercise have 25 percent more HDL (high-density lipoprotein), the good cholesterol, and 20 percent less LDL (low-density lipoprotein), the bad cholesterol, than those in the low-fitness category. The HDL is desirable because it transports LDL away from the artery walls, where it tends to accumulate and slow or block the flow of blood to the heart.
Benefit #3. Exercise improves the way you breathe and builds muscle. That makes groceries easier to carry, jars easier to open, and babies easier to hoist. It makes walking easier. It makes climbing stairs easier. It even makes chores like pushing a vacuum cleaner easier.
Benefit #4. Exercise is one of the most effective ways to shake off a bad mood. If you've had a run-in with your boss, for instance, a brisk walk can help you recover from the stressful encounter. Performed regularly, exercise will help keep your moods from swinging dramatically whenever stressful events occur.
Benefit #5. Exercise relieves menstrual discomfort by taming surging hormones, regulating ovulation, and reducing associated discomfort such as tender breasts, bloating, and anxiety.
Benefit #6. Exercise eases changes associated with menopause. Experts aren't sure exactly why, but one study showed that menopausal women who exercise moderately on a regular basis have more energy and less moodiness, anxiety, depression, sleep difficulties, night sweats, and hot flashes than those who don't.
Benefit #7. Exercise strengthens bones. As our bones age, they lose calcium and other minerals, a process known as osteoporosis. The slowdown in estrogen production that occurs at menopause can accelerate this process. The mineral loss makes the more porous bones break easily. Hip and wrist fractures are hallmarks of osteoporosis, as is a curved sine. Exercise can prevent or forestall the development of osteoporosis because it helps maintain and stimulate bone development and growth.
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