Fitness

“Eventually, there comes a point in every life where you can no longer ignore the enormous and expanding gap between the life you could be living and the life you’ve settled for…. Every day of your life that you’re not actively engaged in staying fit, eating well, and strengthening your body the gap grows.” - Stregnth for Life, by Shawn Phillips, page 10

To read my review of the next book you should read (Strength for Life, by Shawn Phillips), see Why You Should Read Strength for Life by Shawn Phillips This Week.

This isn’t a book you’ll read, shelf, and then forget - it’s a proven system that’ll help you bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

Buy at AllPosters.com

 

 

Studies indicate a lack of sleep can be dangerous, causing significant mental impairment.

While looking through the newest issue of SUCCESS Magazine, the statement above pretty much jumped off the page and got in my face. Apparently it knows how much caffeine I drink, so it harassed me a little bit.

The article, “Sleep Your Way to Success,” by Lisette Hilton is a great read - albeit alarming (ironic pun intended). The author points out a very hard truth - most of us are sleep deprived. We’re filling out our to do lists so ambitiously that we neglect to figure in time for sleep.

We’re not doing ourselves any favors by skimping on sleep. In fact, as the article stresses, we’re doing ourselves a whole world of harm. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that most of us get between 7 and 8 hours of sleep each night. Sleeping less than this (on a regular basis) is associated with:

• Diabetes
• Stroke
• Hypertension
• Cardiovascular Disease
• A Shorter Life Span
• Weight Problems

At least one study suggested that decreased sleep time could lead, years later, to greater weight gain. - SUCCESS Magazine August/September 2008

The article included some great ways to improve your REM time or Quality of Sleep. A few are listed below:

1. Establish a relaxing bedtime routine.
2. Try to keep regular sleep and wake hours.
3. Get enough exercise durning the day but not too close to bedtime.
4. Get regular sunlight (or bright light) during the day

For more sleep tips, grab a copy of the August/September issue of SUCCESS Magazine and visit SUCCESS.com - Sleep Your Way to Success.   In the newest issue of the magazine (on page 26, to be exact!), you can find detailed information on how a lack of sleep leads to heart problems, immune deficiency, weight gain, and memory problems.

The following is a sponsored post. What exactly does that mean?! Simply this: In a sponsored review, a web publisher is paid to “look at” and/or “try” a product, website, or service and tell their readers about it. They don’t have to sugar coat it, they don’t have to say they like it - they simply have to tell what they thought. For me personally, I only accept the ones that I CAN give a glowing review of. My thinking is, Why bother with the rest? Eh, they’re on their own.

One of the best Online Support Groups and Self Help Programs live at the same url: Tools to Life.com.

Tools To Life

One of the phrases I use the most often when talking about self help and self improvement is, “Improve your world by first improving yourself.” That’s the order it has to go in. We get frustrated, overwhelmed, and…. well, downright nasty…. when we wait for our circumstances to improve first. We put the cart in front of the horse and watch in amazement as nothing happens.

We have to set the change(s) in motion or things will always be like they’ve always been.

That’s why I’m especially excited to be able to tell you about one of the best Self Help Programs I’ve ever seen. Tools to Life is a completely free, online self help coaching system and support network. They have been helping people loose weight, improve their relationships, resolve depression, overcome anxiety and get better careers for over 20 years! Now that’s a reputation worth being proud of. They wanted to bring this success “online” so they could reach even more people ith Inspirational motivation and community support. It’s a labor of love and, take it from someone who recognizes the symptoms, is a clear case of people who simply want to save the world.

Oh, I love the way they think!

The article archive is amazing. You’ll find help, advice, and motivation for every aspect of your self improvement journey. Physical fitness, mental fitness, relationships, health, careers… you name it, they’ve covered it beautifully. I’m glad to see people who realize that there isn’t just one magical area of a person’s life that needs attention. We’re made up of so many different threads, not just one!

There are hundreds and hundreds of articles on Tools to Life. I came across so many that I not only enjoyed, but gained insight and helpful advice from. One of the first ones I read was titled “Healthy Eating on a Limited Budget” - that one gets us all where we live, doesn’t it?! We all want to eat healthy, just as the experts advise us to. But we go to the grocery store and are stopped dead in our tracks by the price of blueberries, red peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, seafood (Three times a week? On who’s budget?!) This is a really great article and I highly recommend it.

Another section of the site that you’re going to love are the Inspirational Videos. These are amazing - you won’t want to stop until you’ve seen them all. They’ve inspired me to add an Inspirational Videos section to Self Help Daily. I only hope to find some half as amazing as the ones they’ve gathered together. Honestly, they’ll blow you away.

The Life Coaching Support Groups seem to be a favorite with people in the Tools to Life community. I like that word, don’t you - Community. It makes you feel as though you’re a part of something. That’s exactly how you’ll feel when you join the Tools to Life Community. Sign up is 100 percent free, and the amazing thing is that you’ll have the opportunity to motivate and inspire just as many people as are motivating and inspiring you.

Does it get any better than that?

Every now and again, there are so many things buzzing around my head that I want to post about that I just have to corral them all together in one place.  That would be now. 

Each of the links I’m posting will open in a new window, so you won’t lose the rest.

First of all, I’ve been reading a great deal lately about blood pressure and heart health.  My mom died from heart problems, and a much, much beloved uncle has problems with his heart as well.  High blood pressure  runs in both my husband’s family as well as my own, so I’ve been doing my homework in an effort to compile information that’ll keep both of us, as well as our three daughters, healthy.

The American Heart Association is a great place to start your own research, but don’t limit your education to just one “instructor”.  Collect as much information as possible - you’ll see a trend develop.  If everyone says something is extremely harmful (smoking, salt, being overweight, inactivity….) - get rid of it.  If everyone says something is extremely helpful (activity, losing weight, bananas, orange juice, fruit, vegetables, salmon, tuna…), welcome it into your world.

In all of the countless articles, books, interviews, and magazines I’ve read on Blood Pressure, do you know what enemy number one seems to be?  Before researching, I would have thought caffeine…. maybe stress… possibly red meat.  I would have been totally wrong.  Salt is the culprit that every expert I read mentioned first.  When asked what people could do to lower high blood pressure or maintain a healthy blood pressure, the experts all agree that cutting WAY back on salt is one of our smartest moves.

And it seems so harmless!

I got to thinking about my family’s own diet and my salty jaw hit the floor.  My biggest culprit is diet soda.  I honestly worry that Diet Dr. Pepper may have trouble staying in business now that I’ve switched to tea.  My daughters’ number one problem would be things like chips and fries.  When you’re so young, you just don’t think about things like blood pressure and sodium.  Big mistake.

The experts agree that adding potassium (white baked potatoes, bananas, orange juice…) to your diet is a great move to make as well.  Needless to say, increasing our activity is another smart thing to do for our heart’s health.

Regardless of the state of our blood pressure or heart health, losing extra weight is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves, our health, and our loved ones.  We’re all familiar with the campaigns that urged smokers to quit, “If not for yourself, for your loved ones…“  Very effective, very true.  However, it’s just as important to take care of ourselves in other areas.  If we want to be around (and be healthy while we are around) for a long time with, and for, our loved ones - we have to get serious about what we eat, what we drink, what we don’t eat, what we don’t drink, how much rest we get, how much we exercise, and how we live our lives.

No food, no drink…NOTHING… is as important as a quality life with those we love.

Of course, what I learned about stress in relation to blood pressure and heart problems was pretty expected.  We MUST do everything we can to remove as much stress as possible.  At the risk of sounding like a drama queen, our lives depend on it.

We should first identify what stresses us out, then make moves to cope with it.  If we feel overwhelmed or overworked, we should cut back asap.  Life is to be enjoyed, after all.  So many people lose sight of that.  They get so caught up in the rat race that they fail to realize that they’re a racing rodent until life has breezed right past them and their left worn out and spent.

Not a pretty image.

In that vein, I’d like you to check out: Relax:50+ Simple 30-Second Ways to Bring Tranquility To Your Life - it’s a wonderful compilation of things you can do to bring more relaxation to our days.  If that doesn’t get your attention, nothing will.  This is an amazing list and, I promise, you’ll get a lot from it.

A few more heart-y links:

• Heart Insight.com 
• Lowering Your Blood Pressure with DASH (PDF)
• Power for Healthy Living with Al Sears, MD

My motto: 

Laugh as often as possible, Live out loud, and Love everything and everyone around you - including yourself.

When it comes to staying young, a mind lift beats a face lift any day. - Marty Bucella

I preach the importance of staying mentally active as often as I drink coffee, and believe me when I say through coffee breath, “That’s saying something.” 

About a year ago, I hurt my ankle while saving my cats from a playful pit bull.  I had to stay off of my feet for quite a while, and even when I was mobile again, it was slow going for weeks.  When the ankle finally decided to man up, I found that my legs were SO weak that short walks left me with jello knees.  I remember having to sit on a park bench as squirrels laughed at me.  Not a personal best for me.

Every part of us, every single thing that goes into making us who we are (from our heart to our heels) needs a steady diet of attention, challenges, and strengthening.  If we neglect anything, it’ll neglect us.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER is this more true than it is for our minds.  That’s why I often stop right smack in the middle of a particularly gruelling day and smile.  I’m getting a mental workout and believe me I need all of those I can get!  We should all look for as many ways to challenge ourselves mentally as possible.  The article below (it continues after the link at the end) is a great source of ideas and inspiration.  Read through the author’s suggestions, then pluck out the ways you’ll start improving and strengthening your own mind.

When you make mental fitness a priority, you’ll be able to see the effects almost immediately.  Enjoy the article!

 Re-Energize Your Brain!

We all use tools in our work, and all of these tools need to be re-energized in some way over time. They need to be polished, sharpened, refurbished. They need new spark plugs or a tune up. Some times they even need new batteries.  We take these maintenance tasks seriously because we know that when the batteries are fully charged we get the full potential out of electrical devices and when the machinery has been maintained it lasts longer and works more economically. Doesn’t it make sense then to do some regularly scheduled maintenance on our brain - a tool far more valuable than the rest?  It happens to all of us. We get in ruts, we build routines and we develop habits, and in doing so we often don’t use our brain the way we could. It is one of our most valuable and precious resources and it is time to re-energize it. Here then are eight ways you can re-energize, re-invigorate and do some ongoing maintenance for your brain.
1. Ask Why? Our brains are wired to be curious. As we grow up and “mature” many of us stifle or deny our natural curiosity. Let yourself be curious! Wonder to yourself about why things are happening. Ask someone in the know. The best way to exercise our curiosity is by asking “Why?” Make it a new habit to ask “why?” at least 10 times a day. Your brain will be happier and you will be amazed at how many opportunities and solutions will show up in your life and work.

2.  Laugh.  Scientists tell us that laughter is good for our health; that it releases endorphins and other positively powerful chemicals into our system. We don’t really need scientists to tell us that it feels good to laugh. Laughing helps us reduce stress and break old patterns, too. So laughter can be like a “quick-charge” for our brain’s batteries. Laugh more, and laugh harder.

3.  Remember.  Get out an old photo album or high school yearbook. Your brain is a memory machine, so give it a chance to work! Spend time with your memories. Let your mind reflect on them and your mind will repay you in positive emotions and new connections from the memories to help you with your current tasks and challenges.

4 .Do a puzzle. Some of us like jigsaw puzzles, some crossword puzzles, some logic puzzles - it really doesn’t matter kind you choose to do. Doing puzzles in your free time is a great way to activate your brain and keep it in good working condition. Do the puzzle for fun, but do it knowing you are exercising your brain. 

Continue Reading Re-Energize Your Brain for the last 4 great ideas!

According to Dictionary.com, a Difficulty is:  -noun, plural -ties.

1. the fact or condition of being difficult. 
2. Often, difficul·ties. an embarrassing situation, esp. of financial affairs. 
3. a trouble or struggle. 
4. a cause of trouble, struggle, or embarrassment. 
5. a disagreement or dispute. 
6. reluctance; unwillingness. 
7. a demur; objection. 
8. something that is hard to do, understand, or surmount; an impediment or obstacle.

Most of us could come up with a few more adjectives, the “colorfulness” of each depending upon the difficulty at hand.

After all, difficulties are annoying, problematic, stressful, painful, headache causing nightmares.  They’re completely bad and we’d be infinitely better off without them, right?

Well, not exactly.  Actually, not even close.

Think about this:  When an athlete shows up for baseball camp, hoping with every fiber of his being to make the team, he spends painfully long hours in the weight room.  He eats vegetables, fish, chicken, and salads even when the brownies, fries, and potato chips are screaming his name.

The training isn’t easy, in fact it’s downright “difficult” but the rewards (strength, fitness, improved health, fulfilling a dream, and a high paying job) are more than worth it.

The temporary difficulties aren’t weakening him or taking power away from him. On the contrary, they’re strengthening him and giving him more power than he had before they rolled all over him.  He’ll be much stronger than he would have been if he’d never been tested and trained. 

The same can be said for those of us who are decidedly non-athletes.  When we’re staring squarely in the eyes of a particular difficulty - whether it’s an illness, finances, relationship problems, trouble at work, or a vehicle that has decided it doesn’t want to be in the transportation business any longer - we’re tapping into an inner strength that would otherwise be dormant.  Frankly we never know what we’re capable of until we’re tried, tested, and trained.

Think of problems and things that “just don’t go the way we want them to” as mental workouts.  We read and talk a great deal about mental fitness these days - we all know how vital it is to keep our minds active as much as possible.  So maybe, just maybe, our difficulties are actually blessings in disguise.

Maybe we should start thanking our difficulties when the jump out at us.  Even when several spring out at once (hate that).  I guess when a team of them jumps us at once, we’re getting a Herculean workout!

J.C. Penney said: “I am grateful for all my problems. After each one was overcome, I became stronger and more able to meet those that were still to come. I grew in all my difficulties.”
 

One of the things that I love even more than a trip to Starbucks with my husband (even when he’s paying) is to see someone take a creative, brilliant spark of an idea and set themselves on fire with it!

Heidi Roizen (second from the left in the picture below) recently set her world on fire, and the really sweet thing about it is this:  We can all benefit from her combustion. 

Heidi has created a CD, SKINNY SONGS, as well as a website and line of tee shirts  that all put a great big smile on the face of weight loss - I’m sure you’ll agree with the that that’s no small feat.  The songs, which are also available for downloading on iTunes, are hilarious and, quite frankly, very well-performed. 

The cd is perfect to play while doing pilates, calisthenics, and aerobics. The music keeps you fueled while the lyrics keep it fun.  My favorite use of the cd is to play it while cleaning house. I find myself getting a little workout while chores are far less tedious.  Heidi, who must have a wicked sense of humor, wrote the lyrics for all ten songs:

1. Skinny Jeans
2. Thin!
3. I’m a Hottie Now
4. Use it To Lose It
5. The Incredible Shrinking Woman
6. Think I’ll Go To Saks
7. You Da Boss
8. Objects in the Mirror
9. Who the Hell is That?
10. Blowin’ You Off at 8

Jump over to Skinny Songs.com to read the great reviews and Press articles to give you more information.  While there, you have to check out the tee shirts (some are pictured below) - they’re further proof of Heidi’s humor.  She seems to be one of those people who “get” what one of my favorite people, Maya Angelou, once said, “Life loves the liver of it!”

And I love pizza, onion rings, turtle cheesecake, and Mocha Lattes.  Guess I’d better keep my SKINNY SONGS near the cd player at all times.

Advanced Glycosylated end-products is a mouthful. It’s a lot easier to remember the initials: AGE. Those initials are especially fitting since these compounds accelerate aging.

Under certain conditions, glucose combines abnormally with proteins. The result is called an advanced glycosylated end-product. These compounds are very reactive, so they then go on to combine with other proteins. That’s when the damage starts.

AGE compounds have been extensively studied in diabetic patients because researchers suspect they initiate the major complications of diabetes — blindness and kidney failure (diabetes is a leading cause of both). AGEs appear to bind to the membranes of the cells lining blood vessels, interfering with their normal functions.   [ Keep Reading ]

USA Today reports that about 7,000 children end up in the emergency room each year as a result of cough and cold drugs.  A study showed that most of these trips are the result of overdoses.  The study included both over the counter and prescription medicines and involved children 11 and under.

About 2/3 of the cases were children who had taken the medicine unsupervised.  But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1/4 were the result of parents giving the proper dosage but an allergic reaction or another problem developing.  This is, of course, the place where everyone points out the importance of keeping ALL medicines totally out of reach of small children - Possibly to the point of not allowing them to even know where they’re kept.

The Food and Drug Administration has warned that over the counter cough and cold medicines are too dangerous for children under 2.  Parents should always take a very small child to the doctor when he/she’s under the weather. 

I was all over that advice when my girls were little…..okay, okay, I still haul them to the doctor when they feel the least bit bad.  But better very safe than very sorry.

Keep your kids safe and healthy during the cold season:

• Have a good talk with them about germs - how they can cause you to feel really bad.  Remind them that when they feel bad they aren’t able to play or have fun.  Don’t ever use “You’ll have to go to the doctor” as a warning.  After all, we don’t want the doctor to appear to be the enemy.  You also might not want to go with, “If you get sick, you’ll have to miss school..”
• Point out the way they could pick up germs, such as eating after others, sharing toothbrushes, etc. 
• Teach them the importance of washing their hands before they eat, and the why not’s of putting things in their mouth like pencils, pens, erasers, etc. (I used to have a horrible habit of chewing on pencils and the plastic tops to pens….oooh, so crunchy.  But I jabbed myself in the gum once and made a huge sore place that lasted for weeks.  It hurt to eat, drink, brush my teeth, etc.  Not fun. )
• I’ve always bought little bottles of anti-bacterial hand gel for my girls to carry in their purses.  You don’t always have access to water before you eat, so these come in really handy.  It’s also a good idea to use them after handling a shopping cart.  I mean, have you ever stopped to think…..
• Herbal supplements can help to boost a child’s immune system. There are packets called Emergen-C that are pretty amazing, for yourself AND your kids.
• You might want to look into the new products under the Airborne label.  These are amazing!  Airborne was created by a second grade teacher, and isn’t just for kids.  They’re adding to their line of “Keep Kids Healthy” type products and I’ve got nothing but love for all of them.   Squidsoap is my favorite - it teaches kids the importance of washing their hands and shows them the proper way to go about it.  There’s a wonderful article about Keeping Your Kids Healthier this Winter that extends to the other seasons as well.  The advice is amazing - if you’re a parent, grandparent, or concerned family member, I highly recommend reading it.
• We all know how important it is to stay warm and dry, but something that’s often overlooked is the importance of a good variety of foods.  Kids should get food from each of the food groups - with plenty of fruits and vegetables. 
• Another area that’s often overlooked is rest.  Most kids just don’t get enough of it, yet their bodies need the rest to grow, fight off problems, and build a stronger immunity.
• It goes without saying, of course, but if your child has pre-existing conditions such as asthma or diabetes (or a host of other diseases that just shouldn’t jump on little ones), take them to the doctor at the first sign of a sniffle.  Spoken like a mother hen?  Spoken like a mother hen.

A mother hen’s who has the words, “Better very, very safe than very, very sorry!” embroidered on her apron.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I’m afraid that we’re getting to the point where we just kind of skim over food recommendations.  I mean, we’ve seen the information so much we could probably write our own health journal.  But, left unsued, the information won’t do us a bit of good.  We have to actively implement healthy eating and living into our daily routines.  Salads and vegetables instead of burgers and fries, green tea instead of coke, fresh fruit instead of ice cream.

The beauty of it is once you start eating better, you start feeling better.  Instantly. But the minute you creep back into the fast food joints and start tossing down the fat, the carbs, and the salt - your engine starts getting all bogged down and sluggish again.

A question, why do we ever go back?  Do you think it’s Habit?  Do our bodies start to literally crave what they’re accustomed to?   I mean, it’s not for taste, obviously.  A vegetable plate at Cracker Barrel or a delicious sub (like the seafood one!) from Subway wins out over a burger and fries any day.

At any rate, according to Everyday Health, the following groups of food can help to control and even reduce high blood pressure.  They can also help to keep you out of the doctor’s office in the first place.

Foods high in potassium: Bananas, citrus fruit, dried apricots, fish (especially salmon, flounder, and tuna), green leafy vegetables, legumes, melons, potato skins, poultry, raisins, tomatoes, whole-grain cereals, yogurt

Foods high in calcium: Blackstrap molasses, broccoli, canned sardines and salmon (with bones), dairy products (milk, cheese, and yogurt), kale, tofu

Foods high in fiber: Apples, barley, brown rice, corn, legumes, nuts, potatoes with skin, prunes, whole-grain cereal and bread, yams

Foods high in magnesium: Fish, green leafy vegetables, legumes, meat, nuts, poultry, whole grains