Thursday, September 29, 2011

A Word on Nutrition

There are six essential nutrients which are necessary for optimum nutritional health. These are:
  1. Carbohydrates 
  2. Protein
  3. Fat
  4. Water
  5. Vitamins
  6. Minerals
We need all of these nutrients to survive. Consuming the first 3 nutrients (carbs, protein, and fat) are the necessary sources from which we get calories that produces the energy our bodies need. Although we need water, vitamin and minerals, they do not provide calories which "fills our tank". Many diets will have us believe that carbohydrates are bad, or that fat is evil. The truth is, too much or too little of these essential nutrients can have a negative impact on your health. All six are essential.
When choosing a new diet to follow it is partially about watching total caloric intake. Alongside total caloric intake it is being able to identify good carbs, healthy fat and the leanest proteins.  This is knowing what foods promote the best nutritional impact. Finally a new diet should teach us how to change our poor eating behaviors that may have developed over time.
Quick diet fixes that promise huge weight loss over a short amount of time are never the answer. You may be able to drop a lot of weight by starving your body, but this is not a healthy answer and does not help you with a lifelong change in your eating behavior.

Follow my blog as I address all of the essential nutrients and why they are important. 

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Back to School

Back to school time is stressful. Figuring out your new schedule, teachers and classmates along with juggling your homework along with the rest of life can feel a little overwhelming and takes more of your precious time. Going back to school in my 40's I am more excited about this than I ever was back in my 20's. Still, it is stressful (eustress=happy stress) and can have the same negative results on your health as bad stress if you don't monitor it.
Whew, what a whirlwind week it has been! Not having done math, particularly algebra for over 25 years I tested into an Elementary Algebra II math class. After attending a few days of the class I decided I had forgotten too much! I was sitting in the tutoring center every day this week, even though I had the desire to learn I didn't necessarily have the time to do this every day. So, I removed myself and went back to Elementary Algebra I. I am happy to begin with reviewing integers. :-) Even though I could have probably figured out what was going on, I decided that the amount of time and stress it was going to add to my day would soon make this positive experience become negative.
Often times I have to remind myself that schedule overload is not healthy, even if I am having fun at what I am doing it can lead to stress and that often results in making me sick. Who has time for that?!?  How many times have you started something you love and then quit because it became too overwhelming or time consuming? Giving yourself boundaries or limiting your schedule can make everything you do more rewarding in life. Sometimes this means saying "No" to something you would really like to do. Setting priorities and not over committing yourself will leave your schedule open to say "Yes" during those times you really want to add something extra to your schedule.
I'm so happy to be off for a run right now and not spending my time in the tutoring center.


Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Why Should I Exercise?

A friend asked me the other day...
Why do I exercise so much? Aren't I afraid I am going to hurt myself?
Actually, I am afraid I will hurt myself if I don't exercise and live an active lifestyle. 

Benefits of Exercise
  •  To have a healthy heart and prevent cardiovascular disease
  • Exercising improves blood lipid levels
  • Lowers blood pressure
  • Vastly reduces your chance of ever getting metabolic syndrome - sometimes known as the "trifecta" in older adults (Type II Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease and HTN, high blood pressure)
  • Metabolic rate goes up which means you either get to eat more, or lose weight! 
  • Reduces fat, improves muscle tone
  • Encourages healthy eating habits
  • Exercise causes positive endorphins in your brain which makes you happy and improves self esteem
  • Improves Sleep
  • Gives you more energy
  • Strengthens immune system
  • Reduces the chance of getting Cancer
  • Can help with Diverticulitis
  • Can help with Arthritis
  • Can help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's Disease
  • Improves life expectancy and quality of life




Friday, September 16, 2011

Weekend Wellness Tip

What contributes to your personal or spiritual sense of well being? Developing or following an activity that you love gives you meaningful purpose and spiritual wellness.
  • Spend time in nature: watch the sunset, walk on the beach, feel the breeze or rain on your face, open your senses to the beauty of  nature
  • Experience music or art, read a book: something that awakens your senses and engages your emotions
  • Be creative: sing, dance, garden, cook, draw, paint, sculpt, or play an instrument, find joy and exhilaration from these
  • Engage in personal spirituality: pray, meditate, do yoga or chant, tune out the outside world and focus on the experience
Try something new this weekend or do what you already know you love. Have a fabulous weekend grooming your spiritual wellness.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

A Word from Jamie Oliver about Nutrition

This is one of my favorite TED talks by Jamie Oliver. He brings up the meaningful topic on why we must change our eating behaviors. We are literally killing ourselves by the food we eat and feed our children. His most definable point, in my opinion, is that our children have a life expectancy of 10 years less than we do, simply because of the foods we eat. This is sad, and it is preventable! Listen.... http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Give Your Self Efficacy a Boost

Believe in yourself and your ability to change. Changing a habit or behavior can be a difficult task. However, if you choose something small until you succeed it can make the transition easier. For instance, deciding to not eat any sugar after dinner could be easier than eliminating it completely. Once you are successful at your small goal try expanding your target behavior until you reach your final goal.
Reducing sugar, especially mindless eating of cookies, has been the hardest behavior for me to change. To remedy this I have found substitute foods which curb that sugar craving and are healthier choices.  Yogurt mixed with fresh berries is a surprisingly delightful substitute. While watching sugar intake, yogurt still has sugar, but it stops me personally from going countless times to the cookie cupboard and consuming mindless amounts of sugar. Alas, grocery shopping is where it all starts. I could choose to not buy cookies, but for me that is not a possible option quite yet. I am changing my behavior slowly, but every little bit counts!

Visit:  Team Beach Body for additional exercise and nutritional information

Monday, September 12, 2011

Life changing moments

Reflecting on the ten year anniversary of 9/11 yesterday, it made me look at pivotal moments in my life that have caused me to change the course of my life, not because I wanted to, but because I had to. September 11, 2001 was a tragedy that touched the heart of our entire USA and in that tragedy we all pulled together and showed our strength as citizens. It is this natural instinct that we must never loose sight of no matter how tough times get. We could look at what has happened to our economy since 9/11 and feel very sad that this could have been the beginning of an even greater problem that would affect millions of Americans. If we dwell on this it could make us all very bitter. Because I don't follow politics, I am not professing any sort of answer or blame to the problem. However, with every tragedy, whether it be global or personal, at some time we must all find a solution and decide what we can do in our own lives to make a change for the better. We can not change what has happened but we can change how we continue to react. Whether our life changing moments are a loss of a child, divorce, financial hardship (all of which I have experienced) there comes a time when you need to accept the heartache it has caused and moved forward in a positive manner.
What emotional burdens are holding you back? Start a journal, yell at it if you have to, and let go of your anger in that journal. Believe me, it is much better to yell at a piece of paper. You may always carry heartache, but you can choose to make your life better.

Today I felt sluggish when I got up. Never a good way to set your mood for the day. To overcome this I went out for my morning run, and came home feeling great with a smile on my face. Exercise gets those positive endorphins moving in your brain. After my run I made a nutritious smoothie with frozen fruit and lowfat milk. Today is going to be a good day! :-)

Friday, September 9, 2011

Gone but not forgotten

I started this blog a year ago and wondered what kind of people would be interested in my journey. As my journey has progressed over the last year, I have found that there are many people just like me trying to find their own personal success. Whether it be committing to a diet, an exercise program, finding financial wellness, or just a positive outlook on life. The first step is deciding to change! That sounds easy, but it really is the most difficult step.  As a part of my first step, one of the transformations I learned is that a journal is important to be accountable for your own success and to realize your transformation or when you are having a pitfall. So, I have a journal, offline, and now I realize that I have plenty to share online. Positive self talk is the first and foremost step to achieving your goals. Step one: Decide on your behavior change.