7 Tips for a Balanced Life

It’s way easier to be healthy if we have a balanced life! A lot less stress if your life is balanced… Balance and Health go hand in hand.  So here are some tips for you:

1. De-Clutter Your Life

In your mind, clear the clutter from your schedule and imagine it empty. Then return only the things that are vital to your survival — your job and sleep, for example. Then bring other things back into your schedule in their order of importance, adding new things that are important as well (like time for exercise), and leaving out things that are draining you or stressing you, like obligations that you’d rather not keep. This exercise can give you a greater idea of what things in your life are feeding you, and what things you may want to eliminate.

2. Remember The Trade-Offs

Every “no” is a “yes” to something else, and vice versa.  Perhaps it’s worth it, perhaps it’s not, or perhaps you’d rather cut out something else in your schedule.  Looking at each new commitment as something else that needs to be given up (even a hypothetical something) can make finding balance easier.

3. Delegate

Many of us get caught up in the ‘If I want it done right, I’ll have to do it myself’ trap, and find ourselves doing everything. Don’t forget that other people might be able to handle (or help with) some of the projects you’re doing, and may actually want to do so. Children, husbands may be far more capable of doing housework than weu are giving them credit for, and may get a sense of pride in being able to do such jobs, if encouraged properly.   Even hiring help — housekeepers, gardeners, personal assistants and the like — counts as delegation, and can be extremely helpful and worth the cash.

4. Do A Good Enough Job

Sometimes things need to be done with precision and perfection, but more often, they don’t. If you find yourself already too busy, you may really benefit from giving yourself a break. Take shortcuts, if the end result is still adequate.  Focus on what’s really important, and let the rest slip if necessary.

5. Live In The Now, But Keep The Future In Mind

Do you have a plan for the future? This type of general thinking can help keep balance and perspective. For example, when choosing whether to exercise or watch television, thinking about the long-term benefits that would come from each makes it much easier to skip a moderately entertaining show in favor of getting moving. Both activities can relieve stress, but one contributes to an overall plan for better health, while the other doesn’t. See where you can apply this analogy to your own decisions and find more balance in your life.

6. Stay Organized

Being organized is vital to finding balance in life. If you have a schedule where everything fits, you’ll be more efficient with your time. And you’ll be able to relax not only in the knowledge that you’ll get things done, but also in that what you’re working on in a given moment is what you’re supposed to be working on. Don’t overlook the value of online time management tools like calendars and PDAs.

7. Let Yourself be a Child at times

Although it’s unrealistic to be only doing things that are ‘fun’ (sometimes we need to take a break from skydiving and going to parties to do a few loads of dishes and pack lunches for the next day), it can be helpful to remember to try to keep fun things in your life and stressful things out of it.

Real Food

What we were designed to eat has seven characteristics:

1.Low glycemic load

2.Lots of omega-3 fats (wild food)

3.Balance of protein, fat and slowly absorbed carbohydrates

4.Abundance of vitamins and minerals

5.Many alkaline foods, which prevent blood from ever becoming too acidic

6.Low levels of sodium

7.High fiber content—food as close to nature as possible: think about the process: apple with skin onà skinned apple (fiber is gone)à sliced apple (biting is gone)àmashed apple (chewing is gone) àjuiced apple (manufacturers did all the work for you!)

WHICH MEANS….

1. NO transfats
2. NO High fructose corn syrup, or dextrose, or all these names for extra refined sugar added in foods for taste and preservation
3. NO MSG
4. NO aspartame
5. As little preservatives and artificial stuff as possible!

Now look at what you ate thus far today and what you will eat the rest of the day; does it fit these criteria’s?  Great if it does.  If it doesn’t, well…  Time to get back to basics!  Switch things around if necessary: oatmeal instead of sugary flakes, natural muffin instead of a store-bought cookie, asparagus instead of macaroni and cheese filled with junk, salmon instead of fish sticks… you get the picture!  It’s not time to relax and allow yourself to go back to eating junk; remember how it made you fee? N.E.W.A.Y. all the way!

Brown or White?

Did you know that our bodies have both brown and white fat?

White fat (white adipose tissue: WAT), or triglycerides, is ugly!  It is relatively inactive and does not require much energy at all to be maintained, so bodies with more white fat than lean muscle have a lowered metabolism, which makes them even more susceptible to store calories as fat–a snowball effect in which they lose the ability to burn calories efficiently and become fatter as time goes on.

Brown fat (BAT) is a heat source for the core of the body.  Found on the back of the neck, around arteries  and nestled around organs of high metabolic activity, it keeps them at a constant temperature.  Brown fat is alive! It has nerve fibers and leptin receptors.  When leptin levels go up, they turns on energy consumption in the brown fat and burns it.  Basically, brown fat wastes calories!  If we eat more calories than we need on a given day or meal, our BAT burns off the excess as heat. Active brown fat works efficiently to keep weight stable. Unfortunately, BAT activity diminishes with age or when thyroid function is diminished.  The more white fat we have, the less we need brown fat.  BAT can even change into WAT! Stress inhibits brown fat thermogenesis, as well as infrequent food consumption, eating large meals, high-sugar diet and low-fat diets.  So don’t do it!

How can you encourage the thermogenic activity of your stores of BAT?

~Diet rich in Omega-3 fatty acids promotes BAT activity: olive and flaxseed oil, deep sea fish

~Green tea stimulates brown fat thermogenesis.

~Moderate exercise to heat up the furnace

Simple, isn’t it?

Food Pushers

Do you have any of those in your life?  You know, the lovely well-intended people who keep pushing food, as though your eating was your seal of approval on their love for you? Yes, those people… are you one of those sometimes? Yes, me too.  Why we do that, I do not understand…

“Just another little piece of my pie.”  The hot apple pie wafts under my nose.  ”You always love my pie. I made it just for you.”   Saying “no” hurts her.  Saying “yes” hurts me.  What am I to do?

1. Be Honest:

I could just tell them… I have chosen to not overeat and I am already full. I am not trying to offend anyone, but I have to keep a close eye on what and how much of it I am ingesting…

2. Use Stall Tactics:

If, for example, dessert starts making its way around the table, I can go ahead and say something along the lines of, “I would, but right now I’m stuffed and I just wouldn’t enjoy it.” or “Maybe after a while I’ll have some.” In other words… I can stall.  When time has passed, they might forget that I didn’t partake when the dessert was initially offered.

3. Delicious!

Sometimes, I just can’t say no.  I just have to give in.  Then, I take smaller portions of other foods in preparation for this one. I’ll also simply ask for a smaller serving of the less-than-favorable dish.  As I take the first few bites of my treat, I make sure to give the chef my compliments–and I can leave the rest on my plate if I have enough self-control that day.

4. To Go

If saying  ”no,”  is just too painful, I can ask for the food may be wrapped up to take home later. I can always tell the cook that I want to be able to enjoy it later, or that it was so good that I want to share it with someone else at home. Whether I eat it later or not is then completely up to me — there’s no peer pressure when I am alone!

5. Prepare

Sometimes I just need to stand firm and say no. I might have to practice being assertive in similar situations before-hand — maybe even looking into the mirror while imagining them.

And if I can’t find the “right” way to say no, chances are no permanent damage will be done to the relationships in your life either way:  my body won’t quit on me because of a piece of pie, and the relationships in my life won’t be severed with one “no.”  It’s going to be ok.  Really.

Barefoot Training

Barefoot training is big in my book.

Barefoot training is essential.

The end.

Now if you want more information, here it is–taken from a post by my fellow trainer Martin Rooney and reworded for us:

We work and work and work at strengthening our bodies, yet we ignore our feet, the base of all our support, only part of our body that touches the ground when we run, jump, walk, squat, lunge… And 30 % of all joints are in the feet.  Puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?  We must develop strength and mobility in the feet.

~The feet is where you can build an ability to feel yourself in space (PROPRIOCEPTION). When they are strong, the force you put through those feet is increased.  

~We tend to think that if we buy the right shoe, we don’t need to do anything else for their feet. Actually we kind of think that feet are just something that get shoved in a shoe. Shoving our feet into shoes leads to common problems like bunions, corns, hammer toes, Achilles shortening, athlete’s foot, ingrown nails and more. With the feet we should be building the feet that will go into the shoe just as we build the shoulders that go under the shoulder pads.We traditionally bench press as preparation for competition, but we don’t wear shoulder pads while doing it. That’s because we’re building the musculature that will go under those pads.

~ Many lower body strength training exercises can be performed barefoot. Barefoot lunges really challenges our balance and motor recruitment more than while wearing shoes. The deadlift and ladder are two other excellent choices for barefoot training. Form running and sprint running can be done barefoot – that’s what we’re designed for. But when was the last time anybody did that? Most “tenderfeet” people cringe at the thought of barefoot running, but strengthening the foot is an essential part of strengthening the entire lower limb. The architecture of the hand and the foot are almost identical. So what would happen if you had incredibly weak hands? If you have incredibly weak hands then you can’t pick anything up and if you can’t pick anything up then the arms, back and legs can’t get strong –  and it would be easy to see that if the arm isn’t strong then it’s also more susceptible to injury. Start slow and work your way up to barefoot training.

You can also add foot mobility exercises to your routine.  For example, take a tennis ball and roll your feet over it to keep the foot mobile. When mobility and stability in the feet deteriorate, the ankle, knee and hip positions and impacts change and this can make you more prone to injuries.

“It’s not the shoe on the foot   -   It’s the foot in the shoe that makes the difference!”  Martin Rooney

Rooney’s 5 Rules for Barefoot Health

• Time should be spent out of shoes each day working on either strength or mobility
• Shoes should be selected for feel and comfort, not look.
• Lower body lifting sessions should be performed barefoot as much as possible.
• Warm-ups should be performed barefooted as long as the surface allows.
• Barefoot training should progress slowly and gradually as like any other form.

Trans Fats

What are they?

Here’s the scoop:

Trans fat is formed when oil is hydrogenated, or processed to become solid.  When hydrogenated fats like margarine and shortening were first invented, they became the ingredient of choice because they were cheaper, more shelf-stable, and thought to be healthier than butter. It was only recently confirmed that this fat is especially unhealthy because it both raises bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol.

Trans, or hydrogenated, fat is found in stick margarine, vegetable shortening, and fried foods. Until recently, it was also found in most commercially packaged baked goods, crackers, pastries, cookies, and many other products. However, in 2006, when it became mandatory for companies to list trans fat on food labels, many manufacturers changed their formulas to reduce the amount of trans fat their products contain. You can now find soft margarines that boast “trans fat-free” on their label, and many packaged baked goods are advertised as trans fat-free.  However, some foods may contain small amounts of trans fat even if they list zero grams of trans fat in the Nutrition Facts panel (If the amount of trans fat per serving is under 1 g, they can list it as “0” g trans fat. To avoid trans fats completely, check the ingredients list on a product for “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” oil of any type. If such an ingredient is present, there is still some trans fat in the food. And if the trans fat ingredients are near the top of the list, drop the box and run the other way!  And be on your guard in restaurants — unless the menu specifies otherwise, many fried foods are still prepared with hydrogenated oils.

Negative Self-Talk

I don’t like detours.  But sometimes they happen.  And sometimes, they are our own faulst…

I hatw to break it to you, but you indeed are  what you think.  Often, it’s your bad thinking habits that keep you from a consistent exercise program or from walking away from the 4 pm snack attack.  Figuring out distorted thinking patterns can make your life much easier, and who knows?  Maybe you will discover than exercise is fun!

Perfectionism – Also known as unrealistic expectations. If you yell at yourself for losing only five pounds instead of ten, you may be guilty of this kind of distorted thinking. Why not give yourself credit for your successes? If you’ve started exercising, yeah for you! That alone is cause for celebration! And if you’re seeing some results, that’s even better. Everything you do that makes you healthier is a success.  Focus on that and take some time to make sure your goal is realistic.

The Blame Game – Are you having trouble exercising because your gym is too far away? Or because the weather’s bad? Blaming external factors helps you (yes, you!) avoid taking responsibility for your choices.  If you’re not working out, it’s up to you to figure out why you’re not sticking to your program. Maybe you don’t like going to a gym…or maybe your workouts are too hard. Once you figure out the problem, you can take steps to rectify the situation.  Finding out your reasons might help you change your approach.

I’m a Loser, Baby – Many of us equate self-worth with success. Losing weight means we’re good, failing to lose weight means we’re bad and no one will love us. If you feel like a failure all the time, it’s almost inevitable that you will fail. Remember: what you look like is just one aspect of who you are.  Focus on the whole YOU, and not just what your body looks like; you surely are more than skin deep!  Don’t forget it: you are fabulous, Baby!

It’s Not Fair! – Have you ever wondered, “Why can’t I look like that person?”  Comparing yourself to so-and-so just sets you up for negative thoughts.  Instead of tearing yourself down, boost your own ego by thinking about how great you are (and you are, darling).

I Hate My (insert unsightly body part here)! – If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and said, “Oh my god, are those my thighs?” it’s time to take a a step back. We all have a body part we love to hate, but remember that your body allows you to walk, run, squat, and jump. Which body part are you thankful for? Which one do you like? Talk them up!

It is only when you become aware of what you are actually thinking about yourself that you can begin to tweak your thoughts.  So start thinking about what you are thinking about, and don’t let yourself lie to yourself!  You are worth so much more than that!

 

REMEMBER: It is not what happens to you, it is what you do about it.  Ed Agresta says that what happens to you, happens to everybody, so the difference is in what we do about it. If you pick yourself up after having a problem, and work on a solution and then actually do something to fix it, you can move your life ahead.  Realize that you are in control of much of what you do with the events that come your way.  Taking charge of a response, stops you from feeling like a victim, and gives you the self-confidence to handle the situation.  Take what life hands you and deal with it in some way, then you can get your life back on track.

Hungry for a Treat

The other day, I was just plain greedy for something sweet and gooey, but I so don’t like using flour or sugar these days… so this is what I came up with, tweaking an old recipe:

ALMOND BITES

15 dates, roughly chopped

1 cup of almonds, roughly chopped

A bit of vanilla

A nice dash of cinnamon

Unsweetened cocoa powder

I put the chopped dates, almonds, vanilla and cinnamon in my little food processor and pushed the button; it made a nice, thick paste.  I put the unsweetened cocoa on a plate, made little balls of dough and rolled them into the cocoa.  That’s it!

Five minutes, tops.

Delicious!

 

You and Your Metabolism

I know, some of us think that our metabolism is slower than molasses, and we tell ourselves that that is why we carry a bit (or a lot) of  extra weight.  While it may be true that some people’s metabolism is genetically very slow, the bottom line is still that most of our extra weight on the hips is due to bad eating and not enough movement!  So we want to keep (or better) our figure, we better learn to eat better and move more; every little bit helps.

Here are the four main components that will help your body be a better fat-burning machine:

High Intensity Exercise: When you exercise above 75 % of your maximum heart rate (that’s when you can hardly talk while you work out), you probably will cause your metabolism to be enhanced after exercise and you wind up burning extra calories for another 2 to 4 hours.  This works both for aerobic exercise and weight training.  The longer you train at a high intensity, the more calories you burn during and after the work out

Normalizing your pH: When your pH gets into the normal ranges, your body will automatically begin to release the extra fat it holds on to in order to neutralize the extra acid.  So keep on eating up these spinach salads and putting lime/lemon juice on everything

Fidgeting: Incidental movement in day-to-day activities seems to be key to burning more energy and giving you a more efficient metabolism. It’s no surprise that people who worry,  twitch and pace tend to be thin. This is called NEAT, or “non-exercise activity thermogenesis.”   Thermogenesis is the term for energy burning.  When your metabolism is running “normally” it seems that NEAT increases when you overeat and decreases when you undereat. This process has evolved over the history of human evolution to maintain body balance. Think of it in similar terms to how very-low-calorie diets are known to slow your metabolism down. NEAT works in the same way: the more you move, the more the body assumes you have excess energy to work off. The less you move, the more the body assumes you don’t, and so it slows down.  You can promote this NEAT process by never missing an opportunity to move when you have an option. Walk to the store, get off the couch often (get up to change the channel), do some gardening, walk the dog. . .you get the picture. Do small things often, that’s the key.

Muscle building: Muscle has a higher energy requirement than fat, so the more muscle and less fat your body is composed of, the higher your metabolism will be.  The exercise required to build that extra muscle at the expense of fat is another important process in weight management. So, grab those weights, people!

Linking up with Domestically Divine Tuesday

Seasonal Eating

Today’s grocery store shelves look pretty much the same year-round.  We can buy strawberries any time of the year–not as flavorful, but available anyway.  Yet this out-of-season produce has probably traveled many, many miles to reach our kitchens—with a corresponding loss of flavor and nutrition, and an increase in wax coatings, chemical ripening agents, and other preservatives.

At the peak of their season, fruits and vegetables are the most flavorful, pack the biggest nutrition, and cost less than out of season. And there is a certain satisfaction associated with eating in-season produce, with memories linked to special days–pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, watermelon reminds us of fireflies and fireworks.

Locally grown seasonal foods often harmonize with our nutritional needs. For example, the beta carotene in the orange pigment of pumpkins and other squash helps bolster the immune system just in time to help ward off winter colds. And the oils of nuts—fats in their purest form—provide nutrient-rich calories to keep us warm as the temperature drops.

Research has shown that eating seasonally may have major health implications. A British study in 1997 even found significant differences in the nutritional contents of pasteurized milk in summer as opposed to winter: iodine was higher in the winter, while beta-carotene (an antioxidant and immune system booster that helps the body create vitamin A) was higher in the summer. And a Japanese study found a three-fold difference in the vitamin C content of spinach harvested in summer versus that harvested in winter.

Although the exact season for specific items varies from region to region, here are basic guidelines for optimal nutrition and taste:

• In spring, pick the new growth of the season: tender leafy vegetables such as spinach, Romaine or leaf lettuces, Swiss chard, and early peas, as well as fresh herbs such as basil, parsley, and dill.
• For summer, try lighter produce, with fruits such as strawberries, pears, apples, and plums, and vegetables such as summer squash, broccoli, corn, and cauliflower. Experiment with fun summer-type herbs, such as mint or cilantro.
• During fall, choose hearty harvest foods, including sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic. When cooking, emphasize “warmer” spices and seasonings such as peppercorns, ginger, and mustard seeds.
• In winter, also pick hearty foods. Keep in mind the principle that foods which take longer to grow are generally more sustaining than foods that grow quickly. In this category are most root vegetables, including carrots, potatoes, onions and garlic, as well as eggs, corn, and nuts.

 Let the backdrop of the seasons be your guide to happy and healthy eating—

you’ll find that Mother Nature does indeed know best!

Linking up with Above Rubies and Thankful Homemaker