Category: Lifestyle

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You don’t have time to skip your workout

The most frequent reason I hear people give for why they don’t exercise is that they “don’t have time.” While there are the rare days when you might truly be pressed for time because of travel or flight schedules, I’ll tell you why even on your busiest days – you don’t have time to not exercise.

The reality is that it is a matter of priorities and planning whether or not we have time built in or allotted for working out. The number one thing you can do to make sure you have time to exercise is to build it in your schedule. There is no absolute best time of day to work out; the best time is what works for you. If you’re no currentlyt in the habit of regularly exercising (and you should be), the first thing you need to do is make it a regular part of your lifestyle.

Plan some time in your schedule every day for exercise. It really doesn’t matter whether it is first thing in the morning or later in the day. You may have to experiment with a few different times of day before you find what works best for you. I prefer to exercise right after I come home from work. By that time, I’m ready for a round of P90X or a good run to wring out the tensions of the day, give my muscles a chance to move, stretch and be pushed, – and sweat out some toxins. The most important thing is to make it part of your daily schedule – a part of your lifestyle.
You do this by doing it regularly – every day.

Putting it on your schedule you makes it a priority – makes it important enough that you have set time aside for it.   Don’t let other things crowd it out – it’s as important (maybe even more important) than the other things you do.  By placing it on your schedule, you won’t be faced with having to make a decision about whether or not you “have time” to work out.

Don’t’ stress too much if you have to miss a day once in a while because of illness or the occasional travel day. But you will find that if you make it a part of your regular schedule, you won’t want to miss it, your day will just go better when you get your exercise in, and your day will feel “off” if miss it.

This isn’t a bad thing; exercise should be something that you look forward to. If you hate what you do for your workout – try something else! There are so many options for staying fit and giving your body the activity it needs to stay healthy – more on that in another post.

Once you make your workout a part of your lifestyle – not only will you find that you do have time for it (even on your busy days) but you’ll also experience a few distinct benefits that come along with daily exercise – including an increased energy level.
More on that in my next post – You don’t have time to skip your workout Part 2; find out about the three distinct benefits you get on the same day that you do your exercise.

Questions, comments, or want to find out more?
Leave me a comment below – I’d love to hear from you!

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Healthy sleep – part 2

This is the second part of a series on sleep, why it’s an important part of a healthy lifestyle, and things you can do to ensure that you’re getting good quality sleep so that your body can do it’s necessary repair and maintenance.
Make sure you check out Healthy Sleep part 1 if you haven’t already done so.

Try to avoid sleeping pills or medications designed to make you fall asleep.  These are not really promoting healthy sleep, carry unknown long-term risks, and have side effects and risks of their own.  It has also been observed that the sleep patterns and rem cycles are different when using medications to induce sleep.  When  you were a child and you could fall asleep anywhere, and sleep through just about anything and awoke rested and refreshed.   It wasn’t  generally because you had enough sleep medication in your system – and that same  thing is true now.  Sleep medication can “put you out” at night, but it’s not the same as regular sleep.

Do consider using melatonin as a sleep aid if you are at least 21 years of age or older and have difficulty regularly falling and staying asleep.  Melatonin is a substance that your body naturally produces (in the pineal gland in your brain) to help regulate the sleep/wake cycles.  It is inexpensive, readily available, and effective.  Start with a small dose and work up from there – you may not require much for it to be effective.  Some people also find that they can back down your dosage once you establish healthy sleep patterns.  Melatonin can also be helpful when traveling – taken at bedtime at your destination – to reinforce the signal to the brain that it’s time from sleep – and to help set and regulate the new sleep cycle, especially if you have changed time zones.

If possible, try to create a sleep environment that is quiet and has total darkness. This helps the eye/brain signals reinforce that it is sleep time.  Light (as in the sunrise) is a signal to the brain that it is time to be awake.  Even low level lights like nightlights or the lights from digital clocks can interfere with this process. Studies have shown that your body does detect these sources of light and it does affect sleep cycles.  Ideally, you should remove nightlights, cover the lights from digital clocks and cover and LEDs that may be on cellphone chargers or power switches.  Your goal is to sleep to have as dark a sleeping environment as possible. This may also involve using light blocking shades or drapes over the windows.  You will probably find that as a result you will have deeper, uninterrupted sleep.

What about the temperature?  Too hot or too cold is a problem, though most people find that a slightly cool environment is conducive to good sleep.  Your body will naturally heat you up in the morning when it’s time to get up, as this is a part of the natural sleep cycle.  Don’t be surprised if you’re ready to throw back the sheets or covers in the morning when you wake up, even if you do keep your bedroom on the cooler side.

Finally, try to avoid going to bed on a full stomach, or drinking very much alcohol right before bedtime.  Either of these can interfere with proper sleep cycles and make the difference between getting up in the morning feeling fully rested and refreshed, or having to drag yourself, feeling tired, out of bed in the morning.

Questions, comments, or want to find out more about this post or something else?
Leave a comment using the fields below.

I’d love to hear from you!

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Healthy Sleep

Have you ever stopped to consider the importance of sleep as a part of a healthy lifestyle?  It is important that you get good sleep on a regular basis; this is when your body does much of it’s necessary repair and maintenance.  Let’s look at a few important factors regarding sleep.

When you are getting enough sleep, you will generally wake up refreshed and energized – not having to drag yourself out of bed.  If you establish a pattern of consistently good sleep, you may find that you tend to wake up about the same time every day – even without an alarm clock (presuming that you go to bed at the same time every day and that you allow enough sleep time for your body to properly refresh). If you feel like you’re falling asleep while your having breakfast – you’re not there yet!!

 

Proper sleep will also give your immune system a boost and will put you in a better mood and state of mind.  Some people find that when they finally change their lifestyle to allow for a proper amount of sleep that chronic headaches go away.  It can also have a positive effect on weight loss, as lack of sleep is another factor that can raise certain hormones that will tend to cause weight gain or impede weight loss.

 

How long should you sleep?  This is different for everyone, but 8 hours is actually a pretty good target.  If you fall asleep quickly once you go to bed, you may find that it’s closer to 7½ hours than 8 since we tend to sleep in 1½ hour long sleep cycles, or multiples of 1½ hours.  Some people may find that 6 hours  works best.  You’ll know that you are getting the proper amount of sleep if you awaken refreshed, without having to drag yourself out of bed.  You will also find that in times of stress or illness your body will require more sleep – let it!  This is also true if you are pushing your exercise or fitness routines to a new level.  Getting enough sleep is a very important part of a healthy lifestyle.  This is when your body does much of it’s repair work – and in today’s world you need repairing and refreshing!  Think of it as a nightly overhaul and tuneup and you may start to think about sleep differently than you do now.  You can’t shortcut this and stay in optimal health.

 

Try to establish regular sleep patterns.  This means going to bed and getting up at the same time most every day; strive for this as your goal.  Hectic schedules and “the stuff of life” may force occasional exceptions, but try to make them just that.  If you can establish a pattern for the time that you typically go to bed and when you get up, you’ll have an easier time falling asleep; this will become part of your body’s’ natural daily rhythm (part of your healthy lifestyle).  You may also find that you don’t have the need or desire to “sleep in” on the weekends, because if you establish normal healthy sleep patterns, you’ll tend to wake up the same time every day, feeling rested and refreshed.

More information in Healthy Sleep part 2

Questions, comments, or want to find out more?  Leave me a comment below – I’d love to hear from you.

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Five more foods you should start eating

This is the second in a series on foods you really should eat regularly – foods should be part of your healthy lifestyle.  If you missed our first five, you’ll want to go back and review those as well.  I’ll go into more detail on each one of these foods in other posts.

Bison is a great source of protein.  If you like to eat red meat, then you should add bison to your list of must eat foods.   Bison offers several advantages over beef – including that lower in fat (and calories) and cholesterol.  Watch for an entire post dedicated to Bison coming soon.

 

Celery is another low calorie item that should be on your must eat list.
Low in calories, celery is a good source of naturally occurring vitamins C and K.  It also has been shown to have a beneficial effect on both cholesterol and blood pressure.
Tip:  if you don’t like the taste of celery, add a thin layer of almond butter, or throw a stalk in your smoothie.   With a good high powered juicer like a VItamix, you honestly probably won’t even know it’s in there.

Cherries a delicious addition to your must eat list.  Naturally high in antioxidants, sour or tart cherries are helpful for joint pain – especially sour or tart cherry juice.   They pack a an additional punch by helping reduce inflammation as well.  As an added benefit, they’re delicious!  Many people also report that they sleep better when they eat cherries, as they have a positive effect on your body’s levels of melatonin (a natural substance that is produced by your body that helps to regulate sleep/wake cycles).

 

Chocolate   – that’s right – chocolate!  While chocolate is toxic for dogs and other animals, it has been found to have a positive effect on people in several ways.  Dark chocolate especially is a good source of antioxidants, it also has been found to be heart-health friendly (as long as you don’t eat too much of it!); the flavonoids (antioxidants) seem to be especially beneficial to your heart in a protective way – and in moderation, it can help keep your blood pressure and cholesterol readings in healthy ranges   It can also help curb your appetite for other sweets.  Many people find that if they eat a couple squares of good quality dark chocolate that they feel like they’ve gotten your “chocolate fix” –  without as much fat and sugar as milk chocolate.

Coconut Oil is one of my favorite foods … ever.   I eat a spoonful of coconut oil every morning and every evening just for the benefits and healthy fats.  It’s good both in and on your body, as it makes a great moisturizer as well.  Coconut oil has been mentioned before in a posting on healthy oils, and has so many beneficial qualities that it will be featured soon in it’s own posting.

 

Questions, comments, or want to find out more?   Leave me a comment below – I’d love to hear from you.

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What about probiotics?

There has been a lot of interest in probiotics recently, and I often get questions from people about them:  what are they, are they really good for you, and do I use them.  This is a brief look at probiotics, what are, how they benefit you, and why I regularly use them, and how you might incorporate them into your diet.

Basically, probiotics are beneficial bacteria (live) that are thought to have a positive effect on several aspects of your health.  In simple terms, you can think of these as the bacteria behind many of the fermented foods we eat: yogurt, kefir, and raw sauerkraut.  You can also obtain probiotics in pill form, which can be helpful for travel or situations where you may not have access to a natural source.

The beneficial bacteria in probiotics are believed to have many positive effects on one’s health; that’s the reason for the recent and renewed interest in probiotics.  Among other things, there seems to be a strong link between consumption of probiotics and a number of health issues including:  diarrhea, constipation, overall gut health, gas, indigestion, and an overall boost to the immune system.  There are numerous other health benefits attributed to probiotics – enough to warrant your own use and see how you benefit.

I use them for all these reasons – and to help keep the proper balance of bacteria in the gut.  Stress, antibiotics, travel, and exposure to pathogens are just some of the things that can throw off the balance of good/bad bacteria in your system.  I use them regularly at home and carry some probiotic capsules with me when I travel.  I personally like the Enzymatic Therapy brand (Pearls), but there are many other good ones available too.  These are readily available online and at many mass market retailers and drugstores.

You can incorporate probiotics into your diet on a daily basis in a number of ways.  Yogurt with live cultures and Kefir are two easy ways to get a daily helping of probiotics.   I personally drink a cup of Kefir daily for the boost it gives me.  There are even yogurts and yogurt drinks with increased levels of beneficial bacteria to help provide a greater boost.   You can also use raw sauerkraut or other vegetable based probiotics to your diet (raw because cooking kills of the beneficial bacteria) as a delicious way to add probiotics to your diet.

 

As with everything, I recommend that you make this a part of a healthy lifestyle – something you do regularly to benefit your healthy.   This way you’ll always get the protective benefits and the boost that probiotics can bring.

 

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Diet or Exercise – which is more important? Part III

Diet or Exercise – which is more important?

If you’ve read the previous two posts about this question, you know by now that the answer to the above question: diet.  However, it’s not about going on a diet, and exercise plays a crucial role as a part of a healthy lifestyle.

It’s important to remember that diet is not about going on a diet – it’s about having a lifestyle that consists of consuming good, nutritious foods and avoiding processed foods, additives, toxins and pesticides.

Let’s look at a few reasons why diet is even more important than exercise

1.  If there were ever a case of garbage in- garbage out; this is where it applies.  Your body is made from the stuff you eat.  Whether or not you exercise, or how hard you take exercise, your body is in a constant state of renovation.   Cells are dividing, new cells are being formed, and old ones are being cleaned up and disposed of or recycled in some manner.  Think about the fact that your body is made up of approximately 100 trillion cells.

Simply ask yourself if you want to be built from good things or bad things, from the best components or from things that are “good enough”.   Is it OK to throw some chemicals and pesticides into the mix, or do you want to guard against the toxins that go into your body?

The Presidential panel on cancer issued a statement in 2010 that stated “the true burden of environmentally induced cancers has been grossly underestimated” and advised the President “to use the power of your office to remove the carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air that needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our nation’s productivity, and devastate American lives.”

2.  There will be days and times of your life when you can’t exercise.  You should exercise every day; we were made to move and be active.  There will be times when because of illness, travel or other things that come up that you won’t be able to exercise.  However, your body never stops the process of creating and repairing cells, and cleaning up damaged and dead cells.  This goes on every day, for as long as you live.  As a matter of fact – in the times of stress when it’s most likely that you won’t be able to exercise, your cells are under the most stress.

Give your body the fuel to run optimally and you set up the potential for good things.
Think about your car – it wouldn’t make much sense to wax and polish and detail the outside of your vehicle, but be careless about changing the oil, maintaining the mechanical systems and filling it with good fuel.
Just like you wouldn’t put water or sugar in the gas tank of your car (you know that nothing good would come from that) – you should guard against putting junk in your fuel tank; the end result of that won’t be good either.

3.  I believe you should try to maximize your intake of fresh raw foods to maximize the nutrients and enzymes you get from your food, try as much as possible to eat organic foods to avoid exposure to pesticides, avoid processed foods, and use vitamin and mineral supplements wisely.  I’ll examine each of these in more detail in future posts, but here are the high points.  You may not be able to make a complete change to your diet all at once, but start with one thing or one area and go from there.  If you don’t do anything else, try to avoid processed foods and focus on fresh raw foods.   Avoid things in boxes and bags, and try to eat things that are picked, peeled, grown, harvested.   One easy thing to do is shop from the outer aisles of your grocery store.  This is where the fresh things are.

4.  You only get one body – treat it carefully.

For most people it’s easier to build on success, and the success of feeling your body begin to respond to regular good diet is motivational.   It doesn’t take too long after you make good nutrition and regular exercise a part of your lifestyle that you will probably start to look for ways to make additional improvements – because you will begin to feel better! 

You can trade in a car, buy a new house, but you don’t get a new body in this life – take care of it!  Even if this didn’t have an effect on how long you live (though I think it will), you’ll enjoy the journey of life and feel better along the way.   What price can you put on feeling good?  I know many people who “just don’t feel good” every day.  On the other hand, most of the people I know who focus on good nutrition and regular exercise feel great almost every day and seem to have boundless energy.   Which sounds better to you?   You have a tremendous amount of control of which one of those groups you end up in.  Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not here yet –  but you have control of the choices you make today, and you can begin to make a change today and build on it tomorrow, and for the rest of you life.

 

This is a complicated subject that may leave many people with questions or wondering how to begin to make changes.  If you have questions, comments or any other feedback, please use the form below to contact me.  I’d love to hear from you.

 

 

 

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Diet or Exercise – which is more important? Part II

Diet or Exercise – which is more important?

This “frequently asked question” has an interesting answer; because of the way they work together, it’s really difficult to separate diet and exercise.  Both are an important and synergistic part of a healthy lifestyle.

The bottom line answer to this question: your diet is more important (but not going on a diet)!  Surprisingly though, if you are just starting down the path to a healthier lifestyle, I recommend that you begin by focusing on exercise.  Let’s explore a few reasons why exercise is the best way to start.

  1. Most people want to see some changes early on; your body will probably respond to exercise more quickly.   Remember, you spent your whole life getting to where you are now, so don’t expect changes overnight.   However, you will probably be surprised at how quickly your body responds to regular physical activity.   Be smart and take small steps toward you goal; start by walking for half an hour instead of jumping in to running 3 miles a day.
    By starting with a sustainable amount of activity, you can make this a part of your lifestyle and increase your activity as you make physical and fitness gains.   Most importantly – don’t skip, don’t make excuses, make sure you do something every day.
  2. Adding regular physical activity will start to “wake up” and revitalize a sluggish metabolism.   If you haven’t been exercising regularly, you will be amazed at what regular activity will do for you.   These bodies were made to be active, and adding in regular physical activity will benefit you in so many ways.  You’ll probably notice that sleep and digestion start to improve, along with other things too,   Start with something sustainable so that you won’t get discouraged.
    Don’t  start on something you can’t keep up with (either too strenuous or too time consuming).You might be tempted to want to go out and run a few miles (or maybe not), but don’t start with that – I suggest that you start with walking 30 minutes a day, do it regularly and try to not miss a day.  If you maintain your level of activity for a couple of weeks, you’ll find that it’s gone from something on your schedule to a habit to where it’s a part of your lifestyle.  Your goal should be to make nutritional and exercise related changes that become a part of your lifestyle – not just something you do for a little while to “get into shape”.
    Remember – diets don’t work – because diets are something most people do for a while to try to reach a goal, and then they go back to the way they were – or worse!.  It’s the same with most people with crash fitness programs.   Check any gym on January 2nd, and then go back a check a month later; setting the bar too high from the start does you more harm than good.   You have to be determined and remember that you’re in this for the long haul – for the rest of your life.  So set a sustainable goal that you can stick with (or increase) for life.
  3. An initial focus on exercise and seeing the resulting changes will encourage you to address nutrition and your diet.

For most people it’s easier to build on success, and the success of feeling your body begin to respond to regular exercise is motivational.   It doesn’t take too long after you make regular exercise a part of your lifestyle that you will probably start to look for ways to make additional improvements.  Typically, two things happen; you improve their fitness level and perhaps increase or change your exercise routine.    You’ll begin to feel the effects in many ways, including sleep and an increasing overall feeling of well being.  At the same time, you start to realize just how much effort you are putting into exercise, the results you are getting, and how it’s beginning to make you “feel better”.

This is typically the point where you should feel motivated to make changes in your diet.  Typically, something “clicks” inside, and you realize that you don’t want to sabotage your increasing health by taking bad stuff in.   Just like you wouldn’t rebuild a car and then fill it with junky gas – you realize that the same principle applies to your body.  Use this motivational boost to leverage your efforts and address the foods you eat and drink.

 

Next up – why your diet is the most important thing for you to address – even more important than exercise (but don’t stop exercising)!

 

Questions, comments or any other feedback?  I’d love to hear from you.  Use the section below to contact me.

 

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Diet or Exercise – which is more important?

Diet or Exercise – which is more important?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions I receive.  It’s alluring in it’s simplicity, and from the fact that people often just want to focus on one thing, or find the one “magic bullet” to make them healthy, lose weight, and feeling better.

It’s not that simple.

There is one answer to this – if you have to know which one – but before getting to that, it’s important to understand that both are important for a healthy body, and how the two work together.

Both diet and exercise will be looked at in more detail in the next couple of posts.

Because of the way they work together, it’s really difficult to separate the two; both are important, and they really do play off of each other and support each other as a part of a healthy lifestyle.

IF you really have to have a bottom line answer to this question – the answer is diet (but not going on a diet)!  It’s about eating healthy and nutritious foods as a part of a healthy lifestyle  There is a surprising twist to this question though;  if you are just beginning your journey to lose weight and increase your overall all state of health, you should probably start with exercise.

Make sure you read the following posts;  I will explain why it’s important to understand both nutrition and exercise, how they work together, and why you need to make both of them a priority if you want to be healthy, feel good, and protect yourself from illness and disease, why “diets” don’t work.

I will also explain why I think that diet is more important, but you’re more likely to set yourself up for lasting success and health by starting with exercise.

 

Questions?  Leave me a comment – I’d love to hear from you!

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What is your goal?

What is your goal?

What do you want your health to be?

Your state of health today is the result of decisions you made over the period of days, weeks, months and years preceding today.

Even this morning, you made choices about breakfast (or not), whether or not a donut was a good idea, or if you should reach for something healthier.

Coffee, tea, milk, or Coke (?!!) for breakfast – whether you stopped to ponder it, or went by default to your usual morning beverage; it was because of a decision you made, probably some time ago, about what was important to you.

You can start to make changes today – start by choosing one thing that’s important to you, and work back from there.  If you want to weigh less than you do now (reduce body fat), you need to start to make changes to the way you eat and the amount of physical activity (exercise) that are a part of your daily life.

Sleep, fitness, changes to your body fat, high cholesterol, high blood pressure- even your overall demeanor and the way you feel every day – all of these can be impacted by the foods you eat and the activity of exercise you get.

You can’t change the choices you’ve made in the past, but you can change the things you do today.  Yesterday is gone, and you’re on the way to tomorrow, but it’s not here yet – you do have today though!   The health choices you make today will start to affect you today and have ripples into your tomorrows – you just need to start.

Choose one thing, and start from there; you might be surprised at how the changes can ripple through your life from one area to another.

You can start anywhere – but if you’re not sure where, start with a healthy breakfast of healthy whole foods.  Skip anything processed, and go for something that doesn’t come in a box or package.

Skip the poptarts, bacon, sugary pastries and other packaged or processed itmes, and go for real food instead.  If you’re in a hurry, use a blender (or better yet – a Vitamix) and make yourself a smoothie.  This is a quick way to get some good, healthy whole food even if you’re pressed for time.

Need healthy breakfast ideas or have questions or comments about anything in this post?   Leave me a comment below – I’d love to hear from you!

 

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Two reasons you must do something about your health today

Two reasons you must do something about your health today

There are two important reasons why you can’t wait until tomorrow or next week or whenever to start taking steps toward a healthier lifestyle.

Those two reasons happen to be the two things you can’t get more of in this life: your body and time.

Your body

You have one body – the one you were born with, the same one that you’re living in now, and the one that will carry to your grave.   It’s the only one you get in this life.

When you look in the mirror or step on the scale or go for a physical, what you’re observing is the sum total of the health and lifestyle choices you’ve made up to this point.  Don’t let that discourage you if you’ve made poor choices – you can choose to take better care of your body starting today.

You don’t get another body – at least not in this life; so start taking care of it now.  Decide what is important to you, and if you want health, energy, vitality and a clear mind, you have to start making lifestyle choices (diet, fitness/activity, stress) today!

Don’t wait!  These bodies don’t last forever, and you can’t change the choices you made in the past, but you have today, and this can be the first day you take some small steps toward a healthier body.

Time

There is a saying that goes something like this – the best time to plant a tree is ten years ago, the second best time is today.  I like that saying because it reminds me that if I want to achieve something, I have to start today.   You can’t go back and change the health or lifestyle choices you made in the past – but you do have today! 

Decide and act today to change your body and life.  The small steps you take today will have changes that ripple through tomorrow and on in to the future.  Visualize today what you want your body, mind and life to be like in the future; you won’t get there by chance.   A healthier you tomorrow starts with the choices you make today.

 

I hope you’ll find the kind of informative and motivating things on mrhlth.com that will help you take steps today to have a healthier lifestyle tomorrow.

Don’t wait!  You don’t get another body, and you don’t get more time.  You can’t change what choices you made yesterday, but you do have today.

 

Looking for specific help with a certain aspect of a healthier lifestyle?

Let me know with a comment in the space below – I’d love to hear from you!