Take the Time for Your Health~

 

                        Wellness Wednesday

We all want to live healthy lives, right? But it isn’t always easy to find time in the day — or in your life, to make drastic lifestyle changes. Fortunately, there are plenty of small things we can do that take almost no time at all that can really make a difference in our health and happiness.

Fact is, the fitness experts are recommending doing planks for two minutes each morning (or when you can jam it in throughout your day). Hold a normal plank (which is basically just the first part of a push-up) for one minute, and then do a 30 second plank on each side. This exercise helps strengthen and tone your core (that mushy stuff under your belt) which is essential to a healthy body!

Taking a good look at your plate (try using a smaller plate) of food before eating helps you truly enjoy your meal and eat slowly. When you savor your food slowly, your body recognizes you are full more accurately. Have you ever heard of an easier trick to stop overeating? 

Meditate; try spending two- five minutes a day meditating. Just give yourself some quite time and allow your mind/thoughts to be quite. Even these few minutes have a huge impact on reducing stress. Less stress = more health!

 

Want glowing skin…up your avocado intake. Believe it or not, the good fats that avocados are jammed pack and actually keep you hydrated from the inside out. This is the best thing you could possibly do for your skin. Personally, I’ll take any excuse to eat more guacamole!

Flossing only takes one minute, yet so very many people (I admit to skipping it too many times) don’t take the extra time to incorporate this in their routine.

If you add flossing daily, not only will you notice that your breath is fresher than ever, but you are actually helping reduce heart disease! There are tons of medical studies that link gum disease to heart disease.




Remember, your Health is your Wealth so take a little extra time today for yourself, make those small changes and start improving your health.

No more Excuses!

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention more than 50% of American adults do not engage in the required amount of physical activity for health benefits, and 25% of adults are not active at all. How can we (adults) expect our children to be active if we ourselves are not? Worse yet is they hear us make excuses not to exercise. How many people do you know that constantly make excuses for why they can’t exercise? Chances are you know at least one. Maybe you are one of them? I know at times I have been guilty of thinking up some lame excuses. But let’s get one thing straight … excuses are not reasons.

If you can spare 15 minutes, you can get in a workout without going to the gym or buying expensive exercise equipment. All that's required is space, comfortable clothing, and energetic enthusiasm. As soon as you’re finished with one round, then do the entire circuits again – try to fit in as many rounds as possible before the times up.  Since it is such a short workout, you’ve got to make every second count – keep the intensity high, resting briefly only as needed.

5 minutes
Do any cardiovascular exercise you want — walk, run, or bike. Or do 1 minute each of:

• High knees
• Jumping jacks
• Front kicks
• Burpees
• Running in place

4 minutes
Do 1 minute of:

Lunges or walking lunges

• Mountain climbers
• Repeat each

3 minutes
Do:

• 10 push-ups and then rest
• 15 tricep dips and then rest

Repeat for a total of 3 minutes

2 minutes
Do 30 seconds of:

• Regular squats
• Jump squats
• Repeat each

1 minute

• Plank

Source: Caitlin Murphy, fitness instructor, fitness/lifestyle reporter, blogger at www.fitfabcities.com

Are YOU doing it right?

How to S.W.E.A.T.  the RIGHT~

Wellness Wednesday

• Support: Having support of a friend or family helps you stay on task.  People are more likely to exercise if they have social support for being active, but the best kind of social support differs between men and women.

• Water: During exercise our body regulates its core temperature through sweat. As a result we often excrete more water than we intake, which can lead to heat cramps, dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. General Training Guidelines for Fluid Intake: Everybody needs 64 oz. of fluid

(water) every day for optimal cellular and metabolic processes. Drink 2-3 cups of fluids up to two hours before an exercise session. During intense and prolonged exercise sessions, or exercising in a hot/humid environment, drink 8-10 oz. every 20 minutes. After exercise drink enough fluids to replace quench your thirst plus extra.

• Enjoy: Do physical activities that you enjoy doing; dancing, biking, walking etc. Mix it up: (If its dance for Monday and Wednesday, try bicycling on a Tuesday and Thursday and aerobics on Sunday). Take your routine outdoors, walk through the local park, and if it is done in the morning, you get to take in the cool fresh air too – an added advantage!

• Action: Take action immediately. The longer you procrastinate, the

more likely you won’t take action. If you really desire the acquire motivation to exercise, make a commitment right now. Call up your local gym to register. Or call a friend (a reliable one of course) Take action today! Time: Do some form of exercise minimum of three times a week

• Time: Keep a weekly schedule of at least 3 times to do the following exercises:

1. Cardio exercise for at least 30 minutes per session 2. Toning exercise 15-20 minutes per session.

You can do cardio + toning all on the same day or you can split cardio one day and toning the next day..... The Institute of Medicine recommends doing both as part of your routine regimen to maintain cardiovascular health and ideal body weight and body composition.

Contact Nancy Larson @ my.healthiswealth@comcast.net