I am always curious about why some people reach their goals and others seem to never make the connection. So I asked myself, “What is it that people really want?” I came to the conclusion that most people simply want to find the place where healthy meets enjoyable. What does that mean? Well, most people want to be healthier, but they want to do that in way that is manageable and that fits them personally.
This requires you to do some self-study and to discover what makes you tick. You must first understand the reasons you got to where you are, before you can move on to someplace new. Many people do not want to look into the “whys.” Without this crucial step, progress usually stalls. When you begin to see how you got somewhere, then you can evaluate where you got off track and begin making headway toward your intended destination.
Many people make weight loss a goal, but they never consider what their lifestyle would have to look like to achieve and maintain that weight. Most often it is unrealistic to choose such a low number on the scale, due to the kind of lifestyle you would have to live, not just to get to that weight, but to stay there. That is the main reason I encourage people to focus on improving their fitness versus losing their fatness.
When you switch your motivation you will improve your results. This has to do with your focus. When you think about what you want to achieve, versus what you are trying to avoid, you will enjoy the process much more. This accelerates your progress in the direction you are trying to go. By finding a way to enjoy the process of healthier living you will begin to naturally achieve your goals. If you try to force your goals, the results will only be temporary as you return back to the old familiar habits.
I often discuss the importance of lifestyle. It is all about how you choose to live your life on a day to day basis. When you find ways to add healthier behaviors that you enjoy, you will be more likely to keep them up. If you do something you don’t enjoy just to be healthier then it is usually temporary.
The key is finding things that fit you. When you are willing to change your habits and routines, you will begin to see the progress. Stop and start efforts will never work, it will take a commitment to a new approach to living.
I look at most wellness professionals and they often appear to naturally enjoy exercising and eating healthy. From the sound of their messages they don’t understand what it is like to crave junk food, or to be unmotivated to move more. In their lifestyle, it just makes sense. What I have learned is that you have to meet people where they are.
People have to change their thinking and set their resolve. With the right mindset it will be easier to implement lifestyle changes that will stick. Those changes should be specific to your goals, but more important perhaps is that they are in line with why you made the goal in the first place.
How do you get something different? You must do different things. Until you are willing change your habits, you will be unable to get the kind of results you seek. It is time to stop thinking about all the things you should or should not be doing!
There is power in action. Start with each choice and begin to plan a schedule that includes activity and plans for healthier eating. Make today a great day, then wake up and do the same thing again tomorrow.
Overtime if you continue this day by day approach, you will string together a lifestyle of healthy choices. This is when you will begin to see the realistic goal you have set. When your head, heart and habits all line up, you will create that magical place where healthy meets enjoyable.
“Wellness Matters”
By Lisa Schilling
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Failing Forward
It is important to allow yourself and those you care about, to fail-forward. Often you limit people when you warn them about all of the possible reasons they might fail. If someone steps out in faith, you owe them the opportunity to fail in the pursuit of their goals.
When a person attempts something and fails, they learn a valuable lesson in what does not work. This gives them the knowledge they need to re-tool and try again a new way that might work. When you do not encourage the pursuit of someone’s goals, you limit them to small thinking. This can result in discouragement and unfulfilled needs.
It is vital to encourage creative pursuits and nurture the development of talents. Michael Angelo did not start out making masterpieces. If people chose to discourage him or criticize his talent in the beginning, he might not have gone on to fuel his passion and create his dreams. It is important to realize that whatever someone creates is subject to opinion.
What one person sees as genius, another might see as ridiculous. Those who create should not limit themselves because of the opinions of others. They should be encouraged to do what they love and do it as much as possible.
The result of this could be that they choose to take steps forward and dream big. When the source of their passion is fueled and supported they will create true artistry. It will be artistry because it was created from a pure source, not shaped by the opinions of what some people might think of it.
Be cautious when nurturing creative pursuits or assisting people to realize their talents. Try not to put limits on it. After all, in life there are no crystal balls. You never really know what others may see in the work, even when it seems you know the obvious conclusion. By supporting the creative pursuit you can encourage the talent without having to endorse the project.
All constructive comments are irrelevant to the outcome they will emit. Being creative is an unusual state of being. Those who are more analytical many not understand how it works. Therefore it is even more vital to provide support, encouragement and acknowledgment versus criticism and attempts to be realistic about chances of reaching goals.
When a person expresses interest in pursuing goals and makes attempts to reach them, honor the effort. Allowing them to either succeed or fail, gives them the ability to reach their goals or fail-forward. Worst case, they will rule out something to not do the next time.
Questioning them or expressing doubts, can cause them to question their passion, their purpose and their ability. That is very harmful to the creative process and does not allow the person to evolve forward. Understanding how the creative process is different from the analytical process is important to create healthy partnerships and promote success for all involved.
Passionate creative people promote change and facilitate the expansion of ideas and new ways of thinking. Helping them to grow and expand their talents can be a benefit to everyone. A talent left unexplored is a huge waste and can lead that person to feel something is missing in their life. We are all created with talents, some are conventional and some are unseen traits. Certain types of talents are easy to spot while others may be more difficult to uncover.
No matter what the special talent, without expressing it there will never be fulfillment in day to day life. Often helping others find and develop their talents can be what it takes to find and uncover your own. Be aware of the type of person you are and surround yourself with people who nurture your spirit and your gifts.
Do not allow people’s opinions to limit your dreams. Do not be content to think and live small lives. Think and live big, then act to achieve your dreams. Do not give up over failures, get up and create a new vision and plan. Then most importantly ACT to achieve it.
Being healthy is more than just a physical state. It comes from your mental and emotional wellbeing combined with the physical. Being allowed to express yourself, or allowing others to do so, is healing and promotes total wellness. For total wellness, look for ways you can support others at the same time you nurture your own talents and inclinations.
“Wellness Matters”
By Lisa Schilling
When a person attempts something and fails, they learn a valuable lesson in what does not work. This gives them the knowledge they need to re-tool and try again a new way that might work. When you do not encourage the pursuit of someone’s goals, you limit them to small thinking. This can result in discouragement and unfulfilled needs.
It is vital to encourage creative pursuits and nurture the development of talents. Michael Angelo did not start out making masterpieces. If people chose to discourage him or criticize his talent in the beginning, he might not have gone on to fuel his passion and create his dreams. It is important to realize that whatever someone creates is subject to opinion.
What one person sees as genius, another might see as ridiculous. Those who create should not limit themselves because of the opinions of others. They should be encouraged to do what they love and do it as much as possible.
The result of this could be that they choose to take steps forward and dream big. When the source of their passion is fueled and supported they will create true artistry. It will be artistry because it was created from a pure source, not shaped by the opinions of what some people might think of it.
Be cautious when nurturing creative pursuits or assisting people to realize their talents. Try not to put limits on it. After all, in life there are no crystal balls. You never really know what others may see in the work, even when it seems you know the obvious conclusion. By supporting the creative pursuit you can encourage the talent without having to endorse the project.
All constructive comments are irrelevant to the outcome they will emit. Being creative is an unusual state of being. Those who are more analytical many not understand how it works. Therefore it is even more vital to provide support, encouragement and acknowledgment versus criticism and attempts to be realistic about chances of reaching goals.
When a person expresses interest in pursuing goals and makes attempts to reach them, honor the effort. Allowing them to either succeed or fail, gives them the ability to reach their goals or fail-forward. Worst case, they will rule out something to not do the next time.
Questioning them or expressing doubts, can cause them to question their passion, their purpose and their ability. That is very harmful to the creative process and does not allow the person to evolve forward. Understanding how the creative process is different from the analytical process is important to create healthy partnerships and promote success for all involved.
Passionate creative people promote change and facilitate the expansion of ideas and new ways of thinking. Helping them to grow and expand their talents can be a benefit to everyone. A talent left unexplored is a huge waste and can lead that person to feel something is missing in their life. We are all created with talents, some are conventional and some are unseen traits. Certain types of talents are easy to spot while others may be more difficult to uncover.
No matter what the special talent, without expressing it there will never be fulfillment in day to day life. Often helping others find and develop their talents can be what it takes to find and uncover your own. Be aware of the type of person you are and surround yourself with people who nurture your spirit and your gifts.
Do not allow people’s opinions to limit your dreams. Do not be content to think and live small lives. Think and live big, then act to achieve your dreams. Do not give up over failures, get up and create a new vision and plan. Then most importantly ACT to achieve it.
Being healthy is more than just a physical state. It comes from your mental and emotional wellbeing combined with the physical. Being allowed to express yourself, or allowing others to do so, is healing and promotes total wellness. For total wellness, look for ways you can support others at the same time you nurture your own talents and inclinations.
“Wellness Matters”
By Lisa Schilling
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Override Sub-Conscience Programming Through Conscience Intentions
It has been proven that stress is a major cause of all fatigue and illness. The stress response is a reaction by you, based on perceptions created in your mind. It has been shown that we only use 10% of our mind and that 75% of all sickness and disease has it origin in the mind. That equates to 10% of the mind causing 75% of sickness. This illustrates the power that you hold deep within your mind and in your thoughts. By learning to use your thinking more effectively, you could begin to reduce illness and a live healthier, more productive life.
Studies have also shown that people with a positive outlook live longer and more fulfilled lives. This is because they have learned how to utilize the power of their mind in a positive way. The majority of people fail to get their mind working FOR them. Instead, it seems to work AGAINST them, creating outcomes they do not desire.
Beliefs start in the sub-conscious mind, sometimes with a just a single thought. Change the thoughts, and you can begin to change your beliefs. When you do that, you can begin to change your actions. Learning to work in harmony with both your conscious and subconscious mind takes time, but can be mastered with regular practice. By training your subconscious mind, you can develop the ability to influence your future.
If you want to create healthy changes in your life, you must first address the subconscious programming you have previously accepted. You do that by listening to your internal dialogue, the little voice that keeps a running conversation in your head. Your mind only knows what you tell it and it believes that to be true whether it is reality or not. If your mental dialogue is always interjecting negative thoughts, this is what your mind will work to make reality.
The brain is a complex computer. You use it to record and process information. Like a computer, the mind relies on other components to make it work. On a conscious level, you set goals based on the information you take in and know to be true. However, on a subconscious level, you have very strong but subtle programming that has been established through years of repetition and conditioning.
The brain will introduce thoughts into your mental dialogue based on your prior programming. Often it is this subtle detail that stands in the way of you starting or maintaining healthy habits that you know in your conscious mind are beneficial. These subconscious messages can sabotage your efforts.
Programming is what you have accepted from the outside world or fed to yourself. It sets up your beliefs, and a chain reaction begins from that. Whether this programming was right or wrong, true or false, the result of it is what you believe. What you believe about yourself affects every aspect of life, your chances of success, and your ability to create positive change.
When you get started on something new, you have abundant positive energy. Everything flows easily in the beginning. You start off with extraordinary zest and passion, but over time you grow tired. Your positive energy can become sparse and negative. This energy shift leads to situations you don't want.
At this point, your thoughts can begin to work against you. When you focus your awareness and attention on them, they can draw the very things you are trying to avoid to you. This begins when you lose focus of what you want and shift your thoughts and intentions away from your goals. Instead of being aware of your abundance and all of the “haves” in your life, you begin thinking of all of the “have-nots.” This will set off a negative spiral of events, and each negative thought can yield another.
You must start controlling your thoughts. Reinsert your positive messages and shift your focus back to what you want to create and away from what you hoped to avoid. When you think about what you are trying to stay away from, you feed power to that thing or behavior and make it even more desirable.
You must replace “avoidance thoughts” with “creation thoughts.” By using thought reframing you can help to create incredible personal opportunities, by dwelling on what you are working to create, not what you are working to avoid. Begin to frame thoughts that create the circumstances you want in your life. Since your thoughts shape your reality, you have the power to shape your reality. As Napoleon Hill stated, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
"Wellness Matters"
By Lisa Schilling RN
Studies have also shown that people with a positive outlook live longer and more fulfilled lives. This is because they have learned how to utilize the power of their mind in a positive way. The majority of people fail to get their mind working FOR them. Instead, it seems to work AGAINST them, creating outcomes they do not desire.
Beliefs start in the sub-conscious mind, sometimes with a just a single thought. Change the thoughts, and you can begin to change your beliefs. When you do that, you can begin to change your actions. Learning to work in harmony with both your conscious and subconscious mind takes time, but can be mastered with regular practice. By training your subconscious mind, you can develop the ability to influence your future.
If you want to create healthy changes in your life, you must first address the subconscious programming you have previously accepted. You do that by listening to your internal dialogue, the little voice that keeps a running conversation in your head. Your mind only knows what you tell it and it believes that to be true whether it is reality or not. If your mental dialogue is always interjecting negative thoughts, this is what your mind will work to make reality.
The brain is a complex computer. You use it to record and process information. Like a computer, the mind relies on other components to make it work. On a conscious level, you set goals based on the information you take in and know to be true. However, on a subconscious level, you have very strong but subtle programming that has been established through years of repetition and conditioning.
The brain will introduce thoughts into your mental dialogue based on your prior programming. Often it is this subtle detail that stands in the way of you starting or maintaining healthy habits that you know in your conscious mind are beneficial. These subconscious messages can sabotage your efforts.
Programming is what you have accepted from the outside world or fed to yourself. It sets up your beliefs, and a chain reaction begins from that. Whether this programming was right or wrong, true or false, the result of it is what you believe. What you believe about yourself affects every aspect of life, your chances of success, and your ability to create positive change.
When you get started on something new, you have abundant positive energy. Everything flows easily in the beginning. You start off with extraordinary zest and passion, but over time you grow tired. Your positive energy can become sparse and negative. This energy shift leads to situations you don't want.
At this point, your thoughts can begin to work against you. When you focus your awareness and attention on them, they can draw the very things you are trying to avoid to you. This begins when you lose focus of what you want and shift your thoughts and intentions away from your goals. Instead of being aware of your abundance and all of the “haves” in your life, you begin thinking of all of the “have-nots.” This will set off a negative spiral of events, and each negative thought can yield another.
You must start controlling your thoughts. Reinsert your positive messages and shift your focus back to what you want to create and away from what you hoped to avoid. When you think about what you are trying to stay away from, you feed power to that thing or behavior and make it even more desirable.
You must replace “avoidance thoughts” with “creation thoughts.” By using thought reframing you can help to create incredible personal opportunities, by dwelling on what you are working to create, not what you are working to avoid. Begin to frame thoughts that create the circumstances you want in your life. Since your thoughts shape your reality, you have the power to shape your reality. As Napoleon Hill stated, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
"Wellness Matters"
By Lisa Schilling RN
Mind Over Matter-Using the Power of Your Thoughts to Create What You Desire
The power of the mind is infinite. Your subconscious mind works on the information that you feed it. If that information is negative, then your thoughts will connect to experiences that will help to make that become a reality. Once your subconscious mind gets a message, it attempts to connect you with the people and events needed to create that situation. This is all based on the messages you are sending it.
What you think about in your subconscious mind will actually draw you to people and events that will help make those thoughts a reality. This part of your mind does not make value based judgments. It does not operate from a standpoint of a good or bad action. It only works to create your reality based on the messages you send it.
Your messages are not just your thoughts. Everything action you take, word you say or thought you believe is picked up by your subconscious mind. Just thinking you can do or achieve something does not mean that it will suddenly happen. It does not work that way. What it does do, is create a positive awareness that begins to show up in how you think, act and feel. This energy is sent out to those you encounter and they too, begin to see the possibilities.
The basic principle is that whatever your mind can imagine, it can bring into your awareness, ways to make that dream a reality. How does it do that? What your mind thinks, sees, believes, and feels is routed through your subconscious mind. It works to develop that reality based on the thoughts that began in your mind. To get the most out of your thinking, you need to use the right techniques to develop its full power.
Positive thought reframing is one technique. By looking at the positive, you allow your mind to shift its attention so that can see things differently. This sends a different energy and different message to your subconscious mind. This new message is picked up and attracts these kinds of situations to you.
You are now looking for them to happen. It is much like a self fulfilling prophesy. You expect to fail and it shows in your attitude and in your spirit. This does not evoke a feeling of confidence from you and others will sense it too. This projection effect helps to bring the action into reality. When you focus on success and achieving your goals, other people will begin to see the potential in you too. They are now looking for it, expecting it. You will begin to attract positive situations into your life.
Remember the last new vehicle you got? You probably never noticed how many were on the road before you got yours and now you see them everywhere. Has there been a rapid increase in your make of car, or have you just begun looking for and paying attention to what was already always in front of you?
This is a key point. By raising your awareness of the things or situations you want, you will begin to be drawn to them. It has to do with the minds selective awareness. The brain filters so much of what we take into our awareness. Often we miss things because we were never looking for them. Take a different path home, or walk on the opposite side of the street. What new things will you observe, simply because you are now looking for them?
Begin to look for success, positive people and achievement of your goals. Create awareness about what it takes to achieve your goals. Think about it regularly and begin acting on those thoughts. You will naturally begin pulling those kinds of things into your awareness. This can help to crowd out those old negative thinking patterns.
Which does your mind dwell on-the part of your glass that is full, or the part that is empty? Always thinking about what you don't have or aren't good at, will lower your productivity, efforts and enthusiasm. It will become thought encompassing. At all times, there are good and bad things happening. What are you looking for? The subconscious mind will help you find what your thoughts are “seeing” by looking for them.
You will begin to see the positive aspects in other people, when you first focus on your positive qualities. Turn your attention to what you've done, your strengths and blessings. This attitude of gratitude and thankfulness unleashes creative energy and empowers you to excel.
This technique allows you to release anger and unhappiness because it gets your mind to focus on the positive instead of the negative. This shifts the entire focus of your thinking and will create a more positive energy around you. This energy does attract people because you are now acting like someone who is confident and successful. In turn, people will have more confidence in you.
Creating this positive energy is vital to your success and happiness. Don't waste your energy living with a negative thought life. Negative thoughts equal a negative reality.
Allow yourself to be encouraging and positive to those you meet. Doing this gets your mind going in a positive direction, thus attracting more positive situations. When you back it up with action, you complete the positive cycle and begin to pay forward this same positive energy. Start today and begin creating a positive lifestyle so that you can enjoy the life you have created.
"Wellness Matters"
By Lisa Schilling
What you think about in your subconscious mind will actually draw you to people and events that will help make those thoughts a reality. This part of your mind does not make value based judgments. It does not operate from a standpoint of a good or bad action. It only works to create your reality based on the messages you send it.
Your messages are not just your thoughts. Everything action you take, word you say or thought you believe is picked up by your subconscious mind. Just thinking you can do or achieve something does not mean that it will suddenly happen. It does not work that way. What it does do, is create a positive awareness that begins to show up in how you think, act and feel. This energy is sent out to those you encounter and they too, begin to see the possibilities.
The basic principle is that whatever your mind can imagine, it can bring into your awareness, ways to make that dream a reality. How does it do that? What your mind thinks, sees, believes, and feels is routed through your subconscious mind. It works to develop that reality based on the thoughts that began in your mind. To get the most out of your thinking, you need to use the right techniques to develop its full power.
Positive thought reframing is one technique. By looking at the positive, you allow your mind to shift its attention so that can see things differently. This sends a different energy and different message to your subconscious mind. This new message is picked up and attracts these kinds of situations to you.
You are now looking for them to happen. It is much like a self fulfilling prophesy. You expect to fail and it shows in your attitude and in your spirit. This does not evoke a feeling of confidence from you and others will sense it too. This projection effect helps to bring the action into reality. When you focus on success and achieving your goals, other people will begin to see the potential in you too. They are now looking for it, expecting it. You will begin to attract positive situations into your life.
Remember the last new vehicle you got? You probably never noticed how many were on the road before you got yours and now you see them everywhere. Has there been a rapid increase in your make of car, or have you just begun looking for and paying attention to what was already always in front of you?
This is a key point. By raising your awareness of the things or situations you want, you will begin to be drawn to them. It has to do with the minds selective awareness. The brain filters so much of what we take into our awareness. Often we miss things because we were never looking for them. Take a different path home, or walk on the opposite side of the street. What new things will you observe, simply because you are now looking for them?
Begin to look for success, positive people and achievement of your goals. Create awareness about what it takes to achieve your goals. Think about it regularly and begin acting on those thoughts. You will naturally begin pulling those kinds of things into your awareness. This can help to crowd out those old negative thinking patterns.
Which does your mind dwell on-the part of your glass that is full, or the part that is empty? Always thinking about what you don't have or aren't good at, will lower your productivity, efforts and enthusiasm. It will become thought encompassing. At all times, there are good and bad things happening. What are you looking for? The subconscious mind will help you find what your thoughts are “seeing” by looking for them.
You will begin to see the positive aspects in other people, when you first focus on your positive qualities. Turn your attention to what you've done, your strengths and blessings. This attitude of gratitude and thankfulness unleashes creative energy and empowers you to excel.
This technique allows you to release anger and unhappiness because it gets your mind to focus on the positive instead of the negative. This shifts the entire focus of your thinking and will create a more positive energy around you. This energy does attract people because you are now acting like someone who is confident and successful. In turn, people will have more confidence in you.
Creating this positive energy is vital to your success and happiness. Don't waste your energy living with a negative thought life. Negative thoughts equal a negative reality.
Allow yourself to be encouraging and positive to those you meet. Doing this gets your mind going in a positive direction, thus attracting more positive situations. When you back it up with action, you complete the positive cycle and begin to pay forward this same positive energy. Start today and begin creating a positive lifestyle so that you can enjoy the life you have created.
"Wellness Matters"
By Lisa Schilling
Thursday, June 17, 2010
How to Gain Energy, Lose Weight and Push Past Plateaus
Do you feel frustrated, fat and fatigued? You are not alone! This is a common problem, often stemming from the obvious, eating too much and moving too little. However there are some people who put forth big efforts for seemingly small gains.
For these people, frustration is a huge problem. Their body has reached a set-point, a weight it struggles to remain at, regardless of the pressures on it to change. This is what I call a “life-style comfortable” weight. Your body can maintain this weight in a lifestyle that is easy for you to keep up with.
The body is designed to keep you healthy and protect you from starvation. The closer you get to your goal weight the more your body is going to cling to what is already there. This is called the “push-pull phenomenon:” When you attempt to cut calories, your body fights to release the fat while, at the same time, your fat cells are constantly striving to fill themselves back up with more fat.
Your body perceives dieting as gradual starvation. Traditional dieting involves deliberately withholding the body’s usual supply of nutrients and energy sources. The body will attempt to fight off this depletion of energy stores by slowing down your metabolism. The results of which, can be a weight loss slow down or plateau.
You keep doing the same things you did before, but stop getting results. For some, this can be enough to make them stop trying all together. I have heard people say, “What’s the point? I can’t lose any more weight; no matter how hard I try, so why keep killing myself?” This is a tough place to be.
Realize that it is time to change up your game plan. This is due to the adaptation principal. Your body is smart and can quickly become accustomed to consistent patterns. It is best to keep your metabolism constantly guessing, which prevents your body from quickly adapting to a certain routine of exercise or number of calories it expects to receive.
By not allowing the body to adapt to a regular routine, you force the body to work at a more beneficial level. Changing exercise routines, calorie levels and types of foods, can help to accomplish this.
One way to change things up is to develop a whole-istic eating plan. What does that mean for you? It means making a regular commitment to eating less processed foods and in addition, adding more antioxidant-rich whole foods. These foods are known to turn off fat storage hormones and can reduce cravings and appetite by 20 percent or more. This could be just what you need to punch your metabolism up a notch.
Some foods to consider would be flaxseed, whole wheat, nuts, dairy, yogurt, fresh or frozen fruit–especially berries, prunes, fish of all kinds, fresh or frozen vegetables, beans and lentils, oatmeal-not cut, dark chocolate, lean cuts of meat, and eggs. Also consider adding spices such as cheyenne pepper, cinnamon and garlic. This in addition to plenty of water and occasional green tea will keep your metabolism revved up.
Regularly eating processed foods will slow your metabolism and slow your weight loss progress. Your body does not recognize or metabolize processed foods in the same way that it does natural or fresh foods.
Preservatives, additives and shelf stabilizers can halt your progress. They have been known to stimulate the production of dopamine in the brain. This fuels the urge to eat and makes it more difficult to stop. Studies have shown that heavy consumption of heavily processed foods will actually increase abdominal fat deposits by 30 percent, even for those cutting calories.
If you are at a plateau, commit to a seven day whole food eating plan as a jump start. From there, make fresh, natural or whole food choices on regular days and begin to add some processed foods when offered them at special meals or when eating out, but not on a frequent basis.
Start planning ahead and making the bulk of your diet come from whole, natural and unprocessed foods. That’s it! Sounds easy, but the problem is that it is just as easy, if not easier, not to do it. However, by purposefully altering your eating style in this way, you will begin to feel better, have more energy and it will allow you to bust out of the plateau you are in. The choice is yours, plan, take your time and choose REAL foods consistently.
"Wellness Matters"
By Lisa Schilling RN
For these people, frustration is a huge problem. Their body has reached a set-point, a weight it struggles to remain at, regardless of the pressures on it to change. This is what I call a “life-style comfortable” weight. Your body can maintain this weight in a lifestyle that is easy for you to keep up with.
The body is designed to keep you healthy and protect you from starvation. The closer you get to your goal weight the more your body is going to cling to what is already there. This is called the “push-pull phenomenon:” When you attempt to cut calories, your body fights to release the fat while, at the same time, your fat cells are constantly striving to fill themselves back up with more fat.
Your body perceives dieting as gradual starvation. Traditional dieting involves deliberately withholding the body’s usual supply of nutrients and energy sources. The body will attempt to fight off this depletion of energy stores by slowing down your metabolism. The results of which, can be a weight loss slow down or plateau.
You keep doing the same things you did before, but stop getting results. For some, this can be enough to make them stop trying all together. I have heard people say, “What’s the point? I can’t lose any more weight; no matter how hard I try, so why keep killing myself?” This is a tough place to be.
Realize that it is time to change up your game plan. This is due to the adaptation principal. Your body is smart and can quickly become accustomed to consistent patterns. It is best to keep your metabolism constantly guessing, which prevents your body from quickly adapting to a certain routine of exercise or number of calories it expects to receive.
By not allowing the body to adapt to a regular routine, you force the body to work at a more beneficial level. Changing exercise routines, calorie levels and types of foods, can help to accomplish this.
One way to change things up is to develop a whole-istic eating plan. What does that mean for you? It means making a regular commitment to eating less processed foods and in addition, adding more antioxidant-rich whole foods. These foods are known to turn off fat storage hormones and can reduce cravings and appetite by 20 percent or more. This could be just what you need to punch your metabolism up a notch.
Some foods to consider would be flaxseed, whole wheat, nuts, dairy, yogurt, fresh or frozen fruit–especially berries, prunes, fish of all kinds, fresh or frozen vegetables, beans and lentils, oatmeal-not cut, dark chocolate, lean cuts of meat, and eggs. Also consider adding spices such as cheyenne pepper, cinnamon and garlic. This in addition to plenty of water and occasional green tea will keep your metabolism revved up.
Regularly eating processed foods will slow your metabolism and slow your weight loss progress. Your body does not recognize or metabolize processed foods in the same way that it does natural or fresh foods.
Preservatives, additives and shelf stabilizers can halt your progress. They have been known to stimulate the production of dopamine in the brain. This fuels the urge to eat and makes it more difficult to stop. Studies have shown that heavy consumption of heavily processed foods will actually increase abdominal fat deposits by 30 percent, even for those cutting calories.
If you are at a plateau, commit to a seven day whole food eating plan as a jump start. From there, make fresh, natural or whole food choices on regular days and begin to add some processed foods when offered them at special meals or when eating out, but not on a frequent basis.
Start planning ahead and making the bulk of your diet come from whole, natural and unprocessed foods. That’s it! Sounds easy, but the problem is that it is just as easy, if not easier, not to do it. However, by purposefully altering your eating style in this way, you will begin to feel better, have more energy and it will allow you to bust out of the plateau you are in. The choice is yours, plan, take your time and choose REAL foods consistently.
"Wellness Matters"
By Lisa Schilling RN
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Creating a Recipe for Wellness-Stopping the Cycle of Bad Health Habits
Today it seems that more and more people are falling into a negative spiral of personal habits. The recipe starts out by adding increased stress and responsibilities. Then you add a reduction of personal time, mixed with fatigue and lack of quality sleep. Combine with convenience food, comfort eating, and continue until you are fully unmotivated and discouraged.
Does this sound familiar? Often, this becomes a recipe for disaster. Much like a snowball rolling down a hill, one poor behavior combines with another to increase the speed of the results. You will find that stopping this cycle is just plain difficult.
Because one behavior leads so easily to the next, it is like trying to stop a chain reaction of falling dominos. The more stressed you are, the more you crave non-nutritious foods. The more short on time, the more convenience items you eat and there’s no time for the gym. The more weight you put on, the less energy you have and the more difficult it becomes to move around.
Can you see how easily this situation can get out of hand? Often people wake up one day, take a look in the mirror, and say to themselves, “How did I get this way!” Well it did not happen overnight. It happened while you were focusing on OTHER things. Sometimes these are basic survival needs, but often they are simply poor choices.
Just as Maslow spoke of a Hierarchy of Needs, we see that people must meet basic needs before seeking more advanced ones. Without adequate food, shelter, clothing or safety, the state of your health and fitness seems less important. However, in America the issue has less to do with lack of basic needs, and more to do with a distortion of the “want-need” belief.
Today people are cultured to expect to have television, cell phones, computers, designer clothes, new cars and the list goes on and on. These are not needs. They are wants. Somewhere along the way, people have been conditioned to think that without these kinds of items they cannot live a fulfilled life.
What does that have to do with health and fitness? More than you realize. In order to have all of these items, people put an enormous amount of pressure and stress into their lives. To have, use and maintain these items, people work more and also lead a more sedentary life.
Those two things, increased work load (often unfulfilling work), and an otherwise sedentary lifestyle, lead to being chronically overweight. Being stressed and unfulfilled, leads directly to poor eating habits and a lack of productive exercise. After working all day, being stressed at an unfulfilling job, the last thing most people feel like doing is getting some exercise or cooking a nutritious meal.
It has to do with a time principle. When at work, your time is not your own. When given the chance to be on your own time, many who find themselves overwhelmed and exhausted, will choose to simply wind down or complete the few tasks they still have on their list.
We all have peak energy times. This means you need to plan ahead to achieve your best results. Morning people have an advantage. If you can consistently exercise in the mornings and start your day off right by planning for healthy eating, you have a greater chance of creating a lifelong habit.
However if you are like me, and experience a three-hour brain delay from the time you open your eyes, you may have to be more creative. There are always ways to achieve your goal, if you are willing to learn more about what drives you and what stops you in your tracks.
You can use this information to craft a wellness plan that will be adaptable to your needs. For good health and weight loss you MUST stop the snowball and change the recipe. This will require you to make some manageable changes and consistently stick with them.
First establish WHAT you hope to accomplish, then begin to highlight WHY it is important for you to accomplish it. This will be your motivator and it is required to keep you focused on what really matters.
Evaluate what is holding you back: unfulfilling job, no free time, poor planning, too much stress, or just a lack of direction and make the needed changes.
It is time to shift your focus to what really matters and create a recipe for wellness. Your recipe is created from each choice you make, and the results are measured by your health as well as how you look and feel each day. Choose wisely!
"Wellness Matters"
By Lisa Schilling RN
Does this sound familiar? Often, this becomes a recipe for disaster. Much like a snowball rolling down a hill, one poor behavior combines with another to increase the speed of the results. You will find that stopping this cycle is just plain difficult.
Because one behavior leads so easily to the next, it is like trying to stop a chain reaction of falling dominos. The more stressed you are, the more you crave non-nutritious foods. The more short on time, the more convenience items you eat and there’s no time for the gym. The more weight you put on, the less energy you have and the more difficult it becomes to move around.
Can you see how easily this situation can get out of hand? Often people wake up one day, take a look in the mirror, and say to themselves, “How did I get this way!” Well it did not happen overnight. It happened while you were focusing on OTHER things. Sometimes these are basic survival needs, but often they are simply poor choices.
Just as Maslow spoke of a Hierarchy of Needs, we see that people must meet basic needs before seeking more advanced ones. Without adequate food, shelter, clothing or safety, the state of your health and fitness seems less important. However, in America the issue has less to do with lack of basic needs, and more to do with a distortion of the “want-need” belief.
Today people are cultured to expect to have television, cell phones, computers, designer clothes, new cars and the list goes on and on. These are not needs. They are wants. Somewhere along the way, people have been conditioned to think that without these kinds of items they cannot live a fulfilled life.
What does that have to do with health and fitness? More than you realize. In order to have all of these items, people put an enormous amount of pressure and stress into their lives. To have, use and maintain these items, people work more and also lead a more sedentary life.
Those two things, increased work load (often unfulfilling work), and an otherwise sedentary lifestyle, lead to being chronically overweight. Being stressed and unfulfilled, leads directly to poor eating habits and a lack of productive exercise. After working all day, being stressed at an unfulfilling job, the last thing most people feel like doing is getting some exercise or cooking a nutritious meal.
It has to do with a time principle. When at work, your time is not your own. When given the chance to be on your own time, many who find themselves overwhelmed and exhausted, will choose to simply wind down or complete the few tasks they still have on their list.
We all have peak energy times. This means you need to plan ahead to achieve your best results. Morning people have an advantage. If you can consistently exercise in the mornings and start your day off right by planning for healthy eating, you have a greater chance of creating a lifelong habit.
However if you are like me, and experience a three-hour brain delay from the time you open your eyes, you may have to be more creative. There are always ways to achieve your goal, if you are willing to learn more about what drives you and what stops you in your tracks.
You can use this information to craft a wellness plan that will be adaptable to your needs. For good health and weight loss you MUST stop the snowball and change the recipe. This will require you to make some manageable changes and consistently stick with them.
First establish WHAT you hope to accomplish, then begin to highlight WHY it is important for you to accomplish it. This will be your motivator and it is required to keep you focused on what really matters.
Evaluate what is holding you back: unfulfilling job, no free time, poor planning, too much stress, or just a lack of direction and make the needed changes.
It is time to shift your focus to what really matters and create a recipe for wellness. Your recipe is created from each choice you make, and the results are measured by your health as well as how you look and feel each day. Choose wisely!
"Wellness Matters"
By Lisa Schilling RN
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
How Changing Your Focus Can Change Your Life-From Fat to Fabulous!
While driving to work today, I heard at least three commercials advertising products designed to make you: thin, skinny, or slim. Is it just me, or does anyone else remember hearing kids called this on the playground as a taught or putdown? Perhaps you had a grandma or certain relative that would comment on how skinny you were getting. But also recall their plan was to “put some meat on your bones,” not congratulate you.
Somehow these are now desirable traits, and companies spend a great deal of money to convince you that their product, plan or pill will help you achieve this. Unfortunately, they are missing the point. People simply want to buy a “look,” not improve their health. To be healthy does not require you to be skinny, however many healthy people have lean, trim figures as a result of their efforts. Your state of fitness has more to do with how your body functions than what the scale says.
There are many ways to be thin and only a handful of those ways are healthy. If you only try to be skinny, and neglect improving your health and fitness, you have sold yourself short. One of my favorite mantras has always been: “Focus on the fitness, not the fatness.”
The more you work to eat sensible, participate in weight bearing exercise, and challenging your heart and lungs with cardiovascular training, the greater your health and fitness improvement will be. This will not only affect how you look, but how you feel, for the duration of your life.
Just looking skinny or weighing less, should not be the goal. Instead consider making your goal to lose body fat through targeted exercise and nutrition changes, to increase lean muscle by adding weight bearing exercise, to improve endurance by challenging your heart and lung function with cardio-based exercise, or to reduce or eliminate medication by changing your habits.
This positive activity will also increase your metal attitude as well as your self- esteem. When you improve your health and change your weight due to consistent healthier habits, you will walk with a little spring in your step. You will feel so good about what you are doing for yourself that others can’t help but notice the change in how you carry yourself.
This is about you taking a proactive approach to your habits. Caring more about how healthy and fit you are, than how much you weigh. When you change your focus you can begin to change your life.
If you find yourself overscheduled, overwhelmed and burned-out, or you have struggled with health, fitness, wellness or life-balance issue in the past, it is time to shift your focus. Spend more time on prevention and less time dealing with the preventable symptoms or conditions caused by unhealthy living.
When you learn the supreme importance of valuing yourself, you are empowered to take responsibility for your choices and thus, take control of your outcomes. When you begin to embrace this connection, you can being to enjoy where you are on the way to where you are going.
Embrace the Get REAL Body Image approach, and learn to value your body as well as what makes you unique. I call this learning to love the skin you are in, while making targeted changes to improve your future. By taking a Get REAL approach, you can learn to embrace moderation and let go of “all or nothing” patterns that drive yo-yo dieting and weight cycling.
I challenge you to see the REAL beauty you have within and begin to let that shine through. By changing your focus and attitude, you can begin to improve your external appearance for the better. Always focusing on becoming the best you, you can be and letting go of unrealistic goals and stereotypes.
Having learned the difference between struggling to be what you were 10 years ago, and enjoying a healthy life at the place you are now, I can relate to the struggles that REAL people have; thus, I speak with empathy and authenticity.
By changing your focus to improved health and fitness and releasing the goal of just being skinny, you will gain the perspective to uncover and implement REAL lifestyle changes to move you toward your goals of improved wellness and self acceptance.
"Wellness Matters"
Lisa Schilling RN, CPT
Somehow these are now desirable traits, and companies spend a great deal of money to convince you that their product, plan or pill will help you achieve this. Unfortunately, they are missing the point. People simply want to buy a “look,” not improve their health. To be healthy does not require you to be skinny, however many healthy people have lean, trim figures as a result of their efforts. Your state of fitness has more to do with how your body functions than what the scale says.
There are many ways to be thin and only a handful of those ways are healthy. If you only try to be skinny, and neglect improving your health and fitness, you have sold yourself short. One of my favorite mantras has always been: “Focus on the fitness, not the fatness.”
The more you work to eat sensible, participate in weight bearing exercise, and challenging your heart and lungs with cardiovascular training, the greater your health and fitness improvement will be. This will not only affect how you look, but how you feel, for the duration of your life.
Just looking skinny or weighing less, should not be the goal. Instead consider making your goal to lose body fat through targeted exercise and nutrition changes, to increase lean muscle by adding weight bearing exercise, to improve endurance by challenging your heart and lung function with cardio-based exercise, or to reduce or eliminate medication by changing your habits.
This positive activity will also increase your metal attitude as well as your self- esteem. When you improve your health and change your weight due to consistent healthier habits, you will walk with a little spring in your step. You will feel so good about what you are doing for yourself that others can’t help but notice the change in how you carry yourself.
This is about you taking a proactive approach to your habits. Caring more about how healthy and fit you are, than how much you weigh. When you change your focus you can begin to change your life.
If you find yourself overscheduled, overwhelmed and burned-out, or you have struggled with health, fitness, wellness or life-balance issue in the past, it is time to shift your focus. Spend more time on prevention and less time dealing with the preventable symptoms or conditions caused by unhealthy living.
When you learn the supreme importance of valuing yourself, you are empowered to take responsibility for your choices and thus, take control of your outcomes. When you begin to embrace this connection, you can being to enjoy where you are on the way to where you are going.
Embrace the Get REAL Body Image approach, and learn to value your body as well as what makes you unique. I call this learning to love the skin you are in, while making targeted changes to improve your future. By taking a Get REAL approach, you can learn to embrace moderation and let go of “all or nothing” patterns that drive yo-yo dieting and weight cycling.
I challenge you to see the REAL beauty you have within and begin to let that shine through. By changing your focus and attitude, you can begin to improve your external appearance for the better. Always focusing on becoming the best you, you can be and letting go of unrealistic goals and stereotypes.
Having learned the difference between struggling to be what you were 10 years ago, and enjoying a healthy life at the place you are now, I can relate to the struggles that REAL people have; thus, I speak with empathy and authenticity.
By changing your focus to improved health and fitness and releasing the goal of just being skinny, you will gain the perspective to uncover and implement REAL lifestyle changes to move you toward your goals of improved wellness and self acceptance.
"Wellness Matters"
Lisa Schilling RN, CPT
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The “Top Ten” Nutrition Secrets for Athletes
Athletes have greater demands placed on their bodies and as a result they must taken greater measures to ensure they meet those demands. Student athletes are at even greater risk for deficiencies due to the growth and hormonal changes also taking place. This is a top ten look at ways you can tackle nutrition head on!
1. Take a daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. Ensure adequate amounts of Vitamin C, Vitamin E, B Complex, and Folic Acid. Consider Vitamin C that is esterized, Vitamin E with mixed tocopherols and a vitamin and mineral supplement that has been chelated.
Look for minerals as amino acid chelates. Important minerals to consider would be Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Zinc, Manganese, Chromium and Selenium.
2. Remember, a meal is eating two or more nutritious foods at one sitting. At a minimum, it should consist of a complex carb and a protein. Aim for two different colored fruits or veggies at each sitting. Eat upon waking up, after exercise and take in health nutrition (100-300 calories) every three to four hours.
3. Drink water all day long. Hydrate more on hot days or when sweating a great deal. Avoid caffeine in the evening, and use it wisely prior to workouts, games or practices.
4. Practice your KISS: “Keep It Simple Stupid.” Having multiple food options is not necessary to constitute a meal. People tend to eat more, the more options they have, so keep it simple, basic and as natural as possible.
5. Add more nutritional value to common foods. Consider products such as whey protein powder, flaxseed meal and wheat germ as non-flavor health additives to your recipes, cereal, yogurt and smoothies. Pureed fruits or veggies can also be snuck into regular recipes. Gear your mind toward adding more nutrition to each eating episode. Think of healthful additions to round out meals.
6. Look to add more fiber through complex carbs and fruits and vegetables. Fiber acts like little brooms, sweeping out the digestive tract. Carefully evaluate the first five ingredients listed to ensure the actual “whole grain” content.
7. Think more brown and less white. Try whole grain options in your bread, crackers, pasta, and flour. Choose brown rice over white and dense carbs over light and airy. Food = Fuel, what do you want to fuel your body with?
8. For a mental boost, try a baked potato with the skin before bed (3 hours after last meal). It helps the body raise your serotonin level. It creates an insulin response, which has an effect on the movement of the amino acid tryptophan from your blood into the brain. Choose any non-protein toppings and eat the skin.
9. Plan grocery shopping with a protein to balance principle in mind. For every 15 grams of carbs you eat, try to eat 7 grams of protein (P2B Ratio). Create easy to grab snack and take along meals for easy access. Make several servings ahead of time and freeze in individual serving sizes. This saves time when in a crunch. Often those easy to grab – shelf stable foods will clog up your digestion, reduce your performance and decrease your fitness status.
10. Make it easier on yourself, by planning ahead when you have time. Have your go-to nutritious snack combinations either written down or thought up, for always ready snack ideas. As always, plan ahead. Prior preparation prevents poor performance!
"Wellness Matters"
Lisa Schilling RN, CPT
http://www.getrealwellnesssolutions.com/
1. Take a daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. Ensure adequate amounts of Vitamin C, Vitamin E, B Complex, and Folic Acid. Consider Vitamin C that is esterized, Vitamin E with mixed tocopherols and a vitamin and mineral supplement that has been chelated.
Look for minerals as amino acid chelates. Important minerals to consider would be Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Zinc, Manganese, Chromium and Selenium.
2. Remember, a meal is eating two or more nutritious foods at one sitting. At a minimum, it should consist of a complex carb and a protein. Aim for two different colored fruits or veggies at each sitting. Eat upon waking up, after exercise and take in health nutrition (100-300 calories) every three to four hours.
3. Drink water all day long. Hydrate more on hot days or when sweating a great deal. Avoid caffeine in the evening, and use it wisely prior to workouts, games or practices.
4. Practice your KISS: “Keep It Simple Stupid.” Having multiple food options is not necessary to constitute a meal. People tend to eat more, the more options they have, so keep it simple, basic and as natural as possible.
5. Add more nutritional value to common foods. Consider products such as whey protein powder, flaxseed meal and wheat germ as non-flavor health additives to your recipes, cereal, yogurt and smoothies. Pureed fruits or veggies can also be snuck into regular recipes. Gear your mind toward adding more nutrition to each eating episode. Think of healthful additions to round out meals.
6. Look to add more fiber through complex carbs and fruits and vegetables. Fiber acts like little brooms, sweeping out the digestive tract. Carefully evaluate the first five ingredients listed to ensure the actual “whole grain” content.
7. Think more brown and less white. Try whole grain options in your bread, crackers, pasta, and flour. Choose brown rice over white and dense carbs over light and airy. Food = Fuel, what do you want to fuel your body with?
8. For a mental boost, try a baked potato with the skin before bed (3 hours after last meal). It helps the body raise your serotonin level. It creates an insulin response, which has an effect on the movement of the amino acid tryptophan from your blood into the brain. Choose any non-protein toppings and eat the skin.
9. Plan grocery shopping with a protein to balance principle in mind. For every 15 grams of carbs you eat, try to eat 7 grams of protein (P2B Ratio). Create easy to grab snack and take along meals for easy access. Make several servings ahead of time and freeze in individual serving sizes. This saves time when in a crunch. Often those easy to grab – shelf stable foods will clog up your digestion, reduce your performance and decrease your fitness status.
10. Make it easier on yourself, by planning ahead when you have time. Have your go-to nutritious snack combinations either written down or thought up, for always ready snack ideas. As always, plan ahead. Prior preparation prevents poor performance!
"Wellness Matters"
Lisa Schilling RN, CPT
http://www.getrealwellnesssolutions.com/
The Nutrition Prescription - Nutritional Considerations for Student Athletes
The needs of the student athlete are unique. Because of the increase in training (physical activity) during sports seasons, the student can become run down and susceptible to illness if they do not properly monitor nutrition. What do athletes want?
• To go fast
• To be strong
• To build muscle
• To sharpen skills/gain an edge or advantage
• To have energy/feel good
• To increase stamina/improve time
• To be healthy
Without changing their pre-season diet during the training period, the athlete will not get the maximum results from their effort. A student, who goes from relative inactivity to training for a sport, will find themselves struggling if they do not increase their calories and choice of fuel. The body will get energy from where ever it can.
If you are not meeting the body’s needs through your food choices, it can take what it needs from your bone and mineral stores. This creates an unhealthy condition in your body. Student athletes are still growing and their bodies are changing. During this important time emphasis must be placed on proper fuel.
Fuel=food. If you had a Ferrari you would be sure to fuel it with top quality fuel not junky fillers and questionable fuel sources. But most students don’t consider what they are fueling their bodies with. Garbage in garbage out!
Don’t think you must give up your favorite foods, but consider what you can add to create nutrition at each eating episode. Your focus needs to be adding more nutrition, more high performance fuel. This will give you an edge on the competition and allow your body to perform at its maximum.
Solid nutrition allows you to build muscle the way putting Miracle Grow™ on plants helps them to thrive. It is about giving your body the fuel it needs to really grow. At this time of growth and development, nutrition is a major factor in your overall performance and wellness.
Problem: Not drinking enough water, if any at all.
Solution: Keep options handy! Plan ahead! Find ways to disguise the taste with “cool” pour in flavors or flavored waters. Nothing beats plain and natural water. Water is to your body like oil is to your car’s engine. It keeps things running smooth.
You would not run your car without oil, but you often choose to run your body without the vital water your cells need to thrive. Get a special bottle to keep your water in or other way to remind yourself to drink. Fill a two-liter bottle with water daily and don’t stop until it’s gone.
Problem: Skipping Breakfast.
Solution: Breakfast does not have to be a heavy meal. Look at it as your “Metabolism Booster!” Think of it as simply adding nutritious calories, versus eating a morning meal. If you were told you could take a purchased supplement every morning and it would increase your performance, endurance and metabolism, would you? Well you can, and it is called breakfast.
Bottom line is: if you want to have that performance edge, you will start fueling your body every morning. This can be a variety of easy to eat portable snacks, fortified cereals or even a meal replacement type shake, but read the label for content first. Look for balanced nutrition, low sugar & good protein content.
Ideally look for a simple carbohydrate source and a quick digesting protein source. Your body goes all night without food, this slows your metabolism, which lowers your optimal body functioning. It is only when you consume nutritious calories that your body starts to rev up for the day. No AM fuel, equals reduced performance.
So eat to win, and train your body with your nutrition and water intake, the same way you train your muscles with weights or your lungs with cardio. Proper nutrition and hydration will make your body perform at its peak production. That should be the goal of any true athlete. Treat your body like the machine it is! So in the morning ask yourself do you want to be a Ferrari or a Pinto, the choice is yours.
Problem: Lack of consistent protein and sporadic eating with long gaps without food. (Avoid gaps of more than 3-4 hours without food and aim for a protein source each time) Protein is essential for muscle growth, energy, red blood cell formation and strength. It keeps blood sugar stable and sustains energy levels.
Solution: Plan ahead! Keep several protein snack options handy in your locker, gym bag, car or purse. If it is not handy, you won’t eat it. Examples: peanuts, peanut butter crackers, trail mix, beef jerky and protein snack bars. When available drink milk, eat yogurt, cheese sticks, cheese and crackers or eggs. Adding any of these options to what you already eat is a start. Consider building meals around these foods.
Problem: Not knowing how to fuel your body. “What to eat” &“When to eat it.”
Solution: There are two main times of day to take in simple carbohydrates: first thing in the morning and after your practice, training or a game. Breakfast because your body needs to raise your blood sugar from going so many hours without food and when you're done with a heavy workout because this starts the recovery and muscle growth process.
A hard workout depletes stored glycogen (sugar), so your body will want to replace it. A little insulin spike (from the carbs or sugar) can help increase protein synthesis immediately after a workout, but be sensible in your choices. Rapidly digestible proteins, such as whey protein powder, some simple carbs and some complex carbs are an ideal combo for post workout nutrition.
Problem: Lack of vital nutrients from multiple food groups (Aim for at least one fruit or vegetable at every meal). It is something you will have to do intentionally. Look for these foods and don’t rely on corn and peas because they are “starchy” vegetables. Your body uses each food group differently and they are ALL needed for balanced nutrition.
Solution: Keep several options in your cabinet at home and pack any that are portable, apples, carrots, cauliflower and other easy to keep items. Dip is ok, cheese is ok, dressing is ok, just get the nutritious food your body needs. Consider it a training supplement!
Problem: Too much caffeine.
Solution: Use it wisely. Caffeine is a legal drug. Caffeine draws water from your body’s cells and thus will dehydrate you. Consider how much you take in and ways to cut back. Energy drinks may be cool, but they pack too much caffeine and calories for any health benefit. In fact too much could be hard on your heart and actually decrease performance.
Taken too close to bedtime and your mind will continue spinning while your body may be tired. Sleep is when your body rejuvenates its cells and replenishes your vital stores. Lack of proper sleep will also decrease performance and make you more likely to get sick. Being run-down from lack of sleep also slows injury healing.
Treat your body better than you treat your "stuff." You only get one and if you want it to look good, run well and stay strong, then fuel it well!
Wellness Matters 2010
Lisa Schilling RN, CPT
http://www.getrealwellnesssolutions.com/
• To go fast
• To be strong
• To build muscle
• To sharpen skills/gain an edge or advantage
• To have energy/feel good
• To increase stamina/improve time
• To be healthy
Without changing their pre-season diet during the training period, the athlete will not get the maximum results from their effort. A student, who goes from relative inactivity to training for a sport, will find themselves struggling if they do not increase their calories and choice of fuel. The body will get energy from where ever it can.
If you are not meeting the body’s needs through your food choices, it can take what it needs from your bone and mineral stores. This creates an unhealthy condition in your body. Student athletes are still growing and their bodies are changing. During this important time emphasis must be placed on proper fuel.
Fuel=food. If you had a Ferrari you would be sure to fuel it with top quality fuel not junky fillers and questionable fuel sources. But most students don’t consider what they are fueling their bodies with. Garbage in garbage out!
Don’t think you must give up your favorite foods, but consider what you can add to create nutrition at each eating episode. Your focus needs to be adding more nutrition, more high performance fuel. This will give you an edge on the competition and allow your body to perform at its maximum.
Solid nutrition allows you to build muscle the way putting Miracle Grow™ on plants helps them to thrive. It is about giving your body the fuel it needs to really grow. At this time of growth and development, nutrition is a major factor in your overall performance and wellness.
Problem: Not drinking enough water, if any at all.
Solution: Keep options handy! Plan ahead! Find ways to disguise the taste with “cool” pour in flavors or flavored waters. Nothing beats plain and natural water. Water is to your body like oil is to your car’s engine. It keeps things running smooth.
You would not run your car without oil, but you often choose to run your body without the vital water your cells need to thrive. Get a special bottle to keep your water in or other way to remind yourself to drink. Fill a two-liter bottle with water daily and don’t stop until it’s gone.
Problem: Skipping Breakfast.
Solution: Breakfast does not have to be a heavy meal. Look at it as your “Metabolism Booster!” Think of it as simply adding nutritious calories, versus eating a morning meal. If you were told you could take a purchased supplement every morning and it would increase your performance, endurance and metabolism, would you? Well you can, and it is called breakfast.
Bottom line is: if you want to have that performance edge, you will start fueling your body every morning. This can be a variety of easy to eat portable snacks, fortified cereals or even a meal replacement type shake, but read the label for content first. Look for balanced nutrition, low sugar & good protein content.
Ideally look for a simple carbohydrate source and a quick digesting protein source. Your body goes all night without food, this slows your metabolism, which lowers your optimal body functioning. It is only when you consume nutritious calories that your body starts to rev up for the day. No AM fuel, equals reduced performance.
So eat to win, and train your body with your nutrition and water intake, the same way you train your muscles with weights or your lungs with cardio. Proper nutrition and hydration will make your body perform at its peak production. That should be the goal of any true athlete. Treat your body like the machine it is! So in the morning ask yourself do you want to be a Ferrari or a Pinto, the choice is yours.
Problem: Lack of consistent protein and sporadic eating with long gaps without food. (Avoid gaps of more than 3-4 hours without food and aim for a protein source each time) Protein is essential for muscle growth, energy, red blood cell formation and strength. It keeps blood sugar stable and sustains energy levels.
Solution: Plan ahead! Keep several protein snack options handy in your locker, gym bag, car or purse. If it is not handy, you won’t eat it. Examples: peanuts, peanut butter crackers, trail mix, beef jerky and protein snack bars. When available drink milk, eat yogurt, cheese sticks, cheese and crackers or eggs. Adding any of these options to what you already eat is a start. Consider building meals around these foods.
Problem: Not knowing how to fuel your body. “What to eat” &“When to eat it.”
Solution: There are two main times of day to take in simple carbohydrates: first thing in the morning and after your practice, training or a game. Breakfast because your body needs to raise your blood sugar from going so many hours without food and when you're done with a heavy workout because this starts the recovery and muscle growth process.
A hard workout depletes stored glycogen (sugar), so your body will want to replace it. A little insulin spike (from the carbs or sugar) can help increase protein synthesis immediately after a workout, but be sensible in your choices. Rapidly digestible proteins, such as whey protein powder, some simple carbs and some complex carbs are an ideal combo for post workout nutrition.
Problem: Lack of vital nutrients from multiple food groups (Aim for at least one fruit or vegetable at every meal). It is something you will have to do intentionally. Look for these foods and don’t rely on corn and peas because they are “starchy” vegetables. Your body uses each food group differently and they are ALL needed for balanced nutrition.
Solution: Keep several options in your cabinet at home and pack any that are portable, apples, carrots, cauliflower and other easy to keep items. Dip is ok, cheese is ok, dressing is ok, just get the nutritious food your body needs. Consider it a training supplement!
Problem: Too much caffeine.
Solution: Use it wisely. Caffeine is a legal drug. Caffeine draws water from your body’s cells and thus will dehydrate you. Consider how much you take in and ways to cut back. Energy drinks may be cool, but they pack too much caffeine and calories for any health benefit. In fact too much could be hard on your heart and actually decrease performance.
Taken too close to bedtime and your mind will continue spinning while your body may be tired. Sleep is when your body rejuvenates its cells and replenishes your vital stores. Lack of proper sleep will also decrease performance and make you more likely to get sick. Being run-down from lack of sleep also slows injury healing.
Treat your body better than you treat your "stuff." You only get one and if you want it to look good, run well and stay strong, then fuel it well!
Wellness Matters 2010
Lisa Schilling RN, CPT
http://www.getrealwellnesssolutions.com/
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
How Tracking Your Fitness, Can Change Your Fitness Level
Being unhealthy is not just an information problem, it is a motivation problem. If I can change how & what people think about, I can help them change their lives. Just teach them what to do, and I have only added to list of things they already know they "should" be doing. Don't "should" on yourself! Change the way you play the game.
Learning more about what is happening to your body, on a day to day basis, can be just the motivation some people need to make the critical difference. There are many products available to help you track your fitness, so many that it can be overwhelming. One simple product would be a pedometer. These devises are cheap and effective. They track the number of steps you take. The recommendation for good health is 10,000 steps a day. By creating an awareness of your daily movement, you can begin to see your progress and then make choices based on that information.
Another tool would be a heart rate monitor. They can be used to see if you are working in your target heart rate zone as well as assessing your recovery heart rate. Knowing this information can push you to work smarter not harder. Heart rate monitoring is important for making improvement in the way your heart and lungs function.
Products such as the BodyBugg and GoWear fit are comfortable, convenient, continuous body-monitoring products that can measure physical activity and calories burned with a high level of accuracy. Different from the above products, these are lifestyle and calorie management systems.
What are these contraptions, and are they worth it? As one user stated, “Absolutely, it is worth it! It is not super cheap, but the long term cost of extending your life is worth it.” When you consider the other things you spend money on such as haircuts, manicures, tanning, eating out, and health and beauty products, the price of $100 to $300 is not that unreasonable IF you use it to change your life.
How do they work? Well, you wear them as an armband. They have sensors that gather information and measure the calories you are burning. This information can then be uploaded to your computer and saved in your online profile. When you login, you are able to see exactly how many calories you burn during specific activities. It also keeps a running total to let you know the number of calories you have burned for the day.
You will know how many calories you need to burn to counteract your calorie intake. Knowing exactly how many calories you burn in real time, can guide you to make smarter decisions. Having this information makes your efforts more convenient and easier to understand. It allows you to make informed choices about your own health. This is something that many people find difficult to do on a consistent basis.
Knowing how close or how far you are to your goals, allows you to make more plan-focused choices. You are in control and will get instant feedback on the results of your choices. By taking the information you have gathered, you can decide what further choices need to be made in order to meet your daily goals.
Most people know what to do, but simply don't hold themselves accountable to do it. The instant feedback provided by this technology can make your weight loss and fitness efforts more tangible. You can stay on track without wondering if what you are doing works or not.
Before you decide to buy one of these devises consider that you must be very consistent and take the time to enter your foods in the on-line menu. If you want to improve your eating habits, it is necessary to keep track of the calories you are eating. It can be time consuming, but knowing the results of your efforts should make it worth it.
On average it takes about 5-15 minutes daily, depending on your speed with the menus. When you eat the same things often, it will become even easier. You can track only exercise or calories burned, but the nutrition aspect gives you the best picture of your progress.
The bottom line is, if you need accountability and something to help you see the fruits of your labor, then I highly recommend you try one of these devises to help you stay on track. The instant feedback and accountability could be the difference that makes all the difference! "Wellness Matters"
Learning more about what is happening to your body, on a day to day basis, can be just the motivation some people need to make the critical difference. There are many products available to help you track your fitness, so many that it can be overwhelming. One simple product would be a pedometer. These devises are cheap and effective. They track the number of steps you take. The recommendation for good health is 10,000 steps a day. By creating an awareness of your daily movement, you can begin to see your progress and then make choices based on that information.
Another tool would be a heart rate monitor. They can be used to see if you are working in your target heart rate zone as well as assessing your recovery heart rate. Knowing this information can push you to work smarter not harder. Heart rate monitoring is important for making improvement in the way your heart and lungs function.
Products such as the BodyBugg and GoWear fit are comfortable, convenient, continuous body-monitoring products that can measure physical activity and calories burned with a high level of accuracy. Different from the above products, these are lifestyle and calorie management systems.
What are these contraptions, and are they worth it? As one user stated, “Absolutely, it is worth it! It is not super cheap, but the long term cost of extending your life is worth it.” When you consider the other things you spend money on such as haircuts, manicures, tanning, eating out, and health and beauty products, the price of $100 to $300 is not that unreasonable IF you use it to change your life.
How do they work? Well, you wear them as an armband. They have sensors that gather information and measure the calories you are burning. This information can then be uploaded to your computer and saved in your online profile. When you login, you are able to see exactly how many calories you burn during specific activities. It also keeps a running total to let you know the number of calories you have burned for the day.
You will know how many calories you need to burn to counteract your calorie intake. Knowing exactly how many calories you burn in real time, can guide you to make smarter decisions. Having this information makes your efforts more convenient and easier to understand. It allows you to make informed choices about your own health. This is something that many people find difficult to do on a consistent basis.
Knowing how close or how far you are to your goals, allows you to make more plan-focused choices. You are in control and will get instant feedback on the results of your choices. By taking the information you have gathered, you can decide what further choices need to be made in order to meet your daily goals.
Most people know what to do, but simply don't hold themselves accountable to do it. The instant feedback provided by this technology can make your weight loss and fitness efforts more tangible. You can stay on track without wondering if what you are doing works or not.
Before you decide to buy one of these devises consider that you must be very consistent and take the time to enter your foods in the on-line menu. If you want to improve your eating habits, it is necessary to keep track of the calories you are eating. It can be time consuming, but knowing the results of your efforts should make it worth it.
On average it takes about 5-15 minutes daily, depending on your speed with the menus. When you eat the same things often, it will become even easier. You can track only exercise or calories burned, but the nutrition aspect gives you the best picture of your progress.
The bottom line is, if you need accountability and something to help you see the fruits of your labor, then I highly recommend you try one of these devises to help you stay on track. The instant feedback and accountability could be the difference that makes all the difference! "Wellness Matters"
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Are You Spending Tomorrows Happiness Today?
The new media buzz phrase seems to be the “obesity epidemic.” Long-term studies are now beginning to correlate the multifaceted damage that occurs as a result of being obese. This new “awareness” could also be driven by insurance companies who are forced to pay out more claims for preventable disease and conditions caused from lifestyle choices.
To me, this is the key issue, lifestyle choices. People routinely choose the short-term behaviors that result in long-term harm. It is this preoccupation with immediate gratification and comfort that causes people to suffer later in their life. Later always comes, but people seem able to block that out when making daily choices.
So far, the focus of dealing with this issue has been to educate those who find themselves suffering the consequences. This may not be the best use of time, money or resources. Most people understand that they need to move more and eat less. That is not the problem. The problem is that they just don’t want to.
The best measure to help more people improve their personal wellness is to help them develop a personal reason to make healthy changes in their daily lifestyle. Without this motivation, most people will not have the fortitude to maintain the changes for the long-term. By starting this process at an earlier intervention point, you increase the chances of seeing long-term positive results.
For each person, there is a unique reason that would cause them to make and stick to healthier habits. If this can be discovered and utilized as part of a wellness plan, the success rate would increase exponentially. Having a way to create accountability for following through with that plan is another key component to increasing compliance.
I foresee insurance companies, in the future, making people pay more for preventable conditions, and rewarding people who are making and maintaining healthier changes. How could this happen? Simple tests like, cholesterol finger sticks, Height/Weight/BMI analysis, along with body fat and muscle ratios. These can be obtained in a simple “health fair” type environment.
If you were held accountable for your progress toward your goal, and then ultimately the maintenance of your goal, would you be more likely to follow a wellness plan? For some that might be enough to get them looking for ways to create a healthier lifestyle, for others it still would not be enough.
If this started out as an optional program, to lower your insurance premiums, would that be enough to get you making a serious dent in your goals? Only you can answer that question. My challenge is for you to discover this, “What would it take to make you alter or stop your negative health habits and start adopting healthier ones on a consistent basis?”
When each person finds the answer to that question, they can begin move past previous roadblocks and move forward into the life they have wanted in the long term, not just short term. In the end short term pleasures will leave you just coping day to day instead of living a full and rewarding life. It is to step back and look at the big picture.
Most American’s are spending tomorrow’s happiness today, and suffering more and more in their future. Continue on the path of what feels good now, and your quality of life will deteriorate to the point you will need assistance with even your basic daily activities.
Until people realize the long term consequences of short term behaviors, they will not begin making improved daily choices. That is where the battle is truly fought, in your daily choices. What and how much will I eat? Will I make time to move and exercise today? Will I smoke or drink too much? Will I use drugs or other substances? Will I plan time for my personal relaxation or development? Will I devote time to developing meaningful relationships?
It is these daily choices that add up to the sum of your total wellness. Decide today what it will take to make that difference in your life. Then begin making the daily choices that will ultimately change your lifestyle for the better. Begin to expand your vision, because your future depends on each choice that you make today.
To me, this is the key issue, lifestyle choices. People routinely choose the short-term behaviors that result in long-term harm. It is this preoccupation with immediate gratification and comfort that causes people to suffer later in their life. Later always comes, but people seem able to block that out when making daily choices.
So far, the focus of dealing with this issue has been to educate those who find themselves suffering the consequences. This may not be the best use of time, money or resources. Most people understand that they need to move more and eat less. That is not the problem. The problem is that they just don’t want to.
The best measure to help more people improve their personal wellness is to help them develop a personal reason to make healthy changes in their daily lifestyle. Without this motivation, most people will not have the fortitude to maintain the changes for the long-term. By starting this process at an earlier intervention point, you increase the chances of seeing long-term positive results.
For each person, there is a unique reason that would cause them to make and stick to healthier habits. If this can be discovered and utilized as part of a wellness plan, the success rate would increase exponentially. Having a way to create accountability for following through with that plan is another key component to increasing compliance.
I foresee insurance companies, in the future, making people pay more for preventable conditions, and rewarding people who are making and maintaining healthier changes. How could this happen? Simple tests like, cholesterol finger sticks, Height/Weight/BMI analysis, along with body fat and muscle ratios. These can be obtained in a simple “health fair” type environment.
If you were held accountable for your progress toward your goal, and then ultimately the maintenance of your goal, would you be more likely to follow a wellness plan? For some that might be enough to get them looking for ways to create a healthier lifestyle, for others it still would not be enough.
If this started out as an optional program, to lower your insurance premiums, would that be enough to get you making a serious dent in your goals? Only you can answer that question. My challenge is for you to discover this, “What would it take to make you alter or stop your negative health habits and start adopting healthier ones on a consistent basis?”
When each person finds the answer to that question, they can begin move past previous roadblocks and move forward into the life they have wanted in the long term, not just short term. In the end short term pleasures will leave you just coping day to day instead of living a full and rewarding life. It is to step back and look at the big picture.
Most American’s are spending tomorrow’s happiness today, and suffering more and more in their future. Continue on the path of what feels good now, and your quality of life will deteriorate to the point you will need assistance with even your basic daily activities.
Until people realize the long term consequences of short term behaviors, they will not begin making improved daily choices. That is where the battle is truly fought, in your daily choices. What and how much will I eat? Will I make time to move and exercise today? Will I smoke or drink too much? Will I use drugs or other substances? Will I plan time for my personal relaxation or development? Will I devote time to developing meaningful relationships?
It is these daily choices that add up to the sum of your total wellness. Decide today what it will take to make that difference in your life. Then begin making the daily choices that will ultimately change your lifestyle for the better. Begin to expand your vision, because your future depends on each choice that you make today.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Putting Yourself Back on the List-Making Time for What Matters Most
With Mother’s Day approaching, I wanted to send a message to the mothers and grandmothers. It is time to put yourself back on the list. To allow yourself some time that is just for you. Too often, women feel it is their duty to care for everyone else in their life, while at the same time, neglecting the very one that keeps all the plates spinning, themselves!
Today it is time to reclaim your schedule. There are only so many hours in the day, and trying to add more things without taking something away becomes a burnout issue. It is good to visualize how you spend your time. Organizing a schedule is much like organizing a closet. There is room for only a certain number of items before it becomes too full to find anything.
So it is with your time. You need to visually see where all of your time goes. Whatever your issue is, it can be uncovered by keeping a detailed calendar or time journal. You can use this information to create changes that will allow you to chip away at problem issues.
You also need some room left to move things around. This is called margin. Margin needs to be built into your schedule. It is a REAL challenge to say no to back-to-back activities. Allowing a nonnegotiable time buffer between each activity will pay huge dividends when things do not go as planned.
No time for you? Then you need to prune from your schedule the activities that no longer bear fruit or reward you. They are there if you earnestly look. You must ask yourself, “Is this activity adding to my life, does it make a difference or is it really necessary?” Sometimes we continue an activity just because, we always have. Consider if an activity may have run its course in your life.
Begin this personal evaluation by creating a “What Matters Most” list. If an activity does not line up with your list, look for ways it can be removed. If an activity or duty does not bear “fruit” in your life, consider “pruning” it so YOU may grow! As your schedule is opened up, you may begin to add time for personal improvement activities that recharge your batteries.
Relaxation time and hobbies can help people become happier and more personally fulfilled. Freeing up time by dumping unproductive time-sappers will help you regain control of your life. You may then see the “fruit” of your better choices. Begin by doing what you can do—now. The roots you spread will affect your ability to grow.
Total wellness also includes your mental health. In order to safeguard your sanity, you must create healthy boundaries. Boundaries serve two main purposes. Just like a traditional fence, they keep out what you don’t want in your space, and keep safe what you do want in your space. For many different reasons, it is often difficult to set boundaries.
With the constant barrage of stimulus we encounter daily, it becomes necessary to filter the incoming information and emotions you are confronted with. Setting boundaries gives you the power to control the gate and allow into your life only what is useful and beneficial. It also gives you the authority to shut the gate on people, information, and behaviors that are harmful to you and your goals.
Creating personal boundaries is important when people make demands on your time. You need to have clear guidelines to measure against when deciding how to spend your time. By establishing your personal time boundaries up front, you will be able to make more beneficial and consistent decisions. You will have a clear-cut “yes” or “no,” based on whether the activity lines up with the criteria you have set for yourself. These should be based on your “What Matters Most” list and personal values.
It has been said that a man makes time for what a man wants to make time for. That is the truth. What does how you spend your time, say about you? Your challenge is to start creating a REAL desire for personal wellness improvement. When you really want it, you will figure out a way to make it work. Moms will sacrifice for things they want and for things they feel are important.
If you are not making time for yourself currently, then you are saying, by your actions, that you don’t feel you are important. It is time to realize that you will do everything, and care for everyone, better when you first learn to value caring for you own personal health. So start today. Put yourself back on the list and keep your appointments with your self-care activities. Everyone who loves you will thank you for it. “Cause if momma’s not happy, nobody’s happy!”
“Wellness Matters”
By Lisa Schilling RN
Today it is time to reclaim your schedule. There are only so many hours in the day, and trying to add more things without taking something away becomes a burnout issue. It is good to visualize how you spend your time. Organizing a schedule is much like organizing a closet. There is room for only a certain number of items before it becomes too full to find anything.
So it is with your time. You need to visually see where all of your time goes. Whatever your issue is, it can be uncovered by keeping a detailed calendar or time journal. You can use this information to create changes that will allow you to chip away at problem issues.
You also need some room left to move things around. This is called margin. Margin needs to be built into your schedule. It is a REAL challenge to say no to back-to-back activities. Allowing a nonnegotiable time buffer between each activity will pay huge dividends when things do not go as planned.
No time for you? Then you need to prune from your schedule the activities that no longer bear fruit or reward you. They are there if you earnestly look. You must ask yourself, “Is this activity adding to my life, does it make a difference or is it really necessary?” Sometimes we continue an activity just because, we always have. Consider if an activity may have run its course in your life.
Begin this personal evaluation by creating a “What Matters Most” list. If an activity does not line up with your list, look for ways it can be removed. If an activity or duty does not bear “fruit” in your life, consider “pruning” it so YOU may grow! As your schedule is opened up, you may begin to add time for personal improvement activities that recharge your batteries.
Relaxation time and hobbies can help people become happier and more personally fulfilled. Freeing up time by dumping unproductive time-sappers will help you regain control of your life. You may then see the “fruit” of your better choices. Begin by doing what you can do—now. The roots you spread will affect your ability to grow.
Total wellness also includes your mental health. In order to safeguard your sanity, you must create healthy boundaries. Boundaries serve two main purposes. Just like a traditional fence, they keep out what you don’t want in your space, and keep safe what you do want in your space. For many different reasons, it is often difficult to set boundaries.
With the constant barrage of stimulus we encounter daily, it becomes necessary to filter the incoming information and emotions you are confronted with. Setting boundaries gives you the power to control the gate and allow into your life only what is useful and beneficial. It also gives you the authority to shut the gate on people, information, and behaviors that are harmful to you and your goals.
Creating personal boundaries is important when people make demands on your time. You need to have clear guidelines to measure against when deciding how to spend your time. By establishing your personal time boundaries up front, you will be able to make more beneficial and consistent decisions. You will have a clear-cut “yes” or “no,” based on whether the activity lines up with the criteria you have set for yourself. These should be based on your “What Matters Most” list and personal values.
It has been said that a man makes time for what a man wants to make time for. That is the truth. What does how you spend your time, say about you? Your challenge is to start creating a REAL desire for personal wellness improvement. When you really want it, you will figure out a way to make it work. Moms will sacrifice for things they want and for things they feel are important.
If you are not making time for yourself currently, then you are saying, by your actions, that you don’t feel you are important. It is time to realize that you will do everything, and care for everyone, better when you first learn to value caring for you own personal health. So start today. Put yourself back on the list and keep your appointments with your self-care activities. Everyone who loves you will thank you for it. “Cause if momma’s not happy, nobody’s happy!”
“Wellness Matters”
By Lisa Schilling RN
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Embracing Your Exertion and Recovery Cycle- Using It to Achieve better Health
“Wellness Matters”
By Lisa Schilling
We don’t easily change our nature in life. So it makes sense that your fitness type should match your natural bent. It is also important to understand your approach to exercise.
For years, people have been told to workout long and steady, aiming for thirty to forty-five minutes in their target heart range. However, there is REAL benefit from doing short (less than one minute) bursts of intense exercise, recovering, and then repeating that pattern (interval approach).
In fact, this cyclic form of exercise can have tremendous health benefits. An interval approach involves giving an all-out effort over a short period of time—like a minute. This short burst hits the fat stores more intensely.
It floods the body with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefit during the recovery phase. Inflammation has been known to cause multiple problems in the body. This is another reason to utilize these anti-inflammatory types of exercise.
Exercise is good medicine; the changes that occur in the body during the exertion and rest cycle are restorative. History shows that our ancestors ran from predators, chased their prey, and then rested. Our physiology evolved according to these bursts of exertion and complete recovery. A cascade of healing occurs during the recovery phase.
Planning adequate exertion and recovery time is a vital part of any wellness plan. Building these contrasts into your schedule is essential to your long-term vitality. Understanding this cyclic approach is important. Too often we focus on the exertion side of the equation and neglect the recovery side.
People tend to look at the body as a mechanical object. But the exertion and recovery approach looks at the body differently. The circulatory, endocrine, and muscular systems are all cyclic in nature, and this type of exercise enhances the body’s circadian rhythm.
If you ask someone, “Can you go hard for one minute, then rest?” most people are willing to try it. If, on the other hand, you say, “Go hard for forty-five minutes,” there is a less than enthusiastic response.
This short exertion followed by recovery approach, challenges our physiology and puts the highs and lows back into chemical and circulatory responses. It also can deter adaptation.
Another aspect of the exertion and recovery approach is creating sharp contrasts. Contrasts help to build healthy rhythms in our bodies. Cycles such as complete darkness followed by complete light, or being hot followed by being cold, assist the body’s cyclic nature.
The prehistoric hunter-gatherer experienced these extremes each day. Today our artificial temperature control and lighting put restrictions on this natural physiology. To achieve better health benefits, we need to equally alternate these highs and lows.
Exercise affects heart rate variability (HRV), which is the measure of time between heartbeats. It should fluctuate with every respiration. A loss of heart rate variability has been identified as a risk factor common to all causes of death. When you are young and the heart muscle is flexible, there is variance in beat-to-beat measure. As you age, chronic disorders set in, and you lose your HRV.
What these short bursts of all-out effort do is help restore that variability. It can be like “yoga for the heart” and acts as a homeopathic dose of exercise. These bursts are not enough to trigger respiratory fatigue, but are sufficient to generate the anti-inflammatory responses during the recovery phases.
Utilize interval walking to see increased results. For interval walking, check your pulse and take note of it. Add a short ten- to thirty-second “sprint,” followed by slower recovery walking. (“Sprint” is a relative term based on your fitness level—consider your best attempt to flee if the house were on fire!) Gradually build back to your brisk walk. Take your pulse again.
When your heart rate has recovered to pre-sprint levels, you may sprint again. You will benefit from the elevated heart rate even when returning to the slower pace. Follow this pattern regularly, and you will get more benefit for your time of purposeful movement!
By Lisa Schilling
We don’t easily change our nature in life. So it makes sense that your fitness type should match your natural bent. It is also important to understand your approach to exercise.
For years, people have been told to workout long and steady, aiming for thirty to forty-five minutes in their target heart range. However, there is REAL benefit from doing short (less than one minute) bursts of intense exercise, recovering, and then repeating that pattern (interval approach).
In fact, this cyclic form of exercise can have tremendous health benefits. An interval approach involves giving an all-out effort over a short period of time—like a minute. This short burst hits the fat stores more intensely.
It floods the body with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefit during the recovery phase. Inflammation has been known to cause multiple problems in the body. This is another reason to utilize these anti-inflammatory types of exercise.
Exercise is good medicine; the changes that occur in the body during the exertion and rest cycle are restorative. History shows that our ancestors ran from predators, chased their prey, and then rested. Our physiology evolved according to these bursts of exertion and complete recovery. A cascade of healing occurs during the recovery phase.
Planning adequate exertion and recovery time is a vital part of any wellness plan. Building these contrasts into your schedule is essential to your long-term vitality. Understanding this cyclic approach is important. Too often we focus on the exertion side of the equation and neglect the recovery side.
People tend to look at the body as a mechanical object. But the exertion and recovery approach looks at the body differently. The circulatory, endocrine, and muscular systems are all cyclic in nature, and this type of exercise enhances the body’s circadian rhythm.
If you ask someone, “Can you go hard for one minute, then rest?” most people are willing to try it. If, on the other hand, you say, “Go hard for forty-five minutes,” there is a less than enthusiastic response.
This short exertion followed by recovery approach, challenges our physiology and puts the highs and lows back into chemical and circulatory responses. It also can deter adaptation.
Another aspect of the exertion and recovery approach is creating sharp contrasts. Contrasts help to build healthy rhythms in our bodies. Cycles such as complete darkness followed by complete light, or being hot followed by being cold, assist the body’s cyclic nature.
The prehistoric hunter-gatherer experienced these extremes each day. Today our artificial temperature control and lighting put restrictions on this natural physiology. To achieve better health benefits, we need to equally alternate these highs and lows.
Exercise affects heart rate variability (HRV), which is the measure of time between heartbeats. It should fluctuate with every respiration. A loss of heart rate variability has been identified as a risk factor common to all causes of death. When you are young and the heart muscle is flexible, there is variance in beat-to-beat measure. As you age, chronic disorders set in, and you lose your HRV.
What these short bursts of all-out effort do is help restore that variability. It can be like “yoga for the heart” and acts as a homeopathic dose of exercise. These bursts are not enough to trigger respiratory fatigue, but are sufficient to generate the anti-inflammatory responses during the recovery phases.
Utilize interval walking to see increased results. For interval walking, check your pulse and take note of it. Add a short ten- to thirty-second “sprint,” followed by slower recovery walking. (“Sprint” is a relative term based on your fitness level—consider your best attempt to flee if the house were on fire!) Gradually build back to your brisk walk. Take your pulse again.
When your heart rate has recovered to pre-sprint levels, you may sprint again. You will benefit from the elevated heart rate even when returning to the slower pace. Follow this pattern regularly, and you will get more benefit for your time of purposeful movement!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Learning to Love the Process
Building purposeful movement into your daily routine is a vital part of your lifetime wellness plan. Only you can decide what that purposeful movement will be. Find activities that you enjoy doing and schedule time to do it daily. This may be seasonal. You might walk inside or ride an exercise bike during the winter months and then perhaps you garden, work in the yard, or walk outside when the weather is warmer.
Create your plan to incorporate purposeful movement into your schedule, but branch out as new opportunities arise. Some people like routine and need repetition to stay on track. Others need to change it up regularly to remain interested. You may choose a variety of exercises to create your process. The main considerations being, to think about moving all the time, choose a style that works for you, and structure your day to accommodate it.
The traditional way people look at exercise makes it become a form of drudgery. Reawaken to the fact that you can move just for the FUN of it. It is important to create positive associations with movement. When you have a pleasant memory of movement, you are more likely to do it again.
It is vital that you enjoy the process, not just desire the outcome. Commit yourself to an active lifestyle and not just an exercise program. By using what you already know about yourself, you can improve your results.
Creating awareness about moving is essential. A pedometer is a tool that can help you monitor your daily movement. It can help detect the need to increase daily movement or provide maintenance feedback. A healthy goal is 10,000 steps per day. Start out by seeing what you log in a normal day, and then begin to purposefully add 500 to 1,000 steps per day until you reach your goal.
Research shows that you can shed sixteen to eighteen pounds a year by creating a daily habit of walking for half an hour in your target heart rate zone. This weight-bearing exercise also stimulates the mineral content to remain in the bone structure and thus reduces age-related bone loss, known as osteoporosis.
This kind of active movement triggers your survival response—meaning you often lose weight faster as your body feels it must lighten the load to facilitate future activity. The body was once trained to sense activity as a need to flee from danger. This caused it to release fat storage so you could flee faster and thus survive. It is important to stop associating exercise with just calories burned. I can see, if that was the only benefit you obtained from exercise, how defeating that would be.
Active movement does many things beyond burning calories. It releases endorphins that make you feel good, and it also signals your body to start working more efficiently. It turns off fat-storage hormones and signals the release of energy for you to complete needed tasks. You will also continue to burn calories at higher rate after you are done exercising. It basically unlocks the door to how your body functions.
When the body is in fat-storage mode, it tries to conserve energy. Because the body was once designed for the survival principle, it sensed long famines and would store fat for survival during that time. The body now sees a “diet” greater than seventy-two hours as a possible famine, and this triggers it to store fat and conserve your energy.
Through the release of fat-storage hormones, your body is hardwired for prehistoric survival. The only problem is, we do not live in the Stone Age and we have an overabundance of food choices. The simple act of initiating active movement can be enough to signal the body to release fat. It will then give you the energy you need.
When the body feels that its very survival is based on you being able to flee from danger, it will give you what you need to do that. That means having energy and getting leaner. When you look at it that way, the process of exercise is very worth your time.
“Wellness Matters”
By Lisa Schilling
http://www.getrealwellnesssolutions.com/
Create your plan to incorporate purposeful movement into your schedule, but branch out as new opportunities arise. Some people like routine and need repetition to stay on track. Others need to change it up regularly to remain interested. You may choose a variety of exercises to create your process. The main considerations being, to think about moving all the time, choose a style that works for you, and structure your day to accommodate it.
The traditional way people look at exercise makes it become a form of drudgery. Reawaken to the fact that you can move just for the FUN of it. It is important to create positive associations with movement. When you have a pleasant memory of movement, you are more likely to do it again.
It is vital that you enjoy the process, not just desire the outcome. Commit yourself to an active lifestyle and not just an exercise program. By using what you already know about yourself, you can improve your results.
Creating awareness about moving is essential. A pedometer is a tool that can help you monitor your daily movement. It can help detect the need to increase daily movement or provide maintenance feedback. A healthy goal is 10,000 steps per day. Start out by seeing what you log in a normal day, and then begin to purposefully add 500 to 1,000 steps per day until you reach your goal.
Research shows that you can shed sixteen to eighteen pounds a year by creating a daily habit of walking for half an hour in your target heart rate zone. This weight-bearing exercise also stimulates the mineral content to remain in the bone structure and thus reduces age-related bone loss, known as osteoporosis.
This kind of active movement triggers your survival response—meaning you often lose weight faster as your body feels it must lighten the load to facilitate future activity. The body was once trained to sense activity as a need to flee from danger. This caused it to release fat storage so you could flee faster and thus survive. It is important to stop associating exercise with just calories burned. I can see, if that was the only benefit you obtained from exercise, how defeating that would be.
Active movement does many things beyond burning calories. It releases endorphins that make you feel good, and it also signals your body to start working more efficiently. It turns off fat-storage hormones and signals the release of energy for you to complete needed tasks. You will also continue to burn calories at higher rate after you are done exercising. It basically unlocks the door to how your body functions.
When the body is in fat-storage mode, it tries to conserve energy. Because the body was once designed for the survival principle, it sensed long famines and would store fat for survival during that time. The body now sees a “diet” greater than seventy-two hours as a possible famine, and this triggers it to store fat and conserve your energy.
Through the release of fat-storage hormones, your body is hardwired for prehistoric survival. The only problem is, we do not live in the Stone Age and we have an overabundance of food choices. The simple act of initiating active movement can be enough to signal the body to release fat. It will then give you the energy you need.
When the body feels that its very survival is based on you being able to flee from danger, it will give you what you need to do that. That means having energy and getting leaner. When you look at it that way, the process of exercise is very worth your time.
“Wellness Matters”
By Lisa Schilling
http://www.getrealwellnesssolutions.com/
Thursday, April 15, 2010
What Does Your Waist Size Say About Your Health and Fitness?
Knowing where your body carries fat is important in understanding your risk of various diseases. People who carry their fat in the abdominal region (apple-shaped) have greater health risks than those who carry fat primarily in the hips and thighs (pear shaped). This type of visceral fat storage surrounds the vital organs and too much of it causes havoc in your body.
So what exactly is visceral fat? Your omentum is a fatty layer of tissue located inside the abdomen. It actually hangs underneath the stomach muscles and its main purpose is to store fat. Because the omentum lies underneath the muscles, this leads to the abdominal pooch or “pot belly.”
This kind of fat is inside the body. The kind of fat storage we see in pear shapes is subcutaneous fat. It resides just underneath the skin’s outer layer, thus making it less harmful to body functioning. When the omentum becomes so large and fatty it will actually start squishing and crowding the other internal organs.
Your visceral fat is a good indicator of how you deal with chronic stress. If you are under constant stress, your body releases high amounts of hormones into your bloodstream in the form of cortisol and adrenaline.
Your body has to deal with these excess hormones, and this is your omentum’s job. It takes these hormones from your bloodstream, and the hormones in turn step up the ability of your omentum to store fat. This results in a plump belly for you and internal disharmony.
The problem is that fat stored in this area is the first source of fuel for all of your internal organs, especially your liver. All of those added hormones throw off your metabolism by making you resistant to insulin, which means that sugar is floating around in your bloodstream instead of being used as normal by your cells.
This can result in tissue damage from chronically raised blood sugar. Your hormone balance is upset due to the abundance of inflammatory chemicals. This increased inflammation is due to fat being sent as a form of fuel directly to your liver, which in turn sends out the chemicals.
This creates inflammation throughout your system. It also causes “bad” cholesterol and triglyceride levels to rise by fueling your liver with its fat. So it is easy to see that having too much visceral fat is not only visually unappealing, but it is a serious health risk. Chances are if you have a rounded belly, or apple shaped body, your omentum is likely storing fat.
There are simple machines that can analyze body composition through bio-impedance. They are a noninvasive way to measure visceral fat levels as well as your fat to muscle ratio.
It is not as accurate as a CT-scan but it is much more convenient and accessible. It can be used to help you set goals. When you know what you are working with, you can begin to monitor your progress as you make changes.
Another more simple measure, which you can do at home, would be to determine your waist to hip ratio. You can use this as a guide to determine if you have increased risk for heart disease, hypertension and diabetes.
To calculate your waist/hip ratio (WHR): Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement (in inches). For men, the waist is measured at the navel. For women, the waist is measured at the narrowest part of the torso—if not visible, use the navel.
General classification of increased risk is defined as the following: Men=(WHR) greater than 1.0, and Women=(WHR) greater than 0.8. An indication of increased risk and need for weight loss, is a waist girth of: greater than 35 inches for women, and greater than 40 inches for men.
A routine of intentional portion control and routine daily activity are enough to start making changes in these numbers. Along with the quality and quantity of food you take in routinely, how long, how often and how intense your activity is, will directly affect your outcome. A fatty omentum is a serious health risk factor that can be prevented. Start taking steps today to live a healthier lifestyle, for you and the ones you love.
“Wellness Matters”
By Lisa Schilling
http://www.getrealwellnesssolutions/
So what exactly is visceral fat? Your omentum is a fatty layer of tissue located inside the abdomen. It actually hangs underneath the stomach muscles and its main purpose is to store fat. Because the omentum lies underneath the muscles, this leads to the abdominal pooch or “pot belly.”
This kind of fat is inside the body. The kind of fat storage we see in pear shapes is subcutaneous fat. It resides just underneath the skin’s outer layer, thus making it less harmful to body functioning. When the omentum becomes so large and fatty it will actually start squishing and crowding the other internal organs.
Your visceral fat is a good indicator of how you deal with chronic stress. If you are under constant stress, your body releases high amounts of hormones into your bloodstream in the form of cortisol and adrenaline.
Your body has to deal with these excess hormones, and this is your omentum’s job. It takes these hormones from your bloodstream, and the hormones in turn step up the ability of your omentum to store fat. This results in a plump belly for you and internal disharmony.
The problem is that fat stored in this area is the first source of fuel for all of your internal organs, especially your liver. All of those added hormones throw off your metabolism by making you resistant to insulin, which means that sugar is floating around in your bloodstream instead of being used as normal by your cells.
This can result in tissue damage from chronically raised blood sugar. Your hormone balance is upset due to the abundance of inflammatory chemicals. This increased inflammation is due to fat being sent as a form of fuel directly to your liver, which in turn sends out the chemicals.
This creates inflammation throughout your system. It also causes “bad” cholesterol and triglyceride levels to rise by fueling your liver with its fat. So it is easy to see that having too much visceral fat is not only visually unappealing, but it is a serious health risk. Chances are if you have a rounded belly, or apple shaped body, your omentum is likely storing fat.
There are simple machines that can analyze body composition through bio-impedance. They are a noninvasive way to measure visceral fat levels as well as your fat to muscle ratio.
It is not as accurate as a CT-scan but it is much more convenient and accessible. It can be used to help you set goals. When you know what you are working with, you can begin to monitor your progress as you make changes.
Another more simple measure, which you can do at home, would be to determine your waist to hip ratio. You can use this as a guide to determine if you have increased risk for heart disease, hypertension and diabetes.
To calculate your waist/hip ratio (WHR): Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement (in inches). For men, the waist is measured at the navel. For women, the waist is measured at the narrowest part of the torso—if not visible, use the navel.
General classification of increased risk is defined as the following: Men=(WHR) greater than 1.0, and Women=(WHR) greater than 0.8. An indication of increased risk and need for weight loss, is a waist girth of: greater than 35 inches for women, and greater than 40 inches for men.
A routine of intentional portion control and routine daily activity are enough to start making changes in these numbers. Along with the quality and quantity of food you take in routinely, how long, how often and how intense your activity is, will directly affect your outcome. A fatty omentum is a serious health risk factor that can be prevented. Start taking steps today to live a healthier lifestyle, for you and the ones you love.
“Wellness Matters”
By Lisa Schilling
http://www.getrealwellnesssolutions/
Saturday, April 10, 2010
The 35 Tips for Creating the Perfect “Affair” with Your Spouse:Building a Lifelong Love Affair
The reason that I called Part I of this article “How to Have an Affair with Your Husband,” is because that is one great solution to keep passion alive. Keep in mind this works for husbands as well as wives, but in this example I am using men.
Look at your relationship through the eyes of a “mistress.” What would they do if they were trying to impress your husband? How would they get his attention and what would they do to keep it? When you figure that out, begin to do it. Your husband will be so amazed and thrilled that the results could be earth shattering.
The 35 Tips for Creating the Perfect “Affair” with Your Spouse:
1. Find out what you spouse values. Is it your time, your attention, your validation, your respect, your service, or your physical attention.
2. Be sure to give them what they need, NOT what you would like to receive.
3. Most men value physical touch. Men need to have physical interaction with their wife on a regular basis. Not just interaction but passionate and enthusiastic interaction. That would seal the deal.
4. It is amazing what men will overlook if you take care of this aspect of your marriage.
5. Don’t feel self conscious about your body. Love who you are, be confident in yourself and love your husband passionately. That is what he wants more than a perfect body.
6. Respect yourself and the boundaries of your marriage. Don’t put yourself in situations that could lead to difficult temptations. Listen to you gut and do the best thing for you and honor your marriage.
7. Honesty and trust are two of the most valuable assets a marriage can have. Trust your husband and don’t give him reasons to not trust you. Be honest with how you feel and what you do.
8. Men need to feel wanted, loved, sexy and respected. Find ways to make your husband feel this way.
9. Validate and affirm your husband daily. Let him know, in whatever way he responds to, that you appreciate what he does and that is doing a good job.
10. Write down all the things that attracted you to you husband, all the things he does well. Read it regularly. Write down what you don’t like about your husband. Throw it away. If you start focusing on what you do like, instead of what you don’t, you will begin to get more of what you like.
11. Take care of yourself. Basic things like good grooming, exercise, good nutrition and caring for your skin and hair.
12. Men respond to the visual, give them something to think about. You don’t have to be skinny, you don’t have to be beautiful, just do the best you can with what you have and he will love it and you for it.
13. Invest in yourself. Have hobbies and outside interests, but not at the expense of time with your husband. Having things you love to do, makes you more interesting and a more equal partner. If your life is just about your husband and kids, it is time to develop some things that are just for you. Independence is very sexy.
14. Allow and encourage your husband to pursue hobbies and outside interests, but not at the expense of time with your family. Be supportive and not clinging when he engages in positive hobbies.
15. Don’t put up with being taken advantage of. At the moment you start to feel there is an imbalance, address it. Don’t let it fester and become a deal breaking issue.
16. Don’t nag or complain. He heard you the first hundred times. Ask yourself why this is still an issue and discuss possible solutions with him. If you have several issues that need addressed, make a list and be playful about expressing what you need done. Maybe even offer some incentives… If it does not get done, call a professional and give him the bill. He will soon get the message.
17. Call him or text him with provocative messages. Don’t stalk him, just remind him you are thinking of him in a provocative way.
18. Text him a suggestive photo of you. Note I said suggestive, not x-rated. You want to have him imagine coming home to you, not take care of things himself. Leave much to the imagination, don’t send anything you might regret later.
19. Meet him at an unusual time of day for some physical attention.
20. Look for ways to be passionate in unexpected places and times.
21. Have special signals that you can use in front of people that signal him what you are thinking of.
22. Sneak away together whenever possible to show affection for each other.
23. Write secrets notes to each other and put them in a pocket, lunch or car.
24. Surprise him with a special lunch or meal that is unexpected.
25. Plan a secret getaway, even if it is very short.
26. Wear sexy nightclothes versus the sweats and comfies, show him you care what he sees.
27. Purchase sexy underwear and be sure only he knows you have it on.
28. Tease him and deliver on it.
29. Treat each physical encounter as if it was your chance to make an impression on him.
30. Treat him to a massage regularly, especially hands and feet. This can be very sensual even when around others. Buy some warming massage lotion for more intimate encounters.
31. Spice things up. Keep menthol cough drops by the bed. They create a cooling sensation on the skin you touch with your mouth.
32. Go out on dates, where you fix up and can act like a dating couple.
33. Always smell good. Even before bed, spray a little on you and a little on the sheets. Don’t overlook the power of scent to create a passionate feeling. Maybe, buy him some good stuff too!
34. Take care of your skin. Exfoliate, use lotion and even self-tanner. You will feel better about how you look and it will show in how you respond.
35. And finally, look for ways to enjoy your time together. Make each moment memorable, even when it seems routine. Turn the spark into a flame and keep the fuel at the ready.
Marriage is a special bond that you share, but it requires commitment and energy if you want your investment to stand the test of time. Your partner knows more about you than anyone else. They have seen your flaws and love you anyway.
Think twice before you put that in jeopardy over an unknown, and often temporary, thrill. Invest in your spouse and you will reap the dividends all of your life. As well as setting a wonderful example for the generations to follow.
Look at your relationship through the eyes of a “mistress.” What would they do if they were trying to impress your husband? How would they get his attention and what would they do to keep it? When you figure that out, begin to do it. Your husband will be so amazed and thrilled that the results could be earth shattering.
The 35 Tips for Creating the Perfect “Affair” with Your Spouse:
1. Find out what you spouse values. Is it your time, your attention, your validation, your respect, your service, or your physical attention.
2. Be sure to give them what they need, NOT what you would like to receive.
3. Most men value physical touch. Men need to have physical interaction with their wife on a regular basis. Not just interaction but passionate and enthusiastic interaction. That would seal the deal.
4. It is amazing what men will overlook if you take care of this aspect of your marriage.
5. Don’t feel self conscious about your body. Love who you are, be confident in yourself and love your husband passionately. That is what he wants more than a perfect body.
6. Respect yourself and the boundaries of your marriage. Don’t put yourself in situations that could lead to difficult temptations. Listen to you gut and do the best thing for you and honor your marriage.
7. Honesty and trust are two of the most valuable assets a marriage can have. Trust your husband and don’t give him reasons to not trust you. Be honest with how you feel and what you do.
8. Men need to feel wanted, loved, sexy and respected. Find ways to make your husband feel this way.
9. Validate and affirm your husband daily. Let him know, in whatever way he responds to, that you appreciate what he does and that is doing a good job.
10. Write down all the things that attracted you to you husband, all the things he does well. Read it regularly. Write down what you don’t like about your husband. Throw it away. If you start focusing on what you do like, instead of what you don’t, you will begin to get more of what you like.
11. Take care of yourself. Basic things like good grooming, exercise, good nutrition and caring for your skin and hair.
12. Men respond to the visual, give them something to think about. You don’t have to be skinny, you don’t have to be beautiful, just do the best you can with what you have and he will love it and you for it.
13. Invest in yourself. Have hobbies and outside interests, but not at the expense of time with your husband. Having things you love to do, makes you more interesting and a more equal partner. If your life is just about your husband and kids, it is time to develop some things that are just for you. Independence is very sexy.
14. Allow and encourage your husband to pursue hobbies and outside interests, but not at the expense of time with your family. Be supportive and not clinging when he engages in positive hobbies.
15. Don’t put up with being taken advantage of. At the moment you start to feel there is an imbalance, address it. Don’t let it fester and become a deal breaking issue.
16. Don’t nag or complain. He heard you the first hundred times. Ask yourself why this is still an issue and discuss possible solutions with him. If you have several issues that need addressed, make a list and be playful about expressing what you need done. Maybe even offer some incentives… If it does not get done, call a professional and give him the bill. He will soon get the message.
17. Call him or text him with provocative messages. Don’t stalk him, just remind him you are thinking of him in a provocative way.
18. Text him a suggestive photo of you. Note I said suggestive, not x-rated. You want to have him imagine coming home to you, not take care of things himself. Leave much to the imagination, don’t send anything you might regret later.
19. Meet him at an unusual time of day for some physical attention.
20. Look for ways to be passionate in unexpected places and times.
21. Have special signals that you can use in front of people that signal him what you are thinking of.
22. Sneak away together whenever possible to show affection for each other.
23. Write secrets notes to each other and put them in a pocket, lunch or car.
24. Surprise him with a special lunch or meal that is unexpected.
25. Plan a secret getaway, even if it is very short.
26. Wear sexy nightclothes versus the sweats and comfies, show him you care what he sees.
27. Purchase sexy underwear and be sure only he knows you have it on.
28. Tease him and deliver on it.
29. Treat each physical encounter as if it was your chance to make an impression on him.
30. Treat him to a massage regularly, especially hands and feet. This can be very sensual even when around others. Buy some warming massage lotion for more intimate encounters.
31. Spice things up. Keep menthol cough drops by the bed. They create a cooling sensation on the skin you touch with your mouth.
32. Go out on dates, where you fix up and can act like a dating couple.
33. Always smell good. Even before bed, spray a little on you and a little on the sheets. Don’t overlook the power of scent to create a passionate feeling. Maybe, buy him some good stuff too!
34. Take care of your skin. Exfoliate, use lotion and even self-tanner. You will feel better about how you look and it will show in how you respond.
35. And finally, look for ways to enjoy your time together. Make each moment memorable, even when it seems routine. Turn the spark into a flame and keep the fuel at the ready.
Marriage is a special bond that you share, but it requires commitment and energy if you want your investment to stand the test of time. Your partner knows more about you than anyone else. They have seen your flaws and love you anyway.
Think twice before you put that in jeopardy over an unknown, and often temporary, thrill. Invest in your spouse and you will reap the dividends all of your life. As well as setting a wonderful example for the generations to follow.
How to Have an Affair with Your Husband-Building a Marriage that Lasts
To keep a marriage strong through the years, it requires constant attention. If you begin to let the responsibilities of life overwhelm you, you will forget why it was that you fell in love with your spouse in the first place.
This is when a spouse may begin to seek that spark from someone else, someone who sees what you used to see in them. Over time, a relationship can become stale as each trial and mundane responsibility begins to squeeze the passion from it.
Each person has a need for passion, a need for validation, acceptance and love. Although the level of need may be different, the need is always present. When those needs are intense and not being met in a persons current situation it can lead people to violate their personal values in order to meet that need.
This again goes back to level of need. Those who do not experience an intense need will have challenges understanding why someone else does. We all have areas of life that we experience intense need, however they are not the same for each person. That is why it is often easier to judge the behavior of others.
Because it would not be a problem for us, we judge others who struggle. When in reality there are areas we all struggle in, some are just more visible than others such as addictions, overeating or finance control. Many others are more hidden.
Do you know what your spouse considers an intense need? Do you know what you consider an intense need? Knowing these answers can help you to develop a stronger marriage. Most often when you give your spouse what they need, you are more likely to get what you need.
Deny your spouse an intense need for long enough, and their will be a breakdown in the relationship. This is why you need to do some self-discovery and pay attention to what your partner considers important.
Consider an affair. Why do they happen? Most often, a basic intense need is not being met by the spouse, for a prolonged time, and this leads the other spouse to seek a way to fulfill it. This is where we can see otherwise upstanding people, violate their personal values in order to meet an unfulfilled need.
I make no excuse for bad behavior, because there is always a point where an intervention could have taken place. It is one thing for a need to go unmet, but another to act on it outside the marriage. At the first sign of disharmony there needs to be a recommitment to understand each other and how, as a couple, you can better meet the needs of your spouse.
When this does not happen, we see very dire consequences. Of course, not all situations happen because of this, but a majority do. There is a percentage of people who, because of something that happened to them, are unable to function appropriately in a marriage relationship. That is an entirely different situation. What I am touching on is what I see happening to so many, once passionate, relationships.
Life enters and the fire goes out. Marriage is much like a fire, it takes constant tending or the flames can go out. You have to monitor the fire and if the coals start to burn down, you must throw another log on the fire. Without this attention, the fire will burn out. All fires need fuel to burn. Stop adding fuel to your marriage, and the same will happen to it.
The typical situation happens when a young couple start to develop a life together. They go from a fun dating couple with tons of passion and heat, to homeowners with bills, jobs and responsibilities. This adds a whole new dimension to the carefree time they had before.
Then to top it off, many start to have children. Children are a blessing, but they are also the biggest fire extinguishers you can create. Nothing saps romance more than a crying baby, fussy toddler or a disrespectful teenager.
Times like that call for an even stronger marriage to support the stress being put on each individual. Unfortunately what often happens is that this stress breaks the marriage. Couples stop trying to please each other and start complaining about their own needs not being met.
This huge disruption can cause a major division in the marriage. “Poor Me Syndrome” leads to feelings of not being loved, valued, accepted, or wanted. When each person turns inward the couple will grow apart.
To stop this from happening couples must be aware of the common stresses that will happen during marriage. Things like bills, money problems, family issues, children and mundane duties. You need to realize your breaking points and regroup before too much damage is done.
The solution is to reconnect with your partner and begin to find out what they really need. Then give it to them. You can’t make them give you what you need, you can only control you own actions. But when these things are given lovingly and enthusiastically, most often the receiving spouse will feel compelled to meet the others needs out of sheer gratitude.
Once again, please note I am talking about otherwise healthy loving relationships that have just lost their spark, not abusive or highly dysfunctional ones. That requires much more in depth counsel than I am touching on.
The reason that I called this article “How to Have an Affair with Your Husband,” is because that is one great solution to keep passion alive. Keep in mind this works for husbands as well as wives, but in this example I am using men. Look at your relationship through the eyes of a “mistress.”
What would they do if they were trying to impress your husband? How would they get his attention and what would they do to keep it? When you figure that out, begin to do it. Your husband will be so amazed and thrilled that the results could be earth shattering. In Part II I will share: “The 35 Tips for Creating the Perfect “Affair” with Your Spouse.”
This is when a spouse may begin to seek that spark from someone else, someone who sees what you used to see in them. Over time, a relationship can become stale as each trial and mundane responsibility begins to squeeze the passion from it.
Each person has a need for passion, a need for validation, acceptance and love. Although the level of need may be different, the need is always present. When those needs are intense and not being met in a persons current situation it can lead people to violate their personal values in order to meet that need.
This again goes back to level of need. Those who do not experience an intense need will have challenges understanding why someone else does. We all have areas of life that we experience intense need, however they are not the same for each person. That is why it is often easier to judge the behavior of others.
Because it would not be a problem for us, we judge others who struggle. When in reality there are areas we all struggle in, some are just more visible than others such as addictions, overeating or finance control. Many others are more hidden.
Do you know what your spouse considers an intense need? Do you know what you consider an intense need? Knowing these answers can help you to develop a stronger marriage. Most often when you give your spouse what they need, you are more likely to get what you need.
Deny your spouse an intense need for long enough, and their will be a breakdown in the relationship. This is why you need to do some self-discovery and pay attention to what your partner considers important.
Consider an affair. Why do they happen? Most often, a basic intense need is not being met by the spouse, for a prolonged time, and this leads the other spouse to seek a way to fulfill it. This is where we can see otherwise upstanding people, violate their personal values in order to meet an unfulfilled need.
I make no excuse for bad behavior, because there is always a point where an intervention could have taken place. It is one thing for a need to go unmet, but another to act on it outside the marriage. At the first sign of disharmony there needs to be a recommitment to understand each other and how, as a couple, you can better meet the needs of your spouse.
When this does not happen, we see very dire consequences. Of course, not all situations happen because of this, but a majority do. There is a percentage of people who, because of something that happened to them, are unable to function appropriately in a marriage relationship. That is an entirely different situation. What I am touching on is what I see happening to so many, once passionate, relationships.
Life enters and the fire goes out. Marriage is much like a fire, it takes constant tending or the flames can go out. You have to monitor the fire and if the coals start to burn down, you must throw another log on the fire. Without this attention, the fire will burn out. All fires need fuel to burn. Stop adding fuel to your marriage, and the same will happen to it.
The typical situation happens when a young couple start to develop a life together. They go from a fun dating couple with tons of passion and heat, to homeowners with bills, jobs and responsibilities. This adds a whole new dimension to the carefree time they had before.
Then to top it off, many start to have children. Children are a blessing, but they are also the biggest fire extinguishers you can create. Nothing saps romance more than a crying baby, fussy toddler or a disrespectful teenager.
Times like that call for an even stronger marriage to support the stress being put on each individual. Unfortunately what often happens is that this stress breaks the marriage. Couples stop trying to please each other and start complaining about their own needs not being met.
This huge disruption can cause a major division in the marriage. “Poor Me Syndrome” leads to feelings of not being loved, valued, accepted, or wanted. When each person turns inward the couple will grow apart.
To stop this from happening couples must be aware of the common stresses that will happen during marriage. Things like bills, money problems, family issues, children and mundane duties. You need to realize your breaking points and regroup before too much damage is done.
The solution is to reconnect with your partner and begin to find out what they really need. Then give it to them. You can’t make them give you what you need, you can only control you own actions. But when these things are given lovingly and enthusiastically, most often the receiving spouse will feel compelled to meet the others needs out of sheer gratitude.
Once again, please note I am talking about otherwise healthy loving relationships that have just lost their spark, not abusive or highly dysfunctional ones. That requires much more in depth counsel than I am touching on.
The reason that I called this article “How to Have an Affair with Your Husband,” is because that is one great solution to keep passion alive. Keep in mind this works for husbands as well as wives, but in this example I am using men. Look at your relationship through the eyes of a “mistress.”
What would they do if they were trying to impress your husband? How would they get his attention and what would they do to keep it? When you figure that out, begin to do it. Your husband will be so amazed and thrilled that the results could be earth shattering. In Part II I will share: “The 35 Tips for Creating the Perfect “Affair” with Your Spouse.”
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
What Kind of Vibe do You Give Off? - Becoming a Dream Spotter
Who among us does not like to feel validated or special? It is a powerful vibe that you get from people with an inspiring spirit. Today I am thankful for uplifting and kind people. After meeting with a couple of special ladies this morning I felt renewed and encouraged. What I realized is that these women are "Dream Spotters." I can always count on them to remind me of my strengths and keep me grounded at the same time.
Everyone needs people like this in their lives. On the other hand, I was at a recent event and came across a "Dream Smasher." This lady was being so negative and mean-spirited that I literally felt I needed to shower to get the negative vibe off of me. Intuitively we feel the difference in a person’s intention. So, if you want more positive in your life and less negative, consider the vibe that you give off to others. Ask yourself these five basic questions:
1. Who have I encouraged or made feel special today?
2. Did I criticize or run down anyone today?
3. Who in my life makes me want to be a better person, just by spending time with them?
4. Who in my life leaves me feeling beat down and discouraged after spending time around them?
5. What can I do to make a positive difference in life of someone else?
These are important questions and ones that will affect whether you draw people to you or repel people from you. Become a dream spotter for others and thank the ones you have in your life!
Everyone needs people like this in their lives. On the other hand, I was at a recent event and came across a "Dream Smasher." This lady was being so negative and mean-spirited that I literally felt I needed to shower to get the negative vibe off of me. Intuitively we feel the difference in a person’s intention. So, if you want more positive in your life and less negative, consider the vibe that you give off to others. Ask yourself these five basic questions:
1. Who have I encouraged or made feel special today?
2. Did I criticize or run down anyone today?
3. Who in my life makes me want to be a better person, just by spending time with them?
4. Who in my life leaves me feeling beat down and discouraged after spending time around them?
5. What can I do to make a positive difference in life of someone else?
These are important questions and ones that will affect whether you draw people to you or repel people from you. Become a dream spotter for others and thank the ones you have in your life!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Develop your Get REAL Body Image Re-Think! (Part III)
My Story continuted:
From trial and error, I learned that beauty comes from doing the best you can, with what you have, and allowing your inner spirit to shine through. No one in High School would have ever believed that I would win any kind of contest, let alone a beauty pageant. But once again, you can’t let what people think about you, limit what you are meant to be. The opinions of others are clouded by the perspective in which they view you from. Have the courage to be who you were meant to be, not what others think you are.
You are so much more than numbers on a scale. Look at Hollywood, many stars have what the world says will make you happy, things like money, perfect bodies and fame. Keep in mind that most of these same people struggle to find happiness. They struggle with relationships, addictions and being insecure. If being thin and attractive does not equate to happiness, then what makes you think it will make your dreams come true? It is time to Get REAL, let go of any attachment to external features and see the big picture.
In the REAL world what actually matters is what you invest in yourself. Now is the time to start living a healthy lifestyle, not to be skinny, but to feel good and to live a long, strong and healthy life. By doing this, you give yourself the tools needed to find inner happiness and true beauty.
The key message I want to leave you with is, you have control over the YOU that you project. To exert this control you must start spending time investing in who you are, versus what you weigh or how you look. You waste energy when you approach your goals from the backside. True beauty comes from looking within and developing your special qualities.
No more feeling sorry for yourself. In the words of Joyce Meyer, “You can be pitiful or powerful but you can’t be both.” You get to choose which you will be. Consider that you are not a victim, you have the victory in you if you are ready to uncover your unique self. Invest in yourself daily and you will begin to uncover the true beauty that is within you and as a result, others will begin to see it too.
Remember this Get REAL Key Point: “It is only by changing how you treat yourself that you can change how other people will treat you!”
From trial and error, I learned that beauty comes from doing the best you can, with what you have, and allowing your inner spirit to shine through. No one in High School would have ever believed that I would win any kind of contest, let alone a beauty pageant. But once again, you can’t let what people think about you, limit what you are meant to be. The opinions of others are clouded by the perspective in which they view you from. Have the courage to be who you were meant to be, not what others think you are.
You are so much more than numbers on a scale. Look at Hollywood, many stars have what the world says will make you happy, things like money, perfect bodies and fame. Keep in mind that most of these same people struggle to find happiness. They struggle with relationships, addictions and being insecure. If being thin and attractive does not equate to happiness, then what makes you think it will make your dreams come true? It is time to Get REAL, let go of any attachment to external features and see the big picture.
In the REAL world what actually matters is what you invest in yourself. Now is the time to start living a healthy lifestyle, not to be skinny, but to feel good and to live a long, strong and healthy life. By doing this, you give yourself the tools needed to find inner happiness and true beauty.
The key message I want to leave you with is, you have control over the YOU that you project. To exert this control you must start spending time investing in who you are, versus what you weigh or how you look. You waste energy when you approach your goals from the backside. True beauty comes from looking within and developing your special qualities.
No more feeling sorry for yourself. In the words of Joyce Meyer, “You can be pitiful or powerful but you can’t be both.” You get to choose which you will be. Consider that you are not a victim, you have the victory in you if you are ready to uncover your unique self. Invest in yourself daily and you will begin to uncover the true beauty that is within you and as a result, others will begin to see it too.
Remember this Get REAL Key Point: “It is only by changing how you treat yourself that you can change how other people will treat you!”
Develop your Get REAL Body Image Re-Think! (Part II)
My Story:
Living life to match a number on a scale or in a dress, is not living. I know this first hand. It is time for me to Get REAL with you, high school was not a fun time for me, I was a nerd or maybe worse, I just blended into the wallpaper. I was too tall, had bad skin, a totally bad hair cut, and crummy social skills. To say the least, I was not confident.
But then something happened. I had a few key people express confidence in me and showed me how to enter scholarship pageants. I thought, “Finally this tall thing is going to be useful!” It was unbelievable the transformation. It was not so much what happened on the outside, it was what took place on the inside. Suddenly I had REAL reasons to feel good about myself.
What was the difference? I was finally doing things to make myself be the best ME, I could be. I was polishing up the rough edges. I started working out, not to be thin, but to get in better shape. I started eating better and as a result my skin, hair and nails started looking better. Eventually, I started walking taller and with more confidence.
I began paying attention to what was going on in the world and started investing time in forming well thought out opinions. Part of that meant I had to fully understand what my core values and beliefs were. I had to establish clear personal boundaries and stick to them. Preparing for interview taught me to be well spoken, well thought out and concise.
This preparation built an internal confidence in me that was reflected in my outer appearance. Had I changed? Yes and no. I had changed how I treated myself and in turn people changed how they treated me. I went on to win enough scholarship money to pay for my entire education as well as earning several titles. But the greatest thing I, this former self-professed nerd, gained was a sense of true body image and self worth.
Lisa M. Schilling RN, CPT http://www.getrealwellnesssolutions.com/
Living life to match a number on a scale or in a dress, is not living. I know this first hand. It is time for me to Get REAL with you, high school was not a fun time for me, I was a nerd or maybe worse, I just blended into the wallpaper. I was too tall, had bad skin, a totally bad hair cut, and crummy social skills. To say the least, I was not confident.
But then something happened. I had a few key people express confidence in me and showed me how to enter scholarship pageants. I thought, “Finally this tall thing is going to be useful!” It was unbelievable the transformation. It was not so much what happened on the outside, it was what took place on the inside. Suddenly I had REAL reasons to feel good about myself.
What was the difference? I was finally doing things to make myself be the best ME, I could be. I was polishing up the rough edges. I started working out, not to be thin, but to get in better shape. I started eating better and as a result my skin, hair and nails started looking better. Eventually, I started walking taller and with more confidence.
I began paying attention to what was going on in the world and started investing time in forming well thought out opinions. Part of that meant I had to fully understand what my core values and beliefs were. I had to establish clear personal boundaries and stick to them. Preparing for interview taught me to be well spoken, well thought out and concise.
This preparation built an internal confidence in me that was reflected in my outer appearance. Had I changed? Yes and no. I had changed how I treated myself and in turn people changed how they treated me. I went on to win enough scholarship money to pay for my entire education as well as earning several titles. But the greatest thing I, this former self-professed nerd, gained was a sense of true body image and self worth.
Lisa M. Schilling RN, CPT http://www.getrealwellnesssolutions.com/
Develop your Get REAL Body Image Re-Think! (Part I)
Hey friends, I wanted to give a shout out to all the young people out there. I am a HUGE supporter of a Get REAL approach to life, REAL being--Realistic Expectations About Life. I have been through a crazy world of up and down, secure and insecure. What it is has taught me is an incredible message that I want to pass on to you. No one can make you feel “less than” unless you let them.
That may sound a little strange, but let it sink in. Throughout my life I have made mistakes and I have grown from everyone one of them. Without tests in life you will never have a testimony. In fact most people just end up with the monies. They allow what people say about then to shape how they feel about themselves. Big mistake, big--huge, don’t go there. You are an amazing and unique person. There is no one else like you, with your gifts and your capacity.
It is time to stop trying to conform to what others look like. Be the best YOU that you can create. Play up your strengths and keep your focus on them. If you constantly think of what you don’t like, that is what others will see too. Forget that! Keep your attention clearly focused on your special qualities. Energy flows to where your attention goes, so keep your attention on what makes you special.
What you look like has less to do with your body shape and more to do with your inner attitude and spirit. What you project from your spirit will show in your actions, mannerisms and charisma. All else is false. You have all been given different shapes, sizes and features. They make you who you are. Learn to rock your uniqueness.
Does how you look matter? In a way yes. Are you doing all you can do with what you have? That is the key. When you go out, do you project the YOU that is on the inside? Taking time to be healthy, eat right, exercise and care for your mental health are more important than what a scale says. My Goal is to help young women ditch the goal of being skinny and embrace a lifestyle of living healthy.
To showcase that goal I have created twenty steps to help you uncover your true beauty. They are:
That may sound a little strange, but let it sink in. Throughout my life I have made mistakes and I have grown from everyone one of them. Without tests in life you will never have a testimony. In fact most people just end up with the monies. They allow what people say about then to shape how they feel about themselves. Big mistake, big--huge, don’t go there. You are an amazing and unique person. There is no one else like you, with your gifts and your capacity.
It is time to stop trying to conform to what others look like. Be the best YOU that you can create. Play up your strengths and keep your focus on them. If you constantly think of what you don’t like, that is what others will see too. Forget that! Keep your attention clearly focused on your special qualities. Energy flows to where your attention goes, so keep your attention on what makes you special.
What you look like has less to do with your body shape and more to do with your inner attitude and spirit. What you project from your spirit will show in your actions, mannerisms and charisma. All else is false. You have all been given different shapes, sizes and features. They make you who you are. Learn to rock your uniqueness.
Does how you look matter? In a way yes. Are you doing all you can do with what you have? That is the key. When you go out, do you project the YOU that is on the inside? Taking time to be healthy, eat right, exercise and care for your mental health are more important than what a scale says. My Goal is to help young women ditch the goal of being skinny and embrace a lifestyle of living healthy.
To showcase that goal I have created twenty steps to help you uncover your true beauty. They are:
- Discover what qualities make you different
- Create a plan to honor what makes you special
- Define what you are good at and build on those things
- Discover and accept what you are not strong in, and don’t waste time on them
- Release old thinking about superficial beauty and its tie to your body image
- Establish your core values and personal boundaries
- Take time to understand the “why” behind your values and what you believe
- Spend time developing your talents and hobbies daily
- Read inspirational and informative books
- Stay aware of what is happening in the world and develop an informed opinion
- Be aware of techno-excess and place value on face to face and handwritten expression
- Surround yourself with uplifting and encouraging friends and mentors
- Distance yourself from toxic or negative people
- Seek out ways to help others and volunteer your time
- Begin to take time daily to exercise your body, invest in your health
- Fuel your body with water and nutritious, healthy food
- Care for your skin and body, create a daily routine
- Seek ways to relax and manage stress
- Stop negative thoughts immediately and insert a positive message
- Always smile and radiate confidence, joy and compassion to all that you meet
Lisa Schilling RN, CPT
www.getrealwellnesssolutions.com
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