Combat the Common Cold

It’s really hard to avoid the cold and flu season without catching something, especially if you work in an office environment. Last week something was “going around” at work, so this week i got to experience it first hand. Even if it is just a cold, it’s enough to make me miserable for at least two days. Determined to fight the cold off, I tried a few products that were suppose to help shorten the common cold.

One was Airborne that is basically herbs that are suppose to help boost your immune system. You should really take this as a preventive measure and now when you’re sick. Zicam is another product I tried. You start taking Zicam at the onslaught of your cold and continue to take 48 hours after your symptoms have passed.

While I’ve heard success stories from both of these products, I’m remain skeptical just how well they actually work. A friend took Zicam and said it definitely helped shorten the time he was sick. Here is what works best for me: orange juice.

Usually I buy a gallon of orange juice when I’m sick. Juice is good for you and especially when you are sick. It seems to help me get well faster and makes me feel better while I’m sick. The friend who praised Zicam drinks orange juice like most people drink sodas, so I have a feeling that Zicam might be getting the credit for OJ. I

It appears Zicam is packed with Vitamin C, so the best way to combat a cold is to get a lot of Vitamin C either by juice or tablet.

Mall Walking

After a pleasant July, August is more than making up for it with hot days and humid nights. It’s just unbearable to be outside for any length of time. When it’s too hot to do much of anything outside, it can really put a dampen on any walking routine.  Usually I just walk around the neighborhood, but on unbelievably hot days, I travel to the mall.

As a beginner mall walker, it can be hard to keep a pace because it is easy to get distracted by the sights, sounds, and the smells of the mall. Temptation can be resisted and a good walk in the mall can be had. Here is how I get the most out of my mall walking.

Most malls unlock their doors way before the mall officially opens, allowing walkers to get in their walk way before it becomes crowded. This makes a great time to walk at the mall. Most of the time this is when I walk at the mall. Sometimes it can be challenging to get moving this early, so I have to walk when the mall has officially opened.

When I have to walk during open hours, I keep to the outside track of the mall. This helps to avoid some traffic and get the most out of my walk since I will be able to keep a faster pace. Taking along my MP3 player will block out a lot of the mall noise from distracting me from my walk. Unfortunately, there isn’t a nose plug so that I don’t smell those delicious cookies being baked. With our mall, it is very hard to avoid the food court since it is in the middle of the mall. Avoiding the food court is easier in some mall layouts that put the food court at one of the ends.

Some malls have walking clubs where people meet up and walk together. Our mall walking club is done through one of the local hospitals. Check with your local mall to see if such a club exists.

My Fitness Pal

My Fitness pal is a website that you can easily count calories. You can also keep track of your fitness goals as well as calorie intake. The clean interface makes it a very simple program to use.

There is nothing to download with My Fitness Pal since everything is web-based. This means that you can have access to your information from any computer. You want to update your calories while at work. You can do that and then update again after supper at home. My Fitness Pal is 100% free to use and sign up is a simple process.

I’ve tried other online calorie counting programs and found them cumbersome and way too hard to really get into. I guess the simplicity of the pages really makes My Fitness Pal makes a good choice for me. If a food is not listed in their database, you can add it. There are some foods that might be regional and not available elsewhere. Simply grab the nutrition label and plug in the right numbers. The add a food screen is set up just like a label, so it’s easy to identify which value goes in which slot.

My Fitness Pal is really simple to use. It can be a great tool to help you keep track of fitness and eating goals as well as track progress.