Eating in Moderation

I love to eat. I come from a family that enjoys eating very much. My husband’s family eats even more than my family does and I never thought that would be possible. My husband’s family are the type who eat for every occasion: if someone dies, we go out to eat; if someone goes to church together with someone else, you have to go out to eat, if someone does something great we go out to eat. Every situation seems to be an excuse to go out to a restaurant. Growing up, we only ate out occasionally and it was considered a special treat to eat in a restaurant. It wasn’t a weekly or even monthly occurrence.

I was thin when my husband and I got together but over the past several years I have gained almost 100 pounds. Some of it is due to quitting smoking; some is due to childbirth; and the rest is due to eating out a lot. At first, I admit that I overdid it a little when eating out because it was something I wasn’t used to and I thought that once in a while it wouldn’t hurt to splurge. But when “once in a while” became a weekly thing, my weight started creeping up.

So what did I do to keep myself from gaining anymore weight? Well, I put a stop to going with the gang to eat out for every little thing that happened. I also learned when I went out how to eat in moderation and to special order foods that are cooked healthier. I also started buying more soups and salads and started taking my own fat-free dressing along. I never order anything that is fried. I only order grilled or broiled meats. I order a baked potato instead of french fries. Little changes like that have made a big difference.

Remember Those Physical Fitness Tests? They’re Back!

Do you remember those physical fitness tests we used to have to take in school? The people who did really well were given an “official” certificate signed by the President of the United States for doing an exceptional job and excelling in physical fitness. I used to hate when we had the physical fitness tests. I always did terrible on them and I was always so embarrassed because I could never do a push-up or a pull-up.

Well now the government is giving adults a chance to prove that they are physically in shape with a fitness test that closely resembles the Presidental Physical Fitness Award. The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports is trying to motivate adults to get moving. The test will include three components: aerobic fitness, muscular strength and flexibility. The test is for people 18 and older who are in good health. The council says that baby boomers have been asking for a physical fitness test that resembled the type they did as children in school.

The aerobic component of the tests consists of a one-mile walk or 1.5-mile run. Push-ups and half sit-ups make up the strength test. A stretching exercise called the “sit-and-reach” is used to measure flexibility. Results from the test can be entered online. While you won’t get a presidental certificate, you will get to see where you rank among other people your own age.

Stand Taller with Yoga

I just recently read a news article that said elderly women who do yoga may be able to stand taller after a nine week program. Not only did they gain a centimeter in their height, they were also able to walk faster and had better balance.

It is thought that the yoga helped to prevent the women from slouching and they were able to stand more upright than before starting the program. In previous studies using yoga on elderly women, the program used was pretty demanding. In this recent yoga study a program was specifically designed for elderly people. Basic poses such as bending and stretching upwards and sideways were used.

Included in the study were 24 women who were at least 65 years old and over. The women were involved in twice a week programs that lasted 1 1/2 hours each. As the program progressed, so did the intensity of the yoga.

Set an Example for Children’s Health

Children’s health is very important.  Too often, parents get caught up in the day to day activities and forget that you are setting an example.  The best way to encourage life long health choices is to set an example for children’s health.

If you do not want your child to become a smoker, set an example.  Don’t smoke around your child.  Do not allow others such as friends and relatives to smoke around your child.

If you want your child to have a healthy weight.  Encourage them and others to eat healthy and make healthy food choices.

Setting an example for children’s health is the best way to get them to make life long health choices that are healthy.

Multi-Vitamin Helps Supplement Diet

When you choose to diet, it can be hard on the body.  It is imperative that you practice healthy eating and healthy cooking.  Even if you are eating all health foods, there are times that it can be a challenge to get in all the essential nutrients that you body needs on a daily basis.  It is important to take a multi-vitamin when you are on a diet.

A multi-vitamin should be taken with a main meal.  This will allow the different types of vitamins and minerals to absorb the best in your body.  For example, some vitamins are water soluble.  Other vitamins need milk or fat to dissolve and absorb correctly into the blood stream where you get the most benefits from your vitamins.

Take a multi-vitamin daily while you are dieting so that your body can get all the nutrients that it needs.  You will have more energy and be healthier in the long run.  Along with healthy eating and healthy cooking, multi-vitamins round off your nutrients for a healthy body.

Reflexology: Some Information

WHAT IS REFLEXOLOGY:

Reflexology is the practice of massaging, squeezing, or pushing on parts of the feet, or sometimes the hands and ears to improve general health.

1) FOR A HEADACHE…….

Massage the tips of your big toes and their outer sides.

2) FOR A BACKACHE……

Massage the spine reflexes among the inside edge of each foot.

3) FOR COLDS…..

Massage the sinus reflex found at the back and sides of the smaller toes.

4) CONSTIPATION DURING PREGNANCY….

Massage the arches of your feet in a circular, clockwise motion, for about five minutes on each foot.

CFS & Exercise

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients find it difficult to exercise because one of the major symptoms of the illlness is post-exertional malaise. Post-exertional malaise is defined as a period of deep fatigue and exhaustion that lasts for more than 24 hours following physical exertion.

For example, if you see with someone with CFS out dancing, doing aerobic exercise or jogging today you would probably think there is nothing wrong with them and they must be faking it. But what you don’t see is the consequences of those actions the following day. That is usually when the extreme fatigue sets in -either much later the same day or the next day. Then the CFS person is too fatigued and exhausted to do anything at all.

Even though CFS patients have this issue, exercise is still important for everyone. CFS patients often find their bodies to be very deconditioned and that in itself makes their health problems even worse. Exercise is possible - it just has to be modified to fit the individual.

Aerobics, jogging and other very fast-paced, heart racing physical activities are too demanding physically for someone with CFS. A CFS patient needs to start an exercise program, with the help of a CFS specialist, that starts out slowly and builds up gradually over time.

The severity of CFS is different among each individual. That is why it is important that each CFS patient have an individualized program that suits their physical capabilities.

Strength and conditioning exercises are an important component of the overall activity program. Standard rehabilitative methods, such as resistance training and flexibility exercises, may help improve stamina and function, increase strength and flexibility, reduce pain and increase range of motion.

Yoga Tips:

Some important yoga tips:

1) Yoga should ideally be practised early morning in the open. Also, it is ideal to practise it on an empty stomach.

2) You should always do your asanas on a mat on the floor.

3) It is very important to focus all your attention on your exercise and every breath should assure you that your body is being cleansed.

4) Your emotions play a vital part in yogic healing.

5) If you want your yoga regimen to benefit you, clear your mind of all misconceptions you may have about yogic postures and their effiicacy.

Curing With Water:

Water therapy, popularly known as aqua therapy or hydro therapy, is just like aqua aerobics but is adjusted to the person’s need and in terms of exercises, it is slower than aqua aerobics. A reputed body balance trainer, says that people who are subjected to medical condition are referred for aqua therapy. It is true that in water therapy or aqua therapy, the impact is much less than aqua aerobics.

Water therapy is helpful for those who have joint problems, knee pain, back ache, musculoskeletal injuries, acute shoulder ache, decreased bone density, disability of some other diseases. All these disease can be treated in a very soothing way as water provides a gentler environment.

DISEASES TREATED:

Osteoarthritis

Advanced osteoporosis (with susceptibility to and/or pain from fracture)

Muscle strain

Decreased bone density

High blood pressure

Obesity

Arthritis

Sinusitis

BENEFITS OF THERAPY:

a) It increases oxygen in the blood

b) Helps to hydrate all body cells

c) Reduces stress

d) Enhances the immune system

e) Assists in pain relief

f) Has a calming effect

g) Prevents overheating through continious cooling of the body

FORMS OF WATER THERAPY:

1) Packing: A wet sheet envelopes the body which is soothing and stimulating

2) Hot air baths or saunas: The patient is immersed in water from 20 mins to 2 hours followed by a general bath

3) General baths: Includes sponge bath, shower, plunge

4) Local baths: Alternations of hot and cold water

Researchers Find Being Active & Overweight Still Not Healthy

I am overweight and have battled weight issues all of my life. But I have not had my head buried in the sand and am not one of these overweight activists who believes that you can be heavy and healthy. It’s just not a reasonable defense.

Over the years, and especially over the past five years, “fat” activists have been popping up all over the place declaring that you can be active and overweight and still be healthy. Well, a new study by the researchers at Harvard that was published yesterday in Internal Medicine puts this argument to rest (hopefully).

While the study found that overweight women who are active have a decreased risk of heart disease over those overweight women who are inactive, their risk of heart disease is still high compared to that of healthy-weight active women. Women were considered active if they followed government-recommended guidelines and got at least 30 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week, including brisk walking or jogging. Women who got less exercise than that were considered inactive.

The study found that active overweight women with a BMI (Body Mass Index) of 25 - 29 had a 54% higher risk of developing heart disease compared to that of active healthy weight women. Active obese women (with a BMI of 30 and higher) had a 87% higher risk of developing heart disease over that of healthy weight women who are active.

Here is where the benefits of exercise really shows. Check out these statistics…

For overweight inactive women, the risk of heart disease increased by 88%; for inactive obese women the risk was 2 1/2 times higher.

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