3 Ways to Exercise On A Busy Schedule

 Most exercise programs are started with the best intentions. So why then, do treadmills turn into storage platforms, and walking shoes are worn only to Saturday night movies? The answer is more of a matter of poor planning then low motivation. For exercise to be viable, it should include activities you enjoy, be accessible, and fit easily into your daily schedule. Here are 3 three ideas:

Arm your exercise space for battle. 

What would it take for your treadmill to be used? What about the weights? Maybe all you need is for your exercise space/room to be more inviting. You could accomplish this by decorating. Add color, texture, and other elements that will appeal to your senses-sight, smell, and sound. Do simple things like keeping a water pitcher on a table, or adjusting the light to fit your mood. If instead of comfort, your worry is infringing on productive time, consider adding a television with a VCR. This allows you to watch the news or watch a movie that you wouldn't normally have time to watch. You can view it in 20-30 minute increments. View it only when exercising, forcing you back on the equipment to see what happens next. It might be the motivating factor you've been looking for. Another possibility is to listen to a book on tape or recorded meeting notes through a headset. You can also record notes or the next day's "to do" list as you think of things while exercising.

Walk whenever possible. 

This includes the old stand bys like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking a distance from your destination, and delivering messages in your office by foot instead of by email. You can also walk on your lunch hour and breaks instead of sitting down to eat or snacking. To get your lunchtime nutrition, eat a quick salad at your desk before you take off. Bringing your food from home will save drive time to a restaurant, enabling you to get more from your breaks. Invite co-worker to walk with you.

Choose active family activities. 

Instead of eating a big dinner out-eat a healthy meal at home and then take a walk around the neighborhood together. You'll save the calories of the large restaurant portions, the time it takes to drive to an establishment, and gain that much need family time. Other "active" activities include walking around at the zoo, hiking on local nature preserves, bicycling, ice-skating, and swimming. The list is endless. Let these types of activities replace television watching and video games.

Turn your good intentions into action. You'll be healthier and will improve your overall well-being. You may end up with better work relationships as a result of hand delivering your messages. You will certainly strengthen family relationships by focusing on your time together. By investing a little time each day in the development of a healthy lifestyle, you could add years to your life, enabling you to enjoy the days when you no longer have such a chaotic schedule. 

3 Ways To Ease Depression Isolation

 One of the hardest symptoms to deal with during a depressive episode is feeling disconnected from reality. This feeling causes sufferers to retreat further and further into their own world. They become isolated from their loved ones and friends and the loneliness deepens the depression.

Here’s three ways to stop isolation from making depression worse.

1. Have at least one person you can turn to and have regular contact with 3-4 times a week. Someone you can call when you need to talk, someone who can be with you just watching TV or going to a movie. You don’t have talk about how you feel if you don’t want to and be clear that you don’t want to be questioned about your feelings. Hopefully, they’ll understand this and will be there for you when you need them.

2. There will be times when you just want to shut out the world and have your own space. Many sufferers just want to be alone in a quiet room such as their bedroom. There’s nothing wrong with this at all. But try not to make it a daily or regular habit. Schedule this once, maybe twice a week at most and be strict with it. It’s about a balance. Yes, shut the world out for a day or two each week. For the rest of the week, be around people, especially the special person we discussed in the first paragraph.

3. When you do shut the world out, do it in a way that helps you rather than hurts you. So, instead of retiring to a dark room and lying in bed to brood about your problems, try these: Mind puzzles – logic problems, crosswords, spatial puzzles etc. – jigsaw puzzles, draw or paint, play a musical instrument, write stories, watch TV or a movie, or read a book or a magazine and listen to some music. With a book and music, avoid anything too heavy or deep. Keep it nice and light. In this way, isolation doesn’t become a period of deep introspection where you worry or fret about problems or go over the past or beat up on yourself. You get the peace and tranquillity but not the torment that can accompany it during a depressive episode.

If you feel isolated and that life seems like a “virtual reality”, then please put these techniques to use. Isolation is a part of depression and the key to lessening the impact is to understand how it happens and use it so it helps you beat depression instead of keeping you trapped in it.

Copyright 2006 Christopher Green

3 Ways To Drink More Water

 After a little research it is apparent that nobody really knows where the saying that you need to drink 8 cups of water per day comes from. Some people trace it back to a study in the 1980's, and other people claim that doctors starting telling people that amount because it was a good goal, but didn't have any scientific research to back it up with.

Either way, the point is clear, water does wonders for your body, and your brain. Water is well known to cleanse your body of...

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After a little research it is apparent that nobody really knows where the saying that you need to drink 8 cups of water per day comes from. Some people trace it back to a study in the 1980's, and other people claim that doctors starting telling people that amount because it was a good goal, but didn't have any scientific research to back it up with.

Either way, the point is clear, water does wonders for your body, and your brain. Water is well known to cleanse your body of harmful chemicals through your intestines and also throughout your urine tract. Without proper water intake, our bodies break down very quickly, in a matter of days. Without food, however, some people can live for a week or two. That just shows how important water is to our bodies.

Here are 3 quick tips for taking in more water.

1. Always have water available.

I like to buy the 12 ounce bottles of water and keep them in the fridge. Whenever I go to the gym I grab a bottle. On my way out the door to work, I grab a bottle. Before a trip that will be 30 minutes or longer, I grab a bottle. When I watch a movie, I grab a bottle.

Whenever I am sitting watching TV or a movie, I will keep the bottle in my hand with the lid off. I take a lot of little sips until the bottle is gone. A great way of making sure you drink more water is to make sure it is easily accessible.

2. Keep it cold.

I don't know many people who like to drink room temperature water, I sure don't. If you keep your water cold, you will drink more. I make sure there is always ice in my freezer, this make it very easy to have a cold glass of water anytime.

3. Chose water in restaurants.

Whenever I go out to eat, I always drink water with some lemon. The lemon adds a little spunk to the taste and the water is always nice, cold and refreshing. After a short time you will stop craving your old drink of choice and will begin to appreciate the taste, or lack of taste, that water provides.

Give water a shot and your body will be thankful!

3 Things you want to know about Cholesterol

 You wouldn't judge a book by its cover, would you? 

You would want to open the book and read part of it to get a better idea about what is going on, right? 

Well, judging a book by its cover is what happens when you look at LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and decide that this is the only - or even the best  indicator of heart disease. 

Worse yet, you are told you MUST lower your LDL cholesterol level.  

#1  Naturally produced by the body, cholesterol is needed for a variety of functions.-1  

Your body uses cholesterol to make testosterone and other essential hormones and is one of the best  health and youth enhancing strategies for aging men  and women. -2 

As you age your body naturally starts to lose its  ability to produce as much testosterone and you start to lose energy, strength, sexual desire and sexual  capacity.-2 

#2 Because the fact is cholesterol alone is not THE  indicator of heart disease. Cholesterol which has been oxidized is the problem.   Oxidation of cholesterol is the more specific problem which would enable the cholesterol to become "sticky"  and start to form plaque in the walls of the arteries.-3 

We have all seen an apple cut open and watch as  it turns brown - this is oxidation. Your body will oxidize on the inside unless steps are taken to  help prevent this. 

One can keep oxidation of cholesterol in check  by incorporating plenty of anti-oxidants in your consumption of food and supplements.-1, 3 

A few of the most powerful anti-oxidants are:

CoenzymeQ10

Vitamin E

Vitamin A

Vitamin C

Low cost, safe and proven food sources high in omega 3's and the right fats to help keep your cholesterol levels in balance-1, 3

Garlic

Ginger

Olive oil

Olives

Almonds

Walnuts

Flaxseed

Eggplant

Okra

Eggs

Fresh fruit

These are better, safe, proven and natural ways to prevent cholesterol from becoming a problem. 

A diet heavy in grains and processed foods will actually raise your blood cholesterol levels more than foods which contain cholesterol. 

A diet low in cholesterol will do you  little if anything health wise -4 

Focusing on raising your HDL cholesterol levels because as you raise your good cholesterol it decreases the concern about your LDL levels of cholesterol and gives you a better total cholesterol profile. -5 

Some of the best ways to improve your “Good”  or HDL cholesterol is through: 

Exercise. 

Vitamin D

Niacin

Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with raising HDL cholesterol levels - 6

There is a big difference between the cholesterol your Body produces and dietary cholesterol from the food you eat.

#3 Two factors which are of greater concern and are better indicators of heart disease are -3

1. A measure of inflammation in the blood stream  called C-reactive protein

2. An amino acid produced by the body called homocysteine.

High levels of C-reactive protein and high levels of homocysteine are better leading indicators and also contribute to the formation of plaque in the blood vessels leading to heart disease -3 

As reported in the July, 2003 issue of JAMA, a study was conducted which showed that a diet high in plant sterols, fiber and almonds was clearly the better way to reduce cholesterol and heart disease over statin drugs.-8

And finally …

Policosanol – An organic plant alcohol from sugar cane is one of the best natural ways to reduce bad cholesterol levels-7 

Naturally, as you realize the power of these proven ways to prevent cholesterol from becoming a problem, you will find yourself taking action.

References 

1- Dr. Al Sears Health Confidential for Men –  “The biggest drug and the biggest lie” august 4th, 2003. 

2- Dr. Al Sears Health Confidential for Men –  “Ignore the hype focus on cholesterol that matters” April 4, 2004  

3- Hyman, Mark M.D., Liponis, Mark M.D., Ultra-Prevention, The 6-Week Plan that will Make you healthy for life, New York, Scribner, 2003 

4- Dr. Al Sears Health Confidential for Men –  “Teaching Nutrition?” March 15, 2004  

5- Framingham Heart Study conducted on healthy people   in the 1950s. cholesterol misleading as only one of 240  factors in heart disease. http://www.researchprotection.org/infomail/03/07/11.html 

6- Castiglioni A and Neuman WR. "HDL Cholesterol:  What Is Its True Clinical Significance?" Emergency Medicine,  January 2003:pp 30-42. 

7- Policosanol safe alternative just one of many. http://www.life-enhancement.com/article_template.asp?ID=663  New study finds that this sugar-cane extract safely lowers  cholesterol levels. By Aaron W. Jensen, Ph.D. References  PR Newswire, March 5, 2002. White Plains, NY.  Omar MA, Wilson JP. FDA adverse event reports on statin -associated rhabdomyolysis. Ann Pharmacother 2002  Feb;36(2):288-95.  Gouni-Berthold I, Berthold HK. Policosanol: clinical  pharmacology and therapeutic significance of a new  lipid-lowering agent. Am Heart J 2002;143:356-65.  Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment  of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults. Executive summary  of the third report of the National Cholesterol Education  Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III). J Am Med Assoc 2001;285:2486-97. 

8- Jenkins D. et al., Effects of a dietary portfolio of cholesterol- lowering foods vs Lovastatin on serum lipids and c-reactive  protein. JAMA 2003; 290: 502-510 

9- – Health Sciences Institute - Jenny Thompson –  Article “Broken Ground” 3/11/2004 

3 Things Crohns & Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Sufferers Must Do

 It is said that nearly one in four Americans suffers from some kind of digestive disorder such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Crohns Disease. Although medically recognized as incurable there is no need for sufferers of Crohns and IBS to give up hope.  Although the conditions cannot be eradicated, the symptoms and distress can however be controlled. It is often true that what medical science cannot cure, common sense, information and commitment can subdue.

It is a frustration to many, that in many areas, medical advancement has brought breakthrough and hope to many suffering at the hands of illness, but still there are is a silent percentage, waiting in the wings hoping for their time to come.

So how can we loosen the chains of Crohns and IBS?

1. Get Informed.

In today’s world of super fast and open communication there is really no reason why someone should suffer in silence or ignorance for anything. A simple trip to the library will uncover many books and guides outlining possibilities and methods for controlling disorders such as Crohns Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. A quick search on the internet will uncover many opportunities and avenues for discovering exactly what is going on with your body.

2. Get Support.

In the same way, that there is no excuse to being ignorant, there is also no reason to be alone. Some people early on after being diagnosed with Chrons Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) go through a phase of denial – that’s natural – but there also comes a time to pick yourself up and face your disorder head on – but that doesn’t mean alone. There are many national and local support groups established which will help, encourage and motivate you to live life to the full and give ideas about how to 

3. Get Control

Although the general principle is something of an illusion (after all, we are all uncontrollable factors in life) – it is absolutely essential for Chrons and IBS sufferers to work towards getting to grips with their disorder so they can start to feel free and live life again. For the majority, its not actually that hard – as long as you have been through the process of Getting Informed and Getting Support. In my experience the only way to get control that lasts and is beneficial is to take the information and support and apply to my own life religiously. With careful monitoring, strict adherence and continual awareness, you to can live the life you deserve.