Naturally Reenergize Your Body – Part 1

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Our society is one that truly never sleeps.  In order to lead a successful life, our bodies wake up early, commute, work, communicate, and stay up late to tie any loose ends to our days. We are constantly on the go, and all of demand we put on our body through daily tasks and responsibilities takes a toll on our overall energy. There are a few different steps that one can do to replenish and then boost your body’s daily energy.

 

Eat Small, More Often

The “eat small meals, multiple times a day” schedule is famous because of the belief that it lead to weight loss. While that has not been proven, it has been proven that multiple small meals a day can have a direct correlation to increased energy levels. Our brains use glucose as food. Low levels and high levels of glucose effect the brain similarly; they lead to feelings of sluggishness and a lack of energy. Our current “normal” eating schedules make it impossible to not have unregulated levels of glucose in our bodies, which means we are creating periods of low energy. (We’re used to little or no breakfast and large lunches.)  The key is to start with a fully balanced breakfast, and then eat small, nutritious snacks and meals about every 3-4 hours.

 

 

Have A Regular Sleep Schedule

Before modern technology, our brains were trained to release neurotransmitters to the rest of the body that coincided with the sun rising and setting. Our brains and bodies were on a consistent, rhythmic schedule that would sleep when darkness set in and wake up when it was light out. These days, our natural rhythms are interrupted by alarms and routines that keep our sleep schedules erratic. It is up to us to re-regulate our bodies by getting up at the same time and going to sleep at the same time every day. That regularity allows our bodies to sleep more efficiently, which directly correlates to more the recuperation of energy.

Be sure to check back next month for more tips to naturally increase your energy.

 

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To see the article that inspired this post, please click here.

A Beginner’s Guide to Running

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As we round the corner of the new year, the mental new year’s resolutions to form. Becoming a more healthy and fit version of one’s self is usually high on the resolution list, and many people turn to running.

Before you throw yourself into running, do a little prep work. These are some tips that you keep in mind to make sure that you’re not only running safely, but you’re getting the most out of your new running regimen.

 

Pick Out Your Running Shoe

This may not seem like an important step, but picking the correct shoe is key to maintaining long term physical health. You need to make sure that you choose a shoe that caters to both your body and your specific running needs. Keep the following things in mind when choosing your shoe:

 

  • Make sure you get your feet sized in the store. If your feet are distinctly different sizes, it may make sense to go to a specialty store to purchase differently sized shoes; you want them to fit perfectly.
  • Choose shoes that have a small heel-to-toe drop (the difference in thickness between the cushion in the front of the shoe and the heel of the shoe). Keeping the heel-to-top drop small ensures that your feet will properly support your weight with every step

 

Set Multiple, Realistic Goals

One of the biggest mistakes that people make when starting to run is allowing themselves to get discouraged too easily. If you have no history of running, it’s okay that you aren’t immediately able to run a 5K. Set your own pace, and make realistic goals for your body. A goal can simply be “I’m going to run for a solid 10 minutes”. When you have achieved one goal, set another. Ramp yourself up as you learn what your body can and cannot take. Don’t be ashamed of your pace.

Create A Schedule

If you have not run before, or are out of practice, don’t start out trying to run every day.  Your muscles need time to rest and repair in between your workout sessions. Since running is impact-heavy, you can start out by alternating between running one day and doing something low impact the next. On a week-to-week basis you can start to ramp up the amount of time/distance that you are running. Remember not to try to do too much all at once.

For more resources, see the following articles: here, here & here

 

Mental Fitness: Managing and Reducing Stress

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A large part of fitness and wellness is a full maintenance of one’s self. Often times, people worry only about maintaining their physical fitness, but forget to take care of their mental health. One of the most common sources of trauma to the body is the manifestation of stress. There are a few easy ways to manage and reduce your stress, to maintain a healthy life both physically and mentally.

 

Reduction of Stress

 

Self Massage. It would be wonderful if we could all just get run to get a massage when we were feeling stressed; but that’s just not possible. What is possible is learning to self massage. Take some time to learn the technique of “self-myofascial” massage, where you put pressure on the tissue that covers your muscles. It helps to release tension knots that are related to stress.

 

Become aware of your breathing. Taking control of your breathing is one of the quickest ways to begin reducing your stress levels. When you notice that you are feeling stressed, take a moment to stop thinking about the cause of your stress. Instead, focus on your breath itself. Follow your inhales and your exhales and only focus on the breath for a few minutes. Then, begin counting up while you inhale (a count of 3 works best) and counting down while you exhale. Do this for at least five minutes if you have the time.

 

Management of Stress

 

Learn to Prioritize. Sometimes your current life situation may feel out of your control. One way to combat that, to make things more manageable is to create a list of tasks that you can be in charge of. Determine which items in the list need to be prioritized first, and create a schedule. That way, you can turn that stress energy into high quality, fast paced productive energy.

 

Talk it out. Find someone that you can share your feelings of stress with, and discuss. Being able to hear your own issues vocalized really helps with the connection to one’s self. The act of finding the words and knowing that they are being heard by someone other than yourself makes for a more positive environment to work out of.

 

For the reference article, click here.

 

A Guide to The (Real) Simple Superfoods

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Every time you turn around in the health and fitness industry, you hear the term “superfood”. More often than not, it’s some new exotic grain or impossible-to-find vegetable that is supposed to be the equivalent to the fountain of youth. We all know how that story goes, the superfood of the moment gains popularity for a few weeks (or months) and then fades away when it’s discovered that it didn’t actually do all that much for the body anyway.

But, there are a few foods that truly fit the definition of what a superfood should be. They’re far simpler than one would expect, and are readily available at any standard grocery store.  When someone says superfood, the food should be doing something extraordinary, and that’s what these do. The following foods do more than just provide the great nutrients; they are also packed full of phytochemicals, fiber, and antioxidants, which all have hugely important health benefits.

 

Blueberries

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Blueberries are thrown into all kinds of desserts and sweets these days, so people forget how amazing they are on their own. There has been research that suggests blueberries have the ability to reduce high blood pressure and cholesterol. They also have qualities that benefit specific segments of society. For women who are post menopausal, hypertension and high blood pressure are common afflictions. When consumed in specific quantities, blueberries have been found to help these women reduce their diastolic blood pressure. Athletes can also benefit from blueberries, as they help combat the oxidative stress that occurs due to exercise.

 

Yogurt

jamie stanos yogurt

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Yogurt is often overlooked for it’s true value; people generally throw yogurt into their daily routine when dieting, but don’t really understand how beneficial yogurt really is. It’s full of calcium, potassium, and both vitamins A and B-12. Ingesting the correct amount of potassium (via yogurt) can contribute to a reduction of high blood pressure. Yogurt as a whole has also been found to help with weight loss and the prevention of type 2 diabetes.
 

 

 

 

Brassica Vegetables

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Image courtesy of Getty Images

Brassica vegetables are not as fancy as the name suggests. Brassica is the latin name for the cruciferous vegetable family (aka green vegetables):  broccoli, bok choy, brussels sprouts, kale, brussel sprouts, etc. The veggies in the brassica family are known for being very high in nutrients despite having a very low calorie count. They are helpful for anti-inflammation, healthy eyesight, and relieving the same oxidative stress mentioned earlier this article.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The article that inspired this blog was posted here by American Fitness, the official publication of The Aerobics and Fitness Association of America.

 

#ChangeTheTune | The Truth About Coca Cola

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The Center for Science in the Public Interest is an organization committed to health advocacy. Recently, they brought attention to the health effects of drinking soda and sugary drinks like Coca Cola. It did this by releasing a revised theme for a popular Coca Cola advertisement. It shared a re-written version of the song lyrics from the original. The goal was to critique the historical advertising strategy that Cola brings happiness and replace it about the true health implications tied to consuming the drink. Attached to this ad spoof is a social media hashtag called #ChangeTheTune to raise awareness on misleading ads.

Soft drinks and sweetened energy drinks are known to place American diets in jeopardy. Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health has a fact sheet that supports this claim. Soda is known to cause weight gain due to the high caloric value of the sugary drink. People usually don’t end up eating less food after drinking something so high in calories and therefore end up packing on pounds. This contributes to the country’s overall obesity rates.According to Harvard, on soda per day without a reduction of calories anywhere else could result in a five pound weight gain each year.

The JAMA Internal Medicine journal recently released data stating that of all individuals in America over the age of twenty-five, 67.6 million of them are obese. This information deserves a call to action. The fact that obesity can lead to chronic health issues should also be aggressively made clear. The Coca Cola ad spoof highlights those with hypertension, tooth decay, and diabetes singing about the soft drink from within a hospital exam room and not from a joyous hillside in the sun. These people want viewers to see that soda does not equal happiness.

To learn more about CSPI and their rendition of a popular Coca Cola ad, visit Deseret National News online here.