Posted on February 2, 2010 by Site
13 Tips to Get More Nutrition and Fitness into Your Day
– By Life Coach Mary Guarino, Ph.D.
There just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish everything you need to do. And it can feel like an added stressor when you are trying to integrate healthy habits into your already hectic schedule. But if you make time for healthy habits, you’ll find yourself with extra reserves of energy that will lower your stress and help you get through life’s challenges.
Here are a few things you can start doing right now to make healthy habits a relatively painless part of your routine:
- Drink water throughout the day. You don’t hear this nearly enough: water is an all-purpose wonder-substance. It’s great for your skin, your digestive system, and circulatory system, and aids in weight loss and cellulite reduction. If you feel fatigued during the day, it’s often because you aren’t hydrated properly. Drink water throughout the day, sipping from a large bottle or glass. If you have it nearby, it’s easy to remember. If you don’t like the “taste” of water, keep a supply of lemon so that you can add a slice to your water – it cuts any bitterness, adds a bit of vitamin C and makes it taste more festive!
- Cut back on the amount of soda and coffee you drink. Sugar and caffeine dehydrate you and create energy rushes followed by crashes, which are ultimately energy-depleting. Substitute with drinks like green tea or 100% fruit juice.
- Replace high-sugar foods with low-sugar versions. Cutting back on the amount of refined sugar you consume helps reduce calories and weight gain and also helps you avoid the energy slumps that come from sugar withdrawal. Items high in refined sugar include most soft drinks, cereals, baked goods, and of course, candy and ice cream. Look for low-sugar or no-sugar versions of these, or simply opt for healthy snacks instead.
- Stock up on healthy, portable snacks. When you are grocery shopping, pick up bags of baby carrots, string cheese, nuts, fresh and dried fruit, single serving packs of applesauce, yogurt, wholegrain crackers, peanut butter, turkey jerky, etc. Having healthy portable snacks around will help you avoid bad vending-machine, convenience store and fast-food options. Read some more portable snack ideas.
- Take the time to plan healthy meals for the week. Spend 15 minutes or so to map out your meals. Keep it simple. Then, when you shop for groceries, make your purchases based on the meals you will make during the week. This will help you avoid relying on less healthy take-out or fast food choices. Learn even more grocery store tips.
- Purchase frozen, ready-to-cook ingredients. Frozen fruits and vegetables have high vitamin and mineral content because they don’t sit around losing these nutrients for long before they are preserved. Although you’ll want to keep plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables around, it’s great to have frozen produce available for quick meal additions and smaller servings. Also, some grocery stores offer frozen boneless chicken breasts and a wide variety of seafood items in re-sealable packages. These are great for quick, healthy meals.
- Pack your lunch the night before. You’ll have given yourself the gift of extra time in the morning and you will assure that you have a healthy meal during the day. Don’t forget to pack snack items so you can avoid the vending machine.
- Cook double batches of whatever you’re cooking. When you prepare dinner, especially on weekends, cook extra and freeze to use for another dinner or lunch. Then, you’ll have a healthy meal ready to go when you are.
- Give yourself some slack. If you are stressed out about preparing healthy meals every day, use what some experts call the “80/20″ rule in your eating. If 80 percent of what you eat is healthy, then allow yourself to take it a little easier for the remaining 20 percent. You and your diet will survive.
- Fit in exercise whenever you can. Experts recommend that adults exercise a minimum of 30 minutes three times per week. Aim for this amount, but don’t kick yourself if you can’t meet this goal. Any amount of exercise is better than none. No time to go to a gym? Build a stock of exercise tapes – many have routines that you can complete in 20-40 minutes. Use hand weights or do crunches, leg-lifts and lunges while watching television. Or invest in an exercise bike – you can pedal while catching up on your reading. Think of what would be most interesting to you and what best fits your schedule and budget.
- Take a walk break during the day. Even 20 minutes can make a difference in your energy level, plus it gives you time to clear your head. If you walk with a friend or colleague, it also gives you time to socialize.
- Whenever possible, walk. Increase the amount of time you can walk, versus sit or drive. It doesn’t take that much extra time to park a bit farther from the store entrance, or to make a personal visit to a colleague rather than phoning, instant messaging or e-mailing.
- Get enough sleep. Even if you gain more time in your day by cutting back on sleep, you will be less effective throughout the day, as your energy level and cognitive functioning will be reduced. Insufficient sleep also makes you more susceptible to illness. By getting enough sleep, you become more efficient during the time you are awake.
Begin integrating some or all of these habits today. Make them part of your normal routine. You’ll be surprised at how little time is involved and how much better you’ll feel!
I’ll be trying these myself to see how well they work.
Filed under: Body | Leave a Comment »
Posted on January 25, 2010 by Site
“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Improving your attitude and living a more positive life overall can take a lot of time and effort. But a part of it can also be simple. You can spread positivity around you with small actions.
This will not only make you and other people feel better today. Over time you tend to get what you give. You will make it easier for yourself to live a more positive life in the long run too.
- Smile. Smiling puts you and the people around you into a more positive mood. It even works when you don’t feel much like smiling. Just try forcing a smile for 30 seconds if you are feeling a bit negative and see what happens.
- Give a genuine compliment. Compliments are awesome. But make it a genuine one. Make sure you really mean it or it may have the opposite effect as your insincerity shines through. Find something a bit unexpected – like great taste in old soul music rather than looks – and something that is important to the other person and make a positive, appreciative comment about that.
- Hugs. A hug is, just like smiling, a simple physical thing that can make anyone feel a little better. People love hugs.
- Encourage someone. There is much discouragement in the world. You may hear from people around you, you may receive much negativity from the TV and newspapers. Many will back down from doing something they want because of that outer atmosphere of discouragement. So instead, be an exception and encourage people to believe in themselves and what they want to do.
- Change the way you feel. Emotions are contagious. So to spread positivity, know how you can create and sustain a positive attitude and optimistic mood. Know how to pick yourself up out of slumps. Besides smiling, you can also appreciate life more, change your physiology, act as you would like to feel, ask better questions and recall positive memories to make a quick emotional shift. Read all about those things in this article.
- Help someone out in practical way. Maybe it’s not encouragement that is needed. Maybe it’s a practical solution. So lend someone a hand when they are moving. Or give them a ride in your car. Or if they need information, try to find a solution via Google or by asking the people you know.
- Just listen. Sometimes people don’t want any help. They just want to vent or for someone to listen as they figure out things. It may not seem like much but it can be an immense help for someone who needs it.
- Put things into perspective. It’s easy to get wrapped up in problem and make a mountain out of a molehill. But you can help out by adding your perspective. The two of you can talk about it, perhaps laugh about it and even find the hidden opportunity within the problem that in one person’s head may have almost seemed like the sky was falling.
- Play positive music. Uplifting music is of course a great way to boost your own mood. You can do the same for people around you. Put on a really positive song when you are hanging out. Or send them an uplifting playlist for Spotify or some other music program.
- Perform a random act of kindness. Just holding up the door or pointing out the way for someone who seems lost can be a way to spread a little bit of positivity. It’s always nice when someone you don’t even know does something kind for you.
- Pay it forward. If a friend or stranger spreads a bit of positivity to you then in some way pay it forward. Spread the positivity on to another person and let an upward spiral of positivity grow and expand in your world.
Lifted gratefully from Henrik Edberg at the Positivity Blog. If you aren’t already reading that, now is as good a time as any to start.
Filed under: Heart, Mind, Soul | Leave a Comment »
Posted on December 17, 2009 by Site
Even in times of financial uncertainty, it’s always important to keep things in perspective.
Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.
- Henry David Thoreau
- You didn’t go to sleep hungry last night.
- You didn’t go to sleep outside.
- You had a choice of what clothes to wear this morning.
- You hardly broke a sweat today.
- You didn’t spend a minute in fear.
- You have access to clean drinking water.
- You have access to medical care.
- You have access to the Internet.
- You can read.
- You have the right to vote.
Some might say you are rich, so remember to be grateful for all the things you do have.
Copied with gratitude from Marc and Angel Hack Life. If you aren’t reading their blog, you should be.
Filed under: Wallet | Leave a Comment »
Posted on December 6, 2009 by Site
Six Ways to Find Quiet During a Busy Day
Do your days feel like a manic dash from start to end? Does it seem like, however hard you work, there’s always more to do? For many of us, that’s just how life seems to go. When we do take a break from the busyness, we start surfing the internet,watching television, listening to audio books or flicking through a magazine. We’re afraid that if we slow down, we’ll crash.
Recently, I went on a retreat for a weekend: I stayed with a Catholic community here in the English countryside, and spent most of two days in silence. It was an amazing opportunity to clear some space in the middle of a busy few weeks – and I came back feeling much less stressed, and much happier.
For most of us, though (me included!) it’s very difficult to find time to take a whole weekend, or even a whole day, out of our busy schedules. Plus, we can’t just save up our need for quiet and rest for one big session – we need little pockets of calm in each day.
Here are some things to try, throughout your day:
- Eat Breakfast – Without Doing Anything Else at the Same Time
You’ve heard enough times that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. It’s not just a time for physical nourishment, though; you can use breakfast as a chance for a period of stillness and quiet, to put you in a good frame of mind for the day ahead.
If you typically eat breakfast while reading your email, flicking through a magazine, opening the mail or doing your homework, then try – for just three days – doing nothing except eating at breakfast time. You’ll be amazed how much more you appreciate and taste your food, and how much more relaxed you’ll feel.
(You might want to set your alarm ten minutes earlier, so that you can still fit in the rest of your morning routine.)
- Take Two Minutes to Plan Your Morning
What’s the first thing you do when you start work for the day? I’d hazard a guess that you switch on your computer – perhaps even before you’ve taken off your jacket, or grabbed a coffee.
This week, when you sit down at your desk each day, take just two minutes to plan your morning. Grab a post-it note. Jot down three things that you want to get done before lunch. Ideally, pick tasks which involve creative energy, or ones which you’ve been putting off for a while.
Now put that post-it note somewhere prominent, like on your monitor, switch your computer on and get to work. Focus on getting those three things done.
- Have a Five Minute Break at Lunch
Many of us grab lunch on the run, often eating at our desk, or with a group of colleagues. This week, take just five minutes during your lunch hour to sit quietly on your own. Close your eyes, and focus on your breathing. Don’t try to make your mind blank, just let your thoughts wander.
Five minutes is a tiny fraction of your day, but it’s surprising how long it feels when you’re simply sitting in silence.
If your office is noisy, busy or staffed with people who’re likely to throw things at you if you shut your eyes, then you might want to get outside to a local park (depending on the weather), sit in the break room, or even hide in the bathroom.
- Take Two Minutes to Plan Your Afternoon
Lunch break’s over; back to work. What do you normally do straight after lunch? For many people, it’s checking emails. Instead of going straight to your inbox, take just two minutes to plan your afternoon.
Did you get the three tasks on your post-it note done during the morning? If not, carry them forwards into the afternoon. If you did, great! What other important things do you need to get done? Again, jot them down.
Some of us are morning people, and do our best creative work then – preferring to spend the afternoon on administrative or routine tasks. Other people pick up speed after lunch. Figure out what suits you best, and plan your day accordingly.
- Have a Complete Rest When You Get Home
How often do you get home from work feeling frazzled, exhausted and irritable? Do you end up wasting timewatching television shows that don’t really interest you, or surfing the internet just to unwind?
A faster and much more effective way to get yourself out of work mode and pick up your energy for the evening is simply to allow yourself a real break when you get home:
For the last year and a half of my previous job, this was my routine when I would arrive home from work. I would literally go in, lay down on the bed for about twenty minutes with my eyes closed, and think about nothing. I’d breathe in deeply, breathe out deeply and slowly, and just let my mind and body drift away. After twenty minutes, I would feel tremendously refreshed.
(Trent Hamm, What is Escapism? How Does it Cost Me? on The Simple Dollar)
If you’ve got a lot you want to do outside your work – perhaps studying, writing a novel, starting a side business – then you might feel like this is a “waste” of time. But if a complete twenty minute rest can buy you two or three hours of productivity (or relaxed, happy time with your family), isn’t that better than trying to push yourself straight into things in the evening … only to end up tired and cranky, without anything accomplished?
- Read Fiction Before Bed
Finally, at the end of the day, we need to find quiet in order to sleep – not just silence in the world outside us, but in the world inside. Many people find that an effective way to “switch off” from the worries and concerns of the day is to read fiction.
Try turning off the television or the computer at least half an hour before you want to go to sleep, and spend the remaining time reading a good book. Reading engages your imagination, and takes you out of your own world and concerns into someone else’s.
If you don’t like reading (or if you find it hard to focus in the evening) you could try 15 minutes of meditation or journaling, in order to work through any thoughts that are on your mind.
How do you find quiet and stillness in your day? When do you tend to get over-rushed and busy? Could just a few minutes of calm here and there make all the difference to your stress levels?
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Written on 12/4/2009 by Ali Hale. Ali is a professional writer and blogger, and a part-time postgraduate student of creative writing. If you need a hand with any sort of written project, drop her a line (ali@aliventures.com) or check out her website at Aliventures. |
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I’m going to try these six steps over the last week to see if they really make a difference. I’ll post my updates and let you know.
Filed under: Mind | 2 Comments »
Posted on December 2, 2009 by Site
New ideas stir from every corner. They show up disguised innocently as interruptions, contradictions and embarrassing dilemmas. Beware of total strangers and friends alike who shower you with comfortable sameness, and remain open to those who make you uneasy, for they are the true messengers of the future.
— Rob Lebow —
I love this reminder. People and things that surprise me, make me curious, are the catalysts to my most creative ideas.
Filed under: Mind | Leave a Comment »
Posted on November 29, 2009 by Site
I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.
Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826)
I consider myself very lucky to have the job I have, but it isn’t all good fortune. I also work very hard, go the extra mile, and do more than is asked. As my weekend winds down and I look ahead to the coming week, I will remember these words of Jefferson and keep myself focused and productive.
It’s going to be a busy week. I’m ready.
Filed under: Mind | Leave a Comment »
Posted on November 27, 2009 by Site
The Christmas season is now upon us, and with it comes the stress. We feel the need to buy presents, go to parties, decorate and celebrate… all while keeping the spirit of the season in our hearts. Yeah, good luck with that.
But there’s hope. We can get through it with our sanity intact. This comes courtesy of The Positivity Blog. It’s one of my favorite places on the web, with amazing posts that are immediately helpful. Visit and enjoy.
“May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart!”
Eskimo proverb
“The simplification of life is one of the steps to inner peace. A persistent simplification will create an inner and outer well-being that places harmony in one’s life.”
Peace Pilgrim
I believe a lot of people want more inner peace and calmness in their lives. But how can we find it in the busy daily life?
Here are 9 of my own favorite tips.
- Set limits. If your life is overfilled with stuff you may need to set some limits. You may need to stop doing some of the least important things, the things that if you are honest really don’t matter that much. Don’t hold yourself to “perfect” standards. And set a limit for how many times you will check inboxes etc. per day. Checking on stuff all the time creates a lot of stress. And say no if you really don’t have the time.
- Find a relaxation technique that works for you. I like belly breathing and working out to release tensions and recharge during the day. What works for you? Long walks, music, yoga, meditation or going for a swim? Find out and do that.
- Don’t make mountains out of molehills. This can create a lot of unnecessary stress. When facing what looks like a mountain then ask yourself questions like: Does someone on the planet have it worse than me? Will this matter in 5 years? These questions help you zoom out and realize that in most cases things aren’t really that bad and you can handle them.
- Slow down. Your emotions work backwards too. If you slow down then while walking, moving your body or talking you can often start to feel less stressed (compared to if you move/talk fast).Slowing down to decrease stress goes for many other things you do in everyday life too like riding your bicycle, driving the car, working at your desk and eating.
- Declutter your world, declutter your mind. Just take 5 minutes to declutter your workspace or the room you are in. A decluttered, simplified and ordered space around you brings clarity and order to the mind. So don’t stop at the workspace. Declutter, simplify and organize your home and life too to live in a more relaxing environment.
- Accept and let go. Now is now. But if something negative from the past – something someone said, something someone did – is still in your mind then accept and let that feeling and thought in instead of trying to push it away. When it is there, when you accept that it is then it starts to lose power. And while the facts may still be there in your head the negative feelings are much less powerful or gone. At this point, let that thing go like you are throwing out a bag of old clothes. And direct your focus to the present moment and something better instead.
- Escape for a while. Read a novel (I like twisty thrillers), watch your favorite TV-show or a movie. It’s simple but it works well to just release pressure and relax.
- Do one thing at a time. Multitasking splits your focus and leaves you with mediocre results and less enjoyment while sucking the energy out of you. When you do a thing do just that. Be there. Don’t try to do something else physically or in your mind. I have found that doing this always helps me to find inner calmness again.
- Solve a problem that is weighing down on you. Don’t procrastinate anymore. Solve your problem and release it and all the underlying stress and tension that it is creating in your life. You probably already know what to do, you are just not doing it yet. But the longer you wait the worse the tension inside becomes. So get up from your chair and get started on doing it now.
Filed under: Soul | Leave a Comment »
Posted on November 26, 2009 by Site
“Whatever our individual troubles and challenges may be, it’s important to pause every now and then to appreciate all that we have, on every level. We need to literally “count our blessings,” give thanks for them, allow ourselves to enjoy them, and relish the experience of prosperity we already have.” — Shakti Gawain
On this day of Thanksgiving, this seems an appropriate quote. I am grateful for the life that I enjoy. And as another Thanksgiving draws to a close, I am reminded that tomorrow and every day following is equally wonderful.
Filed under: Heart, Soul | Leave a Comment »
Posted on November 24, 2009 by Site
“However many holy words you read, However many you speak, What good will they do you If you do not act on upon them?”
Buddha
It is not enough to think good, and to want good, but I must always strive to be good. I believe that long after my words have been forgotten, people will remember a kindness I offered.
Filed under: Soul | Leave a Comment »
