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General Weight Loss Tips

I Feel the Earth Move

Yesterday morning I woke up not feeling overly hungry. I had my usual glass of ice water and headed into work in the wee hours.

A couple of hours later the first thing I ate was a small bowl of Greek yogurt with Crofter’s blueberry spread, oats and peanuts.

Greek Yogurt Crofter's Blueberry Spread

This kept me full most of the afternoon.

And then there was an earthquake. A small one. I was in the living room with Josh talking when I said to him “why is our house shaking?” he went to check the laundry room to see if the washer was out of balance. No laundry. I stood at the window and said “this feels like an earthquake” but thought that was insane, because we live in Virginia, not California. It wasn’t for a good 30 minutes until we realized there was an earthquake. Surreal stuff. I was uneasy.

And then we had lunch. Which isn’t what I would call “health food”, but it was delicious and I genuinely hungry. The portions were not out of control either. I made a mini-goal at the beginning of the day that I would only eat when I was hungry, not overeat, and only eat what I truly love to eat.

A cheeseburger and sweet potato fries from a local drive-in. I was full for hours until about 11pm when I had a couple (3) of Wasa crackers with raw cheddar before bed. I also enjoyed 60 minutes of exercise in the evening.

Thoughts on the day:

I know that looking at my meals from an outside perspective someone would say “oh! you need more vegetables”  or “you shouldn’t eat red meat, buns, fries…” you get my point. But to me, right now, a successful day is not overeating. It’s eating when I’m truly hungry and stopping when I’m full. It’s owning and sharing what I’m actually eating, without worry of judgement. It’s eating what I want without all of the rules and guilt that I love placing on myself. I trust that some days I will order a salad instead of a burger, and others I will just want the burger. I want to own those choices and make them guilt free.

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Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Take The Stress Factor Out Of Aging



Stress – that anxious feeling you get when your boss is breathing down your neck, the traffic is bumper to bumper, and the “to do” list at home is piling up. But stress can also be felt from positive changes such as a job promotion, your wedding, or a move. Either way, the stress you feel can have a negative impact on how well you age, especially if the stress is ongoing and not dealt with.

Stress does take a toll on your physical body, but to make matters worse, some studies suggest that continual stress hastens the aging of your brain as well.

What, then, can you do? Everyone has stress, but there are ways to cope with it in a positive way. If you boil it down, you need to move from a stressed-state to a feel-good state as early and as often as you can.

Exercise is a huge-stress reliever and anti-aging weapon that’s good to have in your cache. Exercising can release endorphins that make you feel better. Going for a brisk walk or hitting the gym also allows you to step away from your problems and perhaps come up with workable solutions. Coming up with solutions helps you feel in control, rather than a victim.



Laughter really is the best medicine. Think about how you feel after you laugh – relieved and relaxed. Laughing helps you put things in prospective, especially negative things you may have worried about to the point where they were blown up to a disproportionate level of stress. Cracking jokes in the middle of an argument can diffuse the argument and the stress.

Make it a habit to pamper yourself with what feels good as often as you can. It might be a candlelit dinner, a night out on the town, a bubble bath, dancing with your honey, or a massage.

Take regular vacations. It may seem like you never have time for a vacation, but take one anyway. You need time to recharge; this will actually make you more productive when you get back to work. Maybe you don’t have a week to spare or can’t afford to go anywhere exotic, so take a weekend and get out of town to someplace relaxing.

Get rid of long-term stress. It may take a lot of courage to make any big changes that are required to get rid of ongoing stress so consider getting outside help. Maybe you need a mediator, friend, counselor, attorney, financial advisor or real estate agent to see you through it.

Stress is not something you can erase from your life, and indeed it’s the body’s natural response to danger, but there are positive ways you can deal with stress so it doesn’t age you prematurely.


Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

What Can You Do About Those Wrinkles?



Wrinkles? it’s like a four letter word to most people. It’s a sign of aging and we all get them eventually. But why, for some people, do the wrinkles come so much later in life? And why do others get wrinkles way before you think they should? This article will take a look at what can cause wrinkles and what you can do, if anything, about them.

Wrinkles are the result of reduced collagen production. A majority of your connective tissue is made up of collagen and it’s responsible for the elasticity of your skin. When you don’t produce as much collagen, you end up with wrinkles.

It’s true that as we age we naturally produce less collagen. So no matter what, you will end up with wrinkled skin. The key is to make that date far into the future, not now.

Don’t smoke.
This is huge. Have you ever compared the faces of smokers to non-smokers. I’m sure you noticed which group had more wrinkles. Not only will stopping smoking help you to live longer it will help you to live longer with fewer wrinkles.



Stay out of the sun.
Too much sun over the years adds what looks like years to your face and the rest of your skin. Don’t be one of those darkly tanned, leathery-skinned people who move south after retirement and still worship the sun, in-between visits to their dermatologist. Sun worshipping is no longer cool. At the very least use sunscreen! I would also add that you should wear sunglasses outside to avoid squinting. Prolonged squinting brings out the wrinkles around the eyes and the forehead.

Live where there is less pollution and wind.
Wind can take it’s toll on your skin and so can smog and other air contaminants. Of course, it’s not practical to up and move, but if you have the opportunity to pick where you live, keep these factors in mind.

Avoid harsh chemicals and really hot water.
Hot water zaps the moisture out of your skin. Harsh chemicals in soaps and face cleaners can do the same thing. Know your ingredients and what those ingredients can do. Bottom line – if your skin doesn’t feel and look good after you clean it, change your cleaner.

Relax and enjoy life.
While I don’t have concrete proof on this one, I do believe if you can learn to relax and enjoy your life, your skin will reflect this. If you worry constantly and always have a negative attitude, imagine how this can make your face look after awhile.

Antioxidants and healthy eating.
Eating food rich in antioxidants such as tomatoes, blueberries, and green tea is beneficial to your health, and if you add antioxidant creams to your skin, all the better.

Use vitamin A.
Again on the subject of creams, use one that contains Vitamin A, also known as Retinol. Vitamin A helps keep your skin moist and it also has some antioxidant properties.

As you can see, there are many positive steps you can take to hold off those wrinkles a little longer. Some of these are lifestyle choices, such as not smoking, living in a clean air environment, and enjoying life. Throw in sunscreen, Vitamin A and antioxidants as well and your skin should look it’s best.


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