Tag: Physical Activity

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Weight Loss Exercise

Thankgiving Eating Tips



I received these Thanksgiving eating tips from one of the fellows at Better Body Better Life and though I would pass them on. We all need to think about these every day now just on big holidays but the problems is that on holiday meals like on Thanksgiving we end up eating the wrong foods and too much of them.

Thankgiving Eating Tips

Portion size is key.  You can enjoy turkey (white meat is healthier), stuffing and all the foods that come with Thanksgiving, but know how to ration them on your plate. Ideally, you should have three fist size servings on your plate, one for protein (turkey), one for carbohydrates (stuffing) and one of veggies (sweet potato or green beans).

Thankgiving Eating Tips

Thankgiving Eating Tips

Eat breakfast.  Skipping a meal to “save” your calories so you can eat more at dinner is a bad idea.  Not only will you be starving your body of calories needed for energy, you’ll actually eat more erratically at the big meal to soothe your hunger.

Save leftovers for the next day. Remember that it takes 20 minutes for your stomach to let your brain know that’ you’ve had enough, so if you’re thinking about eating more, wait at least 20 minutes and then re-evaluate the situation.

Make time for exercise.  Although you might find yourself extra busy this time of year, you’re also probably more stressed.  Exercise shouldn’t be neglected this time of year.  Even 20 minutes a day of walking or some physical activity is good for you both physically and mentally.

Switch out the products.  If you’re involved in preparing the food, use products lower in calories, fat and sugar.  Use healthier substitutes for ingredients like oil and butter; use evaporated skim milk instead of heavy cream and plain fat-free yogurt instead of sour cream.

Drink plenty of water.  It will keep you feeling full and boost your metabolism.

Stay out of the kitchen and dining room.  Make the center of your Thanksgiving holiday the living room or outside in the fresh air, and only enter the kitchen to cook and the dining room when it’s time to eat.

Have you ever seen these thankgiving eating tips before? Probably. But have you followed them at all? I bet never! I am terrible if left to my own devices so before I open that door to go into my sisters house for Thanksgiving or a friends house for Christmas dinner I have to think about these tips so that I will apply them an not get caught messing up.

How about you?

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Weight Loss Exercise

Exercise And Sleeping Better



If exercise and sleeping better are important to you then why not do both? The amount of physical exercise that you exert during the day is one of the key ingredients to helping you get a good sleep at night. The more active your body is during the day, the more likely you are to relax at night and fall asleep faster.

With regular exercise you’ll notice that your quality of sleep is improved and the transition between the cycles and phases of sleep will become smoother and more regular. By keeping up your physical activity during the day, you may find it easier to deal with the stress and worries of your life.

Research and studies indicate that there is a direct correlation between how much we exercise and how we feel afterwards.

Exercise and Sleeping Better

Exercise And Sleeping Better

Exercise And Sleeping Better

You should try and increase your physical activity during the day. The goal here is to give your body enough stimulation during the day so that you aren’t full of energy at night. Your body requires a certain amount of physical activity in order to keep functioning in a healthy manner. It is also important to note that you should not be exercising three or four hours before you go to bed.

The ideal exercise time is in the late afternoon or early evening. You want to make sure you expend your physical energy long before it is time for your body to rest and ready itself for sleep. You should attempt to exercise at least three or four times a week for a period of 30 minutes or so.

You can include walking or something simple. If you prefer, you can include strenuous activities such as running as well.

The goal here is to increase your heart rate and strengthen the capacity of your lungs. By adding a regular exercise activity to your daily schedule will help you to improve your overall health and help you emotionally as well.

Along with running and walking there are several other physical activities that you can add to your daily life to increase your level of physical activity. If you are battling not sleeping, you’ll find aerobic exercise to be the best.

Your goal with exercise is to increase the amount of oxygen that reaches your blood stream. Overall, there are many types of aerobic exercise for you to choose from. The activities include running, biking, using a treadmill, dancing, and jumping rope.

There are some non aerobic exercises that you may find beneficial to help you solve your amnesia problem.

Exercise To Help You Sleep Better

Yoga – Yoga is an exercise that has a stimulatory effect on your nervous system, especially the brain. Yoga utilizes breathing techniques and yoga postures to increase the blood circulation to the brain, promoting regular and restful sleeping patterns. The regular practice of yoga will help you to relax as well as relieve tension and stress.

Tai Chi – Tai Chi is an ancient art of breathing and movement that was developed by the Chinese monks. The movements involved are slow and precise, which is ideal if you have joint pains or you are unable to participate in high aerobic exercises. Research has shown that Tai Chi can help with insomnia by promoting relaxation.

If you discover that you don’t have any time to exercise on a regular basis, you should try to sneak moments of activity into your schedule. Whenever possible, you should take the stairs instead of the elevator, as little things like that will do wonders for your body.

You should also park your car around the corner and walk that extra block or two to get to your destination. As you may know, there are many small things you can add to increase the activity in your life. Your overall goal here is to have a healthy and well balanced life – with plenty of sleep.

Categories
Weight Loss Exercise

Eliminate Pain with these 3 Keys to Promoting Joint Health




As people grow older, they frequently complain that they have problems with joint pain, hip pain, back pain, neck pain, and other types of pain. They then go on to blame their pain solely on the fact that they are getting older. Sure their body may have been through a lot, but that does not mean that the pain cannot be prevented or fixed.

To fix anything in life, you just have to take the right steps.

Exercise for Joint Health

You know your body needs physical activity on a regular basis. You do not have to go climb a mountain or run an ultra-marathon, you just have to do things that challenge your current fitness abilities.

Exercise is important for maintaining a healthy body weight, keeping muscle tissue strong, and also for promoting joint health. When you exercise, the bones in your joints and the muscles around your joints are strengthened.  It is important to have strong muscles surrounding your joints because they help support the joint. If the muscles are weak, unnecessary stress is placed on the joints. This can cause pain and increase the risk of injury.

Mobility Work to Eliminate Pain

Your mobility is basically how well your joints and soft tissues are able to move.

Every day, your body endures a variety of stresses and strains. Over time little things add up, causing soft tissue and joint restrictions. When your joints and soft tissues are not healthy, they are not able to move fluidly through a normal range of motion, causing pain and discomfort.

The pain and problems associated with these restrictions can be avoided and corrected. You just need to practice moving your body through the motions.

Here are two things you can do to improve your mobility

Stretching: Both static and dynamic stretching are beneficial to the soft tissues in your hip. If you need a stretch to try for your hips, get in to a full squat position.

Here’s how to do a full squat:

  • Stand up straight.
  • Place your heels so that they are positioned below your shoulders.
  • Slowly push your hips down and back, like you are going to sit in a chair (focus on dropping your hips and your knees will automatically bend).
  • As you squat down, you will need to lean your torso forward in order to keep your center of gravity over your feet.
  • Go down until you reach the end of your range of motion and hold that position for a little while.

Squat Tips:

  • Keep your chest up and put your arms in front for balance.
  • When you go to stand up, push your hips back so you do not place unnecessary stress on your knees.

Rotational exercises: These exercises are particularly helpful if you have hip joint pain. They can be used to move each of your joints and their supporting tissues through their complete range of motion. Here is another one you can try for your hips…

 Front to Back Leg Swing:

  • Stand up straight.
  • Lift one foot off of the ground and balance on one foot.
  • Swing the leg that is not in contact with the floor back behind yourself, then swing it in front of yourself.
  • Repeat this motion several times, and then switch legs.

Leg Swing Tips:

  • Use your arms to balance, and hold onto something if you need to.

Eat Properly

Food is essentially a drug.  Due to this simple fact, you can either use food to help yourself or to hurt yourself.  When it comes to keeping your joints functioning well, it is important that you eat foods that contain fatty acids and anti-oxidants. Both anti-oxidants and fatty acids help to reduce inflammation. When you reduce inflammation, you also speed up the healing process which will help relieve joint pain.

In addition to eating foods that help reduce inflammation, you should also eat in a way that helps prevent inflammation in the first place. I am taking about eating to control your body weight. Maintaining a healthy body weight ensures that additional stresses are not placed on your joints. In the long run, this will help reduce the wear and tear caused by daily activities.

Bonus: Drink lots of Water

Other benefits of water have been stated before here on Fitness Tips for Life, here is another one to add to the collection. Drinking lots of water promotes joint health be ensuring that the muscle tissue around your joints have the proper fluids to function smoothly. It also helps the cartilage in your joints to perform optimally.

 

About the Author:

Dave is a trainer who focuses on sustainable methods of training. He maintains a personal website about hip pain, which can be found here.

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