Watch Out! The Freshmen 15 Isn't Just For Freshmen!

Love this one from Beachbody.

Back-to-school time doesn't just affect students. It's the time of year when everything changes—for everyone. The days shorten, it cools off, we get really busy, and the holidays are looming around the corner. As opposed to those frivolous days of summer, your schedule is now probably booked. In short, it's the easiest time of the year to let your health slide.

Back-to-school time doesn't just affect students. It's the time of year when everything changes—for everyone. The days shorten, it cools off, we get really busy, and the holidays are looming around the corner. As opposed to those frivolous days of summer, your schedule is now probably booked. In short, it's the easiest time of the year to let your health slide.

1. Schedule your exercise. One of the most difficult adjustments to make during the fall is getting used to less daylight. As the days shorten, it seems as though you've got fewer hours during which to schedule your activities. When you come home from work in the dark, it hurts your psyche. And it's tough to believe that 7:00 PM is really no different than it was during July, when you still had 2 hours of daylight left. Then there's the cold factor. Even if you work out indoors, it's so much easier to get back under your warm covers or bundle up and sit in front of a fire or the TV than it is to force a workout. Just remember that exercising makes you warm. It also keeps you fit and healthy and is the best thing you can do with cold and flu season right around the corner. Schedule your daily workout like it's part of your job, and stick to it.
2. Schedule your sleep. As our days get busier, we tend to push projects later and later into the evening. To fuel those longer hours we eat . . . and eat. This is one major cause of the freshman 15: the infamous all-nighter. A recent study showed that when doctors are doing their residencies and are forced to work extremely long hours, famously foregoing sleep in the process, they gain an average of more than 20 pounds. As available daylight decreases, it's common to find yourself making alterations in your daily schedule, with sleep often losing out, so schedule your sleep just like you do your work and exercise.
3. Plan your meals. Plan your weekly meals ahead of time so you don't resort to unhealthy "convenience" foods. If your schedule is insane during the week, try taking an hour or two on Sunday to shop and strategize. Put healthy meal and snack options in your car, your office, your backpack, or anywhere you're likely to find yourself hungry. Trust me, the energy you get on the back end of this planning will far exceed the time it takes to plan, especially when you consider how you'll feel if your diet is fueled by fast food.
4. Carry water everywhere. When we're busy, we'll often forget to drink water, especially as the weather cools off. Then, in a dehydrated state, we often confuse thirst for hunger and eat. Avoid this by ensuring that there's water everywhere you go. Carry a water bottle and refill it at every opportunity. Have an extra bottle in your car, your backpack, at your desk, etc., and behave as if you're in a race each day. Force yourself to drink a glass of water every hour that you're working or studying.
5. Plan for parties. Parties happen—and there's not much you can do about it. Even if you aren't social, the party will find you. Many offices are like the one in that Seinfeld episode where the coworkers find any excuse to celebrate, usually with cake or other sugary treats. And with fall comes many such opportunities to indulge. Beginning with Oktoberfest, you'll find a never-ending string of perfectly good excuses to ruin your health that last right through New Year's. Plan ahead and decide just which occasions will be worth the indulgence. That way you'll be fully armed with reasons when your coworkers show up in your office singing, "Get well, get well soon. . ."
6. Begin a morning ritual. One of the easiest ways to live a healthy lifestyle is to begin each day by doing something positive. During the summer, we often let this slide because, well, we can. With long warm days to look forward to, there always seems to be time to do something energetic. As the days shorten, making the effort to be healthier takes more discipline. Beginning each day with something healthy, even something as brief as a 5-minute ritual of breathing deeply, stretching, and thinking about positive things you want to accomplish with your day, can give you a whole new outlook.
7. Find a healthy nighttime ritual. Many of us undo an entire day's productivity in the last few hours before bed. This is particularly true when we're busy and/or stressed because we want to unwind, which often means cocktails and/or desserts in front of the TV. If you can find a healthier way to unwind, you'll do yourself a world of good. And even if you can't get away from the dessert/TV habit, adding something at its end, instead of just sacking out, can reverse much of the damage. Stretching in front of the TV is one of the easiest ways to make that transition. Following up your stretching with herbal tea and some relaxing reading can have you hitting the sack with a much more positive attitude.
8. Make a positive New Year's resolution now. Instead of waiting until New Year's to undo and repair the damage caused by a fall-into-winter slide away from your fitness goals, make a resolution to get there, starting today, with improved fitness and health. Just think about how much better your goals can be for next year if you finish this year on a positive note. Why put yourself through the work of digging yourself out of a hole you make deeper from now through the end of the year? Instead, set yourself up, beginning right now, to have a banner New Year.
9. Cut yourself some slack. You can't be perfect, and, frankly, who wants to be? You've got to live. By planning ahead with goals in mind, you'll be far more able to relax about the holiday season, and maybe even enjoy it a little, too. So make a plan and do your best to stick with it, but don't forget to make enjoying the season and having some fun part of that plan.
10. Create accountability. When you share your goals with someone, you are much more likely to stick to them. Need someone? I'd love to help keepo you accountable. Join for free at http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/carriezworld and I'll be your accountability coach! 

I know I've featured lots  of articles lately with tips & lists, but I found these so helpful and hope you do to!

Can The Right Diet Improve Your Sex Life?

Got your attention? This article certainly got mine!

While it has long been discussed how certain foods can act as aphrodisiacs, helping to get people “in the mood,” it is becoming clear some foods really can help to spice things up in the bedroom. It makes sense because all aspects of our health are determined largely by what we put in our bodies. We all realize this to some degree. What may be a new realization for many is to consider our sexuality as part of our health.

When you start to look at it that way, it suddenly makes a lot of sense that the right diet can play a role in improving our sex lives, just as the right diet can help us lose weight, or control or prevent a disease or illness.

So what foods should you eat if you wish to enhance your love life? First, get your blood pumping. The foods that do this better than most are any foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids. Try salmon or mackerel. Your sex life largely depends on how good your circulatory system is. Good circulation is required for well, strong performance from the guys.

Other performance-enhancing foods include oatmeal, nuts, dairy products, dark green and root vegetables, garlic, ginseng, soybeans, garbanzo beans and seeds. The thing these foods all have in common is L-Arginine, which is an amino acid the body uses for many functions, libido being just one of them. A good rule of thumb is any food that is considered “heart-healthy” is also likely to be “sexually healthy,” as these foods get the heart pumping and increase the blood flow.

Oysters and other seafood are well known for their aphrodisiac qualities, and chocolate is believed to stimulate the production of endorphins, the body’s own feel good hormones. Celery and parsnips may not spring to mind as very sexy vegetables, but both are good sources of androdestenol, a substance believed to mimic human pheromones, our own built-in sexual fragrance designed to attract mates.

Soy is a good food for both men and women from a sexual standpoint. Soy helps to prevent dryness and ward off symptoms of menopause, like hot flashes for ladies, while it is also good for men’s prostates. In a win-win situation, some foods that help us to lose weight also help to increase libido. Obesity is linked to sexual dysfunction and testosterone issues. People who lose weight often see their sexual lives improve as pounds are shed.

Make Today a Brighter Day

Do you ever have gloomy days where it seems like everything is just a little off? Why not stop the trend and create a day you can enjoy. I love these ideas on Creating a Brighter Day:

1. Push Back Curtains/Up The Blinds Completely all the way for a full view of outdoors (this includes no matter what the weather is outside--sun, rain, sleet, or snow)
2. Turn off the Television and Turn On Uplifiting Music at a moderate volume (if you do not have a radio or other source for music, most televisions have a music channel: therefore, the t.v. may stay on only for the purpose of music)
3. Look through your linen closet for the brightest, most colorful, or favorite throw blanket and drape it over the back of your couch where it is in full view for you to look at preferrably near a window.
4. Be further creative and if you have colorful throw pillows, and/or fresh or artifical flowers place them around the room you are in with your throw blanket.
5. Grab any candle you can find and lit it up on your coffee table or kitchen table.

Now, realax! Sit on your couch glaze at the outside or look around at the new color in your home listen to the beautiful music. (Busy day? Schedule your "me" time ... it is so neccessary!) Let yourself daydream. If it is raining out-how cozy and warm you feel inside. If it is sleeting or snowing-how pretty and wonderful to be home. If it is sunny-how beautiful outside and inside my home.

Extra ideas: pick up a bit of paint and return home and designate one wall only in your home as a focal point and paint it a pastel, easy color (not hard on eyes) ex: pale yellow, pale seafoam green, creamy butternut, light coral, and feel free to mix colors and try some sponging which is easy to do with an old rag.

 

Small Changes Produce Big Results

I like the sound of that, don't you? I can handle small changes!

I was perusing the pta.org site looking for some good info to post to our PTA facebook page and came across this great article. Here are the tips:

Be Fad-Free - The best path to better nutrition is to be free of fad diets and to choose a plan that is appropriate for lifelong health.

Stick a Fork in It - Keep your dressings on the side. Dip your fork into the dressing first before stabbing the greens. Save hundreds of calories and avoid unwanted fat.

Switch Hands - Did you know you will snack less when you are munching if you use your non-dominant hand because you will have to think more about what you are doing. Try it.

Count Colors Not Calories - Have at least one fruit and one vegetable that is green, red, purple, orange, and yellow each day.

Put Kids In Charge - Get kids involved in the grocery shopping. Let kids pick out their favorite vegetables and help prepare their choices for dinner. They will be very excited to have the hole family eating what they have chosen and prepared.

A New View - Think of food as a way to fuel your body and as the tool to significantly reduce your chances of cancer and disease rather than placing it in good vs. bad-for-you categories.

Cold Turkey - If you are trying to eliminate caffeine it is much easier to quit if you gradually cut down. Mix decaffeinated beverages with your regular and gradually decrease the amount of regular as you increase the decaffeinated.

A Better Bean - All beans are a healthy idea but beans with the darker seed coats pack the most nutritional punch. Black beans rank the highest in antioxidant nutrition followed by red then brown beans.

Raising the Bar - When choosing a breakfast cereal bar, look for bars with low sugar and at least 3 grams of fiber.

Shake the Habit - The amount of salt we physically need is found naturally in the foods we eat. Cut back on salt by slowly reducing your daily intake. After about 3 months you will actually prefer less salty foods.

The Right Start - When deciding which cereal to have, choose one that has at least 5 grams of fiber per serving; 7 grams is even better.

“In Own Juices” - If you buy canned fruit look for the products that say they are packed in their own juice and skip those that say “heavy” syrup. “Light” syrup is fine occasionally.

Bone Up - Daily calcium needs change with age. Children ages 1 to 3 need 500 mg. Kids 4 to 8 need 800 mg. Adolescents 9 to 18 (when most bone mass is developed) require 1,300 mg. Adults ages 19 to 50 should get 1,000 mg while those 51 and older require 1,200 mg.

The Eyes Have It - Leave fruit and cut-up vegetables on a plate in plain sight on the counter for easy snack options. Family members are much more likely to grab what they see instead of digging for an alternative from the pantry.

It's All About Planning

Life gets crazy, there's always something. If we sit around waiting for things to calm down before we start eating healthy, we'll be waiting forEVER.

I came across this great article from self.com (loving this site lately!) about planning (AND preparing) your meals throughout the week. Ialways tend to do my planning on Sunday night. And if for some reason I miss it, it throws me off. So instead of having ONE night to plan and prep, spreading it throughout the week will lessen the load and allow for more success!

Here are some of the tips that help me stick to my plan:

• Plan menu (not just dinners). Normally I will set my dinners, but then have 2-3 breakfast & lunch choices to choose from and an assortment of snacks. This helps me to feel like I still have the freedom to choose.
• Prepare snacks. If I haven't pre-measured or cut up my snacks, chances are I won't grab for them. It's all about convenience.
• Put snacks where I can see them. I read this tip a while back & it is one of the best. The concept is, you will eat what you can see. So instead of hiding the veggies in the drawer, put them prepared on the shelf at eye level. In the pantry, keep the eye-level shelf free for grab-n-go snacks!
• Stick with what works. Everytime I get a book with a new nutrition plan, they always seem to have a different choice for every meal. If you are spending each meal looking up the recipe and preparing your food, it's won't be long before you fall back into old nutrition habits. (Again, convenience!) Instead add a few new recipes on days you know you have the time, but for the rest of the time stick with what you know you like. Also, plan leftovers into your weekly menu.
• Plan ahead for special occassions. Seems like food is everywhere from parties to meetings to sporting events. Decide when you want to splurge and plan accordingly.
• Don't shop when you're hungry! 'nough said.

Here's to making a plan and sticking to it!

Killer at Large

Man, this is a powerful video and really reminds me of WHY this journey to health is such an important one to me. I have had to learn how to be healthy and have really struggled (and still do) with food. I have many reasons to be healthy, but the biggest one is actually two reasons ... Aubrey and Braden. My sweet children.


I hope that I can be a positive example of how to be healthy.

Coming Up For Air

Life has been a crazy (FUN) roller coaster these last few weeks. Being PTA prez has really monopolized my time. As a results I've had to cut back in other areas temporarily. Hope you haven't missed me too much!

I have been squeezing in my workouts and working on my nutrition however. That it one area that is NOT expendable. Not anymore. It's not perfect, but I'm working on it!

Here are a couple pictures from the start of school, aren't they gorgeous?

Aubrey started 5th grade this year. She has a new found interest in how she looks and each outfit and hairdo is carefully planned out (those teenage years are just around the corner ... YIKES!) She is very excited for school and loves her teacher. After the first week of school she said, "I have a feeling this is going to be a good year!"

Braden who just turned 5 started Kindergarten this year! I'm still trying to get past the fact that he's not my baby anymore (though he tells me, "Mom, I will ALWAYS be your baby!") He was the first one in line on that first day and has not looked back since. He thinks that since he is now 5 and in Kindergarten that he is much too grown up for many things he did when he was 4 (like holding hands in the parking lot.)

I am lucky that my kids still like it and think it's cool that I help out at school. I've been spending most days there or home working on PTA stuff. Things will calm down soon (yeah right!) and I'll have more room for the other things in life. But for now, I will relish this time!