Posts Tagged ‘fitness’

MAGIC HELP Touchstones for Weight Loss Part 7 ‘E’

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

Touchstones - Magic help

‘E’ is for exercise.  That’s not much of a surprise, is it?  We all have heard, at least in the US, about how our lifestyles have limited the physical activities in our every day lives.

Eating right and exercise is necessary to lose weight and to succeed in reaching our goal and maintaining our goal – which should be a healthy relationship with food and a healthy, more fit body.

Activity is a must. 10,000 steps a day should be your goal if your main activity is walking (cardio). That is total steps from the time you get up to the time you go to bed. If you get a good pedometer, you would be surprised how many steps you take. Also, you need 30 minutes a day of cardio ‘activity’ such as walking or exercise. This can be done in 10 minutes segments to start, but should gradually blend into one 30 minute session.

Yoga is another form of exercise.  The stretching and ‘meditation’ relaxes your muscles and body.  It also relieves stress.  It strengthens your muscles and increases your flexibility.   The Power yoga has evolved for burning calories.  It is a flowing moving from one Yoga stance to another.  There is no way one can do Power Yoga without firming up and toning up.

Is housework exercise?  Check out the post ‘Is Housework Exercise‘.  We can fool ourselves into thinking it is.  It is activity, but it does not burn very many calories.  And, our bodies are used to it since we do it every day or every week.  Exercise should elevate your heart rate and even cause you to perspire some.  Exercise is what we do outside of our normal lifestyle activities.

Do you every have trouble getting your exercise in?  You realize that a couple days have gone by – you missed going for that walk or getting to the gym, or turning on that low impact ‘Sweating to the Oldies”?

This is where the ‘C’ touchstone affects the ‘E’ touchstone.  You have the choice, to exercise (increase your activity) or not to exercise.  It is my CHOICE – and it is your CHOICE.

Here are some reasons to exercise

1.        Be healthy

2.       Be more energetic

3.       Be more relaxed

4.       Be more fit

5.       Lose those extra pounds

6.       Be able to play with my grandchildren without getting winded

7.       Be please with my looks when I am in front of a mirror

8.       Have my clothes fit

9.       Have more self-confidence

10.     Be able to tie my shoes without going through contortions

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10 Elements of a Healthy Diet

Sunday, January 27th, 2008

As I have alluded to in previous blogs, a low-glycemic diet is the best way to better healthy and to your goal weight (see my post First Milestone in My Weight Management – Glyconics (is that a word?). This is not new, it goes right with what Grandma always said (see my post Secret to Losing Weight)

1. Eat a balanced diet consisting of all the food groups.  No, Junk food is NOT a food group.

2. Drink at least 8 eight-ounce glasses of water a day – preferably filtered or distilled.

3. Eat 2 to 3 portions of fresh fruit a day. (see my post Veggies and Fruits – Key foods)

4. Eat lots of non-starchy vegetables- preferably raw.  If you eat them cooked, be sure they were steam cooked.  (see my post  Veggies and Fruits – Key foods)

5. Eat 3 meals and 3 snacks a day – spaced 2-3 hours apart.

6. Find out what your daily calorie intake a day should be. Your doctor can tell you and he can also tell you which foods you should include and which you should avoid based on your medical condition.

7. Remember, whatever you eat, it is your decision. And no decision is a ‘bad’ one. But it will take your towards your goal or away from your goal.

8. Activity is a must. 10,000 steps a day should be your goal. That is total steps from the time you get up to the time you go to bed. If you get a good pedometer, you would be surprised how many steps you take a day.  Also, get at least 30 minutes a day of activity such as walking or exercise. This can be done in 10 minutes segments to start, but should gradually blend into one 30 minute session.

9. Get your 8 hours of sleep a day. It is much easier to stay on track if you are rested.

10. Remember, you are worth it. You deserve to be healthy and fit. Your life could depend on it. Your quality of life probably will. When you are in an airplane, they tell you to put your oxygen mask on first and then your child’s or parent or companion. Your eating habits are the same. You have to make time for your health first so you can do for others better.

I recently commented on an article submitted in Mixx.com. I stated that I was on a plateau due to my mindset, my mental stumbling blocks. Two people commented back with very good advice which I am going to include here.  The advice is to write down a list of those things that keep you from obtaining your goal. This does several things for you.

1. You face the attitudes and feelings you have just by admitting them and writing them down. You don’t have to show the list to anyone.

2. Having the list to refer to helps you to remember they exist.

3. By remembering they exist, you can work on resolving them. You can dispel wrong mental attitudes, etc, and avoid other triggers if possible.

4. If nothing else, by facing these obstacles and realizing the effects on your progress towards your goal, you can maneuver around the pot holes and continue on to the fulfillment of your goal.

I will end with reminding you it always helps to have someone to talk to. There are a lot of good people on the social networks. Just find a group interested in health and fitness. You might be surprised at the help you can get.

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