Wellness

You should sleep more

December 27, 2019December 29, 2019By ucheblogger No Comments

Many people think that we should aim for 8 hours of elusive sleep each night but most people do not really understand the importance sleep plays in our physical health. Like helping to repair and healing blood vessels. Sleep also helps with high blood pressure. Increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and kidney diseases are all linked to lack of proper sleep. Sleeping also plays a restorative role on the brain. Memory consolidation occurs during slow wave and as such, different pieces of what we learn during the day are pieced together and carefully stored as knowledge to be accessed later.

Extra sleep has also proven to improve athletic performance. In 2008, a study of five swimmers showed that when they extended their sleep to 10 hours a day for six to seven weeks, the athletes could swim faster and react more quickly. Similarly researchers at Harvard University and Boston College found that during sleep is when emotional components of memory are strengthened. As a result, sleep aids in creativity.

Sleep also helps with weight loss. Or at least helps with curbing appetite. Hunger is controlled by two hormones: leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is a hormone that is produced in your fat cells. The less leptin you produce, the more your stomach feels empty. The more ghrelin you produce, the more you stimulate hunger while also reducing the amount of calories you burn (your metabolism) and increasing the amount fat you store. In other words, you need to control leptin and ghrelin to successfully lose weight but sleep deprivation makes that nearly impossible. Research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinoloy and Metabolism found that sleeping less than six hours triggers the area of your brain that increases your need for food while also depressing leptin and stimulating ghrelin.

Wellness

Making your New Year’s Resolutions

December 21, 2019December 11, 2018By jewelpts No Comments

For those of you who have been training, you will likely have started hearing in November about Reverse Resolutions where you are trying to accomplish a goal by New Years Day! I encourage having continuous goals throughout the year. However, stats show that the majority of Canadians will make at least one New Years Resolution. The general outline goes as such: 55% are aiming to eat healthier, 50% resolved to exercise more, 38% wanted to lose weight. On average less than 20% actually keep the resolutions.

Choose an Obtainable Goal. A model/celebrity/athlete is simply not realistic for the majority of people. Resolving to include daily physical activity in our lives could be very realistic and obtainable.

Avoid Choosing a Repeat Fail. A resolution that historically has not gone well for you should be analyzed and altered. Often this will mean that you need to break it down into smaller shorter term goals- and take immediate action.

Create a Game Plan – Starting right now, write a comprehensive plan for the next week, each month. You wouldn’t start a trip without knowing which direction to go, your personal plan will help you to succeed. Write it down where you can see it regularly or set a reminder in your phone.

Reward yourself for your Accomplishments – Include a reward as part of your plan. A reward involving self-care is ideal.

Limit your Promises Trying to do too much at once can be overwhelming and set one up for frustration and discouragement.

Ask for Help – You may need to set limits to the “help” that you get from friends, family, but have someone to be accountable to. If you can include those around you in your goals. Including a coworker in your goals to take a short walk with at lunch could mean packing a more health conscious lunch and getting in activity.

Get more Help- Sometimes friends, or family are not objective enough. Research studies show that assistance from a fitn3ess professional will greatly improve one’s success rate.

Wellness

Holiday Guide to Healthy Living

December 6, 2019December 11, 2018By ucheblogger No Comments

Even if you’ve been staying on track with your healthy eating goals all year, it’s a slippery slope after the Thanksgiving dinner, Halloween candy, and eventually the December holiday parties. It is of course no surprise that people tend to gain weight over the holidays.

One way to start your day on a healthy note is by eating breakfast. Not just any breakfast but a large nutritious breakfast. It may sound counter intuitive since you’re planning on having a big meal later, but filling up on something healthy will prevent you from overindulging later on.

Your schedule might be filled up with parties and quality time with family but the best way to stay on top your fitness this holidays, is to make sure you reserve quality time for your work out during the holidays. Try to put in 20 mins of workout in the morning, that will help combat the feeling of sluggishness but instead energize you.

Additionally, do not show up hungry to a holiday party or dinner. The reason being, leaving your stomach empty till the dinner forces you to overindulge in unnecessary calories. Many people think they need to save their body for the party calories but this isn’t very helpful. In the same vein, consider pitching in for dinner parties to ensure a healthy option for you and other guests. If you are hosting a holiday party, make sure to provide healthy alternatives. If you are attending another party, ask the host if they would like additional dishes and create a healthy version of a holiday dish.

Most importantly this holidays, know your triggers. During the holidays, there are plenty triggers that can easily lead you to a path of unhealthy decisions. If for example, alcohol is your trigger to bad decisions, be careful of the wine consumption. If sugar, or desserts are your triggers, maintain a one serve size. In summary, do everything in moderation to avoid a slippery slope of bad decisions.

Fitness, Wellness

Lets Talk Fitness Fears

November 29, 2019November 6, 2018By ucheblogger No Comments

It’s no secret that the benefits of a healthy lifestyle extend far beyond mere physical fitness. You’ve probably red countless articles online on the benefits of exercise and fitness. But for some people knowing in your head that fitness is good and actually getting involved with it are two very different things.

Here are some common fitness fears and how you can overcome them.

Lack of time

The number one reason people state for not living healthy and exercising, is lack of time. It is usually an excuse of being occupied with work or kids. However this excuse is not sufficient.

For starters, there are various ways in which stay at home parents could stay on top of their fitness routine. Fitness never has to be a major time commitment that most people imagine it to be. There are various opportunities to stay on top of your fitness – whether it’s going for a walk during your lunch break or twenty minutes in the gym instead of waiting in the train station.

Self Consciousness

A big and valid hurdle for some people to tackle before fitness is self consciousness or fear of looking stupid. If you struggle with low self esteem, social anxiety or body image issues then heading down to the gym or even just going for a run round your neighborhood can be an intimidating prospect. Remember that everyone has to start somewhere and everyone was new to fitness at some point. Do not worry about what other people think an instead focus on having a great time exercising.

Lack of patience

If you’re just starting out on a weight loss or fitness program it can easily seem like you have a real mountain to climb. You might feel like you are surrounded by people with ideal bodies and unable to see any way you can ever reach that level. However remember that no real change comes overnight, especially not a lasting change. There are no shortcuts in fitness, therefore must view your journey as a gradual process.

Fear of Failure

A similar fear to not thinking you can change is not thinking you can change enough or at all. You might have set yourself fitness goals and now find yourself reluctant to try and hit them for fear that you’ll fall short. Remember that goals and targets are motivation tools not measure of success or failure. The key is celebrating every success, however small.

Fear of Change

Most importantly, people sometimes aren’t fully committed to change. You might think that fitness is a good idea, but find yourself dreading the effort involved. However this is perfectly natural. But remember that starting out in your own little ways, will gradually bring changes that will make a big difference while paving the way for bigger improvements when you’re ready.

Having someone to help guide you along the way could be the difference between procrastination and progress!

Wellness

Exercise and Bone Health

November 22, 2019September 18, 2019By jewelpts No Comments

Osteoporosis is Latin for “porous bone”. It is a condition with no outward symptoms, that causes the bones to become weak and fragile. Bone is a living growing tissue. When we are young we gain more bone than we lose until the maximum density at about age 30 is reached. After about age 35 a loss begins, Prevention and treatment can involve weight bearing exercises. Risk factors include being female, being older, family history, low body weight, alcohol intake and smoking. Certain race/ethnicities are generally believed to be at a higher risk. Other risk factors are hormonal stage of life, poor diet such as low calcium and vitamin D levels, and infrequent weight bearing activities. Recent research suggests that eating foods rich in calcium is a better method for increasing your intake that only supplements. Different calcium supplements are different forms, and some are best taken in conjunction with other vitamins and minerals. The majority of the population does not get the recommended amount of calcium. When this happens than your body will use the supply from your bones to support the other functions that it is needed for. Overall digestive health is important to the absorption of the mineral as well. Certain medications can be contributors to bone loss, certain illnesses that can impact digestion and absorption can contribute as well. For more information on risk factors and bone mineral density testing visit Osteoporosis Canada. On of the fracture prediction tools available that have been tested in the Canadian population :WHO Fracture Risk Calculation Tool (FRAX®) for Canada

It is possible to reduce your risk of developing osteoporosis through a healthy lifestyle. Exercises that focus on balance training are beneficial to reduce the risk of injury. If you have osteoporosis there are there are movements and exercises you should be aware of to minimize injury. Basic bone health for all individuals includes regular weight bearing and resistance type exercise as well as adequate vitamin and mineral intake.

https://osteoporosis.ca/https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/chronic-diseases/osteoporosis.html