TOP 5: Maintain., NOT Gain during Holidays.

Wellness Hero’s Top 5:  Ways to maintain, NOT gain this holiday season.


 1. Daily Food Plan -Know your food plan for each day, don’t let circumstance dictate what you have to eat, verses your choices that could be pre-planned.  Going to a holiday gathering is great, but knowing ahead of time your food strategy for putting energy (calories) in your body can improve your control.

 2. Portion Control - Measure out what you plan to eat, use a small plate and do not stand/sit near the food.  Each feeding should have a variety of color & moderation.


3. Emotional Eating - Whether it is pure JOY or anxiety over seeing family with the time of year, be understanding of the way you feel.  Have a coping practice in play that doesn’t involve food. 


4. Mindful Eating - When you eat, challenge yourself to enjoy each bite.  Count your chews, savor the flavor, start the digestion process off on the right break down.  The idea is to slow down & be conscious of what you are eating.  Eating in front of technology can really take away from a food expereince. 


5. Water, water, water...drink it constantly all day, especially when you first wake up.  Hydrating consistantly creates a balance in many aspects.  Not only does it support digestion, but regulates hunger (as it is possible the body just needs water, but you feel hungry). 

Hydration Basics

HYDRATION BASICS are not just for the summer months, but a daily choice all year. 

Here are some facts and self checks for you to apply this knowledge.  Love that H2O.....The amount of fluids needed each day depends on age, gender, activity level, environmental conditions, the health of the person, the quality of their diet, and the number and type of medication being taken. Your body loses fluid throughout
the day so it is important that you replace the fluids lost through beverages you consume or the food you eat. Why should you care? Several studies indicate that your metabolism and even concentration levels may be compromised if you are dehydrated.

ARE YOU PROPERLY HYDRATED?
How do you know if you are not getting enough fluids? Check off the questions that you can answer “yes” to:
____ Is your skin dry? If you wrinkle it or pinch it, does it take awhile to “bounce” back?
____ Is your urine yellow or darker? (It should be clear to a light yellow in color (lemonade))
____ Are you frequently constipated, meaning not going once a day?
____ Do you get groggy or experience headaches part way through the day?
____ Do you have a lot of trouble staying cool or keeping warm?
A “yes” to any one of these questions may mean that your body is dehydrated and you should increase your fluid intake.

Water is your body’s principal chemical component and makes up about 60 percent of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on water.

HEALTH BENEFITS Of WATER

Functions of water in the body
Moistens tissue such as those in the mouth, eyes, and nose
Protects body organs and tissues
Carries nutrients and oxygen to cells
Lubricates joints
Regulates Helps    body
prevent constipation
Relieves kidneys and liver by flushing out waste products
temperature
Helps dissolve minerals and other nutrients to make them accessible to the body

Water and the role of Hydration in the Human Body.

Metabolism and Eating go hand in hand.

Metabolism and EATING with ways to control it throughout the day.

The metabolism goes through peaks and valleys, high points and low points throughout the course of 24 hours.  It is our energy and the foundation for how we feel.  When a person wakes up in the AM after sleeping the recommended 7-10 hrs for adults, their metabolism is at the very low end of the spectrum.  So, how to increase it to have energy in the AM?  Simple, put food in the body, because food is calories and calories are energy. This is why breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it jump starts your metabolism.

No longer will I reference eating a meal, bur refer to eating by saying  the word “feeding.”  Ideally, an adult should have 5-7 feedings a day.  A traditional example of 5 would be, breakfast-snack-lunch-snack-dinner to cumulatively make up 5 feedings for that day.  The thing is if a person is only eating 2 times a day they are INTENTIONALLY LOWERING their METABOLISM through habit.  The idea is to take our daily calories and spread them out then put them into the body during massive feeding times.  A good strategy for a person eating 2 times a day is to not eat more, but spread out all that food over more feeding times.  
Every time food is put into the body, the metabolism increase, so more frequent “feedings” will consistently train your body metabolism to work in a more cyclic pattern.  In order to lose weight a person MUST EAT many small feedings throughout the day and this action in itself will increase a person’s metabolism.

Now, if you are not eating several feedings throughout the day or always skip breakfast the idea is to make a small change.  If not hungry in the AM, then start with eating just a bit of something healthy and slowly increase that desire to be hungry over time.  It takes many months for the body to change habits depending how long we have been doing the opposite.  So by adding one cheerio a day from week to week with adding a couple more each time, soon enough you will be ready to have a bowl of cereal in the AM. 

H20 and the BODY.

Water Matters.....                                        2.4.13

The main reason I am writing this blog is to put out quality info on various topics that relate to a human's health, basically covering the four parts of WELLNESS (Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Social).  The focus today is to touch on the physical side, which is the part that most people easily associate with health. 
When is the last time you checked your Hydration?  Do you know the easy way to see if you are adequately hydrated is to look at your pee?  Its simple PEE Clear or lemonade color is great, while yellowish or apple juice means dehydration is taking place.  The darker the color and/or less frequent urination are symptoms of dehydration as well.   
 WATER is the basis for every bodily function, from respiration to digestion; a person’s energy levels through metabolism are regulated to your bodies ability to store water in its muscles, organs, & blood.  No matter what your fitness goal could be, everything rests on the simple condition of drinking more water and/or being mindful of the other habits in our lives that remove water from our system. 
Stimulants and diuretics are major players in removing water from the body.  Medications recommend you drink a glass of water with them because they suck the H2O out of the body as well. 
So how much water should you drink?  Every person is going to be unique, so many variables such as age, gender, physical condition, diet, type of job and physical activity during the day....the list can go on and on, so the idea of 8 - 8 oz glass of WATER a day is truly bogus.  The recommended healthy levels of hydration are 50-65% (measured in the muscles) with 70% & above being optimal. 
Being adequately hydrated is an amazing first step to practicing daily healthy habits to build a foundation for a healthy lifestyle!! 

Up coming blog TOPICS!!!

Blog Outline for February 2013 by Wellness HERO.....life enhancing by PROPER Health Education.

1.  Water - How much should a person drink?
2.  Metabolism - How to control and increase your Calories burned.
3.  Sleep - The role it plays and how it is healthy.
4.  Veggies & Fruit - Just Do it!
5.  Food Labels & GMO - Look out and READ what?!
6.  Whole Grains - Its the COMPLEX CARBS that are healthy!


Feel free to shoot me an email with any questions that might arise during your day, the idea is to practice wellness daily.  Your health and wellness is your choice, so choose wisely and of course, SMILE :~>!!!!!!

Healthy body weight MAGIC!

How to lose weight, healthy style.....                                   9.7.12

As a Wellness Coach & certified Personal Trainer I am constantly assessing a persons body fat % which is 1 of 5 components of a persons’ health-related fitness.  To achieve an ideal body weight through balancing your body composition (fat to muscle ratio, again 1 of the 5 parts of health-related fitness) try combination training with your other components of fitness every time your workout, exercise, or perform physical activity.
Many variables factor into a persons ideal body weight or more importantly body fat %.  I have identified 4 MAJOR players in the role to improve body weight to be in a healthy range... these are the first steps to identify the number one way to lose weight, influence your metabolism in a health concsious way!! 
 SLEEP - the idea is to regulate your metabolism through patterns or regular doses of zzz
Hydration - think water, water, water for everything you drink!  Its that simple.
Physical Activity - Diversify & practice Muscular strength & endurance, flexibility,& cardio
Nutrition - Ideally eating 5-7 feedings will have the greatest impact on your metabolism & 1/2 o                what you eat should be fruits & veggies.
The best way to fire up your calorie burning furnace is through balance with a patterns & routines that encourage maximum results.  With physical activity, combination style exercises that take you from training cardio, to strength & endurance.    By focusing on 3 of your 5 components your body has nothing to do but increase that heart rate to fire up that METABOLISM during each time you exercise. 
For body weight their is no quick fixes, truly the solution is a lifestyle that supports as much movement as possible.  Making daily choices that have positive outcomes will continue the habits necessary to live well.  

Update: WATER, is it relative?

How much does H2O matter, imagine this?                                         9.2.12

The main reason I am writing this blog is to put out quality info on various topics that relate to a human's health, basically covering the four parts (Physical, mental, emotional, and social).  The focus today is to touch on the physical side, which is the part that most people easily associate with health. 

When is the last time you checked your Hydration?  Do you know the easy way to see if you are adequately hydrated?  Well it is simple, simply  look at your pee.  Clear or lemonade color is great, while yellowish or apple juice means dehydration is taking place. 

 WATER is the basis for every bodily function, from respiration to digestion; a person’s energy levels through metabolism are regulated to your bodies ability to store water in its muscles, organs, & blood.  No matter what your fitness goal could be, everything rests on the simple condition of drinking more water and/or being mindful of the other habits in our lives that remove water from our system. 
Being adequately hydrated is an amazing first step to practicing daily healthy habits to build a foundation for a healthy lifestyle!!  The important fact to know is a majority of the water in our bodies is stored in the muscles (blood & organs too).  So if a person does not practice muscular endurance or strength training exercises, then their ability to store water is limited.  It is important to balance physical activity through your 5 components of health related fitness.  Think H20!!!

Do you know to eat your veggies?

Believe in YOU...                        8.25.12

This summer I a developed my first ever veggie garden.  It started with my 4 year young (lil man) & I turning up the grass in a 18’ X 18’ plot in the back yard.  This led to a new habit of just eating raw vegetables for breakfast.   The point of this story is about trying new habits all have a beginning and hopefully it is a good habit that is starting, because at first it isn’t a habit at all, its just an experience. 

Veggies have a ton of water & amazing connective tissues (fiber), plus have a plethora of health properties we label as anti-oxidants.  Veggies should be eaten, NOT drinking, but juicing them from time to time can yield some new special treats or even making some healthy Popsicles!

Food is my medicine, & the concept of 1/2 a person’s plate should be made up of fruit & veggies at each meal has been heavily promoted. Don’t you know you should eat your vegetables?  In order to make them accessible to munch on over the course of a few days it takes planning & organization before they are gobbled up to aid in my health and wellness. 

So a great new habit was formed from a few small practices.  When you have a positive new habit in your life it is truly wonderful.  Adding more raw veggies (easy to do during summer & fall farmers market season) to my diet regularly, started with being outside and connecting with Earth, then followed up by how amazingly delicious they are, which led to a functional gift, which now gets filled often with a super healthy snack that has a tremendous positive impact on my life.

Its the small things that start habits in our day to day and week to week lives, what will be your next new one?......