Tag Archives: Healthy Lifestyle

Walk or Run with Us – The July Challenge

30 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by in Healthy Body

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Walk or Run with Us - The July ChallengeResearch shows that people who exercise with others tend to stick with a routine, so I’ve come up with a virtual “Healthy Lifestyle” team.

During the month of July myself, my adult daughters (we all live in different cities) and anyone else who wants to participate, will be doing some form of daily exercise. One of my daughters will run one mile a day or more.  My other daughter will include swimming laps, and I will mix it up between fast walking, hiking, using a mini-trampoline or a stationary bike, for a minimum of 20 minutes a day.  What will you do for 20-30 minutes a day during the month of July?

Imagine yourself feeling healthier, stronger, and maybe even slimmer after a month of daily movement. Please join us, no matter where you live in the world, and let us know you are on the “Healthy Lifestyle” team by leaving a comment below.

Love, Health and Happiness,

Phyllis

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Ask For What You Want

25 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by in Healthy Mind

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Ask For What You WantHow often do we complain, blame and criticize when it would be so much easier to just ask for what we want? Why is it so difficult to be direct rather than beating around the bush or expecting that people should know what we want?  We often wait, focusing on what we don’t have, and suffering in silence while building anger and resentment.

What would it be like to simply ask for what we want? That would require us taking responsibility to get our own needs met, and to be open to the possibility that if we ask, we may not get what we want.  Which is worse, feeling the disappointment or rejection of asking and not getting, or not asking in the first place?

No one person can provide all of our needs.  We may have to rely on friends or other support to help us. If we don’t ask for what we want and seek ways of attaining what is important to us, we most likely will not get it.

Love, Health & Happiness,

Phyllis

Bring Your Inner Athlete Out On The Weekends

15 Friday Feb 2013

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Bring Your Inner Athlete Out On The WeekendsDo your plans for the weekend include some physical activity?  Creating a regular routine on a Saturday or Sunday, morning, afternoon or evening, may help you attain the health benefits of exercise, and the discipline to continue with shorter times during the week.

The benefits of scheduling time on the weekend are:

1. Most people have an hour or two, or more for an extra long walk, run, hike, bike ride, swim, workout or classes at a gym. It allows more time to do activities you may not have time for during the week, and the time to get to your destination.

2. It gives you a chance to participate in a variety of activities that may not be offered during the week.

3. It’s easier to find a buddy or a group to go with, or join an adult sports or athletic team through your community parks and recreation.

4. The whole family can participate in something together or their own activities.

One word of caution.  Please be mindful of becoming a weekend warrior, watch that you don’t over do it on the weekend. Participate in some physical activity during the week as well. Your inner athlete will thank you!

Love, Health & Happiness,

Phyllis

Valentine or Anytime Refreshing Raspberry Fruit Salad

09 Saturday Feb 2013

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Valentine or Anytime Refreshing Raspberry Fruit Salad1 – 10 oz. package of unsweetened frozen raspberries

3 grapefruits, peeled, sectioned and sliced into bite size pieces

2 ripe bananas, thinly sliced

Place frozen raspberries in a medium bowl. Add the grapefruit pieces and mix well. Just prior to serving add the sliced bananas.

This delicious and refreshing recipe was shared my a dear friend Lisa.

Monitor Your Course

06 Wednesday Feb 2013

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Monitor Your CourseWhen traveling by car, boat, airplane or space craft, the driver or pilot must monitor the course and make adjustments as necessary. We can apply this same principle to our bodies; our health and our weight.

If we pay good attention to how our bodies feel, we can tell when we are hungry, tired, or rundown.  These signals cue us to eat, get more rest or sleep, and take better care of ourselves.

If you are interested in decreasing your body weight or maintain a specific weight, one way to monitor how you are doing is to weigh yourself every day or two.  The scale will let you know if you need to make adjustments to your eating or physical activity. Another way to monitor your weight, but not as precise, is by how your clothes fit.

What other ways do you monitor your health?

Love, Health & Happiness,

Phyllis

Healthy Eating and Desserts

31 Thursday Jan 2013

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Healthy Eating and DessertsYou may be wondering if desserts, sweets, treats… fit into a healthy lifestyle.  The short answer is they can, just not on a daily basis. Here are some suggestions of how to enjoy something sweet:

1. Decide when, where and with whom you will have your sweets.

2. Enjoy what you have by eating it with mindfulness.

3. Share it with others.  Get one dessert and 2 spoons.

4. Use the three-bite rule.  Savor three bites or spoonfuls and then remove it.

5. Use portion control and stick to one serving.

6. Have sweets on special occasions like your birthday, anniversary or holidays.

7. Eat your sweets out rather than at home where you may be tempted to eat too much, especially if there is a large quantity or multiple servings.

8. Have a piece of fruit, melon or berries when you are craving something sweet, or for dessert.

Love, Health & Happiness,

Phyllis

Fitting in Time For YOU!

29 Tuesday Jan 2013

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Fitting in Time For YOU!Creating a healthy lifestyle and healthy body may take less time than you think. Research shows that just of 30 minutes of daily movement, like walking, is enough to make a positive difference in your health.

So where can you fit 30 minutes into your day? Here are some options:

First thing in the morning

Before work

During a lunch break

After work

Before dinner

While the kids are at sports practice or other activity

After dinner

Did you know that 30 minutes is just 2% of a 24 hour day? Experiment with different times until you find a time slot that works for you.

Love, Health & Happiness,

Phyllis

Have You Made a Resolution or a Commitment?

03 Thursday Jan 2013

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Have You Made a Resolution or a CommitmentSo you want to get healthy in 2013?  How is it going so far? In order to create a long-term healthy eating lifestyle, it’s going to take more than a simple new year’s resolution, it’s going to take a commitment to yourself.

How you start your day is how you will live your life. It’s easier to have smooth sailing than to swim up-stream.  If you start your day with a healthy nutritious breakfast that includes fruit and/or vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains, you are more likely to continue eating well your next meal.  If you start your day with a sugary cereal or pastry, or white flour pancakes or waffles with syrup, it may be more difficult to eat a healthier lunch and dinner.

Plan your meals, especially breakfast, so you don’t leave it up to chance, when you are really hungry, that you will make healthy choices.

Love, Health & Happiness,

Phyllis

Brain Compatable New Years Resolutions

28 Friday Dec 2012

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Brain Compatable New Years Resolutions

If your New Years resolutions don’t have significant meaning to you, they most likely will fall by the wayside quickly.  With that said, think about what you really want for 2013, and why.

How would you like to feel about each resolution? Imagine what it would really look like and feel like to have what you desire. Do you have feeling words or a visual picture, either in your mind or in print, that capture your goals?

To get your brain on board, you may want to create a “personal poster” with words and/or pictures that capture your resolutions, and then focus on it for 18 seconds a day. Or, write down the feeling words and post them on your mirror or refrigerator to see multiple times a day. When we rehearse, imagine, or talk to ourselves about something for 18 seconds, it gets stored in our long-term memory. This also keeps our thoughts congruent with our desires, and when this happens, it propels us towards activities and behaviors that produce the results we are looking for.

Gather your family or a friend or two and have fun creating meaningful resolutions for the new year!

Love, Health & Happiness,

Phyllis

Move into 2013 With Meaning and Purpose

24 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by in Healthy Mind

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Moving Into 2013 With Meaning and PurposeWhat are you looking forward to in 2013? Are you willing to step it up, go beyond your comfort zone, reach for what you want and do it differently?  Or are you comfortable with your predictable life, even if it’s not how you would like it?

Here is a process to help you move into 2013 with meaning and purpose.

1. Acknowledge that based on all of your past experiences you have become the person you are today.  This includes all of the beliefs, patterns and coping skills you learned as a child.

2. Through those experiences you have developed familiar ways of being that may not continue to serve you well, along with some incredible strengths, gifts and talents that are unique to you.

3. In order to get out of functioning on auto-pilot, we must decide to choose something different.

Process: I invite you to make a list of a few beliefs, patterns or coping skills that no longer serve you well.  List how each one has negatively affected you and others.  Then write what strengths you got from those patterns.  Next, be open to new possibilities by considering a variety of options for new ways of thinking, believing, being and doing.

Here’s an example:

I was brought up with the message, “Work before play.” It took me a very long time to give myself permission to “play” or use my time for something other than being productive (working, cleaning, doing for others, etc.).  I missed out on having fun because I was too serious, being okay with “being” when not doing, being spontaneous, and being a better mom, wife, daughter, and friend to others and myself. From this message, I learned to be responsible, dependable, reliable, efficient, capable, and I learned how to cook and clean really well. By letting go of the message, “Work before play,” and focusing on my strengths, I have been able to shift to a more balanced life, including having fun writing this blog!

What shift will you make in 2013?

Love, Health & Happiness,

Phyllis