Come Get Healthy With Me in 2013!

I am teaching a class at New Milford Adult Education in March. Come join me!
TEN PRINCIPLES OF A HEALTHY DIET
Resolve to be healthy in the New Year! Good nutrition is vital to a healthy life. With so much conflicting information, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Taught by a Certified Health Coach, this program simplifies eating healthfully. It is ideal for anyone who is tired of dieting and wants to establish a new and healthier relationship with food. Keep your New Year’s resolutions by learning how to feel better, have more energy, and even save money by getting and staying healthy in 2013.
5 Mondays: 3/4, 3/11, 3/18, 3/25, 4/1 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. (4/1 class 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.) $90
Find more info and register here.

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40 Days of Fitness: Days 34 & 33

So I’m taking the 40 Days of Fitness challenge and have been doing some form of fitness activity each day. Yesterday was busy and it was 1:00 am (which was actually today, but details!) before I got to my fitness activity. So I did about 10 minutes of static squats against the wall. It burned so that is a good sign. I intended to do Dr. Oz’s 7-Minute Workout yesterday, but didn’t get to it until today. I must say I was a bit skeptical, even after I watched the video. But tonight I did the exercises (at 7:30 pm, not 1:00 am!) and it is a good workout. Heavy breathing, heart rate up, muscles fatigued (ok, maybe I’m just out of shape). But I like the workout (it is yoga-based) and I can’t really ever say I didn’t have time to do a 7-Minute Workout, so I think I will add it to my basket of fitness tips to keep. Try it out too!

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The Greatest Exercise of All

In his book The Complete Guide to Natural Healing, Tom Monte states that humans were built to walk. Walking is a wonderful exercise that doesn’t feel like work and is free. A half hour’s worth of walking conditions the entire body by exercising the muscles, heart, and respiratory and circulatory systems. It also provides perspective while you walk off tension, or can provide time to catch up with a friend or partner if she or he is walking with you.

Have you been hesitating in starting a new exercise regime? No need. Just go for a thirty minute walk, every day if possible. Make it the first step in your new attitude toward exercise.

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Time for Some R&R

We are going on vacation today to next Thursday, so I won’t be around for blogging. I’m not taking my computer and have decided to be (mostly) disconnected during our time away. It’s only sun and fun for me and my family. This time for rest and relaxation will also be a time of rejuvenation. As I’ve said before, it is important for us to remember to find time for downtime. Here’s some of my favorite posts on the benefits of rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation:

The Importance of Quieting Your Mind

Remember to Rest

The Importance of Sleep

Remember the Importance of Rest

Stillness is Important to Good Health

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Make Sure You Manage Your Time, Rather Than Your Time Managing You

So life is full of irony, right? And we must remember to laugh. Like last week. My blog editorial calendar has “time management post” for Monday, April 2. But, of course, I couldn’t find the time to write that post!

I always say that one of the best ways to manage a busy schedule is to delegate some of your tasks. That is what I’m doing here.  Here is my short post — with a link to Phillip Taylor’s longer and helpful article on time management. The article provides information on free online tools for time management as well as five really good tips for mastering your time.

I hope you find it helpful!

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Food Diary Follow-Up # 4: Drink (& Eat) More Water

Two weeks ago, I posted on the importance of protein and suggested that you take some time to determine how much is the right amount for you. This week, our food diary follow-up is more simple but just as important to a healthy diet: the importance of water.

Water is important for a properly functioning body. Staying hydrated can rid you of stress, headaches, tension, and cravings for sweets, all of which are caused by dehydration.

We Need Water For Good Health. Because our bodies are 70% water, we need a constant supply in order to function properly.  Everyday we must replace the fluids that our bodies use and lose through breath, sweat, urine, and stools. We can even promote weight loss by speeding up our metabolisms and lessening our desire for food, particularly sweets. In addition, increasing your water intake allows your body to efficiently eliminate waste products by increasing the need to urinate and therefore flushing more toxins out of your body, which can help reduce problems like acid reflux, ulcers, gastritis, and ailments of the colon, kidneys, bladder, and urethra.

How Much? We need at least 64 ounces, though recent studies suggest that we need much more and that different people need differing amounts depending on their weight, level of physical activity, climate, and diet. For example, a larger person will most likely need more water than a smaller person; a person living in the desert will need more water than a person living in a humid environment; a person who exercises regularly will need additional fluids to replace those lost through perspiration; and a person who eats a diet full of water-rich foods will need to drink less water than a person who does not.

What You Eat Helps Determine How Much Water You Need. Three main categories of foods will require you to take in additional fluids to maintain hydration and efficient elimination of waste products from your body:  sugar, caffeine, and meats.

For example, sugar is 99.5% carbohydrates and only 0.5% water, so you need large amounts of water to balance the intake of refined sugar. This is why sweets make you thirsty. Similarly, caffeine is a diuretic that increases your need for water, so you will need to increase your water intake for every caffeinated beverage that you consume.  Lastly, consider the amount of meat in your diet because a high-protein diet demands a large amount of water for metabolism and efficient elimination.  (This explains why high-protein diets like Atkins have high initial success rates: the body siphons its own water reserves in order to metabolize the protein, resulting in water weight loss.)

Get Your Water From Food Too. In her book Food and Healing, Dr. AnneMarie Colbin details the water content in various foods:

• Lettuce, iceberg: 95.5% water
• Carrots: 91.2% water
• Cow’s milk: 87.4% water
• Apple, raw: 84.4% water
• Grapes, green: 81.6% water
• Potato, baked: 75.1% water
• Brown rice, cooked: 70.3% water
• Kidney beans, canned, cooked: 69.0% water
• Fish, cod, broiled: 64.6% water
• Chicken, broiled, no skin: 63.8% water
• Beef, T-bone, broiled: 36.4% water
• White bread: 35.5% water
• Sugar: 0.5% water

Knowing the water content of the food you eat is important: it will help you determine how much supplementary water your body needs to obtain through drinks.

Get The Fluids You Need – Not Just From Water. Any beverage without caffeine or added sugar is hydrating.  Good choices include real fruit juices (without added sugar, so check the label) and herbal coffees and teas. Herbal teas do not contain any tea leaves.  They are generally made from flowers, herbs, spices, and other plants; because they are brewed like tea, they are called “tea.”  Check the contents of your tea; if it has any kind of tea in it—whether black, white, or green; or contains leaves or tips—then it is not herbal.  Herbal teas can be great hot or iced.  Brew some at home, add stevia or agave nectar (both natural sweeteners) if you want a little sweetness, and keep it in the fridge.  Delis and groceries sell many good varieties of bottled herbal teas; find the ones you like most.

The same is true for herbal coffee, which is not the same as decaf and, unfortunately, is not widely available.  You can, however, purchase it at most health food stores.  My favorite brand is Teeccino (www.teeccino.com), made from carob, chicory root, and other herbs, and brewed in the coffee pot like regular coffee.

Ultimately, remaining hydrated and ensuring that your body is working as an efficient elimination system is not difficult.  And you might feel much better by simply drinking and eating more water each day.

_____________________________________________

RESOURCES

Batmanghelidj, Fereydoon, M.D., Your Body’s Many Cries for Water: You Are Not Sick, You Are Thirsty; Global Health Solutions, Inc., 2001 (2d ed.).

Cherniske, Stephen, M.S., Caffeine Blues: Wake Up to the Hidden Dangers of America’s #1 Drug; Warner Books, 1998.

Colbin, AnneMarie, Food and Healing: How what you eat determines your health, your well-being, and the quality of your life; Ballantine Books, 1986.

Gittleman, Ann Louise, M.S., C.N.S., get the sugar out: 501 Simple Ways to Cut the Sugar Out of Any Diet; Three Rivers Press, 1996.

Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D., “Can You Drink Too Much Water?,” at About.com.

Lipski, Elizabeth, Ph.D., CCN, Digestive Wellness: How to strengthen the immune system and prevent disease through healthy digestion; McGraw-Hill, 2004.

Lipman, Frank, M.D., Total Renewal: 7 Steps to Resilience, Vitality, & Long-Term Health; Penguin, 2003.

Rosenthal, Joshua, Integrative Nutrition: Feed Your Hunger for Health & Happiness; Integrative Nutrition Publishing, 2008.

Steward, H. Leighton, Morrison C. Bethea, M.D., Sam S. Andrews, M.D., Luis A Balart, M.D., Sugar Busters! Cut Sugar to Trim Fat; Ballantine Books, 1995.

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The Importance of Quieting Your Mind

Here’s a great post by Jeff Gitterman on the importance of meditation. It is adapted from his book “Beyond Success: Redefining the Meaning of Prosperity” © 2009 Jeffrey L. Gitterman, published by AMACOM Books (www.amacombooks.org).

As you’ll see, he’s not necessarily talking about “sitting crossed-legged on a cushion” but rather he’s referring to any activity that allows us to stop listening to the endless chatter in our heads. Some people call it the “monkey mind”; I know my “monkey” is very chatty most of the time and meditation will help “get me out of my head” and out of my own way so that I can accomplish things.

Here’s an excerpt from his article:

“When I use the term meditation, I don’t necessarily mean sitting cross-legged on a cushion but rather participating in any deliberate activity that helps us to disengage from a compulsive relationship with our stream of thought. There are numerous books that have been written over the years on the subject of meditation and how to disengage from the thinking mind or, more simply put, how to stop listening to the voice inside our head. It’s important that each of us find our own method that works best.

The benefit of learning how to disengage our attention from the thought stream is that we can then apply our minds more readily toward more constructive things, such as accomplishing tasks and connecting with other people and our own true purpose. It creates space within us — an opening that allows more energy to flow into us. In this seemingly paradoxical way, having more space in our minds allows us to accomplish more and more things in the world.”

Read the full article here.

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No pain, plenty of gain, from water workouts

My toddler and I are returning to swim classes tomorrow. She loves the water and will be happy to be in swim lessons again. Which got me thinking about all the great benefits of swimming as a form of exercise.

According to Tay Stratton, head swim coach at the Little Rock Athletic Club, who was interviewed for a WebMD article, “Swimming recruits all the major muscle groups, including the shoulders, back, abdominals, legs, hips, and glutes, she says. And because water affords 12 times the resistance as air in every direction, it really helps to build strength.” In other words, swimming is unique because it is cardio and strength training simultaneously.

So how do you get started? The same as all new exercise routines: Start slowly. Try to swim for 10 minutes, then build up to a 30-minute workout, three to five times a week. And include a warm-up and a cool-down, just like you would on a treadmill or in another cardio workout. You can also join a swim club or work with a swim coach.

We’ll be in the pool tomorrow. How about you?

Source: WebMD article entitled “Fitness Basics: Swimming Is for Everyone“

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Take the Opportunity: Start a Good Habit

Over at AMSDaily, there is a great post entitled Take the Opportunity: Start a Good Habit, which explains that, after 21 days, you are well on your way to establishing whatever good habit that you choose. Check it out, and start that good habit today!

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I Am Grateful … My Continuing List

NOTE: I am adding one new item to this list every day (so far) rather than creating a new post for each item. Check back daily if you are interested in my list!

My friends are I were out for our New Year’s Eve celebration and were discussing how important it is to be grateful. Actually, studies have shown that people who are grateful are much happier. Our discussion reminded me of my days in college when my friend Vanessa and I would send our grateful thoughts to each other via a daily email. So I thought I would do that again, except here at my blog. And I thought I would do one per day. Maybe it will inspire you to think about what you are grateful for. Here goes:

18. I am grateful for coffee — again. I know, I’ve said this before — two or three times, actually. But with a toddler and all her different sleep pattern “phases,” I continue to be grateful for this periodically. Teething is making things more difficult these days. One thing I have learned over the last 16+ months; everything is a phase. The difficult times pass. So do the good times, unfortunately. The circle — or cycle — of life, I suppose.

17. I am grateful for NPR. Without it, I feel like I would never know what is going on in the world!

16. I am grateful for my dogs who are learning patience for a toddler even though they would rather not learn that lesson.

15. I am grateful for the opportunity to read my author friend’s new novel-in-progress. It is such an amazing experience to see a work of art as it is being created and to — maybe — help with the process.

14. I am grateful for the pitter-patter of little bare feet running around the house on a nice, warm winter day in Connecticut. Music to my ears!

13. I am grateful for little hands that pat me on the back.

12. I am grateful for Tylenol to help a baby who is getting four teeth at the same time.

11. I am grateful that spring is right around the corner. Our winter has been very mild, but I am still looking forward to spring, and then summer!

10. I am grateful for our heat as it is getting cold again outside.

9. I am grateful for bubbles; they provide much entertainment for a toddler.

8. I am grateful that my daughter wants to kick a soccer ballwhilewearing a hot pink tutu! Girls rock!

7. I am grateful for the organizations that are here to help lawyers.

6. I am grateful for old friends.

5. I am grateful for the sunshine.

4. I am grateful for all the hand-me-down toys that we get. All in good condition and Sarah loves them all! So nice. Thank you!

3. I am grateful that Shermanites voted down the move in Town to rescind the money for the library to expand. Moving forward as promised was the right thing to do, and I am grateful that a large majority of citizen who voted recognized this.

2. I am grateful that my back is not bothering me these days. It is easy to take it for granted — even when it was horrible when it was a problem — when you don’t have to deal with it anymore.

March 1. I am grateful for opportunities. Sometimes it stresses me out because I feel like there are so many great opportunities that I’d like to take advantage of, but I just don’t have enough time to take them all. Still, I’d rather have more than enough than not enough.

29. I am grateful my husband was home for our snow storm. Even though it was only 3-4 inches, it meant I didn’t need to shovel! Thanks, honey.

28. I am grateful that my husband finally painted our guest bedroom. One more thing to check off on the looooong list of things to do for the house to be complete (which it never will be, I realize).

27. I am grateful for all the hand-me-down clothes that we routinely get from our friends. They are all so nice! Thank you!

26. I am grateful for all the words that my daughter is learning to say: mama, daddy, Eh-dee (for Emily, our dog), Antha (for Samantha, our other dog), hi, huh (for hug), dye (for bye), da (for dog), mow (for cat), el-t (for elephant), jus (for juice), bo (for snow), moon, heh (for head), oh-hay (for okay), no (that one is particularly clear), jes (for yes), apple, bubble, ball, duck, Elmo, Da-ou (for Caillou), book, eye, nose, Eye-t (for Violet), Hop (for Hop on Pop), I id it (for I did it), I id (for I do), ick (for kick), and a bunch more! She is so awesome!

25. I am grateful for my many good friends who are excellent cooks (thanks Jen and Ellen!) and invite us to dinner at their houses.

24. I am grateful that I have good teeth (so far, in part because I FLOSS) so my visit to the dentist is almost always short and not painful (knock on wood).

23. I am grateful Sarah has some nice, little friends already that she can play with at the park.

22. I am grateful that we have health insurance. I am not sick, but I do need to go to the doctor periodically. Our insurance is expensive, but I am glad that we have it. Not everyone is so fortunate. Not everyone is able to go to the doctor when sick. Not everyone is able to get check-ups and other preventive care. I am grateful that I am able to do all those things.

21. I am grateful that I get to eat lunch out at yummy places like The Green Granary in New Milford, CT. Locally-sourced, mostly organic food that is always delicious.

20. I am grateful for a really comfy bed.

19. I am grateful for massage. I had an hour long massage today; much needed after too many nights sleeping in the glider in the nursery.

18. I am grateful for my writers’ group. It is so great to meet with everyone and see what everyone is working on and have the opportunity to have my worked critiqued. Word Weavers Rocks!

17. I am grateful that we are having a “southern winter” here in the Northeast! I grew up in Mississippi and this winter is like the ones we have there. Much better, as far as I am concerned.

16. I am grateful for an IT person’s ability to remotely access my computer so we don’t need to go through the talk-the-lay-person-through-IT-issues over the phone and my computer just works like it is supposed to work.

15. I am grateful for our IGA, our local grocery store. We live in a rural community, at least 15 minutes from everywhere. Without the IGA, running out to get a few things would be a much bigger deal.

14. I AM GRATEFUL FOR CHOCOLATE, particularly because it pairs so well with one of my other loves: coffee.

13. I am grateful for my daughter’s hugs. Sometimes, out of nowhere, she’ll just say “huh?” and walk over to me with little outstretched arms. And give me the most wonderful hug for no reason other than she wanted a hug with her mommy. I love those precious hugs from my 16-month-old sweetie!

12. I am grateful for my and my daughter’s healthy immune systems. We had a nasty stomach virus for the last four days and I am so glad that we are on the mend. Not everyone is so lucky to be able to fight off viruses and other sickness.

11. I am grateful that my parents treat me like an adult and not a child. It makes my life much easier.

10. I am grateful to have wonderful mommy-friends who have toddlers around the same age as my daughter.

9. I am grateful for ginger ale and cold water and tylenol. Yucky stomach virus is making me feel so crappy. And little Sarah too. Poor little girl.

8. I am grateful my husband is home from work tonight in time to help take care of the baby while she and I are sick with this yucky stomach virus.

6. I am grateful that I have a wonderful daughter who makes every day better and more fun!

5. I am grateful for Eli Manning! Hotty Totty! Go Giants!

4. I am grateful that the people around me who are suffering such tremendous losses right now have inner strength and outer support systems.

3. I am grateful for Girls’ Night Out with my awesome, fun, and funny girlfriends!

2. I am grateful for smart phones. Really, I would be lost without my Droid, and I wouldn’t get nearly as much accomplished.

Feb. 1. I am grateful for 60 degree winter days in CT this year. Very different than this time last year. At least this year I don’t feel like I must move to FL asap!

31. I am grateful for chocolate chip cookies. Do I need to say anything else?! Everything in moderation.

30. I am grateful for dogs (mine in particular, but dogs in general). I was sitting in the park today watching a man and his dog play – fetch, chase, heel, sit, stay. They were both having a great time. So simple, so sweet, so nice.

29. I am grateful for violins. I love the music made with that instrument. It can be lively and fun or sorrowful. I took my baby girl to her first symphony today and was reminded of how much I love violins.

28. I am grateful that it did not rain again today. We needed something a little less dreary today. It was nice to see the sun peaking through; it looked like hope.

27. See my post, A very sad day, for this day’s list.

26. I am grateful that the Danbury Fair Mall has a carousel and indoor play area where we can go to have some fun when it is cold and rainy here.

25. I am grateful for Rraci’s restaurant in Brewster, NY. If you live in the area, it is the best Italian food around and the service is excellent. We celebrated my husband’s birthday there today. Lobster ravioli was delicious!

24. I am grateful for the wireless Sony headphones that I got my husband for Christmas for the TV. Now he can watch “shoot-em-up” movies while I tap-tap-away at my computer and the baby sleeps. I can concentrate, the baby can continue sleeping, and John can hear the guns and the dialogue. Happy family.

23. I am grateful for indoor plumbing. Simple but true. Thinking back to our hurricane and early winter storm and remembering not having running water, not being able to shower or wash hands, or even flush the toilet. My parents grew up without indoor plumbing. I cannot imagine what it was like to have to get up in the middle of the night and go down the hill to the outhouse in the dark in the middle of winter! So, I am grateful for indoor plumbing!

22. I am grateful that my daughter is 15 months old today and continues to amaze me. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to see her learn and grow and become a confident little being. It is one of my favorite parts of mothering: seeing Sarah learn new things and how excited she gets when she accomplishes something new.  If we could all remember to be so excited about such “little” things in our lives!

21. I am grateful for wi-fi and a laptop. I really enjoy being able to sit wherever I like while I work at my computer and being able to move about as well.

20. I am grateful that the people that work in the childcare at the gym are actually really great!

19. I am grateful for our propane fireplace that turns on with a remote control and has a blower to help heat things up during a cold CT winter.

18. I am grateful for WordPress. I am happy that I am able to share knowledge, stories, anecdotes, and hopefully helpful information with so many people at one time. Thanks WordPress for making it simple and effective!

17. I am grateful for a boatload of resources available to new solo practice attorneys. I am not new to the law, but I am new to the practice as a solo, so lots of great resources are very important.

Mommy & Me Yoga

16. I am grateful for my mommy & me yoga class every Monday. It helps keep me healthy and somewhat relaxed (for a person who is not good at relaxing). Because the class is with the babies, I cannot totally focus on yoga and breath like my pre-baby yoga classes, but it is still a wonderful (and necessary) class that I enjoy with my fellow yogi’s and yogini’s.

15. I am grateful for my baby girl’s mostly happy personality. She is a joy every day, and almost all the time. She has her moments, like everyone, but overwhelmingly, she is happy and curious and fun!

14. I am grateful for good friends and great laughs with them.

13. I am grateful for coffee. I know I already said I was grateful for coffee a few days ago, but today it is really just being grateful for the caffeine. Two nights in a row with very little sleep and the caffeine makes me human notwithstanding the lack of sleep so that I can have a somewhat productive day.

12. I am grateful that I no longer commute into NYC every day. I enjoyed my time there today, but I am happy I am not there 5 days a week.

11. I am grateful for our little town’s walking track and park. It makes it so much easier to get outside, get some exercise, and have fun as a family!

10. I am grateful for sunny days. They are motivating!

9. I am grateful for a helpful husband.

8. I am grateful that we have the means to have healthy and delicious food in our home at all times. Not everyone is so fortunate.

7. I am grateful for coffee, particularly good coffee, though I will drink bad coffee too. I actually love coffee. I keep my daily consumption reasonable (no more than 24 ounces) so the caffeine makes my day much better.

6. I am grateful for my parents who raised me to be strong and believe in myself, that if I want to do something, then just figure out how and then do it.

5. I am grateful for a warm house on a cold night with hot water for a lovely shower.

4. I am grateful for my babysitter Ashley who is reliable, calm, sweet, and available. And she cleans house too! Most importantly, Sarah has fun with her and feels safe.

3. I am grateful for hair color; I may have a few (0r more) gray hairs, but I’ll never have to know it!

2. I am grateful that I am able to stay home with my precious baby girl. She is the most interesting person I know and I don’t want to miss any moments with her.

Jan. 1. I am grateful that my husband, daughter, and I are healthy.

For what are you grateful?

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