Shopping – Jenna Jamieson, Author

Share Your Joy!

By Jenna Jamieson | December 22, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

Tis’ the season to remember that Christmas isn’t a happy, cheerful, fun, and joyous time for all. Some find this time of year to be extremely hard due to loss, stress, anxiety, financial strain, or internal struggles that many of us may not even be able to see.

It is easy to get wrapped up in the holiday lights, the music, and the lovely Christmas and New Year’s festivities, forgetting the many people that have no one to share the season with, or don’t feel the happiness that others feel throughout the season. There are kids that won’t have presents under the tree on Christmas morning, people suffering from depression and anxiety, divorced parents that must share the holiday with their ex-spouse, and endless situations that create anger, sadness, and uneasiness.

Remember that you have the ability to change that for someone. You can use your joy to help put a smile on the faces of others. Smile at those who are hurting to give them hope and strength that shows them you care. After all, your smile may be the best part of their day. Consider changing the way you celebrate Christmas by decreasing the amount you do in your own family so that you can help give to another family. Further, be willing to reach out and help strangers by delivering cookies, gift certificates, or presents to a family in need. You could help someone putting air in their tires, a shopper who can’t reach groceries on the top shelf, or holding doors for senior citizens. Be sure to also show a little extra appreciation this time of year to those in the customer service field, including retail workers and food service employees who work tirelessly and endlessly throughout the season (often at very low wages) to ensure that others are able to create special memories with their loved ones. (I speak from experience on this one!)

As you wrap up the holiday week, please keep in mind all those that may be suffering. Those are the people we desperately need to reach out and offer a hand to. It can be as simple as a smile, or as elaborate as offering to give to those in need. After all, there are many people that struggle to even meet their basic needs this time of year and all year long.

So my challenge and hope is that by reading this you choose to use my #ProjectKindnessBook to spread YOUR cheer this holiday season. Your cheer could be the difference in someone’s life; even if you only change one life this holiday season, that is better than none. Happy Christmas with love and hugs from me to you! May 2017 be the year of spreading kindness to strangers.

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

Workout shoes matter…a lot!

By Jenna Jamieson | March 19, 2015 | Comments 0 Comment

My boyfriend and I recently went shopping and he ended up buying another pair of running shoes. This is something that people don’t always think about, but it actually is very important. Your shoes can either enhance and help you through your workout or they could be hindering you, causing damage and pain during your workout. There are several things to remember about your workout shoes: 1) Try to keep a general estimate of the number of miles you put on your shoes 2) Have a dedicated pair of shoes that you only use to workout 3) Be sure to find shoes that are specific to your activity–in other words, have running shoes for running, interval/circuit/cross training shoes if you’re doing multi-activity training, walking shoes for walking, and so on.

1) Be sure to estimate the number of miles you are putting on your shoes. Shoes need to be replaced typically after about 500 miles, but can range anywhere from 400-600 miles depending on your level of activity, type of activity, and how much “wear and tear” that is caused by your workout, or naturally occurs over time from extensive use. This is important because when your shoes start to breakdown, the padding which lends support to your feet starts to wear down. Further, your shoe laces get stretched over time and no longer keep your shoes snug and in place causing your shoe to be loose, causing your foot to lose valuable support.

2) Be sure you have a dedicated pair of workout shoes, or if possible two or three pairs that you can rotate to keep from having to replace shoes as often and to stretch their life a bit longer. I am definitely guilty of not switching mine out enough–shoes are expensive, so if you don’t either, you aren’t alone! Additionally, be sure to take shoes off properly—don’t step on the heels to take them off or pull them off without unlacing them. This causes damage and stretching to your shoes altering their protection and support to your feet. P.S. Be sure you are wearing the right size, too! This is vital and can prevent sores, chafing, and rough skin on your feet. If you aren’t sure, just ask to be sized, ask for advice, or even ask if they have a machine or computerized test that can look at each foot to determine where you put the most pressure. These are key components to not only successfully finding the right pair of shoes, but also to keeping your feet healthy and happy! 😉

3) Lastly, and maybe one of the most important tips to remember is to have shoes that are specific to the activity you are performing. Activity-specific shoes are vital to help with your overall success, performance, and can help enhance your ability to last longer, go farther, and challenge yourself more without pain, discomfort, or damage to your feet and heels. After all, your feet are a pretty important part of your body, so be sure to take care of them, appreciate them, and cherish them!

Maybe this gives you an excuse to go shoe shopping?! Or just an opportunity to reevaluate your workout shoes to ensure you have the right type and size!

~jj

Make exercise your positive!

By Jenna Jamieson | October 3, 2014 | Comments 0 Comment

People often feel guilty when they eat lots of junk food or fatty foods over the weekend or skip a workout during the week so some people try to make up for this by punishing themselves with an extra long workout at the gym to compensate for missed days or junk food consumption. There are a few problems with this though. Punishing yourself with an extra hard workout to make up for poor eating habits and missed workouts is like a consequence. Further, remember that pushing yourself too hard and forcing an extra long, strenuous cardio workout is a great way to cause an injury or unnecessary discomfort in your joints and muscles. Rather than using negative reinforcement, try positive reinforcement (which studies show is so much more successful and beneficial). For example, if you workout 5 consecutive days during the week, reward yourself with a small treat, shopping spree, etc during the weekend rather than punishing yourself because you ate a lot of carbohydrates all weekend and therefore need to make yourself get through an intense, two hour long workout.

Further, if you allow yourself to use exercise as a “punishment” your brain begins to associate exercise as a negative consequence for guilty or poor choices that you make. Don’t do this! You don’t want your brain to begin to feel as though exercise is a punishment. Otherwise, this impacts your reality and feelings toward working out and exercise.

The solution is to try to maintain a routine and workout accordingly. Did you slip up over the weekend and eat too much junk food, fatty foods, carbohydrates, or sweets? Take a short walk or bike ride over the weekend mid-day or early evening to help balance it out so you don’t feel guilty or pressure to force a long workout in at the gym. Use positive reinforcement and goals so that you can practice moderation. Lastly, remember that exercise and fitness releases positive endorphins, improves your mood (by the end of the workout!), relieves stress, and I could go on and on. The take all is that the benefits of exercise are astounding so don’t forget that what you gain from working out and the results you will see over time should be positives that keep you going back for more! 😉

~jj

Park to your advantage!

By Jenna Jamieson | September 24, 2013 | Comments 0 Comment

When you are running errands such as going to the grocery store, shopping at the mall, eating out, etc park as far away from the door as possible. Take the opportunity to get in some exercise without wasting the time of circling around the parking lot or waiting for a close parking spot! This allows you to get some walking in, and while it may not seem like very much, it is still a great way to get some extra steps in during the day. I also like to park in one lot and walk to all the places I need to go rather than re-parking each time when I have several places to go that are within walking distance of each other (i.e. strip mall, my grocery store is located next to Kohl’s). So next time you are making several stops, remember to get some exercise in too!

~jj