Tag: Wellness

Are you hungry or are you bored?

Are you hungry or are you bored?

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Ever find yourself munching and snacking most of the day?  Often times your mind gravitates toward eating and snacking when you are bored or exhausted.  I know this is all too familiar to many people.  Many complain of increased eating habits when emotional, exhausted, or bored.  To help counteract this habit, try to stay busy throughout the day by having a schedule, organizing your plans, and not allowing yourself to sit for long periods of time without having something to do such as paperwork, reading, organizing, etc.

Stay busy during the day and in between meals with chores, errands, work, etc.  This keeps you from feeling bored which often leads to unnecessary eating and added calories.  If you can’t seem to find ways to combat your boredom consider some of the options in the picture above!

Of course, my best suggestion and solution if you are bored, is to VOLUNTEER and EXERCISE, which presents endless options!  Volunteer at your local school or hospital, visit a nursing home, get involved with groups and organizations, etc. AND consider exercises such as hiking, walking, basketball, tennis, soccer, running, swimming, playing outside with kids, nephews/nieces, etc.

~jj

Weight is a number…healthy bodies = all shapes & sizes!

Weight is a number…healthy bodies = all shapes & sizes!

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I missed posting last week.  Not intentionally, but because I didn’t have any inspiration for a post and didn’t want to post just to post.  I like to find a passionate topic to talk about each week and last week for some reason nothing came to me.  So to my routine readers, I apologize for the missed entry.  Maybe if you’re lucky I will post twice this week! 🙂

I have been thinking about weight, body image, and how much we judge ourselves (and others) by weight.  We even tend to judge people more by their weight than their personality, pretty typical, but we often say, “Don’t judge a book by the cover and don’t judge a book by its movie” so why don’t we follow this same rule when it comes to people?  More than judging others, we even judge ourselves by the number we see on the scale.  We use that number to decide whether we want to lose weight, how much weight we want to lose, and how perfect (or not) our body is because of our “ideal weight” goal.  So how do we get past this idea of judging ourselves by the number on the scale?  I will share a little secret with you.  I got rid of my scale about 13 years ago.  It’s one thing that I changed  and I haven’t looked back since.  I do not own a scale, I do not know how much I weigh other than a guess and I always ask my doctor to refrain from telling me my body weight.  Why?  Because I don’t want to be able to judge myself by the number staring back at me on a scale.  Instead, I can easily tell how my body weight is doing by how my clothes fit, what foods I am putting in my mouth, and how much physical exercise I am getting in comparison to my daily caloric intake.

So I talked about judging ourselves and judging others, but I didn’t really connect the two.  We know that we judge ourselves and others, but now we must realize that we judge without knowing the health choices a person makes and the lifestyle they lead.  My point is to convey the differences in people and to realize that “healthy” for one person isn’t going to be “healthy” for another person.  Think of it like this: “our” healthy is our own unique “setting” similar to how we look, our personality, our characteristics and traits, goals, aspirations, etc.  While we are all unique in that aspect, we are also all unique in what “our healthy” is and means.  For example, my “healthy” as a 26 year old female might be exercising 5 days a week on my own, high metabolism, few genetic health concerns, but another 26 year old female’s “healthy” might be to exercise in a group class 3 days a week because of her lifestyle, steady, but not fast metabolism, and several genetic health concerns.  My point is that each person’s individual “healthy” is different hence different body shapes and sizes.

Try to remember that healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes.  Often we think or believe that if you are thin, slender, or skinny that the person must be healthy and if a person is large, curvy, or plus-sized that they are fat and unhealthy.  This is so stereotypical and false.  A large person can be healthier than a thin person and a thin person can be healthier than a large person.  Healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes, I cannot say and reiterate this enough.  Physical exercise, eating and nutrition habits, family history/genetics all contribute to a person’s overall health and well being.  It’s something that the world must realize to move forward.  Not only will it make you feel better about yourself, it will make the world a more accepting and less judgmental place.

So, next time you see someone thin, large, slender, plus-sized, etc remember that healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes because all bodies are unique and different.  I will also suggest that next time you consider stepping on the scale that you reconsider and instead use your clothes to judge how well you are meeting your health goals.

~jj

A healthy {March Madness} competition with yourself!

A healthy {March Madness} competition with yourself!

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I was thinking about the blog and March Madness (well, mostly March Madness) because I love sports.  Tennis, basketball, football, soccer, baseball (in person), if it’s on, then I want my television on, but sitting and watching television for hours (let’s face it, sports games aren’t always short…at least 2 hours or more) is not exactly healthy.  Several weeks ago I was working out and thinking how much I enjoy a little competition with myself.  I am not a huge competitor against others (I don’t like comparing myself to others) when it comes to exercising, so running against others or entering events that are timed races are not my cup of tea.  However, I DO love a great competition against myself.  What exactly does this mean?  I love improving the amount of reps I do when I exercise.  For example, if I do 3 sets of 50 crunches, then next time I want to do 3 sets of 60 crunches.  I like the extra push and how I feel once I have surpassed my previous amount of reps.

So, now you might be thinking how does March Madness and having a healthy competition with yourself fit together?  One involves a lot of sitting and the other involves health and competition.  As an avid sports freak and exercise lover, I thought it might be fun to put them together and have a little game against yourself during March Madness.  Why?  Because it’s a great opportunity to combine March Madness and health without allowing yourself to sit for hours at a time!

My challenge to you is to make an exercise bracket when you make your March Madness bracket.  For example, lunges versus squats, see which one you can do more of in a 1 minute interval.  Consider push-ups versus crunches, burpees versus jumping jacks and so on.  Fill out an entire bracket with exercises competing against each other.  I suggest placing the exercises you choose on an actual bracket and have your March Madness basketball bracket with it because here’s how it will work:  You will do each exercise that you have corresponding to the game on your basketball bracket.  For example, if Oklahoma State and Gonzaga are playing, you would have two exercises written next to them.  Lets use squats and lunges for this game.  At some point during the first half you will do squats for 1 minute and write down how many you achieved and once the second half begins, you will do lunges for 1 minute and write down how many you were able to do.  Like with the basketball games, whichever exercise got the most reps during the 1 minute wins and moves on to the next round! 😉  Keep doing this until you have a winning exercise. Get creative, there are lots of exercises you can use, you might consider one yoga pose versus another.  Remember, it’s all in good fun AND it is all to get our butts up off the couch as we sit and watch the upsets and unpredictable outcomes of March Madness unfold!

Here’s an example of an exercise bracket if you are having a hard time coming up with exercises or can’t quite picture it.  Remember you will do the corresponding exercises with the corresponding game that’s on your March Madness basketball bracket (one first half and one second half).  You can either do each exercise for a one minute interval and count the reps for each or choose a goal and see which one meets or comes closest to the goal.  Have fun with this and realize it’s to keep you from sitting the entire time during March Madness!

EAST (yoga): high plank hold v. low plank hold, cobra v. downward dog, spinal balance right v. spinal balance left, tree pose right v. tree pose left, triangle pose left v. triangle pose right, warrior pose left v. warrior pose right, bird of paradise left v. bird of paradise right, staff pose v. mountain pose

WEST (strength training): pushups v. squats, bicep curls right v. bicep curls left, tricep curls right v. tricep curls left, lunges v. wall sit, bicycle crunches v. floor crunches, side pushups right v. side pushups left, right leg balance v. left leg balance, shoulder raise left v. shoulder raise right

MIDWEST (cardio): high knees v. butt kicks, jumping jacks v. burpees, mountain climbers v. russian twists, pogo right leg v. pogo left leg, squat jumps v. plank walks, side2side squat heel touch v. side2side ski jumps, scissor runs v. standing leg kicks, one arm push up left v. one arm push up right

SOUTH (misc): jump rope v. hula hoop, arm circles front v. arm circles back, standing calf raise left v. standing calf raise right, chair left lift right v. chair leg lift left, left arm punches v. right arm punches, wall pushups v. marching in place, right leg lift and hold v. left leg lift and hold, right leg kick v. left leg kick

Hope this provides some March Madness inspiration!  Happy bracketising!  Enjoy your exercise bracket and your basketball bracket.  Hope your basketball bracket is doing better than mine! 😉

~jj

To workout or not? …WORKOUT!

To workout or not? …WORKOUT!

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Do you ever have one of those days where you aren’t sure whether you want to workout or not?  Of course you do, because we all do at one point or another.  The point when you say to yourself, do I really want to workout today or should I take the night off.  It’s one of life’s burning questions!  Well, maybe not exactly one of life’s burning questions for all of us, but you know what I mean! 🙂  You get off work at 4:30, the kids have soccer practice at 6:30, and you aren’t sure whether you have time to fit in a workout, shower, and get the kids fed before practice.  Trust me, time management will allow you to do it and you will thank yourself later!  Skipping workouts is one of the worst things you can do for yourself because it takes you out of your routine.  Even if you can’t do your regular 30-45 minutes of cardio, strength training, or yoga, go ahead and fit in a small workout whether it be a walk or 30 minutes of stretching and at home exercises (i.e. jumping jacks, lunges, squats, push-ups, etc).  Maintaining a routine will help encourage you to stay on track, reach your fitness goals, and make you feel healthier and happier (aka less stress)!

The question at hand: Should you workout today?  Answer: See the infographic to the left!  There aren’t too many reasons that will get you out of the workout, so if you are looking for an excuse you will need to look elsewhere!  There are too many benefits of working out!  If you are considering skipping a workout this infographic will reaffirm to you why you SHOULD get up off your butt and go workout!

It’s March, which means it is time for 5k runs, outside workouts, yard work, walking on trails, swimming, etc so no excuses!  Go WORKOUT!  Why? Because you will thank me later (and yourself too)!  Plus, your physical and mental health will be happier as well!

~jj

Find your “happy workout” :)

Find your “happy workout” :)

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What is a “happy workout”?  A “happy workout” is finding a routine or exercise that you are tremendously passionate about and love so that you can enjoy your workout and what it has to offer you!  One important thing to remember about being consistent with your workouts is making sure you have a workout routine or exercise that you look forward to rather than dread.  The key to being consistent is trying different workout routines and exercises and finding one you feel comfortable with, works the part of the body you want to improve, and makes you look forward to working out.  For example, you might consider zumba classes, cross training classes, walking, running, swimming, yoga, etc.  Once you find an exercise or routine that you enjoy, stick with it.  Don’t feel like you need to change it, especially if you are considering changing to a routine or exercise you don’t like to do.  You are far more likely to give up or not follow through if you don’t like your workout, leaving you frustrated and stressed.

If you become bored with your workout and no longer look forward to it, you know it is time to change it and find something new to keep you going.  You don’t have to keep the same workout every day or every week, but I do suggest that you find a workout routine or exercise that makes you look forward to it.  This will encourage you to workout each day and increase your chances of seeing success.  It may be a workout routine that lasts 2 years or it may be a workout routine that lasts 2 months, but either way it is to your advantage to not only find something you love, but something you love with a passion.  It can be something as simple as jumping rope, a routine you do with an app on your smartphone, a YouTube video, or a routine of pictures you found online.  No matter what it is, if you enjoy it and find it to be something that helps you relieve stress and break a sweat, then you have found “your” workout.  A workout that you have a passion for and look forward to doing sometime during your day.

So, get EXERCISING, have fun, and make sure you LOVE it!  If you don’t love it, then ditch it and find something new (such as some of the options above)!

~jj

Go meatless (sometimes)…and love it!

Go meatless (sometimes)…and love it!

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As I was working out tonight I was thinking about the blog and what might be a good entry this week.  I recently started eating more meatless meals, not to lose weight, not because I think it is healthier, but because sometimes I just don’t crave meat or the thought of meat kind of grosses me out (at times) when I go to fix dinner.  No, I am not a vegetarian and while I know that some people would say it is better for you, I truly believe in “everything in moderation.”  I do what I feel is right for MY body and I suggest you do what you feel is right for yours, too!  In all of my posts, I want to continually emphasize that you should always do what YOU think is best for you and take my advice or leave it, use some of it, and realize that I do not have the answers to each individual’s unique lifestyle and routine.

Since I have been going meatless more frequently than I usually do, I decided I actually kind of enjoy my meatless meals, maybe some more than the ones where I do eat meat.  I typically enjoy “Meatless Mondays” each week, but I have now taken it even farther and decided to also eat at least one meatless meal per day.  So, whether you already occasionally eat meatless or whether you never eat meatless I challenge you to “Meatless Mondays.”  This is a great way to start and ease into what meatless meals can offer!  I promise meatless meals can be just as delicious, fun to cook, and can make your creative juices flow! 🙂   This means you will eliminate meat on Mondays, so no meat at breakfast, lunch, or dinner!  No cheating either!  Sounds challenging maybe, but it really isn’t.  Consider peanut butter toast and sliced apples for breakfast, grilled cheese and veggie soup for lunch, and pizza or pasta minus any meat for dinner.

Once you have “Meatless Mondays” down I encourage you to take it one step farther as I have by eating one meatless meal per day.  That should not be hard and should be a routine that you already have in place.  One meatless meal per day is actually very healthy as the consumption of meat at every meal is not necessary (or healthy)!  It does not have to be the same meal each day.  It can be breakfast one day, then dinner the next, followed by breakfast again, and then lunch the following day.  For example, you might have a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit for breakfast, a spinach and feta quesadilla for lunch, and then chicken parmesan with broccoli for dinner.  You went meatless at lunch so you met your goal for one meatless meal that day.

You say that you can’t get full on meatless meals?  I DON’T buy it!  That’s crazy!  Eat more veggies, which are one of the best things you can fill your body with!  Consider some of the following if you don’t believe me: 1) veggie stir fry with brown rice 2) pasta with a meatless marinara sauce and garlic bread 3) sliced potatoes layered with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, and ranch dressing (potato nachos) 4) breakfast foods including eggs, hashbrowns, waffles, pancakes, french toast, biscuits 5) veggie pizza.  You can’t tell me that none of these foods speak to you because it includes nearly every food group (and all are meatless)!

So, next time you sit down for a meal think MEATLESS!  I know I do and my body still loves me and I feel great!

~jj

Small pieces to the health puzzle…

Small pieces to the health puzzle…

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Need a few quick tips to keep you going through your workouts?  Here are a few things I continuously keep on my radar to ensure I can get through my workouts without feeling tired or bored.

1. Get yours zzz’s.  Sleeping is vital to ensure you feel refreshed.  It helps get you through the whole day, and that includes your workout!  Try to get 7-8 full hours of sleep each night.

2. Stretch.  Just do it.  Even if you are short on time, stretch before and after your workout.  If you don’t think it will help, read last week’s post and it’ll help convince you! 🙂

3. Eat more fiber.  Your body will thank you now and later.  I promise!

4. Drink water, and plenty of it.  What is plenty?  At least 64 ounces each day! That’s eight 8 oz. glasses.  It’s easy.  Spread it out throughout the day…before meals, with meals, and between meals.  Trust me, it’s worth it.  Drinking plenty of water also helps give you a full feeling in your stomach, typically causing you to eat less.

5. Make your meals rather than eating out or on the run.  You eat less healthy food when you eat on the fly.  You tell me you don’t have time to make food?  Pre-plan and pre-make food ahead of time.  Fruits and veggies can easily be sliced and put in a container with water and lemon juice to keep them fresh, sandwiches can be pre-made, whole wheat crackers are an easy throw in.  No excuses!!

6. Find a way to control your stress.  I cannot emphasize this one enough.  Stress is not good for your mind or body.  What’s my way to destress?  Working out and exercising, of course! 🙂

7. Drink…water, not lots of sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages.  Bummer, right?  Not necessarily.  I am not saying give them up, just don’t over do it.  Everything in moderation!

8. Try to limit how often you let your sweet tooth win AND find sweets that are “healthy” sweets.  I sound crazy, right?!  Not exactly.  For example, eat a slice of whole wheat bread with Nutella or cinnamon sugar, chocolate mousse pudding, strawberries dipped in dark chocolate, etc. rather than a huge bowl of cookie dough ice cream or chocolate cake.

9. Exercise regularly.  Not when you want to lose weight or because swimsuit season is coming.  Those are great motivators, but exercising and maintaining your health is a continuous process.  You can’t “diet” for a month, decide to go off the diet, and then back to your previous eating habits and expect to keep your results.  You have to watch what you eat all the time.  You don’t have to restrict your diet of all sugars or all carbs, but eat in moderation instead.  You also can’t decide that you want to lose 20 pounds and then decide it’s time to start walking everyday or going to the gym.  Exercise is a life long commitment.  Why?  Because exercise and eating properly keep your body happy and healthy.  I promise.

These are little things I try to remember.  Not things I just occasionally think about, but truly have engraved into my brain.  Things that are in my phone and on my bulletin board, so they can’t escape my mind.  When I am struggling during a workout, I think about what it’s doing for me.  When I am not drinking plenty of water, I remember, it is what helps get me through my workouts and keeps me focused.  When I want something sweet, I may go ahead and let myself eat something sweet, other times I don’t eat anything sweet at all.  Try limiting yourself to having sweets a certain number of times each week.  You don’t want your body and mind to become accustomed to getting something sweet after every meal or whenever you feel like it.

~jj

Burn v. Pain & Stretching

Burn v. Pain & Stretching

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Exercising is great, but one important thing to realize about exercising is that there are times when you should keep going and times when you should stop and days when you should take the day off and days when you should push through.

Often times, people feel burning sensations in their muscles when they are exercising.  I hear this frequently from people actually.  Burning sensations while exercising (not pain) are completely normal and mean you are pushing your body and muscles during your workout.  When your muscles and body get past the point of burning and feel pain then it is time to stop.  You should not be exercising if your muscles and body hurt or you feel pain.  Exercising should not hurt or evoke pain, AND yes, I will repeat that again…exercise should NEVER be painful or hurt.  Burn, yes.  Burn that leads to soreness, yes to that, too.  In fact, I encourage you to exercise until you feel the burn in your muscles to maximize your results.  Short, intense periods of heavy cardio and exercise are great for you.  This may create sore muscles later in the evening and the next day because of the burning sensation that your muscles feel, but this is normal and actually good for you.  If you can’t walk the next day from soreness, then you probably felt the burn at some point during your workout ;-)!  I stress though that you should NOT be in pain.  Pain is not something that should be associated or linked to exercise.  Exercise is a pleasurable, stress reducer, not a pain inducer! 🙂

Where does stretching come in?  To help alleviate soreness from exercising, remember to stretch, stretch, and then stretch some more.  Stretching is one of the most essential and beneficial ways to not only warm your body and muscles up, but to increase your flexibility and therefore push your exercising capabilities even farther.  Stretching is something that is easy.  It is also one of the BEST things you can do for yourself to progress through workouts so that you can challenge yourself and get better.  The more flexible you are, the better.  This is because the strength you gain from stretching and increasing your flexibility will allow you to push through your workout and workout even longer.  With the above discussion of pain in mind, stretching out before and after your workout will help ease soreness, prevent pain, and allow you to hold exercises longer when you feel burning.

If you aren’t convinced stretching is as great as your actual workout, you should think again!  It will help wake your mind and body up before you hit the intense part of your workout.  I stretch as soon as my feet hit the floor in the morning.  It’s one of the best things I can do for myself to help wake up.  I touch my hands to my toes to stretch my back muscles, and touch my feet to my butt to stretch my legs and thighs.  Nothing too crazy or over the top, but simple exercises to help get me going.  The same can be seen as I go throughout the day.  I frequently stretch 4 or 5 times a day because it helps loosen up my body, destress, and makes me feel refreshed in as little as 2-10 minutes!  How awesome is that?!

So, start thinking about what your body is telling you whether you feel pain or burning and remember that stretching is a great way to prevent soreness from exercise.  I say, get STRETCHING! 🙂

~jj

Do it for your heart health!

Do it for your heart health!

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Happy HEART HEALTH month!  Let’s talk about some important statistics and discuss what you can do to make sure your heart is strong and healthy.  This is a particularly important topic that I hold close to my heart (no pun intended)! 😉  I worked collaboratively with the American Heart Association (AHA) for 2 years and it opened my eyes to the wonderful initiatives and projects of the AHA as well as the severe concerns regarding heart health that face the United States today.

According to the AHA, heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States, claiming more lives than all forms of cancer combined (heart.org).  While this stat is geared toward women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, but heart disease is preventable and controllable (cdc.org).  These stats alone should be enough to make you strive to exercise at least 30 minutes each day so that you can spend many moons making fun memories with friends and family!  Remember, heart disease impacts all shapes and sizes, big or small, as well as every age, young or old.

What can YOU do to help prevent heart disease?

-Eat and maintain a healthy diet.

-Exercise regularly.

-Keep a steady, healthy weight.

-Don’t smoke.

-Regularly check your blood pressure and cholesterol.

For additional or more specific information, visit heart.org (AHA), millionhearts.hhs.gov (CDC), and cdc.gov/features/heartmonth (CDC).

I hope you recognize that the tips, advice, and stories I post each week are to help encourage people to “exercise2behealthy” for this very reason.  Not because I am concerned with the outside of each person, but because I care about the inside and the health concerns such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc. that can be side effects of poor health choices.  Hence, there is no time like the present to get moving and start making healthy dietary choices for you and your family!

~jj

Whole grains = full & focused!

Whole grains = full & focused!

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Whole grains are complex carbohydrates that take the body longer to digest, so their nutrition is released slowly and continuously, leaving you feeling energized and full for much longer, partly because they won’t spike your blood sugar.  They are an excellent source of dietary fiber, protein, iron, potassium, and manganese.

Consider these foods:

Breakfast – oatmeal, steel cut oats, whole grain toast

Lunch – whole grain bread (sandwich), whole grain pasta, brown rice with vegetables

Dinner – whole grain pasta, brown rice, quinoa stir fry

So, next time you fix dinner, sit down to eat, or have a snack, consider whole grain options!

~jj

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