…your Online Wellness Coach  

This issue:  I’m Exercising Why???  Please Remind Me!

Here’s some news you may not know already.  Cutting down on calories helps you lose more weight than does exercising.  Having said that, however, leads me to another point—research shows that those who don’t exercise will put the weight back on within 3 to 5 years. 

So, the best way to manage your weight issues is to combine both calorie restriction and regular physical activity.  Over the long haul you will be better able to keep the weight off AND be better able to ward off health issues, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, enjoy an improved quality of life with more energy, and find yourself moving around much more easily.

Here are some more interesting facts about exercising.  The heavier you are, the more calories you’ll burn.  The more often, the longer, & the more intensely you work out, the more calories you’ll burn, as well. 

So, according to the experts at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota, getting started necessitates that you get your doctor’s ok beforehand and then get moving! One of their suggestions is to walk, but don’t rule out other aerobic activities, such as swimming, biking, as your fitness improves.  Along that line, gradually increase the distances you travel and the speed at which you move. 

Try different training methods.  One calls for you to move at different speeds, instead of keeping one steady pace.  Interval training involves you pushing yourself a little harder than normal.  Go a little faster, breathe a little harder-for 1 or 2 minutes, and then back off to a speed you’re more comfortable with.  Be sure to breathe easier before trying to push yourself again in that same workout.  Do this several times.

Another way to vary your routine is to try different activities.  Walking is fine, but other options involving low impact aerobics are using an elliptical machine, swimming and biking.  Choosing different activities each week can help prevent boredom, lessen the likelihood of repetitive injuries, and work different sets of muscles. 

One last reminder—begin your workout with a warm up of 5 minutes or so, plus, end with a cool down of another 5 minutes.  Nobody wants to take the time for these, yet they are both important.  Just start out at a slower pace than usual & end with this slower pace, as well.  In our mad rush to finish the workout we may tend to ignore this advice, but it’s really not a good idea.  As a matter of fact, if research discovers that it’s not proven to be effective, I promise you…I’ll write & let you know immediately! 

So, if it’ll entice you to go farther and faster by knowing how far you’ve gone, or how many steps you’ve taken, get yourself a pedometer & get moving!  We have nothing to lose but some pounds and everything to gain, including better health.  There really are many positives to be had as we pursue better physical fitness.  Find out for yourself what they are!

Happy Valentine’s Day!  Steph

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There is no pill to get you to a time in your life when this idea will change, unfortunately.  Working out & watching what we eat won’t go away.  That’s why I say not to think of dieting or exercising until you reach some goal aways off. 

It’s so much easier, I think, to keep on doing the best you can with both areas of your life.  Plan your exercise.  Plan your daily eating & drinking.  Sometimes you go off your plans, but keep them going! 

When we prioritize we find what’s important.  Having good health is one plan worth striving for!  It gives us the opportunity for so much more living.

This isn’t a first attempt in life, and we surely can’t get a “do over”!  Don’t think something better will come to allow you to eat whatever you want anytime.  And experts announcing no need to exercise for better health isn’t going to happen, either.  Stinks, doesn’t it???    Stephanie

You can order small sizes-even at places like Star Bucks, McDonalds, the movie theater, or that favorite stop ‘n shop.  Of course, the best bet is to eat at home, but the same rules apply-choose a smaller serving size. 

Get into the habit, shrink your stomach, & begin feeling better right away!  Avoiding the big servings with every morsel or drink that touches your lips is the best thing you can do for yourself! 

Eat fewer, smaller meals.  Can’t go wrong with this eating plan!  Stephanie

PS  After a December of overindulging, I’ve got to follow my own advice!  Ordering smaller isn’t difficult, but reducing the serving sizes of foods on my plate is!  Seems I’ve gotten used to more & my stomach is craving greater amounts than it did a month or so ago.  Eating healthier means eating less of healthy foods, too.

I am offering an online service to help with that action plan.  If you’re interested, let me know.  Via Skype, we can have personal interviews almost as good as in person!  The difference?  You’ll have to give me your numbers.  I won’t be able to weigh you. Smile!  :)  Stephanie

January 2nd will be here soon enough!  (Why is it that Christmas holidays come and go so quickly, anyway??)  Make a plan & begin.  You can alter the progress as you need to, but start with a deadline for yourself & go with it.  Get yourself set for a healthier lifestyle, not a life full of sacrifices.  You’re not planning to diet until ……    You are putting yourself into a healthier living mode.  Life brings with it many changes, but a change from that isn’t part of the plan.  Pushing yourself toward better eating & fitness brings far more than you might expect!  A better image of you, for example.  More energy.  Less negativity.  Less stress.  Better health.  A more positive outlook toward life.  

I’m sure you can come up with many additional ideas, but you get the gist.  Here’s hoping your ideas help your 2010 be all you want it to be, and nothing less.            Stephanie

Robert F. Kennedy said, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”  What can possibly cause you to fail in your wellness attempts, but your own inaction?  Life isn’t a “Pass” or “Fail” option!  We’re always a work in progress.  Who cares if we don’t reach standards we’ve set so high, if in the end we’ve done our best to achieve what’s most important to ourselves?

What’s so wonderful, is that they, too, are listening & doing something now to help themselves age healthfully. 

Not waiting until they truly are “old” is the best news yet!

Thanks, guys!!  It was great hearing from all of you, regardless of age!  Steph

                    …your Online Wellness Coach  

This issue:  Healthy Aging

Last issue I wrote about the basics for staying healthy.  Without trying to appear too redundant, I’d like to share a special report from the Harvard Medical School that focused on living better AND living longer.  Who cares if we extend our lives, if it just means we live longer??  I have no desire to be around if I can’t be disease-free, relatively pain free, & still doing things that give me enjoyment!  Forced to be at home and not able to perform even simple everyday tasks will come, perhaps, but I’d like to push that far into my future (and yours, as well)!  So, once more, I’ll share what I can to encourage you to be all you can be both now & in the future.

Here is a list of recommendations from that report:

          Avoid Tobacco

          Stay Physically Active

          Stay Mentally Active

          Eat Right

          Stay Connected

          Keep Blood Pressure under Control

          Keep Cholesterol under Control

          Keep Blood Sugar under Control

          Keep Waistline under Control

            Drink Alcohol in Moderation

                (1 drink/day – women; 2 drinks/day – men)

          Reduce Stress

          Get Enough Sleep

          Recreate-that is, Have Fun

Focus on ways to aim for better control of the above & you’re on your way to becoming a healthier & happier you!    Stephanie

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Perhaps that “luck” is part hard work mixed in with it!  One friend of mine recalls her aunts calling my friend’s mother lucky she had what she had when she retired.  Luck??  She worked her butt off for many, many years!  Call her lucky in that she got lots of physical exercise all those years working alongside her husband.  That’s where her luck came into play, if you ask me.

I’ve heard people say to others, “Oh, you’re so lucky you don’t have to whatever.”  Yet, those others are making their own luck each day by working toward their goals and achieving them.

Want to get lucky & avoid doctor prescribed medications needed to protect your body?  Try beginning an exercise program that helps you become stronger & works your lungs and your muscles, including your heart.  THAT’S how you get to say, “Yes, I am very lucky!  I’ve been fortunate.  I am able to choose workouts and eating patterns that help me prevent, or delay, the onset of diseases that work their way into our lives as we become older.”

Make some of your own luck.  Begin your wellness program now.   

Wishing you many years of good luck!  Stephanie