Posts Tagged ‘healthy’

Self-Confidence - how to get it…

Why can’t we all be full of self-confidence and walk out knowing exactly what we want and having the tools inside ourselves to get it - well the secret key to self-confidence isn’t far away and by following these steps you’ll be even closer to a happier, more confident life…

Know Yourself

It may sound like a stroll down ego street but when you have no self-confidence this is exactly what you need to do - get a pen and a pad and write down your top qualities that make you who you are…

Fold up the piece of paper and put it in your pocket so you can take it around with you to remind yourself about just how great you are…and you are great!

Remember Yourself

No matter who you are you haven’t come this far without a single achievement - there is success in all of our pasts!  Look back and think of all your successes and write them down.  Remember what you went through to achieve these successes and you’ll start to realise that you can do great things indeed!  When you believe in yourself then you can do almost anything.

Remember to Be Your Greatest Fan

Don’t attack yourself for trying something - instead give yourself the backing that you deserve.  Instead of beating yourself down and thinking negative thoughts start cheering yourself on and congratulating yourself!  You’ll thank yourself for being so nice…

Remember to Accept

The next time someone serves you up a compliment don’t shy away and refuse to accept it - instead accept the compliment and do your confidence a favour!  But after so many years of feeling awkward around compliments how will you know what to do when someone throws one at you?

It’s easy - when someone compliments your hair, smile or work then simply smile, make face-to-face contact and thank them!  Job done…

Remember Body Language

If you stand tall then your confidence will as well - work on your posture and stance…body language will more often than not say more than simple old words.  Conveying a strong position will allow others to know that you are feeling strong in your confidence and you’re feeling good.

Remember Positivity

It’s one thing to stay positive but positive affirmations are a great way of reminding yourself everyday to stay positive and fight off any negativity ready to attack you when you wake up.

Don’t write a dissertation - instead keep them short and sweet and appropriate to switch a negative belief into a positive one!  Utter them to yourself whenever you get a chance - often standing in front of a mirror can help you connect your words to the person…

Self-Confident or Self-Loathing?

Do you find that your self-confidence holds you back or do you already do your affirmations in the mirror already?  Let us know what you do to give yourself a boost.

Memory – More than just a card game…

If you are reaching that age where memory is starting to annoy you a little too much and you want to do something about it then read on!  A new study has shown that playing video games can actually do your memory wonderful things…is it time to buy an Xbox?

The survey showed that you can boost your memory by playing on games that involve planning and strategy.  These games cannot only help with your memory but they will also aid your other mental abilities.

The research was carried out by the American Geriatric Society’s Foundation for Health in Ageing.  But is it really time that you ran out to your local Game Station to buy an Xbox and 15 games to keep your mental abilities functioning?  Probably not…

Games aren’t the only saviour!

Don’t worry, gaming isn’t the only tool in your arsenal to fight off the memory woes you’re facing – other research has found that people can help their memory by simply expecting to remember things…

Furthermore our old friends the carbohydrates can do us all a turn when it comes to memory so get munching if you’ve started to forget where you’ve parked your car or misplaced your keys recently.

And if you find that you mutli-task then stop right now – apparently multi-tasking is a bit of a memory drainer so take your time and do one thing at a time.  Work on focusing on one task!

Foods can help too!

But if video games and ‘single-tasking’ aren’t very attractive to you then maybe you should have a bite on some of these foods which work to improve your memory;

Blueberries – These little beauties have popped up a number of times when it comes to foods that help with memory loss.  Ageing rats were fed blueberries and then made to take a memory test – they out-performed the young rats!

Spinach – Again rats feature with spinach too – a study actually showed that spinach didn’t only help prevent the effects of memory loss in rats it reversed the it.  Imagine what it could be doing for you right now!

Onions – Onions of the red variety contain the likes of anthocyanin and quercetin, an antioxidant that has been proven to fight against the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.  Yellow and white apples also have high levels of quercetin as do Apples for that matter.

Grapes – Grapes are another food full of quercetin and anthocyanin – whether red, black or purple grape they all hold the mental goodness.  So obviously it makes sense that the same can also be found in red wine.  However we all know that too much red wine can often lead to severe memory loss of the night before so keep it light.

Food or Games?

So after reading through the article do you think you’re going to be turning to food to help your memory worries or are you going to be rushing out to buy a few games to play?  Let us know what you think…

When a walk turns into a run…

Walking

Now the sun has popped his hat on and is ready to come out to play in the beautiful spring weather there are no more excuses for keeping your running shoes tucked away safely in the back of your wardrobe.

Walking could be classed as the easiest form of exercise you could ever want to do – all you need are your shoes and a street and away you go for as long as you want!

You can walk on a flat surface or you can pick a mountain and climb up it – walk on your own, with family, friends, loved ones, pets.  Do it with whoever, whenever, for as long as you want!

Start slow…

However, don’t start out at a pounding rate.  Instead start slow and work your way up to a more vigorous pace.  You might not feel the benefits after the first walk but after you’ve built your walk up to a steady, brisk pace you should start to enjoy watching the pounds slide off your hips.

Don’t forget, no matter what exercise you start to do you should always consult a doctor first – get the nod you need from the doctor to make sure you aren’t going to collapse as soon as you step out onto the street!

Running

So walking is great, but you want to take it to the next level?  Running is the next obvious step up the chain…you’re finding yourself in your training shoes and you’re walking the streets around your area but you aren’t getting anything?  Run!

Again you don’t have to do it on your own – go it alone, go with some mates or again take your dog.  You can run whenever you want.  If you find that you have a free hour then go out for a jog.  You have a whole day off?  Go for a run…

Running has its benefits!

Running is great for fitness for two main reasons – the first is that running uses more energy faster than if you were walking.  They say it takes about the same amount of energy to run a mile or walk a mile, but if you can run a mile in 7 minutes then you’ll be burning off that energy a lot faster than if you were walking.

Secondly walking for some people may not be enough to raise their heartbeat to the needed level for exercise to take effect.  Your heart rate should be in the 60-80 per cent range which is the optimal training zone – if it isn’t then running is definitely the answer!

The thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t be doing anything too strenuous – if you feel like you’re going to die running then cut back a little and jog or walk.  You don’t want to kill yourself getting fit…

Running or walking?

What do you prefer to do with your free exercise time?  Are you a runner or a walking freak?  Let us know…

Surprise: White bread isn’t good!

Taste

For a start there is a difference in taste – after all if brown bread and white bread tasted the same then we’d probably all choose the healthier option for breakfast.  Brown bread can be quite an interesting taste experience if you’ve spent the last 3 decades chewing on the white stuff.

A good idea if you are thinking of making the exchange from white to brown is to take it slowly.  If you make a sudden move for the brown you might be put off but if you work your way through the steps, stopping at all the breads in between white and brown, then you should find that brown bread is actually the way forward.  Give light rye a try and work from there…

No Nutritional Value

White bread is made from wheat flour and is bran and germ free – as you can imagine these are the nutritional bits that you won’t be getting with your morning egg soldiers.

White bread falls short when it comes to the likes of zinc, thiamine, fibre, niacin, and trace elements and not to mention our old favourites the “good” fats and oils that we need in our daily diet.

Bleached

So what’s left in the white bread?  Flour of course…but don’t get on your high horse just yet!  The flour that’s left in the bread is bleached using oxidising agents that could actually kill you if you were to swallow them, inhale them or rub them on your skin – you’re eating it!

The people at the bakery will be throwing in anything from Potassium Salt, Bromic Acid, Potassium Bromate, Benzoyl Peroxide or Chlorine Dioxide – a cocktail of hazardous chemicals that you would stick your nose up at if you saw at your local Asda.

Brown doesn’t mean brown!

So you might be thinking that you are one of the good guys munching on your ‘brown bread’ – well don’t be tricked…just because it says ‘brown bread’ doesn’t necessarily mean it is any different to white bread!

Real brown bread is whole wheat or wholemeal.  Check out the ingredients on the side of the packet and make sure you know exactly what you’re putting into your mouth.  If you see enriched/wheat flour then forget it – this is exactly the same stuff they chuck into white bread so you won’t be getting all the added benefits of the wholemeal goodness!

As a basic rule of thumb the few ingredients the better so keep that in mind the next time you’re out shopping for bread.

White or Brown?

What do you choose when you have a sandwich?  Do you reach for the white or do you go down the healthier route and go wholemeal?  Leave us a comment and let us know…

Five a day keeps you healthy and happy!

Have you ever really thought about how you are supposed to get your five a day?  It can be pretty scary when you think about it too much…five a day – that’s like veg every couple of hours.  Isn’t that a lot?

You need to relax and not make such a big deal about it…don’t see it as a challenge but instead as a helpful guideline that you should stick to if you want to live a healthier lifestyle.

So how can you do it?  It’s not as hard as you might think…keep these tips in mind;

Spread It Out

If you think that you have to have five fruits or vegetables in the day you will panic and stuff your face and never want to look at another apple again.  Don’t do this!  Instead work them into your meals – introduce a couple of berries in with your breakfast, some vegetables in with lunch and have a banana as a snack in between lunch and dinner – before you know it you’re had your fill!

Mix It Up

You might think that you’re on the right track by munching on the same five fruit and veg every day, but you’re not – you’re going to get bored fast and you’ll put yourself off the whole thing.  Not only that but you also need to remember to try as much fruit and veg as possible as each portion has something different to give you on a nutritional level.

Try Something New

We don’t live in 1940s Britain anymore – we can get more than oranges and apples now.  Have you seen the range of fruits and veg around the country?  You won’t have a clue how each one tastes without actually trying them so get out and try something new – you might find your favourite vegetable or fruit from a country on the other side of the globe…the point is you won’t know without trying!

Enjoy

You won’t stick at anything for long unless you are truly enjoying it.  Don’t force a banana down your neck if you’re going to live in misery every minute of the day counting down the time until your next mouthful.  Try something else and keep testing out other things until you have found something you are comfortable with.  Don’t be scared of the five a day but embrace it as a new way of living that is going to do great things for your body and your health.  You’re doing it for yourself so enjoy it!

What about you?

Do you give much thought to your five a day?  Can you not live without your fruit and vegetables?  Can you even remember the last time a piece of fruit touched your lips?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think…

Baking bread – have you thought about doing it?

Have you ever really put a lot of thought into the possibility of making your own bread?  Do you struggle against the possibility or are you slightly intimidated by the thought of having a loaf that doesn’t come wrapped in a plastic bag?  Baking your own bread can be a great thing to do…but why?

Healthy

That’s right – it’s quite obvious but baking your own bread is a lot healthier for you than buying a loaf from the supermarket.  For a start you are the one putting in the ingredients and if you can’t trust yourself then who can you trust.

Say goodbye to breads that contain the likes of chemical additives, hydrogenated oils, unhealthy preservatives and sweeteners.  Instead welcome in the freshness of eggs, flour and our old favourite, nutrition!

The shops tend to want to trick unsuspecting shoppers in an attempt to get as much money out of them as possible – this is not new news.  When you go out and buy your whole meal bread you aren’t always getting what you think – a lot of the time whole meal bread is just white bread that is given the colouring of whole meal to make you think that it is filling you up with healthy treats.

You aren’t going to fall into that naughty little trap at home, are you?  You can be 100 per cent sure of exactly what is going into your loaf and therefore what exactly you are going to get out when it is ready!  You want whole meal, you get whole meal…no arguments from your ingredients.

Taste

Imagine a bread that is made entirely out of fresh ingredients.  It’s going to taste good and fresh – that’s what you are going to get when you bake your loaf at home.  You will probably be shocked at how good home made bread can taste – many people claim to be able to taste the chemicals in shop bread after a while on the home made stuff.

We don’t eat bread because it’s good for us and it’s a necessity – we eat bread as an indulgance most of the time…a little bread and butter or jam or marmalade – we want the taste!  So why not get the most out of your loaf by making it yourself.  Welcome to flavour country!

Money

You might think that it is cheaper to buy supermarket loaves at 80p a loaf, or even 30p in some cheaper supermarkets, compared to a couple of quid for the ingredients you will use to make the bread yourself.  But the thing is you need to keep in mind how many loaves you will be able to make for your couple of quid – the ingredients should last you for ages while your supermarket loaf will last you a couple of days before going green.

What about you?

Have we convinced you to bake your own bread yet?  Are you itching to taste the freshness of home baked bread or are you going to stick to supermarket loaves?  Let us know…

Walking can save your life!

Walking is a great way to get outside and get a little bit of exercise under your belt – but if it is actually exercise you’re after then perhaps walking isn’t the best avenue for you.  Although you think you’re doing great things for your body, you could be moving too slowly to feel any of the benefits!

A study by the American Heart Association has shown that a moderate to brisk walk can do wonders for lowering your blood pressure as well as reducing your chances of getting diabetes.  You will also be fighting off those bad cholesterol levels.  So what can you do to add a bit of oomph into your walk?

Speed

You don’t have to be gearing up to power walk in the Olympics but it won’t hurt to kick it up a notch!  Build your walk up from a relaxing stroll to a brisk pace – you should be aiming to jump up to around a 15 minute mile which is around 3.5 miles an hour.

Work at it gradually and you’ll see the benefits in no time – don’t be scared, be strong!

Uphill Struggle

You’ll be doing more for your body walking up and down hill as your body will be working harder to deal with the inclines.  So effectively you will be having a better walk if you leave the treadmills to the gym-heads and take to the terrain.

Shoes

Don’t wear the wrong shoe – wear a shoe that provides you with the necessary padding that you need for a brisk walk.  All too often we look for shoes that will provide comfort when in fact walking shoes will supply the support where you actually need it!  The wrong shoe will do a lot of damage and will knacker you out a lot faster!

Weights

Don’t worry, you aren’t going to look like Arnie but you should think about throwing a little weight into the routine.  If you carry light weights in your hands as you walk you will be tuning up your upper body muscles without even really feeling the pressure.  Don’t use heavy weights as you’ll probably just do yourself an injury and put yourself off the whole walk which is not what you want at all.

Stride

Think about your stride and try lengthening it – you might feel as though you will be doing more by taking shorter paces but in fact you will be doing a better job if you stick to your walk.  The longer strides will help you burn off more calories and won’t tire you out as fast.  Don’t worry about looking silly either as you’ll just look determined and everyone will love you for it!

What about you?

Do you love a good walk but have been looking for ideas about how to take it to the next level?  Have you got any advice that you think could help our readers?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think…

Happiness is only a few steps away…

What does it take to be happy?  That’s a question for the ages…if we all knew that answer to that then there would be no war, hunger, poverty and general upsets around the world…however, I can tell you what will make you happier!

It doesn’t involve spending all your time and money on a fad new Zen body trip…if you follow a few simple steps you will find that you will start to feel happier by doing very little!  But will you do it?  That’s another big question…don’t be negative about it, follow a few of these steps right now to make yourself feel a little happier about the day…

Activity

The more activities you do the more you will be boosting your energy levels.  There is always an opportunity to boost your energy levels so don’t take any excuse you can think of – if you’re working on your computer take 10 seconds out to do some star jumps, if you’re on the phone walk around, don’t just sit there looking glum…

Walk

Walking is one of the most relaxing things you could do but it has also been proven that sunlight actually stimulates brain chemicals that boost your mood.  Go out and get some sun on your face and you will feel better!

Free Yourself

If you’ve been haunted by that note on the fridge reminding you to cancel your magazine subscription then get going and cancel it – don’t let it fester away in your mind as “the task you need to do”.  Get it done and move on – you’ll feel lighter and happier by putting it in the past!

Tidy Up

If you’re sitting in mess then your brain will also feel cluttered.  Clear up your desk, how long will it take…5 minutes?  10?  Just do it and you’ll feel as though you’ve been freed from a prison of paper and clutter.  You’ll be surprised how refreshed you will feel afterwards.

Fake It!

This might sound as though it would make you feel worse but you should actually fake feeling good because after a while you will trick yourself into believing that you do actually feel good.  Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that you’re stupid and you can easily trick yourself…it has been scientifically proven that a fake smile can actually boost your mood.  Give it a try, it won’t cost you anything…

Educate Yourself

Spend 15 minutes searching the Internet about a topic that you have no clue about – pop to a bookstore and buy a book about something that you have never even heard of.  Teach yourself something new and you’ll find that you will be feeding your mind and making yourself happier in the process.  Don’t go crazy and go straight for the astro-physics – pick something that you think will interest you!

What about you?

How do you make yourself happier?  Do you agree with our methods?  Have you given them a go?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think…

Be healthy – get a blender…

Everyone wants to be healthy – being a slobby, unfit couch potato is soon to be a thing of the past as people are turning to shots of grass water and liquid vitamins – one of the best ways of staying healthy is by chucking a load of fruit into a blender and having a drink of a smoothie.

Smoothies have gone from strength to strength over the last decade and more and more of us are turning to our blenders to provide us with healthy alternatives to mid-day snacks.  You probably have one in your kitchen right now…

But why smoothies?  There are massive benefits from smoothies, much more than simple juice – if you buy a bottle of orange juice from the shops you won’t be getting the whole fruit, meanwhile in a smoothie you know that the whole apple that you are putting into the blender is what you are going to be putting down your neck!

Where do we start?

So where do we start with smoothies?  Unfortunately it mostly isn’t just a case of chucking in some fruit and hoping for the best – smoothies are liquid based so they can actually be drunk.

To make a smoothie drinkable we need to add a liquid base like fruit juice, milk, yoghurt or ice cream.  If you want to steer clear of dairy products then you can experiment with the likes of Soy milk or Rice…have a go at each base until you find one you like.

So you have your base, no pick your fruit.  The great thing about smoothies is that you are completely in control – long gone are the days of having to stick to a single fruit juice like apple of orange.  Get adventurous – strawberrys, blackberrys and apples?  Orange, pineapple and kiwi?  Who knows – give them all a go.

Don’t forget to prep…

Don’t forget to peel the fruit if necessary as if you would if you were munching on the fruit on its own.  Once the fruit is ready then add it to your liquid base and away you go!  You might want to add ice to the smoothie to cool yourself down on that hot summer’s day?

Another alternative to using ice is to actually freeze the fruit before you use it – this is not only a great way to keep the drink naturally chilly but the smoothie will actually turned out to be a thicker, and often more satisfying, texture.

Keep your eye on the thickness of the smoothie and keep applying your liquid base if you need to.  If you have found you’ve gone over board with the base and it’s now to thin then slap in some more fruit – it’s easy and it’s going to taste great!

What about you?

Are you a smoothie fan?  Are you a health fanatic?  Did you find our smoothie advice helpful?  Are you going to rush out to buy a blender?  Leave us a comment and let us know…

Spring exercise tips…

It’s pretty tough trying to motivate yourself to get fit when the snow is coming down fast and thick.  But now the excuses have to go straight out the window because Spring is going to give you the chance to get out there and allow you to start on the path to a healthy and fit lifestyle.

Take your time – Don’t go all out on the weekend and destroy your body and then do nothing through the week.  You won’t be doing your body any favours but instead you’ll be doing yourself an injury, quickly.

Instead of storming away the hours in the gym over the weekend and then doing nothing through the week you should be aiming to do around 3 or 4 days a week on alternate days to make sure that your body will cope with the dramatic change from couch potato.

Keep your eye on your exertion – It is important to keep your eyes on the intensity levels of your work out wherever possible.  Start small and build it up over time rather than heading in to a harsh workout that you won’t want to do a day or two down the line.

Don’t rush – It’s definitely a good idea to increase your training over time, but you’ll do damage if you increase your training to rapidly.  Build it up, but do it slowly.

If you build up your training by more than 10 per cent each week then you’ll seriously be increasing your risk of injury so remember to increase your training slowly.

Regain your fitness – After a lazy winter it could take you up to 6 weeks to regain your fitness from Autumn.  Don’t rush it but instead start slow because your body just won’t be up for it.

If you feel that you have to do some “all-out” training then you must allow at least 48 hours between sessions to allow your body to regain its strength.

Training programme – You need to organise a training programme if you want to regain a previous level of fitness and you need to be able to stick to it.  It’s a good way of knowing exactly what your doing and will also be a good motivation tool.

Give yourself a chance – Don’t expect your fitness levels to be at the same level that they were before you decided to take the Winter off.  It’s going to take time to build it back up and you have to have a little faith a will power to make it happen.

Don’t worry about time because there are plenty of months to come of nice weather where you’ll be able to enjoy the outdoors – if you could run for an hour before the Winter then work back up to that standard…if you just rush into it you’ll do yourself an injury.

What about you?

Have you found our advice helpful?  Have you got some advice of your own?  Leave a comment and let us know what you think…