HealthyLivingIdealist

Living healthy is a choice that is never simple but together we can help each other make it a little easier to achieve

[wellnessidealist]

Words to live by during Dr. Seuss week!!

[wellnessidealist]

ACE - Certified™: February 2019 - Green Exercise – Into the Wilderness

There’s no question that exercise provides numerous health benefits, but a growing body of research suggests that exercising in a “green environment” may provide even more health benefits when compared to exercise alone. Here are some practical recommendations you can make to your clients based on the latest research on green exercise.

This article gives us another reason why we need to disconnect from our devices more and get outside.  Exercise is already great for us and living a healthier life but just being outdoors when performing exercise can raise the overall benefits exponentially!  

[wellnessidealist]

Showing Support goes a long way for Success!

A very close friend has started on a journey of making herself healthier both physically and mentally.  She needs to lose some weight, she sits at a desk all day looking at a computer, and her husband (who happens to be my best friend) does not provide her with the support she needs.  

After reading that you may think that she is going to have an up hill battle to achieve her goals, but she has found support in may other areas.  Her place of work has provided her with support, her chiropractor provided her with all the tools needed to change her diet, and she has received support from myself and wife.

What I’m trying to say is to not give up on goals you set out to achieve.  There will be outside forces causing you to second guess yourself but support comes in many ways.  Finding that support will make your journey easier and much more enjoyable so please don’t give up on any goals you set for yourself, and also support anyone you know who has a goal they want to meet.  You never know, you might get just as much satisfaction as they do when that goal is met.

[wellnessidealist]

“The road to success and greatness is always paved with consistent hard work. Outwork your competitors, be authentic and above all else. Chase your greatness.”

~ Dwayne “the rock” Johnson

[wellnessidealist]

Bringing Happiness to Each Other

Based off my experience, here are the things I have found to work that can help bring some happiness into a spouse’s day (who also happens to be a teacher).

Cook a Great Meal

After a long day of trying to keep kids with an attention span that lasts a few minutes or dealing with teenagers who are more focused on their social media accounts, the last thing a teacher wants to do is come home and wonder what they will eat for dinner. So you’re not Bobby Flay, who cares look something up online or find out what their favorite meal is and have it ready or cooking when they get home. I have seen my wife smile more times than I can count when she has walked in, dinner is plated, and on the table waiting for her.

Also, try to cook a healthy meal. After recess and lunch room duty teachers don’t get a lot of time to themselves to eat and it’s much easier to throw together something that is high in calories, highly processed, and only takes three minutes to cook in the microwave.

Workout Together

Everyone knows the benefits of exercise from a fitness stand point, you lose weight, boost your metabolism, tone your muscles, etc. There are also a ton of benefits to exercise from a mental standpoint. Exercising lowers stress, increases self-confidence, increases mood, and helps you sleep better. And working out with a partner is even better. Studies have shown that working out with a partner boosts your motivation, exercise becomes more fun, and maybe the most important, it is a great way to strengthen your relationship.

Listen

The most important thing anyone can do, spouse or not, is just listen. Teachers listen to everyone else’s problems, concerns, etc. all day but once they leave school teachers need someone to listen to them. I have found that just listening, and not adding my input unless asked, can put a teacher’s mind at ease. The work place can be filled with gossip and rumors which doesn’t make it the best place to talk about the events of your day. So if you are the person a teacher goes to for venting or just talking through their day to release some of the stress that has built up then you need to give them your undivided attention for as long as they need it.

Being happy is something we all strive for and that includes making sure the important people in our lives are also happy. I think of a quote I once saw from J.K. Rowling “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light.”

Just remember to turn the light on frequently and lend a helping hand to thos who can’t quite find the switch!

[wellnessidealist]

So many people are in denial when it comes to making real change and will never come out of the Pre-contemplation stage.  I have a family member who will make up any excuse to fight me on the topic of making conscious decisions that will have an effect on their life in some manner.  Their reasoning is that we all die eventually so why restrict ourselves from anything that would change the way we want to live.  

Me being the personal trainer and strong believer in living a healthy lifestyle argues that we can have moments of indulgence, and really we need to to stay sane, but at the same time when those moments become the norm our health will begin to suffer.  When this happens will our lives be shortened because we chose to eat that extra bacon cheeseburger, or ended up with type 2 diabetes because of our decisions and still didn’t change even after the fact.

We can’t just let people who are unaware of a problem or choose not to acknowledge it stay within the Pre-contemplation stage because they may be the ones who need the help the most.  Once they do realize there is a problem they need the support to continue through all the other stages until they are able to maintain their new lifestyle and still live the life they want. 

[wellnessidealist]

ACE - Certified™: February 2019 - Step Tracking With Goals Increases Children’s Weight Loss in Behavioral Intervention

Obesity affects 17% of children and adolescents in the United States. This study looks at a simple but innovative approach to not only increase children’s physical-activity levels, but also improve their psychosocial health and enhance weight loss. Is pedometer use, coupled with individualized goal setting, enough to make a difference?

As someone with two young children I worry about the state we have put many of our kids in when it comes to activity, nutrition, etc.  If goal setting will help kids who are obese or overweight then we need to focus on showing kids how important setting goals and achieving them is.

[wellnessidealist]

As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world, that is the myth of the atomic age, as in being able to remake ourselves.”

~Mahatma Gandhi

#gandhi #RemakingOurselves #AtomicAge #Greatness

[wellnessidealist]

The commitment begins to end

It’s almost the third week of February which means gyms will slowly start to see a decline in members actually using their membership.  Saying you are going to get into shape at the beginning of the new year could almost be viewed as a cliche today.  Supplement companies, which aren’t regulated by the FDA, bet on us to make that new years resolution, and not because they truly want us to get in shape but to improve their bottom line.

What can we do then? Just be mindful of what we’re doing to ourselves every day.  Sure we are going to slip up. I mean who doesn’t want cookies, cake, ice cream, or something filled with sugar on occasion.  And exercise really isn’t that bad when done in moderation, just like eating.  Do everything in moderation and we’ll never have to worry about the commitment factor because it will come naturally