Exercise improves cognitive function

A sedentary lifestyle affects the brain and in turn lessens mental capacity. Colcombe & Kramer (2003) found that aerobic training improved cognitive performance and active lifestyles decreased age-related risks for cognitive impairment and dementia. These changes were accompanied by clear changes in brain structure and function. Studies have shown that exercise boosts overall brain volume increasing both gray matter (contains neurons and supporting cells) and white matter (consists of the nerve cell fibers that carry signals from one area to another). (Idea Fitness Journal February 2012)

Exercise can have such a dramatic effect not only on your heart health but on your brain as well. So  many people tell me everyday that they feel like they have more energy and can think clearer because of the exercise program they have started and this is partially due to the changes their brain is undergoing. Their brain is making connections faster because their brain is producing more neurons and cells which are allowing the signals to fire and communicate faster.

New Years Bootcamp! It’s gonna be good!

the holidays

Avoid the weight gain during the Holiday Season. One Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner isn’t going to make that much of a difference, but it’s when you go to multiple Holiday parties and eat leftovers and allow yourself to eat whatever you want whenever you want, grabbing candy out of the candy bowls, indulging in dessert, etc when the Holiday’s start to pack on the pounds. To keep yourself from gaining that extra weight, limit the fatty foods to Thanksgiving and Christmas and if you have leftovers, give them away, don’t keep them around. Avoid grazing from the candy bowl everytime you walk by it. Set a limit for yourself, such as one piece a week. Watch the amount of alcohol you drink at holiday parties. Not only does the alcohol add extra calories but it kills willpower and more than likely you will end up eating more than you initially planned on. Up your exercise routine during this time as well. Do some high intensity workouts like interval sprints, jumping rope, or running stairs. These exercises burn more calories for a longer period of time. Follow these tips and you won’t have to worry about gaining any holiday weight!

Multitaskers Beware!

A recent survey shows that 83% of Americans typically eat in their office or cubicle in an attempt to be more efficient. This unfortunately leads to an incubating environment ripe for food-borne illnesses. Desktops can hide bacteria that can lead to foodborne illness. This survey said that only half of all Americans wash their hands before eating lunch. This in combination with food remains left on your desk and keyboard is makes for an increased risk to getting food poisoning the next time you put your hands near your desk and then your mouth. To reduce the risk of food-borne illness, wash your hands with soap and warm water before and after handling food and keep some wipes or hand sanitizer near your desk to clean your hands when you can’t get to the sink. The majority of Americans don’t clean their desks off like they do their dinner table. Treat your desktop like you would your kitchen table and counters at home. Clean it on a regular basis so you don’t put yourself at risk for some serious sickness.

Healthy Trail Mix Protein Bars

Check out this great recipe using the natural delicious Arbonne products. Love that this recipe uses all natural ingredients and is low in sugar and sodium!

the barefoot movement, should you get on board?

I’m sure some of you have seen people wearing those shoes that look like gloves for the feet and wondered what that was all about. Well I’m here to give you the information you need to effectively decide whether barefoot running is for you. The reason that barefoot and minimalist footwear has become a movement is because of the concerns certain professionals put forth with regards to the unnatural movement more structured shoes give to your natural walking/running gait. Their argument is that footwear is something that has become a habit in the modern world but isn’t something that was always around. For centuries people got around barefoot or with minimal protection on their feet and did just fine. In fact, they probably had less joint problems than we do today. Structured shoes cause us to change our movement pattern to accommodate the shoes and as a result cause increased pressure on certain joints. Even tennis shoes force us into certain movement patterns based on the height of the heel, the rise or the arch, etc. Every joint in our body has to move to accommodate the angle of the foot. So the argument that barefoot advocates put forth is that we need to get back to walking and running on our natural feet and take the pressure of adjusting to any unnatural angle off of our other joints. By using minimalist footwear our joints will be able to function the way they were meant to.
On the other hand, part of the reason companies have come out with these fancy shock absorbing footwear is because we don’t walk and run on natural turf anymore, more often than not we are running on cement or pavement. These harder surfaces don’t allow for any give when we step down and as a result put an extra stress on our joints. If we were to run barefoot or with FiveFingers shoes there wouldn’t be anything between our feet and the cement to absorb the stress to our joints and we may end up with knee or ankle problems regardless.
There are pros and cons to both sides but if you are inclined to join the barefoot movement there are certain steps you should take before jumping into it full force. When your feet have become accustomed to being laced up in a structured shoe, some of the intrinsic muscles of your feet get weak. So before running barefoot, walk barefoot and strengthen those muscles. Do strengthening exercises like lifting one toe up at a time independently of the others. As these muscles become stronger you can begin to run but if you start to feel any pain in the foot, rescind to walking for a while.
What I would recommend as a balance between the barefoot running and the completely structured shoes is to find minimalist footwear that allow more natural biomechanics (natural body movement) while still offering a bit of protection from modern surfaces.

Eat Green in Every Meal

Stay focused on eating green in every meal – Always incorporate a good high quality low glycemic index dark green vegetable with each meal. I suggest things like spinach or romaine lettuce in your lunch time salads. Try eating broccoli, asparagus, or steamed spinach as your vegetable at dinner time. All of these dark green vegetables supply your body with great vitamins and nutrients and are also great sources of fiber as well as naturally low on the glycemic index scale. Bottom line is they will keep your blood sugar levels from spiking after eating. So think dark green at meal time, and challenge yourself to keep it as part of each and every eating event.

Diet Tricks

RETRAIN YOUR TASTE BUDS
You’re taste buds are more adaptable than you realize, they adjust with time and learn to love foods they used to hate. Make a short-term commitment to choosing more wholesome, natural foods with less salt, sugar, saturated fat, and trans fat. With time you’ll find yourself craving the more wholesome food over the processed junk.
LET YOURSELF INDULGE A LITTLE EVERYDAY
I read a stress management book recently that advised people who are stressed to eat a small piece of dark chocolate everyday. The chocolate possesses qualities in it that relax your mind and help relieve stress. In addition, indulging in a small piece of dark chocolate everyday may keep you from having cravings for other sweet and salty foods. You’ll be more likely to be satisfied and less likely to reach for those cookies or chips.
BURY YOUR CRAVINGS
My philosophy is to not even keep stuff around that are tempting to me, but if you do have a favorite indulgence lying around that you don’t want to get rid of, hide it in a really inconvenient place. If you do this, you’ll be less likely to dig it out.
GET YOUR DAILY DOSE OF OMEGA-3′S
Get into the habit of taking omega-3 capsules or adding flax-seed oil or nuts into your meals. Omega-3′s are a vital natural fat for our bodies and as a bonus they are great for your skin and hair!
RECOVER AFTER YOUR WORKOUT
Eating a combination of protein and carbohydrates within 60 minutes after your workout will help your muscles rebuild and repair and speed your bodies energy recovery.

Use your mind-body connection to think yourself thin

Curb your cravings by distracting yourself. A craving has a cycle of about 15 minutes so if you can distract yourself for at least 20 min by keeping yourself busy with something else, more than likely that craving will disappear.

Get yourself to the gym by envisioning your workout. Take a few minutes minutes to visualize what your sweat session will feel like (pounding heart, sweat, increased adrenaline) and it may make you more likely to get off the couch.

Boost your confidence by standing tall. Researchers have found that striking a confident stance actually stimulates a hormonal response that can make you feel more self-assured in minutes.

Improve your eyesight by pretending that you’ve got 20/20 vision. Study participants who took on roles associated with perfect eyesight, such as a pilot, showed marked improvement in vision tests compared to those who didn’t.

Your mind is powerful. If you tap into the power it has over your body you will be able to do amazing things for yourself.

The truth about food labels

Food labels can often times give unrealistic serving sizes. Most consumers just glance at what they are getting in a serving size without really looking at what the serving size is. More often than no, we end up consuming at least twice the listed serving size in one sitting. Canned soup represents a dramatic example of how unrealistic the serving sizes can be. Labels for Campbell’s Chunky Classic Chicken Noodle soup indicate a serving is 1 cup and has 790 milligrams of sodium, about half the sodium most adults should consume in a day. The majority of consumers eat the whole can in one sitting which is more than the recommended daily serving for sodium.

The FDA is now reviewing serving sizes in a broader revision of food labels. Until some changes are made though, we as consumers have to be more cautious of the food labels that are currently out there. Make sure to see exactly what the serving size is and be realistic about how much you are eating, because you may be getting much more sodium, fat, and calories than you realize.