by admin | Jul 8, 2021 | Health & Wellness
Summer is here and so many of us work hard to lose a few pounds before summer vacation but then get to our vacations and ‘’want to live it up!’’ The problem is that then we end up bloated and unhappy with those decisions. Vacation is supposed to be a time to relax and unwind and shouldn’t make you worrisome or apprehensive about your fitness goals. Here are a few tips to stay on track with your goals while still being able to enjoy yourself:
Make a Plan
What are you looking forward to the most? Eating at a certain restaurant? A certain food in general? Try to make good choices with your food and activity all day so that you won’t feel guilty if you indulge in eating your favorite burger. Allow yourself a splurge, enjoy it, but then move on and get back on track.
Drink Water
Drinking enough water may be the last thing you are thinking about on vacation but it is essential for your health and to help you stay on track. Drinking water not only helps your body function properly but also helps you feel full before and during meals so you eat less. Even the slightest bit of dehydration can cause you to believe you need food when, in reality, you just need some water.
In addition, water is a great choice to substitute for alcohol. Drinking water is also a good way to slow down the amount of alcohol you’re drinking and helps you to avoid hangovers or getting the ‘’munchies’’ later that night and the next day.
Schedule in Movement
Make a commitment to schedule in daily movement. The goal isn’t to make strength improvements or lose weight but rather to stay consistent to keep momentum. If you enjoy walking, jogging, or biking, it’s time to take go into the great outdoors to enjoy your new surroundings. You can also engage in new opportunities to move your body in ways that aren’t available to you at home, like: surfing, swimming, rock climbing and paddle boarding.
Don’t Skip Meals
Whether you’re rushing to tourist sites or heading to the beach for the day, it’s easy to lose track of time and skip a meal. But, skipping a meal can easily lead to overeating at your next meal. Keeping your hunger in check is key so pack a few nutritious, protein packed snacks whenever you head out.
Remember Your Goals
When you are struggling to turn down that second serving of dessert, remember why you wanted to get healthy in the first place. Is it to feel confident? Get your cholesterol numbers down? To be able to run and play with your kids? Find something that you find motivating and remind yourself several times a day.
Take a breath and enjoy life!
Go dancing, biking, swimming or go hiking! Vacation is the time to slow down and enjoy the little moments. This time away is important to your wellbeing and mental health.
Staying on track on vacation doesn’t have to mean perfection – it just means you have to strike a balance. It is possible to have a great time without sacrificing fun or sabotaging all that hard work you put in before your trip. Even with these tips, your diet progress may stall on vacation (and that’s ok!). As long as you’re not gaining weight, you’re still on track toward meeting your goals. Relax, enjoy yourself, and focus on making healthy choices when you can.
by admin | Jun 29, 2021 | Health & Wellness
We have certainly been focused on improving our health this year. June is Men’s Health Month and provides a great opportunity to focus on some simple tips that men can follow to shore up their health. These five guidelines will not only assist with a man’s physical health, but also their mental health.
Make Annual Appointments
Men are notoriously the punchline for jokes about not going to the doctor until they are on their death bed. Let’s stop the joking! Annual check-ups ensure you and your doctor are both aware of your health issues. Annual exams and blood tests can look at blood pressure, warning signs of heart disease, obesity, and cholesterol. Staying on top of these health issues through regular doctor’s visits can extend your life and improve your overall health.
Eat a Healthy Diet
A healthy diet does not mean eating just salads. Look at MyPlate.gov to see what a healthy plate should look like for each meal. Cut down on sugar intake, make half your meal fruits and vegetables, and vary up your protein routine. Healthy food choices do more than assist with weight loss, they also decrease your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
Know Your Family History
Does your family have a history of cancer? What about heart disease? Men who know their family’s medical history can share this information with their doctor so that they can be better informed about possible issues in the future. Knowing that your family has certain proclivities to disease, allows you to go on the offensive with your health. Write down your medical history and that of your parents and close relatives.
Get Your Sleep
Adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night. According to the Sleep Foundation, “Sleep allows the brain and body to slow down and engage in processes of recovery, promoting better physical and mental performance the next day and over the long-term.” Men should make sure they get enough sleep each night because poor sleep is also closely related to increased chances of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and depression. Sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle.
Strengthen Your Relationship Bonds
Connecting with others has been proven to improve your overall health and even extend your life. As we grow older, relationships are harder to build as families are built, jobs change, and interests evolve. We’ve all seen how isolation and social distancing negatively affect our mental health this year. Solid relationships allow you to have accountability with others about struggles you may have, give you a network of support in a health crisis, and even improve your self-esteem. When you have good mental health, your physical health will also be affected. Men must work to create and maintain relationship bonds for the sake of their mental and physical well-being.
The mental and physical health of the men in our lives can easily be improved by following these simple tips. From getting enough sleep to eating a healthy diet, these guidelines are certainly a great way to kick-off a healthy routine in your life.
by admin | Apr 21, 2021 | COVID-19, Health & Wellness
COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting you from getting sick. Based on what we know about COVID-19 vaccines, people who have been fully vaccinated can start to do some things that they had stopped doing because of the pandemic.
We’re still learning how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19. After you’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, you should keep taking precautions—like wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces—in public places until we know more.
These recommendations can help you make decisions about daily activities after you are fully vaccinated. They are not intended for healthcare settings.
What You Can Start to Do
If you’ve been fully vaccinated:
- You can gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart.
- You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people of any age from one other household (for example, visiting with relatives who all live together) without masks or staying 6 feet apart, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
- If you travel in the United States, you do not need to get tested before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.
- You need to pay close attention to the situation at your international destination before traveling outside the United States.
- You do NOT need to get tested before leaving the United States unless your destination requires it.
- You still need to show a negative test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before boarding a flight to the United States.
- You should still get tested 3-5 days after international travel.
- You do NOT need to self-quarantine after arriving in the United States.
- If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms.
- However, if you live in a group setting (like a correctional or detention facility or group home) and are around someone who has COVID-19, you should still stay away from others for 14 days and get tested, even if you don’t have symptoms.
What You Should Keep Doing
For now, if you’ve been fully vaccinated:
- You should still take steps to protect yourself and others in many situations, like wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. Take these precautions whenever you are:
- You should still avoid medium or large-sized gatherings.
- If you travel, you should still take steps to protect yourself and others. You will still be required to wear a mask on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States, and in U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations. Fully vaccinated international travelers arriving in the United States are still required to get tested within 3 days of their flight (or show documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 3 months) and should still get tested 3-5 days after their trip.
- You should still watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, especially if you’ve been around someone who is sick. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should get tested and stay home and away from others.
- You will still need to follow guidance at your workplace.
What We Know and What We’re Still Learning
- We know that COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, especially severe illness and death.
- We’re still learning how effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. Early data show the vaccines may work against some variants but could be less effective against others.
- We know that other prevention steps help stop the spread of COVID-19, and that these steps are still important, even as vaccines are being distributed.
- We’re still learning how well COVID-19 vaccines keep people from spreading the disease.
- Early data show that the vaccines may help keep people from spreading COVID-19, but we are learning more as more people get vaccinated.
- We’re still learning how long COVID-19 vaccines can protect people.
- As we know more, CDC will continue to update our recommendations for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
by ckistler | Mar 4, 2021 | Health & Wellness
Do these promises sound familiar?
“When I have kids, I’ll never let them eat XYZ.”
“My kids will always eat whatever I put in front of them.”
“Our family will never eat out all the time.”
We’ve all said them at some point in our lives and, whether we’ve started a family or are still in the process of building one, we’ve probably all broken those same promises! We read the books. We talk to other parents. We watch all the educational programs. And, the truth we universally learn is that raising healthy kids is hard work! Between getting them to eat healthy foods and encouraging them to get enough exercise, it’s a full-time job. So, what can we do to make it simpler? Let’s get back to basics and look at 3 tips that can get our kids on track to healthy living.
- FOOD CHOICES—DON’T FEED THE ADDICTION
Perhaps the easiest way to help kids make better food choices is to control what food is stocked in your home. If your pantry is full of sugary (albeit delicious) foods, then guess what the little humans in your home are going to eat when they are hungry (or bored)? Sugar is addictive and so the habit of reaching for food filled with this ingredient a by-product of this addiction. Remove the sugar-filled food and like Ole Mother Hubbard, when they go to fetch a sugar snack, they’ll find the cupboard is bare. Replace the sugar-filled food with granola bars, low-fat chips, easily-accessible cut-up fruits and veggies, yogurt, etc. and they’ll learn to grab these healthier options when they are hungry!
- BE A ROLE MODEL—SHOW UP AND SHOW OUT
The folks under your roof tend to watch what you do. They watch what you eat and why you eat it. Be a role model for your people and make smart food choices regarding the type of food you put on your plate and how much of it you consume. If you are always eating high-fat, high-calorie, fast food then guess what they assume is the right things to eat? Did you know those eyes are also watching WHY you eat? If you use food to help you de-stress or when you are sad, they will follow your example. Do you assign your feelings of happiness to food? You will have kids who will think food makes them happy. Make sure that how you behave around food points those who are closely watching you towards healthy actions.
- INVOLVE THEM—PLAN, MAKE, MOVE
Make kids a part of the decision-making process for meals during the week. Children will be more likely to eat the food you place in front of them if they get to help plan out some of the meals. Make a “Family Favorites” list that everyone gets to contribute a couple ideas towards whether it’s favorite breakfasts, dinners, or even snacks. Next, ask the idea-generator to assist in making that food choice for the family. Having a hand in creating the meal gets you buy-in from your assistant. Finally, get everyone up and moving whether it’s to visit a new park after school, take an after-dinner walk, or go exploring on some local trails over the weekend. Move together and you’ll make memories as you do it!
You can start building healthy kids by following these 3 simple tips. By stocking your home with healthy food choices, being a food-behavior model, and involving your family in planning, making, and moving, you will find yourself on the path to success!
BONUS CONTENT:
Here are some useful links to help you take the first steps towards raising healthy kids.
Healthy Breakfasts
Healthy Lunches
MyPlate Kids
by ckistler | Nov 16, 2020 | Health & Wellness
The month of November has a central focus on the holiday, Thanksgiving. Linked with this holiday is the emotion of gratitude. We want to take a closer look at this emotion and see how it is linked to better health and give you some practical tips on how to increase the size of your gratitude bucket.
The Definition of Gratitude
The emotion of gratitude is defined as “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” We are familiar with the act of “thank you” to represent gratitude, but it also includes thinking on positive things that have happened during the day or your life, meditating on positive thoughts, and feeling grateful.
The Health of Gratitude
Beyond making someone feel appreciated, gratitude also has other benefits. In fact, there are physical health benefits associated with the act of gratitude. The Greater Good Science Center produced a list of benefits to gratitude.
For the individual:
- increased happiness and positive mood
- more satisfaction with life
- less materialistic
- less likely to experience burnout
- better physical health
- better sleep
- less fatigue
- lower levels of cellular inflammation
- greater resiliency
- encourages the development of patience, humility, and wisdom
In addition to these above benefits, psychologically, the act of gratitude has been shown to reduce toxic emotions like envy, frustration, resentment, and regret. Those who focus on gratitude have even been reported to visit the doctor less!
The Act of Gratitude
So, how do you practice gratitude in your everyday life? Here are some easy-to-do exercises to strengthen your gratitude muscles:
- Say thank you
- Keep a gratitude journal
- Write handwritten thank-you notes
- Think/meditate on positive thoughts
- Smile!
- Put sticky notes around your home and workspace to remind you to be grateful
By practicing gratitude, you are not only sowing positivity in someone’s heart, you are also reaping health rewards like lower blood pressure and decreased levels of stress and depression. This simple act, that we’ve all been taught since we were born (Moms always remind you to say, “thank you!”), has far-reaching benefits so start flexing your muscles of gratitude today.
by ckistler | Nov 10, 2020 | Health & Wellness
The month of November has a central focus on the holiday, Thanksgiving. Linked with this holiday is the emotion of gratitude. We want to take a closer look at this emotion and see how it is linked to better health and give you some practical tips on how to increase the size of your gratitude bucket.
The Definition of Gratitude
The emotion of gratitude is defined as “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” We are familiar with the act of “thank you” to represent gratitude, but it also includes thinking on positive things that have happened during the day or your life, meditating on positive thoughts, and feeling grateful.
The Health of Gratitude
Beyond making someone feel appreciated, gratitude also has other benefits. In fact, there are physical health benefits associated with the act of gratitude. The Greater Good Science Center produced a list of benefits to gratitude.
For the individual:
- increased happiness and positive mood
- more satisfaction with life
- less materialistic
- less likely to experience burnout
- better physical health
- better sleep
- less fatigue
- lower levels of cellular inflammation
- greater resiliency
- encourages the development of patience, humility, and wisdom
In addition to these above benefits, psychologically, the act of gratitude has been shown to reduce toxic emotions like envy, frustration, resentment, and regret. Those who focus on gratitude have even been reported to visit the doctor less!
The Act of Gratitude
So, how do you practice gratitude in your everyday life? Here are some easy-to-do exercises to strengthen your gratitude muscles:
- Say thank you
- Keep a gratitude journal
- Write handwritten thank-you notes
- Think/meditate on positive thoughts
- Smile!
- Put sticky notes around your home and workspace to remind you to be grateful
By practicing gratitude, you are not only sowing positivity in someone’s heart, you are also reaping health rewards like lower blood pressure and decreased levels of stress and depression. This simple act, that we’ve all been taught since we were born (Moms always remind you to say, “thank you!”), has far-reaching benefits so start flexing your muscles of gratitude today.
