Give Your Feet A Workout

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Becky

We do exercises to keep most of our other body parts in shape, yet we rarely give a second thought to our feet. It’s time for that to change.

Our feet work pretty hard for us every day. If they aren’t kept in proper shape they will rebel causing pain not just in your feet, but possibly your knees, hips, back, and even in your neck and shoulders.

Show your feet a little love by doing toe articulations every day. Start with one foot flat on the floor. Lift your big toe and then lift the rest of your toes, one at a time, until all five are off the floor. Next lower your big toe to the floor followed sequentially by the remaining four. Do it again in reverse: lift and lower your little toe first. When you finish on one side, switch to the other.

It probably seems hard, but believe it or not our toes should be able to do this—our shoes have beaten it out of them! Keep practicing and your whole body will thank you.

Posted in 52 Ways to be Healthier in 2012, Workouts | Leave a comment

Try Some Different Exercises

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Becky

There are lots of good ways to mix up your exercise program:

try a new class at the gym (or even your usual class with a different instructor)
add some exercise videos to your Netflix queue and work out at home
get on-line and search for variations of your favorite moves

And the list could go on and on.

Changing up your routine once in a while is great for both your mind and body. It keeps you from getting bored—such a de-motivator! And it keeps your body guessing what comes next which is actually pretty important for staying in shape.

Posted in 52 Ways to be Healthier in 2012 | Tagged exercise, motivation, variety | Leave a comment

Cut Your Inner Superwoman Some Slack

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Becky

Over the summer sociologists at the University of Washington presented a study which found that working mothers who have unrealistically high expectations for themselves and their abilities to balance their work and home lives are more likely to be depressed than those working moms who expect to have difficulty. The women in the latter group know they can’t be perfect and are much more relaxed in their approach. They know (and accept) that certain things will most likely go un-done.

I suspect this applies to all people, women and men, parents or not, who have extremely high expectations for themselves and strive for perfection. It’s exhausting! It’s also difficult to consistently achieve at that level in every area of your life all the time. And so if that’s your goal then it seems likely to me that you might find yourself frustrated, tense and perhaps even depressed pretty regularly. Give yourself a breather this week and let the unimportant stuff wait. You might be surprised to find how good it feels to “just let it go.”

Posted in 52 Ways to be Healthier in 2012, In the News | Tagged relax, relaxed, superwoman, work-home balance, working mothers | Comments Off

Learn to do a Push Up Properly

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Becky

Why? Push ups are a true “multi-tasking” exercise. When we think of a push up we all think of our arms and chest since that’s where we feel it most immediately. But when you do them correctly, you also work your shoulders, abs (a lot), gluteus maximus, quadriceps,and several of the stabilizing muscles in your back.

So what is a proper push up? Follow this link to the American Council on Exercise’s exercise library for all the details. And remember, if you can’t do a full push up right now, start with your knees on the mat and work your way up to the real deal.

Posted in 52 Ways to be Healthier in 2012, Useful Websites | Tagged abs, American Council on Exercise, arms, chest, push up, push ups | Comments Off

Embrace “Meatless Mondays”

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Becky

Join the growing number of people who opt to go meatless at least one day per week. It’s a nice way to encourage yourself to eat more healthfully, which in turn lowers your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, as well as being friendly to your waistline. If you’re not motivated to do it for yourself, perhaps your inner environmentalist will be interested. By cutting out meat just one day per week you significantly reduce your carbon footprint and save water (animals sure drink a lot).

No idea what to make? Check out the official Meatless Monday website for recipe ideas, or buy yourself a nice vegetarian cookbook like one from the Moosewood Restaurant.

Posted in 52 Ways to be Healthier in 2012, Books, Fun With Food, Useful Websites | Tagged cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Meatless Monday, recipes, vegetarian | Comments Off

Exercise (just a little bit)

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Becky

Every month I read at least one study about the benefits of even minimal amounts of exercise. Just yesterday I read about a Taiwanese study that reported a 14% reduction in all-cause mortality among its participants who exercised an average of just 15 minutes per day. It’s also been clearly shown that short bouts of exercise do wonders for your mood and self esteem. So don’t worry if you don’t have a full hour to spend at the gym. Get in 15 minutes anywhere and you’re doing something great for your body!

Posted in 52 Ways to be Healthier in 2012 | Tagged exercise, self confidence, self esteem | Comments Off

Making Your Goals a Reality

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Becky

If you’re having trouble staying the course as you work toward what you really want, here are a few tricks to try:

Tell someone. Enlisting friends or relatives as your personal cheering section can be very motivating. Lots of us do better when we’re accountable to someone other than ourselves. Just be sure that you pick people who are truly supportive of your goal.
Set up a little reward system for yourself. Maybe you’re inspired by new shoes, new books, or an afternoon at the movies. Having something to look forward to as you reach certain milestones can help keep you going.
Visualize having reached your goal. Spend a few minutes every day imagining how will you feel once you’ve gotten there. What will your life be like? How will it have changed for the better? Take note of all the positives you imagine so you can think back to them whenever the going gets a little tough.

Posted in General | Tagged behavior change, goals, motivation, resolutions, rewards, support | Comments Off

52 Ways To Be Healthier in 2012

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Becky

Happy 2012, all you Fit Girls (and Guys)!

After a slow end to last year, my New Year’s resolution is to get back to blogging on a regular basis. And with the new year comes a new theme:

52 Ways to be Healthier in 2012

I’ll give you one idea each week to help you live healthier and get fitter. Without further ado:

#1: Set Goals for Yourself

It’s a new year, many of you probably came up with a bunch of resolutions, so what better time to think about making your goals truly attainable. They can be about anything—health and fitness, career, family, money—but if you don’t explicitly state for yourself what you’re hoping to achieve then chances are good that you’ll never get there.

For the best shot at success, make your goals SMART. I’ll use my goal of blogging at least once per week to show you how it works:

Specific—I will post on my blog at least once each week during all of 2012. I’ve made a clear statement telling myself exactly what I’d like to achieve.

Measurable—Once each week. Very easy goal to measure; you’re all going to know whether I do or don’t.

Attainable—This is certainly a reasonable goal. I’ve got lots going on at home, but not so much that I can’t be organized enough to write a bit each week.

Relevant—I already have a blog, I’ve been writing it for a while and I really enjoy it, so this goal seems quite relevant to my life and interests.

Time-Bound—I have indeed given myself specific deadlines.

Good luck with your 2012 resolutions and goals—I hope you are able to attain them all!

Posted in 52 Ways to be Healthier in 2012 | Tagged goals, resolutions, SMART goals | Comments Off

Holiday Party Survival Tips

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Becky

Happy December, everyone! I can’t believe I didn’t post during all of November, but my baby was finally born at the beginning of the month, and the time just got away from me. I hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving!

In the run-up to the rest of the holiday season I thought I’d share a few quick tips on how to avoid potential food-related disaster at a holiday party. Here goes:

Don’t go on a totally empty stomach. If you arrive hungry then you’re going to dive right in to whatever food you see first. If you have a snack before you come, however, food won’t be such a high priority and you’ll be able to scope out the options (and pick the healthiest) before you start eating. Also, you’re always less likely to overeat if you’re not shoving food into your mouth hand over fist.
Beware the mixed drinks. Even though we don’t often think about it, mixers and juices can have more calories than the alcohol itself. Put it all in a drink together and you’ve got weight-gain in a glass. Your best bet is always a simple glass of wine or a light beer. And really don’t even think about the egg nog.
Leave your elastic waistbands at home. They are so forgiving that you will be able to overeat without noticing. Buttons and zippers are your friends at a party—they let you know when you’ve reached your limit.
Be sure you enjoy what you’re eating and drinking. If you’ve tasted something that doesn’t make you happy then stop eating it and put it down immediately. There’s no reason to waste the calories when there is other, better food out there.

What’s your secret to getting through a party sanely? I’d love to hear your favorite tips and strategies!

Posted in Fun With Food, General | Comments Off

Even a Fit Girl Needs Her Fix

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Becky

It’s Pop Quiz Time!

Candy Corn is:

a. Totally gross

b. Completely devoid of nutritional value

c. My favorite Halloween candy

d. All of the above

If you guessed d, then you got it right. Most specifically, I am a fan of Indian Corn, the chocolatey variety “made with real cocoa,” but in a bind the regular stuff, or even those awful sickly sweet pumpkins, will do.

So I’m sitting here with my once-yearly bag of the stuff thinking deep thoughts about Halloween candy. Like, “Why do I find myself drawn to such a disgusting thing?” and “Is it so much worse for me than any other candy?”

I’m pretty sure I’ve got no answer for the first one. I’m not a big fan of sugar-based candy. In fact, candy corn is the only sugar-based candy that I do or would ever buy! But I like it. Period.

As for the second question, I suppose the answer depends on what you’re looking for in a Halloween candy. I’ve already mentioned that candy corn and all its variations are totally empty calories—each little triangle is packed full of zero nutritional value. However, when eaten in moderation, they can also be a very low-calorie treat. For example, my bag of Brach’s Indian Corn says that 22 pieces have 140 calories. Twenty-two pieces is well beyond what my stomach can handle in one sitting, so my snack probably nets me somewhere between 70 and 100 calories. Not so bad.

If you’re interested in making your candy really work for you—giving you a little bit of nutrition while you splurge—then you’ll probably want to go for something from the chocolate and nuts category. One of the better options is a fun-size Snickers Bar. It has 80 calories and 4 grams of fat (seems like a lot for such a small thing, no?!), but it’s also got protein, a tiny bit of fiber, some calcium and other minerals.

By now I’m sure you’re wondering if there’s a point to all my rambling. Here it is:

Candy is Candy.

Whether it’s completely worthless or just sort of worthless, it all falls into the category of “Things We Enjoy But Really Don’t Need to Put Into Our Bodies.” So read labels and think before you eat so you know exactly what you’re getting into. Otherwise it’s amazingly easy to overdo it without even realizing.

And enjoy it! Since you’re not going to have too much (you’re not going to, right?!), make sure you take the time to really, properly enjoy what goes in your mouth.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Posted in Fun With Food, General | Tagged calories, candy, candy corn, chocolate, empty calories, Halloween, mindful eating, nutrition, sugar | Comments Off