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wellness tipsPhysicalReplace your soda, juice, or coffee with a glass of water, and you've taken one small but important step toward well-being. 30% more steps are walked each day by train commuters than those who drive to work. If you can’t change your commute, use the stairs between floors, or take a walk to get your lunch. Muscle tone, and not just body weight, is important in preventing heart disease and maintaining healthy levels of body fat in women. A post-dinner walk is never a bad idea! Exercising after a high-fat meal may help your arteries work even better than they did before you indulged. Lean muscle burns 10 – 15 times more calories per pound than fat. A 150-pound woman burns 102 calories on average during 30 minutes of moderate strength training. Sit outside for a few minutes a day. Sunshine helps support the body's vitamin D production. 17.5% of U.S. women strength train 2 or more times per week. Researchers found a possible link between women with short index fingers (compared with their ring fingers) and excellence in running, soccer, and tennis, possibly due to high levels of male sex hormones in the womb. Tone your thighs at breakfast by tightening your legs and butt: Squeeze a book or pillow between your knees while you sit. Continue until you’ve polished off your morning meal. Feeling that afternoon lull? Your body chemistry has ups and downs throughout the day. Try just a brief (less than 20 minutes) nap in the early afternoon. You’re likely to be relaxed enough to get some quick shut-eye but unlikely to spiral into a deep sleep. Buff your abs in bed to strengthen your core: Bend knees, put feet firmly on mattress, and raise lower back slightly off the bed; pause for a few seconds. Imagine you’re holding a ball in your hands and move it overhead, under thighs, and behind lower back. Repeat 3-5 times. Boost balance while you wait to tone abs and improve balance: Stand with feet about 12 inches apart and tighten abs. Shift weight slightly forward, backward, right, and left several times, pausing in each direction. Eat more, feel full, and weigh less by eating more fiber! The more fiber you eat, the less you tend to weigh. Fiber moves through your body more slowly than highly processed foods, making you feel full faster and satiated longer. Burn about 8 – 10 calories per minute inline skating. It’s easy on your knees and offers a low-impact workout option. Jumping rope burns about 11 calories per minute, tones your whole body, and builds endurance. Try replacing one of your weekly strength workouts with yoga. This will add improvements in flexibility as well as relaxation, in addition to the toning and metabolic benefits of strength training. Try yoga in place of one of your weekly cardio workouts – you’ll burn about 270 calories per hour during traditional hatha yoga versus 235 calories for an hour of moderate-pace walking. Nighttime eating is no more likely to make you gain weight than daytime munching – how much you eat is more important than when, so instead of watching the clock, watch your portion sizes. Improve your behind-the-wheel safety and avoid empty calories. Plan smaller, more frequent low-fat snacks; pack fruit for quick, healthy pick-me-ups; and drink plenty of water. Road snacks high in sugar and fat may leave you feeling sluggish, groggy – and at risk for a fender bender. Goodbye, pain! Massage is especially effective for aches like low-back pain. It reduces levels of stress hormones cortisol and works to block pain receptors. Hello, dreams! Massage increases delta waves in the brain – those linked with deep sleep. That’s why it’s easy to drift off on the massage table. Massage helps ward off bugs by boosting your “natural killer cells,” the immune system’s first line of defense against invading illness. Swap celery for fennel: It’s just as crunchy but has four times more vitamin C Toss fresh herbs into your salad or favorite dish! Try basil, parsley, or any herb you like. They add flavor, so you may need less dressing or sauces. Love your cheese? Crumble goat cheese into your salad: An ounce has 76 calories and 6 grams of fat compared with 114 calories and 9 grams of fat in cheddar. Consider walnut oil on your salad. It’s rich in heart-healthy omega-3s, and the nutty flavor is a nice change from olive oil. Blend with white-wine vinegar. Add fruit to your salad. Mandarin oranges and mangoes give salads a sweet hit and provide fiber and vitamin C. Snow peas are legumes, not vegetables so they are high in protein, fiber, and iron. Try using avocado instead of mayonnaise or dressing on your salad or sandwich. It is a clever way to cut back on dressing. Though avocado is high in fat, it’s the more healthful, monounsaturated kind. Boost vitamin C with red peppers! They have only 39 calories per cup but a whopping 253 percent of the recommended daily dose of vitamin C. Get a Chinese food steamer. Steaming is the healthiest way to cook vegetables and minimizes the loss of water-soluble nutrients, such as B vitamins and vitamin C. A Chinese steamer allows you to infuse vegetables and even fish or chicken with flavor. Broccoli is rich in the B vitamin folate, which helps to improve mood and concentration. The body can absorb up to 25 percent of the iron contained in meat, poultry, and fish, but only about 15 percent of the iron in plants. Get in touch: whether you enjoy a monthly massage or a daily hug, physical contact can keep you well. Physical contact helps control levels of hormones that left unregulated can decrease immune function. Take a mental snapshot of your meal before you bite. People who saw proof of how much food they were eating (e.g., a pile of chicken-wing bones) ate 27% less than those whose tables were cleaned while they noshed. Schedule jam-packed? Try brown-bagging a healthful lunch. Just one high-fat meal can make it harder for your heart to cope with stress. The risk of melanoma among people who have any exposure to a tanning bed before age 35 is 75% higher than average. Eating watermelon could help your heart. USDA scientists found that people who drank six 8-ounce cups of watermelon juice daily for 3 weeks experienced a 22 percent increase in their levels of arginine – an amino acid that boosts bloodflow to your heart. Farmer’s market shoppers are 3.2 times more likely to eat five servings of fruit and vegetables a day than supermarket shoppers are. Best juice: the not-so-clear choice. Unfiltered apple juice contains four times more disease-fighting antioxidants than the clear, purified kind does. Look for brands with 100 percent apple juice that you can’t see through. BehavioralBecome a volunteer! Altruistic actions distract you from stress. Before you can stop procrastinating, you need to figure out why you’re doing it. Most people procrastinate for one of three reasons: perfectionism, emotional avoidance, or fear. If you practice a new behavior for about 3 weeks, you tend to stick to it long term. Try breaking that monstrous task into smaller pieces. Today, you’re not cleaning the entire garage; you’re just cleaning just one shelf. Putting off that big project? Do something small toward your goal each day. Schedule just 20 minutes on a project. Envision yourself reaching your goal. What would the end result look like? How will you feel when you’re done? Ask yourself often and you’ll start assuming that you will finish. Surround yourself with people who don’t hinder you. Try a task outliner or to-do-list manager software program to help prioritize your work and personal projects. There are software programs available to help you eliminate e-mail distractions or other temptations on your computer while you are working by turning your computer into a full-screen typewriter. Boost your brain power! A 15-minute chair massage boosts alertness; tests also show that brain-wave activity stimulated by massage is linked to improved attention. Need to focus? A compound in chocolate may help sharpen your mind. Two hours after people drank high-flavanol chocolate, bloodflow to the areas of their brains involved with working memory and attention had increased by 50%. Look for the kind with the highest percentage of cocoa. Develop a hobby! Mind-body research shows that being absorbed in pursuits you love strengthens your immune system, reduces stress, and improves memory. Reducing your shower to 5 minutes saves up to 30 gallons of water a day. Set priorities: Make a conscious decision about what you consider important, and let your schedule (and your attitude) reflect your intentions. For example, if relationships and health are high on your list, turn off the TV to free up time for taking walks with friends. Know when to say yes: Do you habitually say yes to too many tasks and too many people and often feel overwhelmed? Do you? Give yourself the challenge of not confusing saying “no” with rejecting someone. EmotionalGive up that grudge! People who rate themselves as highly forgiving tend to see themselves as having a greater level of overall well-being. Take some time today to reflect on an important goal, value, or concern. It could be connected to your family or career, or to a personal trait like wisdom, serenity, or generosity. Set aside some quiet time to write your thoughts about your goals, values, or concerns. If something negative comes to mind, flip the page, write it there, and clear it from your head. Once you’re done, take time to read over your positive thoughts. Use writing or journaling to get in touch with the thoughts that are swirling around in your head. If you concentrate on the positive ones, you’ll gain a fresh outlook and the encouragement you need to reach your goals. Feeling upset can cause you to seek out comfort foods. People eat about 2 more cups of popcorn while watching a sad movie than during a comedy Move your furniture! Shaking things up in your home environment can lead to a feeling of renewal. No need to completely redecorate. Just rearrange the furniture in one room for a new perspective. Try keeping a journal. Even if you only have five minutes, you can journal. Simply write some quick notes about how you're feeling and what is going on in your life. It may not seem like much, but you can use these notes later for insight and greater personal awareness. Think positively! Negative thinking triggers the release of cortisol, a stress hormone that can be dangerous when elevated for long periods of time. Think of something you’re grateful for. Make this your first exercise of the day – and enjoy the resulting positive energy. Surround yourself with optimistic, upbeat people who see the best in you, in others, and in the world. Make a regular habit of mind/body practices such as yoga, tai chi, and meditation to reduce your emotional reactivity. Start a healthy chain of emotions. Try to have a spontaneously upbeat interaction with each person who crosses your path. Remind yourself that negative emotions, however intense, are impermanent: They’re part of the changing scenery of our lives. As much as you can, make eye contact with others – and smile. If you’re poisoned by someone’s misery, don’t feel you need to mirror her/his negativity to show loyalty. Instead, consistently respond with positive energy, such as an encouraging work or a supportive suggestion. Boost your own emotional foundation with a mind/body practice such as yoga and meditation. Both have been shown to calm emotional arousal and the stress response. Researchers from HMS have found that meditation also increases activity in parts of the brain involved in emotional contagion. If you’ve been drawn into a gossiper’s web, try to turn the situation around, point out something positive about the person being dished about. SpiritualThose who attend religious services are less likely to be overweight Heed your passions: it’s one thing to ask for feedback or opinions; it’s another to let those answers dictate the way you live; true passion comes from a quiet inner spring Get your hands dirty: take a moment to drink in the natural world around you. Inspiration won’t be far behind. Discover the joy of sheer effort: Real work, the kind that makes you move and sweat and ache just a little, is a kind of antidote. It draws you back inside your body, reminding you of what it feels like to be more than a head full of worry. Reconnect: Friendships, like good, rich soil, ground you in strength, thrive in the rain, and nurture the deepest roots of your being. Open yourself to chance: Some choices take you exactly where you need to go; others take you by surprise. Let them. All we have is the integrity of this moment, and the calm that comes from trusting what lies ahead. Reading something inspirational can help you strengthen your own feelings of connectedness and send you soaring. Keep a file of those things that most inspire you. Exercise your imagination frequently. Stay in touch with the child within. Adopt an attitude of playfulness. Humor and pleasure can be tremendous stress buffers. SocialTell someone how much you love or appreciate them. This is one of the best ways to foster both your own and other’s social well-being. Be sure to have a friendly conversation with a co-worker for a few minutes everyday. This will make going to work seem more fun and less like "work." Don’t wait for a crisis to connect with the people in your life. Start creating a reserve of support that includes more people than you think you need or deserve. Get back in touch with a few good friends – and, if you can, share dinner, coffee, or even a weekend visit. Invest in the relationships that bring meaning to your life and that you know will be with you for the long haul. Effective communication is important in avoiding stressful situations, as well as in resolving situations once they arise. An amazing amount of stress can be eliminated from your life if you examine how you communicate with people around you. Next time you receive a compliment, Stop, Take a Breath (savor the moment), and say “Thank you.” Active listening means devoting your attention to what someone is saying. It requires you to listen with an open mind uncluttered by inner dialogue. Concentrate on understanding what the other person is saying, not on phrasing your response. Empathy is the capacity to understand another’s thoughts, feelings, and actions, and to communicate this understanding back to the other person. Empathy may help you to counteract anxiety and depression, as well as improve communication skills, interpersonal effectiveness, social skills, and social perceptiveness. IntellectualRead a few pages of a book, magazine, online resource or newspaper that is completely unrelated to school or work. Regular reading helps strengthen your ability to think, teaches you something new, and helps reduce the risk of deterioration of the brain in later life. Try doing something creative for five minutes everyday. Draw a quick picture with colored pencil or write a short poem. Even the smallest burst of creativity is beneficial in keeping your mind engaged and inspired. Listen to educational programming. You can learn a new word, pick up some grammar tips, or learn a new fact in just five minutes. To sustain your focus and concentration, you need well-timed and frequent breaks. Keep in mind to take these breaks before you get to the “breaking point,” that is, the point at which you are so exhausted or frustrated that you mentally or physically collapse. It is much better to work for 20 minutes at a time and get something done than to keep thinking for 5 hours that you should be working and be so daunted or scared that you get nothing done. Take notes! Notes are a way to help you keep track of questions, ideas, and comments. Notes don’t have to be perfect in style or grammar, just as long as they make sense to you! Find at least one regular spot on/off campus that is used only for working (do your socializing, internet activities, and sleeping elsewhere). Attend to your attention – if you find yourself consistently losing concentration, notice what are the internal and external factors that might be affecting this.
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I feel much stronger and more in shape now. I also enjoy the camaraderie of the group. The instructor pays attention to each individual and he cares about our progress as a group. |
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