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Posted by Healthy Habits on Monday, March 8th, 2010
No matter how well you take care of yourself, at some point you will get a bit “under the weather”. So what should you eat to help relieve your symptoms? Here’s some suggestions:
Cold
Chicken soup seems to reduce symptoms of the common cold such as coughing, congestion, sore throat, sinus build-up and dehydration.
Nausea
Ginger tea can relieve nausea from motion sickness, pregnancy and chemotherapy.
Sinus Headache
Spicy foods that contain capsaicin (curry and hot peppers) dilate blood vessels, helping to drain sinuses.
Constipation
Fiber rich foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes prevent and treat constipation when taken with plenty of water.
Bad Breath
Cinnamon in a stick or gum can cover up bad breath.
Depression
Complex carbohydrates (whole grains, beans, etc.) increase the amount of serotonin and stabilize energy levels for people with mild depression.
What are some foods you have found to be helpful when you are sick?
Posted by Healthy Habits on Thursday, March 4th, 2010
You have probably heard that you should eat like a rainbow – lots of colors on you plate.
Here are some reasons why:
Yellow/orange colored foods improve vision, heart health and the immune system. Try some cantaloupe, carrots, corn, grapefruit, oranges, sweet potatoes and winter squash.
Red foods promote memory function and urinary tract health. Examples include apples, red peppers, strawberries and tomatoes.
Green foods, such as broccoli, green beans, dark lettuce, and spinach, ensure strong bones and teeth and good vision.
Like blackberries, blueberries, eggplant, grapes and plums? These blue/purple foods help with memory retention and urinary tract function.
What about bell peppers? They come in red, green, white, purple, yellow, orange, and brown. Red peppers are actually the same as green except they were ripened on the vine and so are sweeter. Purple and yellow are the sweetest of all, and white are the mildest.
Choose bell peppers that are plump, firm, shaped well, have a strong green stem, and shiny even-colored skin without bruises. Store them unwashed in plastic bags in the crisper drawer, where they should last about a week. Green ones may last a little longer. To freeze, remove the seeds and stems first and store in an airtight container.
Posted by Healthy Habits on Monday, March 1st, 2010
Here are the 10 most common excuses for giving up on a diet, as compiled by an eDiets.com survey, with my own rewording, groupings, and titles:
Someone else’s fault:
- Hectic social life with many opportunities to eat and drink
- No support from family and friends
- Need a nutritionist or personal trainer to watch over me
Diet’s fault:
- Don’t know which diets work
- No diet can keep up with my travel schedule
- Too restrictive, not enough choices
- Too expensive for the food and gym
- Can’t resist favorite foods
Time’s fault:
- No time to plan meals or diet
- Takes too long to see results
There are always going to be reasons why you can’t do something. You need to find reasons why you CAN do it! Every excuse up there has validity, but they all come back to the same thing: not wanting it enough to make it happen.
Plus you have to realize that you won’t stick to any diet every minute of every day – you can’t even do that with a bad diet! Sooner or later something healthy will find its way down the throat of even the worst eater!
You’re in it for the long term. Take responsibility for your actions, get help when needed, do the best you can, shake it off when you mess up, and get back on track.
Posted by Healthy Habits on Friday, February 19th, 2010
That’s a great quote from the Apollo 13 mission. Despite numerous problems, and let’s call them mini-failures, along the way, NASA did manage to get the Apollo 13 spacecraft safely back to earth.
Does that maybe sound a little like some of your New Years resolutions? If not this year, in past years? How many times have we all had mini-failures in our efforts to eat better, exercise more and lose weight?
What matters is not how many failures we have, it’s how many times we try again.
Failure is an opportunity to figure out what went wrong that time, and plot a strategy for success on the next try. Perhaps you modify the goal, or the path to reach the goal, or both.
Failure is really the successful elimination of another plan that did not work.
Everybody fails at some time and at some thing. Successful people learn from failure and move on. People who are perceived as being a success are undoubtedly failing at something else at the same time.
One of my constant battles is not to get down on myself while playing golf. I tend to get mad at myself for missing a shot, which often leads to another bad shot, and another. Since I began making a concerted effort to swing the golf club NATO, I have improved my score, my game, my handicap, and my fun.
So, how do you overcome failure? And who can tell me what NATO means?
Posted by Healthy Habits on Friday, February 12th, 2010
Our clients hire us to plan and supervise their fitness lives, primarily because they don’t know – and/or don’t want to think about – what they need to do to stay fit. Sure, they could learn about fitness on their own, and exercise on their own, but if it’s not something that interests them, it’s a real uphill battle.
In the same way, many people (myself included) don’t want to know or learn about finances and what they need to do to stay financially fit. Especially with the market craziness we’ve seen lately. So hire someone! A financial planner can help you make a plan to get where you want to go, and give you the tools to stick to the plan – just like a fitness trainer. Not to mention the peace of mind that comes from knowing the plan is in place.
Recent studies show that planners are three times more likely to be confident about retirement than non-planners. 44% of non-planners had no idea when they could retire, and 17% said they would have to delay retirement by two or more years.
I am completely uninterested in money and finances except that I want enough to live well and to retire well – and I don’t want to think about it in between. My financial planners have made that possible – even in the worst recession in many years. They proudly tell us about the moves they’ve made to safeguard or increase our assets in this challenging economy – never noticing that we can barely keep our eyes open during their recitation, until the end when we jump for joy!
Sure my wife and I could learn about investing if we really wanted to, but we don’t ! We happily delegate that chore and we feel great about having that huge part of our life well taken care of. And we don’t fight about it any more, which is really great!
Posted by Healthy Habits on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Risky due to food-borne illness, that is, since many of these same foods are otherwise considered healthy. Ranked by the Center for Science in the Public Interest and based on data since 1990 for foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, the ten are:
- Leafy Greens
- Eggs
- Tuna
- Oysters
- Potatoes
- Cheese
- Ice Cream
- Tomatoes
- Sprouts
- Berries
For detailed information about these foods and their risks, go to the CSPI article, and download the report.
Does this mean you should avoid these foods altogether? No! However, be careful, follow handling procedures carefully, and be alert for any news about problems.
Posted by Healthy Habits on Monday, February 8th, 2010
Well, this round of white stuff came out of nowhere! Given the quickly changing nature of Memphis weather, here’s our policy for inclement weather:
Due to the individual nature of our services, the unpredictability of Mid-South weather forecasts and of school officials’ reaction to them, Healthy Habits will not have a blanket closing policy for inclement weather. Here is what we do have:
1. No matter the forecast, all workouts are assumed to be ON, except as below.
2. Check with your trainer/client before the scheduled time. You should have each others’ cell phone numbers after your first workout. If both trainer and client are comfortable, willing and able to brave the elements to workout, then please do so. If either party is not willing, then the session is canceled and the normal charge for canceling within 24 hours will be waived due to inclement weather.
3. Client and trainer may decide their own blanket policy – for example, you may together decide that anytime schools are closed, then the workouts are canceled because either or both of you will have kids to take care of. Be sure to communicate which school closures are included.
4. Please remember that Brookhaven is not heavily traveled and may stay icy longer than busy streets. Also, there are no guarantees that our parking lot and exterior walks will be cleared, so if you decide to workout, you proceed at your own risk.
Posted by Healthy Habits on Friday, February 5th, 2010
Yes, it’s possible to be both. It’s also possible to be underweight (or at a healthy weight) and overfat.
How can it be? If a person has a good BMI (Body Mass Index), doesn’t that mean they are healthy? Not necessarily.
BMI is a commonly used tool to estimate risk associated with being overweight or obese, but it has always been seen as a quick and dirty tool, not a definitive measure. Now we are seeing why.
Normal weight but over fat
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have found that as many as half the normal weight people in America have too much body fat, and thus have an increased risk for diabetes, heart disease and other lifestyle conditions. This is because much of their body fat is visceral, which is deeply deposited, most often around the belly, and which produces triple the bad chemicals of other types of body fat. Visceral fat is the kind normal weight people have – it builds up without changing our total weight because it replaces muscle that is naturally lost as we age.
Fit and fat
A 2008 report in the Journal of Internal Medicine showed that half of all overweight people and 1/3 of obese people (as defined by BMI) are actually healthy in terms of risk. Their blood pressure and body chemistry numbers are good.
So, if BMI does not work as a predictor of health or disease risk, what does?
EXERCISE!!! I’m a personal trainer, what did you think I would say? People with the lowest fitness level are 4 times more likely to die than those with the highest level. Fitness level at any weight is the single strongest predictor of your risk of dying. A minimum level of fitness is all that is needed – just one healthy habit! (took me a while to get that in…)
Cmon people, get off the scales and put your shoes on!
Posted by Healthy Habits on Friday, January 22nd, 2010
Yes, the time has arrived! Healthy Habits Fitness now has a blog, where we can keep everyone updated on the latest and greatest health and fitness information.
Please be patient while we get everything up and running. If there is anything you’d like to see covered in the blog, please leave a comment and let us know.
In the meantime, here’s a couple of recent articles posted on Memphis Connect:
Q and A with Mike Ross-Spang
Full of It – A Healthier Memphis in 2010
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Phone #: 901-684-1607 info@healthyhabitsfitness.com
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Healthy Habits offers 1 to 1 personal
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exercise plans, golf fitness and weight loss programs, post-rehab
clinical exercise, and beginner and intermediate yoga classes in
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