Stay Safe, Stay Warm, Stay Well!Winter time is here again and it mother nature has come at many of us fast and hard! Maybe she's making up for lost time from this unseasonably warm autumn...? So, what are some things you can do to stay healthy this winter? One Keep the relative humidity at a comfortable and therapeutic level. Somewhere around 40% is generally pretty good. You can add humidity to your air by using humidifiers, diffusers, a kettle on your wood burning stove, etc. Personally, I like to use my diffusers because I can also add my favorite oils. OnGuard to clean the air and keep sickness at bay, Citrus Bliss to lighten the mood, Siberian Fir or Breathe to promote feelings of ease and clear airways. Two Keep moving! Yes, I said it again. Because I really do mean it! Did you know that your immune system gets built up just like your strength and endurance does? Have you ever noticed that just working out once a week or a few times a month leaves you sore for a few days but not a whole lot stronger? Well, that's where consistency comes in and it is just as important for your immune system. Just like soreness creeps into your muscles after a workout and brings you down a bit, your immune system becomes depressed after a bout of exercise leaving you a little bit vulnerable. BUT when you exercise consistently, your body starts to build your immunity as a result. Creating new immune cells to fight off infections and keep you healthier than you would be if you were more sporadic about your exercise. So, move your body and uplevel your immune system by keeping it consistent. Three Eat what's good for you! For me I like to go the route of lots of fruits/veggies, followed by quality proteins and healthy carbs as a nice treat. To boost the effectiveness of a full belly I use my favorite supplements, Life Long Vitality pack from doTERRA along with their probiotics and food enzymes. I've tried a whole bunch of brands and these are my favorite. No matter what your particular diet consists of, try to keep the sugar to a minimum. It can create mood swings, lead to excess weight gain, and if you have a bacterial infection (like chronic lyme as I do...) those nasty spirochetes LOVE to feed on sugar and let me tell you, that's no fun. Four SLEEP!!!! Yes, glorious sleep. Sleep is important for SO many reasons. It's when our memories are written for safe keeping, our hormones are regulated (trying to lose weight? Sleep can help with that!), and we finally have time to relax, If I'm having (or my kids are) a particularly amped up evening I'll often put some Lavender, Petitgrain or SERENITY in the diffuser and watch magic happen. If I want a little extra oomph for myself I'll take a Serenity softgel and enjoy a good night's sleep. Join my facebook group for a community experience! We'd love to have you!
0 Comments
Welcome to Day 1!Ok, so we all know that there is A LOT that surrounds us creating "health" right? We all know that just as the foot bone is connected to the leg bone; that the energy level is connected to our nourishment and all of that is connected to our emotions right? Don't we? Well, maybe I'm being overly simplistic here but what we put in on, around and what we do with our bodies is completely related to how we feel physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally. It just is. So, that all being said, welcome to 15 days, 15 topics and if you watch my videos on YouTube they will take you about 15 minutes. Little bite sized pieces of my research and anecdotal insights to keep you warm in this blasted cold weather! When you are watching these videos or reading my blog posts I invite you to keep an open mind and stick to what you are comfortable with while maybe taking the leap and researching some of the things that you might find a bit strange or scary to take on at first. We all have our own personal limitations and nothing is one size fits all, especially when it comes to keeping our bodies' and our minds' tip top shape! Some of us may long for earthy scents of Siberian Fir and Cypress to lift our moods, while others may crave the sweet scents of Ylang Ylang and Jasmine. Some of us use Yoga to move our bodies, keep our muscles toned, and joints lubricated while others prefer Zumba!
Ask questions, set goals, make small changes for the better and let me know what you think! Want to learn about something I haven't mentioned yet? Squeaky wheel gets the grease! Want to join my facebook group for more community interaction? Chocolate Black Bean PancakesOk. So I recently joined the dōTERRA team and its one of the best decisions I've ever made. Seriously. Not only are their essential oils absolutely amazing but they also have a terrific blog for DIY and recipes!!! That is how this morning's breakfast was born. A few weeks ago I hosted and Essential Oils 101 class. To make things even more awesome I selected a few recipes from the dōTERRA blog to have tastings of what it's like to cook with essential oils. I chose seltzer with wild orange EO, garlic hummus with lemon EO, and peppermint EO and black bean brownies. Take my word for it. It was all awesome. This morning I tweaked the brownie recipe and make decisions pancakes topped with our own maple syrup, chia seeds, and strawberries. If I could find my Wild Orange EO, believe me, I'd have put that in too! Recipe1 can Organic Black Beans, drained
1/2 cup Organic Cocoa Powder, or more if you like 1-2 Ripe Bananas (I love to use bananas to ass a little sweet to my batter, this way I can skip the sugar.) 1/4 t. Pink Himalayan Salt 3 Organic/Pastured Eggs 1/2 t. Baking Powder 1/2 t. Baking Soda 1 t. Vanilla Extract 1/4c-1/2c Coconut Oil Blend all ingredients in a blender and pour! Topping -Soak chia seeds in warm water 10min or so -Add a table spoon or two maple syrup to the soaked chia seeds -Chop or blend strawberries to the consistency you enjoy and add to the bowl -Mix it all up and spoon it onto your stack of amazing fluffy chocolate pancakes. It's officially a new year and once again health-mindedness is on the rise! It's a wonderful thing. Resolutions are in full swing and good intentions are starting anew. Now, the question is, how to set about accomplishing your goals? Right? After all, words and intentions are just that and goals cannot be achieved without action.
To start, learn a little bit more about yourself. What are you likes? Dislikes? What are your needs? What do you hope to gain when you reach your goal? And perhaps, most importantly what is your why? Your deepest "why," the most important reason- for you- that you hope to accomplish your goal. These are all questions I ask my clients, they help me create a plan of action that suits the individual. They will help you to create a plan that works best for you too. But first you need to learn about yourself. Ask the questions above and then ask yourself what kind of help you might want or need. Maybe includes health and fitness professionals, therapists (physical or emotional), nutritionists, etc etc. Maybe all you need is you, and a good tracking app. But first ask the questions and be open and kind with yourself when your find your answers. Conceptually weight loss is "simple" it's plain old math. You need to consume LESS calories than you use each day. In real life, weight loss proves to be very difficult for a lot of people and there are some definite twists to the process. So, here are a couple of questions I get and their answers:
Q: If I eat well for breakfast and lunch, do my 60 min of exercise but let loose for dinner will I still lose weight? A: Maybe, but maybe not. I'm not saying you have to be perfect but you need to create a healthy calorie deficit. If your total consumed calories for the day are under your calorie max with your individualized plan then, yes you will. If letting loose on dinner means you go OVER your maximum desired calories then you will maintain or gain weight. Q: But what about the exercise I mentioned? A: If your calories for the day are calculated WITHOUT exercise then you MIGHT still have a caloric deficit. But you could also break even or go over. If your calorie count for the day does include your exercise, it's likely you've gone over your goal and could gain weight even though you are trying to do the right thing by exercising (and kudos for that! You are developing a healthy habit, keep it up!). Ex. You burn 2,000cal/day + 500cal of exercise = 2,500cal burned You eat 500cal Breakfast + 500cal Lunch + 500cal snacks +1000cal Dinner = 2,500cal ===> you break even. Q: How do I know how many calories I need to eat a day? A: To get exact as possible you would need a Basal Metabolic Rate test or to get your BMR. You can get the test done at SOME universities, doctors offices, hospitals or at institutions that offer VO2 max tests for athletes. (If you're interested contact me and I'll help you find one near you.) For most people, though, a more general approach is to go to a site like this one, plug in your information and get a pretty decent idea of how many calories you should take in each day. What's cool about this calculator is that you can change it according to your daily activity. What's annoying about it is that there's no app and you can't log it. Now for the kicker: Q: I don't eat very much and I often skip meals, why am I still gaining weight? A: Your body NEEDS a certain amount of calories per day to function. Within those calories it needs a blend of nutrients to allow your body's systems to do their jobs. So, if you are not taking in ENOUGH food your body holds on to the fat and maybe even brings more into storage to help you gain fat in an effort to avoid starving. Think of it like a panic reflex of your body; your body notices it's not getting enough of what it needs so when it does get something it sticks it into storage just in case it doesn't get the nutrients it needs in a timely manner. Need help deciphering what is going on with your body? Contact me for a free 10-15 min consult and I can point you in the direction that will get you on your way to your goals. Starting a training regimen can be quite overwhelming. I often get the question of, "how do you to it?" Which translates to, "how do *I* do it?" My first response is just about always, "baby steps".
The hardest thing about your training is most likely going to be motivating yourself to put your sweat-friendly clothes and shoes on; coupled with making it out the door or onto your treadmill. After that it gets much easier, I promise. Just be sure to take it slow.... Once you get in gear it's time to start getting active! If you are a go getter you might even need a friend or trainer to curb your enthusiasm, if your happy to go slow then you might need someone to coax you into pushing a little harder. Either way, it can be helpful to find a trainer/friend/family member to help motivate you; quick texts, phone calls, or maybe they'd even join you! When you get started with your training program, whatever it is, you have to start from where you are. Not where you were in high school or 6 months ago, but from where you are NOW. If you have been sitting at a desk for the last 6 months and the most activity you've done is walking the grocery store then a good place for you to start may be something like walking for 20min a day most days of the week. If you are an avid walker already then you can push yourself to walk longer, faster *OR* start intermittent jogging. Notice the *OR*, trust me, it's important. Too much too soon can lead to over-soreness, injury, frustration and feeling too overwhelmed to keep going with your plan. So, if you'd like to get started, get out your clothes and put your shoes by the door, or the chair you sit in to get ready. When you find the day you are all suited up pick a comfortable distance or set the timer for an out and back 10-15min each way. Stretch gently, sleep, eat, repeat 3-5 times a week! These days I wear two very fun, interesting and time consuming hats. Hat #1 is being mom. Hat #2 is being an Exercise Physiologist/entrepreneur in the sports and wellness world. Right now these two worlds are happily colliding as I am deep in the planning of two really fantastic (family centric and kid friendly) sporting events; The Women's Woodstock Cycling Grand Prix on Saturday May 2nd, complete with a Family Fun Ride and Block Party and The Huguenot Street Nursery School 5k on Friday May, 8th at 6pm. This is the first year we have had a Family Fun Ride at the WWCGP and I for one can't wait to take the baby on her first ride! The 6.2 mile course is on the beautiful roads of Woodstock and will give riders just a small taste of what the ladies are doing in their race to conquer the cats. We have tremendous support from the local Fire and Police Departments, which is not only inspiring as a community event but assures our safety as riders and spectators alike. The Huguenot Street Nursery School Spring Race 5k walk/run is a fundraiser for the school. It's a longstanding annual event that we, the parents, put on to raise funds for the nursery school. This year the proceeds will go towards bettering the playground. The great thing about that is that the updates will benefit both the children who attend the school and the families of the community who like to visit the playground during off school hours. It's a wonderful little playground, well worth supporting. Not to mention the run itself is fun, festive and goes through beautiful Historic Huguenot Street and a portion of the New Paltz Rail trail. Both races make it a point to be safe, community centric and affordable. Both races are now accepting donations/sponsorships and are looking to fill a few volunteer spots that are left. I hope to see you there, whether its to race, ride, run, volunteer or cheer! Or at least the calendar tells us it is... However, I'm not quite convinced since it's snowed TWICE this week.
But let us think spring, despite the snow fluttering in and out of our early spring days I have recently spotted a Robin, Canadian Geese and little green shoots from my mystery bulbs poking though last falls crunch brown leaves! While we are thinking about spring lets also shake the cobwebs off. Both mental and any that might be clinging to your bike, jogging stroller and maybe even a pair of running shoes... Do check for anything living before putting them on... But do put them on. Because it's SPRING! The rail trails are thawing and the roads are being swept. Some hiking trails are probably even passable if you don't mind the mud! Let the thought of spring stir you, go out and take a walk. Cabin fever has a way of dulling the senses, but spring has a way of rejuvenating the body. So go ahead. Get out and make your body move! Even if it's just a stroll to find signs of early blooms. And no I don't mean bicycle gears! Over the last couple of months I have been slowly switching my gears from promoting our awesome Women's Woodstock Cycling Grand Prix road race to a more family centric take on exercise. Reason being I just had a baby! During the last few months of my pregnancy I really got into providing prenatal and family exercise on a whole new level. And I love it! Being able to literally grow with some of my prenatal clients and talk about all the ins and outs of pregnancy was wonderfully reassuring for both sides. Teaching Mommy and Me classes with other toddlers gave my older daughter and my clients kiddos something fun to do while mommy got her workout on. You haven't seen cute until you've seen a couple of two year olds playing peekaboo or singalong to each other's toys over video chat. So, for the next few entries I'm going to talk about fitness and the family. Sure, it will have a mamma centered approach but that doesn't mean dad can't jump into a class with his kiddos too! So, yesterday I took my daughter up to Woodstock for our last official pre-race meeting of this year. The goal was to get the safety team and course team all on the same page and geared to go next weekend.
It was pretty intense. The amount of thought, care and planning that goes into a race like this is pretty amazing. Three towns are involved, local and state police as well as a fire department or two! To see it all come together is just awe inspiring. So is the course. It's awe inspiring and from the back seat of a car at the tail end of an energetic caravan it will twist and turn your stomach into knots until the stunning distraction of the epic scenery is nothing in comparison to what you would give for a good ruben and greasy fries just to settle your stomach! This course is crazy. CRAZY I say!!!! It's crazy beautiful, it's crazy long, it's crazy technical and it is CRAZY hard. And you know what? We have over 70 crazy brave and awe inspiring women already signed up!!! Now THAT is amazing. It keeps being said that grown men, avid cyclists have given up on the hills of this course and yet these women are coming back for a SECOND time to show us what they've got and through tenacity and training they WILL CONQUER THE CATS!!!! So, whether you cycle or not, are into women's sporting events or not, love the scenic Catskills or not, this event what it represents, and these women deserve our respect and our support. Because this is epic! These women are epic for being amazing racers, the donations we will be able to give to the Hope's Fund for women is epic, and of course... this course is EPIC. www.WWCGP.com <---- Check it out and join us this Friday and Saturday!!! |
AuthorI am an Exercise Physiologist and mother of two lovely ladies. I love teaching my community about health and wellness and I love helping likeminded people implement natural solutions into their everyday lives. Archives
December 2023
Categories
All
|