Feeling Good

Feeling good is in your hands. Instead of focusing on all the negative things that happened during your day (venting) start tracking all the good things. Each night, write down 3 things that either went well for you that day and if that’s a huge stretch (although I bet you can find something if you really try), write down 3 things that you are grateful for that day. Some days it might be as simple as eyes that can see (ask a blind person about that!) or a car that gets you to your job (ask someone stranded on the side of the road). The more descriptive your note, the more clearly your mind “sees” the good things in your life. You can shift from “poor me” to “life’s great”.

High-Fat Foods and Asthma

If the spring blooming triggers your asthma, you may want to steer clear of high-fat, high-calorie foods. Besides the havoc they can cause for the rest of your health, Australian researchers found that these foods cause more airway inflammation within hours of eating. They can also cause a lower response to albuterol, one of the commonly used asthma medications. Unsaturated fats fight inflammation, though, so get your dietary fat from things like olive oil, avocado, nuts and fish (not fried).

Calm Your Body Down

To reset the calm button in your body, get outside and breathe some fresh air and take in the beauty of nature. Spending hours every day in an office or house can increase the feeling of tension for many. For those of you, like me, who live in the northeast, winter has been long and cold. The trees are budding, flowers are blooming and spending just a few minutes a day outside can improve your outlook. Eat your lunch outside, take a short walk, sit on your porch and breathe deep.

Clutter and Migraines

Prevent those migraines by clearing out the clutter. We’ve know that reducing clutter decreases our stress, but Scottish researchers identified that the same clutter that annoys most people, is “visual noise” for migraine sufferers. The researchers also stated that the clutter may stimulate nerve cells to become overactive. So, maybe it’s time to clear off your desk, clear out your bedroom, clean off the kitchen counters. You will definitely feel the benefit of increased calm (remember it’s a de-stressor) and perhaps less migraines.

Mindful Eating

Food is meant to nourish our bodies AND be enjoyed, so how do you know if you are making the right choice? Eating mindfully is bringing awareness to the present and focusing on what you are eating and truly enjoying each bite, savoring it. So before you take the next bite, ask yourself these questions: Will it be delicious? Will it nourish my body? How will I feel 1/2 hour from now? Your answers will help you decide. We all splurge once in a while but it’s what you eat the rest of the time that keeps your body healthy.

Dealing With Stressful Tasks

How do you deal with tasks that stress you out? You know the ones… clearing kitchen counter clutter, going through piles of unopened mail, folding mounds of laundry, these tasks that we usually try to ignore until they become overwhelming. Set a kitchen timer for 15-20 minutes and work away till the bell sets you free. You will not only knock things off your list, but have a sense of accomplishment. You can do it, knowing it’s time-limited. Tick, tick, tick…

Weight Gaining Habit

Could this simple habit cause you to gain weight? When you stand in the kitchen eating out of containers, you are more likely to consume up to 50% more the next time you eat than those who sat down at a table, eating off a plate. Researchers indicate that standing makes it feel more like a snack, so it seems less satisfying. Even if you are having apple slices and low-fat cheese as a snack, eat at the table with a place setting. We are always rushing…take time to sit down and enjoy your food.

Pain Relief With Music

To get rid of the pain of a headache or sore muscles and achy joints, do you reach for a pill? Next time, pop in your earbuds or headset and listen to music with a tempo that slower than 60 BPM. According to research in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, listening for an hour a day decreases pain by 21%. Besides distraction, they suggest the mellow pace promotes the release of endorphins- our body’s natural pain killers. If your music is digital, log onto MixMeister.com and download Free BPM Analyzer. If you use iTunes, you can download beaTunes 2.1.14.

Cultivate Calm with “Ha”

When you are feeling tense after an argument with your boss/spouse/teen or just had a less than perfect day, do you mentally replay what went wrong over and over in your mind? To cultivate calm, shift your focus to your body. Find a quiet place to sit down and concentrate on the feeling of the seat beneath you and your feet on the floor. Take a deep breath in through your nose, expanding your belly, and let it out through your mouth with the loudly whispered sound of “ha”. The out breath should be twice as long as the in breath. This is Hawaiian Huna “Ha” breathing.

Sick Again?

Do you get sick more frequently than you’d like or have viruses hang on longer? We’ve developed habits that prevent our bodies natural healing and reduce our immune functioning. Do you eat whole foods (unprocessed, unrefined) or processed foods that are low fiber and also high-sugar foods that can trigger inflammation. Adding a sedentary lifestyle to that further reduces our immune function. No one thing makes you sick, but stacking these types of habits and adding a virus or two increases your chances of getting sick. Fight back with whole foods and exercise!

Your #1 Health Challenge

What is your #1 challenge preventing you from having the healthiest weight, perfect exercise program and daily solitude practice to calm your mind and body? We all manage to complete the multiple tasks of our jobs, care for our children, aging parents, shop and clean our house, etc. When do you become important enough to make the list? When changing your behavior to incorporate preparing the healthy meals, 30 minute walk, meditation, you are more successful if you add each new task to your “to do” list each day in writing (or on your smart phone) until it becomes part of your practice.

A Real Pain in the Neck

If coming home from work and crashing on the couch to watch your favorite shows sounds like the a great relaxing evening, it may be the source of your aches and pains. Lying down on the couch with your head turned toward the TV can be a set-up for neck pain, especially if you fall asleep. Even when you are relaxing, sit up straight, position your TV so your head isn’t turned one way and make sure your TV isn’t positioned too high.

How to Eat More Fruits and Veggies

Rather than putting your fruits and veggies in the crisper drawer in your fridge, place them all on the middle shelf. Every time you open your fridge, the first thing you will see…the healthy treats. A Cornell University study showed it increased fruit and veggie intake by 230 percent! Just as I coach my clients to place “sweet treats” in the back of the cabinet or pantry because “out of sight is out of mind”, seeing the healthy food reminds us to grab that first.

Compassion and Happiness

Cultivate compassion and you will be happier. Neuroscientists are discovering that feeling compassion causes parts of our frontal lobe to light up. We also release oxytocin, the hormone that calms, increases empathy, generosity and bonding. Touch can communicate compassion; something as simple as a pat on the back. As the Dalai Lama says, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”

Mellow Music Relaxing

You’ve just gone on a great bike ride or exhausting hike that has done wonders for relieving some of your pent-up stress from your work day. Good for you! To shift gears and cool down your body (and mind), listen to some mellow music. Make a soothing playlist for your iPod to listen post-workout or whenever you need to relax. Your brain waves sync up with the slow rhythm, similar to a meditative state.

Protect Your Brain With Berries

If you want to protect your brain and reduce the risk of cognitive decline, eat foods rich in antioxidants. Research from Tufts University Center on Aging shows evidence that the antioxidants block reactions that damage the cells found in brain tissue. Some foods rich in antioxidants include strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kidney beans, artichokes, russet potatoes, Granny Smith apples, sweet cherries and black plums.

Pear vs. Apple Shape

Pear-shaped women have previously been told that their risk of heart disease and stroke is less than the apple-shape. A study published online in the Lancet of more than 220,000 people in 17 countries, shows that both have the same in cardiovascular risks. Factors such as smoking history, systolic blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol were enough to predict risk. According to Dr. Huxley, Associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, the message is to maintain a healthy body weight, meaning a BMI of 18.5-24.9.

Noise and Sleep

Difficulty sleeping can be caused by many different reasons and decreased sleep affects our health and weight. Research done at Johns Hopkins indicates that noise can significantly disturb sleep quality. If you are having problems falling asleep or waking up during the night, you may be more sensitive to noise than heavier sleepers. Dr. David Neubauer, the sleep expert at Hopkins recommends a white noise machine that effectively blocks background noise. Below is the one that I have slept with for many years and Homemedics makes a very affordable model.

Spice It Up & Eat Less

Spice up your meal and reduce your hunger? The capsaicin in hot sauce and chile peppers- the compound that gives it “heat”- reduces the level of ghrelin, the hunger-stimulating hormone and raises GLP-1, an appetite-suppressing hormone, according to research in the European Journal of Nutrition. Good news for us spicy food lovers!

Perfect Stress Snack

Sometimes we want to treat ourselves to chocolate cake when we are stressed, but the sugar will spike blood glucose levels, making us feel even more hyper. For a healthy alternative, dip fresh strawberries in a dark chocolate sauce. Strawberries are packed with vitamin C, antioxidants and fiber and a good dark chocolate sauce has heart-healthy flavonoids. Enjoy!