Healthy B.P.M.

I was unable to post anything the past week due to technical difficulties on my part. Thank you for bearing with me.

I want to thank my guest bloggers who did a fantastic job of health blogging and I learnt a great deal from each of those posts by JM, Beth and Marcia.

For anyone suffering from burnout or stress at work or the homefront I fully recommend a full dose of vacation bliss. When you exchange your environment for another one, you are actually repiecing the jigsaw puzzle in your head.

I for one learnt a lot about my own personal health issues. Plus I’ve learnt how to spend more quality time with my children. It’s like I’ve healed

JM, the author of Fiction Scribe and 100 pounds to go describes how difficult facing a mirror can be for someone who is trying to lose weight…..

I was getting dressed to go out yesterday - something I actually do with a bit of pleasure now - and I stood in front of the mirror for a bit to look at myself. My pants are a little loose - just enough for me to notice. The shirt I was wearing was no longer a little too tight.

I thought for a while that I don’t look horribly overweight. I wondered what I would have looked like had I kept on gaining weight, which was easy for me to imagine because I know where my weight goes when I gain.

I didn’t like that track of thinking (more…)

Today my guest blogger is Beth Turnage. Check out her astrological predictions on Astrology Explored! She has done a fantastic piece on how star signs can play a role in one’s health…..

Many of us ignore our bodies. We look at it as a vehicle to get us where we want to go. However, the physical body has its own intelligence and lets us know when something is amiss. The minor aches and pains of daily life are not just annoying. They are signals that
there is some life issue that is being ignored.

Astrology can help you understand what your body is saying to you. Each of us has all the zodiac signs in our chart. Looking at the signs and where they are placed in your chart can help you recognize those issues that are nagging you.

A good understanding of your chart will help you recognize the areas of your life that need attention. You can get a free copy of your chart at www.astrodienst.com, or even better, consult
your local astrologer.

If you are having headaches, the issue you are facing has to do with personal courage. Aries rules the head, so look to where Aries is in your chart to see where you are shy to tread.

If you are having problems with your speech or voice, your body is telling you that you are neglecting the areas of personal wealth and comfort as these are areas covered by Taurus.

Are you working too hard?Are you not eating enough?Are you not paying attention to the bills? Itis important that you readjust your approach to taking care of yourself.

Are you having problems breathing, or with your hands and arms? The Gemini in your chart is telling you that you are not paying enough attention to communication issues. If you have neglected an important communication, or if you are spending too much time at manual activities such as typing, discomfort may manifest in your hands; look where you are avoiding to communicate and attend to that issue.

Are you having problems with your stomach? The stomach is ruled by Cancer, which is ruled by the moon. When you are having problems with your stomach you may be holding things in emotionally. It is time to take a good look at emotional issues that need release.

Are you having problems with your heart? Leo, rules the heart, and the area in life where we need to have others to pay attention to us. Look to where Leo is, and learn to ask for attention in the part of life Leo rules.

Are you having problems with your nerves and intestines? Virgo is the
sign that rules these body parts. You may be having trouble analyzing situations accurately, or you feel you are missing important details. A good hard look at those issues, perhaps with the help of a trusted friend or advisor may help put things into perspective.

Are you having problems with your kidneys or lower back? Ruled by Libra, persistent complaints in these areas displays you are having issues with making decisions and/or providing harmony and balance in your life.

Scorpio rules the procreative organs and life issues surrounding transformation. Problems with the reproduction organs signals an important need to pay attention to life issues that need a serious change in how you handle them.

Are you having problems with your liver and hips? Sagittarius rules these body parts as well as excesses of any kind. If your body is complaining to you through your liver or your hips, it is important to look at the things you do to excess that are harming you.

Capricorn rules the bone, joints and teeth and areas of life for which you need to take responsibility or need to show some sense. Often later in life, an elderly person will suffer a fall and become incapacitated because they refuse to let the responsibility of taking care of them fall to another person. A young person who breaks a bone may not be taking sensible actions and cause an accident. A clear understanding of what you are or are not responsible for is important to achieve.

Aquarius rules the circulatory system, shins and ankles and Aquarians need to
develop a sense of self as a person living in a body, instead of an intellect that is shackled by human flesh. Aquarians can be quite accident prone until they achieve a sense a union of with their physical selves.

Are your feet hurting? Pisces rules the feet and the spiritual and mystical side of life. Problems with the feet may indicate neglect of or a lack of understanding of the spiritual side of life.

The above is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. It is important to consult your physician and follow his or her advice for any condition that requires medical care.

astrology, horoscopes, zodiac, advice

My guest blogger today: JM from Fiction Scribe and 100 pounds to go…..

Have you ever noticed that sometimes you might shove your hands in your pockets around people? Maybe you like to, like me, hide your hands in your sleeves.

That’s called body language, and hiding your hands means you don’t want to be noticed and/or you don’t want people looking at you.

It’s no wonder a lot over overweight people wear clothes that are way too big for them! (more…)

Yesterday my guest blogger Marcia described what Awareness is. Today she discusses Joy and Choices-things we should know about before we get into holistic fitness.

JOY:

The entire process of building a healthy body goes from something impersonal to something very personal and meaningful to each of us as individuals. This process brings us closer to the spiritual aspect of how our body works. Let’s face it. We all have arms and legs, we all have thoughts and emotions; but something deeper within us drives us to do things that others wouldn’t even consider. This deep sense of individuality is our connection to the spiritual aspects of the self. When the physical body, mental body, emotional body and spiritual self are all in harmony, the chances for success are phenomenal.

The traditional fitness triangle of body-mind-emotion, now has a unifying aspect-the spirit that drives the individual to seek fulfillment, satisfaction and joy. Being “well” in the physical body isn’t enough for most of us. We need a deeper more personal motivation, to make the effort to find a fitness program and stick to it.

Traditional fitness is a program of regular exercise, “proper” diet/nutrition, and “proper” rest to allow for physical recovery. A traditional fitness program is built around attaining agility, balance, body composition, cardiovascular endurance, coordination, flexibility and joint range of motion, muscular strength and endurance and speed.

While this may all sound good, (more…)

Marcia R. Babcock is a Ph.D, MBA, Nia Black Belt Instructor, Tai Chi Instructor, and Reiki Master. She decided to do a guest blog for me and in this two part series she discusses the newest trends in fitness and explains why fitness can suddenly be more fun and successful for You.

In summary, the Principles of Holistic Fitness are:

Awareness of our complex nature of having physical, mental, emotional and
spiritual aspects

Deciding that you want to achieve these: Joy, Satisfaction, and Fullfillment

Making the right choices to attain these goals

Today Marcia elaborates on awareness. That is a difficult concept to understand and Marcia explains it so that we can understand.

AWARENESS:

The term holistic comes from the Greek word holos meaning all, entire, total. Thousands of years ago, Aristotle described this as “The whole is more than the sum of its parts”.

As human beings we are coming to admit to ourselves that we are more than just a body with a brain attached; we have emotions and beliefs and goals and aspirations that DO affect how we think, feel, sense, and live in the world and at the same time affect our health, fitness, sense of well being, satisfaction and joy.

If our goal is fitness, why should we ignore our basic complex nature? We can use the emerging concepts of holism to redesign the way we think about our physical bodies to achieve a state of vitality and sense of well being.

A holistic approach recognizes that each person is made up of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects. These aspects are interconnected and balanced. The health and wellness of any one aspect will directly affect the others. So now, the focus of fitness is the whole person, not just the physical body with an obedient(or not)mind attached.

The idea is to change the approach from just following a set number of reps and heart rate values to learning how choices, actions and attitudes affect our present condition, and also understanding how we can be active participants in the process of building a strong and vital body , allowing us to function with joy and ease in our lives.

Tomorrow Marcia elaborates on Joy and the Choices that Holistic Fitness involves. Please visit her website www.bodyenergetic.com

JM, the author of Fiction Scribe and 100 pounds to go decided to do some guest blogging for me…I hope you enjoy her posts. I definitely love them!

Here she explains the truth behind binging…it’s not always calories that bring on the pounds. Life does that to you too……

I’ve mentioned before that losing weight, to me, is more than just losing weight. There’s more to why I’m overweight than I got a desk job or I’m working of pounds I gained at university. Those things didn’t help, but I’ve been overweight since I was a little girl, long before ’sit on your butt’
jobs came into play.

On our way back from our road trip yesterday, I asked Husband if listening to tapes at night really helped people to learn languages and kick habits.

“Yes, actually. Listening to them doesn’t automatically mean you know a language, but it makes consciously learning it like second nature.”

“So,” I said, “kicking a habit means it will easier than normal because the suggestions are already in your subconscious and you only have to fight it on a conscious level.”

He nodded.

The reason I was asking is because the urge to eat until I’m in pain has been very strong lately and not always easy to resist. My extra eating yesterday was a peanut butter sandwich when I didn’t need it. Other days it has been crackers, toffees, chocolate, and even making too much for dinner and not stopping even though I was well full.

I want help.

(more…)

According to Srinivas, the herbal expert I talked to, obesity has deeper roots.”Obesity is a complex medical condition and there are several causative factors, like lifestyle, heredity,and endocrine function. Like any other medical condition, obesity needs medical attention. It is important to first consult a qualified medical professional to diagnose the root cause of the obesity, before deciding on what course of action to take.”

Srinivas continues,”In the case of caralluma, there is no incontrovertible evidence that it directly contributes to weight-loss. Only two clinical trials have been conducted(by the manufacturers of this product) and there has been no independent trial. The results of these sponsored trials show some interesting trends, but are not conclusive.”

The published clinical data on caralluma mentions that it can potentially cause gastric disturbances and similar adverse effects. There is considerable skepticism about caralluma fimbriata extract as a weight loss promoting agent. This is relevant when one
learns that Hoodia has fallen out of favor, due to concerns about its safety and efficacy.

“I for one wouldn’t resort to a herbal product like Caralluma fimbriata. Certainly it is no substitute for sensible lifestyle choices like diet and exercise.”, says Srinivas.

Coming from a herbal expert, that closes one weight loss avenue!

I got to talk with SK Srinivas, a herbal pharmacist in Bangalore, India and he shared some of his opinions on weight-loss herbs. Here’s a brief of the weight-loss herb he has helped develop- Caralluma fimbriata extract.

“Caralluma fimbriata is an edible cactus, used by tribal Indians to suppress hunger and enhance endurance. The effect of Caralluma extract was assessed in overweight individuals by a placebo
controlled randomized trial. Fifty adult men and women(25-60 years) with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 kg/m2 were randomly assigned into a placebo or experimental group; the latter received 1 g of Caralluma extract per day for 60 days. All subjects were given standard advice regarding a weight-reducing diet and physical activity. At the end of 30 and 60 days of intervention, blood glucose and lipids,anthropometric measurements, dietary intake and assessment of appetite was performed. Waist circumference and hunger levels over the observation period showed a significant decline in the experimental group when compared to the placebo group. While there was a trend towards a greater decrease in body weight, body mass index, hip circumference, body fat and energy intake between assessment time points in the experimental group, these were not significantly different between experimental and placebo groups. Caralluma extract appears to suppress appetite, and reduce waist circumference when compared to placebo over a 2 month period.”

Caralluma fimbriata is a succulent soft-spined cactus that grows wild in many parts of the Indian
subcontinent.

Says Srinivas, “Tribals in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka know it as kallee mooliya. Tribals nibble on this cactus during prolonged hunts in the forest. It’s believed to be an appetite suppressant. Caralluma is the Indian equivalent of Hoodia gordonii, a succulent cactus used by the Bushmen of Kalahari as an appetite suppressant.”

I was surprised when Srinivas told me that he didn’t really believe that weight-loss herbs are the answer to obesity. What do you think? Many people I’ve talked to have sworn by Hoodia. Do you think that diet pills are the answer? More on what Srinivas says tomorrow…..

I’m inviting guest bloggers aboard.

If you have a good idea that is relevant to health and fitness, I would love it if you could email me. I could post it up with a link to your web site.

The thing is I’m on vacation right now and my babies are getting used to a totally new environment. When babies adjust, moms have no time at all….guest bloggers could be helping me.

Just press the contact me button and email me any good posts….you could even cross post if you like….

I got to talk to Mehdi, author of StrongLifts.com. Mehdi had some tips about weight loss and gain.

Tell me a bit about yourself.

Age 15 I started doing bodyweight exercises at home. I began lifting weights at 18. First years were bodybuilding oriented. In 2004 I bought a home gym and started strength training. During
the last 7 years, I probably lifted weights 45 weeks out of 52.

Can anyone become fit?

If you really want it yes. But you need to do something about it. There’s no something for nothing. You want to be fit, get into sports. It won’t happen overnight.

What do you recommend for a person who is obese?

Wake up. Analyze your behavior. Look at your eating habits. Look at your lifestyle. Look in the mirror. Don’t judge, observe.

Some of my readers lost 20kg of fat and gained 10kg muscle in 10 months.
How?

Using a burning desire to change.

Before you can have a desire to change, you need a reason. Understand that obesity is not normal. Understand that you need physical activity. And understand that food is mere fuel to your body.
(more…)

I’m on vacation now….I have this bad habit of carrying around my work with me; so I’ll be posting….:)

I think most of you have forgotten about the contest on 451press…the more comments the more chance of you winning $300…so this is the time you can critique, comment or rant on my blog….I’l l be happy to see you here.

How is the walking challenge going?

Right now I’m sitting in my room as the babies sleep. vacations are now more for the kids than for me. They are excited by every new person they meet. I’m just reading and since I’m in a holiday mood; I’ll be posting more consistently from Monday. What will I do for my vacation?

DESTRESS!

Happy weekend!

There was a glitch yesterday; so i couldn’t get my regular post up.

Anyway …..this story worried me.

Babies born to women who are anxious or depressed while pregnant may have trouble sleeping at night as infants and toddlers, a U.S. report suggests.The study, published in the journal Early Human Development, assessed more than 14,000 women in Britain.

The parental environment that you give your child can change the way they respond to the environment around them. Stress causes increased exposure to stress hormones like cortisol and this may disrupt a child’s formation of a bundle of nerve cells in the brain that tunes the body’s internal clock.

Even after you have your child your stress levels are only going to rise. I know. How do you deal with stress if you are a mom? Some advise I have got from my mom and friends:

*Keep some help. Domestic help can make your life much easier.

*Don’t lose your temper with the kids, ever.

*Look after your health.

What I think is that you have to spend more time on things you love. For me it’s reading. That’s what I miss most. If I can catch up on my books, I’m happier, do my chores better and play with the kids more.

Here is a good link for stressed out moms.

How do you moms out there juggle your life and kids?

Check out this interesting web site I found via Armcurl.

Walk Score helps people calculate the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Your score will be a number between 0 and 100 and the walkability of an address depends on how far you are comfortable walking.

Tell me your walk score:)

Do you have enough probiotics in your diet? These “friendly” microbes are found in breast milk and fermented foods such as yogurt, fermented milk drinks, aged cheese, miso and certain pickles and sauerkraut. They keep intestinal flora balanced and prevent bacteria from causing disease. Scientists have declared an “invisible epidemic of insufficient probiotics”. More here.

Sometimes I think remedies at home are great. In Ayurveda, there are dietary and herbal techniques that people use to fight the bulge. The idea in Ayurveda is to think in the long term. Although effects can take time, a good Ayurveda practitioner can help. Check out some weight loss home remedies.

Is Nintendo Wii the new route out of obesity? A Canadian health club in Vancouver is attracting huge interest with its Nintendo-based workout circuit.Users can punch, run and jump with the system’s movement-sensitive controller. How cool is burning 75 to 125 calories with Nintendo?:)

Some healthy juice combinations for you.