Changing the perception of snacking

Did you know that snacking can help you lose weight? It’s true! Of course, we’re not talking about eating a candy bar or handful of potato chips every time you walk by the pantry. Done correctly, snacking helps you increase energy, improve your metabolism and help your diet.

Psychology and physiology

You’ll get a metabolic boost if you eat smaller meals more often throughout the day. The act of digesting and processing food actually helps you burn calories. Not a huge amount, but about 90-100 a day on a healthy 1,800 calorie diet. Eating every three hours or so during the day helps keep your blood sugar consistent. It also means that psychologically you won’t feel like you’re depriving yourself. Your energy will be steady, which means your mood and concentration won’t roller-coaster throughout the day.

Plan ahead

Plan your snacks just like you plan your meals. Make sure that you’re getting a balance of protein and carbs. By planning ahead, you’re also more likely to exercise portion control.

Be consistent

Plan to eat something every three hours or so. If you eat breakfast at 7:00, have something such as fruit and crackers at 10:00. It will help you avoid the desire to indulge in a big lunch at 1:00. And everyone knows about the food coma that happens after lunch.

Enjoy your snacks

Put these mini meals in a bowl or on a plate and make sure that you’re taking the time to sit and enjoy them, rather than just grabbing something out of a box or bag. Not only will it help you maintain portion control, if you concentrate on flavors and textures, your brain will register that you’ve eaten.

Don’t wait too long

Eating a snack when you’re not completely famished is a way to fend off hunger pangs later in the day. If you eat when you’re starving, you may tend to overdo it.

By making wise decisions and making it part of a daily routine, eating several mini meals throughout the day can help you on the road to a healthy lifestyle.

Tips to improve your memory

No matter what stage you are in life, you can benefit by increasing your memory. Here are some tips that will help you do just that.

Repetition is simple and it works. Repeating something to yourself will help you remember things like grocery lists and phone numbers. And an even more effective way of committing something to short-term memory with repetition is singing it.

Sometimes the struggle to remember something while you’re under pressure prohibits that very thing. You need to relax and clear your mind of all the other stuff in it. Take a few deep, slow breaths through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Relax all of your muscles. Only pay attention to the air moving in and out. Then, return to whatever it is you need to recall or work on.

Your diet can affect you memory in both short- and long-term. Certain types of fish are high in Omega 3 fatty acids, which have been shown to immediately speed up brain function, which is necessary to improve memory. Your brain needs a lot of energy and functions better when you eat good proteins and complex carbohydrates. Trail mix with nuts and dried fruit works well as a quick snack.

Make sure that you take in enough fluids. It not only helps your metabolism, staying hydrated increases brain function. A good rule of thumb is eight glasses a day. Here’s another thing if you want to cut down on caffeine: rather than coffee, try drinking a large glass of ice cold water. Not only will it wake your brain up, it will help kick-start your metabolism.

Exercise has been shown to improve brain function both immediately and for the long term. The short-term effect occurs because of the immediate increase in blood flow to the brain. Regular exercise should give you long-term improvement in memory and other brain functions due to the improvement of the brain function that comes from increased blood flow and oxygen.

Quick… which months have 30 days? Chances are, your first thought was “Thirty days hath September.” That little rhyme is a mnemonic device. There are many good memory techniques for remembering names, numbers, lists of things and more. Acronyms are another form. Here’s one for remembering the order of the planets. “My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Noodles” = “Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.” The best thing is, you can learn a mnemonic technique and use it for the rest of your life.

Avoid toxins; smoking is the obvious culprit, but alcohol, prescription drugs and illegal drugs also decrease brain function.

Reducing your stress level can help you increase your memory and brain function as well. Look into the benefits of meditation. Find a relaxing hobby. Chronic stress has even been shown to cause the brain to shrink.

Increasing your memory and brain function will serve you in your professional and personal life. Making these tips habit can help you increase short- and long-term memory.

Mind, body, spirit Helping kids cope with stress

As adults, it’s easy to think that children don’t have a care in the world. After all, they don’t have to deal with traffic, overbearing bosses, bills, taxes, home maintenance, relationships and everything that comes with being a grown-up.

Bigger, life-changing issues can affect kids and have to be dealt with. The death of a family member or even a pet, a first breakup, divorce or moving seem like the end of the world for kids. But they also have to deal with day-to-day issues that cause them stress – peer pressure, bullies, grades and siblings all cause anxiety in children. How they deal with these issues when they are children set the tone for how they will handle the adult issues.

Coping mechanisms

Many of the same things that help you, as an adult, cope with stress and anxiety also help kids. For instance, physical activity will help alleviate stress in both kids and adults. Because stress will affect their sleeping and eating habits, it is essential that you make sure they’re getting proper nutrition and rest.

You’ll also want to try these things:

• Ask them questions and encourage them to express their feelings.  Let them know that what they’re feeling is natural. 

• Let them have some quiet alone time to think about the situation and their feelings.

• Avoid putting them under too much pressure for a while.

• Find books that offer stories of characters in stressful situations who work their way through it. (Teachers or counselors are a good resource.)

• Try to be consistent and maintain their daily routines.

• Encourage creative activities such as drawing and writing.

The signs

Kids can’t always verbalize their feelings, so they may not be able to tell you what’s bothering them. Make sure to be on the lookout for telltale signs of stress and anxiety.

• Changes in eating, sleeping, or bathroom habits

• Increased separation anxiety from parents or teachers

• Bad dreams

• Crying spells

• New habits like nail-biting, thumb-sucking or hair-pulling

• Complaining about headaches and stomach aches

• Wanting to be alone or withdrawn from others

• Increased aggressive behavior or acting out

 

Mind, body, spirit – Connection addiction and the digital diet

­It is fair to say that staying connected with others today is easier than ever. In fact, maybe it’s too easy, what with social media and a variety of gadgets available to communicate with others.

Think about how much time you spend on social media. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube and innumerable blogs are just a few of the social media channels that may take up part of your day.

Consider also how many different ways there are to access social media. Computers and laptops were the sources for access until just a couple of years ago. Mobile devices – tablets and smartphones – have made it possible to stay connected no matter where you are.

­­­Signs of social media addiction

There are signs of addiction to social media for which you should be on the lookout. The first sign that you may have a problem is if it’s the first thing you do every morning. You may also find that your productivity at work is falling. In the company of others, you feel the need to constantly check in or update your status. You may even find yourself dreaming about social media.

Like anything, if you think you have a problem, you need to take a hard, realistic look at your social media habits. Counseling is now an option for social media addiction.

Putting yourself on the digital diet

Many people have compared social media addiction to an addiction to food, and are choosing to treat it the same way, by rethinking their habits and limiting their intake. No one is saying that you need to quit completely, but it is a good idea to make some changes if you feel you have a problem.

Turn off all your gadgets and computers for an hour a day. Take a hike, read a book or engage on a personal basis with a real live human. Remember to practice consumption in moderation. Make sure that you’re turning them off at least a half hour before bed; it will help you sleep better if you give yourself some wind down time.

Mind, body, spirit Take these steps for a good night’s sleep

Eight hours a day is what is recommended, but most American adults fall short of sleep almost every night. That’s just an average; some people require less and some require more. 

Although you may be able to function with less than eight hours, you probably aren’t functioning at peak efficiency. Lack of sleep affects your mental capacity and decision making. Prolonged periods with a lack of sleep can increase your stress levels. You may also notice unexplained weight gain. 

How to get a good night’s sleep

1. Make bedtime an appointment

Put it on your schedule. Everything else in your life is on a schedule, why not sleep? The more often you’re able to get to bed at a certain time, the more your body will expect it.

2. Avoid caffeine in the evening

The more you can cut out in the daytime, the better, too.

3. Get regular exercise

Physical activity helps to tire you out, and it doesn’t really matter if you exercise in the morning or at night.

4. Give yourself some wind down time

Turn off the phone, TV and computer a half hour before bed time. These all stimulate the brain. The object here is to shut down.

5. Try to wake up without an alarm clock

This is impossible for some, but if you wake up without an alarm, chances are that you probably got the amount of sleep you needed to be fully rested. 

6. Clear your mind

Even if you’re giving yourself ample time to wind down, you still may have thoughts swirling around. Try writing them down in a journal to get rid of them. 

Improving your sleep habits can have effects on your overall health and well-being. If you notice that you’re not sleeping enough, make sure you’re taking steps to get more rest. For more information about sleep and how to get more of it, take a look at the National Sleep Foundation (link to http://www.sleepfoundation.org) website.

 

Mind, body, spirit 10 Tips to Help You Stay Motivated

Motivation is a tricky issue for many people. Whether you want to lose weight, get a promotion, plant a garden or finish the basement, making yourself move toward a goal is difficult. 

Corporations hire motivational speakers. There are shelves of books, entire sections dedicated to it. Motivational speeches by coaches are the stuff of legend. And you can actually use those things to inspire you, but here are 10 things you can do to help yourself stay motivated.

1. Develop a positive attitude

Negativity sets you up for failure. Take charge of your attitude and the power it possesses. There is a positive side to every situation, challenge or trial you go through. 

2. Know your obstacles

If you know the obstacles you may encounter, you can create strategies to overcome them. 

3. Be personally accountable

Write down the goal. Put it on a Post-it Note on the bathroom mirror. Address the goal every day. Know what you’re going to do that day to help you move toward achieving it. 

4. Be accountable to someone

Find someone you can confide in about your goals. It can be a friend, spouse, or even a life coach. If you tell them about your goal and what you’re doing to achieve it – every day – your chance of success increased. 

5. Be realistic

Setting your goals is crucial; you need to set goals that are attainable. That is not to say they should be easy. Challenge yourself. 

6. Surround yourself with positive people

Hanging out with a group of people who are motivated will help you adopt the same frame of mind. Birds of a feather do flock together.

7. Stay active

Exercising actually keeps people happy and upbeat. It gives you more energy, which in turn helps you achieve more in life. Exercise has a way of freeing your mind to allow you to focus on the task at hand. 

8. Measure your progress

It is important to understand that you’re making progress toward achieving your goal. Make it a point to look back at where you started and how close you are. Allow yourself to celebrate progress and feel good about it. 

9. Be persistent

Things may not work out right the first time. This just means that you need to try harder. Keep working even though you may have a setback.

10. Get Started

Today. Do it today. Not on the first of next month. Not on Monday. Today is the day to start. You’ve determined what the goal is and how to get there. The time for thinking about it is over and the time to do it is now. Get moving!

Walk your way to better health

 

Over the past couple of years, much attention has been paid to the “10,000 steps” regimen. The theory is that you should set your goal to walk 10,000 steps a day. Bear in mind that your normal, everyday walking counts in your total. A sedentary person walks between 1,000 and 3,000 steps a day, which means they would have to account for 7,000-9,000 steps in order to meet their goal.

How far is 10,000 steps?

Of course, it varies, but the average person covers 2.5 feet with every stride. That works out to 25,000 feet, which is 4.75 miles. Determining just how much you’ll need to walk as part of an exercise regimen is simple. An inexpensive pedometer will tell you how many steps you normally take every day. Average it over a week and you’ve got a good starting point. You may be surprised at how little or how much you actually walk in a given day.

Ways to increase your walking distance

After you’ve determined how much you walk during the day, it’s time to think about how to increase the distance you walk. Be creative! There are a number of ways to increase the distance you walk each day. One warning, though: If you don’t currently walk much, don’t jump right in and try to hit the goal of 10,000 steps a day. Increase the number of steps you take gradually – maybe 500 a week – until you reach your goal.

• Wake up and get moving. Take a walk around the neighborhood just to wake up.

• Take a walk with your spouse, child or friend.

• Walking the dog is great for you and the dog. Do it in the morning and the evening.

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

• Park farther from the store or walk to the store.

• Go shopping. You don’t even have to buy anything.

The health benefits of walking

Walking will not only help you physically, but can help your mental state as well. It helps you to relax and get your mind off of things. By the same token, it can also help you concentrate. For many, it is the “me time” they take every day.

People who walk for exercise can experience significant weight loss. As the weight comes off, you may even find yourself with the ability to come off of diabetes medication. It can tone and tighten the muscles in your legs and glutes. More importantly, a brisk walk can help improve your cardiovascular fitness, too. As with any exercise regimen, it’s a good idea to talk to your physician about walking for better health.