Scuffling with Physical Success

'Tis the holiday season, and it's a season of shopping, eating and celebrating. Most of us are taking advantage of the year-end discounts wherein stores are doing their best to lure us into their establishments with the hopes of dropping a few of our hard-earned dollars. We are celebrating the end of the year, which has hopefully been filled with great memories, wonderful successes and goal achievements.

The additional piece we are inundated with is eating. The holidays mean a time of splurging on the excess of sweets, cakes, home-cooked meals and beverages. If you're like me, then splurging means an extra visit to the gym or longer walks with dogs. I will admit that I do envy those fortunate individuals who are able to eat whatever they want, when they want, without adding on any or very little weight this season!

What keeps you motivated to stay healthy, eat and exercise during the holiday season? As you age your metabolism slows down, which means the level of calories we can consume is lower as you age—so you need to seriously increase you level of activity to offset the imbalance.

Have you formulated your list of motivators for what is going to keep you physically healthy this season? How about being able to achieve your business or career goals easier? Would becoming more financially abundant be a motivator?

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Activity and Our Well-Being

What do these people have in common?

• A three-year-old girl running awkwardly to her mother across the lawn while smiling.
• A housewife, age 43, trotting in the park with her colorful running shoes.
• A skinny boy of 15 trying to keep up with the pack in a cross-country race, hoping to be part of the team.
• A 29-year-old teacher who walks to the starting line with his wife, two children and a picnic basket and welcomes his opponents with great pleasure.
• Far behind the front riders, soundly defeated, a solitary rider gives the maximum, excited because he is beating his personal best.
• A nuclear physicist, 39 years old, passing the finish line and trotting to 36th place, quite pleased with himself.

In the first description the young girl is running for the pure joy of moving. She can be compared to a young dog chasing a ball or a foal galloping in a pasture. This pleasure from the kinesthetic sensation of speed, power and natural freedom is wild and intrinsic. Her motivation is being present in the moment and embracing the joy of freedom and movement.

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Finding Guidance

Regardless of their personal belief systems (spiritual focus, formalized religion, or a combination thereof), people tend to like the comfort of feeling connected to those beings that support us from the other side, whether we believe "the other side" to be an alternate universe, a heavenly realm, etc. One reason people find this so comforting is that they like knowing that something greater than themselves is available for them from which they can seek or receive guidance and clarity. I maintain that our angels (or guides, if you prefer) constantly surround us, always at the ready to gently guide us toward happier and better lives if we are willing to ask for their help. We can communicate with these guides in any of several ways, including those listed below.

Oracle Cards

Most divination and many bookstores carry angel and divine guidance cards with the rest of their merchandise. Oracle cards typically have about 50 cards in a deck that are full of words of compassion and wisdom. To properly read and benefit from oracle cards, first calm yourself with an effective mind training exercise, then silently offer a prayer of gratitude to your angels before requesting their help. Shuffle the deck a few times because spreading the cards on a clean table and selecting one card.

Although on the surface drawing oracle cards can seem like an entirely random way to seek guidance from your angels, the reality of the situation is that the "magic" of this process lies in its randomness. Selecting a particular card over all the others in the deck enables your angels to direct you to choose the right one rather than leaving it up to a matter of coincidence or chance.

Seek Help and Wait

For people who find it difficult to keep faith, simply choosing to seek help and wait can be the best way to getting guidance. When you find you could use a little nudge of guidance...

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Health Coaching?

Coaching is one of the fastest growing industries. Recently an associate of mine quipped, “Yeah, the economy takes a downward turn and suddenly everyone is a coach of this, that or another.” At first I was taken aback, but then after some thought I realized that from one perspective that statement has some truth behind it. Over the last few weeks I made a conscious effort to keep an eye for how many coach-type emails, advertisements, etc., came my way. Let’s just say I stopped keeping count, which gave me cause for concern—especially when it comes to one particular area of coaching: Health Coaching.

We are given one body this lifetime, and to put the longevity and wellness of it in the hands of an individual who is not properly trained can be scary. Further, there is no real regulatory body overseeing the coaching industry. Yes, we have the International Coaching Federation and the International Association of Coaches that most certified coaches register themselves through, but I know that having a niche such as health coaching means there doesn’t seem to be any real criteria around how to discern a true health coach and one who went through a weekend crash course certification. Let’s take a few minutes to at least give you a few guidelines to look for when considering partnering with a health coach.

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Fitness and the Working Mom

Is what seems the impossible really possible?

We are inundated with fitness tips – the quick fix, the fast track, the best diet pill – and metabolism boosters, and the hot subject lines keep on rolling. But how effective are they, and for those moms who work full or part time, how do you fit it in while keeping any sanity about yourself?

Difficult? Yes! Impossible? No! Challenging? Yes! Impractical? No!

We can banter about what excuses override the benefits till the cows come home. But in the end, it all boils down to how important being physically healthy is to you personally. This doesn’t mean being an example to other mothers or your children but rather to yourself. You’re your mental health and your longevity of life as well as the quality of life you are living.

Prioritizing physical exercise (even 15 minutes three times a week) can seem absolutely impossible to those working mothers who also act as a roller coaster behind their children all day. It doesn’t mean the fitness isn’t important to them; it shows us they put a higher value on their children than their own well-being. The fitness tips they read are not necessarily wrong; they are just not right for them. One of the challenges that exists among the mothers who have a completely scheduled calendar is that they forget to put in time for themselves BEFORE scheduling their children’s hectic schedules. It isn’t even that these moms don’t want to change their routine. Even if the changes are highly beneficial to them, they just don’t see the value in themselves great enough to make physical exercise a priority.

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The Dreaded Double Chin

The dreaded double chin is an “Ack!” moment we’ve all encountered at one point or another when we look pictures. It doesn’t matter how physically fit we might be, because the camera angle, how we are sitting, where we are looking, etc., can herald its appearance. Most of us know the trick of sticking our chins out to make our necklines look thinner, but in the end the perfect “candid” shot this trick is not option. So what might be able to help offset the Dreaded Double Chin?

Spot exercising is a difficult thing to achieve, especially if you are not doing any aerobic exercises. But it is recognized that we can support certain areas by exercising those muscles regularly. We also need to remember obesity and hereditary are the two main causes of chin fat that give us the double chin. While not much can be done about genetic factors, if obesity is the reason, you may find the following facial exercises useful to help reduce the amount of fat stored in your neckline.

The first is one we’ve been introduced to before: head rotations. Rotate your head from side to side five…

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Tai Chi and Your Health

Tai Chi is a popular form of exercise based on the principles of martial arts. I personally do not practice Tai Chi, but I have always been intrigued by it. It has been recommended by a few health consultants for me to pick up, but like most people it is finding the time and energy to find space in my calendar. I hope one day to bring it up on my priority list. In my reading and interest level, I thought it would be interesting to share what I do know about Tai Chi with you in hopes that maybe through my writing and sharing I may one day get closer to embracing this practice.

What I have learned is that Tai Chi combines breathing and relaxation techniques with low-impact physical movements. Its roots can be traced to both the ancient Indian practice of yoga and a martial arts-like technique practiced by the Taoist monk Chang Sang Feng in ancient China.

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Christmas and Fuel Plans

The holiday season is now in full swing, and for those of us who love to bake and/or cook, you know this is the season in which you are in your glory. For the rest of us, we are challenged not to overindulge or partake in all the food lovingly shared with us by those in our lives. Whether it is home-baked goods brought into the office or sweets offered while visiting, the temptation is all around. I think for most people this is NOT the season for crash diets, restricted food intake or any other thoughts about reducing our weight; but it is the season for reasonable moderation and a daily check-in with your fuel plans.

If you are in the midst of manifesting a more appropriate physical body weight, then let’s take a few minutes to examine what it means to approach the notion of weight loss during the holiday season and how you still need to understand how weight loss needs to be a gradual process. Any technique or fuel plan (Remember, we changed the reference from “diet” to “fuel.”) that promises near-instant results is usually either a sham or extremely harmful for your health. During this season it can be even more challenging; therefore, your chances…

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Weight Loss and Metabolism

All of us envy those lucky souls who get to gorge on food without putting on any or very little weight! Ever wondered why it happens? The answer lies in the magic word “Metabolism”! A person’s metabolic rate seems to decide how difficult or easy it is for her (and you) to lose or gain weight. Obviously, metabolic rates differ from person to person. Very simply put, the metabolic rate refers to the amount of calories your body manages to burn in a day’s time.

First, before I continue I am sure you are wondering why the focus on your physical weight so much this month, and the answer is the holidays are right around the corner. I want to empower you to be able to make educated, smart and healthy decisions as you move through these next eight to nine weeks.

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HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and Weight Loss

One of the more controversial approaches to stopping the weight gain associated with aging is the introduction of HGH, or Human Growth Hormone. Your body’s natural production of HGH reduces as you age. The hormone affects almost every part of our body and regulates necessary functions such as cellular growth, muscle building and bone density. It is in fact because of the decline in natural production of HGH that we develop a lot of age-related problems, including obesity.

This means if the body can get more HGH through supplements or artificially, it may result in weight loss. However, HGH therapy is extremely expensive and not everyone can afford it. It is therefore a good idea to make lifestyle changes that can lead to greater natural production of HGH in the body in order to stay healthy and fit. I wanted to share with you a few of those tips to hopefully support you in the wonders of aging.

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Test Your Intuition

You may have come across several articles, blogs and videos telling you to trust your intuition, but how exactly do you start trusting it if you aren’t even sure if such a thing as intuition exists? The answer lies in experimenting on your own and figuring out just how strong your intuitive powers are. I thought I would share a few simple “tests” or “experiments” to help you increase the trust you have in your own inner voice and wisdom.

Coin Flipping
This really is one of the simplest ways to build trust in your intuition. Flip a coin and try to guess its result. Go by your gut feeling and make a note of all the times you were right as well as…

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Bloating: A Woman’s Fashion Sense Enemy

Standing in front of your clothes closet and trying to figure out what to wear can be more challenging than most people admit when they feel bloated and uncomfortable. This is not unique to when we are moving through the energy of the moon phases or menstruation. It also happens if we are not regular with our eating habits or exercise routines. Most often we translate the bloating into feeling and looking fat despite the fact we may not be overweight. Such is completely exasperating when it comes to dressing or choosing what to wear.

While most of us know how to get rid of the extra flab, getting rid of that bloated look is a different matter all together. Occasional bloating can be the result of fluid or air retention. Chronic bloating, however, can be a red flag or a symptom of a serious disease. If you feel bloated occasionally or are frustrated because you just can’t wear those fitted dresses because of your bloated stomach, then here are few remedies that may come in handy.

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Weight Training for Women

Why Do Women Need to Lift Weights?
When women hit the gym, more often than not they end up completely ignoring weights. The problem is that most women do not realize strength training or lifting weights is almost as important for their fitness as cardiovascular exercises are!

When we hear the term “weight training,” most of us conjure up images of big, muscled men sweating it out in the gym. And if you have a vivid imagination, you probably even add a few grunts that punctuate men’s weight lifting exercises to your vivid mental image. The truth of the matter, however, is that whether you are man or a woman your exercise regimen is incomplete unless you make weight training a part of it.

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Right Fitness Program

Just the thought of choosing the right fitness program can be overwhelming. There is so much information available, but how do you make the decision to take action and step into beginning a fitness program? This is something the majority of individuals struggle with. Take a few minutes and answer the following questions, honestly:
• How do I rate my fitness on a scale of 1 to 10?
• What are my fitness goals?
• What physical activities am I likely to enjoy the most?
• How much time can I devote to exercising every day?

These are the questions you need to ask yourself before you choose a fitness program. Your answers will give you guidelines on which to base your choice regarding what the most effective and enjoyable fitness programs will be for you.

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