by Linda Gabriel

Your body was created to move.

“Form follows function” is a principle found in nature. Because the function of a living thing will often determine it’s form, we can figure out something about the function of an organism from it’s form.

If you look at the human body, what’s the first thing you notice about the structure?
(Hint: what do we have that, say a jellyfish, doesn’t?)

Muscles.  Lots of big muscles. We have large muscles and long bones that are designed for movement.

We don’t need science to tell us that physical activity is good for us, we know we feel better when we get exercise. However the research is clear: lack of exercise leads to all sorts of problems.

What does the latest data reveal?

1.  Sitting too much shortens your lifespan.

Sadly, this is true even if you hit the gym but are otherwise sitting all day.

The solution?

• Get up and walk around for 5 minutes every half hour or so.
• Stand up and walk when you’re on the phone.
• Set up a standing computer station. You don’t have to use it all the time, but every little bit helps.
• Compared to sitting, simply standing helps keep your muscles toned.

2.  Lack of exercise not only increases your chances of heart disease, it increases risk of dementia, diabetes, and a bunch of cancers.

The good news?

Almost any amount of exercise reduces these risks. It doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive. Almost everyone can walk for 30 minutes a day. (If you have an injury or other health problem, check with your doctor.)

3.  Exercise isn’t just good for your body, it’s good for your brain.

Here’s how exercise benefits your brain:

• Exercise increases blood flow to the brain
• Regular exercise enhances memory, even in the elderly
• Exercise reduces depression
• Exercise initiates a cascade of bio-chemicals that contribute to health and a sense of well-being.
• Exercise reduces or prevents age-related brain shrinkage
• Exercise increases BDNF (Brain-derived neurotropic factor), especially sprints.

You are not a tree. You were born to move. Get up and enjoy this precious gift!

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The Key to Healthy Energy

Are You An Energy Hoarder?

by Linda Gabriel
Do you think of water as plain, bland, uninteresting?

That’s too bad. Especially if you’re trying to lose weight. Drinking water instead of high calorie beverages can be a short-cut to easy weight loss.

Did you know that if you eliminate only one soda or glass of juice per day you’ll automatically lose 10 to 15 pounds over the course of a year?

As a kid growing up in the desert I remember how we would gang up around the water fountain after recess. When I was hot and thirsty, there was nothing sweeter than the taste of cool fresh water. Yet as we grew up many of us learned to prefer sweetened sodas, juices, or fancy coffees.

Luckily it’s possible to retrain your brain to love water as your beverage of choice.

8 Ways to Love Drinking Water

1. Drink only water for a while

When you drink sweet drinks, even the no calorie version will stimulate your brain to crave sweets. Your addiction to sugar will decrease if you eat fewer sweet things. Soon you’ll be surprised how many things will taste far too sweet.

2. Always keep water nearby and keep it in sight

Keep an eco-friendly bottle of water at your desk. Place a glass of water on your nightstand so you can drink it first thing in the morning. Carry your own water with you in the car. Take a bottle of water with you to the movies.

3. Make sure your water source is as pure as possible… but not too pure

Consider installing a quality water filter.  It’s important to follow manufacturer directions and change filters frequently. While distilled water is pure, it lacks essential minerals that your body needs and which give water a pleasant taste. It’s okay once in a while, but don’t drink distilled water on a regular basis.

4. Enhance the flavor (and look) of water with no or low calorie extras

• Add a twist of lemon or lime
• Freeze berries into ice cubes and add them to a tall glass of filtered water and garnish with a sprig of mint
• Some people find the taste of room temperature water preferable to iced
• Try some of the commercially available no-calorie naturally fruit-flavored waters

5. Use a Jedi Mind Trick to associate drinking water with pleasant memories

Remember my description about how great water tasted after recess? Condition your mind to associate drinking water with anything you enjoy.  Every time you take a sip think of something or someone you love. Imagine beautiful scenes of water in nature – a waterfall, a rainbow, the sea. Think of drinking water as a shower for your insides. (You wouldn’t want to take a shower in soda would you?) Keep telling yourself how much you love the taste of water.

6. Remind yourself of the many health benefits of drinking water

• Water helps your body rid itself of toxins
• Water helps your mind function better
• Water can help reduce bloating
• Water helps increase weight loss by increasing your metabolic rate
• Water helps you keep cool and hydrated in hot weather
• Water helps prevent kidney stones
• Water helps your skin stay moist

7. Drinking water saves you money

This is especially true if you often eat at restaurants. Saving a mere $2 to $5 per day adds up to $700 to $1800 saved per year. That’s no small change!

8. Bless your water

Are you familiar with Dr. Masaru Emoto’s work with water crystals? His experiments suggest that our thoughts can influence the molecular structure of water. Appreciate the fact that you have abundant fresh water on tap when many in the world do not. Give thanks for your water. Bless the water before you drink it and imagine it carrying those blessings to every cell of your body.

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The Surprising Secret Behind the No Diet Diet

By Linda Gabriel

Diets don’t work; the research is clear.

But small lifestyle changes do add up over time and lead to surprising results.

Yes, I’m suggesting it is possible to lose weight effortlessly.

You won’t lose all the weight overnight; you didn’t gain it all overnight either. But you will lose 1 to 2 pounds a week automatically, if you make small, simple changes in the way you think, the way you move, and the way you eat.

The following suggestions have been scientifically proven to help you lose weight, and live a happier, healthier life – without dieting or deprivation.

They’re easy. They’re all free. And you can start right away. Today!

1. Begin your day with a high-protein breakfast.

Studies show that people who don’t eat breakfast are at greater risk for obesity than those who do.  People who eat a breakfast high in fiber and protein tend to eat fewer calories during the day, stave off hunger longer, and keep good blood sugar levels.

Menu ideas? Try cottage cheese with fresh berries, or scramble 2 egg whites together with one whole egg and serve with a slice of whole grain toast and an orange.  For some extra protein and calming calcium, stir a few spoonfuls of non-fat cottage cheese or yogurt into your morning oatmeal.

2. Take a 30 minute walk – and make it a daily habit.

A new study from the University of Pittsburgh found that just 26 minutes per day is the magic number to burn calories, generate those “feel-good” endorphins oxygenate your blood.  Moderate exercise also helps balance the hormones that control appetite.

3. Ask a friend to be your weight loss ‘buddy’ or join a group focused on fitness.

Research indicates that people who join a weight loss group lose weight at  twice the rate as people who go it alone.  And they keep the weight off longer. Even an email group or an online buddy helps.  If you exercise with friends, you’re more likely to go to the gym or take your daily 30 minute walk because it’s also a social commitment. You might even have a few good laughs! (See #4 below.)

4. Laugh out loud every day.

According to a British study, laughing raises your metabolism up to 20%.  Rent your favorite comedy. Prowl YouTube for funny clips and share them with your weight loss buddies. Play charades and get silly – the sillier the better. If all else fails, ask your sweetie to tickle you.

5. Get at least 7.5 hours sleep.

Recent studies reveal a definite connection between lack of sleep and obesity as well as other health problems. When we don’t feel rested, we seek to boost our energy with caffeine and/or sweets. To make matters worse, not getting enough sleep stimulates the production of appetite-boosting hormone ghrelin. On the other hand, when you regularly get adequate sleep, your body produce hormones that suppress appetite, combat stress, and help stabilize metabolism. Most American adults, teens, and even young children are chronically sleep deprived. Why not go to bed an hour earlier tonight and reap the benefits of a good night’s sleep?

Photo Credit

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by Linda Gabriel

Do something different!

That’s right. Do something – anything – different and you’re likely to lose weight in the process. That’s what doctors Ben Fletcher, Karen Pine and Danny Penman discovered in their research. They are specialists in something called “behavioral flexibility” and co-authors of the book The No Diet Diet.

While researching the effects of making small changes in daily behavior, they noticed their test subjects not only became more productive and happier, they also lost weight – without even trying to. This led Fletcher, Pine and Penman to the the theory of something they call the habitweb.

You Live in a Habitweb

Humans have evolved by creating habits. This helps us avoid having to learn the same things over and over.  While repeating good habits is good for us, repeating bad habits means repeating mistakes. Your bad habits are stuck inside a web of supportive good habits. The bad news: your habitweb is very strong and is held in place by the forces of inertia.

The good news?

Breaking unconnected habits can help unravel the habitweb. When you try to make too many big changes, the habitweb goes into resistance. However small changes in the habitweb can become global. This is why Fletcher, Pine and Penman’s research subjects lost weight without trying. When they started doing a few things differently each day, those changes automatically led to changes in how they ate and moved, without them noticing or feeling deprived.

When you try to lose weight by going on an extreme diet your habitweb will eventually win. Yes, you may lose weight through willpower but the habitweb will eventually draw you back into its comfort zone.

The No Diet Diet tackles the entire habitweb by using the leverage of small changes so that the entire habitweb becomes more flexible and less of an obstacle to healthy change.

No Diet Diet suggestions for small changes:

1. Get up one hour earlier.
2. Try being more (or less) conventional.
3. Listen to a different type of music.
4. Be nice to someone you don’t like.
5. Go to bed one hour earlier.
6. Learn a new skill.
7. Write in a journal for 15 minutes.
8. Do something new with the kids.
9. Throw away something you no longer need.
10. Make a list of your goals for next week.

Do something different every day for a while. The idea is to shake things up in a not-so-serious way. If you usually read the paper in the morning take a week off. If you never read the morning paper try reading it for a change. Take a different route home from work. You get the idea.

“Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed down the stairs a step at a time.” ~ Mark Twain

Give it a try! I’d love to hear how doing something different works for you.

The No Diet Diet is available at amazon.com.

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If You Want to Lose Weight What’s More Important than Willpower?

How to Relax Yourself Thin

By Linda Gabriel

Let me ask you a simple question. What if it were just as easy to lose weight as it is to gain it?

If you’re reading this it’s likely you’ve struggled with dieting, exercise, and weight loss – probably for years. You’ve read countless articles, spent time and money as you suffered through your attempts to lose weight. You’ve watched people be tortured and shamed on prime time shows like The Biggest Loser or Celebrity Fit Club. It’s obvious that it’s painful and difficult to lose weight.

Or is it?

How I Lost 10 Pounds in 2 Months. Effortlessly.

When I was in my early 30′s I was the mother of two young children.  I’d gained 50 pounds with each pregnancy and had managed to lose all but about 10 extra pounds. Those 10 extra pounds weren’t what I now refer to as “vanity pounds” – the attempt to look like an underweight runway model.  My BMI (Body Mass Index) was too high and those 10 extra pounds posed a health risk.

Not only was I responsible for a couple of active toddler boys, our family was building a home while remodeling our current home into an office for my husband’s practice. The office he was leasing had been rented to a new tenant so there was a strict deadline by which we had to have everything done. It was left to me to handle the daily problems that cropped up in our simultaneous building projects.

How did I deal with the stress? Every night I relaxed with a nice glass of wine… or two. This went on for more than a year.

Finally the day came when all had been completed. We had finished the projects, had moved office and home but I was still polishing off my couple of glasses of wine with dinner each night. I can’t remember exactly when it hit me but one evening I had a “Betty Ford” moment.  I liked my wine a little too much.  It had served it’s purpose, but now that the major stressors were gone I really didn’t need it any more.  So I decided to quit.

Within 2 months I lost 10 pounds. Effortlessly.

The only thing that had changed in my diet was no more wine with dinner. I was also getting a bit more daily exercise now that I was living in a larger house with an upstairs bedroom, but I really didn’t notice the difference consciously. The truth is, after a couple of days, I really didn’t miss the wine. I’m not a drinker and it had just become a habit during a time of stress.

Those last 10 pounds made a noticeable difference in my appearance. Friends started asking me, “What did you do to lose weight? You look great!” When I told them it was as simple as cutting out wine with dinner the answer was always, “It couldn’t be that easy.” One friend’s response to my explanation was to lower her voice to a conspiratorial whisper and ask, “Really, Linda. You can tell me. What did you do?” “No, seriously,” I insisted. “I just stopped drinking wine.” She refused to believe me.

The disbelief was universal. Virtually everyone insisted that it couldn’t be that easy. But I’m telling you truthfully – it was.

I had trouble believing it myself. I wanted to figure out how cutting out wine with dinner had made such an amazing difference. Once upon a time I’d looked up the caloric value of a glass of white wine. It was 90 calories, right? I checked again.  I’d failed to notice it’s 90 calories for 3-4 ounces. Nobody drinks only 3-4 ounces of wine.

I pulled out one of my lovely wine goblets and decided to measure how much liquid it actually held. I was shocked to find the capacity was 12 ounces!  Because it was stemware, the glass appeared to hold much less than say, a full can of cola. But most certainly it did. I was shocked to realize I’d been drinking at least two 10 ounce glasses of wine. I’d been mindlessly consuming an extra 600 calories each night!

600 x 7= 4200 calories per week.

4200 x 8 weeks = 33,600 calories.

It takes approximately 3500 calories to gain (or lose) one pound. Suddenly it was clear how cutting out those glasses of wine had led to losing 10 pounds in 2 months.

If you eat 100 extra calories than you burn per day, that adds up to a weight gain of 10 pounds per year.
200 extra calories per day? Twenty pounds per year.

The reverse is also true. If you cut out 100 calories per day, you will lose 10 pounds within a year. 100 calories amounts to a soft drink or a few bites of food per day. 200 calories is one extra cookie, or the amount you eat when you “finish your plate” instead of stopping when you are full. If it’s easy for you to quit drinking wine or beer, you could be 10 pounds thinner in just a few weeks.

Automatically. Efforlessly. Without suffering or shame.

Let me ask you another simple question. Where could you effortlessly cut out a few hundred calories per day?

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Does Size and Shape Really Matter?

by Linda Gabriel

Your body has evolved a special system to protect you. In “caveman” days, if you were threatened by an enemy or predator, your body would shift into “fight or flight” mode, instantly secreting stress hormones like adrenaline.

Are You Sympathetic or Parasympathetic?

This system, called the sympathetic nervous system, is designed to protect you in any life-threatening emergency but the chemicals it uses are very taxing to your body. While they are essential to speed up your reflexes so you can survive in an emergency, over time they can be quite harmful to your health.

Once the threat is over, another part of your nervous system compensates by secreting a different set of chemicals that calm you, allowing your body to rest and repair itself after the stress of having to fight or flee. This calming system is called the parasympathetic nervous system. Together these two systems form the autonomic nervous system which works in the background below the level of your conscious awareness. Ideally the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems are in balance.

Surviving Modern Life

Today we no longer fear attack from wild animals, but we face other “survival” fears from every area of modern life. The problem is your subconscious mind isn’t very skilled at distinguishing between a real and imagined event. It tends to interpret many experiences as life threatening even though you may not be in actual physical danger.

Being stuck in a traffic jam, the fear of losing your job, a failing grade on a report card, ending a relationship – while none of these are actually life-threatening your subconscious mind may feel like your very survival is at stake. Your subconscious mind will even interpret stories you hear on the news as reasons to feel anxious even though they don’t affect you directly. Eventually your sympathetic nervous system starts to work overtime. And if you don’t have a chance to relax, your parasympathetic nervous system can’t come to the rescue.

The Dangers of Cortisol

When you experience constant stress, your body begins to secrete a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is linked to a number of health problems. Recent studies have also linked cortisol to weight gain, especially around the abdomen. It’s that dangerous “belly fat” you may have heard about on the news – a story that, while informative, can also activate your sympathetic nervous system and add to your level of stress. It’s a vicious cycle!

How to Create a Strategy for Stress Reduction:

The best weapon against stress is to have a strategy to relax on a regular basis. It’s important for you to enter a parasympathetic state every day to allow your body to balance all those stress hormones you create when you’re in a sympathetic or stressful state. Here’s a list of activities that have been shown to create a parasympathetic response.

• Yoga
• Tai Chi
• Qi Gong
• Meditation
• Deep Breathing
• Spending time in Nature
• Massage
• Acupuncture
• Guided Visualization
• Hypnotherapy

Breath Meditation

One of the simplest and easiest ways to relax and renew is meditation. It requires no equipment – just you! It’s amazing how even 5 or 10 minutes of quieting your mind can offset a whole day of stress. I invite you to take a moment right now to close your eyes and take 3 or 4 slow, deep, relaxing breaths. Make sure to breathe all the way into your belly so that with each inhalation you can feel the belly gently expand and then with a slow, complete exhalation you can feel the belly gently relax. Don’t try to force the breath, just let it become slightly slower and deeper with each breath.

Go ahead now and try it. I’ll wait…

No really. Stop reading and take a few deep breaths. If you’re like most people, it will only take 3 deep breaths to begin calming down your nervous system. It’s one of the reasons people sigh when they’re upset; that’s your body’s attempt to balance itself. It’s also an unconscious reason why many people smoke. They believe it’s the cigarette that calms them down but it’s really the deep breathing!

Relax, Renew and Reduce

Are you willing to take a few minutes each day to relax and renew? If you do, you’ll allow your body chemistry to balance itself, paving the way to better health, a greater sense of well-being, and a more efficient metabolism.

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How to Change Your Beliefs About Weight Loss

by Linda Gabriel

It’s important to give yourself permission to enjoy traditional holiday meals. In order to gain a pound, you have to overeat by 3500 calories. That’s hard to do in one sitting. The tendency to over eat several hundred calories a day over the holidays is far more treacherous. Those mindless extra bites can really add up, so keep your splurges confined to the traditional holiday feasts. One day of over-indulgence is okay, but don’t turn Thanksgiving into a 4-day eating marathon.

If you have a strategy you’ll be able to enjoy the holidays without gaining weight. You might even lose a pound or two.

10 Tips for Healthy Eating Over the Holidays.

1. Don’t go to a party on an empty stomach. If you try to starve yourself in advance in order to “save up calories” you’re much more likely to overeat. It’s better to eat normal, healthy food the day of a party. Sometimes I eat a healthy snack like an apple before heading out. That way, by the time I arrive, I’m more interested in the company than the food.

2. Don’t overdo the alcohol. It adds a lot of extra calories and interferes with good judgment. Decide ahead of time to have only one drink and make it last. Skip mixed drinks, especially egg nog. It can pack as much as 600 calories per serving! At 160 calories per 8 ounces, champagne is a much better choice. Better yet, drink sparkling water. Tall narrow beverage glasses fool the eye into thinking you have a larger serving than shorter wider glassware.

3. Don’t stand and chat next to the food table at a buffet. Stay more than an arm’s length away. Serve yourself a plate and move to the other side of the room where you can slowly enjoy what you’re eating. Focus on socializing.

4. Remind yourself that food is a poor substitute for love. If you have a beloved relative that typically insist you eat seconds, plan ahead. Serve yourself smaller portions to begin with. Then pre-emt by asking for seconds of one particular dish – the healthiest.  Better yet, skip the seconds but give your relative a big hug and tell them how much you love and appreciate them.

5. Enjoy treats but limit the amount. Instead of full portions, try sampling small tastes of several different items. That extra cookie or serving of yams usually doesn’t taste as good as you think it will. Instead choose to eat just one small serving and really savor it.

6. At parties, don’t just sit in one place, mingle! Keep moving. Offer to help with the clean up. If there’s music, get out on the dance floor.

7. Days are short during the winter so plan to get some exercise early in the day, preferably first thing in the morning. Grab the kids and take a brisk walk outside if weather permits. Going shopping? Wear comfortable shoes and include a few extra laps around the mall. Get an exercise buddy and enroll in a stress-busting yoga class. Rent or buy exercise videos. Choose some fun ones like Belly Dance for Beginners or Sweatin’ to the Oldies.

8. If you’re invited to a pot luck, consider bringing a healthy dish. There are a loads of delicious, healthy recipes at cookinglight.com.

9. Out of sight = out of mind = out of stomach. Don’t use food as part of your holiday decor at home or at work. Keep treats under wraps until you are ready to serve.

10. Distribute and/or destroy the bounty. If you receive a box of candy or cookies, open it on the spot and share. Send leftovers home with guests. And don’t be afraid to throw surplus food away. With more than half of adults in the US suffering from obesity, people are suffering from having way too much food. Imagine you are throwing fat down the garbage disposal. Better in the trash than in your arteries!

What are some of your favorite tips for keeping fit over the holidays?

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By Linda Gabriel

If you’re like most Americans, you have no clue of the number of calories needed to maintain your desired weight. Even worse, you probably don’t have a clue about how many you actually are eating every day.

According to a recent survey of over 1,000 people conducted by The International Food Information Council Foundation 63% couldn’t estimate the number, 25% won’t even take a guess and only 12% have an accurate idea of how many calories they eat. That means a whopping 88% of those surveyed are clueless about their “number.”

Part of the reason is that there is no one-size-fits-all number.  Each person is unique and individual caloric requirements vary widely depending on your gender, height, weight, age, and level of physical activity. According to Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, the registered dietician who helped conduct the survey,

“Adult calorie requirements can range from 1,400 to 1,600 a day for a small sedentary woman to 4,000 or more calories a day for a highly trained endurance athlete.”

How Can You Figure Out Your Number?

Here are the 4 things you need to know in order to get a handle on your personal number.

1. What’s the number of calories needed to maintain your desired weight?

Thanks to the internet this number is much easier than ever to calculate. Go to http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598 and enter your desired weight. This is the number you want to aim for each day.

Helpful Hint: Use this number instead of a calorie restricted number. Diets don’t work. On the other hand, if you adjust your intake to the number of calories needed to maintain your goal weight, you will automatically lose 1-2 pounds a week, usually without suffering.

2. What’s the number of calories in food?

Again, this information is more easy to find than ever. You can find inexpensive pocket guides near the check-out stand in most grocery stores and there lots of free calorie content websites. Some are better than others. I happen to like this one: www.calorieking.com. And now there’s even an app for that! Check out Livestrong.com’s highly rated (and inexpensive) Calorie Tracker which has the nutritional content of lots of foods and allows you to keep track of what you eat (and burn) during the day. If you eat in restaurants, I highly recommend the bestselling book Eat This Not That by David Zinczenko.

Helpful Hint: If you are serious about knowing the amount of calories in the food you eat, it’s important to be honest about the portion size.

3. How many calories do you actually eat?

Go back to the calorie calculator at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598. This time enter your actual weight. This will give you an idea of what you are actually eating in order to maintain your current weight.

Helpful Hint: Subtract the number of calories needed to maintain your desired weight from the number to maintain your current weight and you’ll have a good idea of how many calories you need to cut out per day.

4. How many calories do you burn?

Not only do people not know how many calories the eat, they aren’t clear about how many calories they burn each day. 77% of Americans don’t meet the government’s guidelines of 2½ hours of moderate-intensity physical activity a week. That’s not for weight loss, that’s for health!

If you think taking a brisk walk will burn off that cinnamon roll you ate for breakfast prepare yourself for a shock.  One Cinnabon contains a whopping 740 calories! Yes, you can “walk it off” but it will take about 2 hours at a brisk 3.5 miles per hour for a 200 pound person. The Mayo Clinic has a handy chart that will give you an idea of how many calories different activities burn in an hour.

Helpful Hint: Purchase and use a pedometer to keep track of how many steps you take per day.  Experts recommend 10,000!

While calories aren’t the whole picture, having a solid frame of reference about your calorie intake and output is a key step in creating a lifestyle that fosters a healthy weight and a healthy body.

by Linda Gabriel

Healthy energy is flowing energy.

Did you know you have an energy body, as well as a physical body? When we feel trapped or stuck in life, it’s a clear sign that our energy isn’t flowing. No one likes the feeling of being stuck in traffic. In Chinese medicine, pain is an indication that your energy is blocked in the area that hurts.

Being overweight is a physical sign that your energy isn’t flowing properly. Fat is stagnant energy. When you get your energy moving, you’ll lose weight automatically.

Breathe!

One of the best ways to get energy flowing is to breathe. I mean really breathe, deep into your belly. Have you ever watched a newborn baby breathe? Perhaps you’ve noticed how the baby’s belly visibly moves with every breath. That’s how I want you to breathe; deep into your belly so that with each inhalation you can feel your belly gently expand and then with each slow exhalation, feel the belly gently relax.

Your Body is Designed to Move

Exercise is another way to move energy. Walking, especially outdoors in nature, is a great way to reset your energy flow. Medical experts suggest walking 30 minutes at least 5 days a week. This is not for weight loss, it’s for normal health.  Your body is designed to move. When you’re sedentary you are blocking your natural flow of energy.  The paradox is, the less you move, the less energy you will have so you won’t feel like moving! But if you make walking 30 minutes every day a part of your normal daily routine, you’ll actually increase your energy. Expending energy increases energy. Deeper breathing is a normal result of exercise so you get the added energy benefit of breath.

Stretch Your Body, Stretch Your Mind

Stretching gets your energy moving. Yoga is a great way to stretch, move and increase flexibility. It’s also good to stretch your mind by learning something new. Challenging yourself to stretch beyond your comfort zone is a great way to infuse your life with new energy. It’s important not to try too much at once. No one can run a marathon without some training. So whether it’s exercise or learning something new, it’s okay to take baby steps.

What are some ways you can get your energy flowing? Please leave a comment below.

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Rare is the person that would argue drinking more water—and less sugary drinks like sodas in the process—doesn’t lead to better health. New research validates your trainer’s urging to drink more water—increased water intake yields faster weight loss. Read the rest of the article…

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Food for the Soul!

In this amazing video a three-year-old recites the thoughtful poem “Litany” by Billy Collins:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVu4Me_n91Y