6 Ways to Stay Healthy Naturally

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There are several ways we can stay healthy naturally, and do our best to keep sickness from entering our homes and bodies. Waiting until you think you might be getting sick is not the time to figure out how to keep from getting sick though.

6 in 10 adults in the US have chronic disease. 4 in 10 adults have 2 or more chronic illnesses.

Heart disease, cancer, lung disease, diabetes, kidney disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease, are some of the top diseases that are the most common.

The biggest cause of these diseases are lifestyle. Lifestyles that regularly use tobacco, excessive alcohol, poor nutrition and are sedentary, are the lifestyles that can cause the above mentioned diseases.

Lifestyle choices effect our health for good and for bad. To try to avoid getting the common cold, the flu, or even more life threatening diseases it is good to follow a healthy lifestyle of wellness.

This is not to say you will never get sick, but the healthier you live your life, the less likely you will be to catch something, or for it to hang around long, if you do!

“Older adults and people who have severe underlying medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 illness.” Center for Disease and Control and Prevention.

If we take care of our bodies and keep them in great shape, we are living a lifestyle of health, strength and wellness.

HEALTH BEGINS FROM CHILDHOOD

Mental, physical and spiritual health all starts when we’re kids. How we are raised shapes our future.

When we take control of our own health as adults, or even as teens, we can alter our health destiny by changing how we live our lives, and the lifestyle choices that we make.

One of the top lifestyle choices that can alter our wellness and health is our nutrition.

SET YOUR CHILDREN UP FOR SUCCESS

If you have kids, what are you doing to set your own children up for success with a healthy lifestyle?

Are they eating fruits and vegetables or mostly sweet, fast or fried foods? What are they drinking? Have you been able to get them on an eating schedule loaded with a rainbow of colorful fresh foods?

As a server, I have personally witnessed parents sitting down to eat with their children. I’ve seen these parents order junk for their kids, while they sit there and have a salad.

Children can eat salad, too. If their taste buds are used to good, wholesome food from the very beginning, they will love healthy foods.

I’ve got 5 of my own children, and from the first time they ate food until they were in their pre-teens, they never tasted a soda, any kind of meat, any sort of pastry or pre-packaged food. I made everything from scratch, whole grain and vegan, and that is what they ate, and still prefer. (Mostly).

What is the future of your children? As an adult, what habits will they have developed from childhood?

BREAK THE CYCLE

Parents raise their children the way their parents raise them. It is a cycle that goes on for generations and it can be a set up for success or failure, depending on the habits taught and developed from childhood.

I am extremely blessed. I was raised a vegan and I am 40 now and have never once had meat.

I’m very grateful for how my parents raised me. And I remember as a kid, them catching a lot of flak for it, too. It wasn’t easy! Especially in the 80’s. I had juice on my granola because soy milk wasn’t readily available.

I feel lucky though, because I never had to give up anything on my plate or change my diet to lose weight or combat years of health problems.

My mom set me up for success, and because of her and how I was raised, I have never had to deal with excessive weight or health problems.

This is what we do for our children when we set them up with healthy habits starting at babyhood.

As adults, if we were not raised with good habits, and want to be healthy, we have to change our lifestyle habits and it will not be easy.

I know that not everybody knows what to do or where to start to make lifestyle changes. And that is why I am here. I want to be there for you as you start your healthy lifestyle journey!

(See below for beginners guides on how to start your healthy adventure!)

1. STAY HEALTHY NATURALLY WITH WATER

Water cleans us out on the inside. If you leave the inside “unwashed”, the likelihood of getting sick is higher. For best results, drink at least 8-12 glasses of water a day. Not fluids. There is a difference. This needs to be actual water.

Let me just give you a quick example of a few health problems that can be turned around with just 96oz of water in your day: Kidney stones, fatigue, lack of energy, bad breath, poor sleep, urinary tract infection, dry splotchy skin, lackluster hair, sore muscles, muscle cramps, elongated sickness, digestive problems, weight gain, and so many more pain in the butt problems, can be kept at bay simply by drinking plenty of water.

If you think drinking 96oz of water a day is impossible, I’ve got a few tricks for you right here! How to Drink 96oz of Water a Day. And if you don’t like water and can’t stand the taste, here’s a little help with that, too. Five Ways to Yummy-Up Your Water.

I am not a doctor, and of course, as always, if you’re not sure, it never hurts to ask your doctor what he/she advises for your daily water recommendations.

2. STAY HEALTHY NATURALLY WITH HERBS

“Herbs such as milk thistle, bilberry, hawthorn, evening primrose oil, garlic, Siberian ginseng and ginkgo are some of the most powerful food grade items medicine has ever seen. These herbs and others are entirely safe and very effective.” Dr. Agatha Thrash M.D. Preventive Medicine.

For more details on why these herbs are so good and how to use them read her article Designer Foods, Herbs & Disease Prevention

When I was in high school, I lived in a dorm, and for some reason this one particular year, I remember getting sick. A lot. Unusually often. One thing that the dean always made for us girls when we got sick was the shot of death. I hated it, but now, I use it for my kids.

It is a combo of grapefruit juice, fresh cloves of garlic, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, honey, and ginger. You blend this up into a shot, and literally shoot it. It burns, but it will take away a sore throat fast.

I grew up on herbs, they do actually work, and a lot of times, in my past experience, are a lot less invasive than going to a doctor and work even better.

It is important to be well educated when using herbs. I suggest doing a lot more reading on the use of herbs if it is something you want to use more of.

3. STAY HEALTHY NATURALLY WITH NUTRITION

One of the best ways to stay healthy is to eat a lot of fresh foods. Not just when you’re feeling yucky, and not just here and there. This needs to be a daily habit.

The saying prevention is better than cure is one I take seriously. And nutrition is the best way to put that saying into action.

Green, leafy veggies are on the top of my list, which is why I have “Green Drink Sunday” almost every Sunday! Habits like this make green things easy, fun and tasty. Even when my kids have friends over, they all get green smoothies or juice. It’s just how we roll!

Stay away from sugary foods like pastries, candy, ice cream, sodas, sweet tea, etc. (This doesn’t include fruit).

Sugar kills white blood cells which are our disease fighters. Increase fresh foods like citrus fruits, red and green bell peppers, kale, broccoli, kiwi, pineapple, spinach, etc. because they are high in vitamin C and they also help to increase production of white blood cells.

5. STAY HEALTHY NATURALLY WITH SLEEP

Proper sleep is essential to keeping your immune system strong and healthy. As soon as you start having late nights, disrupted sleep schedules, and then over sleeping, you’re creating the perfect playground for viruses to grow.

Getting too much sleep and not enough sleep are equally bad for your body. An adult should get at least 7-9 hours of rest per night.

For more on how to get better sleep, read 8 Steps to Improve Your Quality of Sleep. And, 7 Things That Ruin Your Sleep.

6. STAY HEALTHY NATURALLY WITH WEIGHT CONTROL

I realize this is no quick or easy fix, but it has to be done for healths sake.

Weight control goes hand in hand with exercise, nutrition, and wellness. People that are overweight are more likely to have heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer, and depression. These are some of the very same diseases I listed in the beginning of this article.

Excessive weight causes so many problems. Aside from disease, it is hard on your joints, your mental health, and your ability to enjoy life.

I have written articles specifically to help you begin your weight loss journey. They show you how to lose and maintain weight naturally and healthfully. Here are a couple articles for starters: Lose and Maintain Healthy Weight with Carbs and How to Maintain Healthy Weight After Dieting.

Sometimes weight loss is just something you need a little extra help with, alongside your nutrition and exercise program. I highly recommend the PhysIQ System, in combination with the Nrf2. I am a vegan so I myself won’t use the whey protein in the PhysIQ System package, but you can purchase the Fat Burn and Prebiotic separately and replace the protein with the Nrf2 for a complete package!

7. STAY HEALTHY NATURALLY WITH EXERCISE

Getting exercise has to happen. Exercise keeps us younger longer, keeps our weight in check and presents aches and pain. It can also help keeps us healthy from disease, depression, and many other things that nobody should ever have to deal with.

“As exercise is increased, degenerative diseases of all kinds are decreased, life span is extended, various minor infections such as colds are reduced . . .” Agatha M. Thrash, M.D. Preventive Medicine

When you exercise, you’re breathing deeper and this helps to flush out your lungs and helps make you more resistant to respiratory infections. Do this outside and it is a win-win!

Exercise also increases white blood cells. Remember earlier how I said white blood cells are our disease fighters?

Exercise balances out our hormones. Including stress hormones. Stress makes us more susceptible to disease. So exercising brings us to a better, balanced state.

Below are some resources for beginners on how to change your lifestyle to one of wellness and health.

Beginners Guide to Healthy Living

Beginners Guide to Weight Lifting and Gym Life

What is a Vegan

7 Things That Ruin Your Sleep

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There are a lot of things that ruin your sleep. The older we get, the more difficult it is to sleep, but have you ever wondered why? I am sure you wonder every day, unless you’re a rare one that actually sleeps like a baby still.

Sleep is so underrated until you can’t sleep. Then it becomes one of the most valuable things in your life!

How come some people sleep like babies and others just cannot seem to fall asleep, stay asleep, or wake up when it’s time to get up, and actually feel rested?

WHAT DOES THE DOCTOR SAY?

Doctor Agatha M. Thrash, M.D. Preventive Medicine and founder of Uchee Pines health educational and wellness facility, said that, “Seven to eight times more women than men suffer from insomnia. Six hundred tons of sleeping pills are taken by Americans yearly.”

She also says that, “sleep before midnight is twice as beneficial as sleep after midnight, because growth hormone (useful in adults for repair and healing, cheerfulness and a strong mind) is produced mainly during the hours before midnight, and only when one is sleeping.”

She goes on to say that, “REM sleep is important for learning, memory, and adaptation. Irritability, anxiety, and mental disturbance follow REM deprivation.”

She further stated that, “sleep loss is associated with retention of nitrogen, sodium, and water; more protein is required to compensate for excessive losses which occur on the second day of sleep deprivation.”

So obviously, lack of sleep is bad but, we kind of know that. At least some of us do. If nothing else, we know it makes us grumpy. And nobody likes grumpy people.

You may not appreciate what I’m about to say, but take it or leave it. If you’re missing out on good ol’ Mr. Z’s, you might at least consider eliminating one (or two) or at best, seven, of these sleep robbers. You might actually begin sleeping better and sounder again!

ELECTRONICS RUIN YOUR SLEEP

I will be the first to tell you that the TV sometimes sends me to dreamland. But I don’t fall asleep to a TV on purpose.

Truth is, it is not actually the TV that puts you to sleep, but the relaxation, the zoning out, and the fact that you were previously tired before you started watching TV. And it is true, if I am not tired I don’t generally fall asleep watching TV.

Electronics emit a blue light that triggers your brain to stop making melatonin. The blue light exposure can delay the onset of REM sleep and lead to morning drowsiness.

I have five kids and I’ve got one that is particularly addicted to her phone. Not only her phone, but she has to have the TV on while she’s on her phone. And out of all five of my children, she is the one that struggles the most with a good night’s rest. Hmmm . . .

Alternatives to TV at night? Well, get the old board game out, a puzzle, a coloring book, some music and candles, and hang out with the family old fashion style. Read a paper book. Read a magazine. Work on a project or an art form. Do something that is not TV related.

A SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE RUINS YOUR SLEEP

When kids play hard outside, moms always say, “at least they’ll sleep good tonight!” But did you know this goes for grown ups, too?

Folks, find a way to break a sweat. Every. Day. Exercise and wear yourselves out. Get out in the dirt, the snow, the water, the gym. Somewhere away from the chair, the couch or the bed.

A study was done on young adult “weekend athletes” who played tennis or golf two or three times a week, and was published in Sports Medicine. They found that these “athletes” physical condition was only slightly better than completely sedentary individuals.

A little bit of exercise doesn't cut it.

It’s important to make vigorous exercise a daily habit. For ultimate health and great sleep, spend two hours a day exercising. One hour outside, another hour inside, either weight training or something equally active that forces you to use your muscles. For example, cleaning the garage, or something where you’re lifting pulling and pushing. If done right house cleaning can be this. I break a sweat sometimes when I’m cleaning.

Going to the gym is a thing, I go every morning (except on the weekend; that I leave for outdoor activities). But, studies have shown that exercising outside, particularly when the sun is shining, results in greater and steadier muscle growth. Plus, the benefits of fresh air work in your favor for a better night’s rest.

YOUR SHOES RUIN YOUR SLEEP

“Emerging scientific research has revealed a surprisingly positive and overlooked environmental factor on health: direct physical contact with the vast supply of electrons on the surface of the Earth.”

“Earthing (or grounding) refers to the discovery of benefits—including better sleep and reduced pain—from walking barefoot outside or sitting, working, or sleeping indoors connected to conductive systems that transfer the Earth’s electrons from the ground into the body.”

“Omnipresent throughout the environment is a surprisingly beneficial, yet overlooked global resource for health maintenance, disease prevention, and clinical therapy: the surface of the Earth itself.” G. Chevalier, S. T. Sinatra, and J. L. Oschman

Get outside and play in the dirt! 🙂

YOUR DRINK RUINS YOUR SLEEP

In 8 Steps to Improve Your Quality of Sleep I mention this, but I’m going to say it again . . . Coffee and alcohol . . . These two things can really mess with your night.

It takes 4-6 hours for the body to metabolize caffeine, which is a stimulant that can disturb a good nights rest. Just 1 cup of coffee (even early in the day) can still effect quality sleep.

If you’ve decided to quit drinking caffeine altogether, it can take 2 weeks and up to 2 months of being off of caffeine, before the detox process is complete. During this phase, you may find it very difficult to rest, even though you’re not consuming caffeine at all.

Initially, a glass of wine helps a lot of people fall into blissful dreams. But did you know that, even though you fall asleep quicker and sleep sounder right away, it actually reduces rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. And the more you drink before bed, the more pronounced these effects. REM sleep happens about 90 minutes after we fall asleep. REM sleep is when you dream. It is also the part of your rest that strengthens your immune system. Deep sleep is “for your body” and REM sleep is “for your brain”.

Because alcohol messes up the natural sleep patterns in our bodies, the quality of shuteye is compromised.

AGING CAN RUIN YOUR SLEEP

As people age, they often develop more medical problems, if they don’t take care of themselves. Snoring and other sleep related breathing disorders tend to be more prevalent. Also, insomnia increases as you age, which again, is mostly because of health problems.

The underlying problem -with most problems- is your health.

But, health (most of the time) can be turned around. (Here’s your beginner’s guide to healthy living if you don’t know where to start!) You can add years to your life, literally, and you can also change how you feel.

Exercising is the most important healthy habit you should develop, in order to live longer, sleep better and feel better!

Aging doesn’t have to change your ability to exercise. If you exercise in your teens, twenties and on into your thirties and forties when it really counts, you’re going to be less susceptible to disease and other health issues, as well as insomnia.

PREVENT AGING AND INSOMNIA

Prevent the onset of aging by learning how to balance8life. Your mindset is going to be your power. Don’t give into the need to follow the masses and blame everything on age. Take your health by the b**ls. There are a lot of people that feel great at 30-90 who take care of themselves.

Take care of yourself!  No excuses!

Wikipedia says that: The causes of aging are uncertain; current theories are assigned to the damage concept, whereby the accumulation of damage (such as DNA oxidation) may cause biological systems to fail, or to the programmed aging concept, whereby internal processes (such as DNA methylation) may cause aging.

Wikipedia isn’t the only place you can find this information. Scientists have actually put a lot of thought and time into the study of aging.

“Some of the most studied and best understood theories of aging involve what is happening on a cellular level. From exposure to damaging oxidants and free radicals, the “Free Radical Theory of Aging,” to declines in certain cellular systems like energy production, the “Mitochondrial Theory of Aging,” to another theory that is . . . , the “Sirtuin Theory of Aging.'” ~ Greg Fox.

7 months ago I started taking Nrf2, a natural supplement that is clinically proven to reduce oxidative stress. It is essentially an anti-aging supplement that works at the cellular level. I feel it. I am only 40, but I feel the difference! (Putting “only” in front of 40 really feels wrong, just being honest). Not only is Nrf2 “anti-aging”, but after taking it for 3 months, I started sleeping through the night for the first time after my frozen shoulders, for 4 long years.

YOUR NAP IS RUINING YOUR SLEEP

Afternoon naps are a glory hallelujah type of thing – in the moment. But then you wake up groggy, irritable or . . . you might feel great. However it is that you wake up, it wakes you up too much.

Naps ruin your night because they prevent you from being tired at bedtime.
As a result, your good night sleep has just been sabotaged.

Skip out on the nap. Get up, move around, go outside, make some Axio, do something to wake up.

Regular Axio only has 100mg of natural caffeine in it. There are also decaf options. Axio also has the ingredients of the Nrf2, and it’s a brain wake up as well as an energizer.

IRREGULARITY RUINS YOUR SLEEP

If you struggle with sleep, and sleeping all night long, it’s time to get on a regular routine.

You’ve got to have a bed time and a get up time. And this has to happen on the daily.

I know – I don’t even do this that strictly. But I am pretty regular on my bed time being an approximate time every day. My morning alarm is more difficult to get up to though, when I change it, and I always feel it. But generally speaking, if you sleep at a regular time and get up at a regular time, not only does your body know what to expect, but it is easier to be tired at bedtime and awake when it’s time to be up.

regularity is everything when it comes to sleep.

“Week-long irregular sleep schedules are significantly associated with lower self-reported morning and evening happiness, healthiness, and calmness during the week,” Akane Sano, PhD

IN CONCLUSION

Our bodies thrive when we take care of ourselves. For more on how to take care of your body, go to “blog” and discover everything you need to know about how to start your health journey. I show you how balance8life works on a daily basis. I teach you what balance8life is, and how to live a balance of these 8 methods to have a healthy, balanced life! (That’s a lot of balancing, but I think you get the idea!)

If you have any questions, I would be glad to answer to the best of my ability! And if I don’t have the answer, I’ll either find the answer or someone else that can give you an answer. So please don’t hesitate to ask! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

August 12, 2020October 14, 2020

Fat Burning Techniques

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Fat burning techniques go deeper than dieting or cardio. Fat burning comes from a balanced lifestyle; it is essentially a lifestyle that should be lived daily, even when you’re not trying to burn fat.

A healthy, balanced lifestyle sets you up for an amazing future of health for your mind, body and soul as well as emotions.

When one part of our health gets off kilter, the rest will spin out. Eventually we’ll have to start over. But that’s okay, starting over is better than abandoning ship completely.

Losing weight can often feel like an uphill battle. I have many friends that have struggled with weight for years and come to me for help.

The number one thing that I have witnessed as a downfall to success, has always been the lack of true commitment.

The decision has 
to be made.

Once you make the decision to lose weight and commit to it, that’s when things happen. Until then, talking and wishing and doing temporary diets and partial exercise programs for a week, (yes I say a week because I’ve witnessed this over and over) nothing will change. Weight comes off 5-10 pounds in, then the commitment somehow goes away and the pounds come piling back on. I have had many texts and phone calls from friends, crying about the fact that the weight went back on and ask what to do to fix it.

Nobody can help you if you do not help yourself first.

Making the commitment and a solid decision, is the number one and most important thing to tap into, for true fat burning results.

FAT BURNING WITH WATER

Over half of our bodies are made up of water. To stay hydrated, we need to drink 8-12 eight ounce glasses of water per day.

If you grab a bottle of water instead of tea, coffee, juice, coke, etc., you’re saving yourself (about) 2.6 tablespoons (39 grams) of sugar per can. 8 cans of coke = 1 cup of sugar. This is double the amount of sugar in 1 slice of angel food cake. This in turn is a lot of calories and “fat” that drinking water will completely eliminate from your daily diet.

For a little more in depth on why sugar makes you fat, there’s a good article written by Dr. Jason Fung, a Canadian nephrologist. He’s a world-leading expert on intermittent fasting and low carb, especially for treating people with type 2 diabetes. He has written three best-selling health books and he co-founded the Intensive Dietary Management program. Check out his article about sugar here.

FAT BURNING WITH NUTRITION

I talk a lot about how amazing the vegan diet is. The number one reason I recommend the vegan diet is because it is a balanced diet that does several things all at once. If done right, it can help you maintain healthy weight, while keeping your heart healthy, giving you energy, making you feel less tired, foggy and groggy, as well as the obvious; you’re saving animals. There are many reasons why a vegan diet is the bomb diggity.

You can maintain healthy weight a lot easier on a vegan diet, plus, it is a “diet” that you can continue to maintain after your “dieting” process is over. Since this diet is not a temporary fix, it is a permanent, healthy, lifestyle that can be maintained form birth to old age.

FAT BURNING WITH EXERCISE

Just 30-60 minutes of exercise a day can take off roughly about 8-10 pounds in a 3 month time frame. The more you sweat, the more rigorous your exercise, and the longer you do your cardio, will determine how much weight
comes off and how quickly.

When exercising to lose weight, the best thing to remember is that muscle weighs more than fat. So, if you are weight training while losing weight, you may not lose as quickly, simply because you are gaining muscle while losing fat.

FAT BURNING WITH SUNSHINE

There are new studies that show that sunlight may actually burn fat. It was accidentally discovered and is still being studied. It’s speculated that this could partly be a reason why we pile on extra weight in the winter months when there is less sun exposure.

Sweating on the other hand, is not a calorie burner. Sitting in the sunlight sweating away is only dehydrating you. Once you drink water after sweating, you rehydrate, your weight is right back to where you started. So don’t confuse sweating in the sun with calorie burning.

Sunlight also tends to suppress our appetites making us less likely to eat as much.

And then there’s always the vitamin D factor we get form being in the sun, which is a plus, so don’t skip out on your time in the sun!

FAT BURNING WITH REST

Sleep before midnight is twice as beneficial as sleep after midnight, as growth hormone (useful in adults for repair and healing, cheerfulness and a strong mind) is produced mainly during the hours before midnight, and only when one is sleeping. . . It is better to sleep between 6 and 9 hours daily, as persons who sleep less than 6 or more than 9 hours tend to live shorter lives than those sleeping 7-8 hours. Weight gain increases sleep needs. Weight loss decreases sleep needs.

With good sleep comes good energy and positive thinking which is a fantastic for an energetic exercise routine. When I wasn’t sleeping well, I really struggled to get the energy up to work out regularly. I did it, but it was so painful. It was 75% pure will power. Even then, I felt like my workouts were lacking. It was one of those, “any workout is better than no workout” days, but 3 times a week!

When I started taking Nrf2 my afternoon fatigue vanished and 3 months in, I was sleeping through the night every night! My workouts, my recovery, and my energy has just been through the roof, which has resulted in gains I haven’t seen in years.

I highly recommend this nutritional supplement if you’re having trouble sleeping! It’s anti-aging, gluten-free, natural, and vegan!

FAT BURNING WITH MEDITATION

Often times we don’t really give downtime the credit it deserves. Whether you meditate on a higher power or on the sound of your own voice, or repeat a weird mantra, it is important to find time to be grateful. When you stop to be grateful for your life, the people in it, and love yourself, it helps put your mind in a positive place. Positive thinking removes the need for emotional feeding, and makes it easier for you to say no.

For more on meditation for beginners, click here!

FAT BURNING WITH FRESH AIR

Fresh air technically doesn’t burn fat. If you were to go outside and breathe in some fresh air, you can’t expect to drop 10 pounds. But, getting outside to work in the yard, walk, meditate, sunbathe, and play with the dog or the kids, is something that takes your mind away from eating for no reason. And a lot of weight is gained simply from eating out of boredom.

FAT BURNING WITH MODERATION

Be mindful of the amounts you eat, and how often you eat.

Fasting – or not snacking – between your meals is a huge weight loss trick that is so simple it’s hard to believe. 5-6 hours should go between your meals with nothing in between but water! Not even a single cracker or grape.

Eating backwards does amazing things for weight loss! Switch your meals around. If you want to eat 3 meals, have your typical dinner for your breakfast, and your breakfast for dinner. Most Americans tend to eat their heaviest and highest calorie meal at night. It should never be this way.

FAT BURNING WITH TWO MEALS A DAY

Vegan powerlifting champion, Jim Gurtner, says that eating or skipping dinner determined his weight gain and/or loss, depending on what competition he was going to be in and what his goals were.

For me, when I want to lose my extra little tummy quick or shed a few pounds fast, I always skip dinner. My last meal will be around 3 or 4pm and that’ll be it. This isn’t bad for your body and it doesn’t slow your metabolism. Fasting and giving your digestive system a break actually helps you lose weight and also increases your chances of having better health.

GET RID OF EXCUSES

Nothing kills goals, puts on weight, prolongs bad habits and keeps you from moving forward more than excuses.

Identify them. Get rid of them.

FAT BURN AND NEVER DIETING

Dieting is temporary and once your diet has run it’s course of 4-6 weeks (give or take) your bad habits step in to take the lead again. Dieting is a ticket for a rollercoaster ride of weight loss and gain and loss and gain. If you’re wanting to ride a rollercoaster, you’d do better going to 6-Flags.

For more on weight loss, read Principles of Weight Control here.

I would love to answer any questions you may have or hear about your weight loss journey! Please stop by and follow me on my social media so we can be friends! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life, so wherever you like to hang out best, you can find me!

July 1, 2020August 31, 2020

What Matters Most?

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What matters most to you, today, right now?

There are a lot of things that matter to a lot of people right now.

But forget other people, what matters most to you?

what matters most? — Treating your body right never tasted so good! AXIO increases your desire to eat and feel better, provides focus, clarity and energy.

Step down from everything going on around you right now and dig deep. What do you want for your future, for your body, your mind, your health?

I specially want you to try to figure out right now, what is it that actually matters to you today. Get specific. And then try to imagine your future self. Will it still matter?

For me, my health 
has always 
mattered.

I not only like to feel good, but I also like the peace of mind that my good healthy habits provides me. Also, at 40 I can honestly say I feel like 18. I have no health problems, am happy with my weight, and have 5 children with zero health problems as well.

In all honestly, I can say that I can do whatever I want to do without aches, pains, low energy, headaches, fatigue, or lack of motivation.

What matters now, doesn’t matter at all, if you are not healthy enough to make what matters today, your reality tomorrow.

EVALUATE WHAT MATTER MOST

If you decided that your family, your job, your pet, your adventures, sports, hobbies . . . you name it . . . matter most, let’s look at them from another perspective.

Imagine how (insert what matters here) this thing would look in perspective of bad health. What if you were unable to walk without stopping every few seconds to take a breath? Maybe you already struggle with severe fatigue so much so that you can barely drive. What happens when you are too heavy to run and play with your children? What if you have a bad heart and don’t live to see your children get married? If you cannot enjoy your family and your hobbies because your health is bad, what comes first now?

Maybe you aren’t there yet. You might be young, thin, able to drink two gallons of coffee and feel great. Maybe you even go to the gym, but stop by McDonalds on your way home. You could even think that you don’t need to exercise because you’re already thin and feel okay, so why waste your time? (Looks can be deceiving, don’t forget about your heart.)

Whatever it is that you want in life, your health should be at the very top of your list of what matters today. Because if you are not healthy, you cannot function at peak performance. If you cannot function at peak performance, you cannot be your best you for those you care about. You will not be able to handle what matters most, if you do not make your health your priority.

EXCUSES ARE LOUSY JUSTIFICATIONS

“I’d rather enjoy my life and eat whatever I feel like eating.”

“I’m too tired to exercise after a long day of work. I’d rather just go home and relax!”

“One day I’ll do it, I’m just too busy right now.”

“I’ll wait until my kids are grown and then I’ll take care of my health.”

What are your excuses for putting off your health? Do you truly think you are enjoying life when you repeat these excuses to yourself?

If you have used (or do use) any of the above excuses, maybe you are chuckling quietly to yourself right now. Because it sounds familiar.

The excuse mentality 
is all fine and dandy 
until it isn't.

Excuses pile on top of each other like little believable lies that we tell ourselves on a daily basis. I catch myself doing it, too. We are all culprits of excuses. But don’t forget that, until you acknowledge your excuses and see them for what they really are – lies – you won’t really be able to give priority to what really matters today.

Excuses are illusions of the mind and can be changed simply by making the decision to make something different happen.

CHANGE YOUR MENTALITY. CHANGE WHAT MATTERS

The need to do nothing and have it all, mentality is great, in theory, until you dissect it and see what it truly is.

You think you’re doing yourself a favor by doing what you want and eating how you want. It’s fun. It feels good. You’re an adult. There’s nobody

Until you have hit that 200 plus pound mark and find it hard to breathe, bend over and tie your shoes, get in and out of the car, run with your kids, sleep without snoring, etc. Does that really sound like fun? Now you have high blood pressure, heart disease, you hurt everywhere, and have weight issues that are going to take years to set straight.

Sure you can do it, and I believe in you if you are there now! Until you are no longer in this world, it is never too late to make your health matter today.

Nobody intentionally decides to gain weight, have health problems, live half their life in a doctors office, and chug bottles of pills daily. But this is the result of not putting your health first. The result of not making your health what matters to you, today. And this is the result of over half the American citizens today.

It is so sad.

OWN IT

There are natural consequences to every choice we make in life, whether wise or unwise.

If you choose to disrespect your own mental, spiritual and physical health, understand that you cannot blame anybody, but yourself, for the outcome of your decision.

It is time FOR YOU to take control of your health today.

At 40 years old, I am just now at a point where I am seeing the results of my healthy choices. I am beyond grateful for my past healthy decisions. At this phase in my life, I am seeing people suffering from not making their health matter today. I know people my age that are suffering with life-threatening disease. As a result of their poor choices, they have lost their ability to work (and play) at peak performance.

People are throwing away half their life 
by not making their health 
matter today.

Don’t allow another day to go by where you are another victim of this way of living. Own your body, respect it and take care of it!

GET UNCOMFORTABLE

I don’t care if you are 16 or 61, ~ if you want to change your life and make better choices, your health should matter today! It is time to make a change.

The number one thing you have to face is change. Change can be
uncomfortable.

But what would you rather have? The discomfort of making a couple changes for the better? Or the discomfort of your body crying out by way of aching joints, tooth decay, headaches, too much weight, disease, etc.?

MY PURPOSE

Sabra

My purpose in writing this is to bring you to awareness of how important your health is and why it should matter. I want to help you begin your health journey and your lifestyle change.

I know that it isn’t easy, but keep in mind that nothing good ever came easy.

ENJOYING LIFE

We simply cannot enjoy life if we are not taking care of our health. Heartburn, headaches, low energy, aches and pains, and a host of common ailments that the majority of the population carry around with them as baggage, is not enjoying life.

True enjoyment comes from feeling and looking the best that you can feel and look so that you have no limits in setting goals, accomplishing them and celebrating your successes.

BEGINNERS RESOURCES

If you are new to your health journey and really do not know how to put your health first, or where to start, read my Beginners Guide to Healthy Living! I break it down into baby steps for newbs. 🙂

And if you need help grocery shopping for healthy food, read my article, How to Grocery Shop for Healthy Food. It really isn’t as complicated as you’d think.

If you have never been to a gym and are scared, worried, intimidated or don’t know what to expect, read, Beginners Guide to Weight Lifting and Gym Life.

So now that you’ve thoroughly thought through what matters to you today, what do you want tomorrow, five years from now, ten years from now?

What change are you going to make right now? What are you going to do to get uncomfortable starting right now?

Please feel free to comment below, contact me on social media and follow me here! Tell me what matters to you and how you are going to make your health a priority!

I love hearing from my readers. 🙂 I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

June 17, 2020October 14, 2020

Meditation for Beginners

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclaimer for more info.

Meditation can be a deep subject, and I will touch on a little bit of that, but this article is all about taking advantage of being quiet and taking a break, solo.

There is a lot going on in our world right now. First it was COVID-19, now the BLM Movement and all that is going along with that.

It really doesn’t matter which side you’re on politically, emotionally, white, black, young, or old. All to this is emotionally tiresome.

Meditation as a break from social media

Right now, I am finding that social media and the news is extra exhausting. The information coming at me and the tension in the air is mentally and spiritually draining.

Quiet time can be cleansing for the soul. It can be an escape from the onslaught of negativity and confusion entering our minds through social media, the news, and conversations that are concentrated on one single subject.

Meditation can offload the overload

I personally have spent a good share of my time educating myself on what is going on in our world right now. I’ve gone as far back in history as the 1600’s, trying to understand where people are coming from. I enjoy learning new things about our history.

Debating and talking, listening and learning, can turn into major overload at times, and we need to offload in other ways than by feeding the chaos. What I mean by feeding the chaos is, we need to give others a break as well. Stay off of social media and the intense political subjects surrounding us.

Quiet time is the perfect outlet for brain overload rest.

Meditation can help sort the clutter

I have recognized that my mind has been cluttered with information. My soul is emotionally hyper. Not only have I had a more difficult time sleeping, but overall, I feel like my spirit is discontented.

Educating ones self and being privy to what is going on around us is important, but it is equally (or probably more) important to be sure that we feed our spiritual health, especially when things are extra intense around us.

Quiet time is almost like feeding the soul. It is the vitamin that can bring balance to our imbalanced and troubled minds.

Just as we went through the Coronavirus pandemic, we also now have a mentally draining pandemic of chaotic opinions and strong emotions.

Friends are “breaking up”, blocking and deleting each other on social media, and not speaking to one another, all because of heightened emotions and differing opinions.

Meditation empowers us

To stay healthy and strong during this Coronavirus pandemic, we need to eat things that strengthened our immune systems to fight off disease. Alongside that, it is now time to be careful how we take care of our spiritual and mental health. It’s time to build healthy walls of protection around our emotions and make room for mental clarity.

Just like we need the right foods to keep us healthy during the Coronavirus scare, we need to allow our minds a chance to power up. This happens when we allow our minds to rest.

Meditation as a new and old concept

Meditation is a new concept to a lot of people, and to others, very familiar. There are several different types and levels of meditation as well. It can be an extremely deep topic and can be discussed and picked apart for hours. It can also be deeply religious as well as not religious at all.

The oldest documented evidence of the practice of meditation are wall arts in the Indian subcontinent from approximately 5,000 to 3,500 BCE, and written evidence as far back as 1500 BCE.

Meditation is also mentioned in Psalms in the approximate year of 1063 BC.

Meditation has ancient roots, but it is also very popular in todays age. I know several people have a lot of hesitation when it comes to meditation and choose to steer far around the concept, but the people that I have spoken with that choose to omit meditation, I have found they do not know anything about it. They only feel like something is wrong with it.

Meditation and being educated

Before I go much further, I want to disclose that I am not a mindfulness teacher, and it is a good idea to thoroughly research the topic before you choose to go to a retreat, or participate in guided meditation.

For those of you who are wary of the concept, you are not wrong to proceed with caution. There have been studies that have shown negative effects of some types of meditation.

It is important, if you are going to truly dive deep into meditation, to do your research.

That being said, I want to clarify to you that when I speak about meditation, I am mostly referring to solo quiet time. Time away from the TV, from your phone, from noise, from social media, or whatever else it is that could be causing mental and emotional imbalance and turmoil.

There are a couple different types of meditation that I am going to point out here.

There is a Biblical meditation and a Buddhist meditation.

Biblical meditation engages the mind. Buddhist meditation can engage the mind but it can also empty the mind.

When you have time and if you are interested, read about the Eightfold Path and you will understand a little better, the path to mindfulness according to Theravada Buddhist.

Personally, I like to keep meditation simple and basic. Some people may not even technically consider my version of meditation, meditation. But – it is calming, I benefit from it, and I teach this to my children.

To me it is very important to take time to “meditate” or in other words, be quiet.

If you’re a beginner, or if you’re not wanting to dive deep into meditation, but do desire clarity and freedom from the clutter in your mind, look no further.

HOW TO MEDITATE

Just find a quiet place and sit or lay in a comfortable position. Close your eyes. Breathe. Focus your attention on something, whether that be your breathing, an image, a verse, a sound, a shape, a color, a positive thought, etc.

Meditation can last anywhere from 5 minutes to several hours. I prefer 5+ minutes.

Annnnd . . . That is it.

Here are three easy ways to add meditation to your day. These are my favorite ways to meditate.

Music

Meditating with music simply gives my mind a calming background of sound to focus on. I have had it be the element that literally evokes mental freedom.

Choose music that creates a mental image of wide open space, calming images, or offers the privilege to envision something bright, natural and happy.

The purpose of this is to remove yourself from the thoughts that are cluttering your mind. It is not to solve problems or figure them out, rather to go somewhere else altogether.

I prefer music with nature sounds, and especially water. I am not sure if it is because I am a Scorpio and water is my sign, or if it is simply because it is soothing to me. Whatever it is, water is the most calming sound for me.

Nature

If you can go into nature, do it. At first it feels wide open and possibly even uncomfortable, or it cold be the complete opposite. Nature provides the perfect space to be quiet while focusing on the sounds of wind, birds, and other natural elements to escape with.

Breathe in the fresh air. Consciously allow your shoulders and limbs to relax as if you are about to fall asleep. This is when you find the sounds of nature to focus on. It is okay to think. The key is to think about what you hear in the moment. And then, find something to be grateful for about what you hear. Keep it simple.

Shower

You don’t have to leave the house or plan out your time for a 10 minute shower. I live in the city, so going outside to meditate sometimes can be tricky.

I need clean, neat and comfortable places where I can be quiet in order to fully relax. My bathroom is very clean, and taking a warm bath or a shower is not only soothing, but a place in a moms world where escape and quiet is just going to happen.

I use my Bluetooth speaker for meditative music, and with the door locked, I am rarely bothered. I find this the simplest and easiest place for me to go if I need uninterrupted quiet time.

This might not be the ticket for everyone, but I am 5 feet tall so sitting in the shower is easy for me. If you can do this, close your eyes and reach out with your senses and listen. Feel the water and then just breathe.

It is not uncommon for my mind to start wandering around and focusing on my day ahead, but when this happens to you, it is important to train your mind to return to your focus point. If you’re in the shower and focusing on the sound of the water, imagine it is rain. Imagine a puddle of water and paint a picture of something soothing and peaceful in your mind to focus on. Go there every time your thoughts wander somewhere not so peaceful.

Meditation takes practice

It takes practice and patience to learn how to relax, redirect your thoughts, and focus on something simple.

If you are a Christian and Biblically meditating, find your comfortable place, your verse of choice and repeat the words until you begin to go further than the words alone. Feel them, sink into the verse with your being until you almost feel one with the word.

Meditating isn’t necessarily about emptying your mind. It can be. But for me it is a redirection of thoughts. It is making space to find something good to focus on. It is a place to go away from the troubles and permission to focus elsewhere.

After meditating, I often find that the “time out” from the clutter really clarifies a lot for me and I often feel less tense. I also find that I start to see other perspectives on my own without having to discuss things with others. I also realize that often times, there are a lot of things I once thought were important that are not at all, and I can throw those thoughts completely out and start from scratch.

I wish all of you a peaceful moment or two in your day! (Hopefully more than two!)

Please feel free to comment below, contact me on social media and follow me here! I love hearing from my readers. 🙂 I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

Definitely hit me up or email me and let’s chat!

March 28, 2020October 14, 2020

Boost Immunity at Home: 8 Secrets to Staying Healthy

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclaimer for more info.

A great way to boost immunity at home is by thinking ahead before you or your family start to get sick. Below are 8 techniques that work for us, and I figured I’d pass them along to you!

Right now more than anything, we need our immune systems strong and ready to rock and roll!

So let’s get right into it! Here are 8 things that you can do (at home!) that will boost your immune system and help fight off sickness.

NUTRITION

Diet is an extremely powerful tool in fighting diseases and boosting our immune system.

As soon as flu season hits, there are three things I do with my diet to boost my family’s immune system.

Cut out all sugar (but keep fruit!)

White blood cells are what fights disease. Sugar kills white blood cells. Math isn’t my strong point, so I’ll let you do the math here.

More fresh fruit and veggies

I increase my green juicing and fresh fruit and veggie intake.

“There are sufficient vitamins and minerals in the food that we grow to supply all of modern man’s needs.” ~ Agatha M. Thrash, M.D.
Preventive Medicine

I eat a variety of colors to make sure I’m getting efficient vitamins and minerals, but especially things that are naturally high in Vitamin C. (Citrus, kale, broccoli, kiwi, bell pepper, strawberries, pineapple, etc,)

Emergen-C or Airborne

Boost your defenses at home with a little C.

Maybe not the “healthiest” of supplements, but it is (usually) easy to get my hands on and my kids like it, so we use it and it works. If I even get the tiniest whiff of somebody getting sick, we drink an Emergen-C packet 1-2 times a day, and often it (a common cold) blows over without hanging out for too long.

However! Right now, I have not been able to find vitamin C, Airborne, or Emergen-C anywhere! so here is another way to accomplish the same thing. (Just slightly a little more complicated).

Increase your whole grains, nuts and seeds, (these are high in zinc), and eat more citrus fruits and raw veggies! Juicing is the best way to get large quantities in a smaller amount. (List of some things high in vitamin C above).

EXERCISE TO BOOST YOUR IMMUNITY AT HOME

Get your peaches moving!

“As exercise is increased, degenerative diseases of all kinds are decreased, life span is extended, various minor infections such as colds are reduced . . .” Agatha M. Thrash, M.D. Preventive Medicine

When you exercise, you’re breathing deeper and this helps to flush out your lungs and helps make you more resistant to respiratory infections. Do this outside and it is a win-win!

Exercise also increases white blood cells. Remember earlier how I said white blood cells are our disease fighters?

Exercise balances out our hormones. Including stress hormones. Stress makes us more susceptible to disease. So exercising brings us to a better, balanced state.

From my personal experience, the more working out I’ve done on a regular basis, the less I’ve gotten sick. #facts!

FRESH AIR

Fresh air actually helps strengthen our immune systems. Deep breathing helps purify the blood and increases oxygen to various parts of the body. You don’t have to spend your entire day outside, just 10-20 minutes is all you need. (Of course more won’t kill ya).

WATER

Water cleans out the internal ick. If you leave the ick inside, the likelihood of getting sick is higher. Get it out, drink at least 8-12 glasses of water a day!

A little trick I have done that works is, if I start to feel a little off I drink one 8oz glass of water every 10 minutes for an hour. Weird, I know. The toilet becomes your hangout spot and you feel super bloated. But, it actually works. It’s called flushing out your system.

REST

Boost immunity at home with simply by getting proper sleep. Sleep is essential to keeping your immune system strong and healthy. As soon as you start going for late nights, disrupted sleep schedules, and then over sleeping, you’re creating the perfect playground for viruses and bad things to have a party. Lack of sleep also effects recovery time.

Sleep at least 7-9 hours.

SUNSHINE

Sunlight kills germs and strengthens the immune system, too. It also heals. A little bit goes a long ways, so don’t stress about not having time to lay out on the beach for hours. 10 minutes is all you need.

MODERATION

Less is more . . . errr . . . unless it’s not enough.

Think small(er) size. Especially if you’re inside and sitting a lot more than usual.

Portion control is a big deal and even bigger when fighting disease. Over eating, eating frequently and eating late at night does no good for strengthening your immune system. Quite the opposite, in fact.

This applies to all things ~ too much sleep, too little sleep, too much sun, too little sun, etc., etc., is not healthy or good for building a strong immune system.

Be moderate with your work, your diet, your exercise, your inactivity, your thoughts. Stay balanced. Stay strong.

MEDITATION

Meditation brings balance to the body’s system and reduces stress and anxiety. It is like a massage to the soul, and is good for our emotions. When our emotions are out of whack our body tenses up and everything just isn’t balanced.

Fear is very palpable right now. Constant talk about what is going on around us is causing a lot of fear and tension for millions of people. Fear and tension increases weakness. Now is not the time to feed weakness in any way.

Our mental health is the beginning to our physical and emotional health. Now more than ever we need to find positive things to focus on, minimize our time obsessing over the news, limit our conversation of negativity and increase positive conversation patterns. The less fear we allow into our minds, the stronger our bodies will be.

I wish the best of health on all of you and would love to hear what tips and tricks you do, to strengthen your immune system! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

Definitely hit me up or email me and let’s chat! Seriously. We’ve got nothing better to do, right? (Said no mom of 5 doing remote-schooling ever). Haha

Until next time! 🙂

October 2, 2019October 23, 2019

8 Steps to Improve Your Quality of Sleep

Whether you’re going to catch some Z’s, crash, hit the hay, get some shut-eye, hit the sack, go nod off for a spell, snooze a bit, turn in, or . . . just catch forty winks, all you want, is just to sleep!

Whatever it is that you like to say when you are about to go to bed, it all means the same thing, and that thing often doesn’t happen for a lot of people, at least not in the way they want it to!

There are a lot of reasons some of us can’t fall asleep, or wake up in the middle of the night, unable to fall back to sleep. It can be a busy mind, medication, work, kids, stress, health, etc. But I’m going to give you just a few tips that I hope can help you improve your quality of sleep!

REGULARITY

As annoying or uncool as it may seem, our bodies are actually extremely responsive to habits and regularity. When these get all messed up, it throws off our circadian rhythm.

when we follow a regular schedule, our bodies become accustom to it and our quality of sleep tends to be much better.

In a Neuroscience and Biobehavioral review done by Zelinski El, he says, “Health problems can result from a disturbance to the circadian rhythm.”

The circadian rhythm is a natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours.

Although the circadian rhythm is built-in, it is adjusted to the local environment by external cues, which include light, temperature and redox (chemical reaction) cycles. This is why we are able to adjust when we start staying up later, working nights, travel, etc.

Symptoms of depression, high blood pressure, migraines, and other health issues and diseases, worsen, when our sleep cycle is interrupted. Even one night of missed sleep can create a prediabetic state in an otherwise healthy person.

CAFFEINE

It takes 4-6 hours for the body to metabolize caffeine, which is a stimulant that can disturb a good nights rest. Just 1 cup of coffee (even early in the day) can still effect quality sleep.

If you’ve decided to quit drinking caffeine altogether, it can take 2 weeks and up to 2 months of being off of caffeine, before the detox process is complete. During this phase, you may find it very difficult to sleep, even though you’re not consuming caffeine at all.

ALCOHOL

Initially, a drink helps most people fall right to sleep. But did you know that, even though you fall asleep quicker and sleep sounder right away, it actually reduces rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. And the more you drink before bed, the more pronounced these effects. REM sleep happens about 90 minutes after we fall asleep. REM sleep is when you dream. It is also the part of your sleep that strengthens your immune system. Deep sleep is “for your body” and REM sleep is “for your brain”.

Because alcohol messes up the natural sleep patterns in our bodies, the quality of sleep is compromised.

WATER

Dehydration causes your mouth and nasal passages to become dry, setting you up for sleep-disruptive snoring and a dry throat. A lack of water can also lead to night time leg cramps that can keep you awake.

On the flip side, drinking water too close to going to bed can keep you up at night visiting the bathroom. So be sure to get those 96oz out of the way, starting when you wake up, tapering off later on in the day so that you’re not super thirsty right before bedtime!

DIET

An investigation showed that a diet containing fresh fruits and vegetables, low saturated fat, and whole grains may be optimal for people wanting to improve sleep quality.

EXERCISE

Physical activity improves sleep quality and increases sleep duration. Exercise also reduces stress and tires you out, making sleep sweeter.

FRESH AIR

Fresh air can actually increase your immunity levels, preventing from a lot of common sicknesses, and of course if you’re well, you’re going to sleep much better. It can also reduces stress, and I don’t know about you, but stress makes my nights awful!

BE THANKFUL

A positive thought pattern promotes better sleep because your mind is more accustom to peace and gratitude. When we worry and focus on the negative things in life, sleep becomes harder to achieve because the mind is too busy worrying. Practice positive thinking and gratefulness before bedtime to put your mind in a worry-free state.

If you have any thoughts or questions, I’d love to hear them! Please reach out to me anytime! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

May 8, 2019July 6, 2020

What is the 8 in Balance8Life?

I love being healthy. I want you to be healthy, too! But I understand that you might not know exactly how to get there, what it looks like, what it means, and what to do about it. So, again, I want to help you.

There are a lot of ideas and theories on how to go about being healthy, but this is what works for me, and this is what BALANCE8LIFE is all about. It’s about balancing these 8 wonderful things to obtain (and maintain) good health.

1 GOOD NUTRITION

This in itself can be so complicated with today’s diets. I mean, what the heck is an airatarian? “Those who only consume air and water in an effort to stop the slaughter of innocent plants and animals.” Yup, it’s really a thing. (I wouldn’t suggest it).

Balance is key in nutrition. It’s not about dieting, counting calories or making drastic, quick changes. Dieting is a means to an end that usually comes quick, with nothing to fall back on to continue a healthy lifestyle, and before you know it, you’re right back to where you were before: unhealthy. So let’s do something better. Let’s change our lifestyle.

A balance of fruits (yes, fruit is good for you), veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes (beans), whole grains, (yes, gluten and carbs are good, too) and if you must eat meat, white, lean meats, but believe it or not, meat is not necessary for good health. Quite the contrary, but… we’ll talk about that another time.

Annnnd…..That is where you start. ( I’ll help you with what good nutrition really looks like in other blog posts as we go).

2 EXERCISE

Exercise is not all about the gym. The gym is only a fraction of it. Exercise is simply doing something active for an extended period of time. You can do yard work, go swimming, ride a bike, climb a mountain, kayak, pole dance, etc., etc. So for those of you who hate the gym, or the people at the gym, there are always other options. Walking is simple, it’s a great place to start, it’s good for all ages, easy on the joints, good for people who’ve had injuries, and walking burns the same exact amount of calories per mile as running. Keep it real folks. Thirty minutes of sustained, increased, heart rate, 4-5 days a week will make a bigger difference than you think. Try it!

3 WATER

Drink your Water, my friends! Juice, tea, coffee, Gatorade, flavored water, alcoholic beverages, etc., etc., all of these drinks don’t count. Pure water is essential to our health. Our bodies are approximately 65% water. If we don’t drink it, our bodies suffer in ways you probably don’t even know. While you’re in your car, out to eat, relaxing at home… water! Drink it.

“Lack of adequate water intake is a burden to our body. As a result, the body reacts by keeping extra sodium in the blood to keep up the water level as much as possible. If this continues for too long, the body’s fluid and electrolytes (e.g. sodium, potassium, calcium, etc.) can become very imbalanced, with resulting severe health problems.” Agatha M. Thrash, M.D. Preventive Medicine

4 SUNSHINE

Hello, beautiful! I’m a beach bum (when I’m not in my apartment 5 hours from the beach). Sunlight, (in moderation), increases circulation, and cardiac output is increased. Sunlight also increases the number and efficiency of blood vessels in the skin, it decreases blood pressure, and just 10 minutes in your day provides 100% of your daily dose of vitamin D needs, plus several other awesome things… bring it!

Check out The Bright Side of Sunshine here!

5 MODERATION

How many of you have gained weight after your babies and decided to make a New Years resolution, and went running 3 miles after not doing any physical activity for years, threw up afterward and did it again the next day, then was so sore and frustrated you quit? How about changing your diet? Have you ever cut out all carbs and gluten and drank only water for a day or two then quit because it was too hard? What about only eating rice with zero salt and eating that three times a day? This isn’t moderate. When we make all-or-none changes fast and-furious-like, we’re setting ourselves up for failure. Our minds and bodies can’t handle that much that quick, and without moderation in all things, we become imbalanced and end up very unhappy.

Moderation is needed in all things: family time, alone time, work, diet, exercise, electronics and TV, the list goes on. Little baby steps and balance is key to a successful lifestyle change for the better. Drastic overload in any area of life can end fast and hard with the end result being disappointment, injury, bad health, depression, or other negativities that can be avoided with moderation.

6 FRESH AIR

It seems like common sense, but air is the most essential element of life. We can live only minutes without air.

We also need fresh air for perspective. It helps to clear the mind and calm down our thoughts, and our ‘tudes.

Buddha had a lot of super awesome things to say about air, as well. One of my fave quotes is: “If the ocean can calm itself, so can you. We are both salt water mixed with air.”

Check out my blog post, Amazing Free Mood Enhancement to see what getting a little fresh air did for my day.

7 REST

Without it, how on earth can we function? Well, let’s take a look. We function with extra caffeine, which can ruin our sleep, so we take melatonin, on a mild scale and prescription sleep aids if that doesn’t work. And when you awake, you still feel tired, so you drink coffee. It is a vicious cycle.

But the good news is, it CAN be broken!

I’m not just talking about sleep, though. Rest in general; that peace of mind, the nerves and muscles relaxing, a day (or two, or more) off of work, all of this equals rest. Our bodies need rest in order to be healthy.

Just as high intensity exercise increases inflammation in the body and weakens the immune system, so does a highly intense lifestyle of stress weaken our brainpower and our ability to perform at our best. We cannot run marathons without rest, and neither should we run the marathon of non-stop hectic life without a break.

Everybody needs good quality rest, it’s time to get The Rest in Your Story!

8 MEDITATION

I realize that not every one of my readers is going to be in the same boat when it comes to meditation. I do challenge you though, to seriously think about why you may not like it (if you don’t) and try it out. Take your mind away from your self and meditate on the goodness that is around you.

Since nine-tenths of all illness start in the mind, it is important that we clear it of negativity. A cheerful attitude is good medicine; a broken spirit (guilt, evil thoughts, regret, revenge, etc.) saps our strength.

The body produces endorphins when we are happy. These help restore our physical health. The body also produces negative hormones when our thoughts are focused on our self and negative thoughts. Choose health by choosing carefully what you allow your mind to dwell on.

As we go on this journey to bettering our health I’ll be showing you how it’s done, so don’t worry if it seems too hard now. It really isn’t.

“Balance is not something you find; it’s something you create.”

April 16, 2019July 6, 2020

The Rest in Your Story

I. Am. So. Tired. Period.

Today was one of those days.

I have a schedule. I get up every morning at 6:15-6:30am and I fill a Mason quart jar with hot water and drink that while I get dressed for the gym. I tell my 11-year-old he’s got 10 minutes until we have to leave to catch the bus. When I get back inside, I eat breakfast and head to the gym by 7:30am. By 9am I am heading back home to shower and get ready for work, which is between 10 and 10:30am.

I have a high-energy job that requires me to be on my feet non-stop until I get off work between 2:30-4:00pm. When I get home, it’s eat lunch, cook dinner, kids homework, laundry, make the next day’s breakfast, do some dishes, run some errands, grocery shop, and get kids winding down for bed by 7:00pm.

This sort of day takes a lot of energy of which I haven’t had lately because I have been watching Game of Thrones with my brother and boyfriend until midnight. But it’s soooo good, I can’t stop!

Problem.

One can only do this sort of thing for so long before you have a day like I did today.

I couldn’t function. I slept in. We missed the school bus. I missed my workout. I got to work late. I couldn’t get on my game at work and when I finally got home, I was grumpy and said some things that weren’t nice to my boyfriend, because all I wanted to do was nothing, and I wanted to come home to everything done for me.

Rest.

We have to have good quality sleep, or else the rest of our day falls apart and the balance is off.

It doesn’t matter how much coffee you drink or what you take to go to sleep. If you don’t get enough, your energy is going to be low, which affects the rest of your day and all that surrounds it. A grumpy mom makes for grumpy kids and husband or partner.

Rest is one thing. But good rest is another.

Wait though… I’m not just talking about sleep. There’s also the sort of rest that we need to take from the gym for our muscles to repair. There’s a mental time out that we need to re-set for the week. Our minds need rest from all that is coming in, away from electronics, noise, kids, etc.

Come along with me on this journey to a happy, healthy lifestyle of balance and learn how to put the rest in your story! You’ll be surprised how you start to achieve goals simply with a good night of sleep and some mental time out.

I’ll even show you some ways to get that fabulous night sleep and make time to rest, without chugging a bottle of wine before bed, or sacrificing your favorite TV show. (Well, maybe).

More coming soon!

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