Basics To Practice Everyday

10 Essential Health Tips
(The Basics to Practice Every Day)

"He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything." -Arabian Proverb

1. Move More
Make it a daily challenge to find ways to move your body. Climb stairs if given a choice between that and escalators or elevators. Walk your dog; chase your kids; toss balls with friends, mow the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it's a stress buster. Think 'move' in small increments of time. It doesn't have to be an hour in the gym or a 45-minute aerobic dance class or tai chi or kickboxing. But that's great when you're up to it. Meanwhile, move more. Thought for the day: Cha, Cha, Cha…. Then do it!

2. Cut Fat
Avoid the obvious such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats (i.e. pork, bacon, ham, salami, ribs and sausage). Dairy products such as cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream should be eaten in low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts. Most are available in lower fat versions such as substitute butter, fat free cheeses and mayonnaise. Thought for the day: Lean, mean, fat-burning machine…. Then be one!

3. Quit Smoking
The jury is definitely in on this verdict. Ever since 1960 when the Surgeon General announced that smoking was harmful to your health, Americans have been reducing their use of tobacco products that kill. Just recently, we've seen a surge in smoking in adolescents and teens. Could it be the Hollywood influence? It seems the stars in every movie of late smoke cigarettes. Beware. Warn your children of the false romance or 'tough guy' stance of Hollywood smokers. Thought for the day: Give up just one cigarette…. the next one.

4. Reduce Stress
Easier said than done, stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. (i.e.,Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie. Get a massage, a facial or a haircut. Meditate. Count to ten before losing your temper or getting aggravated. Avoid difficult people when possible. Thought for the day: When seeing red, think pink clouds….then float on them.

5. Protect Yourself from Pollution
If you can't live in a smog-free environment, at least avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low. Exercise indoors in air conditioning when air quality is good. Plant lots of shrubbery in your yard. It's a good pollution and dirt from the street deterrent. Thought for the day: 'Smoke gets in your eyes'…and your mouth, and your nose and your lungs as do pollutants….hum the tune daily.

6. Wear Your Seat Belt
Statistics show that seat belts add to longevity and help alleviate potential injuries in car crashes. Thought for the day: Buckle down and buckle up.

7. Floss Your Teeth
Recent studies make a direct connection between longevity and teeth flossing. Nobody knows exactly why. Perhaps it's because people who floss tend to be more health conscious than people who don't? Thought for the day: Floss and be your body's boss.

8. Avoid Excessive Drinking
While recent studies show a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more than that can cause other health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer. Thought for the day: A jug of wine should last a long time.

9. Keep a Positive Mental Outlook
There's a definitive connection between living well and healthfully and having a cheerful outlook on life. Thought for the day: You can't be unhappy when you're smiling or singing.

10. Choose Your Parents Well
The link between genetics and health is a powerful one. But just because one or both of your parents died young in ill health doesn't mean you cannot counteract the genetic pool handed you. Thought for the day: Follow these basic tips for healthy living and you can better control your own destiny.

An Introduction to Aerobics and Fitness

The Importance of Physical Fitness

While in the not so distant past physical exercise was commended yet mostly left to the segment of the population that would either serve in the armed forces or have physically demanding jobs.

Societal changes, such as an ageing populace that is experiencing longer and healthier lives than their predecessors, have brought working out and overall fitness through exercise into the forefront of most everyone’s mind. In many ways, the popularity of exercise locations and gear has given way to fads, bigger and more expensive equipment, and entire clothing lines that capitalize on the appeal to a fit and trim exercise devotee.

Those who take their exercise regimens seriously can now be seen at fitness centers throughout the nation working out before and after work, during lunch breaks, and on the weekends. A food industry has sprung up geared toward the needs of athletes; there are now specially formulated bars and shakes that will help to increase muscle strength and endurance, increase weight loss, and increase fat burn. At the same time, however, more and more people are being diagnosed with clinical obesity, in some cases even morbid obesity which carries a host of health problems along with it.

This seeming paradox is easily explained with the sedentary lifestyle that is encouraged in a country of plenty where most work is being performed by machines that are being controlled remotely by computers and their operators. Fast food – laden with calories – relieves the average American from cooking a nutritious meal when getting home late and prepackaged snacks that are little more than fat, sugar and salt sprinkled on carbohydrates.

To counteract this alarming rate of obesity among a population that knows the value of exercise and the health risks of its sedentary lifestyle, diet fads are sought out to quickly counteract the ravages of unwise living. Low carb dieting has become the latest craze which took the country by storm and which – at least in the short term – affected many people’s insulin levels and thus helped them to loose weight. While each and every diet touts the importance of a combination of a proper diet with a form of healthy exercise, many a newbie does not know exactly where to start.
For those who are ready to begin their very own exercise regimen, the first visit to a gym might be intimidating. Buff musclemen and seeming torture devices do very little to help you understand where to start. Yet it is not as daunting as it may seem! Considering that there are two forms of exercise – anaerobic and aerobic – the proper combination of the two is the trick that will get your metabolism and fitness going. Anaerobic exercises focus on muscle strength and muscle building while aerobic workouts are targeted toward fat loss. When done together, they make for an unbeatable duo.