While Christmas is supposed to be the “most wonderful time of the year,” it can also be one of the most draining. Cold weather, late nights, extra sugar, and all that “holiday cheer” can leave our bodies and immune systems waving little white flags.

So before you deck the halls (and maybe your calendar), let’s talk about how to actually feel good this season — not just look festive doing it.

Step One: Don’t Let the Weather Win

Cold air, dry heat, and unpredictable temperature swings can make even the healthiest among us feel like we’ve been run over by Santa’s sleigh.

Bundle up, not just because it looks cute. Keep your head, hands, and feet warm, since that’s where you lose the most heat. And for the love of your skin, hydrate! (Yes, water still matters even when you’re not sweating buckets.)

A simple humidifier can also be a game-changer. Your sinuses and skin will thank you. And while we’re at it, open a window once in a while. A quick blast of fresh air helps move out indoor germs and that suspicious mix of pine candle and cookie fumes.

Step Two: Be Smarter Than Sugar

From peppermint mochas to sugar cookies “you only eat once a year,” December has a sneaky way of turning our bloodstream into syrup.

You don’t have to skip the treats…just pace yourself. Try balancing sweets with protein or healthy fats so your energy levels can stay steadier. Drink plenty of water to help your body process all that sugar, and don’t forget your veggies — they still exist in December, promise.

If you’re going to indulge, do it joyfully and mindfully. One cookie enjoyed slowly is far better for your body and spirit than five eaten while wrapping gifts at midnight.

Step Three: Rest Isn’t Lazy — It’s Medicine

Between work parties, shopping marathons, and family gatherings, sleep often gets traded for one more “to-do.” But your body can’t fight off germs or handle your in-laws without proper rest.

Aim for consistency: even if you stay up later than usual, try to keep your wake-up time close to normal. Power naps are perfectly acceptable this time of year. And if you need a “quiet moment” during the chaos, step outside, breathe deeply, and remind yourself: you’re not a Christmas machine.

Stress weakens the immune system faster than you can say “holiday burnout.” Protect your peace like it’s your last gift under the tree.

Step Four: Move, Even a Little

It’s tempting to hibernate all winter, but movement keeps your circulation, digestion, and immune function strong. It doesn’t have to be a major workout.  Maybe you could take a walk to see the lights or dance while you wrap gifts.

Think of it this way: every bit of movement is a deposit in your “feeling good” account.

This Christmas Season…

Take care of your body the way you take care of everyone else this time of year. 

Stay warm. Eat mindfully. Rest deeply. Move joyfully. Laugh often.
And if all else fails, remember: peppermint tea cures almost everything (or at least makes it more pleasant).

Wishing you a merry, healthy, and genuinely restful holiday season.

The post Staying Merry (and Healthy) This Christmas Season appeared first on Lifestyle.

For starters, some people just don’t have the time, while others are nervous or self-conscious and would rather take some time to build their confidence before doing jump lunges in front of a jam-packed gym of spectators.

This is where non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) comes in, which is basically any activity that isn’t sleeping, a sport, or exercise.

The idea behind NEAT is that you don’t need to become a fitness fanatic to stay fit; you just need to keep moving.

Not having enough time for the gym isn’t an excuse to become a couch potato. There’s still a lot you can do to stay fit.

Cook Your Meals from Scratch

You probably already know that it’s easier to eat healthy when you make your meals from scratch. In addition to controlling how much sugar and fat go into your food, there’s also an additional benefit: you do a lot of standing and walking around during meal prep.

Sure, it seems like a small thing, but standing lowers your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other diseases that are caused by a sedentary lifestyle. It can also lower stress and boost energy levels.

Take up an Active Hobby

Engaging in an active hobby can help you stay fit while enriching your life. Gardening, hiking, cooking, dancing, or pretty much any hobby that gets you off the couch, benefits your life and health. Whether you prefer to be indoors or outdoors, you can find an active hobby that plays a role in helping you stay fit.

Skip Some Conveniences

We’ve grown accustomed to the convenience of modern life, such as food delivery services. Unfortunately, while certain conveniences make life easier and free up time, they also take away valuable opportunities to stay active.

For example, a grocery delivery service robs you of all the moving around and lifting involved with grocery shopping. It might not seem like a big deal at first, but when you think about it, these conveniences can add up to create a sedentary lifestyle.

To stay active and be fit, consider giving up some of the conveniences that you don’t really need. You might even save some money in the process!

Walk More

You’ve heard it a million times, but it deserves another mention. There’s probably no better way to stay fit without hitting the gym than to walk.

So, park a couple of minutes away from work or the store and walk. Plan the walking route in advance so you don’t find yourself in an unwalkable or unsafe area.

Walking is good for the heart, lowers the risk of coronary artery disease, and is great for stress reduction; many people aim for 10,000 steps a day.

The bottom line is that it’s possible to enjoy better health and wellness without spending hours a day at the gym.

Just get off the couch and take up an active hobby, cook your own meals, walk more, and generally find creative ways to leverage the power of non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) that fit easily into your lifestyle.

The post No Time For The Gym? Just Keep Moving appeared first on Lifestyle.

Physical therapy is so much safer than pain medications, which only provide temporary relief and come with cardiovascular and stomach bleeding risks. Its non-intrusive nature is also a clear advantage over surgery, so it should be the first line of defense against pain (unless surgery is clearly needed).

What to Expect from Physical Therapy

The physical therapist spends the first session conducting an initial examination comprised of a variety of strength, balance, and range-of-motion tests. The results of the tests, coupled with a thorough review of your medical history, help to identify the source of the pain.

These tests are extremely important because sometimes an illness in one part of your body causes pain in a completely different and seemingly unrelated area. Cardiac, respiratory, and gastrointestinal illnesses are especially guilty of this.

Once a therapist has identified the cause of your pain, he develops a personalized treatment plan. The plan is tailored to fit into your everyday life and includes short-term and long-term goals, ensuring that you stay on track long after your last physical therapy session.

The number of physical therapy sessions you need varies depending on the severity of your condition. On average, 6 to 12 sessions are enough to decrease pain, improve flexibility and range of motion, and increase strength.

Getting Ready for Physical Therapy

As a patient, there are some things you should do before starting physical therapy. For starters, check your health insurance to see what’s covered and any amount you’ll need to pay. Since some insurance copayments are quite expensive, this step avoids expensive surprises down the line.

Once you’ve figured out the financial component, schedule your initial examination either by phone or in person; plan for an hour. Also, remember to bring a complete list of medications that you’re taking, as this might factor into your course of treatment. Once you and your therapist have decided on a plan moving forward, schedule several appointments over the next few weeks to ensure progress

On the day of the appointment, wear comfortable clothes that don’t restrict your movement. Better still, wear something that allows the therapist to access the affected body parts with ease.

In today’s world, arthritis, joint pain, back pain, and other injuries are no longer a life sentence of taking expensive pain medications. In many cases, physical therapy provides a wide variety of safe and effective treatment options to relieve pain without the dangerous side effects that are often associated with medication.

The post Eliminate Or Reduce Pain With Physical Therapy appeared first on Lifestyle.

Eat A Variety Of Foods

Many diets don’t work in the long run because they either cut out healthy food groups entirely (for example, carbs) or severely restrict what you can eat.

With few exceptions, there really isn’t anything you can’t eat as long as you consume these foods in small portions or only once in a while. For example, instead of adding two tablespoons of blueberries to your cup of ice cream, why not add two tablespoons of ice cream to your cup of blueberries?

Portion Control

With the exclusion of consuming large amounts of sugar, weight management is a numbers game. Energy in versus energy out.

This isn’t exactly the case for sugar and processed carbohydrates because they spike insulin, leading to metabolic syndrome and weight gain over time, even if the total amount of calories consumed is restricted. Eating 1300 calories of fruits and vegetables will create a much different outcome than eating 1300 calories of your favorite pie and ice cream; not all calories behave the same way with regards to energy in versus energy out.

In general, you must burn more calories than what you consume in order to lose weight. Portion control is a GREAT strategy for winning this game.

An easy trick is to switch larger plates for smaller ones. So instead of piling food onto a 12-inch plate, use a 9-inch one instead. Your eyes will tell your brain that the plate is loaded, BUT there will be fewer calories. Enjoy your food, but give yourself 20 minutes before getting seconds because this is how long it takes for your body to tell your brain that you’re full.

One more thing, this should make sense, but it bears repeating: Avoid “supersizing” when dining out. The extra calories aren’t worth the trouble.

Make Vegetables And Fruits Your Friend

No one ever got fat by eating non-processed apples or broccoli. Fruits and vegetables fill you up while using fewer calories than other foods. As a matter of fact, some vegetables are negative foods, like celery, meaning it takes more calories to chew and digest them than what they contain.

Remember, when consuming fruit, choose whole fruit instead of juice because you will benefit from all of the fiber that the juicing process leaves out.  Fiber slows how fast sugar enters your bloodstream, and it keeps you feeling full longer. So instead of reaching for a glass of juice or a handful of chocolate candy, grab an apple instead.

 Go 100% Whole Grain

Not all grains are created equal – even those that are labeled “whole wheat.”

Tip: 100% whole grains keep the bran and germ that are otherwise lost during processing. You want “100% whole grain” or “100% whole wheat” to be listed on the product, or that it carries the “Whole Grain Stamp” on its packaging.

 Reduce Added Sugar

Sugar is a simple carbohydrate that food manufacturers are adding to their products. It’s being added to everything.

Tip: Look at the nutrition label to see if sugar has been added. Also, look to see how much fiber is listed. If there’s more added sugar than fiber, it’s not a healthy choice.

The tricky thing is that these clever food companies like to stuff added sugars into their foods by hiding them under different names. Just know that if the ingredient ends in “ose,” it’s most likely a hidden sugar.

 Eat Healthy Fats

There are three types of fats: saturated, unsaturated, and trans.

Tip: Avoid trans-fats at all costs because over time, they create disease in your body.

Trans fat is a “manufactured” fat that the body doesn’t know how to handle, so it stores it as body fat.

Also, replace saturated fat with healthy unsaturated fats, like olive oil or avocado.

Lastly, do your best to get omega-3 fats, which can be found in flaxseed, fish, or daily supplements.

 Reduce Red Meat Consumption

You knew this one was coming, didn’t you? Strive to reduce your intake of red meat. Many of the cuts are high in saturated fat, which is bad for your heart and cardiovascular system. If this sounds difficult, start slowly by going without red meat just one day a week. And as your system adapts, add more days.

Although we’ve covered a lot in this post, these seven habits are really easy to implement. Which one(s) would you consider trying this week? Just by reducing the total number of calories consumed each day, making sure they’re calories from primarily healthy foods, will help you lose weight and regain your health.

Add a little exercise to burn even more calories and pretty soon you’ll be fitting into those favorite pair of jeans again, which, by the way, will probably be out of style, but that’s great news because you can say, “shopping spree?!”

The post Seven Diet Tips & Tricks For Staying Healthy And Losing Weight appeared first on Lifestyle.

The Benefits

Vegetarians have a huge advantage over meat eaters in the long term. They live longer and are generally 30 pounds lighter. That’s right, eating vegetables helps you maintain a healthy weight and can add up to 10 years to your life!

Vegetarians are less likely to get diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Plants, unlike animal products, do not contain cholesterol and saturated fats, which have been linked to high cholesterol and cardiovascular problems.

Even among vegetarians, health outcomes vary depending on food choices.

There are three main types of vegetarian diets.

Lacto-ovo-vegetarians are the most common. They eat all dairy products and eggs in addition to vegetables. Lacto-vegetarians eat dairy products, but no eggs, and ovo-vegetarians eat eggs, but no dairy.

Strict vegetarians live solely on vegetables, pulses (lentils, beans, peas), and grains. They do not consume any animal products at all.

Go Vegetarian!

As you can imagine, completely overhauling your diet is not easy, so having a good reason why you’re doing it is a BIG help.

Better health is obviously a great reason to go vegetarian. Your health goals will keep you going when the going gets tough.

The first step to becoming a vegetarian is to find protein substitutes and recipes you enjoy making and eating. Here’s something fun: challenge yourself to try a new vegetarian recipe each week as you transition into this new lifestyle. And remember that many of your favorite restaurants offer vegetarian-friendly options. You can even check their menus online.

Stay Vegetarian!

It’s normal to have cravings during the transition period. One way to deal with these cravings is through the use of meat substitutes.

For instance, you don’t have to give up spaghetti and meatballs when you become a vegetarian because you’ll be able to find a variety of meatless substitutes at your local market. Granted, it might taste a little bit different at first but you’ll get used to it and reach the point where you like it even more because of how much better you feel.  Keep in mind that you will be adding up to ten extra quality years of life, on average, by adopting this diet.

Some people choose to avoid substitutes because they keep the cravings alive and don’t taste the same as meat products. They opt for alternative protein sources like lentils, beans, peas, dairy, and eggs.

Living with Non-Vegetarians

It’s not easy to stick to a vegetarian diet when the rest of the family is eating meat. Sometimes it feels like you have to choose between enjoying dinner with your family or vegetarianism. But most families are glad to support their loved one’s healthier choices.

It’s totally possible to live with meat eaters and not give in to your cravings for burgers. All it takes is time and practice. Talk to them about your reasons for becoming a vegetarian, and they will no doubt support you just as long as you’re not being critical or judgmental of their dietary choices.

At the end of the day, what healthy family wouldn’t want their loved ones to be around for an extra decade of laughter and joy? Keep the end goal in mind, and you’ll do just fine as you transition into a vegetarian lifestyle.

The post Go Vegetarian & Live Longer (A Lot Longer…) appeared first on Lifestyle.

Body Pump is a workout that combines aerobics and strength training with lots of repetition. It involves lifting, thrusting, and squatting with light to moderate weights. It’s highly demanding, but if you’re willing to put in the work, you can burn more than 500 calories per session.

Body Pump Class

While you can definitely do a body pump workout on your own, its creator, Les Mills, intended it to be a group exercise. The goal was to get more men involved in studio classes, which are more popular with women.

A typical body pump class is 30, 45, or 60 minutes long. It is broken down into eight sections, and each section focuses on a different muscle group.

After a quick warm-up session, the instructor guides the class through a series of squats, bench presses, deadlifts, lunges, shoulder & abdominal exercises, and, finally, a cool-down session.

You can select the size of the step and weights you wish to use during the workout. This allows you to start small until you’re ready to level up. The classes are set to music to motivate and help you keep time.

Benefits

Body Pump is a total body workout that improves muscle tone and builds muscular endurance. You can burn between 200 and 600 calories in one workout, depending on your fitness level. Therefore, if you are eating between 1600 and 2400 calories a day, you can easily burn a quarter or a third of that and lose weight without reducing your daily caloric intake.

Body Pump workouts boost your metabolism and overall health. Two body pump sessions a week can help to prevent cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, and diabetes

This workout is also great for increasing muscle flexibility and range of motion through resistance training. This can relieve back, neck, and shoulder pain, which is often the result of tight muscles.

Last but not least, this workout makes your legs stronger and leaner, gives you a tight core, defined biceps and triceps that are not bulky, and makes your waistline smaller, in proportion to the rest of your body.

Get Started

The easiest way to get started is to join a BodyPump class. Being around people with similar fitness goals keeps you motivated, making it less likely you will skip workouts. The class also teaches you how to lift weights and work out safely.

Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you can purchase the music track, a mat, dumbbells & a barbell and do the Body Pump workouts at home.

Lastly, always consult a physician before starting any new exercise regimen – especially one that involves lifting weights.

The post Body Pump – The Closest Thing to a Magic Workout! appeared first on Lifestyle.

When you’re trying to break a bad lifestyle habit, routine can be your friend and your enemy. Eating healthy foods and exercising regularly is challenging in the beginning but if you stick with it long enough, it becomes a habit and you go into autopilot mode.

The Challenge

Having big health and fitness goals is great, but can be overwhelming. Think about it, a goal to “give up sugar for 30 days” sounds more achievable than a goal to “be healthier.”

The easiest way to break bad lifestyle habits is through small incremental changes. When you make a small change every day, you hardly notice that something is different.

The Science

Science says that it takes a little over two weeks to break a habit, so if you want to unlearn the old habit and learn a new one, you must be willing to commit for at least 30 days. This is not to say that 30 days is some sort of magic line that makes you immune to your old ways, but it’s a good place to start.

There are three distinct stages that make up a habit: cue, routine and reward. The cue triggers the routine. For instance, stress can be a cue for cravings. When triggered, you automatically go into routine mode and start doing things to satisfy the craving. The satisfaction you get from doing this is the reward.

The first step to breaking bad habits is identifying the cues, routines, and rewards associated with them.

New Routine

While it’s possible to avoid the things that trigger bad habits, it’s much easier to replace the current routine with a new one. This way, it’s a lot harder to go back to your old ways when you inevitably hit a rough patch.

The first step to changing a routine is to come up with a specific plan. For instance, if your goal is to go to the gym more often, sign up for a class.

Secondly, plan to tackle one small goal every week. Science shows that it is impossible to change multiple habits at once. So don’t try to give up sugar and bread and eat more fruit and vegetables all in one week. Do one thing at a time.

The changes should also be incremental. If you give up sugar for one week, don’t reintroduce it during “fruit and vegetable” week. You would continue limiting your sugar intake while adding fruit and vegetables, because this way you don’t lose any ground.

You can have the health you desire by using incremental micro changes to break bad habits and transform your life one day (or one hour) at a time.

The post Break Any Bad Lifestyle Habit in 30 Days appeared first on Lifestyle.

The circadian rhythm regulates your level of sleepiness or wakefulness throughout the day. When it’s working properly, you should wake up feeling energized and ready to conquer the world!

An out-of-whack body clock doesn’t just make you tired. It also disrupts your brain’s wave patterns, hormone production, and cell regulation. This disruption has been linked to depression, obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.

Thankfully, it is possible to reset your circadian rhythm as long as you can figure out what is throwing it off.

Do you have a regular sleep schedule?

Do you go to bed and get up at around the same time every day? An erratic sleep schedule throws off your body clock.

If you want to wake up feeling refreshed, you need to pick a bedtime and a wake-up time. Don’t just go to bed whenever you feel like it.

Having a fixed bedtime also helps you wind down. You might not always go to bed on time, but the realization that it’s “past your bedtime” helps you to relax and get ready for bed.

Do you wind down before bed?

How do you prepare for bed? If you work or watch TV up until the minute you fall asleep, your brain doesn’t get a chance to wind down.

To sleep better, you need to find a way to let your mind know that it’s time to gear down and to set aside any anxious or worrisome thoughts before bedtime.

You need a pre-sleep ritual or routine.

It could be anything from taking a warm bath to reading a book, as long as it helps you relax.

Your body and mind need 30 to 60 minutes of pre-sleep time. During that time, you should avoid doing anything stimulating, such as working or browsing the internet.

Do you turn off the lights and electronics?

This seems obvious, but many people still go to sleep with the lights, TV, computer, or phone on.

Your body’s clock responds to light. This is why you’re most alert when the sun is shining and most tired when it’s dark outside.

Artificial light, whether from indoor lights or from the phone, confuses your body and makes it difficult for it to determine whether it’s day or night.

If you go to bed expecting to wake up feeling rested and energized but wake up feeling groggy, you may need to reset your body clock. Start by analyzing your pre-sleep and sleep habits using the above pointers, and then make any necessary changes.

The post Is your Body Clock Out of Whack? appeared first on Lifestyle.

Nowadays, it’s a marketing term used to assign near magical powers to overpriced foods. There is no shortage of food companies that claim to have discovered foods that contain extra-ordinary nutrients. This makes it really difficult to separate the facts from the marketing gimmicks.

The Science

While there’s no scientific definition for the term “superfoods”, it’s generally accepted that most of these foods contain high levels of antioxidant compounds, such as carotenoids, flavonoids and phenolic compounds. These compounds fight the (evil) free radicals that destroy our cells and make us old and ill.

There have been numerous scientific studies on antioxidants and their health benefits. Most of these studies have found that while eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits that contain high antioxidant compounds lowers the risk of several diseases, it isn’t clear if this is as a result of the antioxidants. Furthermore, scientist have not found any evidence that antioxidant supplements help to prevent chronic diseases such as cancer.

There are also questions about the safety of high-dose antioxidant supplements. For instance, high doses of beta-carotene can increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers. Similarly, high doses of vitamin E can increase the risk of prostate cancer and stroke. However, this only applies to antioxidants supplements since no questions have been raised about the safety of antioxidant foods.

To Eat or Not To Eat Superfoods

Superfoods may not be as magical as marketers have led you to believe, but eating a diet full of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables is extremely beneficial to your health. It doesn’t matter if these health benefits are the result of other substances present in the same foods.

Antioxidant supplements, on the other hand, are another issue altogether. Since there is little evidence of their effectiveness, they should never be used to replace conventional medicines or a healthy diet that consists of whole foods.

It’s also important to note that antioxidant supplements can interact with certain medications. For instance, vitamin E supplements can interact with blood thinners and increase the risk of bleeding. You should always talk to your healthcare provider before taking any antioxidant supplements.

The bottom line is that if you’re eating a diet that is rich in vegetables and fruits, you don’t have to worry about whether or not you’re getting enough antioxidants. There’s absolutely no reason to go out and spend your entire food budget on costly superfoods like acai or goji berries. Good old broccoli, Brussels sprouts, zucchini, iceberg lettuce, parsley, red peppers, berries and nuts (you see where we’re going with this…) are just as beneficial.

The post Are Superfoods Real? appeared first on Lifestyle.

This is why you need to learn how to separate the facts from clever marketing gimmicks. Here are some guidelines to help you do that.

1. Natural or Natural Flavors

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words “all natural”? Healthy, right? Sadly, that is not necessarily true.

According to the FDA, the word natural just means that no artificial ingredients have been added. It does not mean hormone free, pesticide free or non-GMO.

2. Fortified

Today nearly everything on the shelf, including water, is fortified with vitamins and minerals. Unfortunately, nutrient fortification does not make unhealthy foods healthy.

Fortified junk food is still junk food.

There is also no evidence that the additional nutrients are doing us any good.

If you want more vitamins and minerals in your diet, skip the fortified sugar and eat healthy, nutrient dense foods that have been proven to have beneficial health effects.

This is not to say that you should avoid all fortified foods. If a food has intrinsic nutritional value, the added nutrients will only make it better. For instance, there is nothing wrong with probiotic-fortified yogurt or milk fortified with vitamin D.

3. Good Source of Fiber

The healthiest sources of fiber are whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits.

If you’re making healthy food choices, you don’t need the added fiber from packaged bars or cookies. In fact, most of the fiber found in junk food is faux fiber extracted from chicory root or chemically synthesized. There is also no evidence that eating foods with added fiber is as beneficial as eating foods that are naturally high in fiber.

4. Whole Grain

The terms “whole grain” and “100 percent whole grain” have very different meanings. A product only has to contain a small amount of whole grains to be labeled “made with whole grains.”

What you really want are the products labeled “100 percent whole grain” or “100 percent whole wheat”. Avoid products that say whole grain but don’t give more information on what the grains are or what percent of the grain is whole; such products may still contain processed flour.

5. No Sugar Added

“No sugar added” is not the same as “unsweetened.” “No sugar added” products can still be sweetened with artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols, which have fewer calories than sugar but are not necessarily healthy.

On the other hand, products labeled “unsweetened” can only contain naturally occurring sugar and sugar alcohols. They cannot be sweetened with artificial sweeteners.

Keep in mind that while these two terms are regulated by the FDA, the FDA does not require manufacturers to use them. Whether you’re trying to avoid sugar, artificial sweeteners or both, you may have to check the ingredient list to figure out what the products contain.

Do yourself a favor and learn what food labels really mean because your health is worth protecting and you deserve the best.

The post Don’t Fall For Clever Marketing on Food Packaging! appeared first on Lifestyle.