Health and Nutrition That Is AboveNBeyond

You hear sayings (or say them) all the time.  Sayings like “Oh, I’m not that bad”, “you’ll have that anywhere” or “that won’t work”.  Unfortunately, it’s sayings like these that can also “trap” you into not taking any action for yourself.  Deep down inside, there is a small seed of care waiting to be nurtured.  For some, it never sees the light of day and doesn’t sprout into anything.  For others, it can mean the difference of night and day and wow, does it ever!  Accepting denial can apply to just about any issue such as weight loss, staying in the job you’ve had for years, addictions, illnesses, and so fourth.  It isn’t always easy to break away from this way of thinking especially if one is not good at change.  You have to reach the point where you stop listening to the hype around you and start listening to yourself.

How many years have to go by before one stops accepting denial and alters course to something more positive?  Yes, I said years, it can take a long time before one reaches the point where change happens (if any at all).  Accepting denial is a powerful negative that can hold one from making changes that would be beneficial.

Why do I call it Accepting Denial? It’s because one is accepting reasons for not making choices thus denying one self of a positive situation. One lives in denial of what could be instead of taking that first step.

One has to be careful and not be disillusioned by denial. In other words, the reasons you are accepting may seem real and really pertain to your situation, but, do they really apply? This is where you have to dig deep and I mean deep down inside yourself and get to the truth of the matter and ask that HARD question, “what do I want?”. This is not as easy as it seams and can really rock your world. How do I know this you ask? I’ve been there and decided that this would be a good subject to write about. So I ask you — Are you accepting denial? Think about it…….

For almost 2 weeks, I’ve been battling what my doctor has told me is a viral infection and it started out as my being sick to my stomach during the first couple of hours and then just nausea and severe headaches for 3 days. Then 5 days after this started, I got a bad head cold with chest congestion and a soar throat. The thing is, I am one who rarely gets sick, but, when I do it’s bad. Well, I got it good (or bad which ever you want to put it). When I saw my doctor, he recommended that I use something called NaSa Flo Neti Pot I was skeptical at first and until after I used it the second time. I realized the difference it made with the bad coughing that I was having. In my case, I was congested and both with my sinuses and the chest. In the mornings, my sinuses were full and my head felt like it was going to explode. Since using the Netipot, I’m noticing a difference. I’ve been using a generic brand of Dayquil, Ibuprofen, cough medicine, vitamin C, and the Netipot to deal with the symptoms. It was hard to believe that something like this, so simple, would do a good job.

Sometimes the remedy for your situation is just right under your nose! Check out the website for more details. Never having used or heard of this product before, and since using it, I thought I’d mention it here since it has helped me.

Merry Christmas! I have always looked forward toward this awesome day! Even during my dark years of depression, this was the one day of the year that always cracked a smile on my face. I used to start planning for Christmas as far back as late August or September on what I wanted to do. While the rest of the year was hard and heavy, Christmas was as light as snow and always meant a lot to me even today. This can be a hard time of year for anyone regardless of who you are or where you are at. I know of a friend who got to the point where he could not stand the holidays, though, I’m not really sure what lead him there. But, I think that may be changing for him, I hope. Christmas does not have to be dark and gloomy, and should be bright and cheerful. Ok, if you disagree, then take your hand and smack yourself hard and then crack your smile if you have to and you’ll get the point. Surely, one could take several hours out of the dark clouds to crack a smile

Get with others, go to parties, be with friends, but most importantly, smile and enjoy! Don’t let an otherwise great day be dark and lonely

Let’s all have a happy, healthy and cheerful and Merry Christmas!

Season’s Greetings to all!

Tim

In the last two posts, I’ve touched on how important nutrition is to the body and how fitness and nutrition can build a strong foundation for the immune system. If you don’t have a good immune system, then all your other efforts are a waste of time unless your immune system has been weakened for other reasons. I recently found an interesting article on the Immune System. Here is a brief excerpt on the article: You can read the full article – Diet, Stress and the Immune System This article is from the Cleveland Clinic website.

Under normal circumstances, the immune system is highly efficient, providing multiple defenses against the onslaught of outside invaders. These defenses include physical barriers (such as skin); the non-specific inflammatory response, which is brought about by changes in blood flow that bring chemical substances to the injured area; and specific immune responses, in which the body learns to recognize specific invaders and destroy them after subsequent exposures.

Ways to Boost your Immune System:

Two products (from Herbalife) called Roseguard and Best Defense, both of which provides immune system support. Roseguard aids in the defense of environmental toxins, and Best Defense helps boosts the immune system. Other ways to boost your immune system are:

1. Regular exercise
2. Get more Antioxidants
3. Adequate sleep, rest and/or relaxation
4. Be careful that you are not the problem – see below
5. Combat any developing ailments right away (cough, cold symptoms, soar throat etc)
6. Smile

Immune System negatives:

1. Lack of exercise
2. Overweight
3. Eating foods high in sugar
4. Eating foods high in fat
5. Experiencing lots of STRESS
6. Social Isolation – being lonely is not a good thing.

Keep your foods colorful and keep it to a minimum with foods that are brown or beige. These types of carbohydrates are high in calories. Such items include pasta, beans and potatoes. Just because something tastes good, does not mean it’s good for you. It’s just good tasting. Now there is no reason to give up all the foods, deserts you eat each day. You want to remember to eat in moderation.

Eating healthy, is not about following a strict diet or trying to stay unreasonably thin, or staying away from the foods you love and look forward to eating. Instead, it’s about getting good nutrition, having more energy and maintaining a healthy balance to have a strong immune system for every day life.
Eating colorful foods (fruits and vegetables) is a good way to get those powerful antioxidants that the body needs to fight off diseases.

Food Myth:

You need to cut out all the fat you eat to loose weight

Food Fact:

Foods that are reduced fat, often have the same amount of calories and at times even more calories than full fat products due to added sugar. You may be tempted to eat more when they say “low fat”.

The doctor says:

Colorful foods are important, because, they provide nutrition from the chemicals called phytonutrients or “plant” nutrients. These nutrients contribute to your healthy-food plan.

Everyone gets mad now and then when something just isn’t right or isn’t going your way. Everyone has a bad day, at work, home or elsewhere. But, now and then, something else happens. An issue or crisis develops that just won’t go away. This is when you have to be careful and watchful about someone very close. That person is YOU! Here is a true example of what can happen:

There was this guy who was dealing with a family crisis and now and then, he found himself getting madder and madder when certain things were not going well. Not being aware of the affects on him as this was going on. There were 2 times in which he got real sick after getting really mad. It wasn’t until after the second time that he realized what was going on. He then woke up and started to change his ways. Unfortunately, it took a while for the effects of anger to go away.

While this was only a brief summary of a true situation, I am trying to point out the serious effects of anger on the brain. Some effects can be as follows: Unclear thinking, depression, more anger, sleepiness, beginning stages of mental illness. One has to be very careful when it comes to anger. If you are not careful, the effects will creep up on you and before you know it, you are engulfed in a dark mental world that can seem never ending. One of the problems, that I understand that this guy had was he did not have anyone to “unload” to and kept everything “locked up” in his mind while dealing with his issues. From what I understand, the guy being referenced above, is doing ok now.

Anger is hard enough when focused on a person or group, but, when it comes to the person who is angry, it can be the hardest.

See also:

Bad Attitude Secrets and Health

The Holidays can be a hard time of year especially for those who want to loose weight or start a new health and fitness goal. Most usually end up saying, I’ll wait until next year to start. With Christmas and New Years around the corner, it’s still not to late to take action.

Things that make it hard:

1. All the good food
2. Everyone having a good time but me
3. Goals
4. Health
5. Family Crisis (it can happen this time of year)
6. Sickness or Illness
7. Attitude
8. Comparing yourself to others
9. Struggling efforts
10. What you think others are thinking

This list (above) can go on, but, you get the picture. It’s all a head game. It’s all about how you are perceiving reality. The following is a list of what you can do now to get yourself on a better path for next year.

What to do now:

1. Close your mind to what others may be thinking (are they really thinking anything?)
2. Set a small goal for the end of year i.e: 1 or 2 pound loss (or gain, yes as a limit)
3. Start using portion control now, but, be good, don’t be extreme here
4. Don’t over indulge
5. DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF!
6. Get out and enjoy yourself
7. Yes, have that desert you are craving, just one piece of pie / cake etc. (not two or three)
8. More than one party to go to, lucky you, portion control, portion control, portion control
9. Drink a lot of water and/or have a light healthy snack before heading out to a party
10. As in portion control, be sensible.

It doesn’t matter who you are, this can be a difficult time of year for more than achieving any goals. Everyone wants to have a great time this time of year. The holidays can be a mixed bag of realities for everyone.

Happy Holidays and Season’s Greetings to everyone!

Tim

Remember, first, you should never starve yourself regardless of what your health and fitness goals are. Activity should also be increased to burn off those calories. With that said, it seems at times that it is forgotten that loosing weight (weight management) is only part of the puzzle. You don’t want to just loose the weight and get on with life. In a perfect world, that would be great.

The other side of the dish is the nutrition factor. You also want to focus on how good your nutrition is. You’ve heard it before, and there is something to be said that “You are what you eat”! Getting proper nutrition can be accomplished in a number of ways. Eating right and taking dietary supplements will help you along the way. There are those who feel that supplements don’t work and are a waste of money. That is not true! Just because one doesn’t always feel some sort of super change by taking supplements doesn’t mean they are not doing there job. It’s the consistent use of them that makes the difference. When I was selling Herbalife, my favorite supplement was their Total Control. This supplement helps build energy, promotes weight loss and boosts metabolism all at the same time. But, again, consistent usage of supplements are where the results come from.

So, by eating right, and taking supplements, you will start laying a foundation of good health which will develop and strengthen your immune system. Not to long ago, my wife was having a conversation with a friend and she said during the time we’ve been married, my husband has only been really sick twice. This is because, of my being active, and taking supplements and eating right.

As stated in other posts, you should also consider changing your habits. I don’t smoke, drink, or do anything else that would be detrimental to my health. I am an avid runner and I work out on a regular basis. Despite your interests, sometimes an overhaul of what you are doing could be the answer.
Who knows, you may end up meeting the new you some day like I did.

So, in concluding, never starve yourself, get active, eat right and take supplements and you’ll start finding yourself going down a better path to a whole new you.

See also:
Do I Eat Today? (D.I.E.T) Part #1 ,
Avoid The Gimics, Change Habits

A bad attitude can come from just about any situation or outcome. Illness, crisis, depression, accident, death, you name it, all these things and more can bring about a bad attitude. This attitude can be short term, or last for years. The problem is that the thought process can be altered to the point where the individual makes decisions that he or she wouldn’t have made otherwise. These decisions can be very minor or major depending on the individual or situation. Some decisions can effect the person’s health.

A good example is:

A person who is mentally ill and is living in denial, refuses to take their medication. This decision that the person is making not only effects their future, but also affects the immediate family and loved ones. The health of the mentally ill person ends up being drastically different than it would be if the right decisions would have been made.

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Now, it would seem from the example above that one would not have to have a bad attitude to be in denial. But, wouldn’t denial be a form of a bad attitude? A bad attitude about a given reality, and not willing to accept what is happening to them.

Mental illness is only one example and is certainly not the only one that can bring about bad decisions that can have effects on ones health. Think of it this way, if you are happy and have high esteem, you are more likely to make better decisions than if it were the other way around, hence a bad or poor attitude.

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See also: Attitude Affects All

Just a thought:

If you are reading this post, and someone’s been trying to tell you that you need to seek help, it’s only because they really do care. Perhaps, maybe, you should look at that as an array of sunlight breaking through the dark black clouds into your life. What would it hurt to consider it anyway?

After my wife lost at least 20 pounds, she noticed a big difference. She used to be out of breath just climbing the stairs to our upper level of the house. I no longer have the back pains I used to since loosing my weight. While, the effort can be hard at times, it’s worth it in the long run. You open the door to a whole new you when you loose even just 20 pounds. The door you open automatically closes the door behind you. The door to increased odds of bad health. Because of my efforts, my recent annual checkup was perfect. I had perfect blood pressure, and all my “numbers” were good or near good. Having a active and healthy lifestyle is the name of the game. The biggest secret here is that the secret to better health, starts and ends with YOU. You have to make the decision to change direction. You have to be committed. You have to change. I say this with personal experience here. I used to drink, eat what ever I wanted when I wanted. I’ve been through a lot of personal issues and seen what I did not want in my life and can tell you that it does start and end with you. You have to cut away what isn’t worth it and discard it. I eliminated alcohol from my life and haven’t looked back. Yes, my wife and I have a little bit on our anniversary, but, not much to speak of. I became an avid runner about 3 years into my depression to help clear it up. For me, it was one of the biggest aspects that pulled me out of the gutter. This also helped me loose weight. I did go through the usual ups and downs of weight loss. It wasn’t until I found Herbalife that I was able to start keeping it off. See My Testimony for more information on this.

See Part one of Better Health Secrets.