Health and Fitness — Page 23 — Home and Garden Diva

Conquer Menopause With Diet and Exercise

Menopause, for women this is just another one of those events in our lives we just can not avoid. It is also frustrating for many women because there are not always hard answers to certain questions. Some women sail through the experience while others suffer miserably. Some begin to see signs and experience symptoms in their thirties while others do not hit any speed bumps until they are in their late fifties.

Whatever the case may be for you, there are steps that you can take that will assist in making the ride through menopause a little easier. To begin with the absolute basics, not surprising, nutrition and diet have tremendous affects on the symptoms of menopause.

As always it is important to consume a wide variety or fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes as these food groups are a rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and numerous other compounds that are essential to overall health. More importantly they help your liver process hormones and at the same time reduce the risk of breast cancer.

Another fabulous food for conquering menopausal symptoms is flaxseed. This little seed packs a real punch; flaxseed is rich in fiber but more importantly contains lignans which help to balance estrogens and in turn reduce your symptoms. Soy foods contain isoflavins which also reduce symptoms. Foods loaded with Vitamin D and Calcium are highly recommended. Beets or beet juice is considered a must when battling menopause as they are extremely rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals as well as carotenoids such as beta-carotene and lutein. It is recommended that you avoid saturated fats, caffeine, alcohol and spicy foods as these are all known to acerbate hot flashes.

Regular exercise isn’t it always listed as a benefit. Putting all of the other benefits aside, a couple different exercises will greatly improve your experience with menopause. First of all we know that aerobic exercise is a huge benefit to your cardiovascular system. The health of your cardio system has a direct effect on the occurrence of hot flashes. This does not mean you need to go out and start running five miles a day, intentional walking will do the trick as long as you are getting a workout and incorporating it regularly. Another line of activities that are good choices are Yoga, Qigong, or Tia Chi. Exercises such as these not only improve your body physically but also mentally and emotionally, again great for avoiding hot flashes.

Exercise regardless of the type you choose to incorporate into your daily routine also has the benefit of reducing stress which in turn helps with the menopausal symptoms of hot flashes, the sweating, irritability, anxiety, depression, mood swings. Exercise in general will also help to reduce other symptoms such as weight gain, fatigue, head aches, memory loss, insomnia and low libido. In addition it would be beneficial to practice some sort of relaxation technique such as meditation or deep breathing.

Very small changes in our daily life style can have tremendous effects on how we experience menopause. Diet and exercise are essential to our over all health however there is a direct correlation between these and menopausal symptoms.

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Sauna Bathing-An Ancient Past Time

by The Diva

The sauna has been appreciated by man since antiquity, and is still treasured today. What is it that makes the sauna such a timeless pleasure?

The purpose of a sauna is to provide wet or dry heat sessions that promote both relaxation and perspiration.A bather, or group of bathers, can gather inside of a sauna to experience temperatures as high as 80 degrees Celcius or more. Saunas are very relaxing, and tend to make users sweat. In fact, the sauna’s popularity can be attributed to its many health benefits such as stress reduction, detoxification of the body, an improved immune system and other positive changes.

”Sauna” is world that developed in ancient Finland and means a traditional Finnish bath. The first known saunas were essentially the lowest points dug in a slope in the ground mainly used as dwellings during winters. At the time the sauna included a fireside where stones were heated to very high temperatures. Afterwards, water was thrown on to the hot stones thus producing steam and heat.The heat would be so strong that often people would undress when this was done.

Over time the sauna evolved to include a metal woodstove with a chimney. In traditional Finnish saunas the temperatures within often exceeded 90 degrees Celcius. Steam vapor was also generated by spraying water onto the heated stones. The steam vapor and high heat caused bathers to sweat a great deal.

In order to take full advantage of the sauna, the Finns gathered a bundle of bird branches containing tiny, fresh leaves. This was called a vihta. This practice not only aids in blood circulation, but adds a pleasant birch scent to the sauna.

Saunas relieve stress in two ways. Not only do they help you relax from simply spending time relaxing within, but they also help your body relax physically. When the sauna heats your skin, it helps to detoxify your body by making it sweat out more harmful toxins than you would have without its aid. Removing these chemicals helps your body fight stress and feel healthier

Since the sauna makes you sweat, and the sweat removes toxins, the overall experiences helps to detoxify your body by forcing toxins out through the skin.

The Finns keep the rich history of the sauna alive today by making it a part of their daily ritual. In Finland, saunas are considered to be a natural and effective way of refreshing both the mind and spirit. Then and now, the sauna remains a key component to healthy living in Finland. Families often bathed together in home saunas, and in the past Finnish women often gave birth in saunas.

When the Finns migrated to the different parts of the globe they shared their knowledge of sauna designs and customs. They taught other cultures about the sauna’s health benefits which helped the sauna to evolve further. Eventually, this led to the development of electric sauna stoves and far infrared saunas which became quite popular. Since then various cultures around the world have been recognizing, adopting and improvising the sauna.

6 Secrets for Staying Motivated in Your Exercise Program

by The Diva

We all know how easy it is to put off exercise, especially if you have a busy life, but here are six key ways to keep yourself motivated:

1. Track your progress.
Find a method to track how many miles you’ve walked, how many calories you’ve burned or how many steps you’ve taken. Consider making a wall chart with milestones written out along a line. Make a check mark each day when you make progress toward your next milestone. You can even create a little character of yourself to move along the line. Each day, you can see how far you have to go until your next milestone, and how far you’ve come.
You can also track your progress on a simple calendar. Mark off the days that you complete your exercise routine. You’ll be motivated as you get to the end of the month and you see how well you have done with your plan. Several of the best online diet programs have an online component where you can track your progress, alongside your intake of food and water.

2. Reward yourself.
Once you’ve reached a milestone on your chart, or checked off a certain number of days on your calendar, be sure to reward yourself with a non-food reward. Buy yourself some new music on iTunes to exercise to. Treat yourself to new workout clothes. Take in a movie with your spouse. If you reward yourself for a good behavior in a way that matters to you, you’ll make the effort to work out more.

3. Give yourself a break.
If you miss a day due to illness or a busy schedule, don’t beat yourself up about it. You won’t get anywhere by putting yourself through a guilt trip. If you tend to get down on yourself when you make a mistake in your workout, you will be more likely to stop doing your workouts altogether. Just plan to make up for a missing session on another day.

4. Mix up your exercise routine.
One of the main reasons that people stop exercising is out of boredom. While your exercise program may be exciting and fresh when you first start, even the most fast-paced workout DVD can get boring after a while. Mixing up your routine will keep you interested enough to want to keep working out. In addition, changing your workout from time to time will help you lose more weight and get more fit. Over time, your body gets used to the same repetitive motions and figures out ways to make the exercise easier. By introducing different types of movement, you’ll keep your body guessing and get more from your exercise.

5. Work out with friends or family.
Exercise is a lot more enjoyable when you do it as a group. The best way to stick with a program is commit to another person to work out together. You can motivate each other to keep going. You won’t be as likely to skip your workout if someone else is waiting there for you to join them.

6. Consider using beahvior modification techniques
A subliminal or non subliminal audiotape or CD (such as Think Right Now programs from Mike Brescia) may be able to help your mind and spirit work alongside you to help keep your body moving each day. If this is something you think might work for you, check out the current offerings from Hay House, as well. This publisher specializes in self help and personal empowerment titles, seminars, and programs.

Ways to Exercise at Work

by The Diva

If you work more than you workout, you may find that you need to lose a few pounds. But who has the time? Here are some exercises you can do at work during your breaks or lunch.

Stairs

If your building has stairs, take full advantage of them. When you get to work, take the stairs to your floor instead of the elevator. During a break or lunch, head to the stairwell and jog up a few flights. Don’t forget to take the stairs on your way back home.

Walls

Of course your place of business has walls, and you can use them to work out your arms, legs, and core. Stand in front of a wall and place your hands on it with your arms straight. Lower your body towards the wall while tucking your stomach in. Then, push yourself back up. Do this standing up push-up ten times to work out your arms and stomach.

Next, stand with your back against the wall and move into a sitting position. Hold this position for a few seconds and repeat ten times.

Chairs

Even the most common chair can aid you in your workout. Put one hand on the back of a chair and to squats and calf raises. Hover over a chair with your butt just inches from the seat. Hold this position for a few seconds to work your thighs. For a workout that works all day, replace your chair with a balance ball. Sitting on a balance ball all day will strengthen your core and improve your balance and posture.

Hallways

On your lunch break don’t just sit. Find a hallway path in your office building that, ideally, makes a loop. Cruz the hallways at a fast clip to get a cardio workout. Moral of the story? Look at every area of your office building as a place to get some exercise and you’ll never miss a workout again. For more tips, try reading e-books, such as the one in this Turbulence Training review, to help you lose more weight.

Stretching Tips To Avoid Injury

by The Diva

fitness strength training

Before fitness strength training, one must give importance to doing warm-up or stretching exercises to prevent accidents or to enhance the output during the training. There are also a number of precautionary measures and tips to serve as guidelines when doing fitness exercises.Here are some of them.

1. To increase your flexibility and to avoid injuries, stretch before and after a private workout.Almost everyone knows that stretching before workout prevents injuries during the exercises, but only few people know that stretching after workout, when muscles are still warm, can increase flexibility.

2. Hold your stretching position for more than 60 seconds to increase flexibility. While holding your position for 20 seconds is enough for warm ups, holding each position for at least 60 seconds will develop the body’s flexibility.

3. Do not repeatedly stretch then immediately drop to the relaxed position. This is more appropriately termed as bouncing while in a position.When stretching, hold that position for several seconds, and then slowly relax. You may do this exercise repeatedly this way. Bouncing or forcing yourself into a position during stretching can strain or damage some joints or muscles.

4. Work slowly in increments instead of immediately proceeding to doing the hardest exercise or position.

5. Make sure that you have stretched or warmed up all muscle groups.The neck always seems to be neglected during a workout. Stretching the neck muscles can be as simple as placing the palm of one’s hand against the front of the head and pushing it.Then, do the same to the sides and the back of the head.

6. Stretch regularly to continually increase your range of movements and your level of flexibility and strength.

7. Exercise while only considering what you’re capable of, and not of what others can achieve.Don’t try to perform an exercise that you know are not capable of starting or finishing just because some others can do it.Slowly increase your limit.Don’t ignore your body.You should consider reducing the range of motion for those days where you’re just too tired.

8. Learn to rest. Rest in between sets and stations to make sure that the body has enough time to recover its energy.Also, it is advisable that you don’t work the same muscle groups consecutively for two days.During rest or sleep is when your muscles grow, not while in the gym working out.

9. Do aerobic exercises to strengthen your heart.Aerobic exercises are those physical activities that much oxygen for fuel.This includes cardiovascular exercises such as skipping rope, running or swimming.

10. To increase intensity for longer periods of time, it could help listening to music.You can use mp3 players, CD players or lightweight am radio receivers for this.Wear a headset so others are not disturbed by music while exercising.

Apart from preventing injuries and increasing one’s limit, it is also said that stretching is good for a tired body and also for a stressed mind and spirit.

Conquer Menopause With Diet and Exercise

Sauna Bathing-An Ancient Past Time

6 Secrets for Staying Motivated in Your Exercise Program

Ways to Exercise at Work

Stretching Tips To Avoid Injury

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