Friday, May 6, 2016

Reduce Stress with Diet and Exercise

Reduce Stress with Diet and Exercise
by Pamela M. Peeke, MD, MPH

More than one in 10 of those who responded to HealthyWomen's recent Web-based survey on stress said they coped with stress by doing unhealthy things such as overindulging in alcohol and food and other self-destructive behaviors. I can guarantee these actions won't help them feel any better; in fact, such behaviors only exacerbate the harmful effects of chronic stress on your health and likely add a whole host of other issues to deal with.

For the reality is that there is very little you can do about the stress in your life. What you can do something about, however, is how you let it affect you. And the best place to start is with a bedrock of healthy living. This strong foundation may help protect you against the harmful effects of the chronic stress we all live with.

That means following a healthy lifestyle, particularly when it comes to eating and exercising.

Eat Your Way to Calm

Here's how to do it:

Skip the simple sugars and starches (chips, cakes and ice cream). The spike in blood sugar and insulin they cause, combined with your already high cortisol levels, can lead you to eat more as well as put you at risk of insulin insensitivity and diabetes. There's nothing wrong with reaching for comfort food, but take the attributes of the "bad" comfort food - creamy, crunchy, sweet - and try to find healthier alternatives.


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Thursday, May 5, 2016

Raw Foods Diets

Raw Foods Diets

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

by Suzanne Havala Hobbs, DrPH, RD

It is well established that vegetarian lifestyles are associated with health advantages. The American Dietetic Association states that "… appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, are nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the treatment and prevention of certain diseases." (16)

Much of what is known about vegetarian diets and related health effects is based on research on lacto ovo vegetarian diets. Relatively little information is available about the health and nutrition aspects of vegan diets, however, as well as variants such as raw foods or living foods diets. A review of the literature was conducted to determine the extent to which there is scientific documentation of the health and nutrition aspects of raw foods diets as a first step toward further study of this dietary practice.

Worldwide, little research data is available on the subject of raw foods diets. The majority of published research has been conducted in Finland at the University of Kuopio. Of the 24 papers included in this review, 15 originated in Finland. The remainder of the research was conducted in the U.S., the Netherlands, and Germany.

Full review/article here


Making Plans with Bipolar Disorder

Making Plans with Bipolar Disorder
Posted on March 5, 2012 by Natasha Tracy

I have a friend with bipolar disorder. A nice girl. Fun. Charming. Intelligent. She’s lovely really. We email a lot and sometimes she makes me LOL.

But seeing her is very difficult. She has a lot of trouble sticking to any plans we might make. This is because she can never predict her mood. Even if she feels like going out the moment we make the plans, even if it seems like a fun idea then, when the time actually comes she may not feel like leaving the house.

I know how she feels.

Ideas that seem good on a Wednesday, when they actually arrive on a Friday suddenly seem like the biggest imposition in the world and seem as impossible as lifting a mountain.

So how does one make plans if one can never anticipate one’s mood?


Mood Switching
Many people with bipolar disorder experience mood episodes that last long periods of time. Depressions, manias or hypomanias might last weeks or even months. For them, moods may be more predictable.

But for people with very rapid cycling versions of bipolar disorder (ultradian cycling particularly) we never know what our mood will be one day to the next. One day we wake up feeling fine, the next depressed, and hypomanic the day after that. And mix in an anxiety disorder, which many people have, and the combinations get ever more complex.

Mood Desires
And what one wants to do during any particular mood episode varies. Being very outgoing and social and heading out to a party probably sounds like great fun when hypomanic but sounds like absolute torture when depressed.

Full article here

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

How to take action

Why Smart People Find Themselves in Motion
If motion doesn’t lead to results, why do we do it?

Sometimes we do it because we actually need to plan or learn more. But more often than not, we do it because motion allows us to feel like we’re making progress without running the risk of failure. Most of us are experts at avoiding criticism. It doesn’t feel good to fail or to be judged publicly, so we tend to avoid situations where that might happen.

And that’s the biggest reason why you slip into motion rather than taking action: you want to delay failure.

Yes, I’d like to get in shape. But, I don’t want to look stupid in the gym, so I’ll just talk to the trainer about their rates instead.

Yes, I’d like to land more clients for my business. But, if I ask for the sale, I might get turned down. So maybe I should just email 10 potential clients instead.

Yes, I’d like to lose weight. But, I don’t want to be the weird one who eats healthy at lunch. So maybe I should just plan some healthy meals when I get home instead.

It’s very easy to do these things and convince yourself that you’re still moving in the right direction.

“I’ve got conversations going with 4 potential clients right now. This is good. We’re moving in the right direction.”

“I brainstormed some ideas for that book I want to write. This is coming together.”

Motion makes you feel like you’re getting things done. But really, you’re just preparing to get something done. And when preparation becomes a form of procrastination, you need to change something.

Ideas for Taking Action
I’m sure there are many strategies for taking action, but I can think of two that have worked for me.

1. Set a schedule for your actions.

Every Monday and every Thursday, I write a new article and publish it to the world. It’s just what happens on those days. It’s my schedule. I love Mondays and Thursdays because I know that I will always produce something on those days. I’ll get a result. That’s a good feeling.

For weightlifting, I train on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That’s the schedule every week. I’m not planning workout exercises. I’m not researching workout programs. I’m simply working out. Action, not motion.

For on–going goals and lifestyle changes, I think this is the best approach. Set a schedule for your actions and stick to it.

2. Pick a date to shift you from motion to action.

For some goals, setting a daily or weekly schedule doesn’t work as well.

This is the case if you’re doing something that is only going to happen once: like releasing your new book, or launching a new product, or taking a big exam, or submitting a major project.

These things require some planning up front (motion). They also require plenty of action to complete them. For example, you could set a schedule each week to write each chapter of your book. But for the book launch itself, you could spend weeks or months planning different venues, locations, and so on.

In a situation like this, I find that it’s best to simply pick a date. Put something on the calendar. Make it public. This is when X is happening.

For big projects or one–time goals, I think this is the best approach. Force yourself out of motion and into action by setting a hard deadline.

Choose Action
Never mistake activity for achievement.
—John Wooden

Motion will never produce a final result. Action will.

When you’re in motion, you’re planning and strategizing and learning. Those are all good things, but they don’t produce a result.

Are you doing something? Or are you just preparing to do it?

Are you in motion? Or are you taking action?

Taking action (James Clear)

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Reflection for 5/1/16

Food journal based on diet goals and how I created the food journal in the first place.--4/30/16
Meal: Lunch
Time: 11 AM-11:30 AM
Food and drink consumed: cheeseburger and fries with soda (be specific)
Calories: 1800
Carbs: 22
Location: Fast food restaurant
Reflection: Include any improvements that need to be strengths including trigger foods and amounts, for example.

Meal: Breakfast
Time: 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Food and drink consumed: 2 boiled eggs, 3 links turkey bacon, 3 sausage links, 1 piece of wheat toast
Calories: 590
Carbs: 45
Fiber: 8 grams
Location: Home
Amount of water an other drinks consumed: 8 oz. glass orange juice , 16 oz. water
Reflection: reflections about the size of the foods in terms of servings

Today is the first of May and I have yet begun to fight.  For a long time, I have been overwhelmed with losing weight.  Today is no exception.  Maybe I should get a notebook.  A notebook or journal will help me, or will it?  The problems with all of this is that I always make plans.  I always have a plan.  I never follow it even part time.  So why would I get a notebook?  I realize that even that could be a waste of time and paper.  All I know to do is to deal with the anxiety at hand.  Maybe if I could deal with the anxiety, I can also follow the plans and create the daily journal.