Tag: Goals

Can Walking Really Make A Difference?

Walking is probably the easiest way to begin an exercise program. You don’t need to join a gym or buy fancy equipment—just a pair of good supportive shoes! It’s easy on your joints and can be done anytime of the day or night. You can walk outdoors….in a mall…on a treadmill in your house. I used to work in a dental office which had a big circular path through both sides of the office. At lunch time, when there were no patients, two of us would power walk around and around.

How much do you need to walk? 10,000 steps most days of the week is recommended—that is approximately 5 miles per day. You say you are just starting to exercise? First, check with your doctor. Then start out moderately—Rome wasn’t built in a day!!  If you can only do 2000 steps to begin, that is great. Keep on doing the 2000 steps and as you are able, add another 100 or 200 steps. Build gradually. Using a pedometer to count your steps is a good idea—and many phones have a health app that will count your steps.

How fast should you walk? It is generally recommended to walk about 3.0 miles per hour (or more) if you are able. 3.0 miles per hour would mean you would walk a mile in 20 minutes. Walk faster if your goal is to lose weight. Web MD recommends walking briskly a total of 300 minutes per week. If you walk 5 days of the week, that is one hour per day. Don’t get overwhelmed thinking you cannot possibly walk for an hour. Divide the time up into 2 or 3 sessions per day—and remember any walking is better than none!

Can you walk if you have back pain? Again, always consult your doctor and get his approval. Most doctors will recommend physical therapy for people with chronic lower back pain….and in some cases walking can be just as effective. You are not doing a marathon—just try to walk 20-40 minutes two or three times a week. Web MD

Walking is good for your overall health—can help you lose pounds—can help to keep you limber—can improve your mood—prevent or manage many health conditions such as heart, blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.—strengthen your bones and muscles. For those with osteopenia or osteoporosis, weight bearing exercise is recommended—walking is perfect for that!

Watch for our blog article next week on the many benefits of walking if you have arthritis

 

Nourishing Your Body, Mind & Spirit.

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Weight Loss Goals for 2018–Let’s Be Real!

Okay, let’s be REAL. We are not perfect! Starting a diet or exercise program and expecting perfection is a set-up for failure! I cannot tell you how many times I set up unrealistic goals and because I couldn’t be 100% perfect 24/7, I got discouraged and quit! We need to make lifestyle changes—ones we can live with!!

Here are some ways to achieve your new, realistic goals!!

Tell others your goal—make yourself accountable!! If possible get a buddy and support each other. At one time, I had a friend who went to the gym with me. On days I would have preferred to stay home, I got up and put on my exercise clothes….because my friend was waiting for me. I enjoyed exercising and working really hard because I had a friend who was doing the same!!

Make small changes—in your diet or in your exercise goals. Don’t get overwhelmed by trying to make too many changes all at once. Yes, staying on your food plan 7 days a week is best, but eating right 2 or 3 days a week is a start and much better than eating right 0 days. Exercising 1 or 2 days is certainly better than no exercise. Don’t set yourself up for failure by planning to exercise an hour 7 days a week!!

You won’t be perfect!! When you slip, forgive yourself and start over. Learn from those mistakes. If having Oreos in the house makes you crazy—and they call your name—don’t buy them. Bring in your favorite treats—but only ONE. Stop at the bakery and purchase ONE of your favorite pastries or cookies.

If you have a long term goal, break it up into smaller goals and reward yourself when you reach on of the goals.Love yourself!! Be good to yourself. Be thankful daily for your blessings.

Need some more healthy tips? Check out our blog articles, Shape Up In 2018!  and  Shape Up By Making Small Changes

 

Nourishing Your Body, Mind & Spirit.

Are you an UltaLifer? Learn about the many supplements designed to make you stronger and healthier!

Click Here to check out all of our great products

Need Help In Reaching Your Fitness Goals?

I know I am not the ONLY ONE!! I read and study nutrition, dieting and exercise. I mentally prepare myself to start a diet…to start exercising…to drink enough water…to just get myself back on track. I have the day planned for starting my new LIFE….and a week later, I am no better off than I was before.

My intentions are good—I know what to do!! Why don’t I just do it? I beat myself up because I am not stronger and I don’t stick with a plan.  I don’t want to have a perfect body—just one that is healthy and that I am proud of.

The times I have done really well with diet and exercise were when I had a friend partnering with me. Is it accountability? Maybe, but I think it is more than that. The times when I was ready to ditch my diet or skip my gym day, my friend would be having a good day and would encourage me! And I would do the same for her on her weak moments.

So try to find a buddy with similar goals and watch your successes add up!!

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What Do You REALLY Want in Life?

Where do you want to eat tonight? It’s the question that I dread. Because it always starts and ends the same. “I don’t know”…”I don’t care”…”Wherever you want…””Anywhere is fine…””Just pick a place…”

Then someone speaks up…”How about Chipotle?”…which is quickly answered with…”Uggh… it’s too spicy”

“Olive Garden?”… to which I’ll hear…”I eat too many breadsticks so I leave with a stomachache!”

“Outback?”…which is answered with…”Ummm… there’s nothing there to eat anymore so I’ll just get a drink while you guys eat.”

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You Can Be A Victor

Life—it is not all a bed of roses!! Sometimes the thorns show up and create struggles in each of our lives. We all become victims from time to time of these ‘thorns’—discouragement, fear, guilt, mistreatment……Often we have no control over these ‘thorns’. What we can control is how we react and how we dwell on them.

Robert Silverstone has said:  ‘A universal law states that whatever we focus our attention on will tend to expand. If we are focused on finding the negative in a person or situation, especially in ourselves, those negatives will tend to expand and before long we find ourselves participating in victim consciousness, often without even being aware of it.’

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Is A Locked Door Keeping You From Your Dreams?

We’ve all heard the hype about “making money in your underwear”, right? Well, here’s what happened to me…

I’ve done the whole office thing–big conference room with a huge table and lots of chairs around it, fancy furniture, offices full of staff–the whole 9 yards. Been there, done that for MANY years. Now I work from home. We still have an office and we also have team members working remotely from their homes.

But that’s not what this story is about. It was this last Saturday. I don’t work on weekends but something came up and I needed to make a quick tweak to one of our websites. No big deal. Like I said, I work from home.

Except my “office” isn’t in my house.I live on 10 acres and I’ve got a couple offices on the property (in separate buildings) PLUS a really cool treehouse (with AC, electric, etc). My office is down a little stone path about 30 steps from the back deck entrance off my bedroom. It’s a really big property– the house is found down a tree lined driveway, far from the road. My point is, it’s very private.

So, when I realized I needed to run out to my office to make a few quick tweaks I grabbed my keys and headed out the door…Yep, you guessed it…IN MY UNDERWEAR. Long boxers– not tighty whiteys 😉

Like I said– it’s very private here.

Anyway, I got the work done quickly and back to the weekend. No sweat.

Then came Monday morning. I was headed outside to start my day and opened my drawer to find…NO KEYS.

Continue reading Is A Locked Door Keeping You From Your Dreams?

Don’t Stand Still–Do Something!

Albert Einsteins’ definition of INSANITY makes sense— doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Do you have dreams and goals for your life that you have not achieved or are not actively working towards? Are you doing the same things over and over thinking the results will change? How is that working for you?

Have you ever watched a baby crawling? I used to watch Kenna when she visited our office. She would see something she wanted–she loved balls- -and begin crawling toward it.  Crawling is definitely slower than walking or running…and it’s hard on the knees. Sometimes she would sit back and take a break and then start toward that ball again. We could offer her other toys, but she knew what she wanted and no amount of distraction could deter her. No matter how long it took, she would get to the ball!

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I Want It Now and I Want It My Way!

We live in that kind of society, don’t we? We have all become accustomed to getting things (or expecting to) quickly. Remember when we used to cook rice for 25-30 minutes? Now we have instant rice! We can microwave a frozen meal and be ready to eat in less than 15 minutes. Potatoes used to take one hour to bake—now are microwaved in a flash! Mashed potatoes? The younger generation might not realize we actually used to peel the potatoes, boil and mash them.

I remember typing papers for the Old Timer (that’s my husband Larry—our grandson affectionately calls him Old Timer). He got his Bachelors Degree and then his Masters Degree and I had lots of practice typing all those long papers for him. Back in those days the footnotes had to be on the bottom of every page. Oh, the problems I had in typing the body of the page and knowing how much room to leave for the footnotes. And what about typing errors (no, I am far from perfect!)? We had white-out which looked terrible. Finally we had erasable bond paper and I thought I had ‘arrived’! The good news is Larry did very well and obtained both degrees. Me—I guess I learned to type more accurately and not scream when I had to re-type a whole page.

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Live Your Dreams in the New Year

Do you have GOALS and DREAMS? Have you achieved them? There is a song we sometimes sing in my church—‘Don’t Give Up On the Brink of a Miracle!’ And that is what I am saying to you also!! I have often wondered how many times we just give up….when success and fulfillment are just around the corner. Don’t Give Up….EVER!!

Continue reading Live Your Dreams in the New Year