Dancing and Dishes

My progress in this challenge has been quite an adventure thus far. I can only walk around so much (at an exercise pace), as pretty as my location is, and I hate exercise equipment. I was getting frustrated with my lack of motivation when I picked up last month's issue of Self. One of the articles concerned exercise routines based on personality. It came with a quiz, as magazine editors seem to love those more and more. My result was the more laid-back personality, one that does not care for gyms (DUH!), so they suggested an exercise I felt so stupid for not thinking of in the beginning: Dancing! I love dancing, from ballroom to Latin to swing to modern, so I could not believe that I forgot about it as a possible exercise. Facepalm for my own ditziness.

I am now enjoying getting more active and as I enjoy getting active, the longer I exercise. It also built up my confidence- this past Saturday, I went to a swing dance and was the girl making the rounds, asking just about every guy to dance with me and having a blast, and kept going for longer periods of time than I ever had before!

On to my forte of improving my health: food. It is also the area causing me the most trouble because the people around me (namely, my Dad) don't seem to realize that I'm trying to make healthier choices, even though I told them from the beginning. This started off as a problem because I didn't want to partake in high-calorie meals, but didn't want to hurt Dad's feelings when he cooks. So I turned to side dishes so I could cut down on the entree, but still eat enough that it would make Dad happy.

Then, as I was perusing the pantry, I came across the stash of Uncle Ben's Ready Rice. The different flavors could take any meal and "kick it up a notch." Now, when Dad makes hamburgers, I take one and a bag of Ready Rice (I love Spanish Style for beef!) and I have two meals, either one for lunch and dinner or a family dinner for Dad and me. I also add a good salad or steamed veggies to fill out the meal for myself.

If you want some ideas for Ready Rice, here are some of my favorite combinations:

Spanish Style mixes well with beef or chicken.

Butter and Garlic is awesome combined with chicken or shrimp.

Jasmine is better on the side just about any dish.

Hope you all are also making progress in your endeavors!

<3 Martha

It's Okay to Struggle

Everybody wants to have a perfect journey to increased health and fitness, but we all know that's not possible.  We will all miss an exercise day, stay up too late, or indulge in one too many donuts as they're sitting on the counter at work calling our names.  And I want everyone to remember that these things are part of the journey.  Don't let one mistake ruin your entire day.  Or if you're had a bad day, you can vow to make tomorrow better.  Even if you've gotten off track for a week or a month or more, there is always time to turn things around.

Don't worry about the box of Oreos you just polished off.  That's already happened--there's nothing you can do about it now.  Look instead to the present and to the future and do your best to make every day count, remembering as you go that mistakes are unavoidable.

Maybe you don't want to share your "failures" with others (they're not really failures if you learn from them and use your experience to get healthier), so perhaps by my sharing that I have partaken in a donut and bagel with cream cheese this morning after getting to work and having eaten breakfast at home, I'll have given you a little bit of reassurance that yes, other people do struggle sometimes, too and that I'm not alone in this.  I have plenty more struggle stories to share, too, if anyone ever needs an extra boost of reassurance after a particularly bad day.

Yours in LFS and Health,
Jessica Szweda
Section 67 Communication Chair

New Healthy Lifestyle!

So I have taken this opportunity to get serious about health and fitness. Being that I am a physical therapist, I should be in good shape and be a role model for my patients. So therefore, I have set some goals and made some decisions to rid my life of negative energy...particularly the energy that comes from deep fried and/or fast food. That's right, no more of that junk for me :) Not that I was ever a fast-food junky, but it seemed like a good place to start. I had already rid my life of caffiene before this challenge began, so I am on a role now! I have worked an hour long gym workout into my schedule 6 days a week before I leave for work, which by the way makes you feel great all day! Also I am proud to say that just in the past week I have turned down pizza, doughnuts, ice cream sundae, and have ordered a salad every time we have gone out to eat for either lunch or dinner :)

So, I am rewarding myself with a trip to half price books and a relaxing weekend at home reading! I hope you are all finding a new lease on life with this fitness challenge, I know I am!

Can't wait to hear everyone's success stories at Regionals!

P.S. Through Laura Z I have discovered a great new cereal that actually keeps you satisfied for more than 1 hour with just one bowl. Special K Protein Plus...it's awesome!

Amanda

Now They'll Sleep!

If you're like me, you often don't get enough sleep for a wide variety of reasons. You're out all night and have to get up for work the next morning. You have to cram for an early exam. Or, if you're even more like me, sometimes stumbleupon, facebook, cracked, or sporcle get the best of you, and you wind up staying up half the night to learn about the world's most disturbingly evil birds or the six animals that kill nature's scariest creatures for fun (and yes, the Golden Eagle makes BOTH of those lists, people).

As part of the continuation of my personal pledge toward health and fitness in honor of National Service Week, I've realized that getting more sleep is one of the most important things that I can do to start feeling better. According to a Harvard health study, "more people are sleeping less than six hours a night, and sleep difficulties visit 75% of us at least a few nights per week."  That certainly sounds like me, in addition to the fact that when I don't sleep six hours I wind up sleeping eleven just to make up for it.  But what are these awful sleep schedules and tactics actually doing to me, and how are they affecting my health?

Turning now to WebMD (or the favorite hangout of hypochondriacs), the short term effects of sleep deprivation are startling enough - decreased performance and alertness, memory and cognitive impairment, and a general reduction in your quality of life.  But it's the long term effects that are even more alarming, a long list of possible illnesses that includes high blood pressure, heightened risk of heart attack or stroke, psychiatric problems, and attention deficit disorder.  So yes, improving your health this year by simply sleeping more regularly and fully can prevent you from being the poster child for next  year's National Service Week Theme, "Fighting Against Diseases."

Another astonishing effect of sleep deprivation is obesity.  According to the National Sleep Foundation, discharges for children with sleep apnea in the United States, a condition that is often directly correlated with obesity, have increased 436% in the past twenty years.  Sleep apnea can lead to exhaustion during the day, which makes it much harder to sustain an exercise program.  Glucose levels for sleepers with sleep deprivation were also shown to be much lower than those of normal sleepers, which can lead to imbalances in hormone levels that can affect weight gain and overall health into the future.  In a sleep study conducted by the foundation, eleven healthy young adults were only allotted four hours of sleep for six nights, and some of their glucose levels dropped to diabetic levels.  It's absolutely amazing what getting a good amount of sleep each night can do for your health, and your fitness!

With that, my advice is this - when you start to get tired, don't try and fight it.  I know that there have been times when I have powered through exhaustion for no good reason and have stumbled upon my "second wind," but a second wind can be a dangerous thing.  Regulated sleep is vital to sustaining your body, and while we are all still young, it's important that we take care of it.  Also, get some regular exercise during the day - this will help you be able to fall asleep faster at night.  Lastly, a sound machine can be extremely beneficial for those of you who, also like me, often have a wandering mind at night thinking about the seventeen other things that you can do besides sleeping.

Now sleep, my pretties.  Now you'll sleep.