Great Life Gifts

You may have made a commitment to get into better shape this year, but there's nothing that says you can't get it done efficiently, i.e., the least amount of time and sweat required. Is there such an exercise, especially for a beginner? YES On the most recent podcast of Freakonomics , exercise experts unveil the holy grail of fitness improvement: the squat. This stand-in-place-need-no-special-equipment movement is the one exercise that will pack the most health improvement for the time spent. Some of the benefits are: Image from www.sweatlikeapig.com Maintain mobility. Being able to get in and out of a chair without help is a top determinant as to whether people will be able to live independently or have to move to assisted living or a nursing home. Increase functional strength. While you are building your leg muscles you are simultaneously increasing your body's nerve networks to work your muscles more efficiently all over. Tone your butt. Try it and see if y...

With a mid-week holiday, it can be challenging to feel the at the top of our game when we return to work Thursday and Friday. As the year winds down and you begin making commitments for improvements for your lifestyle, consider drinking more water to be one of your top decisions for 2014. Start Thursday and Friday as an experiment and see if it doesn't help diminish some of the sugar plum and Santa cookie hangovers you might be experiencing. With all things being equal for new year's resolutions, drinking plain water everyday is the simplest action we can take to make an overall improvement in our health across the board. You'll know you're drinking enough water because when you pee your urine will be of no color. If it's yellow, then you're too mellow with your water.  Here's a partial list of reasons to drink more water. 1.   Improve exercise time and lose weight--water is a temperature regulator during intensive exercise and it's an appetite su...

Mind Full of Eating "If you eat less you'll feel better," is a common piece of advice well-meaning friends and family give to people struggling with overeating. Their meaning is that the aforesaid individual will feel more healthy by improving their food choices. But to the food dependent individual, overeating has become a management strategy to manage distress experiences and "feel better." Mindful Eating is a popular approach in psychology and counseling to help people move to a more intentional way of nourishing their bodies. However, to transition to this concept, skills and strategies must be developed to get people away from a "Mind Full of Eating." Like other dependencies, food addiction develops over a period of time when people turn to eating to manage distressful emotions that can occur through everyday experiences and relationships.  As a result, the body's natural mechanisms for controlling food intake become damaged and physio...

Walking your dog every day is one of the best gifts you can give your canine friend and you. 1. It will clear you and  your best friend of mental and physical energy. But for the dog, it's important you be the pack leader. For tips on how to be the alpha dog on your walks check out this site: cesar's way. 2. You will have a special bonding time with your pet. Everyone needs a change of scenery and this is especially important for pets whose owners work during the day. If you work inside or from home, a change to outdoor scenery is good for you, too.The best time of day to walk your dog is in the morning, as they are diurnal, but your dog will enjoy moonlight strolls, too. Just make sure you both wear reflective material so motorists notice you. 3. If you have a working breed, such as a German Shepard or a Great Pyranees, you can put a dog backpack on it and fill it with water bottles you might need for yourself and your dog. 4. Use your walks as an opportunity to tra...