Make a Change Mondays - Fourth Week!

Monday means a lot. It means the start of a new work week. It means the addition of new stresses and responsibilities. It means that the weekend is over and the next weekend is five long days away.

            But at CHI Health, Monday means that it’s time to make a change in order to improve your well- being.

            So without further adieu, we bring you our five health tips for “Make a Change Monday.”

1.  Make time for friendship. See your friends. Call, email, Skype. Whatever your chosen method of exchange, connect with your friends, every day.

            There is extensive research that shows a correlation between good friends and good health. There are mental health advantages and also friends can act as a stress reliever, reducing your risk for a wide variety of diseases and illnesses.

2.  Stretch.

            There are so many benefits to be gained from a good stretch, ranging from increased circulation, range of motion and energy. Stretching can improve your general posture, relieve all kinds of aches and pains, and give you a greater sense of your body’s strengths and limitations.

            One of the best ways to stretch is through the practice of yoga.

3. Share a meal. If you must eat out, then try meal sharing. Half the calories, half the guilt and half the price. Oh and when you share a meal, there’s a certain level of bonding, which as we explained is good for your health.

            This doesn’t mean split a burger and fries. Or going halves on the Great Wall of Chocolate at P.F. Chang’s– for your health, do not go look that up. No, this means split the large salad (without the fried chicken).

4.  Read.  Don’t go for what others tell you to read, go for what will make you happy. It doesn’t have to be a highly-touted classic. It can be a magazine, newspaper or a book.

            Reading can be a deeply rewarding experience, if you’re doing it for yourself. Give your mind a chance to breathe with a little escape.

5.  Pick up some cuties.... we mean the oranges! These little clementine oranges are hitting their most tasty time of the year. They are hassle-free to peel, easy to pack and make the perfect snack or dessert at any time of the day.

            Loaded with vitamin C and low on calories (around 80 calories for two oranges), cuties satisfy your sweet tooth without having to put in the extra time on the treadmill.

Toxic Relationships

Are you in a toxic relationship?

Most people don't realize that often the most important factor in maintaining good health is to keep good, supportive relationships in your life. A toxic relationship is one that does not add anything positive to your life. Instead, it sucks and drains you of energy and often influences you to make unhealthy choices. It keeps you anxious, stressed, or depressed which basically counteracts every healthy decision you make for yourself.

For instance, there was once a doctor who had a very professional outward appearance. However, on a personal level, he was violent, unstable, and tyrannical. His family and friends all suffered because of his violent outbursts but made excuses for him because he had the title "doctor" in front of his name. This educated man, however, failed to use his knowledge to heal. Instead, he inflicted stress upon many and only knew how to engage in toxic relationships.

If there is someone like that in your life, cut them out immediately. That toxic relationship is doing more damage than you think. The stress from having a negative person poisoning your life is just as harmful to your health as eating junk food and not exercising.

Cut out the cancer now.

Are You Polluted?

We at CHI Health have been looking for Chefs who share our passion for wellness and personal health. Last week, we introduced you to Miriam Sorrell from "Mouthwatering Vegan" and shared a few of her recipes. But we are always trying to give you more, and so our search for quality information continued.

            Yesterday during our research, we were struck by a self-healing blog written by Chef Valerie Adair. Intrigued by her passion for healing through a healthy diet, we contacted her hoping to bring some of her recipes and knowledge to the CHI Health page.

            Her response was thought provoking. Chef Adair was adamant that one of the big reasons that diets fail and supplements don’t work as well as they should is because of toxins in the internal landscape of the body.

            It’s no wonder, she wrote that “With our diets and lifestyles out of balance, it is easy to become discouraged and attaching that discouragement to a product, when the source of the problem is an overly toxic internal environment."

         When we pump our bodies full of additives, chemicals, partially-hydrogenated oils and prescription medications, we are throwing our internal landscape out of whack. These toxins that we ingest act as physical obstacles in the body’s attempt to heal itself.

         And while you can’t avoid every toxin on a daily basis, you can drastically reduce your exposure to them.

         Here are some tips that will help you cut down on your toxin intake:

1.                Knock off the coffee and soda. Opt for an herbal tea.

2.                Buy organic fruits and veggies.

3.                Switch out the meat for a plant-based diet. (If you can’t give up the meat, make sure you are  getting hormone-free, non-processed meat.)

4.                Use raw sugar, Stevia, Truvia or Sucralose, instead of the potentially damaging aspartame found in Equal and NutraSweet.

5.                Be mindful of where your food is coming from and where it is prepared.

         If you feel like you want to do more than the tips listed above, here are a few suggestions for a gentle detox:

1.                Drink lots of water. Some experts suggest drinking as much as 10 glasses a day in attempt to naturally flush your body of toxins.

2.                Drink Green Tea, which is full of antioxidants and also acts as a diuretic to help you clear chemicals from the body.

3.                Exercise. A good sweat will help rid your body of toxic waste and boost your metabolism.

4.                Try our "Bathdetox" - it's a must for those who are serious about detoxing their systems.

5.                Be consistent with your diet and your exercise. A healthy body is all about balance.

Do your body a favor and cleanse your internal environment, so that you can see and feel the effects of both your diet and your supplements.

And don’t miss any of our future installments with Chef Adair as we further explore the world of self-healing nutrition right here on the CHI Health Blog.

        

        

        

        

         

Make a Change Mondays - Third Week!

This is our third week of "Make a Change Mondays," which means that today is the day to make a change.

Here are five tips that will make you a healthier person today.

1)  Healthy eating starts at the grocery store. If you can be disciplined when picking out your groceries, then it will be easier for you to make healthy decisions at home.

            At the grocery store, say, "no," to the cookies, candy, ice cream and all the other garbage that you have cravings for. Say, "yes," to fruits, veggies and the foods that won't help you pack on the pounds.

            So when you get hit with a monster "I need some______" craving, you won't have the bad stuff around when you "need" it most.

2) This is a two part tip: (A) Start running, jogging or walking daily. (B) If you run on a treadmill, don't hold on to the rails. World renowned trainer Jillian Michaels says that holding on during exercise can reduce the intensity of the workout by up to 24%. Get going and let go.

3) Floss your teeth. Apparently, only about 1 in 10 people floss their teeth daily, meaning that almost no one is listening to their dentist.

            This is bad because brushing your teeth only gets about 65% of the plaque. 

            Flossing will help you get rid of the plaque lodged between your teeth and help protect you from a variety of dental hygiene issues and disease.  Listen to your dentist– start flossing, daily.

4) Challenge your mind. Keep your mind sharp with brain teasers, games or reading. Sudokus, crossword puzzles, word jumbles and riddles, all provide your mind a chance to get a workout.

            The only rule we have, make sure that these puzzles have nothing to do with your job or your schooling.  Do a couple after dinner or before you go to bed. They're actually kind of fun.

5) Write down your health goals on a post-it note or two, then put the notes in a place you'll see every day– the mirror, the dashboard of your car, or better yet, put it on your refrigerator door. If you can see your goal all the time, it will be easier to stay dedicated and harder to get away from.

Make a change today.

Enjoy The Little Things

            Go ahead, ask yourself, “Am I happy, right now, in this moment?” It’s a tough question, no doubt. It’s okay to say, “I don’t know,” as long as you’re being honest with yourself. 

            We can give you all the health tips in the world, but if you’re not happy, they won’t make a bit of difference. Wellness begins from the inside out. And only you know what is going to make you happy. 

            We could give you all sorts of different quotes about finding happiness, but ultimately we think this little anecdote will do. It comes from the author Kurt Vonnegut and his book A Man Without a Country. We would have paraphrased it, but as we’re sure you’ll agree, no one can say it better than this: 

            “And now I want to tell you about my late Uncle Alex. He was my father’s kid brother, a childless graduate of Harvard who was an honest life insurance salesman in Indianapolis. He was well-read and wise. And his principal complaint about other human beings was that they so seldom noticed it when they were happy.

            So when we were drinking lemonade under an apple tree in the summer, say, and talking lazily about this and that, almost buzzing like honeybees, Uncle Alex would suddenly interrupt the agreeable blather to exclaim, ''If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.''

        So I do the same now, and so do my kids and grandkids. And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ''If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.''

            If you can separate yourself from the troubles, stresses, bills, errands, tests and everything else that can preoccupy your life for just a moment, and repeat after good Uncle Alex, then you can find a way to be happy.

            Enjoy the little things in life and say, “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.”

Make This Week Your Week!

Welcome back for another round of Make a Change Mondays, where today is the day to make a change for your health. Make this week your week.

1.   Adopt a mantra. 

    

    Mantras are a great way to keep yourself at peace during a hectic work day, motivated during a tough workout, mindful of your body’s needs, and focused on the task at hand. 

            Repeat. Repeat. Repeat your mantras. All day long. Here are some mantras we love:

             

            Eat Healthy. Be healthy.

            Beauty comes from within.

            I am loved.

            Define yourself.

            Live good.

            Just breathe.

2.  Watch TV. 

    Okay, that’s not the real tip.

    Your favorite TV show can be an excellent outlet to decompress from a long day and escape reality for an hour.

            During the commercials of your show, get off the couch and do some jumping jacks, push-ups or sit-ups. This will get your heart rate going and your blood pumping, burning calories while House tries to figure out if it’s really Lupus. Don’t forget to alternate your sets between exercises, turning a sedentary activity into an active experience.

3.  Drink More Water. 

    Odds are that if you’re like the majority of people, you don’t drink enough water on a daily basis. The common suggestion is that you need 8 to 9 cups a day. That’s a lot of water, but your body needs it. And more than need, water can help you lose weight.

    

 When you feel hungry, more often than not, your body is actually thirsty. Drinking more water will suppress your hunger, allowing you to eat less. Just in case you didn’t know, water is calorie-free, so drink up.

4.  Take the dog for an after dinner walk. Don’t have a dog? Go for a sunset/moonlit walk with your spouse, your kids or with your thoughts. Leave the cell phone at home and enjoy the time out of your house. Remember: it’s not how long you are able to walk, it’s that you simply get out and walk.

5.  When work ends for the day, let work stay at work. Don’t bring it home. This means turn off the email, the work phone and appreciate life outside of work. Check out this must-read article from Entrepreneur Magazine, which has some startling health statistics regarding overwork and people who don’t know when to end their work day (http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219311).

Today’s the day to start new. Good luck with making a change in your life this week. 

For more information, visit www.chi-health.com.

Fixing Breakfast: A Deliciously Sensible Solution

            On Monday, we told you that breakfast was the most important meal of the day. On Wednesday, we illuminated the cost of living an unhealthy lifestyle. So today, we are adding it all up to give you a power breakfast recipe that takes less than five minutes to make.

            At the outset, this wouldn't appear to be a life-changing breakfast, but remember, every decision you make affects your health. So dump the breakfast sausages, the pancakes, the waffles, the sugary cereals and the bagels for a super-charged meal that will kick-start your day and your metabolism.

The strawberry-blueberry-banana oatmeal 

            Some people are scared of oatmeal based on its mushy, porridge-like appearance, but don't judge a surprisingly delicious meal by its gooey, bumpy “cover.” With both big names and store-brands making a wide array of flavored instant oatmeal, there's an option for every taste (even chocolate!).

            Our favorite oatmeal comes from the lovely people at Trader Joe's, although we can't settle on a flavor though– it's between maple syrup, apple cinnamon, blueberry and cranberry. Anyway, let's get to the recipe:

           

What you'll need:

            5 fresh strawberries (we used five because we are greedy in the morning, but 3-4 would do just fine) (1 cups, 49 calories)

            1 banana (105 calories)

            2 packets of instant oatmeal (one is not enough for an adult) We used Trader Joe's  Instant Whole Grain Oatmeal with Blueberries, but you can use any flavor. If you make it with Trader Joe's maple syrup oatmeal, this will taste like strawberry-banana pancakes without the guilt and the boatload of calories. Some nutritionists may argue that the flavoring just adds empty calories to the oatmeal, but we love the flavors (160 calories per packet X 2= 360)

            A bowl

            A knife

            A spoon

            A microwave or a stove

What to do:

            Because every instant oatmeal is different, check the box to see the cooking instructions, then follow them.

            While your oatmeal or water is heating up, slice the strawberries and the banana into little pieces. We dice our strawberries and slice our banana, however there is no wrong way to do this, that is, unless you forget to cut the fruit.

            Once the oatmeal or water is done, signaled by the teapot screaming or the microwave beeping, add the mixture of fruit and oatmeal together and Ta-Da, you're power breakfast is ready for consumption. On second thought, maybe let the oatmeal cool off a bit.

            Yes, this is simple and really healthy, and you might already know about it. So why are we explaining how to make fruit and oatmeal? Because it's the little steps that can make the big differences when it comes to your health. And yet people continue to eat bacon and sausage for breakfast as if the world was running out of it.

            If the convenience of being able to make a powerful, healthy meal in five minutes doesn’t sell you, well here are several reasons why oatmeal should be a daily occurrence for you and your family.

            The soluble fiber found in oatmeal can reduce LDL’s (the kind of cholesterol you don’t want), while not affecting the HDL’s (the kind you do want). This means that rather than building up little bacon-induced plaque walls in your blood stream at the breakfast table, you could actually be combating heart disease.

            By allowing you to feel full longer than a normal breakfast, oatmeal can help you lose weight, cutting down on snacking and cutting out the need for a mid-morning meal before lunch.

            Oatmeal contains a ton of vitamins and minerals including Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Beta-Carotene as well as a large amount of antioxidants.

            No matter what age you are– college, kindergarten, professional, retired or elderly– oatmeal is a great habit to adopt today. Give it a chance this weekend and let us know what you think. It’ll be good for you.