Do you want to live a healthy and vibrant life? You might think what a silly question to ask. But on a serious note, do you? Do you want to have a strong, flexible and agile body? My guess, the answer is 'YES'. So what does one have to do to you get there and hopefully stay there? Well, there is certainly a way! But there are few components that are very essential to this process. Let me talk to you about body intelligence. Psychologist Howard Gardner is best known for his theory of multiple intelligences. Body intelligence consists of: awareness, knowledge and engagement.
Are you bound by four walls? Getting Back To Nature.
When was the last time you spent some time outdoors? Walk in a park, trip to a forest, beach, mountains? When was the last time you recharged your batteries? Oh no, did you say loooong time ago? Don’t feel bad you are not the only one. It’s estimated that an average American is isolated from nature 90 percent of the time. Whoa, that’s a staggering number!
You’re going to love this one: scientists analyzing diabetes, heart disease and obesity discovered that the very act of sitting turns off the circulation of the lipase, an enzyme that breaks down fat. Physiologists also discovered that muscles are more engaged while standing and the very act of standing increases the distribution of lipase, which in turn encourages the body to break down fat and cholesterol, separate from the amount of time you work out at the gym.
As I was thinking about an interesting topic to blog about I decided to Google the word “diet”. Oh boy wasn't I completely blown away by the variety of what’s out there. It’s mind-boggling. Fresh diet, Gene smart diet, Jenny Craig, The Zone, Grapefruit diet, Step, Fruit flush diet, The Hormone diet, You-On a diet, 5 Factor diet, the list goes on and on and on. Despite the fact that there is so much information out there, how come people are still confused about diets, healthy eating and living healthy life styles?
Are you a sun worshiper bathing in the sunlight during hot summer days? I think at some point most of us did or still do. I am certainly guilty of that. Not only did I bake on the sun few times but also got myself sunburn. That certainly was not the wisest thing! Skin sure looks nice when tanned but not so much when it’s all wrinkled, looking like leather. I think that leather belongs on a quality bag and not human body.
Haven’t you heard these words hundreds of times before? I bet you have! You have probably also heard that skinny people have faster metabolism than folks with more weight. Get ready for a big surprise because it is not the case at all. As the matter of fact, it is the other way round. Thinner people have slower metabolic rate than fatter people. Let me explain what metabolism is.
Scientists recently made a remarkable discovery about the brains of rats that exercise. It showed that their brain cells respond differently to stress than the neurons of slothful rats. It has been proven some time ago that the exercise stimulates the creation of new brain cells but scientists haven't figured out how these brain cells might be functionally different... until now.
Do you think of cutting calories back in order to lose weight? But are you thinking as much of quality as you do of quantity?
I know you're probably thinking: how is that possible? I will let you in on a little secret. High intensity interval training involves alternating very short-duration doses of power based type of interval, with one to few minutes of recovery interval (moderate pace), over a 20 to 30 min session.
Listen to your body, it communicates with you 24/7. It really tells you how much it needs, don't let your conscience tell you "clean your plate". There are a lot of factors, other than food that determine how much we eat. To name a few: if you are served larger portion, if you're having a great variety of foods, if you eat from a larger box, if you are distracted, you're going to eat MORE!
Did you know research has shown that consistent massage therapy reduces anxiety and depression at rates comparable to traditional psychotherapy? Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne found those who received regular massage therapy experienced reductions of trait anxiety greater than 77% of their counterparts who did not receive massage and reductions in depression greater than 73% of those untreated.