Appreciation

I'm often asked to teach classes on nutrition, fitness or just general health. And believe me, I LOVE it. I love teaching and empowering people, and helping them realize small changes do make huge differences, and that they can become better. I love seeing people make the changes and realize just how much better they feel when they take a little extra care of their bodies and minds.

That being said, spending time in this industry also leads to hearing a lot of negative self talk and frustration and anger. People get an idea of what is the perfect body and that is what they want. And while losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight is important...our bodies are much more than that. And when I teach, I hope that is what comes across. That our bodies are miraculous - and appreciating them could get us much farther than just spending hours on the treadmill.

Our bodies have...
...206 sturdy bones
...more than 650 dynamic muscles
...12 perfectly synchronized organ systems
...over 10,000,000,000,000 life-giving human cells.

Every day...
...your heart beats over 103,000 times
...your respiratory system powers 25,920 breaths,
...your body produces a consistent 98.6 degrees of heat
...your body produces almost 200 billion new blood cells each day

All day every day your mind, body and spirit are working together to make you who you are...to let you do the things you need to do like work and exercise, move and take care of family, go to church and spend time with friends. This body that does so much deserves more appreciate. It deserves whole foods that nourish it. It deserves time each day to move and get stronger and stretch and breath.

So today, make a choice. Make a choice to appreciate what you have, and use what you have, to better your own life. You won't regret it.

Detox

I think most of us can agree that when we hear detox we think of those week long juice fasts that make you feel light headed and might leave you with a few dropped pounds, but also many dropped nutrients.



That isn’t the only way though.

Our bodies, over the course of our lives, hold toxins. Based on a few studies published in Obesity Reviews, they found that because toxins are stored in body fat, they can make weight loss difficult or impossible. Toxins can also decrease the production of thyroid hormone, which regulates metabolism. This isn’t a good thing when trying to lose weight or live feeling healthy and well.

The way the body removes toxins is by the work of our dear friend, the liver. The liver sifts through the toxins, sending the waste into bile that takes the toxins into the bowel. There, bile binds with fiber and is eliminated. The problem is, if the liver is overloaded from too many processed and sugary foods and not enough fiber, the bile is just stored in the body to be recycled. Not good!

Often with extreme detox programs, your body rids itself of toxins (and other nutrients) so fast that the body reacts with inflammation. The good news is, there are other more natural and safe ways to detox that guide the body to release toxins in a healthy way!

1. Sweat (enough to wipe it off your forehead) for 30 minutes 5 times a week. Sweating is a natural way to get rid of toxins in the body.



2. Eliminate excess sugars and refined foods. These are like white bread and rice, processed foods and snacks. When looking at the ingredient list, you want to see things you can read and understand. That means your body understands it too!

3. Drink a lot of water, especially lemon water. Lemon water helps the liver in ridding toxins in a safe way.




4. Increase fruit and vegetable intake. This can help increase the amount of good fiber in your diet while also increasing the nutrients in your body. That way, your body is keeping the good while getting rid of the bad!

These are all simple, yet effective ways in creating a more healthier you. So start today! A great way to keep yourself on track is to make a chart where you check off the things you need to do, such as exercise, eat a certain number of fruits and vegetables and drink enough water. Then, the best way to avoid sugary and processed foods is to replace them in your home with healthier options.

look a little deeper

Why exercise? For the strong body, lean muscles and tight stomach...right? Well, maybe sometimes. But you are doing a whole lot more for your body when you exercise. So let's look a little deeper!

Heart - Regular workout sessions can lower your systolic blood pressure (the top number) as much as some medications do—an average of 5 to 10 mmHg.

 

 

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Whole Body - Raising your heart rate for about an hour a day (running, cycling, walking, hiking) reduces your overall cancer risk by 16 percent.

Bones - Research shows that just 10 minutes of high-impact exercise (like plyometrics, running, jump rope) three times a week can boost women's bone strength.

 

 

 

 

 

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 Brain - Staying active cuts your risk of cognitive decline by about a third. And a 4,000-person study found that those who exercised had fewer symptoms of depression.

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Pancreas - Shedding just 5 to 7 percent of your body weight can delay and possibly prevent type 2 diabetes.

Intestines - Twenty to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity three to five times a week beats most other treatments for irritable bowel syndrome.

See all the benefits? And this is only to name a few. So do yourself a favor and get active today!

~What are some benefits you find from getting your sweat on?
~What's your favorite form of exercise?