Choose your own challenge

This afternoon my husband and I attended our grand son's baby blessing. In the blessing Matteo's dad referred several times to the blessing of having a body. He counseled Matteo to be wise in his stewardship over his body. To be active and healthy and make wise decisions. To enjoy the joy in being active and having fun with your body.

Of course we all have that same privilege. We make daily decisions that affect the health of our bodies. We choose between fresh, whole, healthy food and liquid or prepared poor food choices. We choose our activity level. Shall we stretch our body, lift weights, do cardio etc. etc?  We choose sleep habits. Will we make sure we get full deep rest?  Our choices can also honor stress relief and relaxation or choices that put us under more physical and mental stress.

So what will our challenge be this week? I want you to spend a few minutes really considering "what one thing could I do this week that would most bless my physical body?" It can be anything. It can be something that needs to be done several times a day (ie: deep breathing for stress relief) or daily (warm relaxing bath before bed etc.) or a one time thing- maybe ordering a supplement that would bless your health but you've been putting off doing.

So it's up to you. Ponder, pray if you want to but somehow take a pause and come up with something that will bless your health this week. I would like you to e-mail me once you come up with what one thing you think would really bless your health. And once you have told me about it and taken care of it claim your 35 weekly bonus points.   

Sparkling Fridge full of healthy foods

Do you want to eat healthier? The key can be behind the door of your fridge. When you’re hungry, you grab what you see–the quicker the better. Why not plan for those moments and fill your refrigerator with healthy foods that will satisfy your cravings. 

Also a decluttered fridge helps you keep track of staples so you never run out of healthy snacks like Greek yogurt or breakfast basics like eggs. 

Here are some tips for bringing the Chaos To Order in your refrigerator:

1. Whittle it down-25% of the food we purchase, we don’t even eat!  Is it time for a big clean out of your fridge? If your fridge is overstuffed, you may be tempted to head toward the pantry for cookies rather than spend time sifting through the clutter, so conduct a purge to get rid of any unwanted and expired food. (Generally, cooked leftovers last three to four days and raw poultry and ground meats are good for one to two days.) Your de-cluttering goals: (1) Leave a half-inch space between items, and (2) avoid making stacks whenever possible.

2. Have a “Mustgo” Night-Regularly make a plan to serve leftovers in the fridge &/or freezer by the appropriate date when these items  “must go”.

3. Manage produce wisely-In many cases I find the produce at Sam’s or Costco is a good value even if I can only use half before spoilage. However a little planning can usually help me wisely use it all (although we have only 2 adults in our home). Try freezing produce for use in smoothies (I alway freeze the power greens and bananas for my smoothies). Another idea is serving fresh fruits and veggies to company or taking it as a treat (rather than cookies etc.) to church or other gatherings.

4. Clean regularly-Before doing your regular grocery shopping wipe down the fridge and weed it out. Doing this regularly will help you to know what’s in there, what you need, and what you can use for planning meals.  

5. Precut  Fruit and Veggies. 
These are low in calories and jam-packed with fiber; when you eat them you feel full longer, which keeps hunger at bay and prevents mindless snacking later. But your fruit and veggies can't help you lose weight if they sit in the crisper and go moldy before you have a chance to eat them. You're more likely to nosh on them if they're ready to eat. After hitting the grocery store, immediately wash, cut, and store carrots, peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, celery, and cherry tomatoes in reusable containers. Place the stack of precut veggies next to a tub of hummus, a bottle of low-calorie salad dressing like Annie's Gingerly Vinaigrette. When you're really hungry, you don't want to peel a carrot if you can just open a bag of chips. The trick is to make vegetables and fruit more convenient to eat by cleaning and cutting them up so they're ready to go the next time you raid the fridge. 

7. Fruit Bowl-
Fruit is also a perfect snack or dessert because the sweetness satisfies your sugar cravings, but it's much lower in calories than a chocolate bar or cookie. Ensure that you eat those nutritious apples, pears, kiwis, peaches, melons, and citrus fruits by displaying them in a bowl in the middle of your refrigerator, so when you open the fridge door you're inspired to grab a piece. A team of psychologists at the UK's University of Chester found that when subjects are asked to select an item from a group, they tend to choose the item in the center. The rule holds true for food, too, according to a study published in the Journal of Marketing that showed that products on middle shelves in grocery stores gain more attention than those on lower shelves.

8. Ditch the Junk-
If unhealthy, nutrition-less food is in your fridge, you'll quickly push the carrot sticks out of the way to reach them. Get rid of everything from cans of soda to the half-eaten jar of nacho cheese sauce. What's that? You buy that stuff for your hubby or kids? Well don't. If it's there to tempt you, it will. If this health kick you're on rubs off on your family, it'll be that much easier to stick with it and drop those pounds; and your loved ones will be healthier too.

9. Store Healthier Alternatives to Your Faves-
You know that ice cream is your weakness, so don't deprive yourself — it'll only lead to cravings. Make sure you have a lower-calorie option, such as sorbet bars, available to satisfy your sweet tooth. The same goes for other high-fat or high-calorie foods. Stock up on healthier alternatives so you can still enjoy the foods you love without derailing your weight loss train.

10. Put Indulgent Snacks in Opaque Storage Containers- Being able to see a food makes you more enticed to eat it, says Brian Wansink, PhD, director of the Cornell Food and Brand lab and author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. He has found that when study subjects are given chocolates in a clear bowl, they'll eat nearly 70 percent more than when the treats are placed in an opaque bowl.

YOU GUESSED IT OUR CHALLENGE FOR THIS WEEK IS TO DO A THOROUGH SCRUBBING BUBBLES CLEAN OUT OF YOUR REFRIGERATOR AND TO FILL IT FRONT AND CENTER WITH SOME PREPARED FRUITS, VEGGIES AND OTHER HEALTHY FOODS—IF YOU ACCOMPLISH THIS AWARD YOUSELF 35 BONUS POINTS.

'Resistance training is key to a long active life

I don’t know about you but I have a pretty cool wireless bathroom scale. It keeps track of my weight, syncs the info with my phone and watch, calculates my BMI and even tells me the weather for the day. But there is one thing I DREAD seeing. It calculates the percentage of body fat in my body. Oh my goodness if you could see that number you would be surprised that I can even stand up and walk around. Seriously my body fat is so high I am almost a jelly fish. 

As we age we lose muscle and bone density. A recent study from Duke University showed that this process starts accelerating in our 50’s. And while I know many of you aren’t anywhere near that age, habits you build now can help you from a dismal future to come. This loss of muscle mass as you age- barring any efforts to preserve or rebuild it — could translate into trouble getting up from a chair in the future.

Put another way: Without any interventions, people have been shown to lose about 30 percent of their muscle mass between ages 50 and 70. You don’t have to let that happen. And that’s where strength-building workouts come in.

One of the big concerns with folks using GLP type medications for weight loss is while there is rapid weight loss if it is not paired with consistent resistance training clients lose more muscle than fat. So while they are losing pounds their fat percentage is actually going up because of the loss of muscle. 

Even without using weight loss medications as we get older, we start to lose bone density and muscle, and there is only one way to increase it, and that is to do weight bearing exercise. 

But getting in this type of exercise doesn’t necessarily require hitting the gym. There are simple strength-training moves you can do at home — using hand-held weights, elastic resistance bands,  or just the weight of your own body — that work your muscles as you need to. A you-tube search for “At home resistance training or strength training” should give you some good ideas. 

Your goal should be working in strength-training exercises at least twice a week, (for the rest of your life) as recommended by federal exercise guidelines. You can start with very short, single sets of strength-training exercises — think just a few reps or minutes at a time — and build up from there.

Experts advise that we try not to go more than three days without doing some kind of muscle-building activity. 

So you guessed it— your challenge for this week is to do some kind of strength training exercises. You can choose to devote 10 minutes of each day’s work out or substitute (or continue if you have already been doing this) strength training for your cardio or stretching exercise at least 3X this week. And if you do so you can claim the 35 bonus points. 

Oh and btw I have started tracking my percentage of body fat (as measured by my scale) and am trying to use that statistic to continue to inspire me to build mass and lose fat! Wish me luck!