Healthy Mind And Body

Your Life Journey To A Healthy Mind & Body

When you are working on your Life Journey, do you realise that it takes both mindset and physical health changes?

I've written before about where is your head, and I'm now going to tell you about a program I am beginning this week.  I will be reporting to you how it progresses.

This program is a 60 day program and it will be looking at making changes for the long term, in my mind, and in my body.

Yes, I have lost over 20kg in my natural weight loss journey and I am managing to maintain it (for over 18 months now). However, I recognise that I do still eat emotionally, that I do still have a FAT head (I am continually surprised that it's me walking past a mirror - is that really my body?) and that in order to make my Life Journey easier, I need to move from being unconsciously incompetent (doing the wrong things unconsciously, e.g. my emotional eating) to being unconsciously competent.

Yes, this will be a journey, and it will take consistency and commitment, but I did begin it today. Day 1 is completed, now onto the rest of my 60 day journey.

As I tick off issues, I will be reporting them here for you to follow, for you to begin to look at your mindset, your vision that carries you towards your goal, your nutrition, your fitness and what your daily focus becomes.

I want to support others on their journey, by sharing my own.  It's never easy to step outside of your comfort zone, but in doing so, growth occurs.

By being kind to yourself on your journey, you are more likely to grow and follow that journey through to the ultimate outcome you are seeking.  You know what that outcome is, write it down, envision yourself there, feel what it will be like to be there, OWN IT!

Today was a gentle beginning,

1. defining what mindset means to me, 
2. working a little on my why (how do I connect with my family every day, they are my support and my accountability partners after all, we all need support)
3. defining what nutrition means to me, and my dedication to being my own nutrition advocate (I am dedicated to flushing my body with good nutrition, good nutrition will enable me to easily maintain a healthy body, a healthy body is preventative medicine, one of my values)
4. what new fitness regime would I like to try out, and when will I do it (looks like I will be committing to taking a Stand Up Paddleboard lesson after all!!)
5. what is my daily focus for today, what can you be proud of completing, undertaking, finishing, committing too today.

Always remember to be kind to yourself as you step into any new Life Journey, every day begins with just one step at a time, yet that step is the beginning of the journey that will take you towards your new outcome.

If you are interested in taking this journey too, contact me now for a free 1/2 hour consultation on HOW YOU CAN TOO!

Top Tip For Muscle Mass

Muscle Mass Decreases As You Age

I've seen it, you've seen it, the community sees it! The older you get, and often when you are following a diet for weight loss, the more frail you appear to become, and also the risk of falls increases as you age.  It's a known fact that for every decade you age past 30 years of age, your muscle mass decreases

Well, I for one am not going to fall into that category!! As I rush towards the age group of being post-menopausal, yes next year in fact, I am doing all that I can to ensure that my muscle mass remains high, and strong.

So, what am I doing?  To begin with three main things:

1. Exercise, weight bearing of course (lifting weights)
2. Good nutrition (ensuring I get enough protein in my diet, balanced with all the other good stuff)
3. Adding Vitamin D3 to my supplement regime.

The first two (exercise and diet) have been written about to ensure maintenance of your muscle mass by many authors, and has been shown to be of benefit scientifically too.

The third piece of information on Vitamin D3 is of interest too.  From the Isagenix Health website, this following article shows why Vitamin D3 is now believed to be of benefit in maintaining muscle mass.

"One of the hard facts of aging is that with every decade of life starting around age 30, muscle mass beings to decrease. If not remedied with good nutrition and regular exercise, this loss of both muscle mass and muscle function may eventually lead to frailty.  However, a new study has revealed that vitamin D3 can assist aging women in fighting to retain muscle.

Findings from this study, performed by Brazilian researchers and presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Northern American Menopause Society, showed that vitamin D supplementation in postmenopausal women can significantly increase muscle strength while reducing the loss of muscle mass.

Despite the body’s ability to make vitamin D using sunlight, postmenopausal women around the world are commonly deficient in the nutrient, leading to muscle weakness and a greater risk of falling.

With this in mind, researchers decided to put vitamin D to the test: They designed a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that would evaluate the success of administering 1,000 IU of vitamin D3 per day for nine months to women aged 50 to 65. The study would determine whether an added dosage of vitamin D would help strengthen muscle and aid in preventing these women from falling.

The study’s results showed that vitamin D3 supplementation was associated with a significant increase of about 25 percent in muscle strength, as determined by handgrip strength and through a chair-raising test. In comparison, those in the placebo group actually lost an average of almost 7 percent of muscle mass and were nearly twice as likely to fall.

The researchers concluded that vitamin D supplementation alone helped to provide significant protection against the risk for sarcopenia, which is age-related muscle loss.

These results add to a growing body of evidence from epidemiological studies and clinical trials showing that vitamin D plays a very important role in muscle health and that the current Recommended Dietary Intakes, especially for the elderly, are largely inadequate for long-term health. For this reason, researchers and physicians alike are increasingly suggesting vitamin D supplementation to help support muscle health and maintenance to combat the frailty that often accompanies old age."

I was interested to notice that the placebo group lost an average of almost 7% muscle mass. As I have followed an effective weight loss regime, my muscle mass has not decreased, and in fact, I have gained muscles that have not gone away while maintaining my weight.  Great news as I head towards 50, fast!

Are you working towards retaining your muscle mass?

Muscle building

Where Does The Time Go?

Time Ticks - Weight Tocks!

I can hardly believe it's been over a month since I last blogged! Wow!!

During this time I have been busy increasing my walking regime again - over the Winter it became a little less regular, hosting visitors from overseas (and yes, that does mean eating and possibly drinking more than usual!!), reading self development books and taking some time to be ME!

AND during this time, I've been keeping my discoveries to myself - so with my heartfelt apologies, here are some of my learnings over the last month:-

• there is no try, only do (thank you Yoda)
• excuses don't change the outcome
• change comes from within
• feeling the gratitudes and the goals as you state them make them more meaningful
• happiness comes from within
• emotional eating hurts physically

Of all of these gains, the emotional eating journey over the last month has been the hardest journey in my Life Journey that I've undertake for some time.  Do you emotionally eat?  Does it actually hurt you physically? 

I found that the emotional eating resulted in overeating, and since I've been at my goal weight for over 18 months, the physical pain came from a couple of areas:

1. a sore tummy from overeating - this never occurred to me when I was overweight
2. seeing the scales creep upwards by a couple of kilograms (about 4 pounds) - ouch!!

I've now been on a journey of learning to choose my response to the emotions that caused the eating.  This choice is only made by me, noone outside of me can make that choice for me. It is only ME that can change this reaction to the emotions.

How do you overcome your emotional eating habits?

How Much Sugar?

500 Calories A Day = Sugar!

How much sugar are you consuming a day, and how many calories does that equate to in your daily eating habits?

According to a recent market research result, the average American is now consuming 126 grams of sugar a day - that equates to an extra 500 calories a day!

That is almost 32 teaspoons of sugar a day!

If those figures don't make you stop and think - WOW - then I'm unsure what will!

There is a lot of information within the media now about too much sugar in our diets, and the links between that and diabetes and weight gain is relatively common knowledge.

So how do you cut that sugar back? 

Firstly, you must accept that not all sugar is bad for us.  We need sugar within our daily diet, but it's the type of sugars that we incorporate that leads us to healthy choices. Sugar helps our brain and immune systems function, as it's the carbohydrates that are useful to us.

The issue becomes, how do you get the best bang for your buck!  That is, how do you get the most nutrient dense calories for the same amount of sugar.

For example, if you had a choice between a sweet/candy and a piece of fruit. The piece of fruit is going to be considered more nutrient dense, as you not only get the sugar, but also minerals, vitamins and fibre.  Whereas with the sweet/candy, you only get calories from the sugar.  Not so beneficial for your body.

By making some nutrient dense choices, you can still provide your body with the sugar it needs, while removing the sugar it doesn't need.

Where is the most sugar in the American diet?  Soda!!

Also considered processed foods as having a lot of added and hidden sugars.  These are placed into the foods to enhance the taste, and it also plays a role in preservation of the food (that is, it helps to keep the shelf life of the food intact).

So, where to start?

• remove sugary soda drinks, swap with water, herbal teas
• reduce/remove processed foods from  your diet, replace with a nutrient dense choice, such as the Isagenix Isalean shakes that I use, these provide 240 calories for a meal, with about 1/2 the sugar content of a piece of fruit.
• replace sugary energy drinks, with a healthy sports drink that doesn't have the sugar content
• replace your sugary snacks with a protein rich, nutrient dense snack, such as an Isalean bar

For more information on how to source these products, contact me now!

Image courtesy of Tuomas_Lehtinen at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How To Enjoy Fasting

As many of you know by now, I use a routine of fasting in my diet these days.

Many people ask me, how can you do it? Not eating for 1 or 2 days at a time? Don't you get angry? Don't you get hungry? Don't you feel faint?

Well, often, I'm so busy that I don't notice. But, sometimes there are days when I am facing food, writing up recipes, friends talking about what they're cooking, walking in a shopping centre and there's a food court, so many situations present us with images of food daily!

How do I manage this? There are some simple tips to follow when you're fasting:

1. Follow a dedicated nutritional program that provides support throughout your fasting days
2. Go for a walk in nature
3. Take a relaxing bath
4. Play some music
5. Read a book
6. Make a cup of herbal tea, ensure you have a pretty pot to make it in, make a ritual of it
7. Go to the movies
8. Pamper yourself as a reward
9. Have an allowable treat (I have a dark chocolate infused with Green tea)

Easy when you have a plan

 

For more info:

 

www.sandravenables.com

Rise And Shine: Energise Your Body In The Morning

One of the hardest things, I'm told, is dragging that body out of the bed first thing in the morning!

Do you struggle with being energised in the mornings?  Usually getting up refreshed and excited about the day involves some planning, some routines, and something exciting to look forward too.

Here are some quick tips to get you moving

1. Exercise during the day. Exercise and sleep work well together
2. Early to bed, early to rise. Getting 7 - 8 hours sleep a night is a must!
3. Change your late night snack to protein. Whey protein allows the body to recover while you sleep
4. Turn down the heat in the bedroom.  Keep the room temperature around 60 F or 15 C overnight, too hot or too cold disturbs your sleep pattern
5. Ditch the electronics. Turn all electronics off at least an hour before bedtime, allows you to fall asleep easier
6. Stimulate on waking. Having a drink in the morning that stimulates your system can get you energised!

I always find that by waking with gratitude in my heart, makes me see the day in a different light and allows for positivity and energy to come pouring into my day.

I do this by ensuring I go to sleep at night, giving my gratitudes for all that has happened in my day, focusing on positiveness, and ensuring my brain goes to sleep to a good mood.  This allows my brain to work on these positives for the next 7 - 8 hours - result!

Where's Your Head?

When it comes to losing weight easily, there's a lot more to it than just the exercise and the change of eating habits.

It's also about changing your mindset.

Do you agree that sometimes you have what is known as a FAT HEAD?

What I mean by this, is that no matter how much your body shape changes, you still see the overweight person that began the journey?

One of the steps I undertook when I began my final journey into healthiness and ideal weight patterning, is that I began looking at mindfulness.

This includes a lot of different things, initially for me it was about being mindful of what I was eating.

Gradually it developed into being mindful of what I am grateful for, my Gratitude Diaries were born.

Seeing the world differently begins with just one step at a time.

I've found out about how to learn Mindfulness during the month of October, for free - and I want to share it with you here.

Enjoy your journey to Mindfulness

Learn Mindfulness & Meditation