***Boost your “bring it on!”

Strong body, strong heart, high hopes

© 2009, Doug Davin and Diana Morris
www.breakthroughskills.com
[Featured Breakthrough Skill— High Possibility Thinking: Set great expectations]

It's tough to feel excited and energized about your future when you're tired or run down. So boost your "bring it on!" with our strategies for staying healthy, strong, and vibrant. [Check with your health care provider to be sure any diet or exercise changes you'd like make are safe and appropriate for you.]

Exercise
From strength, stamina, and flexibility to stress reduction and disease prevention, exercise is one of the best ways to improve your health and your outlook. Regular exercise even helps you sleep better.

Here's an example of a three-part formula for a balanced exercise regimen we call Sweat, Strength, and Stretch:

Sweat requires 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic activity. Fitness walking is a great choice. For the cost of a good pair of walking shoes, you can exercise anywhere and get a great cardiovascular workout, especially if you pump your arms, with minimal stress on your joints. Other aerobic options include swimming, cycling, jogging, and aerobic classes or DVDs you can follow at home.

Strength work (lifting weights, doing pushups, sit-ups, or any other type of muscle strengthening exercise) is an extremely important part of any exercise regimen. This type of training, often called "resistance" training, strengthens your muscles and helps build bone density. Strong muscles protect your joints, reshape your body, and actually burn calories, even when you're standing still!

Stretching , a third essential element of a fitness program, keeps you toned and limber, prevents injuries, and enables you to move freely and more quickly. Flexibility work through simple stretches, yoga, or Pilates ™ exercise protects you from muscle tears and aches-including disabling back pains-and enables you to move more comfortably and fluidly throughout the day.

Diet
Next, equally (if not more) important is diet. We can exercise until cows fly, but a steady diet devoid of vitamins and fiber will drag us down. If your nutritional day consists of coffee or a muffin or bagel for breakfast, a sandwich and chips or a slice of pizza for lunch, then more coffee and maybe a mid-afternoon pick-me-up of a candy bar or yet another bag of chips, and for dinner, a serving (or two) of meat, white potatoes or rice and a blanched-to-oblivion vegetable plus dessert, you're not getting anywhere near the nutrition you need to feel good and think clearly.

It's a new day, and time to begin making better choices about what you eat.

The very good news is that eating right is simple. Make an effort to eat a breakfast with some type of whole grain (e.g., oats, shredded wheat, or 12-grain bread), and a protein like an egg or cup of plain yogurt. For lunch, have a salad with tuna or chicken, seeds or nuts, or chunks of low-fat cheese. Skip the high-fat dressing in favor of a vinaigrette, and have a slice or two of whole grain bread. For dinner, reduce your portion of meat, chicken, or fish, have just a cup of brown rice or a small sweet potato or yam for fiber, and add a huge salad and a serving of steamed vegetables. A few times a week, try a vegetarian meal: beans and rice, tofu and vegetables, soup, fruit, salad with nuts and sprouts, vegetarian chili and chips...the options are endless, and delicious.

Between meals, drink plenty of water. Get yourself a quart-sized jug, and fill it in the morning. Finish it by lunch time. Do the same for the afternoon. Between meals, opt for fruit instead of junk. For munchies, you can find healthful alternatives for everything you crave. Rather than reaching for cookies or ice cream, satisfy your sweet tooth with a low fat granola bar, a banana dipped in raisins, or a baked apple with cinnamon. Keep a supply of frozen berries at home and put them in the microwave just long enough to soften them, drizzle honey on top for another sweet treat that's also packed with healthful antioxidants. Instead of greasy, salty chips, try low fat, low- or no-salt pretzels or corn chips with salsa. These are all great snack choices that have whole grains and natural (slower burning) sugars that satisfy you longer and also provide fiber and vitamins.

Rest and balance Turn off the TV, put the novel down, leave the clothes in the basket until tomorrow. Sleep is more important. Don't eat or drink caffeine after dinner so you can sleep more comfortably.

Finally, balance your days and weeks: in addition to work, make time for your family , friendships, and spiritual well being. Stop and smell the roses, but also clip a few, put them in some water, place them on a table, make a mug of coffee, call a friend or sit down with a good book or magazine...and breathe.