Definition of Wellness

There are many definitions of health and wellness. For some they choose to be very diligent with their eating and exercise working out daily and completely staying away from wheat, gluten, dairy, and all sweets. For others they choose to be vegetarian and practice yoga three times a week. Yet another individual might focus on a well balanced diet and walk on their lunch breaks.  So which one is the best?

Everyone is looking for the best diet and exercise program. The truth is that to be ultimately successful you need to look at your life and what best fits you. There is no cookie cutter program and over your lifespan things change. Being able to adapt with those changes is key. What your life looks like after having kids or accepting a new position with different hours will change your definition of wellness.

So ask yourself the following questions to help develop your definition of wellness:

o       After eating certain foods do you feel sluggish or have a stomach ache? If so, what are those foods?

o       What foods provide lots of energy and leave you feeling good?

o       Do you have any health issues that are attributed to your nutrition?

o       Is there a level of fitness you would like to achieve? Do you have poor flexibility, muscle imbalances, weight to loose, or low endurance? If so how can you focus on these things?

o       What types of exercise do you enjoy and are convenient to incorporate into your day?

o       With your other commitments what is realistic as far as time allotted for working out?

o       Are you a Type A person who could work on adopting more Type B personality traits?

o       How many hours of sleep do you function your best with?

There is a lot to take into consideration when it comes to your wellness plan. Have you developed your definition yet?

Holiday Stress Busters

Just like many of you the holiday season has added many things to my already full To Do List. The things that bring eustress or good stress over the Holidays (i.e time with family, traveling, decorating, looking at lights, family traditions) can also be the things that bring distress. What things stress you out about the holiday? In a mental health of America study 40% who responded reported financial, 37 % reported memories, and 34% reported too many activities. How do you stay organized and sane during these months of parties, shopping, wrapping, and going to the post office?

• Make realistic expectations for the holiday season and set realistic goals for yourself.
• Pace yourself. Do not take on more responsibilities than you can handle.
• Do not put all your energy into just one day (for example, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve). The holiday cheer can be spread from one holiday event to the next.
• Don't set yourself up for disappointment and sadness by comparing today with the "good old days" of the past.
• If you are lonely, try volunteering some of your time to help others.
• Find holiday activities that are free, such as looking at holiday decorations, going window shopping without buying, and watching the winter weather, whether it's a snowflake or a raindrop.
• Spend time with supportive and caring people.
• Reach out and make new friends.
• Be the boss of your own time. Pick and choose activities that you want to do instead of what you think others expect you to do.

You are in control of how you handle situations. Know that you choose to be stressed or to enjoy the holidays to the fullest!

Interval Training

You probably have seen the individual on the bike, treadmill, or elliptical paying more attention to a magazine, book, movie, or TV show. You might even be that person. In my mind if I am going to hop on a machine I am going to give it my all and burn as many calories as possible. Being a mom I have realized that time is even more of a premium and I don’t have as much time to exercise as before.

In comes interval training! I can burn tons of calories in a short period of time and studies show the calories that I burn after my workout is higher as well.

So here are two great interval workouts to kick your workout up a notch and make the most of your time doing cardio!

 Workout 1 (Treadmill)

 Warm-up with brisk pace walk 3minutes

 Pick up speed and jog at a level that you can maintain through the climbs

 Increase the grade 1 % every minute until at 10% grade.  Decrease same way until back down to 0% grade. 

 Maintain the pace at 0% grade but kick up the speed to a sprint for 2 minutes.

 Slow down the pace for cool down the last 4 minutes.

 Workout 2 (bike, elliptical, or Treadmill)

Warm-up:

Do a 3-5 min. steady pace on machine

Workout: Work at your average speed and intertwine spurts of sprints (moving very quickly) every 4 minutes for 30 minutes. Sprints are going to be for 60 seconds each.

After the following minutes sprint for one minute.

4 min sprint
9 min sprint
14 min sprint
19 min sprint
24 min sprint
29 min sprint
 
Cool down: slow down the pace for 2-3 minutes and stretch

Enjoy burning those calories!