Walking and Health

Here we go about to embark into summer and you look at your swimsuits from last year and wonder how they shrunk when you haven’t even washed them.  Wait a minute.  It’s not the bikini that got smaller, you got bigger.  How did that happen? You were mentally ready on January 1st to lose those extra pounds, but by January 10th your heart just wasn’t in it anymore. You shed a few pounds, but spring came and you got more active, so that meant you could eat more because you’re burning more calories since you are exercising more.  Just like a bear that wakes up from his long winter break, you started eating and eating.  Now it’s time to get back into shape.

Summer is around the corner and summer bikini bummer is right in your face.  Let’s deal with it and start working on your tummy now.  Try different exercises that work the whole core.  You don’t want to concentrate so much on your abs that the rest of your muscles get neglected.  Pilates is a great way to exercise the entire core.  WebMD has a great slide show on Abs, the name of the section is called, Ab Envy and you can link to it here.  Ab Envy Slide show .  A few of the exercises they reveal are:

• The Canoe Twist
• The Cat Kick
• The Pilates Zip Up
• normal everyday “extras” to help abs

The main point is that if you start a few months before summer and exercise more and make good choices towards eating healthy, the Summer Bikini Bummer will be a thing of the past. 

What do you think?  How long does it take you to get into shape for the summer bikini months?  Do you work out all year so you don’t have this issue, or do you feel like your weight creeps up more and more every year and you have to try harder and harder to get it off?  Let me know what you think.

So, you go on a diet and you lose those extra pounds.  Now what?  How do you keep off the pounds that you just lost?  The last thing you want to do is get back to your old eating habits and gain the weight back that you worked so hard at losing.  The gaining weight, then dieting to lose it, then gaining it back again is the old yo-yo dieting theory.  Some even say that if you lose weight and then gain it back, you usually end up gaining more weight or gain fat and not muscle, so in a sense, your body is worse off than before you started. 

There are many products out on the market now that can help you to lose weight.  But, let’s say you lose twenty pounds by following a strict diet.  Good for you, but how do you keep the pounds off.  Well, Dr. Suzanne has gone and done it again!  She gave you the revolutionary secrets to fat loss in her eBook “Top Secret Fat Loss Secret” which shook the very foundations of the food manufacturers and opened the eyes of millions just like YOU to help take your life back and your waistline.

Even though, she helped people lose over 56,562 lbs total and counting with her amazing secret, she noticed an unsettling trend.  She found that there was no problem for them losing the weight but, to her disheartenment they seemed to be struggling to keep it off!  We have ALL gone through this. It seems too familiar.

LOSE the WEIGHT….GAIN the WEIGHT…LOSE the WEIGHT…GAIN the WEIGHT…

This viscous cycle of Yo- Yo Dieting has to end and end NOW!  As you know, Dr. Suzanne leaves no stone unturned when searching for the TRUTH!  After countless interviews with diet experts and people just like YOU who have struggled with the battle of bulge and have won she discovered that all of them did a very similar SIMPLE EASY to DO SYSTEM that kept the weight off !!!!

Instead of keeping this amazing discovery to herself Dr. Suzanne has created the YoungSlimFit Program to give you all of the tools that they used to finally end their battle with the bulge!!  So if you are someone who is just flat out sick and tired of the endless Yo-Yo Dieting then do not hesitate any longer.

Go here to secure you life changing program!    I want to Stay Trim

I would not hesitate long because she gives you 50% OFF of the normal price just for ordering within 24-48hrs!

What exactly is the swine flu?  What are the signs and symptoms of the Swine flu?Will I get it by eating pork?  Do I have to touch a pig to get it?  Is it like a normal flu?  The swine flu is similar to a regular flu.  You may experience a sore throat, coughing, a headache, fever and chills, body aches, and fatigue.   You may also have diarrhea and vomiting.  Check with your doctor to see what strain you have and if you may have the swine flu, a lab test can determine the differences.  Get yourself checked out if you think you have the flu, only your doctor can diagnose the swine flu via lab tests.

How do you contract the swine flu?  You can not get it from eating pork.  Humans may get it by coming in contact with an infected pig, though.  Also, infected humans may spread it to other humans in ways similar to the common flu via sneezing, coughing, or touching something which has the viruses on it.  It is not clearly known how quickly the swine flu can spread through humans. 

Those who become infected with the swine flu may be contagious as early as a day before they have any symptoms and may may continue to be contagious up to seven days after signs of symptoms are present.  It may last even several days longer in children.  Always wash your hands and wear a face mask if you are in malls or areas where there are known cases of the swine flu.  As in most flu epidemics,  try to avoid individuals with swine flu symptoms and continue to get plenty of sleep, eat a nutritious diet and exercise.  Wash your hands as often as you can with soap and water or hand sanitizer.  Cover your mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze to prevent the spread of any illness.  

Try to avoid traveling to Mexico where there are know cases.  Also, avoid travel to certain parts of the United States where cases are surfacing.  If you have a low immune system due to another illness or a recent transplant,  avoid these areas until things settle down.   You’re best bet, no matter what kind of health you are in, is to try to avoid sick people.

Which is better?  Walking indoors on a treadmill or walking outdoors in a park or on a trail? Studies conclude that there is not a significant amount of difference between the two to weigh one over the other.  The most important thing you can do for yourself is to walk.   Walking and health go together like peas and carrots, as Forest Gump would say.  Forest Gump walked and walked and walked at one point in the movie until he just didn’t feel like it anymore.  You don’t have to go that overboard, just try to incorporate more walking into your every day tasks.  When put together, walking and health go hand-in-hand especially when the walking is consistent. 

Does it matter if you walk indoors or outdoors?  Not really.  There have been studies done in the past and recently in 2009 that weigh in on which is better - a walk outdoors or a walk on an indoor treadmill.  In the long run, the main point is to remain consistent with your routine.  When you walk on the treadmill, your body is stable and the movement is taking place underneath your feet.  You are not propelling yourself forward as you do when you go for a walk outdors.  When you walk indoors it may seem easier because you are in a climate controlled environment.  If you walk outdoors on the other hand, you could have wind resistance.  The weather outdoors is also a variable.  If the weather is warm outside while you are walking, your body will burn more calories as it tries to cool down and you may feel tired faster as the temperature may mentally and physically make you feel more tired if the sun is beating down on you.

If you always walk indoors and on a treadmill your body may adapt and condition itself to the pace and time that you normally set for yourself.  Change things up a bit and increase the length or resistance if you feel like your body is no longer being challenged.  If you watch TV or listen to music, you may find it easier to walk indoors because your mind and body are keeping pace and are distracted from the physical exertion of your body.  When you walk outdoors you may slow up a bit to cross the street or speed up if you feel like changing the pace a bit.  If you go up a hill, you will exert more energy and so forth.  You can replicate all these outdoor conditions on your treadmill. 

Research shows there are mixed results when you compare walking on a treadmill to walking outdoors.  Change things up a bit and do a little of both.  The key to any walking routine is to remain consistant.  Get back to the basics of walking.  Your overall health will improve.   Walk for fun, walk in the evenings with a spouse or friend, walk the kids to the park, walk in the mall while window shopping, walk to work or to the bus (help the environment).   Walk on your lunch break and form a walking group.  Get back to the basics of walking and put walking in your everyday routine.  The overall benefits of walking to your health is so important.  If may take a few weeks, but you’ll start to feel and see the improvements over time. 

As a Christian and a Catholic, I try to walk in faith with the Lord each and every day of my life.  Sometimes it’s hard.  I find myself not walking on the straight and narrow path.  I’m far from perfect, and I make mistakes daily, but the older I get and the more I make an effort to talk with God, the more I feel like I am growing spiritually.  The Easter Celebration is a time to celebrate the joy that Jesus has risen from the dead.

As I write this on Good Friday, one of the most holiest and dramatic days in the Christian and Catholic Lenten season, I am reminded of the The Passion of the Christ , the movie that came out a few years ago, directed by Mel Gibson.  I saw it in the movies in Dolby stereo.  It was powerful.  I saw it with my husband and my mother and father.  I tried to imagine what it would be like, to be Jesus and to suffer all that pain and I had to keep reminding myself that it was just a movie.  I didn’t want to get caught up in it and have others see me cry.  I have a weakness is this area and I have a hard time showing affection sometimes.  As we were leaving the movie theatre, we were the last four to leave because we just sat there and took it all in.  I remember my parents were walking behind us and as we were making our way out of the theatre my mom stopped and leaned up against the wall and cried.  She cried that evening in the theatre for the suffering that Jesus endured.  She cried for the hope that we all have knowing that we are forgiven.  She cried for all the times she sinned. She cried because by her sins, she helped nail Jesus to the cross.  She cried because, as he hung on the cross, he looked up and said, “Father, forgive them.”  She cried for me, because I wanted to cry, but I just held back.  She cried and I wished I could have cried.  I will always remember that moment. 

Good Friday is an annual event that always inspires me to continue to walk in faith with the Lord.  It is a solemn day because this is the day that Jesus dies on the cross.  When I attend the Good Friday service at my church, every year the choir sings a somber church song that brings me to tears every time.  I quietly wipe my eyes.  My heart is filled with sorrow and joy.  I know He died on the cross on Good Friday, but I look forward to the Easter celebration, when we see that He is risen!

Here are a few of the lyrics to the song: Were You There When They Crucified Our Lord?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?   Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Ohh….tremble, tremble, tremble, were you there when they crucified our Lord?

 Were you there when they crowned our King with thorns?  Were you there when they crowned our King with thorns? Ohh….tremble, tremble, tremble, were you there when they crucified our Lord?

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?  Were you there when they nailed him to the tree? Ohh….tremble, tremble, tremble, were you there when they crucified our Lord?

Were you there when they crucified our Lord?   Were you there when they crucified our Lord? Ohh…tremble, tremble, tremble,  were you there when they crucified our Lord?

 Have a wonderful Easter Season.  Let me know if you saw the The Passion of the Christ  and how you felt after you saw it.