Exercise Makes Me Happy

Benefits of a Regular Exercise Routine:

1.  Allows you to feel more confident with your body
2.  Improves your sex life
3.  Improves circulation
4.  Boosts your mood
5.  Prevents bone loss
6.  Helps you sleep better by falling asleep faster and sleeping more soundly
7.  Prevents and manages high blood pressure and cholesterol levels
8.  Helps manage stress by boosting good endorphins and regulating hormones
9.  Helps with pain management
10.  Increases muscle strength
11.  Helps in the battle to quit smoking
12.  Reduces risk of stroke and coronary artery disease
13.  Delays the aging process and maintains quality of life
14.  Allows seniors to maintain their independence longer
15.  Provides a way to share activities with family and friends
16.  Counters anxiety and depression
17.  Releases tension
18.  Improves memory and brain function
19.  Stabilizes blood sugar levels
20.  Burns fat and calories
21.  Improves learning
22.  Keeps Alzheimer's at bay
23.  Improves the complexion of your skin
24.  Lowers your resting heart rate
25.  Aids in weight loss
26.  Boosts the immune system
27.  Enhanced sport performance
28.  Reduce risk of some cancers
29.  Improves self esteem
30.  Allows you to meet new people
31.  Brings you to new places and locations
32.  Provides you with opportunity to explore
33.  You are able to try new activities
34.  It allows you to push your body to the limit
35.  Exercise makes you happy :)

Exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy... happy people just don't shoot their husbands.  -Elle Woods, Legally Blonde

Do You Walk Enough?

If you have a job that allows you to move and use your body for physical labor, consider yourself lucky!  Numerous studies are starting to raise awareness of the amount of sitting and how it has a huge impact on your health.  These studies will go so far to say that sitting too long actually raises your death risk.  

Most of us have a desk job where we sit for about 8 hours a day.  Maybe in the morning or after work you spend about an hour at the gym and another 2 hours running errands and making dinner, but combined with the amount of time Americans spend in the car or on the couch, it adds up to way too much sitting throughout the day.  

A study that followed 222,497 adults during their daily life over several years discovered that, over the course of the study, participants who sat for more than 11 hours a day had the highest risk for all-cause mortality, followed by those who sat between 8-11 hours a day and those who sat for less than 4 hours daily had the lowest risk for all-cause mortality.

The scariest thing about these studies are the fact that the effects of sitting this long can NOT be exercised away.  Although you burn more calories, you do not increase the overall muscle activity in the body.  A different study proved that the muscles of people who are desk workers are inactive for about 70% of the day, regardless if they do planned exercise or not.

The take away point?  We need to move more! On average, people currently walk 3,000-4,000 steps per day.  According to the World Health Organization's daily activity requirement, we should walk about 10,000 steps daily for general health.    And if you are trying to lose weight... increase that number to 20,000 steps per day.  A good goal for individuals who are trying to become more active, is to increase average daily steps each week by 500 per day until you can easily average your final goal of 10,000-20,000.

The easiest way to track your number of steps is with a pedometer.  Start by wearing one every day for a week from sunrise to when your feet hit the bed.  At the end of each day, log how many steps you took in a notebook and find your average daily steps at the end of the week.  My guess is you'll be surprised at how many (or should I say how few) steps you took!

You can purchase a basic pedometer at a local sporting goods store for a relatively good price.  I like the Omron Pedometer HJ 320 because it uses a pendulum design so that it doesn't miscount steps.  With this design you can wear the device wherever it feels best (on your body or even in a purse!).  This device also has 7 day memory so you can see how you are progressing over the week.

If you are not ready to spend any money on something like this yet and you have a smart phone, you could always try an app.  I use the "Pacer" app from an Iphone.  Just be careful to pause the pedometer if you are picking your phone up and down a lot as it may read as a step.

Finally, I love Fit devices such as the FitBit Flex, The Nike Fuelband or the Up by Jawbone.  Check those out on a recent blog I did here.

Need some great tips to help you get started?
1. Park in the back of the lot when you get to work or go to the store
2. Take the stairs over the elevator or escalator when possible
3. Go to a different floor/building when you need to use the restroom
4. Set an alarm at your desk to get up and do a lap around the office every hour
5. Fidget while you work at your desk
6. Incorporate walking lunges into your workout routine to burn extra calories while doing bicep curls or an overhead press
7. Schedule a walking work meeting or walk during a conference call
8. Skip the drive through and walk in to get your coffee or lunch
9. Instead of meeting a friend for lunch, meet up for a hike or walk in the city
10. Walk the dog everyday (good chance that if your dog is overweight... you aren't getting enough exercise!)

Get Motivated | Do the Work | See Results

Enjoy some of my motivational finds of the day... What motivates you to do more?  Thanks to all who provided these pictures and quotes as inspiration and motivation to people like me!  My goal is to be a fitspiration to others in order to see individuals live their life, the best that it can be!  

oxox, Em

FITNESS & FASHION | Nike Fuelband, Fitbit Flex, & Up by Jawbone

I love a good fitness gadget and these 3 are at the top of my list.  What an awesome constant motivator to move and exercise.  If you always have a competitive nature like myself, you will constantly be pushing yourself to do more.  Other than being competitive, I am super analytic.  I love numbers, charts, graphs and visuals, and these devices will give me just that.  I personally love Nike gadgets, but the other 2 can do a few things that the Nike Fuelband can't, such as track your sleep/quality of sleep and food intake.  The Up will even go so far as to help you take the perfect power nap.  It has a silent vibration wake alarm that if you set for 25 minutes, will wake you 25 minutes after you actually fall asleep!  Overall, these cool gadgets will get you set on the right page when you need to be.  What do you think?  The next hot thing, or completely overrated?

Nike Fuel band ($149)

Fitbit Flex ($99.95)

Up by Jawbone ($129.99)

Challenge Yourself: 2

This last week I focused on my physical features and my stats.  I wanted to see where I was starting and give myself a good idea of how much work I want to get done.  For me, weight is not currently an issue.  I am happy with my body, but I think everyone looks for improvements.  My dream body is one where I feel confident and happy in my own skin.  Now I understand this means something different for everyone; but for myself, I want to decrease my overall body fat while maintaining my weight.  I know this isn't something I will be able to do overnight, so I will track my progress once a week and assess where I may need to tweak my short term goals.

This week my focus is on Motivation.  Motivation is a psychological feature that arouses someone to act toward a desired goal, could be anything that elicits, controls, or sustains certain goal directed behaviors.  A perfect example is hunger.  Hunger drives and motivates you to eat.  But what motivates us to better ourselves when it isn't a natural response?  Competition and rewards are unarguably some of the biggest extrinsic motivators for individuals trying to reach a goal.  But what about those who have the goal of climbing Mount Everest with their son, or living long enough to see grandkids.  What about those who are trying to reduce their risk for Diabetes, or are just trying to look great in a swim suit... are these reasonable goals?  YES!  A motivator to you, may not be a motivator for someone else... but that is the beauty of what drives and moves you!  Find something that will be meaningful and long-lasting that will take you to the end.

What is your main motivation to make a change and better yourself?

My motivation comes from competition with myself.  I love to compete in events in order to improve previous times and to see how far I can push myself.  I enjoy running in races with the distance of 5k, 10k and I have even done 2 half marathons.  In the past year, I found myself with the opportunity to buy a road bike and the interest for a triathlon has sparked (as I used to be a competitive swimmer in high school).  8 months ago I moved from North Dakota to Massachusetts and it has been 11 months since my last race and it is definitely time to put my competitive edge to the test.  My motivator will be to compete in a half marathon in the next year and better my time of 1 hour:52 seconds.  Now that I've said it to you, it is real, and I am committing to the event.  I look forward to sharing this journey with you.  What is your main motivator to change?

I want to leave you today thinking about what motivates you, no matter what your goal may be.  Here is some great advice to setting your goal and finding motivation that moves you.
oxox, Em

•  Make mini milestones. Break your weight-loss goal into 10-pound blocks. 
• Keep your eye on the prize. Tape a list on your fridge of what you want to accomplish, like fitting into your size-8 jeans or running a mile without stopping. 
• Create incentives. Give yourself a dollar for each pound lost. Use the money to treat yourself to a new sweater or spa treatment. 
• Buy fitted clothes. Avoid expandable elastic waists that don't let you feel or see those extra inches creeping up on you. 
• Know you're not alone. Don't be afraid to join a health club because of your size. You'll find a range of body types at the gym. 
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  Get an affordable personal trainer. Hire one with a group of friends and split the cost-- you'll save money and learn how to burn more calories from a professional. 
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  Join a gym near your office. Exercising during your lunch break or after work will be much more convenient. 
• Pay for a 10-pack of workout classes upfront. That way, you'll have to go or your money will be wasted. 
• Seek motivation on the Internet. Get 24/7 support with an online weight-loss group.  Exchange messages, recipes, even exercise tips with other readers at sites like sparkpeople, loseit, caloriecoutner, etc...
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  Power up with a partner. Enlist the help of a friend to cheer you on when motivation gets tough. 
• Don't be deprived. Treat yourself to a small portion of something sweet each day so you won't crave it and binge later. 
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  Crunch the numbers. Know the calorie counts of your favorite meals, snacks and drinks. Resolve to make your daily calorie intake a healthy 1,500. 
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  Make smart eating easy. Start your own file of healthy recipes you've created or picked up from books and magazines. 
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  Save the best for last. If you taste food while making dinner, you can take in a huge amount of calories without realizing it; wait until you sit down to eat. 
• Write before you bite. Keep a journal of everything you put in your mouth. You'll think twice before you eat if you know you have to write it down. 
• Sign up for a run/walk event or bike race. The competition will help you work harder and you'll make fitness-minded friends. 
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  Change with the seasons. Snowshoe in the winter, swim in the summer and bike in the spring. Different workouts will keep you challenged. 
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  Cultivate your green thumb. Burn 254 calories per hour by doing your own yard work. You can also stock up on veggies by growing them in your garden. 

*Advice and comments from readers of Shape that have found great success in reaching their weight-loss goals.

Living Tech Free

OK, so most of us know that living a life that is completely tech free is near impossible in this day and age.  In fact, a good portion of our lives are devoted to technology.  Between, work, home life, kid's homework, social media, staying in touch with friends and family, and finding information on just about anything you can name; we can hardly take our face out of it!  But how has this technology age affected our health?

Technology is literally prematurely aging us.  Not only are the blinking, buzzing, and beeping distracting us from our slower-paced offline projects, but we are constantly waiting for the email response, or are stressing about how many "likes or "retweets" our status will get.  Also some of us even share our bed with this flashing and sound-making device, I bet you can guess that it could be the cause of your inability to sleep.  Lack of sleep is not only making you feel sluggish the next day, but chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to memory problems, heart attacks, obesity, and stroke.  Technology is also stunting our creativity.  Having troubles finishing a project at work?  Turn off the computer and get some fresh air and let your mind think for it's own.  I haven't even yet mentioned what it is doing to us physically.  Most of us look down to a phone or hunch over our computer for a good part of the day putting a lot of stress on our necks and allowing us to have terrible posture.  And the worst position to use your technology... in the car!  A recent study proved that someone on their phone while driving increased their risk for an accident by 23% and even worse, the average length of time someone was on their phone when getting in an accident, 5 seconds.  Now what is that important that it can't wait!!

So now you have heard some of the negatives.  I urge you to try a day or even just 4 hours tech free.  Let yourself be creative, move your body, interact with people face to face.  Need some good activities?  Here are some of my favorite things to do that don't include my phone, iPad, computer, TV... shall I go on??

1.  Cook up a fabulous dinner for you and your friends
2.  Take the dog for a walk or try snowshoeing with a friend
3.  Take a nap and catch up on sleep
4.  Write a hand written note to a loved one (there is nothing better than getting snail mail anymore)
5.  Take an art class... or yoga, or cooking, or join a book club... the list could go on
6.  Get lost in your city... explore the undiscovered
7.  Read a book, when was the last time you visited the library?
8.  Organize! Whether it is your closet or your files, I think you will feel a sense of clarity and freshness when you are finished.
9.  Take a bath, relax, paint your nails, give yourself a facial... nothing better than a spa day
10.  Volunteer.  Put your time and energy into something that is meaningful to you and you will reap many benefits
11.  Play a game... host a family or friends game night where everyone brings a game and a dish to pass.  How long as it been since you have had a really good belly laugh
12.  Do a project and have a craft day

I want to hear what you do when you turn off your technology and how you can benefit from a tech free day!
oxox, Em