The Best Of Both Worlds

Surprisingly, most of us have one common habits of counting how many hours of sleep we will be getting before we hit the sack.  Not getting enough sleep is much more harmful than most of us imagine.  Considering how busy our lives get and how any extra hours we need in a day, we take sleeping for granted or it is just so rare that we cherish the little we get.  When we don't get enough sleep we tend to lean on caffeine and energy drinks which is yet another giant "no-no".  Sleep is the most enjoyable and easiest way to get and remain healthy.

Accomplishing our daily goals and earning eight hours of rest at night is really achieving the best of both worlds.  Lack of sleep and over using caffeinated products takes some surprising tolls on our bodies.  First off,  not getting enough sleep really messes with our brain.  It impairs our attentions span, alertness, an problem solving.  The more serious conditions can eventually lead to heart failure, stroke, and diabetes.  According to webMD "Coping With Excessive Sleepiness"(1), 90% of people that have insomnia also have another serious disease.

We tend to remember information we have learned during the day, at night.  Therefore, if you do not get enough sleep you will gradually worsen your memory. The best way to maintain a sharp and agile brain is to know sleep is important to your health and put other obstacles to the side.

In the past decades,  America's obesity rate has grown.  Studies have been done that explain a positive correlation between lack of sleep and weight gain.  The healthier and lighter people in the study tend to get 7 or more hours of sleep every night.  While the larger and unhealthier people in the experiment got less sleep and had less energy.  Harvard also concluded that those who got less sleep would generally eat more and the food they consumed was almost always much unhealthier than the people who got enough sleep. (2)

Getting enough sleep is one of the best things you can do for your health.  Getting enough sleep will reduce your appetite, keep your brain fast and agile, and make getting a harmful disease less likely to occur.  Therefore, make sure you are doing yourself a favor and getting enough rest!



(1)http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/10-results-sleep-loss
(2) http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sleep/

Protein Shakes

What is a good way to get the most out of your workout and still enjoy it? Protein shakes!  Of course, not all protein shakes are going to be delicious but you can definitely squeeze in some of your favorite food groups in there.  Protein shakes help you feel fuller faster in order to stay away from useless calories that you do not notice you're consuming as fast.  They come in various flavors too so you can incorporate different fruits into the various flavors.  For example, my favorite protein shake is chocolate with banana slices and blueberries.  It fills me up super quick and gives me back most of the energy I lost while working out.

The common mistake with protein hakes that we make is giving up other foods for it.  Of course, we get more nutrients from organic fruits and vegetables so it is important to eat those daily.  Overall, protein shakes are an excellent way to get protein and energy faster. So keep in mind when you do drink protein shakes, that they are high calorie and should take the place of a meal, but then again, you shouldn't drink them for more than one meal a day.

Lean Muscle

I know a lot of problems females have with working out is that they want to stay lean and tiny without getting bulky and manly looking.  The best way to do this is by doing natural workouts just using your body instead of body building with weights.  what are some excellent workout methods that just use your body but still provide amazing results?  The two I have grown to enjoy the most are yoga and pilates. These are useful workouts because they do not make you too tired yet provide noticeable results.  After I attended yoga the first time I left feeling relaxed and motivated to go again.  I was surprised in the morning when I felt sore and like I got an extreme workout in.  I kept going and noticed the results immediately. Yoga provides extremely lean and feminine muscles without causing pain and providing a better mood and level of confidence.  Yoga targets almost every muscle in the body while weight training targets specific body parts and can cause muscle tension or stress. So not only are you benefitting by going to yoga because you will drastically look better, you will also notice less stress and an increase in balance and coordination.  If you haven/t tried yoga or pilates at all, it might be a good way to invest your free time. As we grow older, we lose our muscle mass. Yoga is a great way to maintain muscle and stay active.

Know Your Metabolism!

Strangely, we tend to believe that working out every part of the body is better than individually working out different parts of the body everyday.  In reality, doing this doesn't make much of an impact at all.   We have to allow time for our muscles to heal before we work them again.  A good way to take advantage of a workout is by working your arms Monday, your legs on Tuesday, abs on Wednesday, and so on.  The next day, those muscles should be sore because they will tear but allowing time for them to heal and not allowing your body to get used to the same workout every single day.  Before you workout, you should have some goals in mind.  Always start of with weight lifting and conditioning and then move onto cardio.  Starting off with weights and moving to card (treadmill, bikes, etc.) force your body to burn fat faster.  Also, make sure you do not take too long of breaks in between.  It is important to take water breaks and catch your breath but maintain a high heartbeat.  Lastly, don't push yourself too hard.  It is better to sprint for five minutes and walk for three than it is to hurt yourself trying to run for ten at a lower speed. after your workout, snack on a banana with peanut butter or a protein shake to keep those muscles healthy.  Of course, eating healthier is more important than working out because it is about 70% responsible for the results of a diet.



www.cnn.com/2013/02/12/health/easy-ways-kickstart-metabolism/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopular

Daily Vitamins

A lot of people tend to forget taking a multivitamin everyday because it can seem really pointless.  Taking vitamins everyday is a super easy way to stay healthy even if your diet is laking in a certain department.  While we might be thinking we are getting our essential vitamins through food, certain setbacks like farming methods, processing and cooking of food, and mass food production contribute to the essential nutrient loss in what we eat.  Simply remembering to take a pill every morning can help prevent diseases, get the nutrients we don't get in our food, maintain cellular efficiency, and to maintain a constant nutrient intake.  Although eating right and getting physical exercise is of course the most desirable way to be healthy, taking a multivitamin every morning definitely cannot hurt. If you eat healthy, workout daily, and take vitamins that you have a healthy advantage over most people.  Vitamins are an easy way to get nutrients that are harder to find in food sometimes so be sure to take advantage and start as son as possible.

article:
http://www.energeticnutrition.com/articles/daily-multi-vitamin.html

Forget Useless Calories

What is another misconception we make?  Although liquids seem like they shouldn't have as many calories as solid foods, most liquids sneak calories in more than we like to think.  Of course, some drinks have qualities and nutrients that we really should be getting.  For instance, calcium from milk is good for our bones and provide enough calcium to the body to prevent bone loss or weakening.  Also, orange juice has the calcium that supports immune health.  Maybe it's the drinks that do not necessarily advertise the negatives. These drinks are overlooked because people tend to believe that "diet soda" is better than regular soda. When in reality, all soda pop has either a lot of sugar and corn syrup which we know is bad, or it is sweetened with Splenda. Like all good things people enjoy, it is not good for us.  Soda has been proven to increase cellulite and weight gain.  Even diet sodas contribute to weight gain.  Lastly, juices can have negative effects on people.  For instance, grape juice makes one more tired because it lowers your iron level.  While cranberry juice is thought to lead to kidney problems.  Most juices people think are healthy because there is fruit in it but in reality, it is made with an excessive amount of sugar. Therefore, it is smart to steer clear of unnecessary sugar and calories in drinks.  Stick with a glass of milk everyday and drink plenty of water!