Travel Health Tips Posts
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
A salad can be a tasty and healthy addition to a meal, especially when it’s loaded with antioxidant-rich dark greens, and colorful vegetables of all shapes and sizes. However, a salad can be deceptively decadent when too many unhealthy toppings and a high calorie dressing is included. If you’re eating a salad for health reasons, let FusionSouth take you through five unhealthy salad ingredients you’ll want to avoid. Don’t fool yourself – most restaurant salads contain too many of these ingredients! Be Well!
Croutons
Most croutons are too high in calories, salt, carbohydrates, and fat to be a healthy addition to a salad. Plus, most people put on way too many of them. On the other hand, it’s not hard to make a healthy crouton at home using whole grain bread, garlic, spices, and olive oil. If you have to have these crunchy little nuggets, make them yourself and take them along when you dine at a restaurant. Use them sparingly; even a few of them are extremely calorie-rich.
Bacon Bits
An ounce of bacon bits adds about 133 calories to your salad bowl – along with a heap of sodium. Those flavorful little crunchers also contain sodium nitrite – a preservative that increases the risk of cancer – and some even contain hydrogenated oils. A healthier alternative is a preservative free substitute; typically, they are organic, low sodium, meatless, and cholesterol-free. They can be found at many natural food markets and some mainstream grocery stores.
Cheddar Cheese
A little cheddar cheese is okay, but most people sprinkle on far too much. Cheddar cheese is relatively high in calories in fat. A great substitute that is also just as satisfying is feta cheese. Because of its more pronounced flavor, you’ll use less of it, and still get a great flavor!
The Wrong Kind Of Meat
Adding a little fresh turkey, salmon, or baked or grilled chicken to a salad is a good source of protein and makes a salad more filling. Adding breaded chicken to a salad isn’t such a good thing since it adds too much fat. If you want to keep a salad meat-free, but still want protein, add black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, chopped egg whites, or a few nuts to your salad instead.
The Wrong Dressing
This is where most people destroy a healthy salad. Not only do they choose the wrong dressing, but they put on too much of it. Most creamed based dressings such as blue cheese, ranch, and Caesar are way, way too high in fat. Stick to the lighter, olive oil and vinegar based dressings – but be careful. Read the label since some low fat, “healthy” dressings are nevertheless still high in sugar and salt. Some salad dressings still contain hydrogenated oils, so it pays to do a little research. Also, resist the temptation to drown your salad in dressing. Allow a little bit to go all the way on your salad.
Tags: bacon, bacon bits, cheese, croutons, dressing, exercise, fat, fat loss, fit, FItness, food, green, health, meat, Nutrition, salad, salad dressing, vegetables, weight, weight loss, wellness
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Monday, March 1st, 2010
Studies show that far too many people are not sleeping well, and lack of good-quality sleep can lead to more than just feeling tired: everything from traffic accidents and poor work performance to crankiness, illness, and a less-than-attractive appearance can be the result of sleeping poorly.
To look and feel your absolute best, you need to get seven to nine hours of deeply restful, quality sleep each night. Here are seven simple tips from FusionSouth that can help you start sleeping like a baby. Be Well!
1. Create a sleep-conducive environment
The room you sleep in is vital to getting rest. Make sure it is dark, clean and has good ventilation. Try to keep the air fresh and the room temperature between 60 and 65 degrees for best sleeping conditions. Make sure you have the right amount of blankets and soft pillows. If it isn’t comfortable — you aren’t going to sleep.
2. Avoid caffeine, alcohol and tobacco
Caffeinated drinks and food such as coffee, tea, sodas and chocolate will keep the mind stimulated much longer than some people think. While alcohol may feel like it’s putting you to sleep, its sedating effect won’t last through the night. Alcohol is a depressant; although it may make it easier to fall asleep, it causes you to wake up during the night. As alcohol is digested, your body goes into withdrawal from the alcohol, causing nighttime awakenings and often nightmares. Excessive alcohol use can lead to dependence, and the withdrawal from alcohol dependence can also affect your sleep.
Nicotine is also a stimulant and should be avoided near bedtime and if you wake up during the night. Thus, having a smoke before bed, although it feels relaxing, is actually putting a stimulant into your bloodstream.
3. Exercise regularly
Working at the office might make you sweat mentally, but it’s not giving your body enough work. People who work physically strenuous jobs experience fewer problems with insomnia than those with office jobs. Get vigorous exercise early in the day so you’ll be naturally tired come bedtime. Try working out even for as little as 20 minutes and your body will feel stimulated. Exercise will also help you get more oxygen through your bloodstream, which in turn will allow you to relax more.
4. Have a preparation schedule
Your life may not be routine, but your body likes it that way. Try to fall asleep and wake at the same time each day — yes, even on the weekends. Figure out how many hours your body needs to feel rested and schedule your sleep that way, even on nights you don’t feel tired. Once your body gets used to a routine, it will naturally want to fall asleep at the designated time.
5. Keep your bed a place for sleep
The bed should be for only one thing: sleep. Many people tend to read, work, watch television, and eat in their beds — but in actuality, your mind should never associate it with anything else. Let your mind and body identify that comfy spot with sleep. Additionally, don’t watch TV or look at a computer screen at least 30 minutes before you lie down. The light from both a television as well as a computer monitor mimic the same intensity of light as sunlight. This fools your body and brain into thinking it’s nowhere near time for sleep.
6. Don’t nap during the day
Practically speaking if you sleep too long during the day, this will disrupt night time sleep, so it’s important to find the right balance. If you can’t find that balance, you better stop napping during the day — spend one day exhausted, get to bed on a good schedule that night, and you will automatically reset your biological clock!
7. Don’t eat before sleep
A light snack may be sleep inducing, but a heavy meal too close to bedtime interferes with sleep. Digestion takes lots of energy and will keep you awake. Also spicy or fatty foods may cause heartburn, which leads to difficulty in falling asleep and discomfort throughout the night. Foods containing tyramine (bacon, cheese, ham, aubergines, pepperoni, raspberries, avocados, nuts, soy sauce, and red wine) might keep you awake at night. Tyramine causes the release of norepinephrine, which a brain stimulant.
Tags: exercise, fat, fat loss, fatigue, fit, FItness, health, Nutrition, rest, sleep, sleeping, weight, weight loss, wellness
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Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
If you or your partner have seen a decline in your fitness and health, it is time to do something about it, and fast! Declining health is directly related to lack of exercise and over-eating, or eating the wrong foods. But making small changes to your lifestyle you can see massive improvements in your health, love life, energy levels and appearance.
Working out with your partner is the best way to motivate each other to actually do it consistently. Exercising alone can be non-motivating and draining, and it can be difficult to get off the couch and start the task. But having someone to help you and urge you on helps. If this person is your partner, it can be even more encouraging, and bring you together closer than ever before! At FusionSouth, we love the saying: the couple who plays together, stays together!
You obviously care about the health of your partner, and they care about yours. So even if one of you don’t care to exercise for your own health, you will surely want your partner to be healthy. This results in a mutual encouragement to improve your well being and thus, motivation to exercise as a couple. A support system is necessary for anybody looking to improve their fitness levels; who better to encourage you than your partner?
Check out a few quick, excellent and hopefully extremely helpful fitness ideas for couples who want to stay active together!
Daily Walks
Change the route on a weekly basis. Even drive somewhere else to start the walk, if you are running out of scenic and challenging routes. The important thing about walking is that you have to get into a routine. For example, you might plan to walk at 6:00 every evening, or at 7:00 every morning, depending upon your work and life schedules.
Whatever you decide upon, make sure your routine is stuck to as much as possible, as this makes the process more effortless. When you’re on the walk, try to talk about something enjoyable. Take in the sights, enjoy the weather, bring a bottle of water, and get healthy together in a stress-free environment!
Partner Training
Do you want to use a fitness professional to help you get healthy? Train together! By pushing each other to meet fitness goals, you will find that you work even harder than if you had been using a personal trainer by yourself. You can obtain the professional assistance and knowledge of a personal trainer, while having fun exercising together and challenging each other! And, at the same time, you can save a little bit of money (at least, you will with us!) by training together rather than individually!
Join A Sports Team
In most communities, there are plenty of co-ed sports teams and leagues that organize for all sports, and during all different seasons. Pick a sport, and join up! Play together and get the feeling of a community, meeting and enjoying your new teammates! Worried that their is a discrepancy in your talent levels? Pick a new sport that neither one of you had played before, join a team, and learn it together! You may not be very good, but at least you can have fun learning together, and staying active and fit in the process!
At the end of the day, do what we recommend with all exercise — make it fun! If it’s fun, enjoyable, and you support each other while doing it, you’ll want to continue. And when you continue, you’ll get healthy and reinvigorate your life and your love! Enjoy your time being active together – and Be Well!
Tags: couple, exercise, fat, fat loss, fit, FItness, games, health, healthy, husband, love, marriage, Nutrition, partner, run, sports, walk, weight loss, wife
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Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
Maybe you’ve heard that a difficult undertaking is “like eating an elephant.” We’ve worked with many different people from many different walks of life, with all kinds of different fitness goals. There is a common sentiment when we begin working together, and it goes like this:
There’s just too much! I need to make sure I am taken care of. I need to eat perfectly. I need to get enough sleep. I need to make sure my work responsibilities are still a priority. I need to spend time with my family. And somehow—in the midst of all that—I have to perform a small miracle to exercise consistently, even when I don’t feel like it. How can I possibly do all that? I don’t have time to sit down and develop this plan. It would take me a solid six weeks of work just to get my mind organized!!
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When exercise is beginning to feel like an uphill climb...
Does that sound familiar? Can you hear some of yourself in that tirade? You’re not alone. You will probably never find the time to do it all, if all you’re focused on is how to do it. Why? Because your focus is off. It doesn’t matter how many times you release your arrow of good intentions, you’ll never hit the target if you’re not aiming at it. Oh sure, you may get lucky every now and then, and hit the target out of sheer luck. It happens. But you’ll never achieve consistent, predictable results if you don’t take careful aim each time.
You Can’t Hit a Target if You’re Aiming at the Sky
It’s not about how. It’s about what. The problem is not how to eat the elephant. It’s identifying the elephant in the first place. Once you’ve identified the elephant, then you can focus on having a system to prioritize where you’re going to start.
You need a vision of what you will look like when “the elephant has been eaten.” Without the vision, nothing you do will make much of a difference. You may make some small changes, and you may even see some good results of those changes. But without the vision, you will never truly become great. You have to stop focusing on the work, and start focusing on the goals.
Focus on the Results, Not on the Work
What is your vision of your body? What do you want it to look like? One of your most important jobs is the development of your vision. That’s it. Your job, your most important role, is defining what you will look like when your regimen is finished, and effectively putting that plan into place.
...Eat the elephant strategically (and before it eats you!).
Approach that Elephant Strategically
To determine what “bite” you need to take first, you need a strategy. With a defined strategy, you can choose where to start. What is your system for prioritizing? Without that system, you’ll get stuck in reactive mode. You’ll develop whatever system seems most important right at that moment. You’ll deal only with your biggest frustration that minute.
And while you’re putting together a system to deal with that frustration, five more problems will show up, each seemingly more important, more vital to the survival of your health regimen than the one you’ve started working on. You need a system to prioritize. You have to pick and choose your battles.
Which center needs the most attention in your body or life this week? Focus there. Spend an hour thinking about all the methods of implementation you will need to correct that specific problem, and write them down. Rate them on a scale of 1-10: which is more important than another? Sort your list by the most important ones, and select just one system to develop right now. Repeat this process regularly, starting each time with the question: “Which center needs the most attention in my health this week?”
Take small bites out of your elephant. Take the right bites. But most importantly, determine what your elephant will look like when you’ve eaten the whole thing this will help keep you focused on the results, not the work. Be Well!
Tags: cardio, elephant, exercise, exercising, fat, fat loss, fit, FItness, goals, health, Nutrition, persistence, priorities, prioritization, strength, weight, weight loss, wellness, workout
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Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
So many people we work with on a daily basis too often try to do a million things at once — and then suddenly wake up to the unpleasant reality that this just isn’t possible. You’re only human — and capable as you may be, you can only take on so much. So in the spirit of digging out from under, here are some tips from FusionSouth for dealing with feeling overwhelmed. Track how they may relate to your fitness needs and goals, as well as your daily stress level!
Identify What Is Truly Important: A big part of feeling overwhelmed is not knowing where to start. Try to pick three areas of your life: personal, relationship and career, and write down all the nagging things that are rippling under the surface and affecting your peace of mind. This brain dump can be useful in that it shows you what really must be accomplished, so that there is not one large pile of impossibility.
Prioritize The Important Stuff: Once you identify the items in each category, rank them on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being extremely important and 1 being extremely trivial.
Decide Exactly How To Start: Of all the ‘10′ items on your to-do list decide two things. First, which ones are the most important to your life goals, values, and passions. Second, which tasks/projects, once accomplished, will give you the most satisfaction and opportunity for success.
Act On What You Planned: Break your three most important tasks into doable sub-tasks, and decide what is the next step that you could take towards its attainment. Many times, you likely feel overwhelmed because you see a mountain of responsibility in front of you. You forget that it is a process made up of lots of smaller tasks, which are victories in themselves.
Assign, Assign, Assign: As far as your sanity and time management are concerned, it is crucial to hand out tasks to trusted others that you do not need to finish yourself. Leverage high school and college students, if necessary, to handle mundane tasks that can be real time-wasters. You will get more accomplished, they will gain some real-world experience, and everybody wins!
Just Say No: Too many people are uncomfortable with saying “no”. A reasonable way to avoid getting committed to projects you’d just as soon leave alone, is to buy yourself time — in other words, never answer immediately after the request is proposed.
Six Per Day: Pick six (not more, and not less) of your high-priority, doable tasks and do them every work day. Where will you get the most traction on the things that matter to you most? If you pick the items of utmost importance to accomplish each day, think of where you will be in just a few weeks of productivity!
Let It Go: Being overwhelmed is often a product of staying after success for a long time, not realizing that you need at least one (or, preferably two) days off per week. Think of your mind as a knife: if your mental blades are dull and rusty you can’t be very effective.
We hope you find some of these tips helpful in reducing your stress load and prioritizing your responsibilities. Be Well!
Tags: exercise, fat, fat loss, fit, FItness, health, money, must, Nutrition, office, overwhelmed, overwhelming, priorities, prioritization, relaxation, requirements, responsbility, responsible, stress, stressed out, stressing, tasks, to-do list, wellness, work
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Monday, February 8th, 2010
Like many so-called ‘desk jockeys,’ the majority of your work day likely requires you to stare at a computer for a living. While your brain is no doubt working hard on the job, your body is essentially in idle mode for 40% of your day, every day. And, when you include sitting in traffic, meals, and the (hopefully) eight hours of sleep you should be getting, your body could be sedentary for as much almost 85% of your day!
You're tired of being tired at the office...
Many large companies are creating full-scale fitness centers on-site for their employees to exercise, but even today, most workers aren’t lucky enough to have a fully equipped fitness facility at the office. Even without the fitness center, it is absolutely crucial to find ways to fit in fitness during the workday, as an increasingly important strategy in the “battle of the bulge.”
Given that many of you spend a big chunk of their waking hours at work, your job certainly could be contributing to weight gain. People whose work is largely conducted while sitting behind a desk, such as secretaries, lawyers, teachers and many more, get little physical activity during the day.
So what can you do about it? Well, you wanna get moving? Deliver the mail! Mail carriers, not surprisingly, consistently top the list of most active workers, with 20,000 (or more!) steps per day. Custodians, restaurant workers, factory workers, construction workers, nurses, and emergency room doctors also get plenty of exercise during their daily work responsibilities.
If you’re at a sedentary job, you need to make it a point to get exercise during your leisure time. That’s especially important if you’re trying to shed pounds or maintain weight loss. People trying to slim down should aim for an hour of physical activity a day. Of course, finding time to work out during the morning rush or at the end of a long day isn’t realistic for many people. That’s why more of us should strive to fit in some fitness during the day!
...so start working on the move!
That doesn’t necessarily mean running a couple miles at lunch. Instead, look for small, but consistent, opportunities to move during the course of the workday. A few simple, but effective suggestions: hold informal meetings during a walk outside; use the farthest restroom in your building; take a few flights of stairs during your coffee break.
Even standing and pacing in place while talking on the phone helps. So does walking down the hall and talking with a co-worker instead of sending an e-mail. Wearing a pedometer can help you track your progress.
Depending on the size of your company, ask your human resources department about an office gym, holding some fitness classes, or providing incentive programs to help employees get in shape. Increasingly, companies are realizing that healthy workers mean a healthier bottom line — so workplace fitness becomes a win for everybody. When employees are healthy, it’s well-documented that health-care costs are lower, sick days are fewer and productivity increases.
Any activity that you can complete on the move (which otherwise would have been completed sitting behind a desk) will help you get more fit in the long run! Even if it is in small increments, fitness involves movement; any sort of movement you can add to the sedentary office routine will affect you in a positive way! Be Well!
Tags: corporate wellness, costs, employee, exercise, fat, fat loss, fit, FItness, health, health care, healthy, Nutrition, office, weight, weight loss, wellness, workplace
Posted in Cardiovascular Training, Corporate Fitness, Fitness Tips, General Fitness, Nutrition, Strength Training, Travel Health Tips | No Comments »
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
Many people that regularly get less sleep than what is recommended each night, and those who regularly experience insomnia, know that a lack of sleep can have many negative effects on their body. Getting enough sleep rejuvenates your body and repairs the damage that is caused to your body during the normal daily activities.
It is important for you to understand how a lack of sleep affects the body so that you will be more conscious about the effects of not getting the recommended amount of sleep each night. When the body does not get enough rest, the daily breakdown and damage cannot be repaired, and will continue to get worse as each day passes. Follow FusionSouth today as we outline some of the serious ways a lack of sleep can negatively affect your health and well-being.
A lack of sleep can cause injury, loss of brain function, and even death if continued for a considerable amount of time. The effects of a consistent and long-lasting lack of sleep can be very dangerous to you, as well as to those around you. The longer you go without sleep, the worse the effects will be until you can even potentially collapse and become hospitalized – or worse.
A lack of sleep affects different parts of the human body in different ways, and in different degrees, depending on exactly how long you have gone without sleep. The biggest effects of lack of sleep can be experienced in your brain. Going without sleep for a 24-hour period can result in behavior resembling drunkenness, with studies showing that people in this condition are more dangerous when driving than people who are legally drunk.
People who suffer from a lack of sleep can experience memory lapse, decreased concentration, and hallucinations. As this continues, you will likely experience depersonalization – a condition where you do not believe that you or any of the people around you are real. Psychotic episodes typically appear after this point, which may or may not disappear even after you have returned to a normal sleeping schedule.
A lack of sleep not only affects the brain, but many other areas of your body as well. People that have gone without the proper amount of sleep for a long amount of time can experience significant muscle fatigue, a greatly weakened immune system, blurred vision, headaches, and nausea. Other effects such as muscle tremors, color blindness, hyperactivity, and significant weight fluctuations have also been documented in many people.
Lack of sleep has been linked to many different serious and long-term health conditions including hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and various mental conditions. In most cases, returning to normal sleep patterns can curb these conditions, but in some cases, the damage may be irreversible. There are many different ways that a lack of sleep can affect the body and each of the consequences of not getting enough rest at night can be dangerous to your health and well being.
While it may be fun to stay up late and watch your favorite sporting event, or surf the Internet, think of the long-term consequences a lack of sleep can have on your body. Is it really worth the risks? Sleep well, and Be Well!
Tags: disease, exercise, fat, fat loss, fatigue, fit, FItness, health, insomnia, insomniac, lack, lack of sleep, Nutrition, sleep, sleeping, tired, weight, weight loss, wellness
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Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
As our clients and business partners know, FusionSouth Co-Founder Vanessa McLean is a veteran of the United States Army – including a tour of duty in South Korea – and she is currently part of the United States Army Reserve. One of her specialties is tactical training – preparing clients for government service (such as training for police, fire, military, FBI/CIA, and other careers). There are many specific physical preparation tools unique to getting ready for government service, and we will discuss a few in today’s article!
We realize this is a bit of a niche post, and it will not apply to many of your interests. Bear with us – we appreciate your continued support, and we hope you can learn something new and different! If you know someone interested in a career with the military, police, or fire departments, please pass this along to them, too – hopefully it will assist them in preparing for government service. Be Well!
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To give yourself a major advantage before you depart for basic training, start thinking and acting like a soldier. There are countless preparation tools (both mental and physical) at your disposal that can give you a major edge at basic training. Much of it can be mastered at home, before you even see your Drill Sergeant.
The Workout
Start exercising early in the morning. In basic, your organized physical training sessions will be conducted in the mornings, before breakfast. Therefore, a couple months before you start basic training, make it a habit to rise at 4:30 AM and exercise. The workout program must be geared toward the exercises you will do in basic training – running, push-ups, obstacle course events, and endurance. You will have a tremendous advantage when you arrive at basic training in great shape.
We must note – military fit is different than civilian fit. Stop going to the gym to prepare for basic training workouts. You need to mimic the exercises you will utilize at basic training – endurance activities, outdoor events, calisthenics, and body weight exercises.
Quit The Bad Habits
Stop munching on snacks like chips and cookies. During basic training, there is no snacking. By training your body early to stop snacking, you will help reduce your hunger urges. Teach your body to eat properly now – or pay the price during training.
If you smoke, or use chewing tobacco, quit now; there are no tobacco products allowed at basic training. It is advantageous to develop a plan to quit on your own terms, than on the Army’s terms. Many recruits come to basic training and experience a variety of withdrawal symptoms, making the already difficult nine weeks of basic training much tougher.
Feed Your Muscle
Give your body what it craves after a strenuous workout, and put down the fast food sandwiches. Cook beef, chicken, fish, and pasta dishes. Your body will appreciate the consumption of healthier foods and this nourishment will greatly improve your strength and conditioning. Be sure to get a healthy dose of high-quality vegetables, fruits, protein and carbohydrates.
Consider Time Zones
During basic training you will rarely get eight hours of sleep — five to seven hours will be typical. Train your body to go to bed at 9:00 PM. This way, when you get to basic training, you won’t be lying in bed awake trying to adjust to the new schedule.
Also, consider the time zone where basic training will be conducted. If you are in California and basic training is at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina, account for the time difference. Training yourself to go to bed at 9:00 PM Eastern Time means going to bed at 6:00 PM local time. Likewise, waking up at 4:30 AM Eastern Time means waking up at 1:30 AM Pacific Time. Everyone is different, but it takes roughly 4-7 days to fully adjust to a new sleep schedule.
Don’t Be Fooled
Millions of soldiers have completed basic training. Basic training is hard, but do not be discouraged or intimidated. With proper preparation techniques, your nine weeks of basic training will be a lot easier than for most people. When in doubt, over-prepare in the months before you arrive — and watch yourself succeed and thrive in a difficult environment!
Tags: army, basic, basic training, boot camp, exercise, fire, FItness, government, govt, health, iraq, military, Nutrition, police, politics, prep, reserve, service, soldier, united states, US, US Army, USA, war, wellness
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Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
In yesterday’s article, we spoke about how to avoid diet and fitness scams. In it, we stressed the need to be consistent, optimistic, approach your goals in moderation, exercise, and be sensible. Or, as we coined, “True Health C.O.M.E.S. In Time.” Today, we will expand on each facet of that phrase in more detail. Enjoy! Be Well!
Consistency | You will not lose weight if you eat perfectly Monday-Thursday, and on the weekends you gorge yourself on pizza, chips, soda and beer. Be consistent – through days, weeks, months and years – and watch yourself truly transform your health and fitness levels.
That consistency applies to exercise, too. If you workout Monday-Thursday, and sit on the couch all weekend, do not expect optimal results at the end of the month. We’re not saying you have to exercise seven days a week. But we are saying you should be active seven days a week. Take walks, work around the house, walk the dog, or play with your kids on days you do not hit the gym.
Optimism | It’s difficult to quantify, but it’s easy to feel — both when it goes right and when it goes wrong. Nobody likes a Negative Nancy, and complaining will not get you anywhere when it comes time to find a solution to your health problems.
It doesn’t take any extra effort to be optimistic than it does to be pessimistic, but in challenging times, the positive attitude can make all the difference in pushing you further than you thought possible! When pessimists throw in the towel, the true optimist stays strong and pushes even harder and further to achieve their potential!
Moderation | You don’t need to go overboard at the start of an exercise regimen or a new nutrition plan. Doing so may only create a backlash down the road, where you “fall off the wagon,” so to speak, and eat worse than you did before beginning your regimen.
Moderate your exercise and nutrition. You don’t need to be perfect, work out 6 hours per day, or sleep 10 hours every night (although that would be great) – start with manageable goals and work your way forward from there. In due time, your moderation level will be much higher than the point at which you started!
Exercise | An absolutely necessary component. Strengthening your muscles and losing excess fat stores has been consistently documented to greatly improve your health and wellness. Get active – it can be more fun than you think, and there are literally hundreds of different things you can do to get the proper amount and type of exercise for your goals!
Sensibility | Forget the fad diets, the bizarre exercise contraptions, and the empty promises. The only thing that will truly help you lose weight, gain muscle, and become a healthier person in a sensible plan that focuses on all the pillars of proper health: nutrition, flexibility, cardiovascular health, muscular endurance, proper sleep/rest schedule, and proper stress management.
Anything that does not promote these sensible, safe, natural, and sure-fire way to better health should be looked upon with a great deal of skepticism and concern. When considering bizarre-looking health products, or you are almost swayed by infomercial sales pitches, ask yourself this: does this really seem like part of a sensible way to lose weight? If the answer is no, then that product probably is not for you.
Tags: consistency, exercise, fat, fat loss, fit, health, healthy, nutrients, Nutrition, optimism, success, weight, weight loss, weight management, wellness
Posted in Cardiovascular Training, Corporate Fitness, Fitness Tips, FusionSouth Information, General Fitness, Good Workouts, Nutrition, Strength Training, Travel Health Tips | No Comments »
Monday, February 1st, 2010
Today brings the January installment of the monthly FusionSouth feature, Letters From Our Readers. Do you have a letter you want us to answer? Just e-mail us here if you have a fitness, health, or nutrition question you would like us to answer. We’ll respond to you promptly, and we will include a select few on the February edition of Letters. Be Well!
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Dear FusionSouth,
It’s almost summer (ok, like, a few months away), and I am starting to think about skin cancer prevention. I had a scare last summer from too much direct exposure. What can I do differently this summer?
Louisa
Terrell, North Carolina
Hi Louisa!
Great timing with this question (it was sent to us January 23rd), because we just wrote an article about Vitamin D deficiency and sunlight exposure. That being said, there are a few simple, but important, steps you can take to prevent intense direct exposure from sunlight. They include:
1. Amount. The recommended application for adequate protection is 35 to 40ml per person per outdoor experience. This equates to roughly a half-palm size of sunscreen each time you venture outdoors for a significant amount of time.
2. Product. Budget brands are just as effective as the more expensive brands – there is no protection difference between the two.
3. Correct Application. Sunscreen should be applied to clean, dry skin 30 minutes before exposure to the sun; this allows it time to absorb properly into the skin.
4. Reapplication. Perspiration, exercise, swimming and towel-drying removes sun creams from the skin. You should reapply after taking part in any of these activities, even if the product claims to be waterproof.
5. Consistent Application. Overcast weather still requires sunscreen in summer because 80 percent of ultra-violet radiation is still present on cloudy days. Don’t let overcast weather fool you into complacency when it comes to skin protection!
6. Child Application. Children and babies need greater protection so use specially formulated kids ranges with gentler ingredients and higher SPFs.
Hope this helps, Louisa! It is much better to stay safe in the sun now, than be sorry in the future. Thanks so much for your letter!
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Hey guys,
My primary care physician has told me that I need to get more fiber in my diet (I’m a 34 year old, fairly healthy, normal weight male), and gave me a list of foods to eat that can help. What other quick tips do you have for me to be sure I am meeting my fiber needs?
Ronnie
Blacksburg, South Carolina
Hi Ronnie,
As your doctor probably told you, most otherwise healthy adult men need about 38 grams of fiber each day. In most cases, two cups of fruits and vegetables would not be enough to supply that much fiber, and it is necessary to get it from other sources, like whole grains and legumes.
Whole grains and legumes also are good sources of fiber. Most dry beans contain large amounts of fiber and protein, too. In order to get enough fiber every day, you should eat at least three servings of whole grains each day to go along with your fruits and vegetables.
Think about items such as fruit salads, adding vegetables to any soups or stews that you happen to make, eating 100% whole grain bread (avoid anything that says “enriched”), snack on nuts like almonds and cashews, served baked beans as a side dish to meals, include blueberries or strawberries in yogurts and with ice cream, and eat oatmeal and whole grain cereals for breakfast.
Before you know it, you will be up to your recommended daily intake of fiber in no time! Thanks for the question!
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