Weight Loss: Setting Realistic Goals

Losing weight is not an easy task for most. A common mistake that people make when they attempt to lose weight is setting their goals too high instead of keeping within realistic limits. If you consider that it takes a 3500-calorie deficit in order to lose just one pound each week you will understand that expecting to lose more than a couple of pounds per week is not advisable. If you do so you will be setting yourself up for possible disappointment. In doing this you will likely lose interest in your endeavors and be subject to discouragement and defeat. … Continue reading

Want to Know How to Decrease Stress?

Want to know how to ease stress in your life and that of your spouse? Scientists have come up with the answer – to kiss stress goodbye, literally. Displays of affection ease stress levels. That’s the conclusion that scientists have come to, after conducting a week long study with a number of mostly married couples. The act of kissing, ‘unleashes chemicals that ease stress hormones in both sexes.’ Scientists dicovered that the couples that engaged in more physical contact, ranging from holding hands to sexual intercourse, had lower levels of cortisol, in their saliva. Cortisol is often referred to as … Continue reading

Preventing Neck and Back Injuries

Did you know that 8 out of 10 people will see a physician for back pain some time in their life? As anyone who has had a problem with their back can tell you: it’s a problem, and it’s debilitating. Taking care of your back is serious business, but often we take it for granted. Often, a lot of our problems with our neck and back could be prevented if we were more aware of (and nicer to) our bodies. Let’s start with posture. Your mother, and your piano teacher, knew what they were talking about when they said “don’t … Continue reading

The Marriage Blog Week in Review – Jan 6 – Jan 12

Welcome to the weekend and here is hoping it’s a restful one for you and your family. For many of us, it’s a three-day weekend and those always hold a bit of special appeal. So while your weekend is just getting started, let’s close the books on the last week and the articles we’ve been packing in to bring you the best information we can. We’ve tackled issues from wedding planning to sympathy pains to answering questions about sex and much, much more. So here it is, the Marriage Blog week in review: Saturday, January 6 Sympathy Pains: Fact or … Continue reading

“American Idol” Winner Turns Into Big Loser

“American Idol” winner Ruben Studdard may be Alabama’s biggest loser… when it comes to pounds. Studdard’s recent weight loss of more than 100 pounds is serving as inspiration for a new weight loss program targeted at residents of his home state. The 28-year-old singer just unveiled his new plan to help overweight Alabama residents, telling them that he wants them to follow in his footsteps. According to local newspapers, the “Velvet Teddy Bear” – whose third album, “The Return,” was released in October – is asking the 25% of Alabama’s overweight residents to shed 10 pounds in eight weeks. The … Continue reading

Tips for Post Partum Exercise

There is a lot to be said about post partum exercise. Whether the motivation is to lose pregnancy weight, get fit after baby, or to simply get back into the routine (all of these are my motivation to exercise post partum), there are a number of things that you can do to make your post partum workouts a success. First and foremost: mental preparation. You need to get it in your head that you are going to start working out as soon as you are physically able be it four weeks post partum or twelve weeks post partum. Based on … Continue reading

The Benefits of Flexibility Exercises

In my last blog I talked about the benefits of cardio, something I have recently incorporated more of into my fitness routine. Despite wanting to spend more of my fitness regimen doing cardio (with my biggest goal right now being to lose weight), I know that I also need flexibility exercises. Flexibility exercises have many benefits. Perhaps you are like me when it’s time to stretch. You sit down on your bottom, stretch your legs out in front of you and attempt to reach your toes. Notice the word “attempt.” I can’t do that…yet. But with flexibility exercises, my body … Continue reading

Fitness Is Good for Your Health

While many of us look at fitness as a way to lose weight or tone up, we cannot underestimate another benefit to it. Fitness is good for your health. The reason I think this is important to focus on is because there are many out there who have tried fitness and for whatever reason, it hasn’t led to significant weight loss. Sometimes it is a matter of metabolism, your age or if you are a woman, going through a hormonal stage such as menopause. There are times, particularly once you get older, that losing weight becomes difficult no matter how … Continue reading

Top Ten Reasons to Exercise

Today I would like to share the top ten reasons to exercise. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the benefits and why it’s worth the challenge and time. It can be a great motivator. Working backwards, the number ten reason to exercise is to improve your breathing. When you first begin to exercise you will notice that you are easily short of breath, just as you might be walking up stairs. However exercise will improve your breathing. The ninth reason to exercise is that it improves your body’s overall strength. The eighth reason to exercise is that it helps … Continue reading

The Benefits of Fish Oil

I have been taking fish oil for several months now. There are a few health benefits to fish oil that you may not be aware of. One of the main reasons that I began taking fish oil is because of concerns with my heart. I have a mild case of tricuspid regurgitation, which means that when my right ventricle contracts some of the blood that pumps through leaks back into the tricuspid valve. From what I have been told it is so mild there is no real concern. I have never been completely sold on that. Any possibility of a … Continue reading