Unusual Signs You'll Live longer Than You Imagined

With my 40th birthday looming ahead of me in the next few weeks I do sometimes think (not to be morbid or anything) of how long I will live and if my life is half over, etc, etc (you get the point). I saw this article on “Surprising Signs You’ll Live Longer Than You Think” and could not resist sharing it with you. Now, I will say this, I do want to live a long time more (as long as I am in good health and can take care of myself) but I don’t want to outlive everyone in my peer group. You know those stories you read about last living survivor of the Titanic, or oldest living woman-well I don’t want to be that old but you know-within reason. Anyway, I could go on and on so I will stop before you think I am really over thinking this (because of course I am) and get onto the signs.

Signs You’ll Live Longer Than You Imagined

*Your mom had you young-If your mom had you when she was under the age of 25, you’re twice as likely to live to 100 as someone born to an older mom (uh oh now I feel bad for my kids-I had them in my 30’s). The theory is that younger moms’ best eggs go first to fertilization, thus healthier offspring.

*You love to drink tea-Both green and black teas contain a concentrated dose of catechins, substances that help blood vessels relax and protect your heart. In a study of more than 40, 500 Japanese men and women , those who drank 5 or more cups of green tea every day had the lowest risk of dying from heart disease and stroke. You really need only 1 or 2 cups of tea daily to start doing your heart some good-just make sure it’s a fresh brew. Ready-to-drink teas don’t offer the same health benefits (once water is added to the the tea leaves the catechins start to degrade). Hmmmmm- I drink at least 5 cups of green tea a day but I must say it is not fresh brew. I need to consider this.

*You’re a walker-People who walk for about 30 minutes a day are more likely to live longer regardless of how much body fat they have.

*You are not a soda drinker (even diet)-As I sit here with my sinful yet delicious bad habit diet Pepsi (my main vice next to chocolate) this article says that scientists in Boston found that drinking one or more regular or diet colas everyday doubles your risk of metabolic syndrome-a cluster of conditions, including high blood pressure, elevated insulin levels, and excess fat around the waist that increase your chance of heart disease and diabetes . I know soda is horrible and diet especially but for some reason I occasionally crave it and when I have a lot of stress (like now) I want a rude diet Pepsi to soothe me. It is just one of those things that you know you should not be doing but cannot quite help yourself (I tend to do this on occasion).

*You eat purple food- I have said this many, many times but Concord grapes, blueberries, red wine (no, this is not an excuse to go get drunk on red wine) : They all get that deep, rich color from polyphenols (compounds that reduce heart disease risk and may also protect against Alzheimer’s disease). Polyphenols help keep blood vessels and arteries flexible and healthy. Researchers found that eating 1 or more cups of blueberries every day may improve communication between brain cells, enhancing your memory.

*You are not a burger eater (hooray-save the cows on this one)- A few palm-size servings of beef, pork, or lamb now and then is no big deal (it is for who you are eating-okay off my animal rights soapbox) but eating more than 18 ounces of red meat per week ups your risk of colorectal cancer (the third most common type). Colorectal cancer risk also rises by 42% with every 3 ½ ounce serving of processed meat (think deli meats, bacon, hot dogs) eaten per day. I don’t want to say I told you so but uh huh.

*You have good friendships- having good friendships help alleviate stress and knowing that you have people who support you keeps you healthy mentally and physically.

*You don’t have a housekeeper-okay I am on this one-not only do I not have a housekeeper, I am the housekeeper (does that make sense?)- The average person can burn about 285 calories (lowering risk of death by 30% according to a study of 302 adults in their 70’s and 80’s) just by mopping, vacuuming, or washing windows for a little more than an hour.

*You have a positive outlook on life- In Sardinia and Okinawa, where people live the longest (I never knew this), hard work is important, but not more than spending time with family, nurturing spirituality and doing for others. I really think doing for others is the key-I never feel better than when I do something selfless to help an animal or person.

So, how did your lifestyle stack up to these live longer signs?

Ref-my new favorite magazine-Prevention November 2008.

Food For Thought- Eat To Make Better Choices

While at my doctor’s office yesterday I picked up the November, 2008 issue of Prevention magazine (usually I head straight for the gossip mags but instead opted for the health one and I am so proud) and found this really interesting information that I thought you would find as titillating as I did. It really does seem what we eat makes a difference in everything we do.

“In a new study , researchers found that people tend to react more aggressively and impulsively when levels of the brain chemical serotonin are low; eating regularly helps maintain serotonin which keeps you on an even keel. (it would be nice if this was my problem-easy to fix-but probably not)

On two occasions, scientists gave adults either a drink that decreased serotonin levels or one that maintained them, and then asked the people to negotiate with a partner. Those with higher serotonin levels were less swayed by emotions and their decisions led to better outcomes. “ Okay, maybe this is my problem because sometimes I can make some very impulsive and bad decisions based solely on my emotions.

Think snacks that combine carbs and tryptophan-rich food (dairy, soy, or poultry), such as whole grain crackers and cheese: both help to keep serotonin high. A few more healthy options are: turkey, black eyed-peas, black and English walnuts, almonds, sesame or pumpkin seeds, and cheddar, gruyere or swiss cheese. Also helping to a lesser extent are whole grains, rice, and other dairy products .I have also heard that candy such as chocolate (I just knew it-maybe this is why I feel so good after eating it) can have the same effect but is really not your healthiest option."

So, now before negotiating with anyone or making any important decisions I am going to grab some almonds and crackers and cheese and hopefully the outcome and my decisions will be favorable. I can just see myself in the boardroom at work eating almonds( and saying I cannot decide until the serotonin effect has kicked in) as we discuss what to do or mid argument with someone telling them to hold on that I need my serotonin levels raised in order to discuss this. They will think I am more of a nut than they already do-oh well. Give this a try and let me know what you think!

Health Nut Wannabee Mom Becomes Bikini Mom- Tips To Get Into That Bikini Finally!

Do you remember when you were a little kid and something really scared you but then you got older and it just did not seem so bad? I was always like that with the high dive. I wanted to jump off of it and would climb to the top only to have to climb back down-I was so scared. As I got older and more experienced with swimming and diving I got closer and closer to actually jumping off the high dive until the glorious day that I actually did it (I was so proud-I still remember). All the fears, insecurities and hard work had paid off (I was still scared but more confident in my ability to not die jumping off). Well, that is how I feel about posting a picture of myself in a bikini-terrified yet more confident than ever in my life. When I was 18 I could never have done it, 25 uhuh, 30 Pleeezzzzzeee, 35 dear God I had just had a baby but now at almost 40 years of age and two kids later I am doing it and I will tell you why.

This body I now have (not perfect by any means but not bad for my age I think) is a testament to my learning to eat healthy, workout in a way that was most beneficial to my lifestyle and to listen to what my body was saying. I started Health Nut Wannabe Mom blog to become healthier and share what I learned with all of you. Now, almost a year later here I am a much healthier and happier individual. I have always been thin but according to Christoper Warden my previous online personal trainer and a New York fitness professional, I was what might be called-"skinny fat". Thin but with no muscle, tone or definition. Christopher whipped me into shape with a strength training routine that I learned to love (after much cursing and whining) and saw almost immediate results with (I encourage you to visit Christopher's blog Fitness Philosopher). The next thing that I did was to change my eating habits which were dismal at best. I lived on carbohydrates and anything with sugar. Below are my secrets to staying thin and healthy.

My Health and Diet Tips

Strength Training-Lots of light weights, pushups (I hate them but they work), lunges, and just basic resistance exercises every other day.

Nuts- I love to eat almonds, cashews, peanuts (unsalted are best for you) and a variety of other nuts as well. They taste great and fill me up so that I do not reach for the chips or pizza that I so love.

Tea- I drink at least 5-6 cups of green, white, or black tea a day! Sometimes this is difficult but the benefits are amazing as tea is a diuretic and really has an amazing amount of antioxidants to keep your body healthy.

Water-I drink at the very least half of my body weight in water a day (ex-if you weigh 100 lbs it is recommended to drink 50 ounces of water a day). I have tried to replace my beloved diet Pepsi with water for the most part and this has been tantamount to my success. I also add lemon to my water whenever possible as I have heard it acts as a diuretic weight loss tool.

Fruits and Vegetables-I eat mainly a rainbow of fruits and vegetables and the low sugar fruits (like pineapple) especially. Instead of reaching for a candy bar, cookie, etc I go for the fruit (not always what I want but necessary) most of the time. When I cannot fit in my fruits and veggies I still get the benefits with my whole food supplements-POPS.

Organic dairy- I really am not a big supporter of dairy products but being a very strict vegetarian I have to compromise at this time so I eat tons of organic cheeses, cottage cheese and plain yogurt with fresh or frozen fruit on top.

Olive Oil- I take a teaspoon of olive oil everyday! This is great for your skin!

Flax Seed- I either have ground flax seed on a salad or take a spoonful of flax seed oil everyday to get my all important omega 3 fatty acids in.

Eat Many Small Meals A Day- I rarely sit down and eat a large meal. Instead of a big breakfast, lunch or dinner I snack all day on the aforementioned foods. This keeps my metabolism going and keeps me full and satisfied.

Avoid Meat, Alcohol and Sugar and Fast Food-I try to either not have these at all (no meat never) or if so in very small amounts.

And finally the truth comes out- when I want my chocolate and diet Pepsi, pizza, fries or any other very bad for me food I have it. I have it in moderation (except in those moments of extreme duress and then it gets very ugly). I believe that the more you deny yourself something the more that you want it (this is unfortunately true with more than food for me) so go ahead and have it but have it in moderation. So, those are my fit at forty (okay almost forty) secrets. Do you have any great tips to share? I am always looking for more!

Stress Free With These Stressbusting Tips!

Stress, stress, stress. We all experience stress and with all the holidays coming up I thought now would be a good time to address how stress really affects you physically and mentally and give you some tips on how to bust that stress away.

Our bodies respond to stress both positive and negative, by trying to get back to normal. Depending on the stressor (whatever is causing you stress), hormones , like adrenalin, may surge. Your heartbeat and blood pressure will probably increase, your blood sugar rises and if you are lucky enough to be like me your entire body will be covered in hives. If stressful situations go on for too long without any relief, you might experience diseases and disorders, such as colds, ulcers, asthma, heart attack or stroke to name a few. You may feel tired, irritable, depressed or anxious and have trouble sleeping or eating.

Research has identified the stress response as a factor in many stress related illnesses. Now there is evidence that stress can weaken the immune. The hormones cortisone and adrenaline released in response to stress are such potent suppressors of the immune system that they are sometimes prescribed for disorders in which the immune system is overactive-such as allergies and autoimmune diseases.

The key is to take care of your body and your mind to avoid stress. When your mind is healthy, your body can resist illness better. When your body is healthy, your feelings are more positive.

Minimize Stress With These Tips

-Give your time to something or someone that you believe in. I do this with animal rescue and it really does work to alleviate the stress from other parts of my life. There is no better feeling than giving and helping others for the sake of being truly kind and caring.

-Avoid excessive alcohol, caffeine, fats and sugar. Don’t Smoke. What you eat and drink really affects your body and by indulging in an unhealthy diet you are really just adding to the stress. I will be the first to admit that when I feel stressed I want diet Pepsi and chocolate so I need to work on this (hard, very hard). Have an apple instead of a cookie (this really sounds not very appealing but if it works it is worth a shot).

-Exercise regularly. Whether you like to walk, do weights, or whatever it may be for you just keep moving . I always feel much better after a great workout at the gym.

-Take time for yourself to relax each day. Meditate, go sit by the water, read your favorite book. Whatever it is for you that relaxes you take even 5-10 minutes a day to do this for yourself.

-Learn to “let go” of things which are outside of your control. Learn to adapt to change. This one is hard for me a lot of the time because I want things to go my way and I keep trying so I need to work on letting it go.

Hopefully you follow at least a few of these and they help with your stress levels. Good luck!

Back To Life, Back To Reality

I returned from a wonderful and life changing vacation in Costa Rica last night. I had an amazing time and it was just what I needed. I met some interesting and very nice people, ate and ate and ate, saw monkeys, lizards, and beauty beyond my imagination.

I appreciate all the great entrecard droppers who dropped on me when I was not here and doing return drops and all of you who left comments. I will be doing return drops and comments over the next few days so thanks for being so loyal. I also want to say a special thank you to Robin and John for their great guest posts!!!

I should have a health post up in the next couple of days!

P.S. I took that picture of the cute monkey! There was a group living in the trees by our hotel and I was absolutely fascinated with those monkeys! I wish the trees in my backyard had monkeys living in them.

Please Welcome My Guest Blogger

Since I am in Costa Rica right now I invited a couple bloggers to do guest posts and Robin from Healthy Living kindly agreed to tell you a little about how she lost weight and some of her secrets. Robin has a great blog and I love stopping by. I hope you will too. Thanks Robin!

Healthy Meal, Nutritional Shake

by Robin from Healthy Living

Hi everybody,

Start your day the right way and get all the vitamins and nutrients you need!

I recommend our nutritious shake for good health and weight management. Eating healthy doesn't mean depriving yourself!

This is a healthy meal that provides an ideal balance of protein and nutrition to help satisfy your hunger and give you lasting energy.

This is also heart smart for you with 25 grams of soy protein a day, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease. One serving of this healthy shake provides 9 grams of soy protein.

For Weight Loss: Replace two meals daily with a healthy shake and eat one nutritious meal. Optimizing your daily protein intake can assist with feeling full and help maintain and build your lean muscle mass. Published research on meal-replacement shakes indicates that taking two shakes daily, as meal replacements, are effective for weight loss. Snack on healthy choices.

For Healthy Nutrition and Weight Management: Enjoy 1 shake every day as a healthy meal. Published research on meal-replacement shakes indicate that taking 1 shake daily, as a meal replacement, helps maintain long-term weight loss. We recommend adding personalized protein powder to optimize your protein intake.

A healthy weight-loss program should include modest calorie intake, balanced diet and regular physical activity.

Formula 1 Nutritional Shake Mix comes in many mouth watering flavors, including Cookies 'n Cream, Pina Colada, Dutch Chocolate, Vanilla, Wild Berry, Tropical Fruit and our newest flavor Café Latte.

It's scientifically formulated to give you the nutrition of a complete meal - satisfying your hunger and your taste buds for easier, healthier weight loss.

* Eight delicious flavors.
* Up to 20 essential vitamins and minerals, plus health-enhancing herbs.
* 9 grams of soy protein and healthy fiber.

Before beginning any weight-control program, it is advisable to consult a physician. This is especially important for individuals with chronic kidney problems or insulin-dependent diabetes.

I love Herbalife, I personally use their products and they are just a safer way to get healthier. I lost 35 pounds and was walking proof that the products worked. I am a proud Herbalife Independent Distributor. I hope to help many people to change their life and to live longer. Any questions, please let me know. You have to take care of your health, if you want to live your life to the fullest. All the money in the world means nothing, if you don't live to enjoy it. This is just food nutrition for your body. No prescription drugs here.

There is just so much excellent information here, but Herbalife won't let me publish their articles on my blog. I called them and they said no. So, if your interested Please visit my site to learn more about Herbalife & their incredible products. Thanks for reading and take care of your health everybody! I recommend a health shake to help you get started. I use original soymilk with my dutch chocolate shake meal. YUMMY To My Tummy

Falling Down and How To Get Back Up-Weight Loss

I am so excited to introduce John from ezgreatlife as one of my guest bloggers while I am in Costa Rica. I know you will enjoy this!!!! Miss you all! Thanks John for doing this and I hope you will all stop by his blog like I do each day. By the way, John even wrote this with a broken arm. Now that is a true blogger and friend!

Falling Down and How To Get Back Up


As I began to approach 40, I realized that something about me had changed. Gradually changed. Fundamentally changed. It's as if I woke up one morning, just before Christmas 2007 and had an epiphany. I looked in the mirror and was smacked in the face with a reality check. There was more of me to love, considerably more! That's an indirect, polite way of saying that I had gained a lot of weight. Years of overindulging in my favorite dishes and neglecting my body had taken it's toll.

I was really upset with myself for letting things get out of hand. I pondered what to do about it for several days. I came up with a plan of attack, based in part on what I had learned when I quit smoking almost 12 years ago.

Am I Committed?

To me, the first step in dealing with a problem like the need to lose weight is making the decision that you REALLY want to lose weight. That may sound overly simple, maybe even obvious. But, many people "want" to obtain things like weight loss but are not serious and committed. They are not willing to make the necessary changes to achieve their goals. If you are not wholeheartedly committed, you will fail miserably. I quit smoking a half dozen times before I quit for good. The difference? I finally decided that I really wanted to quit and made up my mind that I was willing to give up the pleasures of smoking. It was not until I developed the mind set of being smoke free that I actually quit for good.

"One half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it. " ~Sidney Howard

The second step in my process was defining some clear goals. I decided to define three main goals to help reach my objectives.

**Start Exercising
I began walking 2 miles a day, one in the morning before work and one in the evening. I adopted a puppy and made a deal with my daughter that we would help motivate each other. And of course, now we have a puppy who LOVES to go for walks.
**Try to eat more healthy foods
I dramatically increased my fruits and vegetables. I began eating several healthy snacks throughout the day to decrease my hunger. I try to cook some veggie meals every week, in place of meat dishes. I try to avoid junk food.
**Lose 25 lbs
This was a lofty goal at the time. I began this one on New Years Day 2008. I was able to achieve this goal on April 7, 2008. I was able to obtain this one mainly due to my mindset. That I was going to stick to my new eating habits and exercise program.

And lastly, you have to just DO IT! Motivate yourself. Push yourself. Work towards the end result.

Houston, We Have A Problem

Everything was going as planned, until mid-summer. I was very busy at work. My daughter was out of school, working and hanging out with friends. Our family settled into summer, hanging out at the pool and the beach on weekends. We cooked out on the grill every chance we had. To make a long story short, I fell off the wagon. We had a very fun summer, but now it was time to pay the piper.

Fall had arrived. I was feeling REALLY guilty about letting everything go. I needed to get back on track and fast! I made myself a To-do list of things I had neglected around the house. I decided to get back on my diet and exercise plans. My daughter and I re-committed to help motivate each other and resume our daily walks. Things were looking brighter. I was feeling great.

And Then It Happened

My wife and I decided to take the family to the mountains the first weekend in October. We planned a fun trip of sightseeing and hiking. At the end of the second day, while on a four mile hike, I had an accident and broke my arm.

I was heavily sedated for two weeks. I gained ten pounds. I was feeling depressed. Something had to give.

Do Not Pass Go, Return To Start

So here I am, a year later, almost where I started out. I have decided to pick up where I left off. Pull myself up by the boot straps. I am having trouble walking everyday, due to my arm continuing to swell (when not raised above my heart). I should get the cast off in 3-4 weeks and I will begin physical therapy. In the mean time, my son has offered to help get me back in shape. He is going to start walking with me and the dog. I have GREAT kids! It is going to be a tough road, but the end result is my motivation.

Whether you want to quit smoking, lose weight or just start an exercise program, try the following. And when you suffer setbacks, revisit this list to help get back on track.

**Make the commitment to yourself
**Define your goal(s) **Imagine yourself the way you want to be **Remind yourself of what motivates you **Enlist a partner, help motivate each other
There you have it. Simple right? As you probably know, it's easy to talk about, much harder to do. But with a good set of goals, persistence and a little motivation, you can and will achieve your desired results.


John Bristol
How I lost 25 lbs in 4 Months
http://www.ezgreatlife.com/2008/04/10/how-i-lost-25-lbs-in-4-months