My realistic New Year's Resolution - Get Healthy

As 2012 comes to an end, it's time to make those New Year's resolution lists finalized (or started?). It's easy to make a resolution list but typically people don't accomplish anything on that list at the end of the year..

So this year, be commited to making a realistic resolution list that you can actually accomplish. The key is to make small changes and scheduling them into your calendar.

Resolutions doesn't have to be life changing or grandiose; it can be small changes but might have big impact in your life. So this year my resolution is to "Get Healthy" and here are the 4 steps I want to take to get there.

1. Get at least 8 hours of sleep per night
Who sleeps 8 hours now a days, it's hard enough getting 6 or 7 hours but sleep is essential for the body to rest and rejuvenate for the next day. With more stress during the day, the best counteract is getting a good night sleep. I noticed that I was better at dealing with the stress if I get good consistent 8 hours of sleep. It's definitely not easy to do but it will be on my list to accomplish this year. I was reading this article on how can you tell if you're sleep deprived?
You may be sleep deprived if you...

• Need an alarm clock in order to wake up on time
• Rely on the snooze button
• Have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning
• Feel sluggish in the afternoon
• Get sleepy in meetings, lectures, or warm rooms
• Get drowsy after heavy meals or when driving
• Need to nap to get through the day
• Fall asleep while watching TV or relaxing in the evening
• Feel the need to sleep in on weekends

2. Drink 3 bottles of water minimum per day by making it a habit
Drinking enough water is difficult to do regularly. I usually don't drink enough though out the day but it's also to help minimize the bathroom breaks I need to take with by busy schedule. But after finishing up the Ultimate Reset, I've seen the benefits of drinking enough water for what your body needs. So I'm committing to forming a habit to drink more water by getting a reminder and carrying a bottle of water every where I go.

3. Make an exercise plan
Without a goal or a plan, exercise doesn't become a priority for me. So this year, I'm going to make a small plan to start slow and work my way up if I can get motiviated. I signed up for Free Team BeachBody membership where I can set goals and it will help me keep track of it. By logging the progress, it will increase awareness and helps you ensure that you're staying on track. This year, I'm going to start with aiming to do some cardio 2x week to get my heart rate up.

4. Cut back on wheat
I've been reading this book "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis and it's scary to see how basic ingredients like wheat has been genetically modified to increase crop yield. The side affects of genetically modified organism(GMO)are not being looked at as much. The Wheat Belly talks about how the body cannot digest the food after it has been modified. Wheat can cause bloating, inflammation, diabetes, just to name a few. So this year, I want to try to eliminate wheat from my diet. Wheat is in everything so it will be difficult to start but the benefits will out weigh the pain.

So wishing you all a happy healthier New Year in 2013.

~~Words of Encouragement``
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
Hebrews 10:24 (NLT)

Dreaming of a White Christmas..snowflake gifts

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas tomorrow and I have an 65% chance of  getting some snow tomorrow :-)  I'm being optimistic that we will have a white Christmas this year, even if it's only with a few inches.   Snow on Christmas makes the holidays more special. The beauty about snow it is made up of a lot of snowflakes and each snowflake is very unique.  There is not two snowflake alike.  Snowflakes reminds me of people.  Each person is as unique as a snowflake, each with their own name and unique personality.  So this Christmas, I decided to make personalized snowflake names, embroidered on scarfs.
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With each person's name, I designed the snowflake to try to match their individual personalities. I tried to make each one special and unique.  The ones for the women were more fun to play with all the script fonts options and the ones for the men, I tried to make them simple and masculine.   I love how they came out, I think they came out pretty awesome for my first try.  I hope they will like the personal touch.

The idea of making the snowflake names come from a YouTube video I saw last year.  It was about how words or music can affect water.  Masuru Emoto experimented with crystallizing water to see what shape the water would talk by speaking positive or negative words.  He published his findings in a series of books called "The Hidden Messages in Water".  It's amazing how words or music can affect the way the water crystals formed.  Watch this video to see the effects, it will blow your mind.

 

I can't compete with water crystal formations or real snowflakes but I can make my own.  Here are the ones I made for the ladies:

Anita

Ann

Debora

Imelda

Janie

Linda

Noreen

Saloni

Shaefali

Silviana

Trivena

To see real snowflakes, check out Marion Owen's blog.  Marion camps out in the cold and takes pictures of actual snowflakes.  They look amazing.  Here are the ones for the men:

Abraham

Eugene

Michael

Lukas

Ryan

Shawn

Each person is unique so hopefully I was able to capture their personalities in these snowflake names. So with that, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. May this be a Christmas full of love, laughter and wonderful memories for you and your loved ones. Christmas is not all about present, don't forget about the "Christ" in Christmas. For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)

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The healthier You for Christmas...

It's the most wonderful time of the year
"It's the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings
And great happy meetings
When friends come to call
It's the hap-happiest season of all"

I love hearing this traditional Christmas song being played on the radio, especially when it's the Andy Williams version of the song. It puts me into such a happy Christmas mood because it makes me realize that it is the most wonderful time of the year, the happiest season of all. It's a time of giving, sharing and fellowship with our friends and family. Don't let all the busyness and hustle &bustle ruin the joy of this Christmas season. Focus on counting the blessings and the good memories being created as you get together with your loved ones.

As you wind down for the year, it's the perfect time to reflect on how your life progressed in the past year. Remember the good things that happened this year. Did you get a promotion or new job? Got married? New baby in the family? New house, car or iPhone :-) It can be a good change whether big or small, it doesn't matter; as long as it brought you some happiness, joy, peace or hope.

And don't forget the hard times too. Whether it was a personal event or not, life can be hard at times and it's how you overcome the obstacle that makes you grow. Were you affected by Hurricane Sandy, financial issues, divorce, lost your job, medical issues? Whatever your trials may be, what's most important is how much you have grown and matured to get through each and every day. It's easier to say that tomorrow will be a better day when you're not living through the situation but when it impacts you directly; it feels like the whole world is crumbling. But there is hope; tomorrow will be better, you will overcome your situation and life goes on one step at a time. Look back to see how much strong you have become this year and the things you have learned through the situation. You are stronger today then you were a week ago. Give yourself some credit for the small accomplishments.. Go You!!

As we look towards the New Year, it's time to take charge of things that you can control: Your Health. This year was the beginning for me to make changes to my health. I decided to take the challenge to just be healthier. I started looking at my food choices first. I don't eat much but when I looked at the things I do eat, there was a lot of carbs and sugar. You don't realize how much snacking throughout the day is a really bad idea.

So I decided to take the Ultimate health challenge by Beach Body. Beach Body is known for Tony Horton's P90 or P90X and a lot of other great exercise programs that you see on TV infomercials but recently they come out with nutritional programs. They added a healthy meal replacement drink called Shakeology and a 21-day reset/detox program called Ultimate Reset. I had friends who tried the reset program and it worked wonders.

The Ultimate reset can help release years of accumulated toxins in your mid section which I had plenty of It's a simple to follow three phase program that will reset your body so you can feel, look, and be healthier in just three weeks!!!
I was hesitant at first but I saw a few of my friends try the program and they felt better and lost some weight in the process.

The Beachbody Ultimate Reset helps to:
• Reclaim your body’s natural balance (Week 1)
• Release the harmful materials you may be storing within you (Week 2)
• Restore your system to its maximum health (Week 3)

It was a body tune up that was gentle to the body and I didn't starve at all.
The benefits of the reset will help to improve your overall health and also help flush organs of toxins, lower your cholesterol, improve your digestion, increase your energy, improve your mood and focus better, eliminate dependencies on sugar and caffeine. I was up for all these benefits and was looking forward to losing some weight in the process.

After having gone through the reset program, I lost 10 lbs, dropped 1 pants size, shirts are looser now.
I was drinking a lot more water daily, my skin looked amazing.. I was getting complements that my skin looked like it was glowing :-)
It has also helped to reduce my sugar intake overall, I don't have the cravings for dessert after dinner or Starbucks coffee in the afternoon. The best part of it was the way my stomach area looked. I was always bloated and it has made the midsection slimmer and softer to the touch. I think most of the weight was lost through all the elimination of the toxins in my abdomen area during the first week.
I've kept off the weight and eating better now. So for this Christmas season, I'll be replacing my baggy clothes to ones that actually fit my new body size :-)

If you're ready to take control of your health in the coming year. Take the Ultimate Health Challenge and reset your body with Ultimate Reset.



~~Words of Encouragement~~
The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. Deuteronomy 28:8 (NLT)