Down to our very core, we are wired to work as efficiently as possible. Habits are the manifestation of that truth. As Charles Duhigg writes in The Power of Habit, "When a habit emerges, the brain stops fully participating in decision making. It stops working so hard, or diverts focus to other tasks, So unless you deliberately fight a habit--unless you find new routines--the pattern will unfold automatically."
As Duhigg explains, habits are stored in the basal ganglia, a primitive part of our brain responsible for basic bodily functions. Rather than having to think, remember, or decide, the basal ganglia enables us to save energy by simply doing tasks without thinking when they are a repeated activity. For example, we don't really think when we reach to turn on the light switch, we just automatically know where it is in the room and how high up the wall it is located. When we move, sometimes we reach for the wrong spot before we realize that we're not in the same house any more. This is our basal ganglia at work. But as Duhigg points out, "Habits aren't destiny... habits can be ignored, changed, or replaced." Just as in the light switch example, we can train our basal ganglia to record a new pattern.
Why spend all this time talking about habits? Because habits are the reason you turn into Starbucks in the morning. They become automatic behaviors that we do just because we've trained ourselves to do them. Sometimes we don't stop to think if we're tired and need coffee or if we're actually hungry, we just pour our cup of joe and reach for a croissant. Think about it, how many times have you reached for a snack when you actually weren't hungry at all? Christina, a friend of mine in college told me that every time she studied she craved M&Ms. When she thought about it, she realized that she used to keep a jar of M&Ms on her desk in high school. Every time she studied, she snacked on M&Ms. Over time her basal ganglia created a habit. M&Ms and studying were storied together as one activity. So as a freshman living in the dorms, she found herself walking to the snack machine to buy a bag of M&Ms every time she sat down to study. In truth she didn't REALLY want the M&Ms, she just thought she did. When she realized what was happening she decided to replace M&Ms with baby carrots. It took some time, but before she knew it, if she didn't have her baby carrots, she could barely focus on her studies. The brain is strange sometimes, but it does what it does to save us the extra effort of having to think about things too much. The problem is that it can be dangerous to stop thinking about what we're feeding our bodies. So what's the best way to stop a habitual pattern? Well rather than struggle with trying to stop it entirely, we should look to try to change it. The same concept applies to training a dog. If a dog barks when a stranger comes to the door, you will wear yourself out trying to STOP her from doing it (trust me, I know!) However, if you introduce a new behavior such as to sit or shake and a reward, a new habit will form, and hopefully for your own sanity the old habit will cease.
So how do we form a new habit? Habits are formed in what Duhigg calls "The Habit Loop". The loop consists of a cue, a routine, and a reward. Remember the famous Pavlov's Dog experiments? Pavlov rang a bell and gave the dog food. He repeated this routine several times, and over time, Pavlov could trigger conditioned response, salivation in the dog, without ever presenting the reward (food). Essentially, Pavlov created a habit in the dog.
The consumer industry works to play off of our habit formation, using cues to trigger certain automatic routines without us ever even realizing it! So the first thing to do, is to recognize what our habits are. Then we can work to adjust those habits over time, but we'll actually need to train our brains to do so. Each morning when you wake up, what do you do? Push the snooze alarm? Stumble out of bed to start a pot of coffee? Brush your teeth? All of these things are habits that we've trained ourselves to do. They all start with a cue (the alarm clock), a routine (push snooze, brush teeth, make coffee), and a reward (extra sleep, clean teeth/feeling of confidence, cup of coffee/caffeine buzz). To change some of these habits we need to make a mental commitment to a new activity. And we need to be very careful about how we reward ourselves. All too often we use food as a reward. Find something that you like that can be an alternative reward to food. For example, treat yourself to a nice hot foot soak, allow yourself a nap in the middle of the day, paint your nails, or go on a nice drive. Something. Anything that works in a healthy way for you, but remember, this will become a habit so be careful what you choose as your reward. Eventually you can remove the reward, but if the reward is chocolate, I find that too often it gets stuck as part of the habit (at least it does for me!) If you must use food as a reward, that is OKAY, but make sure you choose something healthy. We will talk soon about what foods actually ARE healthy (they may not be what you had imagined), and which foods the industry tries to convince you are healthy (milk, for example).
So this week, try to focus on recognizing your habits. Even if you don't work on changing them just yet, start thinking about possible new habits we can replace the old habits with and how we can train our brains to store the new activities as habits (remember the Habit Loop: cue, routine, reward).
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Day One
Day 1:
Health is a combination of several things, but we're going to work on two of the main aspects: Nutrition and Exercise (or physical fitness).
NUTRITION
Add a Green Smoothie to your daily routine IN PLACE OF your normal breakfast.
Whatever you eat for breakfast, whether it's a bagel, a fast food breakfast sandwich, or nothing at all, you're going to make a switch. Once you taste the smoothie, this will be easy. It's convincing yourself to give it that first try that will be hard. So let's make a deal. We'll start with a nice fruity flavorful green smoothie. You will TRUST ME and TRY IT OUT! It looks daunting but it's actually quite tasty. Then over the next days and weeks you'll gradually start adding a higher ratio of greens to fruits. So below is the recipe for a very fruity, sweet version of this green smoothie. It's time to break out the blender!
Ingredients:
1 Apple
1 Banana
1 Handful of Green Grapes
1 Handful of Frozen Pineapple Chunks
1-2 Stalks of Kale (with stems removed)
1 Small Handful of Spinach
3-4 Ice Cubes
Blend all ingredients WELL. This may take up to 2 full minutes at a high speed. If the consistency it too think for your taste, add a small amount of water. If it is not sweet enough for you, add one pitted date, but TRY it first because it is very sweet. Over time gradually alter the ingredients until you're at half fruit and half greens.
As you can see, this is actually quite a bit of food, so DON'T drink this in addition to your normal breakfast, but rather REPLACE it! That being said, if you don't normally eat breakfast, DO add this to your routine in the morning. This way when it comes time for lunch, your body will not be starving and you will likely eat less. Also, your body will not reserve as much fat to get through that fasting period of time during the mornings.
EXERCISE
Every healthy lifestyle includes some amount of exercise. That have to mean hitting the treadmill or taking an aerobics class. It simply means MOVING! That could be gardening, going on a bike ride, building a dog house, whatever! So it may help to motivate yourself by finding a new hobby that involves physical labor. That means getting up off your duff and getting active. One neat option is to volunteer! You could start working with a soup kitchen or helping to clean an elderly persons home. It could even be something you could do for someone you know. Perhaps your mom, dad, aunt or uncle could use a little help around the house. Or maybe you know someone who's recently had a baby. Volunteering has the extra bonus that it makes you feel good!
If you simply can't think of anything, just start out with what we talked about in my last blog entry: ban the microwave and start cooking your meals from scratch! If you already cook but opt for pre-cut fruits & veggies, start chopping! You can also begin doing extra trips to the mailbox or increasing the amount or frequency of any other daily routine. We will get into some more challenging exercises further down the road, but again, it's important that you start slowly and build up.
Also, try adding some stretches (see below) to your daily routine.
These would be best during the mornings but will work any time. Just make sure you're consistent to do it the same time every day. This will help to form a habit (more on habits coming soon).
Important Rules for Stretching:
1) Never bounce! Slowly work to your limit and hold for 30 seconds and then release.
2) Never stretch to pain! When you feel pain it means you are over stretching your muscles which can cause damage and a great deal of soreness. If you're not sure how far to go to get an effective stretch you can go to the point where you start feeling the first inkling of pain, and then quickly back off until the pain is gone and hold there. However, most people have a natural sense of what their limit is and can stretch to their level of comfort and achieve the perfect stretch, so do what works best for you as long as you never hold your stretch in a spot that causes pain.
3) Trust your instincts! If something tells you that a certain stretch is not good for you, don't do it! For example, if you feel off balance while bending to touch you toes alter the stretch by either doing it next to a chair you hold for support, or simply do it while sitting down. If you have an old injury that gets aggravated by certain movements, alter the stretch to make it work for you. Try not to compare to what anyone else can do. You know yourself. Do what works for you!
Some stretching suggestions are:
Toe Touch. While standing bend over to touch your toes (or knees if you can't make it that far)
The Sky Is the Limit. Stretch your arms to the sky as high as they will go (you can even go to tip toe if you have the balance)
Side Bend. With legs spread apart and toes facing forward, reach one hand down your thigh towards your calf or foot (depending on how far you can go) and reach the other hand up over your head. If you have trouble balancing, hold onto the back of a chair placed in front of you with the hand that would go over the head. Alternate sides.
Butterfly. Sit with feet together and knees splayed to either side and practice a "butterfly" stretch.
We will add some yoga poses soon to incorporate breathing exercises while you stretch.
Health is a combination of several things, but we're going to work on two of the main aspects: Nutrition and Exercise (or physical fitness).
NUTRITION
Add a Green Smoothie to your daily routine IN PLACE OF your normal breakfast.
Whatever you eat for breakfast, whether it's a bagel, a fast food breakfast sandwich, or nothing at all, you're going to make a switch. Once you taste the smoothie, this will be easy. It's convincing yourself to give it that first try that will be hard. So let's make a deal. We'll start with a nice fruity flavorful green smoothie. You will TRUST ME and TRY IT OUT! It looks daunting but it's actually quite tasty. Then over the next days and weeks you'll gradually start adding a higher ratio of greens to fruits. So below is the recipe for a very fruity, sweet version of this green smoothie. It's time to break out the blender!
Ingredients:
1 Apple
1 Banana
1 Handful of Green Grapes
1 Handful of Frozen Pineapple Chunks
1-2 Stalks of Kale (with stems removed)
1 Small Handful of Spinach
3-4 Ice Cubes
Blend all ingredients WELL. This may take up to 2 full minutes at a high speed. If the consistency it too think for your taste, add a small amount of water. If it is not sweet enough for you, add one pitted date, but TRY it first because it is very sweet. Over time gradually alter the ingredients until you're at half fruit and half greens.
As you can see, this is actually quite a bit of food, so DON'T drink this in addition to your normal breakfast, but rather REPLACE it! That being said, if you don't normally eat breakfast, DO add this to your routine in the morning. This way when it comes time for lunch, your body will not be starving and you will likely eat less. Also, your body will not reserve as much fat to get through that fasting period of time during the mornings.
EXERCISE
Every healthy lifestyle includes some amount of exercise. That have to mean hitting the treadmill or taking an aerobics class. It simply means MOVING! That could be gardening, going on a bike ride, building a dog house, whatever! So it may help to motivate yourself by finding a new hobby that involves physical labor. That means getting up off your duff and getting active. One neat option is to volunteer! You could start working with a soup kitchen or helping to clean an elderly persons home. It could even be something you could do for someone you know. Perhaps your mom, dad, aunt or uncle could use a little help around the house. Or maybe you know someone who's recently had a baby. Volunteering has the extra bonus that it makes you feel good!
If you simply can't think of anything, just start out with what we talked about in my last blog entry: ban the microwave and start cooking your meals from scratch! If you already cook but opt for pre-cut fruits & veggies, start chopping! You can also begin doing extra trips to the mailbox or increasing the amount or frequency of any other daily routine. We will get into some more challenging exercises further down the road, but again, it's important that you start slowly and build up.
Also, try adding some stretches (see below) to your daily routine.
These would be best during the mornings but will work any time. Just make sure you're consistent to do it the same time every day. This will help to form a habit (more on habits coming soon).
Important Rules for Stretching:
1) Never bounce! Slowly work to your limit and hold for 30 seconds and then release.
2) Never stretch to pain! When you feel pain it means you are over stretching your muscles which can cause damage and a great deal of soreness. If you're not sure how far to go to get an effective stretch you can go to the point where you start feeling the first inkling of pain, and then quickly back off until the pain is gone and hold there. However, most people have a natural sense of what their limit is and can stretch to their level of comfort and achieve the perfect stretch, so do what works best for you as long as you never hold your stretch in a spot that causes pain.
3) Trust your instincts! If something tells you that a certain stretch is not good for you, don't do it! For example, if you feel off balance while bending to touch you toes alter the stretch by either doing it next to a chair you hold for support, or simply do it while sitting down. If you have an old injury that gets aggravated by certain movements, alter the stretch to make it work for you. Try not to compare to what anyone else can do. You know yourself. Do what works for you!
Some stretching suggestions are:
Toe Touch. While standing bend over to touch your toes (or knees if you can't make it that far)
The Sky Is the Limit. Stretch your arms to the sky as high as they will go (you can even go to tip toe if you have the balance)
Side Bend. With legs spread apart and toes facing forward, reach one hand down your thigh towards your calf or foot (depending on how far you can go) and reach the other hand up over your head. If you have trouble balancing, hold onto the back of a chair placed in front of you with the hand that would go over the head. Alternate sides.
Butterfly. Sit with feet together and knees splayed to either side and practice a "butterfly" stretch.
We will add some yoga poses soon to incorporate breathing exercises while you stretch.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Starting out...
Taking on a new "diet" is tough. I mean REALLY tough! But there are some things you can do to make it not so bad. First of all "diet" is a really silly word. It can mean many things, and all too often it takes on a negative connotation. So let's just throw that word out the window before we go any further. Second, a healthy lifestyle is always one that is in balance. When talking about weight loss, we need a specific type of balance. That is the balance between our nutrition and our exercise.
A common misconception when starting any type of lifestyle adjustment is that we have to go either all or nothing. Sure, that may actually work and work well for some people, but certainly not for most. When we go into new eating and exercise habits with that mentality, it is way too easy to fail and get discouraged, eventually giving it up altogether. What I propose is to ease our way into a new lifestyle one small step at a time.
First, let's talk about nutrition. One misconception about healthy eating is that "Low fat" is good and means you'll lose weight. That is not true! Any product that is marketed as a "diet" product is usually working against you in one way or another. So forget "Diet Coke", "Healthy Choice", and "Weight Watchers" because each of these options are highly processed foods with harmful chemicals added in order to make them appear healthy by cutting the amount of calories, fat, or sugar. The problem is that your body doesn't know how to process these chemicals because they aren't natural, so what ends up happening is that these chemicals don't register as food which means that the little switch in your body that tells you when you're full never gets triggered. It also means that your body is full of toxins and chemicals that are harmful to our everyday body processes. Those toxins get stored up in your muscles, your fat, your bloodstream, your gall bladder... pretty much everywhere. And an overload of toxins can cause all types of problems like gall stones, diabetes, and even cancer.
So what should we eat? Well here is the hard part, but one that is essential for your health. Turn off the TV, get up off the couch, and use that time to COOK! Whole foods made from scratch are excellent for our bodies in a number of ways. One, because we get some exercise in from actually cooking them! A great way to start is to tell yourself that the microwave is off limits this month (and so is eating out or ordering in!). Even if you're cooking foods that don't have the highest nutritional value, at least you're moving while making them! Not only that, but we KNOW what goes into our meal that way. We know how much oil or butter we've added, how much salt, and how much sugar. We can actually begin to get an idea of what really goes into our bodies, even if what we cook at first isn't the healthiest option, at least we know what we're eating, and we know how we can adjust it. A great way to eat home-cooked meals throughout the day, is to make a double-dinner. What I mean is, make double the amount you will eat that night. Store half in a glass tupperware container and bring it to work the next day (If you're at work, you can make an exception with the no microwave rule, but if you're at home, since it's in a glass container, you can pop it in the oven to heat it up! Don't forget that the microwave actually zaps some of the nutritional elements out of our food.) As we get more in tune with our food and our kitchens we can begin to make changes... but like I said, let's take it one small step at a time.
Another thing to remember is to never let yourself get starving. Losing weight does not mean trying to fast. Fasting can actually make your body's metabolism change causing your body to GAIN weight! And fasting is definitely not the same thing as cleansing! Stay away from fasting fads.
But what about exercise? Doesn't getting healthy mean working out until we can't move!? NO!! It really doesn't have to be that way. In fact, it shouldn't be that way! Just from cooking our food every day we're already getting in more exercise. But let's take it one step further. Choose one thing that you can do comfortably, maybe something you already do, like walking to the mailbox. What you do, depends on the amount of exercise you already get daily. If you already walk from one end of the mall to the other each day while shopping, use that, but if that is a challenge, start small with something like the mailbox. Some people walk around the pond by their house each day already, while some don't get very much activity at all. So pick something that suits you! Got it? Okay, this is really simple... ready? Let's say the most exercise you get all day is checking your mail, but you can handle that because you do it every day. Now, tomorrow, try checking your mail twice. Yep, it's as easy as that. Maybe check your mail twice every day the whole week until checking the mail twice becomes comfortable and normal. Then, check it three times. If you get bored checking the mail, then maybe you can walk two driveways down and back instead. Basically, you are not looking towards your eventual goal, but rather looking at how you can increase something that you already do by just a little bit. If you start out saying you want to run a marathon, and then run 5 miles your first day of training when you haven't done any running in a year, you are going to burn out. You'll be sore, in pain, and miserable. Chances are, you won't try running again for a long time! This isn't about pushing ourselves as much as it is simply taking a few extra steps from the day before. Does hitting the gym and lifting weights help? Well sure, but only if that is realistic for you. Before you go sign up for a gym membership that costs a fortune and you'll only use twice this year, have a nice long conversation with yourself to find out if it's something you will actually do. Be honest with yourself. Maybe you can turn some of those healthy choice cans of soup you were going to throw away after reading the first few paragraphs of this blog into weights instead. There are also lots of non-weight bearing exercises you can do in your living room! Yoga is great for the body and mind. And there are other healthy excercises for every part of your body that don't require lifting weights. If you feel the gym will be the most effective way to get you moving, then by all means, go for it! If you tend to be lazy about going, sign up for an exercise class that has a set time every week, so you won't be as likely to miss it. But remember to always go at your pace, and be realistic about what that pace is.
My plans for this blog are to get you eating and moving well, and weight loss will naturally follow. Don't get so hung up on how many pounds you've lost each week and just know that just like adding those pounds (that most likely happened over the course of years), getting them off in a healthy way and to keep them off takes time as well. Remember that it's not a "diet" it's a permanent lifestyle change. So take your time and know that everyone's body is different and reacts in different ways. Weightloss is not and should never be a contest. This is about getting the best you out of you! So try your best not to compare. When your friends on "diet plans" have gained all their weight back and you're looking better than ever, then you can know you made the right choice.
This lifestyle is not just about weightless either; it's about overall health. The goal is that every aspect of your body will get healthier down to your very blood. The results will be weight loss, but also more energy and improved emotional health as well!
What am I going to give you so that you can get there? Well my hope is that I will be able to guide you one step at a time, teaching you about nutrition and healthy food choices. I plan to give you recipes to help you learn to cook those foods in a healthy and delicious way. After all, good food does not have to taste bad, we've just forgotten how to make it. I plan to give you exercises that you can do at home to help guide you into better overall health. Remember that when our back or knees ache, the best thing to do is not necessarily lie around waiting for them to "heal". Oftentimes our joints ache because our muscles are not supporting them. When we can target and strengthen those muscles, they support our joints better so that the joints don't have to take all the pressure and impact we put on them. That is what physical therapy is all about: targeting and strengthening certain muscles that help support joints or other muscles. Oftentimes if we have a new injury, we will have to give it some time before we start strengthening, but for those constant aches and pains, exercise is usually the best thing!
Above all, I hope to give you lots of information that you can use to make the most out of your lifestyle change. I hope you decide to join me on this journey. Until the next post, good luck on your progress!
**Please note: This blog is in no way meant to be a substitute for medical advice. If you are extremely overweight or have medical conditions, please consult your physician before beginning this program.
A common misconception when starting any type of lifestyle adjustment is that we have to go either all or nothing. Sure, that may actually work and work well for some people, but certainly not for most. When we go into new eating and exercise habits with that mentality, it is way too easy to fail and get discouraged, eventually giving it up altogether. What I propose is to ease our way into a new lifestyle one small step at a time.
First, let's talk about nutrition. One misconception about healthy eating is that "Low fat" is good and means you'll lose weight. That is not true! Any product that is marketed as a "diet" product is usually working against you in one way or another. So forget "Diet Coke", "Healthy Choice", and "Weight Watchers" because each of these options are highly processed foods with harmful chemicals added in order to make them appear healthy by cutting the amount of calories, fat, or sugar. The problem is that your body doesn't know how to process these chemicals because they aren't natural, so what ends up happening is that these chemicals don't register as food which means that the little switch in your body that tells you when you're full never gets triggered. It also means that your body is full of toxins and chemicals that are harmful to our everyday body processes. Those toxins get stored up in your muscles, your fat, your bloodstream, your gall bladder... pretty much everywhere. And an overload of toxins can cause all types of problems like gall stones, diabetes, and even cancer.
So what should we eat? Well here is the hard part, but one that is essential for your health. Turn off the TV, get up off the couch, and use that time to COOK! Whole foods made from scratch are excellent for our bodies in a number of ways. One, because we get some exercise in from actually cooking them! A great way to start is to tell yourself that the microwave is off limits this month (and so is eating out or ordering in!). Even if you're cooking foods that don't have the highest nutritional value, at least you're moving while making them! Not only that, but we KNOW what goes into our meal that way. We know how much oil or butter we've added, how much salt, and how much sugar. We can actually begin to get an idea of what really goes into our bodies, even if what we cook at first isn't the healthiest option, at least we know what we're eating, and we know how we can adjust it. A great way to eat home-cooked meals throughout the day, is to make a double-dinner. What I mean is, make double the amount you will eat that night. Store half in a glass tupperware container and bring it to work the next day (If you're at work, you can make an exception with the no microwave rule, but if you're at home, since it's in a glass container, you can pop it in the oven to heat it up! Don't forget that the microwave actually zaps some of the nutritional elements out of our food.) As we get more in tune with our food and our kitchens we can begin to make changes... but like I said, let's take it one small step at a time.
Another thing to remember is to never let yourself get starving. Losing weight does not mean trying to fast. Fasting can actually make your body's metabolism change causing your body to GAIN weight! And fasting is definitely not the same thing as cleansing! Stay away from fasting fads.
But what about exercise? Doesn't getting healthy mean working out until we can't move!? NO!! It really doesn't have to be that way. In fact, it shouldn't be that way! Just from cooking our food every day we're already getting in more exercise. But let's take it one step further. Choose one thing that you can do comfortably, maybe something you already do, like walking to the mailbox. What you do, depends on the amount of exercise you already get daily. If you already walk from one end of the mall to the other each day while shopping, use that, but if that is a challenge, start small with something like the mailbox. Some people walk around the pond by their house each day already, while some don't get very much activity at all. So pick something that suits you! Got it? Okay, this is really simple... ready? Let's say the most exercise you get all day is checking your mail, but you can handle that because you do it every day. Now, tomorrow, try checking your mail twice. Yep, it's as easy as that. Maybe check your mail twice every day the whole week until checking the mail twice becomes comfortable and normal. Then, check it three times. If you get bored checking the mail, then maybe you can walk two driveways down and back instead. Basically, you are not looking towards your eventual goal, but rather looking at how you can increase something that you already do by just a little bit. If you start out saying you want to run a marathon, and then run 5 miles your first day of training when you haven't done any running in a year, you are going to burn out. You'll be sore, in pain, and miserable. Chances are, you won't try running again for a long time! This isn't about pushing ourselves as much as it is simply taking a few extra steps from the day before. Does hitting the gym and lifting weights help? Well sure, but only if that is realistic for you. Before you go sign up for a gym membership that costs a fortune and you'll only use twice this year, have a nice long conversation with yourself to find out if it's something you will actually do. Be honest with yourself. Maybe you can turn some of those healthy choice cans of soup you were going to throw away after reading the first few paragraphs of this blog into weights instead. There are also lots of non-weight bearing exercises you can do in your living room! Yoga is great for the body and mind. And there are other healthy excercises for every part of your body that don't require lifting weights. If you feel the gym will be the most effective way to get you moving, then by all means, go for it! If you tend to be lazy about going, sign up for an exercise class that has a set time every week, so you won't be as likely to miss it. But remember to always go at your pace, and be realistic about what that pace is.
My plans for this blog are to get you eating and moving well, and weight loss will naturally follow. Don't get so hung up on how many pounds you've lost each week and just know that just like adding those pounds (that most likely happened over the course of years), getting them off in a healthy way and to keep them off takes time as well. Remember that it's not a "diet" it's a permanent lifestyle change. So take your time and know that everyone's body is different and reacts in different ways. Weightloss is not and should never be a contest. This is about getting the best you out of you! So try your best not to compare. When your friends on "diet plans" have gained all their weight back and you're looking better than ever, then you can know you made the right choice.
This lifestyle is not just about weightless either; it's about overall health. The goal is that every aspect of your body will get healthier down to your very blood. The results will be weight loss, but also more energy and improved emotional health as well!
What am I going to give you so that you can get there? Well my hope is that I will be able to guide you one step at a time, teaching you about nutrition and healthy food choices. I plan to give you recipes to help you learn to cook those foods in a healthy and delicious way. After all, good food does not have to taste bad, we've just forgotten how to make it. I plan to give you exercises that you can do at home to help guide you into better overall health. Remember that when our back or knees ache, the best thing to do is not necessarily lie around waiting for them to "heal". Oftentimes our joints ache because our muscles are not supporting them. When we can target and strengthen those muscles, they support our joints better so that the joints don't have to take all the pressure and impact we put on them. That is what physical therapy is all about: targeting and strengthening certain muscles that help support joints or other muscles. Oftentimes if we have a new injury, we will have to give it some time before we start strengthening, but for those constant aches and pains, exercise is usually the best thing!
Above all, I hope to give you lots of information that you can use to make the most out of your lifestyle change. I hope you decide to join me on this journey. Until the next post, good luck on your progress!
**Please note: This blog is in no way meant to be a substitute for medical advice. If you are extremely overweight or have medical conditions, please consult your physician before beginning this program.
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