Know Your Body

This year has brought many unexpected challenges. One thing I've learned through it all is how much eating healthy and exercising greatly effects my overall mood and outlook on life. Regardless of how uncertain some situations may seem, aside from my faith, healthy living was the most powerful determinant of my overall well-being.

This simple revelation inspired me to share my experiences with my friends and family. After talking to many of my friends, I realized a lot of us were doing the same thing. We were making small changes in our lives to improve our health. Some were training for races or marathons. Other friends were cutting out certain foods. I noticed that the more we shared our experiences with other, the more we became each others' support system.

So today, I wanted to share my vision to start something in order to expand our support system. Healthy living is very challenging and everyone can benefit from more support. My vision is to get a group of my friends and family together. We will become more aware of women's health issues, challenge ourselves to create healthy habits, and support community health  projects together.

The latter two parts of my vision will begin in upcoming months, but the first part begins today! Today I will begin a new tweet series with the hashtag #knowyourbody. Each month we will feature a different health issues and tweet daily facts and tips using the #knowyourbody hashtag. This month the theme will be Breast Cancer Awareness.

Anyone can follow the tweets by going to twitter.com/#knowyourbody. Also, I created a new Twitter account that is open. If you have Twitter, you can follow me @akelamarie.

Next month we'll discuss Diabetes awareness and start our first health challenge. I look forward to growing our support system of women who are challenging each other to improve their health.

What the Olympics Teaches Us About Success

(My dad and I with Olympian Liz Cambage. She plays for Team Australia in Women's Basketball as well as the WNBA Tulsa Shock. She is also the first woman to slam dunk in the Olympics.)

If watching the Olympics does not inspire you to get in shape, I’m not sure what will. Witnessing great athletes from all over the globe come together to compete for the most coveted prize in the world is very motivating.

Seeing the parents' faces as they watch their sons and daughters compete reveals how much sacrifice it took for the athletes to reach the Olympics. Watching the victory dances, tears of happiness after a historic win as an inspirational moment to witness. 

Watching their dedication and passion in each competition also makes me realize how much I’ve slacked on my own fitness goals this summer. In fact, this is the first blog post I've written since May. 

The great thing about sports is that it teaches us the basic elements in reaching one’s goals: Work hard, sacrifice, dedication. That’s the formula for any athlete competing in Olympics 2012. This also applies to anything we want to accomplish in life. It’s that simple. It’s not easy, but simple.

So, while I will probably never mount a triple somersault off a vault or run a 1500 meter race, I do have goals to live healthier lifestyle. 

The biggest difference between the Olympians and the rest of the world (other than their natural talents) is their consistency in the basic ingredients to success. This is something I personally struggle with in my fitness goals. Many times I start out strong and then fizzle out. 

Of course, many of these athletes train in their sport full time and cannot afford to slack off. However, when it comes to our health and well being, neither can we. 

So if you started this year off with a bang, or if you started this summer off with weight lose or fitness goals, it's never too late to refocus. If you need motivation, watch the Olympics. You will be inspired. 

Quick Tips for Drinking More Water

Today is the first day of the H2O Challenge! I'm so excited that so many of my friends and family are challenging themselves to drink more water. I wanted to share a few things that have helped me drink more water in the past few months. Hopefully this helps you all as well. 

                                                      1. Carry a water bottle

This best way to create the habit of drinking enough water is to carry water with you everywhere. Reusable bottles are very inexpensive and are good for the environment. They are also useful for promoting your favorite sports team. :-) They also help you keep track of how much water you drink throughout the day. I usually refill my bottle 2-3 times a day. 

2. Add citrus fruit

If you do not like the taste (or lack of taste) of water you may add a fruit to give it more zest. Citrus fruits such as limes, lemons, or oranges naturally enhance the taste of water. Cucumbers are also great enhancers and gives water a more crisp taste. 

3. Glass of water in the morning 

When you first wake up your body is dehydrated. Drinking water first thing in the morning is important. A great way to jump start your day is to drink warm lemon water. Drinking lemon water when you wake up stimulates your digestive system. Also, it cleanses toxins in your body.

The H20 Challenge

One of the most important things I've learned so far during my quest to live a more healthy lifestyle is that adding simple habits to your diet can make a huge difference in your overall health. The simplest thing most of us can do to improve our health is to drink more water. In fact, 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Learning about this problem inspired me to want to encourage more of my friends and family to drink more water.

The H2O Challenge will be our first Healthy Living Challenge. The challenge is to drink your daily intake of water every day for 21 consecutive days. The challenge will begin May 1st through May 21st.

Your daily intake of water is calculated by dividing your weight in half, that is how much water you should drink in ounces. If you want to convert ounces into cups, simple divide the number of ounces by 8.

Example: 120 lbs. / 2 = 60 oz.   60oz. / 8 = 7.5 cups.

Each person's challenge will be different. There are no restrictions to the challenge. You may eat or drink whatever you like as long as you fit in your daily intake of water. However, naturally in order to fit in that much water each day, you may need to cut out other drinks during the day. It's up to you to create your own plan to meeting the challenge. Next week I'll give more tips and examples on how I've added more water in my life. Are you up for the challenge?

The Incredible Egg

In the spirit of Easter festivities, I decided to dye eggs on Sunday afternoon. I'm sure I haven't dyed eggs in over 15 years. I've always loved eggs, even as a kid. Not until my healthy eating journey had I begun to learn all of the benefits of eating eggs. Here are a few reasons why I've grown to love eggs more. 

1. Eggs Are Versatile

One of the reasons why I love eggs is that you can eat them so many ways: scrambled, poached, hard boiled, sunny side up, and omelets. Many people can find at least one way to enjoy eggs. For less than $3.00 you can buy something that can give you a great variety of meal options. 

2.   Quick, Easy Breakfast

On mornings when I need a fast breakfast, eggs are my staple food. Usually, I boil a couple eggs in the morning while I get ready for work. They're easy to take with me to work and eat as a morning snack. If I have a little extra time, I may scramble two eggs in olive oil. They only take a few minutes to fry. 

3. Nutrient Dense

Lastly, eggs are packed with many nutrients. Here are just a few of the health benefits found in eggs: 


Contain choline- regulates brain system and cardiovascular system
Contain lutein- decreases risks for blindness and cataracts
Contain vitamin D - strengthens bones and improves immunity
Contain Selenium- an antioxidant that prevents blood clots 
Prevent breast cancer -women who consume at least 6 eggs per week can significantly decreased their risk of developing breast cancer 
Contain protein - one egg contains 6 grams of protein which is 12% of the Recommended Daily Value. 
Muscle Strength - encourages muscle tissue repair and growth if eaten after working out
Contain Omega 3 - fatty acid that is good for your heart
Low in calories - the average egg only contains 70-80 calories

Sources:
www.incredibleegg.org/
www.womenshealthmag.com

My Healthy Food Journey

Six months ago, I barely used my kitchen. I basically used my microwave and stove to heat up frozen dinners. My cupboards were filled with chips, cookies, and other snacks. A few months ago I decided to learn the lost art of cooking from scratch. Cooking on a regular basis has its challenges. I work two jobs and I volunteer. However, the rewards for eating healthier are priceless. Below are a few steps I've taken fit cooking into my lifestyle. 

1. Start Small, One Dish at a Time
My first dish I created from scratch was M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies. I made them on Thanksgiving. I figured I could try them out on my family. If they didn't turn out right, we still had sweet potato pie. After my cookies were a hit (and were requested for Christmas), I felt more confident in the kitchen. 


2. Buy Real Ingredients
The next thing I had to learn was how to buy real groceries. My grocery basket use to consist of mostly frozen dinners and packaged snacks. The healthiest items (such as produce) are located at the outer ends of the grocery store. The middle aisles are full of overly processed packaged foods. The more I started cooking healthy meals from scratch, the more I had to learn how to shop on the outer aisles of the grocery store. 


3. Make Cooking a Habit
There is a saying, "Once you do something for 21 days, it becomes a habit." I'm not sure where this quote came from, or why the author chose exactly 21 days. However, I do agree with the sentiment. In order to make something a habit, you have to repeat it over and over. I've only been cooking for a few months. However, Sunday after church, I automatically start planning my meals for the week. 


4. Learn from the Gurus
After reading a few health blogs, I came across Kimberly Snyder's website. I checked out her book "The Beauty Detox" Solution. Her holistic approach has shaped my view on food. Unlike many nutritionist who focus on caloric intake, she focuses on combining the right nutrients together for optimal health. There are plenty of websites and resources to help guide people to healthier eating. 


5. Not a Fad Diet, But a Lifestyle
In the beginning, my desire to learn how to cook actually had nothing to with food. I was looking for ways to cut down on my budget by decreasing my fast food purchases. After diving into the culinary world, I began to see cooking as a lifestyle change. There are so many fad diets on the market. No matter what diet you choose, the only way to have a healthy lifestyle is make healthy choices on a regular basis. This means the focus can't be on loosing weight, but on creating a new lifestyle. 


This is my personal journey so far to a more healthy lifestyle. I still have a lot more to learn. Hopefully we can all learn together! I plan on sharing healthy eating tips and recipes that I learn along the way.