What Would You Say To Your Younger Self
What would you say to your younger self if you could whisper in your own ear when you were in your teens, twenties or later? If you’re old enough to remember when Microsoft was first on the market before all the splits and price increase? Would you study for a different line of work or make other life choice changes? Would you change your diet and start eating healthier? You can’t turn back time, but that shouldn’t stop you from using your wisdom to move forward.
Unless you’re giving yourself stock tips or winning lottery numbers, you still can make those changes.
Aside from the potential to have insider information on the movement of stock or the actual numbers for the lottery, you can still make the changes you’d tell your younger self to change. If there’s an area in your life that makes you unhappy, there’s no better time than now to give yourself advice and take it. If you’re unhappy in your work, identify what you’d really like to do. While you might not be able to become a professional ball player if you’re past forty or don’t have the talent, there are many other jobs that would suit your interests and make you smile more. Maybe the problem isn’t the job, but the place you’re working. Identify what makes you happy and start a plan to make the changes to get there.
Are you lacking energy?
Do you get adequate sleep at night? If the answer is yes, you might consider a program of regular exercise. The body is amazing. The more you work it, the stronger it gets and the more energy you have. While you can’t go back in time, right now might be the perfect time to start a program of exercise. If you have health issues, check with your health care specialist first. For those who are severely out of shape, start slowly until you can workout for at least a half hour. One gentleman who had life threatening obesity could only walk for a few minutes when he started. Little by little he built the time to an hour. He shed pound, improved his health, but it wasn’t overnight. It took months. Have patience while you’re building your energy level.
Would you tell your younger self to eat healthier?
Start now! If you’re already eating healthy, congratulations! You can’t change the past, but you’re giving yourself a far healthier future. Eating healthy provides so many nutrients for the body and has boosts the immune system, while also preventing serious conditions, such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.
- If you’re facing a serious condition, such as high blood pressure, diabetes or osteoporosis, there’s a good chance that you can help control it with a program of healthy eating and exercise. Start today!
- Would you tell yourself not to smoke? It’s hard to quit, but if you’d give your younger self that advice, it’s time to take it yourself.
- If you’d tell yourself not to sweat the small stuff and mellow out, you probably know the dangers of stress. Learning how to control stress through meditation or other technique will help you live a longer life.
- Would you tell yourself to create a healthy schedule that includes adequate sleep and regular mealtimes? Make sure you’re doing that now!
What Is Your Perfect Day
What is your perfect day? How would you describe a day that’s exactly what you want? Are you working and accomplishing everything on your list? Are you having fun with friends and family? Is your day an active one with plenty of exercise having fun? Do you see the perfect day starting with breakfast in bed, followed by a day of watching television or playing online games? What you picture as perfect tells you a lot about yourself and the type of exercise you’ll like the most.
If your perfect day is sedentary, consider yoga.
Yoga is a lot tougher than it looks, but it’s mentally quieting and calming. It’s also done on a mat on the floor. That doesn’t mean you won’t move around, you just won’t move very far. There’s no jogging involved, but there is a lot of stretching. A yoga workout can quiet your mind and eliminate stress, providing great relaxation and mental peace. If you want to watch your favorite programs, ask your trainer to create several workouts that are two or three minutes long and do them during commercials.
Do you like to get things accomplished?
You’ll love getting exercise from activities that do both. Rather than drive to the grocery, walk there—if it’s possible. Make a list of things to get done around the house. Raking leaves, gardening, painting the house and doing a thorough cleaning can burn up calories and take the place of one day’s exercise regimen. You’ll get a two-fer if you take the stairs rather than the elevator at work or ride your bike to work or to the store.
Take up a group sport or get the family involved in the great outdoors.
Whether you shoot hoops with friends or go on a hike or rock climb with the family, it’s all good activity that can count toward a day of exercise. Riding bikes to a quiet spot for a picnic is fun. It’s also active and burns loads of calories. Taking martial arts classes as a supplement to your workout program might also fit your mindset. Decide what you enjoy and choose it as an alternative to one day of exercise each week.
- Too often people think they can only exercise in the gym. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you’re working hard, sweating and huffing and puffing, you’re probably getting a great workout.
- Treat yourself to the type of exercise you love at least once a day. If you hate running and find it boring, look for another type of aerobic workout you do enjoy.
- Chart your workouts and see how much you can accomplish. Keeping score is great for those who love a good challenge and makes any type of workout more fun.
- For those days where it’s too hot or cold to workout outside, consider swimming a few laps in an indoor pool.
Burning Stubborn Stomach Fat
Abdominal fat is one of the most dangerous types of fat. It crowds the organs and is associated with stress hormones that play havoc with your body. It also makes clothing uncomfortable and no matter how expensive the outfit, look far less attractive. Burning stubborn stomach fat is hard and it requires you lose weight all over your body, since there’s no way to shed pounds in just one area. You can do some things to ensure that the weight you lose will also come off of your abdominal area and help you flatten your tummy while you shrink your waist and hips. Exercising is one of those ways, but there are other tips that also aid in the elimination of tummy fat. There are other strategies that also help eliminate the pooch and get you looking and feeling great.
Eat plenty of fiber.
Eating plenty of fiber will help keep your elimination system moving and prevent the bloat that adds to the appearance of abdominal fat. It also helps elimination of abdominal fat, according to a study in 2011. The people in the study simply increase their intake of fiber by 10 grams every day. That small change made a difference, but it took a while. After five years the visceral fat—belly fat—showed a reduction of 3.7 percent. While it might not seem like a lot, the changes they made were small. Adding one cup of black beans increases fiber by over 15 grams. Two tablespoons of flaxseed meal adds 3.8 grams and Omega3 fatty acid. Putting a tablespoon of chia seeds in your smoothie not only thickens it, it adds 5.5 grams of fiber. Just eat a pear to add another 5.5 grams and you’ll be good for a day.
The more insulin you have the more you’re prone to insulin resistance and that causes belly fat.
Lots of things can cause an increase in insulin and insulin is the fat storage hormone. When you have higher levels of it, it sends a message to your body to store it around the waist—on your belly. That type of fat also tends to produce more insulin so it becomes a vicious circle. Sugar is one of the biggest promoters of insulin and the biggest culprit when it comes to belly fat. That’s why cutting back or eliminating sugar is a huge benefit for controlling belly fat. Fructose is the worst offender of the sugars. It doesn’t trigger the hormone that makes you feel full and stimulates the production of insulin. It’s in everything, so look for it on labels in products like ketchup, salad dressing, boxed mac n’ cheese and even protein bars.
Eat healthy and exercise regularly.
Because abdominal fat occurs from excess pounds, shedding those pounds is the only way to lose it. While you can add to the reduction of the belly fat, losing weight overall is the key. Eating healthy also improves shedding that fat by ensuring you have all the nutrients to help your body work properly. That eliminates some of the stress your body undergoes when it’s malnourished, reducing fat producing cortisol. Omega-3 fatty acids help control blood sugar balance and other vitamins and minerals help improve appetite control and other factors that affect abdominal fat. Increasing your protein has been proven to help shed abdominal fat.
- Get rid of stress. Whether you exercise hard to burn off the hormones of stress, take yoga training to learn to relax or do both, stress is a killer and produces hormones that contribute to the accumulation of fat around the midsection.
- Get a good night’s sleep. Studies show that adequate sleep can reduce the potential for abdominal fat.
- Cut back or eliminate alcohol. It’s all about the sugar and the extra calories.
- Drink a cup or two of green tea. The catechins in tea help burn belly fat. Try taking a tablespoon or two of natural apple cider vinegar. One study in Japan showed it help burn visceral fat.