Wellness

As you grow older, you’ll realize that life can be incredibly stressful. With so many decisions to make, and responsibilities to fulfill, stress finds a way to always surround you.

Falling into a pattern of constant stress will greatly impact your mental health and seep into your physical well-being, too. So how do you relieve yourself of some of the stress weighing on your shoulders?

More and more people are starting to explore alternative stress relief methods. With these alternative methods, you are encouraged to try natural healing strategies in order to keep your mental health strong.

Reiki is the perfect example of a natural meditative method that helps to alleviate anxiety. As you practice Reiki, you will be able to find a sense of calm that will help you manage your stress and improve your mental health.

What Is Reiki?

Reiki is a Japanese form of energy healing that was developed in the early 1900s. The name itself comes from two Japanese words, “rei” meaning universal, and “ki” meaning function of life or life force.

When you combine the two together, you get a meditation practice that uses the energy in your body to relax and release any tension. Reiki is known to be a secondary treatment for depression, anxiety, and stress, with proven medicinal practices preceding it.

It is meant to lift your mental state and provide a realm of calm in your mind. Reiki involves finding your own personal balance – spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally.

It will help you on your journey to discover yourself, and become a better person. Overall, Reiki meditation is a great practice for anyone looking to find balance and improve their mental health.

Living By the 5 Principles of Reiki

There are some common principles you can rely on to help you implement an on-going strategy of using Reiki to achieve a sense of calm and serenity in your life. There are five main ones, as follows:

Just for today, I will not worry.

Worrying takes up a large portion of your day when you tend to be stressed out often. With this principle, you can decide to push your intense worries to the next day. This will take a weight off of your shoulders, and allow you to focus on the more important tasks for each day.

If you are struggling to let go of your worries, you may want to try imagining physically pushing your worries into a box, one that you can plan on opening up the next day. And when the next day comes, do the same thing again.

A major challenge to this principle is learning how to let go of the things you cannot control. Once you can accept what is out of reach and teach yourself not to worry about those things, you will find that your life has become much less stressful when it comes to a day-to-day basis.

Just for today, I will not be angry.

Life is not an easy place, and it’s common to feel angry with the world. When you can replace your anger with positivity and change your perspective, it will completely transform your mental state.

Anger will never get you anywhere, so learning to let go will bring you to a calmer state. The principles of Reiki are meant to lead you to a better place with yourself and the way you view your life.

In order to move past your initial anger or frustration towards something, try taking deep breaths and counting upwards until you feel calmer. If that doesn’t work, focus on an activity that brings you joy or peace.

Just for today, I will be grateful.

When you focus on what you should be grateful for on a daily basis, you can shift into a much more positive mental state. Bringing positivity into your life every day will give you a better outlook on your life and the way you treat others.

This Reiki principle will be a great tool to have whenever you are feeling hopeless or down. In order to be more grateful throughout your day, try making a list of all of the things you are grateful for each day, and add on to the list as your day goes by.

Every little thing counts, because they add up over time. Once you fall into a rhythm of noting those things, you’ll notice that you are picking up things to be grateful for more and more every day.

Just for today, I will be honest.

Bringing a new level of honesty into your life will improve your mental health overall. You won’t have to worry or stress over honesty if you give it your all, at all times. Be honest in your work and your relationships and you will find that things will fall into place much easier.

It isn’t always easy to find your drive and do things the more challenging way, but it will be much more rewarding for your life and mental health. It will help you to be a better person, and will help you grow as a person as well.

Just for today, I will be kind to all living things.

Being kind to others is something that will help not just your mental health, but the others’ around you as well. If you can turn kindness into an instinct, it will help carry you forward in life.

Being able to exercise kindness at all times will make you more likable, and will ensure you that you are being a good person. Being able to hold confidence in your kindness will take the pressure off of yourself to always be good, if you can know that kindness will always come to you.

Kindness takes practice. Try giving compliments to several people each day, and focus on making your words and actions as kind as they can be, while being kind to yourself. A lot of people forget to treat themselves as well as they treat others.

But one of the most important points of this Reiki principle is to practice being nice to yourself. Even if you just do little things that will make you happy, you need to treat yourself the way you would want others to treat you. You must take care of yourself to the best of your abilities.

How to Use Self-Administered Reiki to Achieve a Sense of Peace

Although Reiki is more commonly done with someone to assist, you can utilize self-administered Reiki to achieve a sense of peace within yourself. Here are some steps to help you get started:

1. Set aside time for your Reiki practices.

It’s recommended that you set aside a half an hour at the start and end of your day, so that you welcome the day and close it out with a calm mind. It’s best to set a regular schedule, and that you work on your meditations every day.

2. Find a quiet area.

Before you begin, it’s important for you to find a safe and quiet environment for your Reiki sessions. This will help you achieve inner peace before you start your session. Limiting the distractions in the area will improve the mental results of the Reiki meditation. If you feel completely comfortable in the environment you are in, you will be able to fall into a relaxed state quickly.

3. Activate your inner energy.

Close your eyes, and imagine the energy that is flowing inside of you. Allow that energy to flow to your hands, and imagine it as healing energy that you’ve accessed. Give yourself that power of inner healing.

4. Begin the initial hand positions.

As you focus on the energy flowing to your hands, begin taking slow, deep breaths. During each hand position, it is recommended that you hold the position for two minutes.

5. Place hands in prayer position.

Bring your hands together into a prayer position, and imagine the healing energies flowing between the two hands. As you carry on through each position, focus on taking slow, deep breaths.

6. Place both hands on the top of your head.

Bring both hands to the top of your head. If you feel comfortable enough, close your eyes. It will help you concentrate and calm your mind. Imagine the energy’s healing properties flowing to your mind, and alleviating the pressure you may feel there.

7. Gently move your hands to cover your eyes.

Now bring your hands forward and slowly cover your eyes. Each hand should be covering its respective eye. Remember to hold for around two minutes, and take deep breaths.

8. Lay your right hand carefully on your throat, and rest the other above your heart.

Bring your right hand to your throat. Make sure it is gently resting on your throat, in a way that is most comfortable to you. Take your right hand and place it on your heart. Focus on your heart beat as you breathe in and out. Let the energy flow through your hands and your upper body, and imagine the stress on your body being lifted.

9. Move both hands to your upper stomach, then lower stomach.

This one could count as two steps, but it is simple to understand. Take your hands and place them on your upper stomach, right below your chest. After two minutes, bring them down to your lower stomach.

10. Reach your hands up and rest them on your shoulders.

Bring your hands back up and place them on top of your shoulders. Make sure to avoid grabbing your shoulders. Your hands should just rest gently on your shoulders. If you are feeling any tension or pains in that area, focus on the flow of healing energy inside of you, and let it find its way to that specific area, from your hands to your shoulders.

11. Move hands down and place them on your hips.

Finally, slowly bring your hands down to your waist, then place them on your hips. Hold the stance for the allotted time, all while taking special focus to your deep breaths.

12. Determine your next step.

If you are still feeling deeply overwhelmed and stressed out, you could consider repeating the steps again. But if you are feeling like you’ve been able to bring yourself to a calmer state, you can take a few more deep breaths, and conclude the meditation.

The setup of steps above is a general idea of a self-administered Reiki session. The goal is to focus on points of stress and tension throughout your mind and body. In order to utilize the healing Reiki energies, you have to learn what spots and methods work best for you.

After enough sessions and practice, you will be able to find your problem areas easily. It will take time to get to that place, especially if you embark on your Reiki journey all by yourself.

Reiki is also a good method to use in order to meditate and work on your own personal growth. If you start your day with a simple Reiki session, live by the Reiki principles during your day, and end it with another Reiki session, you will find that your mental health has improved and as you are lifted from the burdens of your stress and anxiety, life will become much more pleasant for you to experience.

Working with a Reiki Master for Better Mental Health

A Reiki master serves as a bridge between you and natural life force energy. In order to find a reliable and efficient Reiki master, you could try looking up Reiki therapists in your area.

A safer bet would be to go through your local hospital, yoga studios, or health stores. They may be able to guide you towards someone who will work best for you. To know whether or not you are receiving the right kind of session for Reiki, here’s an idea of what an in-person session may look like:

To begin, you might be asked to focus on your breathing, and work to take deep breaths. You may lie on a massage table, or the Reiki master will have a place for you to sit or stand.

It’s usually up to wherever you will feel the most comfortable. Next, the Reiki practitioner will place their hands, palm down, on or directly above different areas of your body. The areas will be where the practitioner feels your mind and body most needs healing energies.

During this, you may feel different sensations or pulses throughout your body. However, for some, you may not feel any difference. It does not mean that the Reiki practices are not working.

The most important focus for you should be on your breathing, and opening yourself up to the flow of energy. There should be no massaging, or pressure utilized during these sessions.

It’s about gentle touch, and sometimes there is no touch needed at all. A Reiki session should last anywhere from a half an hour to an hour, depending on your experience and comfort with the process.

After the session is finished, you and the Reiki master should both take a moment to thank each other and the energy for the exchange and connection you had. If you have a Reiki master that doesn’t work in person, you will find that it is similar to self-administered Reiki.

But it may be much easier because you will have a guide who has more knowledge on different practices and properties that will work best for you. If there are specific issues that you are concerned about, and want to relieve the tension or stress in those areas, you can discuss that with your Reiki master.

Although they will probably be able to sense those areas during the session, it does not hurt to make sure you are getting the right treatment for the stresses you struggle with. No matter what, having someone to guide you through the process will be the best way for you to learn.

If you are interested in becoming a Reiki master yourself, it’s best to learn through another Reiki master and become an apprentice. They may be able to open your eyes to new methods and practices that will bring you a new sense of peace that you had not known before.

Understanding Your Chakras When Utilizing Therapeutic Reiki

Reiki is a useful tool when it comes to opening up your chakras. As you practice Reiki sessions frequently, you will be able to open up the heart chakra, the chakras you find located in your palms.

As the energy flows from your palms to other stress points on your body, you will be able to open up the flow of spiritual energy. Reiki prepares your mind for spirit. This will help to clear your mind and memory, opening up your sights to the spiritual world.

If you are looking to heal and energize your chakras, you can focus your Reiki meditation specifically on that one goal. It will give you several places for the healing energies to flow to, which may help you organize your practices.

Every holiday, people tend to put on a fair amount of weight, right up until they make their New Year’s resolutions. Some people start gaining the weight as early as October and September, when they start putting out Halloween candy.

If you want to get in shape or you think you’re going to want to get in shape, you should take steps to avoid gaining a bunch of weight during the holidays so that getting that summer body is much more achievable and more likely.

Choosing the Right Foods

Part of the problem with holiday foods is that they tend to be eaten in large amounts, and they also contain plenty of sugars and carbs. This is especially true around Halloween, when most of the foods are candy and chocolate.

Around Thanksgiving, there is turkey, but there’s also stuffing, potatoes, sauces, casseroles, rolls, and desserts. Pies are in great abundance, and the carb loaded sides are stacked high.

Come Christmas time, it’s a very similar situation to Thanksgiving, but with the addition of things like chocolate, cookies, hot chocolate, and more. But of course, many of these things are traditional or at least common place, making it hard to avoid them.

The key to keeping yourself in check on these holidays isn’t to outright deny yourself any of the foods you want to eat, but rather to limit them to a reasonable amount within a reasonable timespan.

That being said, there are some better options for foods that you can focus on to allow you to eat more and stay within a certain caloric limit. One of the main ones is meats, especially poultry.

Chicken and turkey are very commonly eaten on holidays, so you can load up a bit more on these instead of focusing as much on the sides and desserts. However, you might want to try staying away from fried foods as well as unhealthy meats like ham.

Another thing you can try is focusing more on vegetables for your holiday meals. Many people don’t prepare vegetables very well, but if you try some good seasoning and roasting methods, they pair well with poultry and keep your calories and carbs low.

When it comes to desserts, try and opt more for fruit based desserts at least. An apple pie isn’t very healthy any way you cut it, but it’s a little bit healthier than chocolate based desserts. Try not to go overboard on desserts, but they’re fine to have in moderation.

Dodging Peer Pressure

Another problem faced during the holidays is peer pressure. A great deal of fitness lies in the mindset, so when you’re in the right state of mind you know what foods to avoid, and thus you lose weight.

However, if it’s a holiday and people are really pushing for you to eat more than you think you should, it’s easy to cave in. If you think your family might push you to eat more, try to avoid bringing it up in the first place at all.

If it’s an option, fix your own plate and load up on more meat and take it easier on the sides. It’s still fine to have some of everything, but just keep to a small and reasonable amount- especially when the desserts come out.

If you bring up the fact that you’re dieting, many people will blow you off, saying that it’s just for this one holiday and that they worked hard to cook the food, and so on. This can lead to quite the annoying conversation, so it’s good to try and avoid it as much as possible.

Something to keep in mind is the amount of time it takes to gain and lose weight. Once you start to lose weight, if you’re losing at a healthy rate, it should be about half a pound per week. In that one day, you might be gaining 1 or 2 pounds, not including leftovers.

So if Thanksgiving in its entirety leaves you 4 pounds heavier, it’s going to take 8 weeks of work to undo that process, assuming you’re dieting and exercising at a healthy and reasonable rate. That’s a lot of time for “just one holiday.”

The same can be said for Christmas. People tend to eat rather lavishly and in large quantities throughout Christmas time. If you have an extended amount of time off of work to be with your family, and you’re eating and drinking a lot, you’ll gain plenty of weight.

When people try and pressure you into making bad decisions like eating a ton of food that’s not good for you, just go along with them until they stop bugging you about it. Don’t eat as much as you tell them you’re going to, if that’s what it takes.

Often times people can get upset when they hear someone’s dieting at a lavish dinner, not because they put a bunch of work into it, but rather because they all know it’s not good for them necessarily.

It’s in your best interest if you want to lose weight and look a certain way for summer to avoid people that try and get you off track of your weight loss. There’s no law saying you have to start dieting after New Year’s, and the sooner you start, the better.

Eating in Moderation

Whether you’re not in control of the meals for the holidays or you can’t overcome peer pressure to eat certain things, or you just don’t want to miss out, you can rest assured. You can and should still eat well on holidays, but you should keep it in moderation.

One of the main reasons people tend to fail diets in general is that they get so strict on themselves but don’t have the mental strength to keep up with that strictness, so they end up cheating really hard on their diet instead of just indulging a little bit.

The same definitely applies to the holidays. When everyone is eating good meals and having a good time, you don’t want to feel left out sitting there eating some “healthy” options. It’s going to make you want to binge really hard and drop the diet.

You shouldn’t deny yourself the ability to eat the foods you want during holidays, but you just have to be smart about it. You should try to stay on top of your diet on the days surrounding the holiday itself, instead of eating tons of leftovers days afterwards.

It’s important to be mindful of how you eat on the day of the holiday, as well. If you plan on having a Thanksgiving dinner with your family at 6 PM, you should try to have a light breakfast and lunch, just enough to tide you over until the dinner.

If possible, you should avoid tons of calorie dense drinks. Whether it be soda, beer, or anything else, drinks that aren’t water can be pretty hefty on the calories. If you’re trying to save your waistline while eating a nice, big dinner, stay away from the beer.

Try to employ more of a sampling strategy when it comes to things like sides and desserts. If you want to eat a bit of everything, just get a little bit of everything. By the end of it you’ll probably feel pretty full, and won’t really want to eat more.

It’s for the best if you limit your heavy eating to one day, as well. Depending on the holiday, try not to eat a bunch in the days before and after it, but rather just the day itself.

Don’t worry about going a little bit overboard on one single day. If you’re just eating heavily on Christmas day, you can do that. Relax and don’t worry about counting calories a bunch for that one instance.

If you’re really worried about going over for that one day, you can always make up for it in the future. For example, let’s say you go over your limit by 1000 calories one day. Instead of freaking out about it, just spend the next two days at an extra 500 calorie deficit, or the next four days at a mere 250 calorie deficit.

As long as you’re eating lavishly in moderation, you’re going to be fine. It won’t be the end of the world if you’re a bit over for one day, but it will bite you pretty hard if you go way overboard for multiple days at a time.

Don’t Wait to Start Your Exercise Plans

One thing that messes with a lot of people’s fitness plans is the timing of it all. For some reason, people are always so worried about just starting their diet and exercise routines that they keep postponing it, often to a point where they’re months off of schedule.

A lot of people try to synchronize the start of their fitness routine to some arbitrary thing. Some people have to have it starting on a Monday. Others won’t start it October, because Thanksgiving and Christmas are “right around the corner!”

So, instead, they wait until January, but not right on New Year’s because they’re celebrating on New Year’s. These excuses go on and on and months fly by, wasted, never having been used for a productive purpose.

Most people are guilty of this, or at least something like it. You need to put a stop to it, and just start getting into the routine of diet and exercise. Your routine doesn’t need to be 100% perfect, but it needs to start sooner rather than later.

The first day of going to the gym is always the worst one. If you’ve never been before, getting that first day out of the way now makes the weeks and months to come much easier. Additionally, gyms tend to be a bit sparser during the holiday season.

However, the gyms get packed once New Year’s hits. So, if you’re trying to go for the first time at the busiest times in January, instead of the less populated times in November, you’re going to have a worse time.

Instead, you should try to get used to and familiar with the gym ahead of time, that way when all the new people show up in January, you won’t have to worry about anything except for a slightly more crowded gym.

Getting ahead on your diet and everything else will help you start to lose weight, which can bring you even closer to what will eventually be your New Year’s resolution goal weight.

Going from 200 pounds down to 170 in a year is much more achievable than going from 240 down to 170. By coming closer to your goal before you even set it, you’re going to have a much easier time reaching it, and you’ll probably feel less pessimistic about it.

You might think about it this way- if you lose even five pounds before the holiday season, you at least have that much wiggle room to work with. If you gain five pounds throughout the holidays, you’re right back where you started instead of being worse off.

Stop procrastinating on getting in shape and just start a basic gym and diet routine. Don’t even worry about making it just perfect at the time being, just as long as you’re being active and making better dietary choices.

Best and Worst Holiday Foods

If you’re not inclined towards fitness and health, then what is and isn’t good for you to eat can be pretty confusing. You’ll hear a lot of mixed opinions and contradictory information, which can be stressful to sort through as a beginner.

By getting a good idea of what foods you should absolutely have and should be careful with, and why, you can get a decent idea of how other foods in your holiday lineup can affect your health.

The best foods that you’ll find around the holiday season is various vegetables. You’ll find carrots, squash, cream greens, broccoli, and more. These are often best done roasted in the oven with some various seasonings.

Another great holiday food you’ll find, of course, it meat. Turkey, chicken, roast, ham, and more all find their way onto holiday tables in abundance. Assuming it’s smoked or grilled and not deep fried, meat is an excellent choice for your holiday meal.

Smoked and grilled meats are high in protein, low in carbs and sugars, and taste great. They’re not very calorie dense, which is a good thing. It means that they’re more filling without being as high in calories.

Now, there are many foods you’ll come across during the holidays that aren’t very good for you at all. Granted, they taste very good, so you can have some, but try not to go overboard on anything that’s going to cause excessive weight gain.

First and foremost is the sugary foods. Desserts, candy, and abundant at the end of each month from October through December. Pies, candy, and chocolate are all very high in sugar and should be eaten very lightly.

Hefty carb-loaded sides should be eaten very conservatively as well. Most commonly, you’ll find these in hearty casseroles, mashed potatoes, rolls and biscuits, and so on. Try to pair fairly small amounts of these with your meat of choice.

If you’re an adult, try to make it a point to stave off candy during Halloween and Christmas if you can. Leave more for the kids instead. If you’re trying to reach your goal of getting in better shape, the candy is going to be your worst enemy.

One of the less often noted things to avoid is high calorie drinks. Sodas are an obvious one to avoid at all costs, but so is alcohol. Alcohol itself is high in calories, and mixing it into sodas is even worse.

Beers, wines, and liquor are all very high calorie drinks. If you plan on drinking during the holidays when you’re with family, you should try to keep it pretty light. Drinking a bunch during those days will pack on the pounds very quickly.

Discover the facts on dieting. Learn what types of foods are good or bad for you, how to lose weight fast, how your body reacts when it’s hungry and much more!

Dieting Facts Dieting Meals Healthy Fat Loss

Dieting, is it really that hard? Perhaps not, but to effectively lose weight must be because more than half of America are on a diet and not losing! Here are five tips that will help you to a slimmer body in no time.

Pay Attention to Your Metabolism!

Biologically speaking, your metabolism is defined as biological process that uses the heat (calories) that you store for energy. Most people focus on eating less, which isn’t particularly bad if you have a habit of binge eating.

However, focusing on increasing or speeding up your metabolism will result in long term success because you’ve trained your body to use up more calories. For example, let’s say you are trying to lose weight, and you consume a sleazy 1000 calories per day.

This little calories may not be enough for your body and you will feel tired and less active as a result; since you’re eating less and not focusing on your metabolism, you may lose a small weight just to gain it back because your body thinks that you are starving in the desert and start actively accumulating fat in your body to save for later.

Now, let’s say if you consume 2,500-3000 calories per day but you feel great and full of energy. This energy will get you moving, and your metabolism speeding up, which in effect burns your calories at a faster rate!

Change How You Relate to Food.

This may sound funny but studies shows that by eating more, your metabolism may actually get a boost and help you lose weight at a faster rate. Most of us undergo a vicious cycle when we diet; we tend to fall back into the old routine of motivation, diet, failure and depression.

We must change this habit before we are able realistically lose weight, keep it off, and not miss what we’ve lost. Stable weight loss can only be achieved by allowing ourselves to look at food in a different light. Food is there for us, it’s good for us. We need food to survive, food is not evil, too much may not be healthy, but it’s something that we need and is a part of our life processes.

You can starve yourself, or hate food for the rest of your life, just to find that you have to come running back to it, binge on it, and then be with filled with regret as floods of failure pours through you. We all know about the forbidden apple, the more our mind label it evil, the more tempting it appears and thus, the more we become obsessed with it.

Eat breakfast

This is very, very important! Eating breakfast not only starts your metabolism on the right track; it actually helps rid of bad breath as well. Eating breakfast can do tons of wonder in giving you a brain and productivity boost, starting your day off right, and controlling your appetite as well.

I normally don’t notice it, but when friends take notice that my appetite seems to wane after a humongous breakfast, or that during lunch, I don’t go seem to have weird ice cream and cake cravings, it usually correlates with the days I eat breakfast. Although this is just a personal experience, this is also biologically proven and you can ask the doctor the next time you visit him or her!

Eat in Smaller Portions but Multiple Times per day.

When you eat in smaller portions, your metabolism has to work harder because the initial energy is used many times and it’s the initial energy that burns the most calories.

Keep Track of Your Body’s Reaction to Drugs

Many times, we get so busy trying to lose weight that many of us fail to look at patterns in our weight fluctuations. Pay more attention to the food that tends to add a pound or two to your weight as well as medications like birth control pills, anti-depressant, herbal remedies, etc. These medications may also play a role in weight gain if not properly analyzed.

Consume more fruits and vegetables with high levels of antioxidant to help with your energy levels. Green tea, pomegranate Juice, and green leafy vegetables are health foods that will fight radicals and protect your body. This will keep it active and help you to deal with stress levels and lose weight at the same time.

Winter isn’t everyone’s favourite season. The long, cold days and nights can leave people feeling tired and depressed. If these low feelings continue for weeks on end, then you may be a sufferer of SAD or seasonal affective disorder as it is otherwise known.

Seasonal affective disorder is categorised as a series of symptoms which tend to appear during the winter months, usually between September and April, with the worst of the symptoms appearing around December, January and February.

Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder

SAD symptoms can include feelings of lethargy and tiredness, sleep problems and mood swings. Mild symptoms can include feelings of anxiety and a loss of libido. In severe cases, SAD can lead to depression. The symptoms usually last throughout the winter season and can cause all kinds of problems for sufferers.

According to SADA (The Season Affective Disorder Association), “SAD occurs throughout the northern and southern hemispheres, but is extremely rare amongst those who live within 30 degrees of the Equator.”

The disorder is caused by a lack of sunlight exposure in the northern and southern hemispheres during the winter months. The sun is a source of natural energy and lack of sunlight causes all kinds of problems. All living beings need light to grow and flourish, but when deprived of light, the body cannot fully grow to its potential. This is because sunlight impacts the body’s rhythms and it contains Vitamin D, which helps the body to absorb vitamins and minerals more readily, essential for growth and production of healthy cells.

Vitamin D, for humans, is obtained from sun exposure, food and supplements. However, only a small amount is actually required, as the body can store Vitamin D for long periods of time.

One of the ways in which people suffer from seasonal affective disorder is through feeling irritable or having low mood swings. A lack of sunshine can alter mood because it impacts serotonin, a hormone manufactured in the brain. The sun can help trigger the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter which can spur a sense of increased well-being and happiness.

Treatments for SAD

The severity of your SAD symptoms will determine which treatments you may want to consider. One of the most effective treatments is light treatment. You can buy a range of light boxes which mimic the effects of natural light, thereby combating SAD symptoms and increasing the feelings of well-being. Place one on your desk at work or by your bedside table and you will start to feel the effects that its light can bring. It can be beneficial to have the light by your bed, as it can help re-energise you for the day ahead.

Another option to help boost well-being during the winter is to eat plenty of serotonin-boosting foods such as bananas, tomatoes, broccoli and whole grains such as oats, which can be readily eaten in a porridge, for example. All of these foods will provide a natural boost.

There is considerable evidence that a healthy immune system and serotonin are related. The majority of your immune system and your serotonin lie in the gut. The healthier your gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the healthier your immune system. The healthier your immune system, the more serotonin you’ll have.

Exercise is also a great way to feel good and boost serotonin levels, thereby helping to ease feelings of a low mood or depression. When we exercise, our bodies move and our heart has to work harder to pump the oxygen around the body. Exercise can help to boost serotonin levels in the brain, leading to an increased sense of happiness and well-being.

There is evidence that exercise can also help to improve your mental health. If your seasonal affective disorder is severe and you have gone through all the treatments available, you may want to consider seeking assistance from a medical professional.

Do you have constant headaches? Did you know that many headaches are food related? Well, it’s true. The foods that you eat can have direct body and mind relations and effects. It’s been shown in studies that if you eat food that you do not care for or food that is forced, it can cause headaches in certain individuals, but when that same person eats food that they enjoy, the headaches are gone. Specific foods have certain ingredients that can trigger headaches.

Most individuals take food for granted and are unaware of how certain foods can effect their body. Take hypoglycemia for example. This condition is connected with low blood sugar, and is quite common in diabetic patients. Having low blood sugar can cause you to have constant headaches.

Monitoring your blood sugar level helps a great deal but when you feel dizzy or weak, you can simply take drink a glass of a sweet beverage such as orange juice to give you immediate relief. Many foods that provide you with simple carbohydrates can also raise your blood sugar back to normal and get you feeling better once again.

Another major cause of headaches are related to caffeine withdrawal. For those who drink many glasses of coffee, tea or caffeinated soda, each and every day, you body may be addicted to the caffeine in these beverages.

When you go a day without your caffeinated beverage, you may experience headaches in between. These headaches may become constant if you don’t cut down on how much caffeine you take in daily. Although caffeine can give you energy, it is usually temporary and the following results are usually fatigue and loss of energy. When cutting down on the amount of caffeine you drink, do it slowly and the headaches will eventually subside.

Some foods can cause headaches in certain people. Foods such as old cheese and yeast extracts have been known to induce headaches. Also, red wine as it contains a substance known as Tyramine that causes your head to throb. A deficiency in the enzyme oxidase can cause chronic headaches.

Avoiding these types of foods and substances can cause the decrease in headaches and eventually make them leave all together. Consuming natural foods is the best way to avoiding getting headaches in the first place. Avoiding foods that contain additives and artificial flavors can be very beneficial.

Allergies is another main cause of headaches. Getting medication to help with your allergies can really make a world of difference. There are many known causes of headaches but knowing what triggers them can help decrease them and give you more effective relief. Instead of taking headache medication on a daily basis, find out what is causing your chronic headaches and try to fix it.

Doing cardiovascular exercise on an empty stomach helps burn more fat. So skip breakfast and watch the fat melt off.

Many athletes and trainers have long debated the question of whether doing cardio on an empty stomach is beneficial to fat loss. The answer is yes. A study published in Muscle & Fitness Hers compared the effects of meal timing on the amount of fat and carbohydrates burned and have found that athletes who perform cardio on an empty stomach do get a fat-burning boost.

Research on Morning Cardio

The study compared two groups of people. One group did not eat before performing cardiovascular exercise. The other group ate a pre-workout meal. Researchers found that the former group burned more fat during their workout than the group who did eat before exercising. This proves that doing cardio on an empty stomach in the morning gives athletes and those trying to lose weight a significant advantage when it comes to burning off fat.

Why Cardio on an Empty Stomach Works

In the early morning, levels of muscle and liver glycogen are lower because of overnight fasting. This depleted amount of glycogen and lowered blood sugar levels are the ideal factors for burning fat instead of carbohydrates. Glycogen is reserved carbohydrates and the body’s primary source of energy. So when these levels are low, the body moves on to the secondary source of energy, which is fat.

Morning cardio on an empty stomach is also beneficial because of the afterburn effect. After a cardio session, exercisers will continue to burn fat because of an elevated metabolism that continues throughout the day. Doing cardio at night will only cause an elevated metabolism until the time an athlete goes to sleep, when the metabolism rate drops significantly.

Not to be diminished is the mental benefit morning cardio provides. Starting the day by tackling a difficult task, like vigorous activity, provides a feeling of accomplishment that can help exercisers stay positive and motivated to continue their healthy lifestyle throughout the rest of the day.

Eating Before Training

There are some people, who, despite the proven benefits, just cannot stomach a training session without having some fuel in them. Don’t despair. The study showed that the group that had the pre-workout meal did continue to burn more fat than the fasting group two hours after the end of their exercise session. So upfront fat burn isn’t as great, but long-term fat burn is better for those that do eat before training.

Another option for those who can’t do cardio on an empty stomach is to do cardio after weight training. Lifting weights burns carbs so the body will then have low stores of glycogen at the end of a weight training session. Doing cardio at this point mimics morning cardio on an empty stomach because the body will eat through the depleted glycogen as energy and then move on to fat as the reserve energy source.

We all dread winter. Especially, when we live in an area where the winters are bitter cold with ice and snow.

Today is one of those days in Michigan, when it drizzles constantly, the sky is cloudy, and it feels cold all over. I would just love to sit in my computer and do nothing else but write, drink hot tea and snack on some cheese and crackers. If I do that all winter long, I am going to regret it when next spring comes, since I was able to adjust to some good eating habits that I have so successfully kept for the past 8 months

So what are we supposed to do in the winter months and avoid weight gain? There are quite a few options. Joining the gym is one. But not all of us have the luxury of joining a gym. Working out at home is another option. Preparing good healthy meals and drinks also helps in maintaining a steady weight and not gaining it in the winter months.

There are quite a few tapes and cd’s in the market that will help keep you motivated to stay active. Sometimes we get bored of the same routine over and over again, but once you start exercising you feel much better.

Exercise gives more energy, battles depression and increases endorphins in our bodies that we lack in the winter months due to no sun. Walking in the winter months is also a good exercise. Even if it is bitterly cold outside, the cold weather boosts up your metabolism and helps keep your weight in control. It’s not so bad to go for a walk when it’s sunny after a snowfall. Just make sure you dress very warm.

Let’s not forget the holidays. Along with winter we have Thanksgiving and Christmas and the abundance of parties, food and drinks. How can you avoid gaining weight when the holiday season is so short and packed with so many parties; and yet on the other hand you want to enjoy it?

When invited to a party, it’s best to eat something before arriving. A small snack or even a small meal will help stave off hunger for a while, so you won’t binge on the snacks. While at the party, stay away from snacks loaded with calories. It’s best to eat a few veggies and some cheese and crackers. They are healthy and will fill you up so you won’t feel hungry. As for drinks, the best way is to either drink water, or a glass of wine. Mixed drinks pack up the calories. With all the sugar in them, they will make you hungrier and crave more food.

So you survived the holiday season, but you still have a couple of winter months before spring arrives. How do you eat healthy when there is not an abundance of fresh vegetables? It’s easy to prepare meals that are warm and healthy.

Frozen vegetables keep their vitamins more so than canned. A heated bag of frozen veggies, along with some roasted chicken, or fish and you have a warm meal to keep you satisfied. Another good option is legumes, like white beans and lentils. There are recipes that you can make with these that will keep you warm and satisfied.

The most important thing to keeping the weight off during the winter months is being active. No matter how many vegetables, or how many times you watch what you eat, if you are not active, you will gain the weight. So stay fit, and stay healthy.

As we’re approaching the shortest day of the year many of us are fighting depression because of lack of sunlight. Symptoms may include anything from feeling gloomy to full-blown depression. Most SAD sufferers lose interest in regular social activities they enjoyed when there were more daylight hours. However, you don’t have to give in to the “winter time blues”, or what’s called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Here are some helpful tips to prevent SAD from stealing your joy.

Exercise—Tip #1 for Preventing or Coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder

1. Get off the couch and move! That's the first step you should take when you feel yourself getting down during the winter cold and darkness. If it's too cold to walk outside, just walk in your house for 30 minutes. Set a timer, turn on your favorite TV show or radio program to keep your mind occupied and walk until the timer goes off.

2. Use a treadmill. If you don't already own one, they're really not that costly. In fact you're sure to find one on special at either an early-morning pre-Christmas or after Christmas sales. Or, If you do have a treadmill or exercise bike, dust it off and start moving. No only will you burn calories, but your endorphins will kick in, improving your mood. Also, why not walk at a local indoor mall where you can see others walking, as well as find a walking buddy or join an existing group that walks regularly at the mall.

3. Join a gym. Look for fitness centers that offer discounts if you think it's not in your budget. Surprisingly, many athletic and fitness centers regularly offer specials, as well as discounts for bringing in new members.

Use Light Therapy—Tip #2 for Preventing or Coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder

Using light therapy to treat SAD is a highly effective. First, try sitting near a sunny window or if you have a sunroom, spend most of your time in there. I remember how just sitting in our Connecticut sunroom used to cheer me up when we first moved from Florida to New England. Even on a frigid, snowy day, all I had to do was spend time in the sunroom and my spirits were lifted.

However, if you have a bad case of SAD, you may need to take further steps as in many cases, ordinary light bulbs are not strong enough to work. However, there are varieties of commercial lightboxes you can buy that are effectual. Sit about two to three feet from a specially designed lightbox for about 30 minutes to an hour each day. After about three or four days, you should see results. You don’t’ have to just sit, but can carry on with daily activities such as reading, needlework, and other hobbies and chores (just so you’re close enough to the lightbox.)

Cut Back on Carbs—Tip #3 for Preventing or Coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder

If you’re struggling with SAD, chances are you’re both craving and eating more carbohydrates. Unfortunately, this only leads to more problems, as you become tired and grow even more depressed because of a winter weight gain. But by disciplining yourself to eat more protein and less carbs (include only the good ones such as fresh fruits, whole grains, whole wheat breads), you’ll feel better, both physically and emotionally. A good idea is to clear your house of bad carbs (You know the ones—cookies, cakes, sugars, chips, white flour products, etc.) Winter is an excellent time to join a weight loss program, such as Weight Watchers, where you’ll not only learn how to eat healthier, but get moral support for your goal of losing weight.

Decide to Enjoy Winter—Tip #4 for Preventing or Coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder

Finally, think of ways to enjoy winter. Instead of counting the days until spring arrives, think of fun winter activities. Learn to ski, snowboard, or ice skate. Or, just have fun with your kids making a snowman. It just may be that winter could become one of your favorite seasons.

Working out is one of those necessary evils in life and I’d like to share with you a few simple reasons you should make it something you strive to add to your life.

Working out improves your sex life. If nothing else revs you up about working out, hopefully this will. It’s actually been scientifically proven that regular exercise can increase sexual drive, activity, and satisfaction. Physical endurance and muscle toning improve sexual prowess, and exercise jump-starts the sympathetic nervous system, which increases blood flow to the genital area.

Even low levels of exercise help keep you functioning properly. In fact, men can significantly lower their risk of erectile dysfunction by burning only 200 calories a day.

Lose weight and feel great! It’s no secret that excess weight wreaks havoc on the body. From minor aches and pains to heart disease and high cholesterol- working out will help you lose weight and potentially decrease and possibly remove many health woes. Working out also boosts immunity making you less likely to get sick. In fact, it is estimated that physically active people can save up to $1,000 a year in regular healthcare costs.

Gain confidence. Working out improves your confidence levels. As you get started on a workout routine your body will lose fat and get toned. Just knowing that you are working towards a new and improved body makes you feel better about yourself mentally and emotionally. Working out will inevitably give your self-image and self-confidence a boost, which is often one of the best motivators to stick to a workout program.

Improve brain function. Exercise causes a drop in stress hormones and acts as an antidepressant. If you have ever experienced a “runners-high” then you know exactly what I am referring to. In general, anything that is good for your heart is great for your brain and exercise is definitely good for your heart.