One of the best and easiest ways to take care of your body is by staying hydrated. Water makes up roughly 60% of your body and is essential for every one of your cells to function. If the water content in your body drops by even 2%, your mind starts to lose alertness and your body will begin to feel fatigued. A loss of 10% of the body's water can cause physical and mental deterioration, and a loss of 15% - 25% can cause death. Most people know how important staying hydrated is, yet some studies have indicated that 75% of Americans are functioning in a chronic state of dehydration. Symptoms of chronic dehydration include:
This article from foodmatters.com is worth a read if you want to learn more about the symptoms of dehydration We are so lucky to live in a country where we have fresh, clean, drinking water flowing from the tap. We just don’t know how lucky we are to have this available to us. Earlier this year, I took a trip to India to visit my brother. This trip was incredibly eye opening for me. You can not drink the water in India. You can not brush your teeth with the water out of the tap in India. India is incredibly hot and dry. It was about 100 degrees every day I was there. I drank a lot of water. In our travels I noticed women walking along the side of the road carrying huge loads. I took this photo on the way to an organic spice farm in Goa, India. It was 108º F that day and dry. Just look at the load this woman was carrying. This was on the side of a very busy road where dirt bikes, rickshaws, cars, and livestock were zipping around. I have this photo saved in my favorites on my iPhone. Anytime I think I have it bad or I am having a hard day, I bring up this photo and get instant perspective. I learned that the task of retrieving water on a daily basis for some women living in rural India is a constant challenge. The Water Project reports that nearly 1 billion people in the developing world don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. Water is the fountain of life and today, all around the world, people are spending the entire day searching for it. The Water Project Reports: “Indian women can take up to six trips a day to gather and transport water. These walks in rural regions can average ten miles a day, carrying up to fifteen liters every trip. The women load jars or buckets on their heads to carry water. The pressure, added with the distance to water sources, creates back, feet, and posture problems. The heat increases their exhaustion, and the chore itself takes away much needed time for other duties. It is a great loss for these women to spend their days fetching water; they are removed from being able to make an income, better care for their children, or in a younger girl's circumstance, be able to get a proper education. It is common for girls in rural India to drop out of school, so as to help carry out the burden of moving water.” How is that for perspective? What is the obstacle that is getting in your way of being properly hydrated? Is it because you are worried about the inconvenience of more frequent bathroom breaks? Don’t like the taste? Would rather drink coffee or soda? It is time to get over these obstacles and commit to getting yourself properly hydrated. Your body is about 60% water… and just a small 2% decrease can significantly impair performance and the way you feel. Our recommendation is to drink at least half of your body weight in ounces each day. This is critically important. If you are not already drinking this amount of water, make the commitment today. Example: If you weigh 200 pounds, you should be drinking a minimum of 100 ounces of water each day. Need motivation to drink more water? Download our strategies here. Water should be the main drink you consume on a daily basis. We want you to avoid alcohol, sugary juices, and soda because those beverages do nothing to serve you. Not only that, they’re loaded with sugar that will spike your insulin. It places a heavy load on your body to detoxify from it, which is the exact opposite of what we’re trying to achieve with proper hydration. Hope this helps provide you with a little perspective and tools and resources to commit to proper hydration. Cheers! Paige Download our habits tracker here: www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/habitstracker Enter your contact information to receive some free tools and resources to support your habits for massive impact. Visit the link above to sign up to receive more support from us. We will send you information via email to help support your habits for massive impact including a printable habits tracker that you can use to measure your progress within the next 21 days. Join our Healthy Living FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WilcoxHealthyLiving/ Join our free private FaceBook Group - Healthy Living with Wilcox Wellness & Fitness to connect with us live. Daily we post all things healthy living - pro tips for healthy living, recipes, and weekly workouts for you to do at home. We will answer any question you post and we encourage you get involved in the discussion. Join Wilcox Wellness & Fitness’ mailing list: http://www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/keep-in-touch.html
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Many people ask what our trainers eat in a day. Katie Norwood is our senior trainer, and is an amazing athlete and person. Since January of this year, Katie has already run over 1,300 miles! She has also completed four Ironmans and run the Boston Marathon. Besides being a great athlete, Katie also loves helping others fall in love with fitness. She is often seen munching on healthy snacks here and there between her training sessions at the gym. This is from Katie - what she eats in a day. Being a personal trainer, I am on my feet all day and am constantly in-between clients trying to scarf some food down! At work, I know that I get one chance to show people that working out can be the best part of their day so I constantly need to be ON POINT. A lot of people have been asking lately what I eat in a day with my busy schedule. The key for me is to prepare and plan my meals and snacks so that I can nourish myself throughout the day. 4:30 am // Wake up call! 4:35 am // I drink 16 oz of water. 5:00 am // Overnight oats - this is filled with healthy carbs and protein. This keeps me going and energized until my mid-morning snack! Check out our recipe here: www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/overnight-oats 8:00am // Apple with peanut butter I also make small snacks that I can eat if I am busy in-between clients so I always have SOMETHING to nosh on. Grapes or some sort of nuts. 11:30 am // Berries/Watermelon 1:00 pm // Lunch is a salad loaded with veggies, avocado, and chicken or tuna. The protein gives me fuel and energy. 4:30 pm // Rx bar - very filling and satisfying - also made from whole foods with very few ingredients 7:30 pm // Steak and sweet potato with onions and peppers. 8:30 pm// Popcorn- either Boom chica pop or Skinny pop I have popcorn EVERY NIGHT. It satisfies my sweet tooth and has healthy carbs in it! Everyday: a gallon of water and 12oz of green tea or Kombucha! There you have it - what our senior trainer, Katie eats in a day. Katie eats very well so that she can perform at her best both in life and in her athletic pursuits. She follows our Habits for Massive Impact in terms of nutrition. Here they are: It is also important to note that as long as you are on point following these guidelines 80% of the time the other 20% of the time you can really enjoy yourself and indulge in your favorite foods and activities. Enjoy! Paige & Katie Download our Overnight Oats Recipe www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/overnight-oats.html Get Inspired by our Favorite Recipes https://www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/nourish.html Join our Healthy Living FaceBook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/WilcoxHealthyLiving/ Join our free private FaceBook Group - Healthy Living with Wilcox Wellness & Fitness to connect with us live. Daily we post all things healthy living - pro tips for healthy living, recipes, and weekly workouts for you to do at home. We will answer any question you post and we encourage you get involved in the discussion.
Everyone is just... so... BUSY! You are on the run all the time. Sometimes you are just trying to survive running from meeting to meeting, event to event - there is not much time in there for meal prep. We are pulled in so many different directions. We have responsibilities at home, busy careers, and involvement in community events that keep us on the run and away from our kitchens that we have stocked with the most nutritious of foods ;).
It can be challenging to stay on point in terms of nutrition when we are on the run and out of our routine. Challenging, yes… impossible… not at all. Included here is a free PDF with our best strategies, tips and tricks to help you stay on point when you are on the run. Good News! Most people are not eating enough to give them the energy to get them through their day and we are going to encourage you to eat more (of the right stuff – whole foods only please)! To maintain energy levels and keep your metabolism burning, it is important for you to be constantly fueled throughout the day. This means starting your day with a wholesome breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up and then eating every 2-3 hours to keep the fires burning. This is one of our Habits for Massive Impact – Eat Consistently Throughout the Day.
Staying hydrated is one of the BEST ways you can take care of your body, as water is essential to maintain the function of every cell in your body. Proper hydration increases your energy levels, promotes weight loss, flushes toxins, improves skin quality and digestion, as well as relieving joint pain and even headaches! On the BDN Blog - Inspire Healthy Living - we are talking about the importance of proper hydration. Click the link below to read the entire article. Our recommendation is for you to drink half your body weight in fluid ounces of water daily. Here is a resource to help you with that calculation: Want some support implementing your new habits?
So we know that habits are important, we know that we want to form healthy habits as the foundation for our amazing life, we know that we want to ensure these habits are going to be sustainable for a lifetime, and we know what habits to implement. Research tells us that it takes 21 days to form a habit. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu. The first step is generally the most difficult so we have developed some tools and resources to support you along your journey. Visit www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/habitstracker to sign up to receive more support from us. We will send you information via email to help support your habits for massive impact including a printable habits tracker that you can use to measure your progress within the next 21 days. At Wilcox Wellness & Fitness, we strive to help you live the healthiest life possible by giving you the tools and resources to make small changes that can have a large impact on your health. This image outlines the top 12 fruits and vegetables that have been found to have the highest levels of pesticides when conventionally grown. These pesticides can cause a negative impact on your health. Strive to purchase organic fruits and vegetables that are listed on the dirty dozen. This image also shows the clean fifteen – the fruits and vegetables that have the lowest levels of pesticides when conventionally grown. Of the items listed on the clean fifteen, money can be saved by buying the conventionally grown option over to the organic option. The best choice for the most nutrition options is always organic and local available at Bangor area farmers markets.
So what's with all the hype about juicing? Sure we know it's good for you but what's the difference between drinking and actually eating all the fruits and vegetables? Well, for one, it's going to be a lot easier to get your daily servings from the basic food groups. Remember the food pyramid you learned about in school? It's still around people, just redesigned and ignoring it may even shorten your life. Here's a little refresher course for those of you sitting there saying "Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that thing once". The American Heart Association suggests an intake of 1600-2000 calories a day. Of course, this will vary depending on your age, height, weight, etc but, it's a good starting point. So, according to the 'plate', roughly a quarter of these calories should come from grains. Breads, cereals, pasta... Sure, it sounds easy right now. Who doesn't love carbs? Next we add in 300-500 calories of protein and throw in a few servings of dairy. Now, take all of those calories and try to match them in the amount fruits and vegetables you consume and you have yourself one busy day ahead of you. Keep this in mind... You can drink way more fruits and vegetables than you could eat in the same amount of time. In order to get an equal amount of benefits from 16 ounces of fresh juice, you would need to eat two pounds of the green stuff. Drinking your fruits and vegetables aids in your body's ability to breakdown their nutrients, sending them into your bloodstream at a much faster rate. And, 95% of the vitamins, minerals and living enzymes are found in the juice and not the fiber of the fruit. Bottom line? You get a huge burst of energy without the crash later. LONG TERM BENEFITS While you are feeling energized for the day, you can also take comfort in the fact that juicing can help to fight cancer and other illnesses, aid in sleep, strengthen your immune system, and keep your body in an alkaline state. (Most illnesses flourish when the body is in an acidic state but more on this in a later post.) Studies have shown that juicing improves cardiovascular health, detoxifies the liver, contributes to healthy skin, nails and hair, and aids in rebuilding blood cells. Naming all of the benefits to juicing would make reading this take longer than eating two pounds of vegetables. Kale alone is rich in:
WHY NOT JUST TAKE VITAMINS? Ah those little miracle capsules that promise all the benefits of a healthy diet in one little pill. Don't get me wrong, vitamins are extremely beneficial to those who are deficient in certain categories. There are also a variety of supplements for your body that you just can't get from food - or at least any food found in your average grocery store. But, given the opportunity to drink a glass of fresh orange juice or take a vitamin C - Drink the fresh squeezed Juice! While the capsules do contain the actual 'vitamins', they lack the Phytochemicals such as carotenoids and flavonoids, which work in synergy to help your body absorb the nutrients at a slower rate. Why is this a good thing? Because vitamins taken on their own are absorbed so quickly into the system that the body thinks it doesn't need all of the nutrients and scurries to get rid of the leftovers. Ever taken a multivitamin and seen your urine turn fluorescent? That is literally your money being flushed down the toilet. IN CONCLUSION Okay, so juicing is super beneficial. In my opinion, the only real convincing you need is to try one when that afternoon slump comes barreling down on you. It's so much better than just overloading your body with vitamin B for a fast fix and won't keep you up at night like a late-in-the-day cup of coffee. Check out Tiller & Rye in Brewer for their amazing array of fresh juices. Grass-fed meat is lower in fat and calories than commercially raised animals. "As an example, a 6-ounce steak from a grass-finished steer can have 100 fewer calories than a 6-ounce steak from a grain-fed steer. If you eat a typical amount of beef (66.5 pounds a year), switching to lean grassfed beef will save you 17,733 calories a year—without requiring any willpower or change in your eating habits. If everything else in your diet remains constant, you'll lose about six pounds a year. If all Americans switched to grassfed meat, our national epidemic of obesity might diminish."
Read more at: http://www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm This week we are loving all of the fresh local garlic in our Nettie Fox Farm Share. Garlic has many health benefits with powerful antioxidants and elements that reduce inflammation and stimulate immune response. For maximum health benefits, crush or chop garlic cloves 10 minutes before cooking - heating the garlic immediately after chopping inactivates a crucial healthy enzyme. Below is a card on the healthy benefits of garlic along with our favorite garlicky shrimp scampi recipe. ENJOY!
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