Fun Fitness Tips!

I'm starting a new set of posts.  They can be found under the label "Health & Fitness".  These posts will include information I am gleaning from a new source I'm reading called Natural Health Magazine and other fitness books, etc. that I'm enjoying.  This information presented below is taken from today's  morning issue of the Albany Times Union in the "Thrive" section of the paper. That article received the information from the Akron Beacon Journal. The words in bold type are directly from the news article. All other info is my own.

I would love to hear any fitness tips you have relating to this post!  Please share in the comment section.

We all have set goals or resolutions for the new calender year, right??  I have a couple health-related ones:  I want to acquire the taste for red wine (I'll explain below), and I have a goal of working out 5 days a week rather than 3. This one will be a challenge for me until June because of after-school obligations, but I am determined to make/find the time.  I love the following fitness tips because they are actually FUN!  Who says fitness and good health can't be fun??

• EAT MORE CHOCOLATE! The article states that there has been research that shows that eating chocolate, in moderation of course, increases blood flow to the brain, decreases the impact of heart disease, and can even fight depression. "just 6.7 grams of chocolate (my doc says to stick to DARK chocolate not milk chocolate) or a small square 2-3 times a day are enough to give you the health benefits. This is good news for me, my husband and daughters. We ALL love good chocolate. Moderation is the key, of course, otherwise those calories WILL add up. So, I'll buy a pound of dark chocolate from Hershey's and divide it up for the week for us. Sounds fun and tasty, right?
• DANCE! Dancing burns calories (which is why my 14 yr old ballerina is starving after her 3 ballet classes!). It can also reduce stress, strengthens muscles and bones and can improve relationships. Now I have a good excuse to tell my daughter when she rolls her eyes as Dave and I ballroom dance in the kitchen.....or I "dance" along with whatever music is on the radio. Do you like to dance? try it! it really IS fun!!

• GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE!  This means do things by learning something new (which helps to stimulate your brain). Our brains do need exercise.  Do things like put puzzles together, crosswords or word searches, sudoku, learn a new hobby like knitting, latchhook, reading new books or a different genre, taking a class you've always wanted to try, re-learning the foreign language you had to take in high school.  Learning new things is FUN! One thing I'm  adding to my reading list is biography books.  I used to enjoy reading biographies and I want to get back to them. 
• TAKE A MENTAL TIMEOUT. We tend to take sick days when we are physically ill, right? The article suggests that we take a personal day (or a vacation day) when we feel very stressed.  Unchecked stress and depression can lead to negative things like heart disease and anxiety.  We all need to de-stress from various things in our lives.  Find something you enjoy, that is relaxing to you, and do it!  I will be posting more articles about this as the year progresses because this is also something my small group is working on. One thing I do almost every day is spend a little time outdoors. This meets my spiritual temperament of "naturalist" and gives me a relaxed mood for my emotional well-being.  It can also give me physical exercise if it's a day for power-walking or biking/hiking.  Another thing I do to de-stress is play the piano, listen to music on my ipod, or just read for pleasure.  What do you do??
• DRINK COFFEE! well, as soon as I saw THIS tip I was so happy. Because I had just read another article earlier in the week about the benefits to women and coffee drinking. Within moderation of course. The article today says that research has shown that drinking 2-3 eight ounce cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease (up to 40%) and Alzheimer's disease (by up to 20%).  My doctor also says that decaf can actually be worse for you because of the chemicals that are required in the process of getting the caffeine out.  So...enjoy another cup of your favorite coffee!!!  It's not hard for ME to do!
• GO SHOE SHOPPING!  yup....go shopping! The article suggests that women should replace high heels with shoes that have a thicker heel that's 2 1/4 inches or smaller. It also recommended that you should go for square-toed shoes rather than pointy-toed versions.  My chiropractor also informed me that women who wear high heels often, will tend to have lower back pain/issues and bunions.  This is true for pointy shoes as well.....they can lead to bunions. I already have bunions from wearing pointy flats....but I do choose lower heels most of the time and I HAVE noticed a difference in the back pain. So, shop for some new shoes, ladies!!
• LAUGH!  There IS a reason that God put in His Word that a cheeful heart doeth good like a medicine! (Proverbs).  The article states that research has shown that laughter has a positive effect on blood flow and sleep, among other things. So, turn on Netflix and find a great romantic-comedy with your hubby.  Watch cartoons or old shows on Hulu with your children. (again, in moderation, right??).  Read the comics, attend a comedy show or a comedy play.  Rent or borrow comedies if you don't have Netflix or cable. Before we had Netflix, we used to choose comedies or romantic-comedies from our town library which has a wide assortment of good dvds. Play board games with friends for a social night at home or have family game nights.  Have fun and LAUGH!

Another fun tip I have been learning about is drinking red wine.

add dark chocolate to it and you also increase your hormonal balance.

image taken from nationalpost.com

I've always known that there are benefits to red wine but I've never really liked the taste.

Please keep in mind that not everyone has the same spiritual/religious convictions about wine drinking. My conviction is that a little bit of wine is ok for me as long as I am at home or not the designated driver. I limit my self to one glass because any thing more than that either gives me a headache or makes me very sleepy!  I also am very careful about not having wine around a couple of my friends or relatives who have had struggles with alcohol addictions.  

Red Wine offers the following benefits: (this info is taken from Fitday website). Please note that drinking alcohol can lead to weight gain and alcoholism.  Limit your daily intake.

• Helps your heart stay healthy!  It raises the level of the "good"cholesterol, helps prevent the formation of blood clots, and can help protect your arteries from the "bad" cholesterol.  Drink only up to 24 ounces a day as alcohol can lead to alcoholism and weight gain.
• It contains antioxidants! These slow the process of aging and can prevent a number of degenerative diseases like Type II Diabetes. It can also help the elderly in the protection against osteoporosis if you drink a glass daily.
• It helps prevent cancer! Geurcetin, one of the many antioxidants found in red wine, can help prevent lung cancer. And research has shown that resveratrol which protects your heart from disease, also kills cancerous cells! 
• It helps prevent tooth decay! This was new info for me.Even non-alcohol red wine, can prevent tooth decay by hardening the enamel on your teeth! It also helps prevent gum disease and inflammation of the gums.  Again,this is due to the polyphenols in the wine.

SO....find a bottle of good red wine and enjoy a glass this weekend!

I had a few sips of a Merlot at a Christmas party and liked it very much.  My husband learned to enjoy red wine when he was working in Italy about 14 yrs ago so we are going to start keeping a bottle in the house for an occasional glass.  It's a nice way to enjoy a meal together and keep ourselves a little more fit.

What are some FUN things you do for FITNESS??