Garden

Gardening is such a pleasure for me. I love flowers and plants and getting my hands dirty.  There is something so therapeutic about it.  If  I lived in an apartment, there would doubtless be plants on the balcony and along side any windows. Gardening is a source of fitness, with all that digging, lifting and bending and takes me away from the kitchen and the temptation of snacking. But best of all it is an aesthetic exercise, blending colours and textures and visualizing how something will look sometimes months in advance. It is calming and meditative and so many life-affirming things all at the same time.

Walk

Take Time Out

Glancing out the window one evening I happened to notice the beautiful pink streaks that were splashed across the sky. Grabbing my camera, I quickly drove down to the beach in time to experience the evening's sunset.

Sometimes there's nothing better that you can do for yourself than simply take time out. Leave those dishes after dinner and go out to see the sunset, leave the laundry for another day and take a walk in the woods, or garden or city park. Whatever your particular time out is, it is best if it involves something that is uplifting to you.  If it involves the appreciation of nature, all the better.  Just taking as little as 15 minutes for time out can give you a large a return on your investment... in the form of enjoying the here and now, and appreciating what is readily available to you.  It can be a reminder that life holds precious moments that cost nothing in terms of money, only an expenditure of time, and results in true enrichment for your spirit and sense of well being. 

Yoga

It's no secret that the practice of yoga is good for you. I certainly know that yin yoga leaves my feeling blissful. Requiring no expensive equipment or gear, yoga's benefits are numerous. Here are just some of the things yoga can do for you:

1. Relieves stress
2. Improves flexibility
3. Improves strength
4. Increases energy levels
5. Improves sleep
6. Heightens mental and intuitive awareness
7. Increases lubrication of joints
8. Aids in pain management
9. Enhances your breathing
10. Induces a feeling of calm
11. Aids memory
12. Improves circulation
13. Improves concentration
14. Creates inner peace, relieving anxiety and depression
15. Improves posture
16. Promotes relaxation

Cosmetic Clear-out

I regularly clean out my clothes closets as the seasons change, but I tend to forget about my make-up. When I recently went through my cosmetic bag, and various drawers in the bathroom I unearthed lots of cosmetics (pictured here) that are years old. In fact, incredibly,  some of them date back to at least the 80's. How could I have possibly held onto them this long? It's a good thing that I don't still use them. Time to give them the old heave ho! 

I checked various sources to see just what cosmetics' lifespans are and found differing estimates. But, here is a general guide for some of the most often used:
Mascara - 3 months maximum
Eye shadow - 2 years for powder, 1 year for cream
Eyeliner - 3 months for liquid, 3 years for pencil
Blush - 2 years for powder, 1 year for cream
Lipstick - 1 to 2 years
Lip liner - 1 year
Nail polish - 1 year, if good quality
Don't forget to wash your brushes and sponges weekly with a mild detergent

Moisturize

I have dry skin so I avoid using soap on my face. Recently I have taken a look at the list of ingredients on moisturizers and the number of chemicals used in even the most basic is quite staggering. Besides keeping yourself hydrated by drinking lots of water every day, I wondered what else I could use that is natural.  Not surprisingly, olive oil is great as it's filled with fatty acids and antioxidants. But there are lots other household ingredients  that can be applied to skin as a facial.  Any of one of the following foods (and there are others), or a combination of several, can be dabbed onto the skin as a homemade facial.  Just blend them into a paste, apply to your skin, leave on for a short time and then wash them off with warm water. 

Olive oil

Honey

Avocado

Banana

Apricot

Olive Oil, or is it?

Olive oil, being cholesterol free is currently the star of the oils. We have been using it, and especially the extra virgin grade, exclusively in our house for years. I have done so with confidence that is the right choice for our health.  But of course, yet again, when it comes to the food you eat, it isn't ever that easy. After hearing that what we buy in the store is often mixed with other cheaper and less healthy oils , I was shocked (how can I still be so naive?) and rushed to find out more.

Turns out there is cause for alarm. It truly is a case of Buyer Beware! The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has been doing random testing on bottled olive oils taken from Canadian grocery store shelves for years and has been handing out fines to companies who are selling what is labelled as 100% olive oil, but is actually olive oil mixed with other vegetable oils or cheaper grades of olive oils. All in the name of increased profits. When caught, the companies linked to the products have been fined, but the fraud continues.

These adulterated oils look the same to consumers' eyes. So what is a person to do? I'm still struggling with that one, but having a look at some of the following is a start.

Further information:

The Chronicle Herald, published "Slippery Slope to the Truth", June 5, 2012.

Past president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ronald L. Doering, "Losing Virginity: The Adulteration of Olive Oil", March 2012.

The Globe and Mail published "That Olive Oil May Not be that Virginal", Nov. 22, 2011.

CBC's "Marketplace" did a story on fake olive oil in 2000.

A list of brands and prosecuted distributors.

An explanation of the different grades for olive oils according to the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC) definitions.

"Is Your Olive Oil Really Olive Oil?" Mark's Daily Apple  offers some advice.

Colour Me Beautiful, Again

Have you had your colours done?  That was a common question back in the eighties when a craze to find out your "season" was all all the rage. Anyone could enhance their appearance by using the right shades of colours for their wardrobe, accessories and make-up. It actually made a lot of sense, because you could focus on the colour palette that was the most becoming to your skin tone and everything coordinated without effort.

It began in 1980 when Carole Jackson published Colour Me Beautiful, a book that outlined the colour system. She had her own colour consulting firm in New York and branches spread throughout North America.  It wasn't long before other companies took notice and copied with similar systems.

I can still remember going for my session, which was limited to four people at a time. I had had to book well in advance. I was thrilled because the person giving the session had been personally trained by Carole Jackson and so I knew I was getting the real deal. I turned out to be a "spring", the rarest of all the groups and apparently had the hardest colours to find in the shops, perhaps because we make up the smallest segment of the market.  Lucky winters, black, red and white always seem to be in style!

We were given a packet of colour swatches to make shopping easier, a list of our colours rated according to how well they enhanced our appearance, and a list of well-known cosmetic brands with the names of the shades that would work the best for our season.

The wonderful thing about the system was that it really did work. I saw many people transformed by wearing the right colours. And all the guess work was removed because on the back of the list that rated your best colours, there was an itemized list that told you what to buy for make-up, shoes and handbags, jewelry, hoisery, and even furs (this was the '80s). There were also instructions for hiar colour and which colours should be used as your neutrals, in other words which colours should form the basics in your wardrobe.

For years, I followed the system devotedly and had a closet of pretty snazzy coordinated clothes. Everything did work with everything else. No more silver jewelry for me, only gold as advised by Carole.  But over the years, other colours started to creep into my wardrobe, and some years I just couldn't find corals, acquas and perriwinkles.

But coral seems to be everywhere this year. Hurray! When I was younger I may have been able to wear unflattering colours and still carry it off. But now I can use some extra help. So I have retrieved my copy of Colour Me Beautiful from the basement and dug around and found the plastic wallet filled with my colour swatches. The make-up list is hopelessly out-of-date, but no matter. I know the right choices to make. I was, after all, a total devotee!


An old Color Me Beautiful video that helps you determine your season and shoots you right back to the '80s is on YouTube!

Cut Out Sugar

Excess sugar consumption can lead to diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Sugar is also known to have addictive properties.




Further Reading:
- Read about the dangers of sugar, the only food that is both a fat and a carb.
- Television show 60 Minutes aired a segment entitled "Is Sugar Toxic?" on April 1, 2012 that gives a wonderful overview on the subject.
- Dr. Robert Lustig's "Sugar: the Bitter Truth" lecture, mentioned in the 60 Minutes segment, is available on YouTube.
- Nancy Appleton, author of Lick the Sugar Habit, lists 100 sugar dangers.

Artist Dates

The artist's date is a tool that Julia Cameron writes about in her popular book, The Artist's Way. Visiting 1001 Pots, North America's largest ceramic exhibition, was my artist's date last week. I have sadly neglected my artist's dates for some time now, but I am hereby committing to doing a weekly artist date regularly once again.


Here is what Julia Cameron has to say about them:

"An artist date is a block of time, perhaps two hours weekly, especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist... a visit to a great junk shop, ...a long country walk, a solitary expedition to the beach for a sunrise or sunset.... Art is an image-using system. In order to create, we draw from our inner well... If we don't give some attention to upkeep, our well is apt to become depleted, stagnant, or blocked.... Filling the well involves the active pursuit of images to refresh our artistic reservoirs.... How do we fill the well? We feed it images. Art is an artist-brain pursuit. The artist brain is our image brain, home and haven to our best creative impulses.... The artist brain is the sensory brain: sight and sound, smell and taste, touch." 

Meditation

Meditation.  Easier said than done. I am a complete beginner so it is all rather a mystery to me. But knowing all the wonderful things meditation can do for you, I am willing to give it a try. 


Meditation is a great healer, acting on the physical, mental, social, emotional and spiritual health of a person. It brings focus, calmness, clarity and insight. It can help you fight stress, cope with chronic pain, feel happier and be more peaceful.


With such a wealth of positives, why wouldn't I want to give it a go? As a beginner, I couldn't begin to tell you how to meditate. There are many resources out there that instruct on how to meditate if you feel you want to join me. I will begin my meditation journey this week and will report back at a later date on how it goes. 

Fruit

While I have always liked fruits, my repertoire has generally been quite limited. According to everything I've been reading lately, it is the rich yellow, orange and red fruits that I should be concentrating on. 


More than just the vitamins, fruit contains fibre, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals; and the list of benefits is staggering! Sources differ as to just how many servings of fruits one should eat in a day. Canada's Food Guide says 7 to 10 servings of vegetables and fruits, combined, per day. One serving of fruit is equal to one medium piece of fruit, so a grapefruit equals two. Other examples of a serving: 1/4 cup of dried fruit, 1 cup of fruit salad, or 1/2 cup of pure fruit juice. Looked at like that, the goal seems achievabe.


I posted an entry about the benefits of strawberies, but I have to take a look at other fruits as well. I'll be doing that in the days to come. For now, I've discovered that Canadian Living Magazine has an article listing the top 25 healthy fruits.  There's also a great webpage that lists and provides individual nutritional information on a large number of fruits including their selection, storage, preparation and serving. 

Pu-erh Tea

Pu-erh tea (from Pu-er county in southern Yunnan Province, China) has been in the media lately for its curative properties. Made from leaves plucked from the Camellia sinensis plant, it is fermented and sold either as loose leaves or compressed tea bricks or tea cakes.


It is purported to have many heath benefits including weight loss and lowering LDL cholesterol. There are also claims that it lowers blood pressure, protects connective tissue and attacks free radicals in the body.


While it does have caffeine (though less than in coffee) so do all teas made from the tea plant Calellia sinensis. I love how brewing it and taking the time to sip this unique tea provides me with an opportunity to slow down and be in the moment.


Tea expert Jeff Fuchs (whose course I took on Asian tea at Carleton University) gave an informative interview about tea, and pu-erh tea in particular, for Ottawa Magazine.

Stability Balls

It's time for me to get on the ball... my stability ball that is. Inflated and resting in a corner of my living room, there is no excuse for not incorporating it into my fitness routine for a little variety, between stair-climbing and dancing.

Stability balls have the backing of the Mayo Clinic as one of the best ways to strengthen and tone your core muscles (abdomen, back and pelvis) and lower back. They increase the number of muscle fibres used in excercising, thereby increasing the efficiency of the excercises your're doing. Because they roll around, stability balls train stability muscles and improve your balance.

Stability balls are also great for stretching. When you lie on one, it helps your spine decompress. The balls also support your lower back as you stretch and exercise. And don't overlook how they contribute to weight loss: by strengthening your muscles you reduce body fat. What better reasons than all these to use this fun piece of exercise equipment regularly!  

If you care to join me, there are lots of websites that give information and exercises for the stability ball.

Journaling

For lots of years, I wrote in a journal every morning. Then, when I first started blogging, I stopped. Perhaps I thought that the writing of a blog entry could somehow take the place of journaling. Perhaps I just didn't want to spend the extra time in an already busy day.

I was wrong. Writing blog posts is not a substitute. I miss all the rewards I gained by making my daily entries in my lovely notebooks. Having pulled them out and looked at them again, I also realise that they contain all sorts of drawings and emphera from my life that I pasted in as mementoes of whatever I was doing. They bring back memories and are a treat to look at now.

 I am going to start journaling again because, for a little effort, they pay off in so many ways.

Journaling can help you to:

1. Decrease stress.

2. Increase creativity. Accesses the left-brain, keeping it occupied so that the right-brain is free to play.

3. Improve your mood.

4. Accelerate personal growth.

5. See patterns in your life.

6. Clarify your thoughts and feelings, help you to better understand yourself and problem-solve.

7. Organize your thoughts and draw up a plan of action.

8. Track progress towards a goal.

9. Make decisions.

10. Record ideas as they come to you, so you don't lose them.

11. Regain balance and harmony.

12. Increase your focus.

13. Access the unconscious and sub-conscious.

14. Gain insight.

15. Exercise your mental muscles.

16. Espress yourself.

Sun Protection

I always thought that wearing sunscreen was the smart thing I could do in order to protect my skin from sun damage. By using a high SPF sunscreen, I felt confident that I was taking responsible action for my health. It turns out, it may not be that simple.

Not only do some sunscreens contain ingredients that pose safety concerns, suncreens may only protect from sunburn, rather than provide our skin with the protection from sun damage that we thought they did. The more I read the more I realise that there doesn't seem to be much agreement on the safety and effectiveness of sunscreens. I am going to have to do a lot more reading on the topic.

For now, it sounds like the safest thing I can do is stay in the shade as much as possible (the sun's rays are strongest between 11:00 and 4:00 p.m.) and cover my skin with clothing. I'll be wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat a lot more too!

The Environmental Working Group has a 2012 database that rates brands of sunscreens for safety and effectiveness. It is quick and easy to check to see how the suncreen you are using stacks up.

Sunscreens Exposed: 9 Surprising Truths is an eye-opener on the subject and has been updated for Summer 2012.

Mindfulness

The great blue heron is a reminder to me to take the time to reflect, contemplate and be alone with my thoughts. To live in the moment.

This is something I am working on. All too often my thoughts are "a million miles away".  Sometimes worrying about something that may or may not happen in the future, or ruminating on something in the past. How hard it seems, to be present in the now. To truly experience where we are or what we are doing without hundreds of thoughts flitting through our minds. 

I need to be more conscious of the scents, sounds, and sights that surround me and the feel of the breeze on my skin if there is a breeze, or the stillness if there isn't.

Mindfulness provides many benefits, including these few:
1. Reduces stress
2. Boosts your immune system
3. Lessens chronic pain
4. Lowers blood pressure

So I am going to work on being more aware, of noticing what is going on right now, in this moment. Aiming for a stillness and balance of mind.

Breathe

Taking the time out of a busy day to stop and think about breathing is as important as stopping to enjoy the view. I am going to try to remind myself regularly to check on my breathing throughout the day and reap the benefits.

There are so many reasons to breathe properly, here are just some:
1. Calms you, if you're feeling anxious stressed or overwhelmed... breathe!
2.  Helps you to relax, both your mind and body.
3. Increase oxygen to the brain, improving your focus and concentration.
4. Provides blood with oxygen, remiving toxins, improving circulation, rejuvenates the skin.
5. Improves your posture, opens the rib cage.
6. Loosens tense muscles... in the arms, neck and chest.
7. Increases the efficiency of your heart.
8. Makes your lungs healthier and increases stamina.
9. Aids your digestion.

Most of the time our breathing is too shallow and too quick. Shallow breathing leads to less vitality, premature aging, and poor immune systems. Quick and shallow breathing can be the result of too much hurrying, being anxious or too emotional. We need to breath more slowly and deeply.  But how can this be achieved?

To develop the habit of slow and deep breathing, we can stop throughout the day to work on our breathing. Some simple steps to better breathing:
1. With your hand over your belly, breath slowly through your nose, feeling the belly inflate as you inhale. 
2. Hold for a few seconds, then slowly exhale through the mouth, feeling your belly flatten.
3. Repeat. Remember... belly breathing is deep, chest breathing is shallow. 

Feeling stressed or anxious? Breathe!

Cooking from Scratch

I don't eat a lot of processed or packaged foods, but there is still room for improvement. In the summer, especially, I want to take advantage of eating what I grow myself or what I can buy from local farmers. Now is the time to eat in season.  One of the things I already do is make my own strawberry jam, enough to last us for the whole year until it is time to pick them again.  Going a little farther this year, I have also made raspberry jam (making the jam with an hour or two of picking the berries) and my personal favourite... apricot jam.

It is much easier to make jam than most people realise and what I learned recently, while suprising, makes sense. If you pick your own ripe berries, you don't have to make all the jam at once. By freezing the fresh fruit, you can make jam throughout the year. It will taste better that way than the jam that you made months ago and stored. I usually make enough all at once to last the year. But if you have a big freezer, then it's actually better to make a batch as you need it. How liberating!

Cooking from scratch not only allows you to make use of fresh produce, but also helps you to know what is in whatever you're eating. The result is more wholesome food with less additives, sugar and salt. I'll lnever know for sure what was in the soil or what it may have been sprayed with, but at least I can eliminate all the chemicals that were added in the processing.

All Hail, the Mighty Kale!

I just recently introduced myself to this ruffly green after I found out how healthy it is for you. Kale protects against a large variety of cancers (including breast and bladder) and helps prevent arthritis, due to its high Vitamin C content. It also has the ability to detox your cells. Packed with lutein (an antioxidant that is good for your eyes), it also contains calcium, and  Vitamin K. 

I can't say that I have developed a taste for it yet. I find that uncooked, it tastes like slightly bitter raw broccoli. I have been cutting ito into small pieces and hiding it among the lettuce leaves in my salad. I'll have to try it steamed and in stir-frys but I think that adding it to homemade soup may be the ideal way for me to consume it.

Exfoliate

I have known about exfolliation for a long time but never really understood precisely why it was important. Having sensitive skin, I rather shied away from it thinking that it would just cause irritation. Now I've learned that exfoliation removes dead skin cells from the skin's surface. Left to "pile up", these cells can cause the skin to look dull, rough and dry. Exfoliation can make the skin look more youthful, and have a healthy glow.

To start, you should wash your face with warm water, apply the exfoliant and gently rub in small circles with your finger tips or a soft facial sponge. Be careful to avoid the eye area. Rinse with warm water, pat the skin dry and moisturize.

If you are using a loofah or some other type of scrubber, then there is no need to use an exfoliant.  Natural ingredients make some of the best exfoliants: oatmeal, yogurt, honey, or sugar for example. Should you experience redness, dryness or itching then you know you've done too much. Time to let your skin have a break!

I think I will give it a go and experiment with various natural ingredients to see what works the best for me.  As for the claim I've read that it can reduce the appearance of fine lines, I have my doubts, but I will put it to the test and report back!

Dance

I'm so happy to know that dancing has so many benefits, because it's no secret... I love to dance!

Dancing does wonders for:

1. Flexibility - the greater your range of motion while dancing, the more your muscles can flex and extend.

2. Strength - dance strengthens by forcing the muscles to resist against a dancer's own body weight. Jumping and leaping uses lots of strength in major leg muscles, preventing osteoporosis as well as keeping the joints lubricated, which helps prevent arthritis.

3. Endurance - regular dancing, and especially vigorous dancing, increases endurance; and elevating the heart builds stamina. Dancing also helps improve our cardiovascular system and lung capacity. 

4. Balance - dancing allows us to master balance in numerous positions, strengthens our stabilizer muscles while protecting our core and possible injuries. It also improves our coordination and srengthens our reflexes.

5. Well-being - a stress and tension reducer, dance improves our overall sense of well-being. It raises our endorphin levels, which helps depression and guards our immune system. Dancing is expressive and helps to encourage harmony betweeen the body and the mind. It's soical too if you dance with others.

6. Circulation - dance gets the blood flowing thereby improving our circulatory systems.

7. Memory - memorizing steps, routines and dance patterns improves memory.

8. Weight loss - dancing burns calories: 5 to 10 calories per minute, depending on the intensity and spped of our dance steps.

9. Cholestrol levels - dance raise HDL (the good cholesterol) and lowers LDL (the bad cholesterol).

With so many different types of dance, there is no need to ever get bored. I'm going to make dance one of the main ways I exercise. Now where did I put my disco music... just kidding, it's already right by the CD player, along with all my other dance music!

Arm Exercises

Why, oh why does it seems that all I see in the shops this summer are sleeveless tops and dresses? Why can't designers provide some styles with a slight sleeve for those of us who need to work on toning our upper arms?

There's nothing for it but to do some work on my arms, I know that! Taking a quick look at some of the information that's out there on the subject (and there are loads of helpful tips and workouts  available), I will need to do strength training with arm weights 1 to 2 times a week, as well as have regualr aerobic exercise and watch what I eat to reduce my body fat.

The aerobic exercise and arm weight exercises will help to increase my lean muscle tissue, giving my arms shape and definition. The arm weights that I select should produce muscle fatigue when doing between 8 and 12 reps for three sets, resting for 30 to 60 seconds between each set. More information about this can be found online.

I have an assortment of arm weights already so all I need to do is begin!

Strawberries - Vitamin Powerhouse

According to my mom, when she was pregnant with me she indulged her severe craving for strawberries with vast numbers of this nutrition-packed fruit. I can't say if that is why I was supposedly born with a red strawberry-shaped birthmark at the back of my neck (which has long since disappeared) or a dislike for them that continued until my thirties. What I can say is that I am so glad that something so delicious, it also good for my health!

Rich in phenolic antioxidants, strawberries can:

1. reverse inflammation

2. aid in weight loss

3. reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease

This little red powerhouse is packed with vitamins: A, B, C (8 strawberries may contain as much Vitamin C as an orange), D, E and K. Strawberries also contain folate, which promotes healthy tissue growth and functional cells in the body.

I am lucky enough to live in an area that has many pick-your-own fields and every June or July (depending on the growing season we've had) I pick basket after basket of them while they are in season. I find it relaxing. It also a good feeling to eat something that has ripened so close to home and is eaten within hours, or even minutes, of being picked. The question always remains just how many bowls of strawberries I can consume while the strawberry fields are still open.

Fish Oil

Both Health Canada and the Stroke Foundation of Canada recommend eating two servings of oily fish twice a week. Unfortunately I don't eat fish. Just one of those little kid picky-eating things that I didn't grow out of. Fish-oil supplements to the rescue! I have no trouble taking them at all, no repeating or taste of fish.

The omega-3 fatty acids (both DHA and EPA) in fish oil lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and increase HDL, helping reduce the risk of heart disease and strokes. From what I've been able to read, it seems that there are many reasons to add fish oil to my diet, including the following: helps alleviate depression, anxiety, inflammation, arthritis, and eye disorders. Omega-3 fatty acids are brain boosters that are also good for your joints.

Also interesting is their contribution to skin care and weight loss. Fish oil is reported to improve the efficacy of exercise in reducing weight, playing a role in body shape and composition. It also improves dry skin, redcing loss of moisture.

Of interest to me is the possibility that fish oil may have a positive effect on osteoarthritis, helping reduce the impact of enzymes that destroy cartilages, though dosage is unknown. More reading will be required to learn more about this potential plus. 

Get More Sleep

We all know that getting enough sleep is important to our health and well-being. When my children were young, a proper bedtime was enforced because as parents, we knew only too well the consequences of a late night: a crankiness the next day that made everyone suffer. So why as adults do we think we can get away with going to bed late, day after day? Do the years make us suddenly immune to the effects of ignoring a regular bedtime for ourselves?

Sleep plays a key role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning, concentration, emotional well-being and weight control. In addition to this amazing list, sleep increases our creativity, and allows the body to repair and restore itself. Muscle growth and tissue repair take place while we sleep. 

Research has shown that those of us who sleep 6 hours or less a night are twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke. Continuing to deprive ourselves of sleep, can lead to obesity and even shorten our life spans. If that wasn't enough, too little sleep can result in inflammatory disease, which is linked to heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and premature aging. It seems 6 to 8 hours a night is the optimum, as sleeping too much has its own dangers to your heath.

I certainly don't need more reasons that all of these to encourage me to get to bed earlier on a regular basis. I will make it my habit to climb into bed a little earlier and read a book for awhile, developing a nightly routine that will result in my falling asleep quickly and hopefully gaining a full night's healthy sleep.

The Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School has interesting information on the benefits of sleep.

Avocados

It took a friend's comment about how delicious she found this fruit to make me give it another look. I had tried them in my teens but wasn't keen, so I hadn't tasted them again since. Avocados had a bad rap for awhile because of their high fat content, but with J.'s rapturous endorsement, I did a little research and found that they are packed with all sorts of healthy properties.

Avocados:

1. Are rich is Vitamins A, C and E, and potassium.

2. Are high in protein.

3. Are high in oleic acid, a fat that activates the part of the brain that signals that you are full, thus helping with weight control.

4. While high in fat, they are monounsaturated fats and actually maintain the good cholesterol (HDL) and lower the bad (LDL). They also lower triglycerides.

5. With more carotenoid lutin than other commonly eaten fruits, they protect the eyes from macular degeneration and cataracts.

6. Protects against strokes

7. 1 cup of avocado contains 23% of recommended daily value of folate, which may lower the incidence of heart disease.

8. High in vitamin E, which protects against many diseases.

9. Contains glutathione, an important antioxidant, helpful in preventing symptoms of aging, cancer and heart disease.

Last week I bought my first avocado, tried it, and liked the mild creamy taste. So I will add avocado to the list of foods that I Iike and will aim to eat one a week, simply sliced and served without any embellishments, because I think it tastes great just like that.

Climb the Stairs

It's always a challenge to fit enough exercise into my regular routine, especially working full-time. So it was a welcome revelation to realize that there is a wonderful fitness tool close at hand ... the stairs. My workplace has an air-conditioned stairwell with 9 floors, 2 flights of stairs between each floor making a total of 18 flights. 

And to take advantage of this, all I need to do is change into flat shoes... I have a pair of running shoes in a drawer in  my office... and I am ready to go. So how easy will it be to climb stairs once a day, whenever I am at work? Easy! The hardest part will be to remember to do it, especially if it's a hectic day... so I will set a time to "do the stairs" and make it a part of my regular routine.

When I read about the benefits of stair climbing it made even more sense to take advantage of this quick and easy way to add some exercise to my daily plan. The positives are pretty great. Besides helping you lose weight, improve your fitness tone, strengthen your calves, thighs, tummy and bottom; it also has the following to recommend it:

1. It's free and accessible.

2. It's weight-bearing, so you build bone strength.

3. It is low-impact and therefore safe for the knees.

2. It provides a fairly intense workout that quickly increases your heart rate, improving cardiovascular fitness.

3. It's an efficient way of burning calories, and the more you weigh, the harder you'l work and the more calories you'll burn.

Exercise doesn't have to be complicated or expensive to provide benefits. Nor does it need to be inconvenient, taking time and energy to get to a gym or fitness class. All it takes is resolve to do it!

If you'd like to join me, there is lots of information about stair climbing out there. I came across a helpful Australian site filled with stair-climbing information to help you get started.

Hydration ... Drink More Water

How much water should someone drink in a day? Well, that depends who you listen to. The answer seems to change all the time. What isn't up for debate is the fact that water is essential for life. 

The benefits include:  

1. Helps in weight loss and speeds up metabolism.

2. Aids digestion and alleviates constipation.

3. Keeps muscles from cramping and joints lubricated.

4. Flushes out toxins and waste products.

5. Increases concentration and alertness, dehydration can lead to fuzzy thinking.

6. Healthier skin: helps replenish skin tissue, moisturizes skin and increases skin's elasticity. 

Water makes up 60% of your body weight. So it only makes sense to ensure that I keep myself hydrated enough to allow my body to function at its best. I am going to be more conscious of the amount of water I consume daily and make sure that I am consistent. 

Raise a glass to cool, clear water.

Update: So now that I'm drinking more water, I realize that I am also getting more exercise... by the increased number of trips to the washroom!  An added benefit that I did not envision. And here's a small tip: I have been bringing water to work in a 1-litre container. That way, once it's empty, I know how much I have already drunk that day.

Embarking on a Journey

Last year, I embarked on a weight loss journey, after deciding that it was time to shed the pounds that had been slowly but steadily creeping up on me over the years. The  revelation that I now had a body shape that I did not like, hit me with startling reality in a changing room one afternoon. Nothing I tried on looked even remotely okay.

I had never been on a diet before, but the time had come to take action. And so I did. I lost 28 pounds, and the effects (how I felt on the inside and looked on the outside) were tremendous. The success I experienced left me wondering what I should focus on next.

It seems to me that every journey truly does begin, as they say, with a single step. And to quote another well-used phrase, it is all about the journey, not the destination. What better journey than a year of many tiny changes that would add up to a big difference at the end?

And so I have settled on a year of transformation... a year of small improvements that will bring me closer to enhanced health, fitness and well-being. Modest changes that will also affect my diet, appearance and personal growth. In other words, improvements both inside and out. If there's one thing I learned after tackling a year of gradual weight loss, it's that it is possible to turn back the clock, to bring about healthy changes, to make myself over in a slow and balanced way.

My journey continues... and I would like to share it with you as I take one small step at a time, transforming myself change by change. 

Please  note: If any of these ideas that I share can inspire you to make healthy changes in your own life, I am pleased. But remember, whatever I write in these blog entries is based on what I've read in various sources and is what I am doing for myself. If my posts provide ideas that you may want to try, I hope that you will do so only after you have done your own research to determine what is right for you.