Coming up to the winter months alot of us will be feeling a little stiff and not able or wanting to exercise but is it just normal aches and pains or could it be artheritis. What is artheritis? Artheritis is a painful inflamation of your joints that cause stiffness and restriction of movement. It effects more than 10 million people in the UK and there are more than 2000 different types varying different parts of the body. The most commonly named is osteoartheritis which is caused by a breakdown of joint cartilage and there is also rheumatoid artheritis which is a chronic inflamation. Artheritis effects people of all ages and it is not clear why or how it is caused but there are ways of managing the pain and you can still be active from taking anti-inflamatory medication or excersice and eating a healthy diet. Top tip! Try if you can to walk instead of getting a bus or car to exercise those joints, having a partner to walk with you will make you more eager to do it. There are certain foods that people say trigger their artheritis such as corn, malt, oranges, tomatoes, bacon, beef, sugar and caffeine so try to stay clear of these foods if you are suffering from it. Yoga has been found to be the perfect exercise .
Moving your whole body keeps it lubricated and flexible and yoga helps keep posture at its best allowing those hips, elbows, knees and ankles to be balanced perfectly. Take a few minutes each day standing tall and expanding your spine , this helps straighten and strengthen your spine whilst lengthening your vertibrae and allowing you to move more freely. Try eating Omega 3 fat acid foods. Salmon and mackerel twice a week or even a Seven seas cod liver oil helps keep the joints lubricated.
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Weighing yourself once or twice a week so you can track how you are doing will help you see how much and why your weight fluctuates up and down. If you cant face weighing yourself check your waist band.
You may be fat phobic think you shouldnt eat fat to lose the desired weight but your wrong. You need to eat some fat as it slows down digestion and keeps you fuller for longer. Include modest amounts of unsaturated fats like nuts and oils.
You are allowed a treat , eating in moderation is the main key to having a healthy nutrition and if you choose one night to enjoy a bottle of wine and a curry , it will make you feel you have to earn it making you work harder on the excercise and feel more rewarding .
Plan your meals so that you have a balanced time between meals and if you feel the need to snack make sure you have a handful of healthy treats at the ready for each day seperated into portions .
If you are soo strick you will end up bored and frustrated but having some flexibility in your plan means you will enjoy it more , dont feel you cant eat something you really want like a bar of chocolate you can !, just eat a portion of it at a time , you will find you enjoy it more anyway.
Dont excercise to the point it is the only thing you do, try excercising just a few times a week or just going for a run with a friend on the evening or early morning . Honeysuckle Traditional Chinese medicines relies on honeysuckle to eliminate toxins and over here it is known for its anti inflammatory and antibacterial properties. The dried flowers can be used to make caugh syrup and some drink honeysuckle tea to treat cold or a caugh. Try Honeysuckle flower tea from WWW.luminescents.co.uk Passion Flower. It was brought back from Peru in the 1500s by Spanish explorers, this flower has calming effects. Scientists believe it works by increasing levels of the chemical gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. This lowers the activity of some brain cells so we feel more relaxed, which is why it is useful for sleep problems, esoecially when it is combined with velerian and lemon balm. Try Relax herb passion flower extract tablets fromWWW.schwabepharma.co.uk Sunflower . Sunflower seeds are rich in B vitamins, which are essential for a healthy nervous system and for fighting off stress. They are also a good source of nutrients and minerals: phosphorus, magnesium, iron , calcium , potassium, zinc, protein and vitamin E. They contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (the healthy fats that may help to protect the arteries). their zinc boosts immunity and wards off colds . They are the ideal snack with lots of protein and low carbs. Rose . Rose has an essential oil from the petals. It is full of antioxidants and is naturally antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and astringent, so it is perfect for treating arange of skin problems such as redness and imflammation. It is now a key ingredient in many beauty preperations as an effective moisturiser. It nourishes the skin and helps to ward off wrinkles. As an aromatherapy treatment, rose essentail oil may help reduce depression, anxiety and stress. Calendula. Calendula, its petals are full of flavonoids (plant antioxidents that help boost immunity and fight imflammation). Calendula is often recommended to soothe an upset stomach or reduce the pain of a sore throat, but its best used as a cream, applied directly to the skin, to heal minor cuts, grazes, bruises and burns. Lavender . Lavender is the scent that helps promote relaxation. Dried flowers in a muslin bag or a few drops of oil extracted from the flowers on your pillow can improve sleep. The oil has powerful antibacterial properties, and just a few drops can reduce itching and swelling. I t has also been shown to help pain after surgery too . Camomile.
Camomile flowers are dried and used to create tinctures, infusions, essential oils and creams. Taken internally, its a relaxing sedative , (calming an upset stomach). It is also used to soothe headaches, rheumatism and gout. Camomile tea bags, cooled, can soothe irritated skin, minor burns and surface wounds. Primrose. Evening primrose with its fragrant yellow flowers that open at dusk and stay open all night . Oil extracted from the ripe seeds is rich in gamma-linolenic acis (GLA) which is one of the body essential fatty acids. Evening primrose oil can protect the heart by helping reduce cholesterol and blood pressure. It is also a good natural remedy for exzema and acne as well as rheumatoid arthritis. Ok so I admit it , the #30dayfitnesschallenge was a complete shambles I got to a week and started forgetting to fit the schedule into my daily routine.
I was so hyped up and ready, I even included lowering my caffeine intake and adding salads to every meal, but habits became the better of me and I started adding them back along with sauces with in one week. I completely failed at the challenge but it did make me think more about looking after myself more and I have tried to stop the snacking and big meals . I do not see the size of my belly reducing , In fact my size has escalated more but I do feel that doing the challenge for even a short time gave me a sense of relief in realising that I do not need to look a certain way for others benefits. I think the main purpose was not to lose weight but to look better for others like my husband who I still try to impress although being with him for 6 years. Not only did he tell me not to be so silly but he gave me my confidence back in a way that I actually now feel comfortable in my body a little more than I did back then. I know having a large tummy is not something I like to look at but I am healthy and my husband loves me no matter what size I am. On Monday , my husband and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary by going clothes shopping and spending the day together while the children were all at school. Shopping in the past couple of years has become daunting to say the least , I have seen the clothes been bought become bigger sizes and when I walked into the store on Monday looking at the clothes I really wished to wear , I suddenly realised that I did not feel so embarrassed about picking up a larger size . I even went into a stunning lingerie shop and got my breasts measured.This is something I have not done recently and wish I had done beforehand. The fact that I walked in the shop a size D and then was told I was a size F was a little shocking to say the least but for some reason it made me feel better. I have become a lot more curvy and my husband loves it , I am now learning to love my curves too. Wearing the right bra really does make all the difference. I was complaining of not been able to buy certain tops because I thought that I had fat around my back and underarms but in fact it was all because I was wearing the wrong size bra and once the lovely lady had brought me my true size , my top fit me better and my boobs looked so much fuller. I know I am not the only person who has made this mistake but it goes to show how we can become stuck in a routine where we do not adjust to change yet sometimes it can change your whole perspective on how you look . So all in all , I have not done my challenge and failed my goal in losing weight but I have learned that loving myself is far more challenging to achieve but more doable with the help of family support. This week you may have seen a post I had written about starting the #30dayfitnesschallenge.
I am now on my 3rd day now and starting to feel the burn. In fact after my first day I could feel the burn , especially in my thighs. I wanted to give you updates as much as possible and today thought I would share with you some truths about my ups and downs of doing this challenge so hopefully encourage you to join in with me and know you are now on your own. Having a friend or partner by your side- I have always had an issue with doing something like this on my own. I feel so much better knowing I have someone joining in with me such as my husband or a friend. The gym is such a scary thought seeing all those healthy and fit looking people beside you trimmed and toned up to perfection while you struggle . So doing this in your own home is perfect and I love I can do this in private in my own world when ever I feel I am able to do it. On the first day , my husband seen my post and said he would join in , it made me feel so much better about doing it. It gave me a boost to get started. We both went upstairs to our bedroom and I had the chart ready to tell him what he needed to do. We both done all three of the tasks for that day
Ok look at the list , it does not look hard at all does it? Do not be fooled because the numbers look low and there are only 3 things to do. It looks like a simple 10 minute work out, yes? I looked at this challenge and thought to my self that this would be so easy, it looks too easy and there is no way that I would be hurting or struggling to any of them. Oh my gosh..................... I have never done anything like this before and in fact never tried even a sit up since I was 16 years old. Me and my husband decided to do it together and on our first day we laughed so hard at how our feeble attempts made us look ridiculous. I got half way through the sit ups and the strain made my eyes pop out my head haha, honestly I felt like I was lifting some real weights in a gym just trying to sit up . How can it be so hard to lie down and sit up? Harder than you think. I never even knew myself until I started this. I am sure it will get easier as I go through the days . I think a lot of the struggle is posture and learning to realise there are parts of your body you have forgot about and need to find again. Having my husband join in made me feel good about doing it. Knowing he could do with joining in this challenge too , I knew he would be happy to give it ago. Ok so although we laughed at each other , we still done the first day and to me that made me want to carry on. I do not want him to look at me like some weak person. I know I am stronger than that and I want to prove I can do it . With practice and his support through this , It encourages me to succeed. Changing my habbits- In my post , I was totally honest with you , I love food. I do , and when you are sat in you home surrounded by nothing all day every day , the only comfort for you is the contents of your fridge and junk cuboard. For me I do not like eating a lot of sweet foods so my problem is not the cakes and biscuits but the fizzy lemonade and the cups of tea I drink every day, ok and the cheese. I always eat in proportion but my reason for the weight gain is not what I eat but how I eat. I have never been a breakfast person and I have always known that I should be eating breakfast but could never stomach eating in the morning. I have decided to wake each morning and grab some fruit or crackerbread at least . Having breakfast dinner and tea is my biggest goal towards working with this challenge. I want to be able to eat three meals and drink more water which will enable me to give my body the best start alongside the challenge. I never eat big portion meals so I know I am ok, and I always make homemade meals which always include salad or vegetable so that is not also a worry. I basically need to start eating the correct way and not skip any meals . Do you know skipping the first meal of the day increase your chances of piling on that weight and becoming obese? It is true . I never believed it but now I can say I hold my hands up and understand why as it has finally caught up with me . I honestly thought , If I eat less , I will put on less. I was wrong and here is why.
I do not like cereal , never have done unless it is granola, so for my breakfast this week I am trying cucumber on crackerbread. It is actually very nice and refreshing. I also have a habit of snacking very late at night. This has stopped. You need to learn to keep the body in a regular routine and giving my body the rest it needs means no more late night take aways or snacks past 8pm for me. I wake at 8am so this gives me enough time before boosting my metabolism again with a nice breakfast. So like I have said , this is my 3rd day in the #30dayfitness challenge and I think I am doing well. I have started to feel the burning in my thighs and upper tummy area. I am trying my best not to snack and I have my husband joining in with me to boost my encouragement. I am loving all the comments of support which has given me an even more bigger boost , so please keep them coming. I really appreciate it , thankyou. I am wanting you all to join in and we can all help each other . Making a start is always the biggest obstacle and I am pleased I have started this. I feel now that I have promised you I will do this and I want to keep my promise and show you all it can be done. So what are you waiting for ? Get your |