OPA Week Four (April 19th - 25th)
So we're on our fourth week of trying to eat healthy, exercise and in general getting ourselves into better shape. How did your week start off? Are you losing weight, getting stronger, feeling better? I thought I'd pull out one of my nutrition books and share something from it with you guys. Some tips when you go grocery shopping: Buy fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season to keep the prices reasonable. Stick with whole-grains, including whole wheat, multigrain, rye, millet, oat bran, oat, and cracked wheat. Definitely add some legumes to your shopping list - they supply protein, calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and B-vitamins. Pasta is high in complex carbohydrates, easy to make, and inexpensive -- if your supermarket has any whole -grain varieties, they're a great source of fiber.
In addition to eating, exercise is important to achieve and maintain a healthy body. There was a study on the news the other day that said when students exercised more, they performed better in the classroom -- there was indeed a connection between body and mind! They showed a high school in Naperville, IL where students were even on exercise bikes during class.
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/exercise-school-leads-learning/story?id=10371315
It doesn't have to be strenuous exercises, though some good cardio would be good, and it doesn't have to be that long. But you do need to find time to do something, even if it's just parking at the far end of the grocery store parking lot so you have to walk further. I'm including a link to a circuit of exercises that I found in Self Magazine a couple years ago. I did them for about two weeks before other things like travel interfered, and it felt wonderful. You do 8 reps of each exercise (some of them you do 8 reps per side), and you do them every three days, so this isn't something that has to fit into your schedule every day.
http://www.self.com/fitness/workouts/2008/03/anti-aging-toning-slideshow#slide=9
Whatever you decide to do this week, check in, report on your success, come by to get some encouragement, but take the little steps you need to start down the road to a healthier you!