8 things that will change your life !

 

1. Your career is not your life. Many of us rely heavily on our careers for satisfaction in our lives. We get immersed in the day-to-day rush of our work and discover that we no longer have the time, energy or inspiration.
For some people (my former self included), it’s as if our jobs are part of our bodies, and if we don’t see ourselves as successful in them, we feel almost physically unhealthy. As a result, we question ourselves when things aren’t going in the direction we hoped. Consciously separating your self from your career allows for a greater perspective on both.
2. Be indispensible (at least one area)
There are certain things that you can do, or that you can learn to do, that can make you extraordinarily valuable to yourself and to others. Identify your special areas of uniqueness and then to commit yourself to becoming very, very good in those areas.
Take stock of your unique talents and abilities on a regular basis. What is it that you do especially well? What are you good at? What do you do easily and well that is difficult for other people? Identifying what separates you from thoses around you, and concentrating on those skills will make your unique skill set invaluable and hard to replace.
3. Don’t grow stale in your career. We live in a world where technology is evolving rapidly. This has a direct consequence on your career. Stay up to speed on the latest happenings in your field. Read various articles and books to keep your mind sharp. Attend seminars at your present job if offered. Seek out mentors who can advise or educate you. Don’t become comfortable with the status quo or complacent about things you are already good at – you can always be better, so take the time to find out how.
4. Guard your time like a hawk. At work, we often find ourselves bombarded with ‘urgent’ requests. All of these urgent requests can disrupt the thinking processes. Sometimes it may take twice as long to get something done, simply because of the interruption. Learn to say No (with good reason!) and prioritize your tasks.
5. Polish your people skills. You may do your job well, even so well that no one can complain. But you never seem to get ahead. Sound familiar?
People issues can be one of the main reasons people leave jobs. It can also be a cause for dissatisfaction and reduced productivity. Bottom line: you need people skills to move up.
6. Communicate effectively. No matter what career path you choose to follow, you have to have good written and oral communication skills to get ahead in your career.
Make a real effort to listen to everything that’s being said to you. Observe and learn from others who make it seem effortless.
7. Keep your cool. We sometimes forget that we are in a professional environment and tend to curse and behave like a teenager. Whatever happens, don’t explode or throw your arms up in resignation. Keep your mind clear at the worst of times and you’ll be able to handle anything. There’s nothing more respectable than being calm under fire. So take a deep breath, or a walk around the block, and find away to diffuse your frustration before you address whatever the problem is.
8. Shield your reputation. The people you hang out with will add value or break your good name. Also, if you spend time with people who gossip and tear others down, you are likely to catch it too.
So, identify ways to develop and maintain a professional image that is positive and genuine.

Foods That Chronic Pain Sufferers Need to Avoid

Chronic pain is a pervasive issue and fibromyalgia is a very common form. It is a chronic condition whose symptoms include muscle and tissue pain, fatigue, depression, and sleep disturbances.

Recent data suggests that central sensitization, in which neurons in your spinal cord become sensitized by inflammation or cell damage, may be involved in the way fibromyalgia sufferers process pain.

Certain chemicals in the foods you eat may trigger the release of neurotransmitters that heighten this sensitivity.

Although there have been only a handful of studies on diet and fibromyalgia, the following eating rules can’t hurt, and may help, when dealing with chronic pain.

Limit Sugar as Much as Possible. Increased insulin levels will typically dramatically worsen pain. So you will want to limit all sugars and this would typically include fresh fruit juices. Whole fresh fruit is the preferred method for consuming fruit products.

If you are overweight, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, you will also want to limit grains as much as possible as they are metabolized very similarly to sugars. This would also include organic unprocessed grains. Wheat and gluten grains are the top ones to avoid.

Eat fresh foods. Eating a diet of fresh foods, devoid of preservatives and additives, may ease symptoms triggered by coexisting conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

It’s also a good idea to buy organic food when possible, as it’s best to avoid pesticides and chemicals. However, fresh is best. So if you have to choose between local, fresh, non-organic and organic but wilting – go with fresh, and clean properly.

Avoid caffeine. Fibromyalgia is believed to be linked to an imbalance of brain chemicals that control mood, and it is often linked with inadequate sleep and fatigue. The temptation is to artificially and temporarily eliminate feelings of fatigue with stimulants like caffeine, but this approach does more harm than good in the long run. Though caffeine provides an initial boost of energy, it is no substitute for sleep, and is likely to keep you awake.

Try avoiding nightshade vegetables. Nightshade vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplant may trigger arthritis and pain conditions in some people.

Be Careful with Your Fats. Animal based omega-3 fats like DHA and EPA have been touted as a heart-healthy food, and they may help with pain, as well. They can help reduce inflammation and improve brain function. At the same time, you want to eliminate all trans fat and fried foods, as these will promote inflammation.

Use yeast sparingly. Consuming yeast may also contribute to the growth of yeast fungus, which can contribute to pain.

Avoid pasteurized dairy. Many fibromyalgia sufferers have trouble digesting milk and dairy products. However, many find that raw dairy products, especially from grass fed organic sources, are well tolerated.

Cut down on carbs. About 90 percent of fibromyalgia patients have low adrenal functioning, which affects metabolism of carbohydrates and may lead to hypoglycemia.

Avoid aspartame. The artificial sweetener found in some diet sodas and many sugar-free sweets is part of a chemical group called excitotoxins, which activate neurons that can increase your sensitivity to pain.

Avoid additives. Food additives such as monosodium glutamate (MSG) often cause trouble for pain patients. MSG is an excitatory neurotransmitter that may stimulate pain receptors; glutamate levels in spinal fluid have been shown to correlate with pain levels in fibromyalgia patients.

Stay away from junk food. Limit or eliminate fast food, candy, and vending-machine products. In addition to contributing to weight gain and the development of unhealthy eating habits, these diet-wreckers may also irritate your muscles, disrupt your sleep, and compromise your immune system.

Heart group: Cut back — way back — on extra sugar

A spoonful of sugar? Americans are swallowing 22 teaspoons of sugar each day, and it's time to cut way back, the American Heart Association says.

Most of that added sugar comes from soft drinks and candy — a whopping 355 calories and the equivalent of guzzling two cans of soda and eating a chocolate bar.

By comparison, most women should be getting no more than 6 teaspoons a day, or 100 calories, of added sugar — the sweeteners and syrups that are added to foods during processing, preparation or at the table. For most men, the recommended limit is 9 teaspoons, or 150 calories, the heart group says.

The guidelines do not apply to naturally occurring sugars like those found in fruit, vegetables or dairy products.

Rachel K. Johnson, lead author of the statement published online Monday in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, said it was time to give specific advice on how much added sugar Americans should be getting, not just advising moderation.

"Take a good hard look at your diet," said Johnson, professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont in Burlington. "Figure out where the sources of added sugars are and think about how to cut back on that."

She said about 8 ounces of fruit-flavored yogurt has about 6 teaspoons of added sugar; 8 ounces of low-fat chocolate milk has about 4 teaspoons; a cup of frosted whole grain cereal has about 3 teaspoons.

The biggest culprits for the glut of sugar? Soft drinks by far, followed by candy, cakes, cookies and pies.

With about 8 teaspoons of added sugar, a regular 12-ounce soft drink will put most women over the recommended daily limit.

Cutting back on sugar likely won't be easy for many people, said Lona Sandon, a dietitian at Dallas' University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

"I think it's probably going to be a struggle for quite a few people," Sandon said.

Calculating one's sugar intake can be tricky as the government doesn't require labels to differentiate added sugars from naturally occurring sugars, said Johnson. But she points out that the biggest sources, like regular soft drinks and sweets, are pretty obvious. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a database for the added sugar in some foods.

To check for added sugar, look for a variety of ingredients including sugar, corn syrup, fructose, dextrose, molasses or evaporated cane juice on the label.

The heart group didn't recommend general limits for added sugar for children; a national health survey has shown that boys ages 14 to 18 consume an eye-popping 34 teaspoons of added sugar a day.

Sandon said that parents can help lower that sugar intake by getting soda out of the house, looking at how much sugar is in their kids' cereal and substituting snacks like cookies with popcorn.

Johnson concedes that sugar does play an important role in enhancing the taste of food, adding: "If you feel like, 'I just can't live with this low amount of sugar in my diet,' then what you need to do is up your energy needs."

In other words, she said, get moving. A man in his early 20s who walks more than three miles a day could consume about 288 calories, or about 18 teaspoons, of added sugar.

The statement says data indicates added sugar is contributing to Americans consuming too many discretionary calories — the number of calories remaining after a person eats the foods needed to meet nutrient requirements.

"We know for sure that if you are consuming excessive amounts of added sugar, you will add calories, which leads to weight gain, or you will displace other essential nutrients," she said.

On average, most women need about 1,800 calories a day and most men need about 2,200, Johnson said.

If someone drinks their daily calorie needs in soft drinks, they will be maintaining their weight, but won't be getting any nutrients, she said.

Wahida Karmally, nutrition director at Columbia University's Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, said that with these guidelines, it's important to remember overall moderation. Some people, for instance, might be doing fine in their sugar consumption but are overdoing it on fat.

"I don't want people to go back thinking if I just cut back on teaspoons of sugar I'm going to be very healthy," she said.

Obesity score card

Obesity Report Card (CBSNews)

Real Estate: Ready to Rebound? - CNBC.com

Real Estate: Ready to Rebound? - CNBC.com

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Facts on Foods That Speed Up Metabolism

Revving Your Engine

Metabolism is a process that breaks down carbohydrates, fats and proteins in the food you eat to make the energy your body needs to build and maintain itself. Proper nutrition keeps your body functioning well, but the right foods can also speed up your metabolism. The amount of calories you eat, your genes and the amount of calories that you burn while eating and exercising determine your metabolism. The body breaks down carbohydrates, then fats and finally proteins. The food that you eat makes up 5 to 10 percent of your metabolic rate.
Stocking Your Cupboard

Foods that speed up your metabolism are vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, fish, healthy fats and whole grains. Look for these vegetables when shopping: spinach, broccoli, carrots, asparagus, cabbage, beet roots, assorted beans and dark, leafy vegetables. Any type of fresh fruit is good for you, but try eating blueberries, melons, apples, citrus fruits and tomatoes. Skinless poultry and eggs are excellent sources of protein. The omega 3 fatty acids in fish boost your metabolism by burning up to 400 calories a day. The enzymes in your body that burn fat increase while those that store fat decrease. If you are not a fish eater, take omega 3 capsules that contain a minimum of 300 milligrams total of EPA and DHA. Eat healthy fats like nuts and peanut butter. Whole grains found in brown rice, cereal, barley and oats speed up your metabolism as well. Consume foods with B vitamins, magnesium and fiber to increase your metabolism.
Too Much of a Good Thing

Portion control is still important. Just because these foods are good for you doesn't mean that you can go overboard. Eat several small meals and healthy snacks throughout the day. A good habit to start is reading the Nutrition Facts Labels on food containers. These labels tell what a single serving size is and the nutrients found in that serving.
Losing While You Eat

Know the caloric content of the foods that you eat. Nutrition Facts Labels tell the number of calories in a serving also. There are negative calorie foods that burn more calories during digestion than the foods contain themselves. For most people, a healthy number of calories per day is between 2,200 and 2,800 depending on their sex and size.
Balance It Out

Eating the right foods to speed up your metabolism and supplement your diet by incorporating other good habits. Drink plenty of water during the day. Six to eight glasses is a good goal. Exercise at least three times a week. Use free weights to help stimulate your metabolism by building muscle tone.

Low Impact Aerobics for High Impact Results

Aerobics to Tone, Firm and Build Muscle

The term "aerobics " is often known as a series of rhythmic, large muscle exercises, usually done to music in a class led by an instructor. However, the term can also be used in a general sense as a cardiovascular workout that improves coordination, muscle strength, mobility, while promoting general well-being.

Health Benefits of Aerobics

Aerobics provides a whole host of health benefits, including but not limited to:

• Burning calories

• Reduction in body fat

• Improvement in bone density when used with weight resistance

• Reduction in stress

• General improvement in well-being

• Weight management

• Improvement aerobic fitness

• Improvement in coordination and balance

• Improvement in muscle shape and tone

• Improvement in muscular endurance and flexibility

• Improvement in muscular strength, posture and body performance

• Improves  sexual performance. In 2003, scientists at Harvard School of Public Health found that men who ran at least three hours each week reported sexual functioning like that of men two to five years younger

Aerobic exercise can also reduce the risks of many diseases and conditions, including but not limited to:

• Coronary artery disease. Heart disease is one of the top causes of death for men and women in the United States. If you've had a heart attack, achieving a higher level of aerobic fitness can help prevent a second attack and decrease your risk of dying from coronary artery disease.

• Reduction in risk to cardiac diseases by lowering blood pressure and slowing down atherosclerotic processes
• Improve blood fats. Aerobic exercise increases the concentration of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol) and decreases the concentration of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol) in your blood.
• Improves your immune system. People who exercise regularly are less susceptible to minor viral illnesses, such as colds and flu

• Hypertension (high blood pressure). If you have high blood pressure, aerobic exercise can help lower it.

• Stroke. Improving blood fats results in less build-up of plaques in your arteries. Deposits of plaques in blood vessels leading to your brain can result in a stroke.

• Osteoporosis.

• Cancers, including breast, colon, prostate and endometrial cancer.

• Obesity.

• Type 2 diabetes.Aerobic exercise helps you control your weight, reducing the likelihood of your being overweight or obese, conditions that can lead to type 2 diabetes.

• Insulin resistance disease. Aerobic exercise helps control blood sugar levels.

Aerobic exercise can also help manage chronic disease and conditions in the following ways:

• Strengthen the heart. A stronger heart can pump more blood for every heartbeat, which means your heart doesn't need to beat as fast during rest or exercise.

• Improve circulation. A stronger heart muscle pumps blood more efficiently.

• Relieve chronic muscle pain and fibromyalgia. Aerobic exercise stimulates the growth of tiny blood vessels (capillaries) in your muscles. This helps your body deliver oxygen to your muscles more efficiently and remove irritating metabolic waste products, such as lactic acid.

• Lower your blood sugar levels if you have diabetes. Keeping your blood sugar within target range can help you avoid long-term complications of diabetes, such as kidney failure or heart disease.

• Weight management. Combined with a healthy diet and appropriate strength training, aerobic exercise can help you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.

High Impact vs. Low Impact Aerobic Exercise

Many people suffer leg injuries from traditional aerobic workouts, often considered high impact aerobics. As knowledge about fitness increased many people seeking to increase their level of fitness and improve their shape have turned low-impact aerobic exercises.

High impact aerobic exercises such as simulated rope jumping or jumping jacks, so popular in regular aerobics, are a thing of the past. Low-impact aerobic exercise exclude exercises where both feet leave the ground. Newer fitness routines that are considered low impact aerobic exercise focus on exercises where one foot remains on the ground at all times.

Types of Low Impact Aerobic (Cardio) Exercise

Today there are many types of low impact cardio exercises being used at home, in gyms, and in many fitness centers across the world. To make up for the lack of jumping, many of these newer routines include forms of kick boxing, boxing, yoga or other forms of martial arts. To increase intensity many fitness professionals also incorporate weights into the aerobic (cardio) workout.

Low Impact Aerobic (Cardio) Exercise Intensity

Low impact aerobic exercise doesn’t mean low intensity. Many low impact aerobic exercises can burn more fat and more calories than the older traditional high impact aerobic (cardio) exercise routines. Today’s low impact aerobic (cardio) exercise routines can still challenge you, and build up the cardiovascular system.

Benefits of Low Impact Aerobic (Cardio) Exercise

Low-impact aerobics can improve your health by increasing cardiovascular fitness while minimizing lower-body injuries that can occur due to higher impact exercise. Higher impact exercises then to put stress on joints, tendons and ligaments resulting in increases incidence of overuse syndrome, as well as increased incidences of strains and sprains and joint injuries.

Potential Drawbacks of Low Impact Aerobic (Cardio) Exercise

• The problem with low-impact aerobics is that, depending on the level of the program, you may not be pushing the heart hard enough to derive any aerobic benefits. The optimum pulse range to achieve in an aerobic workout is your normal pulse plus 75 percent. In other words, if your pulse is normally 100 beats per minute, your rate during aerobic exercise should be around 175. This rate may be impossible to achieve during a low-impact workout. In fact, if you’re in good cardiovascular shape and then go on a low-impact program, you may be reducing your heart health, oxygen utilization, and energy reserve.

• Another potential drawback of the low-impact system is that for many of the weight exercises you have to strain and stretch your muscles just to maintain your balance. Since your feet are usually on the floor, this can overwork the muscles of the upper body.

• Low-impact exercisers suffer from tendinitis and even bursitis of the shoulders and arms. Many low-impact exercises are done on the floor standing erect and there is also a tendency toward ankle injuries.

Conclusion

Perhaps the best solution is to utilize low impact aerobic exercise with resistance (weight) training as a separate workout. Another solution would be to perhaps alternate low impact aerobic exercise with high impact aerobic exercise routines. This way the body gets a variety of different types of training, which has shown to maximize fitness gains, while also giving the muscle routine. As with all exercise, beginners should start slowly.  In regards to aerobic (cardio) exercise all beginners should start with a low-impact workout until their bodies become acclimated to aerobic (cardio) exercise. Once the muscles have been properly introduced to the wonders of aerobic exercise, it’s time to increase the intensity, whether it is by increase the time, increasing the pace, increasing the complexity of the routine, or whether it is by periodically incorporated a for the high-impact workout.