Wednesday Encouragement

Motivation can be the hardest thing in the world.  What motivates you to be healthy?  What keeps you going so that a healthy lifestyle becomes a habit?  What do you think about when you really want to cheat and have that bad food or forget about doing a workout? 

Ask yourself these questions every time you want to stop doing the right thing for your body.  Write the answers to these questions down in your inspiration journal so that you can go back and see how your answers change over time.

Motivation can be anything from an upcoming event, an old pair of jeans, to being able to play with your kids or pets.  To better your health so that you don't have an increased chance of medical issues arising in the future.  Or perhaps you already have medical issues and you want to prevent them from getting worse.  It doesn't matter what motivates you as long as it does motivate you.  Each person is different and we all live different lives.  Challenges change us over time, what we found motivating a few years ago may not be a motivation now.  Find that one thing that motivates you to keep going.

You can do anything, just believe in yourself.

Tuesday Recipes

Today I'm going to do Protein Drinks.  I admit that I suck at eating breakfast and this is how I get around that if I'm up at 430 in the morning.  I can't eat heavier foods like eggs that early.

I make all my shakes with Shakeology you can substitute with a protein powder of your choice.

Apple banana shake

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 scoop vanilla Shakeology
1 granny smith apple cut into pieces
1/2 frozen banana
1 tsp cinnamon
stevia for taste

blend in blender and enjoy

Morning Refresher

1/2 cup water
1/3 cup cubed mango
1/3 cup pineapple chunks
1/2 medium banana
1 scoop vanilla Shakeology

blend in blender and enjoy

Mocha Shake

1 cup coffee chilled
1 scoop chocolate Shakeology

blend in blender and enjoy

Chocolate Spice

1tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp nutmeg
1 cup non fat milk or almond milk
1 scoop chocolate Shakeology

blend in blender and enjoy.

In October I will try to find healthy things for Halloween.  I know I love my treats so that is what I will pass on to all of you.

Many of the recipes that I am passing on to you I have made myself and love them,  I've come up with my own recipes as well as doing google searches.  Never be afraid of a google search. Just type is vanilla Shakeology recipes or any other flavor of Shakeology and tap on the images icon  and you will see tones of recipes. 
If you would like to try Shakeology you can get a sample pack through this website. It's $35.95 plus shipping.

http://www.shakeology.com/andrea1974
   

Monday Workout

Today on Monday workout I'm going to talk about the benefits of cardio workouts.

When we do a cardio workout what do you notice about your body?  You are moving your arms and legs, as well as your hips, back and abs.  With aerobic (cardio) exercise we use large muscle groups.  These muscles get stronger with movement.  Your heart rate increases which increases blood flow to those large muscles, giving them the fuel and oxygen they need to function well.

The benefits of aerobic exercise are many but here are a few of the major benefits of including this type of exercise in your weekly routine.

- helps you to burn off excess fat and maintain weight with a healthy eating plan
- helps to increase stamina and reduces fatigue.
- helps to increase your immune system which helps fighting off illness
- helps reduce the risk of heart disease
- helps with chronic conditions like high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and blood sugar
- helps to boost your mood and helps with depression
- helps you to stay active and independent as you age
- helps you live longer
- helps you to reduce stress
- helps to improve sleep and brain function
- helps with bone strength (you need cardio and weight training to help with osteoporosis and arthritis)

As you can see there are many benefits to aerobic/cardiovascular exercise.  Thirty minutes three times a week is all you need to do.  Can you do more, absolutely.  But if you are not inclined to do cardio take it slow, start with a simple walk down to the corner and back, then work your way around the block, then go a little further each day until you reach a goal of 5km or 10km or more/less.  Set a goal and reach for that goal.

 

Here are some Cardio challenges that may help you

Lets think about doing a 30 day challenge for October.  It's only a few days away and there are so many 30 day challenges out there.  A simple google search and you will find them but if you need help here are a few sites you can go to.

http://darebee.com/programs/30-days-of-cardio-blast.html
http://30dayfitnesschallenges.com/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.happydev.challenge&hl=en (apps for your phone or tablet)
https://www.pinterest.com/allonsy44/monthly-fitness-challenges/ (for pinterest lovers)
http://draxe.com/how-to-lose-20-lbs-in-30-days/

References
 http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/aerobic-exercise/art-20045541?pg=1
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/cardio-workouts
http://www.discovergoodnutrition.com/2013/05/cardio-exercise-benefits/

Sunday Planning

Well it is Sunday and that means it's time to plan the week.

Look at the schedule that you have made.  Make sure you plan your workouts each day.  If you write it down you will do it.  Also plan some relaxation and pampering time in for the week.  Try to plan for time with friends and possibly a family night.  Working on relationships helps to build strong ties, and helps us develop a strong support network.  We all need to have that support for when things get tough.  By planning your time out each day you can build those relationships and support groups.

Think about what you can do with your family, it doesn't have to be expensive.  Think about a trip to the beach, or a park.  Plan a picnic or a movie night.  Do the same with your friends, call and talk on the phone, Skype or get together for coffee.  Think about inexpensive things that you can do with your significant other.

In your inspiration journal write down all the things that you can do that cost little to no money.  Start planning on doing those things with your family, friends and significant other.  You can do it.  You can share yourself in a healthy way so that you are rejuvenating as well as spending time with the important people in your life.

Take time to plan out your week, you have so much to give.

Saturday Relaxation

Today we are continuing on with the benefits of relaxation.  Did you know that relaxation helps to fight depression?

As many nurses know cortisol is the stress hormone, so when we are stressed it increase, helping us deal with the situations that we face in a work environment or our personal environment(s).  But when we have a prolonged stress response cortisol is known to decrease dopamine and serotonin levels which increases the chances of depression. 

If you think about it, when we go to a code BLUE, what happens?  We get an adrenaline rush, our anxiety level increases, we are thinking fast about all the things we need to do and planning for different outcomes - whether they are positive or negative.  But when all the excitement is over, we crash.  That is our stress response in action, now think about how our stress response reacts when we are in a prolonged stress environment or situation.   Your stress may not be at work, it could be coming from home.  If you have no down time, how do you recharge your energy?  You don't!  There are many studies out there on the affects of stress, both work and personal.  If you have a situation were you are constantly under stress and pressure, find the time to be alone and get away, even if it is only an hour or two.  Sit in a quiet place, surround yourself with peaceful things like nature, a water fall or water feature, go to a park, go for a walk in the woods/park.  Anything to just decompress to ward off the symptoms of depression.

Nurses always have to be strong, we don't show our weakness because we are taught not to.  We can't always be strong, sometimes we need to be weak, we need that shoulder to lean on, that we give to everyone else.  It is ok to say, 'I need a break'  we all need that at times.

In your inspiration journal I want you to write down your feelings every day.  YOUR REAL FEELINGS, not the ones you show everyone else.  Think of ways to deal with those feelings, do you think you can handle them on your own or do you need a person on the outside to guide you?  There is nothing wrong with seeking help from a friend or even a professional.  Sometimes an outsider who knows nothing about you is the easiest person to talk to because they do not have preconceived notions about you.  NEVER be afraid to ask for help.

Some things that can help you to relax are Yoga, massage, and meditation.  I've discussed these things before in older posts and it goes to show that a healthy lifestyle really does encompass the mind and body as well as the soul.  As we nurture all three of these things on our journey to better health we are becoming stronger in mind, body and spirit.

Resources

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/14/stress-awareness-day-relaxation-benefits_n_1424820.html
http://www.webmd.com/depression/depression-recovery-relaxation-exercises
http://www.allaboutdepression.com/relax/

Friday Reflections

   The hardest part for me as a nurse is dealing with emotions.  I hide a lot of what I feel to protect myself.  Many nurses do that everyday.  We deal with the sick, dying, and for those who are lucky to see the happy times, the joy of birth.  Nurses comfort family members and patients, they are the sounding board, teacher and guide for so many from critical care to emergency to psychiatry, the OR and PACU, the community, the medical and surgical floors, and labour and delivery.  We give emotionally so much that people don't realize that we drain ourselves.  Looking back on my career I know when I am burning out and need a change.  It's never an easy decision to make a change.  The change can be anything from a work environment to a different field within nursing or a change that is more personal. 
   Learning and reflecting back on our practise makes us better nurses, but the hard part is realizing that we are not perfect and we do not know everything (although we may come across that way because we have such a large knowledge base).  That is why patients and families look to us for guidance and understanding, we have the knowledge to break down medical speak into easy normal speak.
    Some days are harder than others, as nurses we learn early in our careers to put up barriers to protect our emotions.  But that doesn't mean we don't get affected by what we see and do.  I personally do not remember names, I never have but I do remember situations in explicit detail. When I first started working in trauma ER I went home in tears more than once.  To this day I rarely talk about what I have seen or done.  Most nurses have stories that are happy, and sad.  We know that is apart of what we do, what most people don't know is that there are times that nurses see things that are very traumatic not only to the patient but to the nurse as well.  Many nurses have left our practice because of those times.  Never forget that we are stronger together.  We build friendships and talk to each other about the good the bad and the horrific.  Our nursing friends are more important than you can imagine.  That sisterly/brotherly camaraderie is a major support system that we all need. 
   The one thing I have learned about nurses over the years and places that I have worked is that, NURSES WORK HARD AND WE PLAY HARD!  The friendships you develop in your career will last you a lifetime if you allow it.  Share time with your work friends, go out together and relax.  Have parties or get-togethers to unwind.  Nurses need to stick together because we understand.  We know what its like. Never be afraid to ask a friend to lend an ear and get the hard stuff out.  We are here for each other.

Thursday Pampered

 

Pampered is an interesting word and the meaning behind it can be considered fun or even derogatory depending on the context of the word.  Pampered means to indulge in attention, comfort, and kindness.  It also means to spoil.  Even though everyone deserves to be pampered, don't take it to extremes.  Use it as a reward.  I reached all my goals this week so I'm going to treat myself to a facial.

When thinking on this word, I thought about other words that could mean the same thing, they are babying, coddling, overindulging, spoiling, cosseting, and mollycoddle.  One of the more derogatory forms is to wait on someone hand and foot.

 

Being pampered and spoiled is fun when it is done with love, but people can get resentful if you expect it all the time.  I know as nurses we need the down time but have you ever thought about pampering your significant other?  How can you pamper them and yourself at the same time.  In your inspiration journal make a list of ten things that you and your significant other can do together to be pampered.  Now start pampering your significant other once a week or once a month.  Throw in some spontaneity you will be surprised  how much they appreciate the effort.  Sharing in the experience can bring you closer together and build wonderful memories.

Wednesday Encouragement

Encouragement!  That word can be so powerful and life changing.  By encouraging someone to do something, you are building confidence and self worth in that person as well as yourself.  As nurses we don't realize how much we impact our patients and their family members.  Throughout my career I have receive letters from families and patients thanking me for the care they received.  It reminds me that people are human with powerful emotions.  In a crisis emotions are high and fear can cloud a patient or family members actions and words.  As nurses we take the brunt of that fear and we try to change that fear into understanding with calm and gentle words.  It doesn't always work but we try anyway.  Many families thank us later for our help and the way we break down complicated situations into manageable pieces of informative information.  Nurses are strong, we teach, we help people grow, we help people understand.  That is something that we should celebrate.

 

I know that we all have trials.  I started a new workout this week and I realized that my balance and coordination is not as good as I thought it was.  So I will continue on and work through the workouts so that after my two or four months I will have better flexibility, better balance and coordination.  It's amazing what our bodies and minds are capable of doing.  You only have to try.  If you believe that you can do something then you will be able to do.  You just have to figure out the path to get you there.  There are many roads and paths in life.  Only you know what path to take, sometime our choices seem to be easy while at other times the choices are hard and we feel like we are drowning.  Just remember that no matter what life throws at you, you are on a journey to learn who you are.  That journey lasts our whole life and the challenges along the way     help us become the strong individuals that we are.
 

Tuesday Recipes

Hello everyone

It's time for a few new recipes.

One of my favorite breakfasts is Apple Pie.....(serves 1)
1 whole wheat wrap.
1 apple of your choice
1tsp. cinnamon
optional 1 stevia packet

peal apple and cut into small pieces, place pieces into a microwave friendly bowl and add cinnamon and stevia packet.  mix well.  place bowl in microwave for two minutes.  pour apples into center of whole wheat wrap and roll it up.  Enjoy. 

a delicious lunch is the garden veggie wrap (serves 1)

1tbsp low fat cream cheese
1 6" tortilla
3 slices English cucumber
1 lettuce leaf
2 slices tomato
1tbsp fat free ranch dressing

spread cream cheese down middle of the tortilla, place lettuce cucumber and tomato on tortilla. drizzle with ranch dressing and roll.

A healthy weekend drink (once in a while)

Tropical Slushie (serves 4)

1pkg mange crystal light
10 oz water
10 ice cubes
4 oz vodka
1/2 mango quartered

dissolve mango crystal light in water then mix with ice and add vodka in a blender on high speed until smooth.  serve with a slice of mango.

I hope you enjoy these recipes.

Monday Workout

Today lets talk about the benefits of weight training.

Weight training is a healthy way to increase strength if done properly.  Working with a personal trainer or using a workout program designed to build muscle and strength has many health benefits that are not regularly discussed.  So lets talk about it.

- Weight lifting helps combat fat gain, by increasing muscle mass you burn more calories which helps burn off unwanted fat.
- It also helps with depression a study done in 2004 showed that anaerobic and aerobic exercise have similar benefits in regards to fighting depression.
- As we get older we loose muscle mass and bone mass.  By lifting weights we fight off osteoporosis.
- it improves performance, think about your nursing profession, we lift patients, do CPR and many other physically demanding work related actions. By lifting weights we improve our performance and build strength to do our job more effectively and efficiently.
- helps with body awareness, just like yoga, when you move you have to be cognisant of being in the right body position to lift a weight properly.  This translates into daily life when we are at work moving patients or at home working around the house and yard.
- the National Institutes of Health published  a study in The Archives of Internal Medicine in regards to Diabetes prevention.  They found that men who lifted weights for 30 minutes five times a week had a 34% lower risk of diabetes. If you add in regular cardiovascular exercise the risk dropped by  59%.
- weight lifting helps cardiovascular health by decreasing blood pressure and increasing blood flow to the body.
- weight lifting increase the growth of white muscle with helps with blood sugar control because weight lifting uses glucose as fuel energy.
- lifting weights increases your core strength which benefits in protecting your back and preventing back pain.
- did you know that while you are lifting weights you are working your smaller stabilizing muscles, this improves your balance.
- lifting weights will not make a woman bulky, that takes a lot of work and a specific diet plan.  Lifting weights helps us women lean out and have a nice sculpted look.
- when you work out with weights you tend to push yourself to do a bit more each time, by doing this you feel physically stronger but you also feel MENTALLY stronger as well. (major plus)
- strong muscles help with injury prevention because they are able to take more stress
- it also helps reduce stress and anxiety because you can workout the stress physically and possibly emotionally by working through your issue(s) while doing your workout
- reduces symptoms of PMS (we ladies need this one, I know I do, I hate the cramps and I've noticed a difference this month after using weights everyday)

 

 

As you can see there are many benefits to using weights.  There are many places you can go to learn how to use weights properly.  Going to a local gym, like LA Fitness or Good Life.  Going on line to watch professional trainers explain and demonstrate an exercise on YouTube and Facebook or on their personal sites like Mandy Blank or Chris Powell.  You can also get many great DVD workouts specifically designed for weight training.

 

Some programs for weight training

 

P90X series 0 through 3

Beast for body building

Rev 4

21 day fix, and fix extreme

 

if you are looking at checking out some of these programs check out these web pages

 

www.beachbodycoach.com/andrea1974

www.amazon.com (just type in workout DVDs)

or check out

http://mandyblank.com/

http://chrispowell.com/

 



Resources:
http://www.livestrong.com/slideshow/1008208-13-benefits-weightlifting-one-tells/#slide=14
http://www.everydayhealth.com/fitness/add-strength-training-to-your-workout.aspx
http://jamesclear.com/why-lift-weights
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/trainingstation1.htm

Sunday Planning

Sunday planning is back, what are your plans and goals for this week?  The image above is an idea that I found searching the web, that can help us organize our weeks and help plan out goals and track our success.
By using a day planner you can track your shifts at work, your exercise, eating plan and lifestyle goals, track special events, family and social engagements as well as plan for the future.  If you write down what you need to do on a given day and check off each item as it is completed, then you have achieved your daily goal(s).  So go out and get yourself a large day planner.  Write in your workouts ahead of time that way you know what you will be doing, especially if you are working 12hr shifts, it can be hard to get that workout in.  If you don't want to do a workout after a 12hr shift, think about what you can do at work on your break to get some exercise in.  Write that in on your day planner and check it off when you have completed the task.   Nurses are extremely good at getting tasks done, but we are even better at planning and critical thinking when a monkey wrench is thrown into the mix. 

When an unexpected situation comes up, you can look at your day planner and see what you have planned for that day plus the future days in the week, you will be able to shuffle things around so that you can accomplish all your goals.

You will also be able to use your day planner as a type of journal too, looking back a year or more from now and seeing all you accomplished in that year can be pretty amazing.


So one of your goals for this week is to go out to the book store and find yourself a DAY PLANNER that suits your personality and needs, and start using it.  Think about October, it's just around the corner.  What exercise plan are you going to do?  What about your eating habits, are you going to change them or keep them the same?  What about social events and your shifts at work?  Everything can be planned ahead so that when the unexpected arises you can make changes with hopefully relative ease.  Good luck finding the perfect planner for YOU!