Thursday, March 27, 2008
13 Healthy Habits to Improve Your Life
There are 13 ways to boost your chances of living a happy, healthy life. More can be added to this list, but, for simplicity's sake, we'll stick with this typically unlucky number.
Instead of bringing misfortune, however, the 13 habits promise a life of vigor and vivacity. There are, of course, no guarantees, but many of the practices mentioned here have been published in scientific journals. Disregard them, and you may well be taking a big gamble with your mental and emotional well-being.
Healthy Habit No. 1:
Eat Breakfast Every Morning
Breakfast eaters are champions of good health. Research shows people who have a morning meal tend to take in more vitamins and minerals, and less fat and cholesterol. The result is often a leaner body, lower cholesterol count, and less chance of overeating.
"That one act [of eating breakfast] seems to make a difference in people's overall weight," says Melinda Johnson, RD, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). She says breakfast can hold off hunger pangs until lunchtime and make high-calorie vending machine options less enticing.
Not only that, researchers at the 2003 American Heart Association conference reported that breakfast eaters are significantly less likely to be obese and get diabetes compared with nonbreakfast eaters.
Another study in the International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition showed that people who consumed breakfast cereal every day reported feeling better both physically and mentally than those who rarely ate cereal in the morning.
For kids, breakfast appears to enhance alertness, attention, and performance on standardized achievement tests, reports the ADA.
To get the full benefits of breakfast, the Mayo Clinic recommends a meal with carbohydrates, protein, and a small amount of fat. They say that because no single food gives you all of the nutrients you need, eating a variety of foods is essential to good health.
Yet, even with so much scientific support that breakfast does the body good; many people still make excuses not to eat in the morning. They include not having enough time and not feeling hungry. For these people, Johnson suggests tailoring breakfast to the day.
"When I'm getting ready in the morning, I don't really want to take the time to eat breakfast because that would mean sacrificing sleep," says Johnson. "So I bring my breakfast with me, and I know I have an hour when I'm reading emails in the office when I can eat it. By that time, I'm hungry because I've been up for almost a couple of hours."
Healthy Habit No. 2:
Add Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids to Your Diet
The AHA recommends a serving of fish two times per week.
Besides being a good source of protein and a food relatively low in the bad type of dietary fat called saturated fat, fish has omega-3 fatty acids -- which have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.
Fatty fish such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon, are rich in two kinds of omega-3 fatty acids: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
Foods such as tofu, soybeans, canola, walnuts, flaxseed, and their oils contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which convert to omega-3 in the body. Even though the benefits of ALA are controversial, the AHA still recommends foods containing it as part of a healthy diet.
In addition to their heart-health benefits, there is some evidence that omega-3 fatty acids may also soothe an overactive immune system, says Johnson. Even though this benefit is still being studied, she says there appears to be a link between getting more omega-3s in your diet and reducing allergies, asthma, eczema, and autoimmune disorders.
Healthy Habit No. 3:
Get Enough Sleep
"Your body has to have enough time to rest," says Michael Fleming, MD, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Otherwise, he says you may find yourself feeling cranky and tired.
This may sound like common sense, but according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), more than two-thirds of older adults suffer from sleep problems and many American adults don't get the minimum amount of shuteye needed to stay alert.
Sleep is vital to good health and to mental and emotional well-being. The NSF reports that people who don't get enough slumber are more likely than others to develop psychiatric problems and to use health care services. Plus, sleep deprivation can negatively affect memory, learning, and logical reasoning.
Not enough ZZZs can also be hazardous. More than one-half of adult drivers -- some 100 million people -- say they have driven drowsy in the past year, according to NSF polls. About one out of five of these drivers -- 32 million people -- say they've fallen asleep while driving.
Each year drowsy driving causes more than 100,000 car crashes, 1,500 deaths, and tens of thousands of injuries, reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The NSF recommends taking a 15 to 20 minute nap. Because it takes about 30 minutes for the caffeine to work, taking a nap while you wait for the caffeine to kick in can help restore alertness.
To avoid the pitfalls of insufficient sleep, make sure to get at least seven to 10 hours of slumber each night. Kids need more sleep, depending on their age.
Healthy Habit No. 4:
Make Social Connections
Volunteer. Go to church. Join a club. Whatever you do, do it with people. Communal activities are good for your physical and mental health, according to a study published in the March/April 2004 issue of the American Journal of Health Behavior.
It makes sense, says C. David Jenkins, PhD, author of Building Better Health: A Handbook of Behavioral Change. He says social ties have many benefits, including:
Providing information. You may think for instance your frequent nosebleeds, coughing, and sneezing episodes are trivial, but when a close friend or relative hears of it, he or she may encourage you to go to a doctor. If the symptoms turn out to be a serious condition, the social tie could have saved your life.
Instrumental help. Friends and family can provide physical support in time of need. They may help with cooking, cleaning, running errands, doing grocery shopping, and driving to the doctor's office.
Emotional support. Sharing a problem with a trusted person can help alleviate an internal burden. "It's a load off your chest," says Jenkins.
Offering a sense of belonging. This feeling not only helps reinforce a person's identity, it also assists in preventing and overcoming depression and anxiety.
Community ties also help improve mental functioning, says Fleming. Group activities can help keep the mind active and maintain desirable levels of serotonin -- the brain chemical associated with mood. "Lack of social interaction will [decrease] serotonin levels," says Fleming.
Healthy Habit No. 5:
Exercise for Better Health
We already know that physical activity has a bounty of benefits, which makes it so puzzling why so many people just don't do it. According to the CDC, more than 60% of Americans do not get regular exercise.
In case you needed an incentive, here is a review of the advantages of exercise, per the National Cancer Institute:
Helps control weight
Maintains healthy bones, muscles, and joints
Reduces risk of developing high blood pressure and diabetes
Promotes psychological well-being
Reduces risk of death from heart disease
Reduces risk of premature death
Studies have also shown a link between exercise and a reduced risk of certain cancers.
Besides its long-term effects, moving your body has immediate benefits, says Cedric Bryant, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise. The short-term results of exercise include helping people to think and move better, manage stress, improve mood, and get an energy boost.
The excuses that people often give to not exercise are the precise reasons to exercise, says Bryant. People who say they are too tired or don't have time to workout don't realize that exercise gives people more energy and allows them to be more productive with the rest of their time.
Healthy Habit No. 6:
Practice Good Dental Hygiene
Flossing your teeth every day could add 6.4 years to your life, according to Michael Roizen, MD, author of RealAge. In his book, Roizen lists flossing as one of the most important daily activities -- along with exercise and quitting smoking -- that could extend life span.
Roizen's calculation may raise some eyebrows, but the idea that oral health is connected to overall health isn't far-fetched.
The mouth, after all, is an integral part of the body. "Teeth have a blood supply, and that blood supply comes from the heart," says Richard Price, DMD, consumer advisor for the American Dental Association (ADA).
Researchers suspect that the bacteria that produce dental plaque enter the bloodstream. They say these bacteria are somehow associated with the inflammation that occurs with plaque that blocks blood vessels and causes heart disease.
Other researchers have found links between oral bacteria and stroke, diabetes, and the birth of preterm babies and those that have low birth weight.
In addition to preventing disease, flossing and brushing can help keep your pearly whites intact for more than just cosmetic reasons. Teeth help you chew food, speak properly, and smile -- which, according to Price, can help you keep your dignity.
Healthy Habit No. 7:
Take Up a Hobby
Look up the word "hobby" in the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, and you will find the definition as "a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation."
Since they are relaxing activities, hobbies are usually enjoyable. Some people find joy in craftwork, bird watching, sports, going to flea markets, walking in the park, or playing cards.
The joy may help people live healthier and recover better from illness. For one thing, taking part in hobbies can burn calories, more so than just sitting in front of the TV.
In a study of people who had undergone surgery, Jenkins found that people who were involved in hobbies before their operation had better recovery six months later, compared with people who did not have hobbies.
The participants with hobbies tended to have more drive and interest in things and other people, says Jenkins. "It was a more active orientation to life."
Healthy Habit No. 8:
Protect Your Skin
Our skin starts to age as soon as we are born and, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), the best way to protect it and look younger is to stay out of the sun.
The sun has harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays that can cause wrinkles, dryness, and age spots. Overexposure can cause sunburn, skin texture changes, dilated blood vessels, and skin cancers.
Avoiding the sun, however, is not always ideal or practical. To reduce the risk of skin damage, the AAD offers the following tips:
Always wear sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher.
Don a hat with a brim and wear other protective clothing.
Don't deliberately sunbathe.
Try to avoid sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Healthy Habit No. 9:
Snack the Healthy Way
The ADA recommends five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day as part of a healthy diet. These plant foods can do many things to boost good health, including:
Reduce the risk of some cancers
Beat the signs of aging
Improve memory
Promote heart health
Enhance the immune system
One way to incorporate fruits and veggies into your diet is to have them as snacks. "If you can do one thing [to improve your health], concentrate on getting fruits and veggies," says Johnson. "They are low in calories and high in nutrients."
She says baby carrots and cut-up produce make tasty, convenient munchies. Other healthful snacks include low-fat yogurt and nuts (in moderation).
The best time to snack is when you are hungry between meals, says Johnson. But beware: Cravings could easily be mistaken for hunger cues, especially for people who are dieting.
Healthy Habit No. 10:
Drink Water and Eat Dairy
Water and milk are essential fluids for good health, but they can also help with shedding pounds.
The body needs water to keep properly hydrated and individuals vary widely in how much water they need. Joints need it to stay in motion, and vital organs such as the heart, brain, kidney, and liver need it to work properly.
If you don't get enough water, the body goes into emergency mode, and clings to every single water molecule it can find, reports the University of Minnesota Water Resources Center. The stored molecules appear as extra weight. The weight is only released once the body gets enough water.
The calcium in dairy, on the other hand, is known to be important for strong bones and teeth. Studies have also shown it can help prevent high blood pressure, kidney stones, heart disease, and colon cancer.
In the weight loss arena, three 8-ounce glasses of low-fat or fat-free milk appear to encourage body fat loss while maintaining muscle mass, according to the ADA. The dairy consumption must be part of a balanced reduced-calorie meal plan.
Healthy Habit No. 11:
Drink Tea
"Decaffeinated tea is better," says Fleming, noting that the caffeinated variety can be dehydrating, and sugary drinks can lead to weight gain.
There is some evidence that tea may help in improving memory, and preventing cavities, cancer, and heart disease. Fleming says, though, that the overall research is still inconclusive.
"There may well be some beneficial effects of tea, particularly the potential antioxidant effect, but we don't have great data on that right now that is that specific."
However, there's no doubt that a cool iced tea can be a refreshing treat during hot days. Try flavoring your tea with juices, fruits, cinnamon sticks, ginger, and other condiments.
Healthy Habit No. 12:
Instead of bringing misfortune, however, the 13 habits promise a life of vigor and vivacity. There are, of course, no guarantees, but many of the practices mentioned here have been published in scientific journals. Disregard them, and you may well be taking a big gamble with your mental and emotional well-being.
Healthy Habit No. 1:
Eat Breakfast Every Morning
Breakfast eaters are champions of good health. Research shows people who have a morning meal tend to take in more vitamins and minerals, and less fat and cholesterol. The result is often a leaner body, lower cholesterol count, and less chance of overeating.
"That one act [of eating breakfast] seems to make a difference in people's overall weight," says Melinda Johnson, RD, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). She says breakfast can hold off hunger pangs until lunchtime and make high-calorie vending machine options less enticing.
Not only that, researchers at the 2003 American Heart Association conference reported that breakfast eaters are significantly less likely to be obese and get diabetes compared with nonbreakfast eaters.
Another study in the International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition showed that people who consumed breakfast cereal every day reported feeling better both physically and mentally than those who rarely ate cereal in the morning.
For kids, breakfast appears to enhance alertness, attention, and performance on standardized achievement tests, reports the ADA.
To get the full benefits of breakfast, the Mayo Clinic recommends a meal with carbohydrates, protein, and a small amount of fat. They say that because no single food gives you all of the nutrients you need, eating a variety of foods is essential to good health.
Yet, even with so much scientific support that breakfast does the body good; many people still make excuses not to eat in the morning. They include not having enough time and not feeling hungry. For these people, Johnson suggests tailoring breakfast to the day.
"When I'm getting ready in the morning, I don't really want to take the time to eat breakfast because that would mean sacrificing sleep," says Johnson. "So I bring my breakfast with me, and I know I have an hour when I'm reading emails in the office when I can eat it. By that time, I'm hungry because I've been up for almost a couple of hours."
Healthy Habit No. 2:
Add Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids to Your Diet
The AHA recommends a serving of fish two times per week.
Besides being a good source of protein and a food relatively low in the bad type of dietary fat called saturated fat, fish has omega-3 fatty acids -- which have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.
Fatty fish such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon, are rich in two kinds of omega-3 fatty acids: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
Foods such as tofu, soybeans, canola, walnuts, flaxseed, and their oils contain alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which convert to omega-3 in the body. Even though the benefits of ALA are controversial, the AHA still recommends foods containing it as part of a healthy diet.
In addition to their heart-health benefits, there is some evidence that omega-3 fatty acids may also soothe an overactive immune system, says Johnson. Even though this benefit is still being studied, she says there appears to be a link between getting more omega-3s in your diet and reducing allergies, asthma, eczema, and autoimmune disorders.
Healthy Habit No. 3:
Get Enough Sleep
"Your body has to have enough time to rest," says Michael Fleming, MD, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Otherwise, he says you may find yourself feeling cranky and tired.
This may sound like common sense, but according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), more than two-thirds of older adults suffer from sleep problems and many American adults don't get the minimum amount of shuteye needed to stay alert.
Sleep is vital to good health and to mental and emotional well-being. The NSF reports that people who don't get enough slumber are more likely than others to develop psychiatric problems and to use health care services. Plus, sleep deprivation can negatively affect memory, learning, and logical reasoning.
Not enough ZZZs can also be hazardous. More than one-half of adult drivers -- some 100 million people -- say they have driven drowsy in the past year, according to NSF polls. About one out of five of these drivers -- 32 million people -- say they've fallen asleep while driving.
Each year drowsy driving causes more than 100,000 car crashes, 1,500 deaths, and tens of thousands of injuries, reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The NSF recommends taking a 15 to 20 minute nap. Because it takes about 30 minutes for the caffeine to work, taking a nap while you wait for the caffeine to kick in can help restore alertness.
To avoid the pitfalls of insufficient sleep, make sure to get at least seven to 10 hours of slumber each night. Kids need more sleep, depending on their age.
Healthy Habit No. 4:
Make Social Connections
Volunteer. Go to church. Join a club. Whatever you do, do it with people. Communal activities are good for your physical and mental health, according to a study published in the March/April 2004 issue of the American Journal of Health Behavior.
It makes sense, says C. David Jenkins, PhD, author of Building Better Health: A Handbook of Behavioral Change. He says social ties have many benefits, including:
Providing information. You may think for instance your frequent nosebleeds, coughing, and sneezing episodes are trivial, but when a close friend or relative hears of it, he or she may encourage you to go to a doctor. If the symptoms turn out to be a serious condition, the social tie could have saved your life.
Instrumental help. Friends and family can provide physical support in time of need. They may help with cooking, cleaning, running errands, doing grocery shopping, and driving to the doctor's office.
Emotional support. Sharing a problem with a trusted person can help alleviate an internal burden. "It's a load off your chest," says Jenkins.
Offering a sense of belonging. This feeling not only helps reinforce a person's identity, it also assists in preventing and overcoming depression and anxiety.
Community ties also help improve mental functioning, says Fleming. Group activities can help keep the mind active and maintain desirable levels of serotonin -- the brain chemical associated with mood. "Lack of social interaction will [decrease] serotonin levels," says Fleming.
Healthy Habit No. 5:
Exercise for Better Health
We already know that physical activity has a bounty of benefits, which makes it so puzzling why so many people just don't do it. According to the CDC, more than 60% of Americans do not get regular exercise.
In case you needed an incentive, here is a review of the advantages of exercise, per the National Cancer Institute:
Helps control weight
Maintains healthy bones, muscles, and joints
Reduces risk of developing high blood pressure and diabetes
Promotes psychological well-being
Reduces risk of death from heart disease
Reduces risk of premature death
Studies have also shown a link between exercise and a reduced risk of certain cancers.
Besides its long-term effects, moving your body has immediate benefits, says Cedric Bryant, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise. The short-term results of exercise include helping people to think and move better, manage stress, improve mood, and get an energy boost.
The excuses that people often give to not exercise are the precise reasons to exercise, says Bryant. People who say they are too tired or don't have time to workout don't realize that exercise gives people more energy and allows them to be more productive with the rest of their time.
Healthy Habit No. 6:
Practice Good Dental Hygiene
Flossing your teeth every day could add 6.4 years to your life, according to Michael Roizen, MD, author of RealAge. In his book, Roizen lists flossing as one of the most important daily activities -- along with exercise and quitting smoking -- that could extend life span.
Roizen's calculation may raise some eyebrows, but the idea that oral health is connected to overall health isn't far-fetched.
The mouth, after all, is an integral part of the body. "Teeth have a blood supply, and that blood supply comes from the heart," says Richard Price, DMD, consumer advisor for the American Dental Association (ADA).
Researchers suspect that the bacteria that produce dental plaque enter the bloodstream. They say these bacteria are somehow associated with the inflammation that occurs with plaque that blocks blood vessels and causes heart disease.
Other researchers have found links between oral bacteria and stroke, diabetes, and the birth of preterm babies and those that have low birth weight.
In addition to preventing disease, flossing and brushing can help keep your pearly whites intact for more than just cosmetic reasons. Teeth help you chew food, speak properly, and smile -- which, according to Price, can help you keep your dignity.
Healthy Habit No. 7:
Take Up a Hobby
Look up the word "hobby" in the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, and you will find the definition as "a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation."
Since they are relaxing activities, hobbies are usually enjoyable. Some people find joy in craftwork, bird watching, sports, going to flea markets, walking in the park, or playing cards.
The joy may help people live healthier and recover better from illness. For one thing, taking part in hobbies can burn calories, more so than just sitting in front of the TV.
In a study of people who had undergone surgery, Jenkins found that people who were involved in hobbies before their operation had better recovery six months later, compared with people who did not have hobbies.
The participants with hobbies tended to have more drive and interest in things and other people, says Jenkins. "It was a more active orientation to life."
Healthy Habit No. 8:
Protect Your Skin
Our skin starts to age as soon as we are born and, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), the best way to protect it and look younger is to stay out of the sun.
The sun has harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays that can cause wrinkles, dryness, and age spots. Overexposure can cause sunburn, skin texture changes, dilated blood vessels, and skin cancers.
Avoiding the sun, however, is not always ideal or practical. To reduce the risk of skin damage, the AAD offers the following tips:
Always wear sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher.
Don a hat with a brim and wear other protective clothing.
Don't deliberately sunbathe.
Try to avoid sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Healthy Habit No. 9:
Snack the Healthy Way
The ADA recommends five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day as part of a healthy diet. These plant foods can do many things to boost good health, including:
Reduce the risk of some cancers
Beat the signs of aging
Improve memory
Promote heart health
Enhance the immune system
One way to incorporate fruits and veggies into your diet is to have them as snacks. "If you can do one thing [to improve your health], concentrate on getting fruits and veggies," says Johnson. "They are low in calories and high in nutrients."
She says baby carrots and cut-up produce make tasty, convenient munchies. Other healthful snacks include low-fat yogurt and nuts (in moderation).
The best time to snack is when you are hungry between meals, says Johnson. But beware: Cravings could easily be mistaken for hunger cues, especially for people who are dieting.
Healthy Habit No. 10:
Drink Water and Eat Dairy
Water and milk are essential fluids for good health, but they can also help with shedding pounds.
The body needs water to keep properly hydrated and individuals vary widely in how much water they need. Joints need it to stay in motion, and vital organs such as the heart, brain, kidney, and liver need it to work properly.
If you don't get enough water, the body goes into emergency mode, and clings to every single water molecule it can find, reports the University of Minnesota Water Resources Center. The stored molecules appear as extra weight. The weight is only released once the body gets enough water.
The calcium in dairy, on the other hand, is known to be important for strong bones and teeth. Studies have also shown it can help prevent high blood pressure, kidney stones, heart disease, and colon cancer.
In the weight loss arena, three 8-ounce glasses of low-fat or fat-free milk appear to encourage body fat loss while maintaining muscle mass, according to the ADA. The dairy consumption must be part of a balanced reduced-calorie meal plan.
Healthy Habit No. 11:
Drink Tea
"Decaffeinated tea is better," says Fleming, noting that the caffeinated variety can be dehydrating, and sugary drinks can lead to weight gain.
There is some evidence that tea may help in improving memory, and preventing cavities, cancer, and heart disease. Fleming says, though, that the overall research is still inconclusive.
"There may well be some beneficial effects of tea, particularly the potential antioxidant effect, but we don't have great data on that right now that is that specific."
However, there's no doubt that a cool iced tea can be a refreshing treat during hot days. Try flavoring your tea with juices, fruits, cinnamon sticks, ginger, and other condiments.
Healthy Habit No. 12:
Take a Daily Walk
We already mentioned the merits of exercise in habit No. 5. Now, here's a tip on how to incorporate physical activity into your daily life: WALK.
We're not talking about taking the time out of your busy schedule to work out -- that's important, too -- but infusing life- and limb-saving movement into your waking hours.
"Just move. Pace during phone calls, while you're brushing your teeth, while watching your son's soccer game," says Bryant, noting that every 20 steps a person takes is 1 calorie burned.
An eight-year study of 13,000 people also showed that people who walked 30 minutes daily had a significantly reduced chance of premature death compared with those who rarely exercised, reports the American Council on Exercise.
And there are plenty of opportunities to move those legs:
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Walk to the store.
Window shop at the mall.
Leave your desk and visit your co-worker instead of sending him an email.
Walk and talk with friends instead of meeting for a meal.
Healthy Habit No. 13:
We already mentioned the merits of exercise in habit No. 5. Now, here's a tip on how to incorporate physical activity into your daily life: WALK.
We're not talking about taking the time out of your busy schedule to work out -- that's important, too -- but infusing life- and limb-saving movement into your waking hours.
"Just move. Pace during phone calls, while you're brushing your teeth, while watching your son's soccer game," says Bryant, noting that every 20 steps a person takes is 1 calorie burned.
An eight-year study of 13,000 people also showed that people who walked 30 minutes daily had a significantly reduced chance of premature death compared with those who rarely exercised, reports the American Council on Exercise.
And there are plenty of opportunities to move those legs:
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Walk to the store.
Window shop at the mall.
Leave your desk and visit your co-worker instead of sending him an email.
Walk and talk with friends instead of meeting for a meal.
Healthy Habit No. 13:
Plan
There is, perhaps, no better word in the English language to better illustrate how you can incorporate healthy habits into your everyday life.
"A little planning goes a long way," says Johnson. "Eating healthy never happens by accident."
For the most part, neither do good fitness, skin protection, healthy teeth, weight loss, and social ties. Many of these habits take effort that need to be scheduled into busy lives.
To eat healthy, for example, it would help to set aside time to draft a menu, make a grocery list, go to the store, prepare meals, and pack breakfast and lunch.
There is, perhaps, no better word in the English language to better illustrate how you can incorporate healthy habits into your everyday life.
"A little planning goes a long way," says Johnson. "Eating healthy never happens by accident."
For the most part, neither do good fitness, skin protection, healthy teeth, weight loss, and social ties. Many of these habits take effort that need to be scheduled into busy lives.
To eat healthy, for example, it would help to set aside time to draft a menu, make a grocery list, go to the store, prepare meals, and pack breakfast and lunch.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
3 Ways to Immediately Increase Search Engine Traffic
Amongst the commercial blogosphere there is huge interest in the dark, and mysterious art of SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. There shouldn't be. Not because paying attention to Search traffic is bad, or that wanting to rank higher in Google is evil, simply because it's not rocket science, and anyone can do it. Even you.
If you want get more traffic from Search engines, this post is for you. Read on....
The Big SEO Secret: It's Easy
Before we get to the list, (I don't mind if you scroll, but this next bit is important too...) let me explain what i mean by "it isn't rocket science": Manipulating Search engine rankings for sites that naturally find it difficult to get incoming links and attention, say affilate sites, many ecommerce type operations and much of the web1.0 shopping experience sites is very hard, and it takes a lot of skill and knowledge to achieve.
It's become harder and harder over the last few years to game Google, and many SEO's are now wondering if it's time to give up trying to "manipulate" G results and simply start feeding Google more of what it wants -- the unfortunate result of which is a huge increase in workload, namely copywriting and Linkbaiting.
That's the thing most SEO's won't want to tell their clients. That there is no magic wand, mystical powers or Search engine hoo joo to be had anymore, it's all down to 3 things:
Copywriting
Links and
Networking
That's not to say those tasks don't require skill, but it really is that simple.
I'll give you a full checklist in just a minute...
Avoid the Snake Oil Merchants
There are still die hard SEO's out there that spend all their time trying to game the system, but most of them are pretty shit at it, only a very few have enough resources to manage it. There are also, a whole slew of con merchants masquerading as SEO's, just as there are fake designers in the web design field, basing their credentials on the fact that they've read a few articles, or bought a keyword tracking tool.
These people are idiots, and should be avoided at all costs.
At the end of this article I'll point you in the direction of a few quality resources for further reading.
3 Ways to Immediately Increase Search Engine Traffic
Now you've patiently read though all of the above, or impatiently skimmed to the bottom, it's time to get into this list.
1. Write Better, More Specific Copy and Linkbait
Good copywriting encompasses many things, titles, subject matter, the post and url's to name the most important. It also goes hand in hand with The Art of Linkbaiting. Here's a checklist for more search engine friendly copy:
Title's are everything.
Titles should be short, snappy, and attention grabbing - think about how you skim through your RSS reader every day, and bear that in mind when writing titles.
Preferably, title's should contain keywords related to your topic -- that should come naturally, if you have to jam them in there, its either a bad title, bad copy, or you're a lunatic.
If your blog software writes titles like this: My Blog Title My Post Title, you need to change them to this: My Post Title - My Blog Title. Many people will tell you it's even better to ditch the "My Blog Title" bit all together, in order to not dillute the important keywords in the title, but they're forgetting the importance of branding, and with blogs, establishing some brand recognition goes a long way toward gaining links and attention.
Titles are akin to advertising, and the best ones make promises, and deliver
By far the best resource out there for blog titles is Brian Clark's Magnetic Headlines series of posts on the excellent Copy Blogger site.
Body CopyThere's been much written, both online and off about copywriting, and as a writer of small talent, it's not for me to get into the in-depth details of it. I am good at linkbaiting though, and am constantly studying what kind of post are being linked on del.icio.us, Digg and other "link sites".
It's the much discussed art of linkbaiting that this post will focus on. Remember, we're talking about getting search engine traffic right? Here's a checklist for writing good linkbait (we'll discuss why links are important a little further down).
Study the popular bookmarks on del.icio.us to get a feel for what people are linking to
Such things as HowTo's and Lists are always good fodder for linkbait and you should be aiming to get onto those pages by writing appropriate copy. (you want to be there, because being there will gain you links, and links = traffic, more on that soon...).
Use html lists, headlines and other visual means of breaking up posts in order to make them easier to read and skim
Link out, link often and link generously -- Really, forget any rubbish you may have heard about depleting page rank, or any concerns you have over sending away traffic, and work on providing links to great resources your readers will love -- they'll thank you for it, and link to you for it.
Fight bloggers block by getting inventive, and doing some research.
Some of the best blog specific resources for copy writing, and linkbaiting are:
Brian Clark's CopyBlogger.com
Darren Rowse's Content Tips
Performancing Content Section
2. Make it Easy for People to Link to You
All of the above tips on writing more attractive, useful and linkable copy are geared to two things:
Providing what your readers want
Gaining links
Links are the currency with which one trades on the web, the lingua franca of the internet and key to ranking, and traffic. Hint: They're really, really important ok?
Essentially, you're looking for this:
Links coming to your posts, from many different sources
Links preferably have relevant keywords in the text used to make the link and again preferably come from sites on a similar topic
Links from trusted, authoritative sites
Apart from writing great linkable copy, there are a few things you can do to make sure that your posts get linked, and hence ranked aswell as get more bang for your buck per link.
Encourage readers to submit your posts to Digg and del.icio.us, or more specific link sites depending on your subject matter. Those categories in del.icio.us for example, are exported by users to their own blogs (targeted, keyworded link text = good), and they often kick off a knock on effect [pdf] that can have wild implications for your Search traffic.
There are varios widgets for most blog software to do the above for you, just have a search through your blog softwares list of plugins.
Where possible, make sure your urls contain your keywords. Contrary to popular opinion, this is not because Search engines pay particularly more attention to urls with keywods, but because people often just paste urls into comments, blog posts and forums where they are automatically linked by the software. Those links, contain the keywords, and it's keywords in links, from authoratitive, trusted sites, that are what we want.
Place a "link to this post" widget on your blogs templates
Ask other bloggers in your niche for links -- but don't make a pest of yourself, nobody likes to be hassled, and some people turn down link requests on general principle (me for example..). See Trisha's thread in the Performancing forums on link exchanges for a lively discussion on the merits of the dreaded link exchange. -- My personal advice is dont bother, do the other things listed here and all of it will fall into place.
Network like crazy, see below...
Although there are lots of posts out there on links, I couldn't find much that would add value to what i've written above. If you have resources to share, please post them in the comments.
3. Networking, the Unsung Hero of Blog SEO
You read little about networking in this context. Many bloggers into SEO are facinated with the technicalities, despite it being a very simple thing to do and thus miss one of the biggest opportunities to gain links, readers, and traffic.
Done right, a well built network of contacts, friends and like-minded bloggers can seriously help you get the link love you need, both directly and indirectly. Here are a few tips and resources for working your network for better Search traffic:
Read Chris Garrett's Networking for Blog Success
Comment and participate on blogs within your niche -- Get to know the people around you
Email with them, LINK to them, they'll reciprocate, trust me.
Expand outside of blogs -- find forums, newsletters and groups in your topic
Use social bookmarking sites to discover related topics (see right hand side) and hence expand your groups, newsletters, forums and blogs search even further
Above all: Be generous. If you respect your network, and work hard to be part of the community surounding your topic, the rewards can really pay of -- never abuse it, it tends ot backfire in all kinds of horrible ways.
4. Bonus Tip
There's always a bonus tip, didn't you know?
If you're really set on learning more, more than my overview here -- and if i really can't dissuade you from getting caught up in what i consider a massive waste of time for the majority of bloggers (technical seo) then at least pay attention to the right people :) Here's a list of my favorite, and most authoratitive SEO blogs:
Graywolfs SEO Blog
Search Engine Watch
Aaron Wall's Threadwatch.org
Greg Boser's WebGuerrilla
Matt Cutts - Google
Jill Whalens HighRankings Forum
Aaron Wall's SEOBook.com
Digital Point Forums
Loren Baker's Search Engine Journal
Todd Malicoat's Stuntdubl.com
If you want get more traffic from Search engines, this post is for you. Read on....
The Big SEO Secret: It's Easy
Before we get to the list, (I don't mind if you scroll, but this next bit is important too...) let me explain what i mean by "it isn't rocket science": Manipulating Search engine rankings for sites that naturally find it difficult to get incoming links and attention, say affilate sites, many ecommerce type operations and much of the web1.0 shopping experience sites is very hard, and it takes a lot of skill and knowledge to achieve.
It's become harder and harder over the last few years to game Google, and many SEO's are now wondering if it's time to give up trying to "manipulate" G results and simply start feeding Google more of what it wants -- the unfortunate result of which is a huge increase in workload, namely copywriting and Linkbaiting.
That's the thing most SEO's won't want to tell their clients. That there is no magic wand, mystical powers or Search engine hoo joo to be had anymore, it's all down to 3 things:
Copywriting
Links and
Networking
That's not to say those tasks don't require skill, but it really is that simple.
I'll give you a full checklist in just a minute...
Avoid the Snake Oil Merchants
There are still die hard SEO's out there that spend all their time trying to game the system, but most of them are pretty shit at it, only a very few have enough resources to manage it. There are also, a whole slew of con merchants masquerading as SEO's, just as there are fake designers in the web design field, basing their credentials on the fact that they've read a few articles, or bought a keyword tracking tool.
These people are idiots, and should be avoided at all costs.
At the end of this article I'll point you in the direction of a few quality resources for further reading.
3 Ways to Immediately Increase Search Engine Traffic
Now you've patiently read though all of the above, or impatiently skimmed to the bottom, it's time to get into this list.
1. Write Better, More Specific Copy and Linkbait
Good copywriting encompasses many things, titles, subject matter, the post and url's to name the most important. It also goes hand in hand with The Art of Linkbaiting. Here's a checklist for more search engine friendly copy:
Title's are everything.
Titles should be short, snappy, and attention grabbing - think about how you skim through your RSS reader every day, and bear that in mind when writing titles.
Preferably, title's should contain keywords related to your topic -- that should come naturally, if you have to jam them in there, its either a bad title, bad copy, or you're a lunatic.
If your blog software writes titles like this: My Blog Title My Post Title, you need to change them to this: My Post Title - My Blog Title. Many people will tell you it's even better to ditch the "My Blog Title" bit all together, in order to not dillute the important keywords in the title, but they're forgetting the importance of branding, and with blogs, establishing some brand recognition goes a long way toward gaining links and attention.
Titles are akin to advertising, and the best ones make promises, and deliver
By far the best resource out there for blog titles is Brian Clark's Magnetic Headlines series of posts on the excellent Copy Blogger site.
Body CopyThere's been much written, both online and off about copywriting, and as a writer of small talent, it's not for me to get into the in-depth details of it. I am good at linkbaiting though, and am constantly studying what kind of post are being linked on del.icio.us, Digg and other "link sites".
It's the much discussed art of linkbaiting that this post will focus on. Remember, we're talking about getting search engine traffic right? Here's a checklist for writing good linkbait (we'll discuss why links are important a little further down).
Study the popular bookmarks on del.icio.us to get a feel for what people are linking to
Such things as HowTo's and Lists are always good fodder for linkbait and you should be aiming to get onto those pages by writing appropriate copy. (you want to be there, because being there will gain you links, and links = traffic, more on that soon...).
Use html lists, headlines and other visual means of breaking up posts in order to make them easier to read and skim
Link out, link often and link generously -- Really, forget any rubbish you may have heard about depleting page rank, or any concerns you have over sending away traffic, and work on providing links to great resources your readers will love -- they'll thank you for it, and link to you for it.
Fight bloggers block by getting inventive, and doing some research.
Some of the best blog specific resources for copy writing, and linkbaiting are:
Brian Clark's CopyBlogger.com
Darren Rowse's Content Tips
Performancing Content Section
2. Make it Easy for People to Link to You
All of the above tips on writing more attractive, useful and linkable copy are geared to two things:
Providing what your readers want
Gaining links
Links are the currency with which one trades on the web, the lingua franca of the internet and key to ranking, and traffic. Hint: They're really, really important ok?
Essentially, you're looking for this:
Links coming to your posts, from many different sources
Links preferably have relevant keywords in the text used to make the link and again preferably come from sites on a similar topic
Links from trusted, authoritative sites
Apart from writing great linkable copy, there are a few things you can do to make sure that your posts get linked, and hence ranked aswell as get more bang for your buck per link.
Encourage readers to submit your posts to Digg and del.icio.us, or more specific link sites depending on your subject matter. Those categories in del.icio.us for example, are exported by users to their own blogs (targeted, keyworded link text = good), and they often kick off a knock on effect [pdf] that can have wild implications for your Search traffic.
There are varios widgets for most blog software to do the above for you, just have a search through your blog softwares list of plugins.
Where possible, make sure your urls contain your keywords. Contrary to popular opinion, this is not because Search engines pay particularly more attention to urls with keywods, but because people often just paste urls into comments, blog posts and forums where they are automatically linked by the software. Those links, contain the keywords, and it's keywords in links, from authoratitive, trusted sites, that are what we want.
Place a "link to this post" widget on your blogs templates
Ask other bloggers in your niche for links -- but don't make a pest of yourself, nobody likes to be hassled, and some people turn down link requests on general principle (me for example..). See Trisha's thread in the Performancing forums on link exchanges for a lively discussion on the merits of the dreaded link exchange. -- My personal advice is dont bother, do the other things listed here and all of it will fall into place.
Network like crazy, see below...
Although there are lots of posts out there on links, I couldn't find much that would add value to what i've written above. If you have resources to share, please post them in the comments.
3. Networking, the Unsung Hero of Blog SEO
You read little about networking in this context. Many bloggers into SEO are facinated with the technicalities, despite it being a very simple thing to do and thus miss one of the biggest opportunities to gain links, readers, and traffic.
Done right, a well built network of contacts, friends and like-minded bloggers can seriously help you get the link love you need, both directly and indirectly. Here are a few tips and resources for working your network for better Search traffic:
Read Chris Garrett's Networking for Blog Success
Comment and participate on blogs within your niche -- Get to know the people around you
Email with them, LINK to them, they'll reciprocate, trust me.
Expand outside of blogs -- find forums, newsletters and groups in your topic
Use social bookmarking sites to discover related topics (see right hand side) and hence expand your groups, newsletters, forums and blogs search even further
Above all: Be generous. If you respect your network, and work hard to be part of the community surounding your topic, the rewards can really pay of -- never abuse it, it tends ot backfire in all kinds of horrible ways.
4. Bonus Tip
There's always a bonus tip, didn't you know?
If you're really set on learning more, more than my overview here -- and if i really can't dissuade you from getting caught up in what i consider a massive waste of time for the majority of bloggers (technical seo) then at least pay attention to the right people :) Here's a list of my favorite, and most authoratitive SEO blogs:
Graywolfs SEO Blog
Search Engine Watch
Aaron Wall's Threadwatch.org
Greg Boser's WebGuerrilla
Matt Cutts - Google
Jill Whalens HighRankings Forum
Aaron Wall's SEOBook.com
Digital Point Forums
Loren Baker's Search Engine Journal
Todd Malicoat's Stuntdubl.com
Will Power and Self-Discipline
Developing Will Power and Self Discipline:
An effective method for developing and improving these abilities is to perform certain actions or activities, which you would rather avoid doing due to laziness, procrastination, weakeness, shyness, etc. By doing something that you do not like doing or are too lazy to do, you overcome your subconscious resistance, train your mind to obey you, strengthen your inner powers and gain inner strength. Muscles get stronger by resisting the power of the barbells. Inner strength is attained by overcoming inner resistance.
Remember, strengthening one of these abilities, automatically strengthens the other one.
Here are a few exercises:
1) You are sitting in a bus or train and an old man or woman, or a pregnant lady walks in. Stand up and give up your seat even if you prefer to stay seated. Do this not just because it is polite, but because you are doing something that you are reluctant to do. In this way you are overcoming the resistance of your body, mind and feelings.
2) There are dishes in the sink that need washing, and you postpone washing them for later. Get up and wash them now. Do not let your laziness overcome you. When you know that in this way you are developing your will power, and if you are convinced of the importance of will power in your life, it will be easier for you to do whatever you have to do.
3) You come home tired from work and sit in front of the T.V. because you feel too lazy and tired to go and wash yourself. Do not obey the desire to just sit, but go and have a shower
4) You may know your body needs some physical exercise, but instead you keep on sitting doing nothing or watching a movie. Get up and walk, run or do some other physical exercise.
5) Do you like your coffee with sugar? Then for a whole week decide to drink it without sugar. You like to drink three cups of coffee each day? For a week drink only two.
6) Overcome your laziness. Convince yourself of the importance of what is to be done. Convince your mind that you gain inner strength when you act and do things, in spite of laziness, reluctancy or senseless inner resistance.
7) Sometimes, when you want to say something that is not important, decide not to say it.
8) Don't read some unimportant gossip in the newspaper, even if you want to.
9) You have a desire to eat something not too healthy. Refuse the desire.
10) If you find yourself thinking unimportant, unnecessary, negative thoughts, try to develop lack of interest in them, by thinking about their futility.
Never say that you cannot follow the above exercises, because you certainly can. Be persistent no matter what. Motivate yourself by thinking about of the importance of performing the exercises, and the inner power and strength you will gain.
Trying to attempt too many exercises when you are still a beginner, might end in disappointment. It is better to start training yourself through easier exercises at first, and gradually increase the number and difficulty of the exercises. Practice will improve and increase your power, giving you a lot of satisfaction.
An effective method for developing and improving these abilities is to perform certain actions or activities, which you would rather avoid doing due to laziness, procrastination, weakeness, shyness, etc. By doing something that you do not like doing or are too lazy to do, you overcome your subconscious resistance, train your mind to obey you, strengthen your inner powers and gain inner strength. Muscles get stronger by resisting the power of the barbells. Inner strength is attained by overcoming inner resistance.
Remember, strengthening one of these abilities, automatically strengthens the other one.
Here are a few exercises:
1) You are sitting in a bus or train and an old man or woman, or a pregnant lady walks in. Stand up and give up your seat even if you prefer to stay seated. Do this not just because it is polite, but because you are doing something that you are reluctant to do. In this way you are overcoming the resistance of your body, mind and feelings.
2) There are dishes in the sink that need washing, and you postpone washing them for later. Get up and wash them now. Do not let your laziness overcome you. When you know that in this way you are developing your will power, and if you are convinced of the importance of will power in your life, it will be easier for you to do whatever you have to do.
3) You come home tired from work and sit in front of the T.V. because you feel too lazy and tired to go and wash yourself. Do not obey the desire to just sit, but go and have a shower
4) You may know your body needs some physical exercise, but instead you keep on sitting doing nothing or watching a movie. Get up and walk, run or do some other physical exercise.
5) Do you like your coffee with sugar? Then for a whole week decide to drink it without sugar. You like to drink three cups of coffee each day? For a week drink only two.
6) Overcome your laziness. Convince yourself of the importance of what is to be done. Convince your mind that you gain inner strength when you act and do things, in spite of laziness, reluctancy or senseless inner resistance.
7) Sometimes, when you want to say something that is not important, decide not to say it.
8) Don't read some unimportant gossip in the newspaper, even if you want to.
9) You have a desire to eat something not too healthy. Refuse the desire.
10) If you find yourself thinking unimportant, unnecessary, negative thoughts, try to develop lack of interest in them, by thinking about their futility.
Never say that you cannot follow the above exercises, because you certainly can. Be persistent no matter what. Motivate yourself by thinking about of the importance of performing the exercises, and the inner power and strength you will gain.
Trying to attempt too many exercises when you are still a beginner, might end in disappointment. It is better to start training yourself through easier exercises at first, and gradually increase the number and difficulty of the exercises. Practice will improve and increase your power, giving you a lot of satisfaction.
Tips for Happiness in Daily Life
Daily life can be made happier. It is a matter of choice. It is our attitude that makes us feel happy or unhappy. It is true, we meet all kinds of situations during the day, and some of them may not be conductive to happiness. We can choose to keep thinking about the unhappy events, and we can choose to refuse to think about them, and instead, relish the happy moments. All of us constantly go through various situations and circumstances, but we do not have to let them influence our reactions and feelings.
Here are a few tips for increasing happiness in daily life:
1) Endeavor to change the way you look at things. Always look at the bright side. The mind may drag you to think about negativity and difficulties. Don't let it. Look at the good and positive side of every situation.
2) Think of solutions, not problems.
3) Listen to relaxing, uplifting music.
4) Watch funny comedies that make you laugh.
5) Each day, devote some time to reading a few pages of an inspiring book or article.
6) Watch your thoughts. Whenever you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts, start thinking of pleasant things.
7) Always look at what you have done and not at what you haven't.Sometimes you may begin the day with the desire to accomplish several objectives. At the end of the day you might feel frustrated and unhappy, because you haven't been able to do all of those things.
Look at what you have done, not at what you have not been able to do. You may have accomplished a lot during the day, and yet you let yourself become frustrated, because of some small things that you did not accomplish. You have spent all day successfully carrying out many plans, and instead of feeling happy and satisfied, you look at what was not accomplished and feel unhappy. It is unfair toward yourself.
8) Each day do something good for yourself. It can be something small, such buying a book, eating something you love, watching you favorite program on TV, going to a movie, or just having a stroll on the beach.
9) Each day do at least one act to make others happy. This can be a kind word, helping your colleagues, stopping your car at the crossroad to let people cross, giving your seat in a bus to someone else, or giving a small present to someone you love. The possibilities are infinite. When you make someone happy, you become happy, and then people try to make you happy.
10) Always expect happiness.
11) Do not envy people who are happy. On the contrary, be happy for their happiness.
12) Associate with happy people, and try to learn from them to be happy. Remember, happiness is contagious.
13) Do your best to stay detached, when things do not proceed as intended and desired. Detachment will help you stay calm and control your moods and reactions. Detachment is not indifference. It is the acceptance of the good and the bad and staying balanced. Detachment has much to do with inner peace, and inner peace is conductive to happiness.
14) Smile more often.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Even in areas where water seems abundant, water conservation is important
In addition to saving money on your utility bill, water conservation helps prevent water pollution in nearby lakes, rivers and local watersheds.
Conserving water can extend the life of your septic system by reducing soil saturation, and reducing any pollution due to leaks. Overloading municipal sewer systems can also cause untreated sewage to flow to lakes and rivers. The smaller the amount of water flowing through these systems, the lower the likelihood of pollution. In some communities, costly sewage system expansion has been avoided by communitywide household water conservation.
Conserving water can extend the life of your septic system by reducing soil saturation, and reducing any pollution due to leaks. Overloading municipal sewer systems can also cause untreated sewage to flow to lakes and rivers. The smaller the amount of water flowing through these systems, the lower the likelihood of pollution. In some communities, costly sewage system expansion has been avoided by communitywide household water conservation.
in the home...
1. Check for hidden water leaksRead the house water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.
2. Check your toilets for leaksPut a little food coloring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the color begins to appear in the bowl within 30 minutes, you have a leak that should be repaired immediately. Most replacement parts are inexpensive and easy to install.
3. Don't use the toilet as an ashtray or wastebasketEvery time you flush a cigarette butt, facial tissue or other small bit of trash, five to seven gallons of water is wasted.
4. Put plastic bottles in your toilet tankTo cut down on water waste, put an inch or two of sand or pebbles inside each of two plastic bottles to weigh them down. Fill the bottles with water, screw the lids on, and put them in your toilet tank, safely away from the operating mechanisms. This may save ten or more gallons of water per day. Be sure at least 3 gallons of water remain in the tank so it will flush properly. For new installations, consider buying "low flush" toilets, which use 1 to 2 gallons per flush instead of the usual 3 to 5 gallons.Replacing an 18 liter per flush toilet with an ultra-low volume (ULV) 6 liter flush model represents a 70% savings in water flushed and will cut indoor water use by about 30%.
5. Insulate your water pipes. It's easy and inexpensive to insulate your water pipes with pre-slit foam pipe insulation. You'll get hot water faster plus avoid wasting water while it heats up.
6. Install water-saving shower heads and low-flow faucet aerators Inexpensive water-saving shower heads or restrictors are easy for the homeowner to install. Also, long, hot showers can use five to ten gallons every unneeded minute. Limit your showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down and rinse off. You can easily install a ShowerStart showerhead, or add a ShowerStart converter to existing showerheads, which automatically pauses a running shower once it gets warm. Also, all household faucets should be fit with aerators. This single best home water conservation method is also the cheapest!
7. Take shorter showers.One way to cut down on water use is to turn off the shower after soaping up, then turn it back on to rinse. A four-minute shower uses approximately 20 to 40 gallons of water.
8. Turn off the water after you wet your toothbrushThere is no need to keep the water running while brushing your teeth. Just wet your brush and fill a glass for mouth rinsing.
9. Rinse your razor in the sinkFill the sink with a few inches of warm water. This will rinse your razor just as well as running water, with far less waste of water.
Most people in North America use 50 to 70 gallons of water indoors each day and about the same amount outdoors, depending on the season. Indoors, 3/4 of all water is used in the bathroomIn the average home, the toilet accounts for 28% of water use.Outdoors, lawn and garden watering and car washing account for most of the water used. Running a sprinkler for two hours can use up to 500 gallons. As much as 150 gallons of water can be saved when washing a car by turning the hose off between rinses.Washing a sidewalk or driveway with a hose uses about 50 gallons of water every 5 minutes
Rain Catch SystemUse natural rainwater for yard and garden, while saving on your water bill.more info
10. Check faucets and pipes for leaksA small drip from a worn faucet washer can waste 20 gallons of water per day. Larger leaks can waste hundreds of gallons.
Most people in North America use 50 to 70 gallons of water indoors each day and about the same amount outdoors, depending on the season. Indoors, 3/4 of all water is used in the bathroomIn the average home, the toilet accounts for 28% of water use.Outdoors, lawn and garden watering and car washing account for most of the water used. Running a sprinkler for two hours can use up to 500 gallons. As much as 150 gallons of water can be saved when washing a car by turning the hose off between rinses.Washing a sidewalk or driveway with a hose uses about 50 gallons of water every 5 minutes
Rain Catch SystemUse natural rainwater for yard and garden, while saving on your water bill.more info
10. Check faucets and pipes for leaksA small drip from a worn faucet washer can waste 20 gallons of water per day. Larger leaks can waste hundreds of gallons.
11. Use your dishwasher and clothes washer for only full loadsAutomatic dishwashers and clothes washers should be fully loaded for optimum water conservation. With clothes washers, avoid the permanent press cycle, which uses an added 20 liters (5 gallons) for the extra rinse. For partial loads, adjust water levels to match the size of the load. Replace old clothes washers. New Energy Star rated washers use 35 - 50% less water and 50% less energy per load. If you're in the market for a new clothes washer, consider buying a water-saving frontload washer.
12. Minimize use of kitchen sink garbage disposal unitsIn sink 'garburators' require lots of water to operate properly, and also add considerably to the volume of solids in a septic tank which can lead to maintenance problems. Start a compost pile or use an indoor kitchen composter as alternate methods of disposing food waste.
13. When washing dishes by hand, don't leave the water running for rinsingIf your have a double-basin, fill one with soapy water and one with rinse water. If you have a single-basin sink, gather washed dishes in a dish rack and rinse them with a spray device or a panful of hot water.
14. Don't let the faucet run while you clean vegetablesJust rinse them in a stoppered sink or a pan of clean water.
15. Keep a bottle of drinking water in the fridge.Running tap water to cool it off for drinking water is wasteful.
in the yard and garden...
16. Water your lawn only when it needs itA good way to see if your lawn needs watering is to step on the grass. If it springs back up when you move, it doesn't need water. If it stays flat, the lawn is ready for watering. Letting the grass grow taller (to 3") will promote water retention in the soil.
17. Deep-soak your lawnWhen watering the lawn, do it long enough for the moisture to soak down to the roots where it will do the most good. A light sprinkling can evaporate quickly and tends to encourage shallow root systems. Put an empty tuna can on your lawn - when it's full, you've watered about the right amount. Visit our natural lawn care page for more information.
18. Water during the early parts of the day; avoid watering when it's windyEarly morning is generally better than dusk since it helps prevent the growth of fungus. Early watering, and late watering, also reduce water loss to evaporation. Watering early in the day is also the best defence against slugs and other garden pests. Try not to water when it's windy - wind can blow sprinklers off target and speed evaporation.
19. Use efficient watering systems for shrubs, flower beds and lawnsYou can greatly reduce the amount of water used for shrubs, beds and lawns with strategic placement of soaker hoses, rain barrel catchment systems and simple drip-irrigation systems. A watering meter can be easily added to your hose, and lawn sprinlker timers can be used to set water usage to required needs.
20. Plant drought-resistant shrubs and plantsMany beautiful shrubs and plants thrive with far less watering than other species. Replace herbaceous perennial borders with native plants. Consider applying the principles of xeriscape for a low-maintenance, drought resistant yard.
21. Put a layer of mulch around trees and plantsMulch will slow evaporation of moisture while discouraging weed growth.
22. Don't water the gutterPosition your sprinklers so water lands on the lawn or garden, not on paved areas. Also, avoid watering on windy days.
23. Don't run the hose while washing your carClean the car using a pail of soapy water. Use the hose only for rinsing - this simple practice can save as much as 150 gallons when washing a car. Use a spray nozzle when rinsing for more efficient use of water. Better yet, use a waterless car washing system; there are several brands, such as EcoTouch, which are now on the market.
24. Use a broom, not a hose, to clean driveways and sidewalks
25. Check for leaks in pipes, hoses, faucets and couplingsLeaks outside the house may not seem as bad since they're not as visible. But they can be just as wasteful as leaks indoors. Check frequently to keep them drip-free. Use hose washers at spigots and hose connections to eliminate leaks.
IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!!!!!!...............................................love the nature
Contacts with living nature are essential for spiritual growth. Retreating in forest or at other natural landscapes is one of the important ways of “exposing” oneself to God so that He could teach us more effectively. “In forest seek My instructions!...” . This is where one can expand oneself as consciousness over the harmony of the environment — in contrast to “sitting” in one’s head chakras when one lives in the city, “feeding” oneself with information about people’s mundane desires and getting polluted by energies of their negative emotions.
Although cities, being big cultural centers, are also necessary: there are libraries, as well as other excellent opportunities for intellectual development. It is also easier to find like-minded people and partners on the spiritual Path there.
It is also beneficial to expose the body to the sunlight, especially in the morning, when it is particularly tender. This light exists not only on the material plane, but also penetrates other — the subtlest — dimensions inside our multidimensional organisms, reviving them, filling them with its pure power.
It is good for people who live at high latitudes to have “artificial suns” — quartz lamps and to have periodic sun-baths at home. This is also a wonderful remedy for various diseases. For example, exposure to the ultra-violet radiation easily cures catarrhal infections, if performed right after seeing their first symptoms. And light burns on the chest and the back made with a quartz lamp — where mustard plasters are usually applied — make cough go away quickly.
Summer and autumn is the time for collection and storing of mushrooms and wild berries, which are very important components of pure nutrition.
Any time of the year meditations can be performed at special “places of power” — the zones that have significant energetic impact on human beings. They are very different and can be used depending on this for healing oneself, for talking to God, for refining one’s consciousness, for increasing personal psychoenergetic power or for dissolving oneself in God and Merging with Him.
...Early spring morning is the time when nature gives us the greatest harmony and bliss — when birds start singing even before dawn and the entire space around us gets saturated with the energy of their love. Attuning to their state allows us to get closer to God and constitutes attainment of a certain level of refinement of consciousness.
Those who like to sleep until late, having legitimated this right by classifying themselves as “owls” (or morning persons), have much lesser opportunity for spiritual advancement.
... Sunset time in spring also provides a wide variety of the subtlest impressions. During this time the singing of birds gets superimposed against the background of great and rich silence and harmony. The energy of consciousness “spills” out from the body by itself and expands over the forest saturated with bliss, filling it and merging with it. In this way the consciousness becomes more mobile, more fluid and established in harmony and inner purity.
...But at any other time of the year a morning or an evening spent in the forest or by the water remind us of the spring dawn or dusk times. They are very important for those who have learned to feel spring in its entirety.
...Nature is also a multitude of living beings: animals, plants, which as a rule are more refined as consciousness and enjoy incomparably greater inner peace than most of people do. Average modern person has to come a long way in order to attain their level of Love and Peace before he can pretend to have at least started to develop spiritually.
Moreover, only at open natural landscapes — in contrast to room “boxes” of city apartments and “corridors” of streets — is it possible to expand, to open wide refined consciousness in order to literally grow its size.
...Let me repeat that emotions are states of consciousness. And consciousness is what we are. Depending on what states of consciousness we experience — we can be closer or farther from the Creator. God in the aspect of the Creator is the highest degree of refinement of energy of consciousness. Is it clear to us now, which direction we should move regarding development of our emotional sphere?
...Very few people have witnessed what is going on at a display ground of black-grouse in spring, when pre-dawn mist gets filled with loud ecstatic singing of those big, beautiful and passionate birds. And the majority of those, who have been there, were cutting those beautiful songs of love short with gunshots, pain, blood and death... And enjoying themselves with voluptuousness of sadist-murderers.
Raised in tradition of having a “right” to kill animals, not having absolute inner taboo against inflicting any suffering on other living beings atheists, as well as members of mass sects in our country, easily switch to mass killings of people. We still remember, for example, alcoholic and drug-addict Brezhnev with his boon companions — hunters, who launched aggressive military campaign in Afghanistan... Wasn’t it a similar company of lovers of other’s pain and blood that with a blessing from the Orthodox Church started massacre during the first of two recent “Chechen” wars? Genocide of Chechen people was commenced just because those people did not resigned to Russian conquest and attempted to break free from the Russian yoke...
...In spring evenings, after the sunset, when twilight is enveloping the forest, male woodcocks are flying smoothly over glades, forest openings and lake shores overgrown with shrubs. Their song, consisting of beautiful, soul-touching tender “gruntings”, sends to us waves of love emotions of those lovely birds. In the shrubs, over which the males fly, sit female woodcocks — choosing the one, who sings the best... Here — this one! She flashes to show herself to him... He rushes after her, seized by passion of bird’s love... And then they spend the night together. In the morning they fly apart, having become tired of each other... — to look for new adventures and new friends at the next sunset...
Mysterious beauty of a big curlew’s song, wafting to our ears from the nearest swamp, “celestial bleat” of a snipe, performing courtship ritual high in the sky with vibrating tail feathers, songs of robins and thrushes, all-night rumbling of frogs in puddles, flashing of spawning fish in the reeds, smell of a fire, swimming in a forest lake with first rays of the sun and then — puffs of steam coming from wet and blissful naked bodies, exultation of souls, “exploding” from overflowing with joy of love to God and for every living creature — this is the emotional base that God wants us to have so that we could develop faster and more effectively in His direction!
...Plants are living beings, too. Souls live in their bodies, like we do inside ours. Usually — these are the souls of “vegetative”, or “rudimentary”, stage of development. Although I know of several humans-trees, which are quite developed, large and strong human souls. But those people did not attain the required degree of Peace during their past incarnations — and God, in order to help them become better, embodied them into trees: so that they could calm down, become quiet after several hundred years of living as a plant.
It is easy to communicate with such people-trees on the emotional and even on the mental level. They get strongly “attached” to people, who are capable of understanding them, they get sad if no one visits them for a long time. When someone comes to see them — these plants meet them with joy, which is sometimes mixed with pain...
...What is Peace then? Doing nothing? Living a lazy life? A sleepy inertia? No! Peace is the absence of emotional agitation and restless thoughts. It is possible to perform physical, mental or meditative work fast and for a long time while experiencing inner peace. It goes hand by hand with energetic way of living. Maintaining inner peace allows one not to waste one’s energy in vain. Every kind of activity performed with inner peace is done more efficiently. But what is the most important — it allows one to maintain contact with God, to be guided by Him, thus to avoid making many mistakes. In other words it is favorable for positive evolution of man. But restlessness leads to increasing of one’s isolation from God and to cultivation of one’s lower self. This is — a drag on progress.
...All ordinary plants are capable of perceiving human emotions. This was proven by many scientists of various countries, which discovered changes of electric parameters of plants in response to emotions of people (see [9] for more information).
Once, long after I switched to the cruelty-free diet, I was working in a forestry on sanitary thinning out of woods. At first I thought about it as of something useful, in general, and even enjoyed cutting “superfluous” trees — so that the rest of them had more space for living. But at some point, when I attained greater sensitivity, feeling the pain of those creatures, being cut down by my axe, became unbearable to me and I quitted this job promptly.
Sure, we cannot live without eating plants. We inevitably use their bodies in construction and as firewood. And it does not make sense to wait until a tree grows old, falls down and starts to decay, — this is why it is “mature” trees that get cut down.
But one must not kill plants unnecessarily, or thrust a knife or an axe into a tree just for fun, or cut green branches without absolute necessity, or “mechanically” pluck and throw down leaves from trees, grass blades or flowers. Disrespectful attitude towards food is equally inadmissible: since food was made of bodies of living beings that died for our sake. Throwing out food — even when one eats plants — is also a sin, it is a sin of unnecessary killing. And absolutely absurd from ethical standpoint are those “ritual” killings of millions of fir-trees and pine-trees before Christmas and New Year, as well as picking flowers in order to put them in a vase and then to admire their dying...
It is important now that you, the reader, do not start trying to remember: this is allowed and that is — not... What is important now is not “to learn by heart” certain “rules”, but to realize and accept the ethical principles of compassion to the others’ pain and respect for the others’ lives.
And those who do not understand or accept this — should not resent their own pain: through our pain God teaches us to understand the essence of the pain phenomenon: how unpleasant this sensation really is. In this way he teaches us to spare others and not to hurt them unnecessarily.
And even to a greater extent than to plants this principle of compassion should be applied to animals, since they can feel pain incomparably more acutely, than plants.
The necessity of total adherence to the principle of compassion, in application to nutrition in particular, has been taught by Huang Di, Krishna, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ, Babaji, Sathya Sai. God is Love. If we want get closer to God — we have to totally accept the principle of Love. But what is Love without Compassion? Only a parody of it?
Let us realize, friends, that however persistently “pastors” of various sects teach us the opposite we will not be able to make any progress in our spiritual development without total acceptance of the Compassion principle and without definitively switching to cruelty-free diet (i.e. the one that excludes eating bodies of animals: mammals, birds, fish and so on) — on ethical, and not egotistic (for the sake of improving our personal health, for instance) motives!
...One can learn ethic lessons regarding plants not only in nutrition filed. Tent pegs can be made not only out of green plants, but also out of dry sticks that are still strong. And a fire can be made on the place of an old fire or on a trail etc. — and not right on green plants.
Another thing — fire must not be made on dry peat: huge areas of forest can get burned out, thousands of plants and many animals will die in fire. Also, during dry periods fire should not be made under tall fir-trees: thick perennial layer of fallen needles will smolder — the roots of the fir-tree and surrounding plants will get burned as a result. One should be extremely careful during the spring, when last-year’s grass catches fire very easily. When it happens a lot of green plants, insects, birds’ nests with eggs or fledglings, as well as seeds get burned and die. And a great mass of the old grass that could serve as a natural fertilizer and enrich the soil is also wasted in fire.
And it looks like a wildly immoral act, when someone intentionally, for fun, sets this old grass on fire, which very often becomes the cause of destruction of haystacks, homes and other constructions...
In the Orthodox temples people sing, trying to convince God that He is “forbearing and merciful”... But wouldn’t it be better if they give up this useless occupation and start living themselves in accordance with God’s Principle of Love, which is unthinkable without Compassion to all people and to every living creature, including ants, worms, plants and many others?...
Although cities, being big cultural centers, are also necessary: there are libraries, as well as other excellent opportunities for intellectual development. It is also easier to find like-minded people and partners on the spiritual Path there.
It is also beneficial to expose the body to the sunlight, especially in the morning, when it is particularly tender. This light exists not only on the material plane, but also penetrates other — the subtlest — dimensions inside our multidimensional organisms, reviving them, filling them with its pure power.
It is good for people who live at high latitudes to have “artificial suns” — quartz lamps and to have periodic sun-baths at home. This is also a wonderful remedy for various diseases. For example, exposure to the ultra-violet radiation easily cures catarrhal infections, if performed right after seeing their first symptoms. And light burns on the chest and the back made with a quartz lamp — where mustard plasters are usually applied — make cough go away quickly.
Summer and autumn is the time for collection and storing of mushrooms and wild berries, which are very important components of pure nutrition.
Any time of the year meditations can be performed at special “places of power” — the zones that have significant energetic impact on human beings. They are very different and can be used depending on this for healing oneself, for talking to God, for refining one’s consciousness, for increasing personal psychoenergetic power or for dissolving oneself in God and Merging with Him.
...Early spring morning is the time when nature gives us the greatest harmony and bliss — when birds start singing even before dawn and the entire space around us gets saturated with the energy of their love. Attuning to their state allows us to get closer to God and constitutes attainment of a certain level of refinement of consciousness.
Those who like to sleep until late, having legitimated this right by classifying themselves as “owls” (or morning persons), have much lesser opportunity for spiritual advancement.
... Sunset time in spring also provides a wide variety of the subtlest impressions. During this time the singing of birds gets superimposed against the background of great and rich silence and harmony. The energy of consciousness “spills” out from the body by itself and expands over the forest saturated with bliss, filling it and merging with it. In this way the consciousness becomes more mobile, more fluid and established in harmony and inner purity.
...But at any other time of the year a morning or an evening spent in the forest or by the water remind us of the spring dawn or dusk times. They are very important for those who have learned to feel spring in its entirety.
...Nature is also a multitude of living beings: animals, plants, which as a rule are more refined as consciousness and enjoy incomparably greater inner peace than most of people do. Average modern person has to come a long way in order to attain their level of Love and Peace before he can pretend to have at least started to develop spiritually.
Moreover, only at open natural landscapes — in contrast to room “boxes” of city apartments and “corridors” of streets — is it possible to expand, to open wide refined consciousness in order to literally grow its size.
...Let me repeat that emotions are states of consciousness. And consciousness is what we are. Depending on what states of consciousness we experience — we can be closer or farther from the Creator. God in the aspect of the Creator is the highest degree of refinement of energy of consciousness. Is it clear to us now, which direction we should move regarding development of our emotional sphere?
...Very few people have witnessed what is going on at a display ground of black-grouse in spring, when pre-dawn mist gets filled with loud ecstatic singing of those big, beautiful and passionate birds. And the majority of those, who have been there, were cutting those beautiful songs of love short with gunshots, pain, blood and death... And enjoying themselves with voluptuousness of sadist-murderers.
Raised in tradition of having a “right” to kill animals, not having absolute inner taboo against inflicting any suffering on other living beings atheists, as well as members of mass sects in our country, easily switch to mass killings of people. We still remember, for example, alcoholic and drug-addict Brezhnev with his boon companions — hunters, who launched aggressive military campaign in Afghanistan... Wasn’t it a similar company of lovers of other’s pain and blood that with a blessing from the Orthodox Church started massacre during the first of two recent “Chechen” wars? Genocide of Chechen people was commenced just because those people did not resigned to Russian conquest and attempted to break free from the Russian yoke...
...In spring evenings, after the sunset, when twilight is enveloping the forest, male woodcocks are flying smoothly over glades, forest openings and lake shores overgrown with shrubs. Their song, consisting of beautiful, soul-touching tender “gruntings”, sends to us waves of love emotions of those lovely birds. In the shrubs, over which the males fly, sit female woodcocks — choosing the one, who sings the best... Here — this one! She flashes to show herself to him... He rushes after her, seized by passion of bird’s love... And then they spend the night together. In the morning they fly apart, having become tired of each other... — to look for new adventures and new friends at the next sunset...
Mysterious beauty of a big curlew’s song, wafting to our ears from the nearest swamp, “celestial bleat” of a snipe, performing courtship ritual high in the sky with vibrating tail feathers, songs of robins and thrushes, all-night rumbling of frogs in puddles, flashing of spawning fish in the reeds, smell of a fire, swimming in a forest lake with first rays of the sun and then — puffs of steam coming from wet and blissful naked bodies, exultation of souls, “exploding” from overflowing with joy of love to God and for every living creature — this is the emotional base that God wants us to have so that we could develop faster and more effectively in His direction!
...Plants are living beings, too. Souls live in their bodies, like we do inside ours. Usually — these are the souls of “vegetative”, or “rudimentary”, stage of development. Although I know of several humans-trees, which are quite developed, large and strong human souls. But those people did not attain the required degree of Peace during their past incarnations — and God, in order to help them become better, embodied them into trees: so that they could calm down, become quiet after several hundred years of living as a plant.
It is easy to communicate with such people-trees on the emotional and even on the mental level. They get strongly “attached” to people, who are capable of understanding them, they get sad if no one visits them for a long time. When someone comes to see them — these plants meet them with joy, which is sometimes mixed with pain...
...What is Peace then? Doing nothing? Living a lazy life? A sleepy inertia? No! Peace is the absence of emotional agitation and restless thoughts. It is possible to perform physical, mental or meditative work fast and for a long time while experiencing inner peace. It goes hand by hand with energetic way of living. Maintaining inner peace allows one not to waste one’s energy in vain. Every kind of activity performed with inner peace is done more efficiently. But what is the most important — it allows one to maintain contact with God, to be guided by Him, thus to avoid making many mistakes. In other words it is favorable for positive evolution of man. But restlessness leads to increasing of one’s isolation from God and to cultivation of one’s lower self. This is — a drag on progress.
...All ordinary plants are capable of perceiving human emotions. This was proven by many scientists of various countries, which discovered changes of electric parameters of plants in response to emotions of people (see [9] for more information).
Once, long after I switched to the cruelty-free diet, I was working in a forestry on sanitary thinning out of woods. At first I thought about it as of something useful, in general, and even enjoyed cutting “superfluous” trees — so that the rest of them had more space for living. But at some point, when I attained greater sensitivity, feeling the pain of those creatures, being cut down by my axe, became unbearable to me and I quitted this job promptly.
Sure, we cannot live without eating plants. We inevitably use their bodies in construction and as firewood. And it does not make sense to wait until a tree grows old, falls down and starts to decay, — this is why it is “mature” trees that get cut down.
But one must not kill plants unnecessarily, or thrust a knife or an axe into a tree just for fun, or cut green branches without absolute necessity, or “mechanically” pluck and throw down leaves from trees, grass blades or flowers. Disrespectful attitude towards food is equally inadmissible: since food was made of bodies of living beings that died for our sake. Throwing out food — even when one eats plants — is also a sin, it is a sin of unnecessary killing. And absolutely absurd from ethical standpoint are those “ritual” killings of millions of fir-trees and pine-trees before Christmas and New Year, as well as picking flowers in order to put them in a vase and then to admire their dying...
It is important now that you, the reader, do not start trying to remember: this is allowed and that is — not... What is important now is not “to learn by heart” certain “rules”, but to realize and accept the ethical principles of compassion to the others’ pain and respect for the others’ lives.
And those who do not understand or accept this — should not resent their own pain: through our pain God teaches us to understand the essence of the pain phenomenon: how unpleasant this sensation really is. In this way he teaches us to spare others and not to hurt them unnecessarily.
And even to a greater extent than to plants this principle of compassion should be applied to animals, since they can feel pain incomparably more acutely, than plants.
The necessity of total adherence to the principle of compassion, in application to nutrition in particular, has been taught by Huang Di, Krishna, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ, Babaji, Sathya Sai. God is Love. If we want get closer to God — we have to totally accept the principle of Love. But what is Love without Compassion? Only a parody of it?
Let us realize, friends, that however persistently “pastors” of various sects teach us the opposite we will not be able to make any progress in our spiritual development without total acceptance of the Compassion principle and without definitively switching to cruelty-free diet (i.e. the one that excludes eating bodies of animals: mammals, birds, fish and so on) — on ethical, and not egotistic (for the sake of improving our personal health, for instance) motives!
...One can learn ethic lessons regarding plants not only in nutrition filed. Tent pegs can be made not only out of green plants, but also out of dry sticks that are still strong. And a fire can be made on the place of an old fire or on a trail etc. — and not right on green plants.
Another thing — fire must not be made on dry peat: huge areas of forest can get burned out, thousands of plants and many animals will die in fire. Also, during dry periods fire should not be made under tall fir-trees: thick perennial layer of fallen needles will smolder — the roots of the fir-tree and surrounding plants will get burned as a result. One should be extremely careful during the spring, when last-year’s grass catches fire very easily. When it happens a lot of green plants, insects, birds’ nests with eggs or fledglings, as well as seeds get burned and die. And a great mass of the old grass that could serve as a natural fertilizer and enrich the soil is also wasted in fire.
And it looks like a wildly immoral act, when someone intentionally, for fun, sets this old grass on fire, which very often becomes the cause of destruction of haystacks, homes and other constructions...
In the Orthodox temples people sing, trying to convince God that He is “forbearing and merciful”... But wouldn’t it be better if they give up this useless occupation and start living themselves in accordance with God’s Principle of Love, which is unthinkable without Compassion to all people and to every living creature, including ants, worms, plants and many others?...
SIMPLE WAYS TO LIVE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE
You hear a lot about living a healthy lifestyle, but what does that mean? In general, a healthy person doesn't smoke, is at a healthy weight, eats healthy and exercises. Sounds simple, doesn't it?
The trick to healthy living is making small changes...taking more steps, adding fruit to your cereal, having an extra glass of water...these are just a few ways you can start living healthy without drastic changes.
Exercise
One of the biggest problems in America today is lack of activity. We know it's good for us but avoid it like the plague either because we're used to being sedentary or afraid that exercise has to be vigorous to be worth our time. The truth is, movement is movement and the more you do, the healthier you'll be. Even moderate activities like chores, gardening and walking can make a difference.
Just adding a little movement to your life can:
Reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes
Improve joint stability
Increase and improve range of movement
Help maintain flexibility as you age
Maintain bone mass
Prevent osteoporosis and fractures
Improve mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression
Enhance self esteem
Improve memory in elderly people
Reduce stress
So, even if you opt for small changes and a more modest weight loss, you can see the benefits are still pretty good. One study has found that just a 10% weight reduction helped obese patients reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and increase longevity.
Simple Ways to Move Your Body
You can start the process of weight loss now by adding a little more activity to your life. If you're not ready for a structured program, start small. Every little bit counts and it all adds up to burning more calories.
Turn off the TV. Once a week, turn off the TV and do something a little more physical with your family. Play games, take a walk...almost anything will be more active than sitting on the couch.
Walk more. Look for small ways to walk more. When you get the mail, take a walk around the block, take the dog for an extra outing each day or walk on your treadmill for 5 minutes before getting ready for work.
Do some chores. Shoveling snow, working in the garden, raking leaves, sweeping the floor...these kinds of activities may not be 'vigorous' exercise, but they can keep you moving while getting your house in order.
Pace while you talk. When you're on the phone, pace around or even do some cleaning while gabbing. This is a great way to stay moving while doing something you enjoy.
Be aware. Make a list of all the physical activities you do on a typical day. If you find that the bulk of your time is spent sitting, make another list of all the ways you could move more--getting up each hour to stretch or walk, walk the stairs at work, etc.
Learn about more ways to fit in exercise.
Eating Well
Eating a healthy diet is another part of the healthy lifestyle. Not only can a clean diet help with weight management, it can also improve your health and quality of life as you get older. You can use the new Food Guide Pyramid to determine how many calories you need and what food groups you should focus on or, if you're looking for smaller changes, you can use these tips for simple ways to change how you eat:
Eat more fruit. Add it to your cereal, your salads or even your dinners
Sneak in more veggies. Add them wherever you can--a tomato on your sandwich, peppers on your pizza, or extra veggies in your pasta sauce. Keep pre-cut or canned/frozen veggies ready for quick snacks.
Switch your salad dressing. If you eat full-fat dressing, switch to something lighter and you'll automatically eat less calories.
Eat low-fat or fat-free dairy. Switching to skim milk or fat free yogurt is another simple way to eat less calories without having to change too much in your diet.
Make some substitutes. Look through your cabinets or fridge and pick 3 foods you eat every day. Write down the nutritional content and, the next time you're at the store, find lower-calorie substitutes for just those 3 items.
Find more ideas for healthy foods with this Healthy Foods Grocery List.
Creating a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to mean drastic changes. In fact, drastic changes almost always lead to failure. Making small changes in how you live each day can lead to big rewards, so figure out what you can to be healthy today.
The trick to healthy living is making small changes...taking more steps, adding fruit to your cereal, having an extra glass of water...these are just a few ways you can start living healthy without drastic changes.
Exercise
One of the biggest problems in America today is lack of activity. We know it's good for us but avoid it like the plague either because we're used to being sedentary or afraid that exercise has to be vigorous to be worth our time. The truth is, movement is movement and the more you do, the healthier you'll be. Even moderate activities like chores, gardening and walking can make a difference.
Just adding a little movement to your life can:
Reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes
Improve joint stability
Increase and improve range of movement
Help maintain flexibility as you age
Maintain bone mass
Prevent osteoporosis and fractures
Improve mood and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression
Enhance self esteem
Improve memory in elderly people
Reduce stress
So, even if you opt for small changes and a more modest weight loss, you can see the benefits are still pretty good. One study has found that just a 10% weight reduction helped obese patients reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and increase longevity.
Simple Ways to Move Your Body
You can start the process of weight loss now by adding a little more activity to your life. If you're not ready for a structured program, start small. Every little bit counts and it all adds up to burning more calories.
Turn off the TV. Once a week, turn off the TV and do something a little more physical with your family. Play games, take a walk...almost anything will be more active than sitting on the couch.
Walk more. Look for small ways to walk more. When you get the mail, take a walk around the block, take the dog for an extra outing each day or walk on your treadmill for 5 minutes before getting ready for work.
Do some chores. Shoveling snow, working in the garden, raking leaves, sweeping the floor...these kinds of activities may not be 'vigorous' exercise, but they can keep you moving while getting your house in order.
Pace while you talk. When you're on the phone, pace around or even do some cleaning while gabbing. This is a great way to stay moving while doing something you enjoy.
Be aware. Make a list of all the physical activities you do on a typical day. If you find that the bulk of your time is spent sitting, make another list of all the ways you could move more--getting up each hour to stretch or walk, walk the stairs at work, etc.
Learn about more ways to fit in exercise.
Eating Well
Eating a healthy diet is another part of the healthy lifestyle. Not only can a clean diet help with weight management, it can also improve your health and quality of life as you get older. You can use the new Food Guide Pyramid to determine how many calories you need and what food groups you should focus on or, if you're looking for smaller changes, you can use these tips for simple ways to change how you eat:
Eat more fruit. Add it to your cereal, your salads or even your dinners
Sneak in more veggies. Add them wherever you can--a tomato on your sandwich, peppers on your pizza, or extra veggies in your pasta sauce. Keep pre-cut or canned/frozen veggies ready for quick snacks.
Switch your salad dressing. If you eat full-fat dressing, switch to something lighter and you'll automatically eat less calories.
Eat low-fat or fat-free dairy. Switching to skim milk or fat free yogurt is another simple way to eat less calories without having to change too much in your diet.
Make some substitutes. Look through your cabinets or fridge and pick 3 foods you eat every day. Write down the nutritional content and, the next time you're at the store, find lower-calorie substitutes for just those 3 items.
Find more ideas for healthy foods with this Healthy Foods Grocery List.
Creating a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to mean drastic changes. In fact, drastic changes almost always lead to failure. Making small changes in how you live each day can lead to big rewards, so figure out what you can to be healthy today.
Quick Way To Make Extra Money
When I lost my job as a contractor for a major company due to budget cuts I was all of a sudden in need to find something else to do from home. Hard? Impossible. For me working from home is a necessity, not a luxury, my son has special needs and it is an impossibility for me to work outside the home. I do earn some money freelancing by making web pages for others and from translating, but I needed more.
I did some research and I found some exciting online offers that earn me a check every month! Here are many below, including free stuff and sweepstakes, how to make money from your website and saving money with coupons. Please check back for updates and additions! :-)
This is something that stay-at-home moms can do easily!
I did some research and I found some exciting online offers that earn me a check every month! Here are many below, including free stuff and sweepstakes, how to make money from your website and saving money with coupons. Please check back for updates and additions! :-)
This is something that stay-at-home moms can do easily!
CHECK OUT THESE OFFERS!
A Fun Zone If you've got some time on your hands, A Fun Zone is sure to entertain! Home to over 1000 Brain Teasers and 238 free to play games. A Fun Zone offers an absolutely enormous archive of free puzzles, games, brainteasers, quizzes, IQ tests, trivia, contests, and free stuff.
:: Free Samples And Free Products 2000-Free-Products.com for over 2000 freebies + a free newsletter.
:: FREE HEALTHY SAMPLES of products like Robitussin - Nexium - Alavert and More from Qualityhealth.com.
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:: Free Samples And Free Products 2000-Free-Products.com for over 2000 freebies + a free newsletter.
:: FREE HEALTHY SAMPLES of products like Robitussin - Nexium - Alavert and More from Qualityhealth.com.
:: FreebiesGalaxy.com Free Stuff and coupons, daily newsletter!
:: In the MakeMoneyOnline forum you "get paid to post". You are paid between 10 cents to $3.50 per post and 15 cents per referral! You can post an unlimited amount each day and you can cash out as soon as you reach $2.00 in earnings. They also have monthly contests and lottery drawings! The staff are always online and always willing to answer any questions our members or visitors have. They pay through Paypal, although they may accommodate other requests. Come join for free today!
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:: Resource-a-day pays you $10 for signing up, plus pays you for referrals!! It's actually a 4-in-1 email containing: An Internet Resource of the Day, A Quotation of the Day, A Trivia of the Day and A Joke of the Day. Subscribe Today!
:: Hits4Pay pays you $10 for signing up, and also pays you for referrals. You earn monthly checks to read emails and from your referrals.Subscribe Today!
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