SAD; Nature Recognises it But us Humans Just Don't Get it

The winter months have more darkness, are colder and in general can be down right gloomy. We struggle getting out of bed and motivation can be found wanting even in the highest achievers in the world. We can experience more mood swings, energy loss, food cravings, weight gain and general depressive emotions in winter. SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is a real issue and I have heard quotes of as many as 1 person in 300 being affected by the condition in Australia. I prefer to call it the winter blues because from my understanding SAD is a very hard disorder to diagnose. Purely because of the overlap between sleeping problems and depression.

Nature is a great measuring tool from my perspective and on this issue I can actually compare how nature works and how wrong we as humans are getting it. Looking at nature you will see animals going into hibernation over winter. You will see caterpillars wrapping themselves into cocoons for the colder months. Birds either nesting down or flying the coup to warmer lands. Yet we carry on as normal and push ourselves even harder. The fact of the matter is we haven't much control over the winter blues because our circadian rhythms become confused due to less light to regulate our melatonin levels.

I have put together 3 steps that can help get through this period smoother but the last step I have highlighted is vital for the transition into this period from the summer months. They are as follows.
1. Get natural light and keep active - Although it may not be sunny you can still gain great value from getting outdoors and soaking up the natural light. While you are outside you may as well go for a walk, ride or run; this can be testing due to rain, work and temperature but it will help regulate sleep patterns and help boost energy.
2. Balanced Diet - Mood swings may be controlled with a balanced diet and regular meals. This will help control sugar cravings.
3. Plan for winter - If you are aware that the winter blues are a possibility then alter your lifestyle accordingly. Don't push when energy and moods are low. Listen to your body but don't play on it too much. Activity is still important. Take a mini break maybe.

It may be a good time when inside activities are favoured over outside activities to focus on ways to improve any physical restrictions that you may have. Or better still any mindset restrictions that may be holding you back from improving your health and well being. After all you want to be at your peak for summer don't you?

Don't Blame Your Health on Your Genetics

Some magnificent findings have surfaced from a study conducted by Dean Ormish,MD and a few associates in California revealing you can change the way your genes work by improving your lifestyle. The trial was performed on men with prostate cancer who decided to forgo treatment until their condition got worse. Instead they agreed to undergo a lifestyle overhaul to see if this made any impact on their condition. More than 500 genes changed the way they worked after a genetic analysis. They can't say yet if the cancer was controlled but the changes did manage to change the genetic make up of non cancerous cells in the prostate. Cancer promoting genes were switched off and cancer suppressing genes became more active.

The lifestyle changes involved a more natural and unprocessed diet containing lots of plant foods and whole grains. Walking for half an hour 6 days a week and 1 hour on 3 days a week as well as an hour a day of stretching, breathing and meditation that were derivatives from yoga techniques. They also became involved in a support group for social support and to give them a sense of closeness and belonging.

This may seem like a lot of extra time required on your already full schedule but remember these fellas are coming from a cancer diagnosis. If you are disease and sickness free then wholesale changes aren't called for. The inclusion of lifestyle improving measures bit by bit will be very beneficial. The genetic changes shown in the participants was achieved in only 3 months, imagine how a life committed to incremental lifestyle improvements could benefit your genes.

So using the gene excuse doesn't cut it any more. It is great to have studies like this to prove and encourage you to keep looking for improvements in lifestyles constantly. This doesn't mean everything you hear you do, but you can develop a greater awareness of ways to create interventions to your lifestyle for the better. Diet and nutrition, physical activity and even the way you think can be very beneficial for your lifestyle.

You can find the findings in the June 17 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Physical Activity the Ultimate Anti-Aging Poly Pill

After reading an article and viewing associated power points on the topic of viewing physical activity (PA) as a medicine. This topic is going to keep growing momentum and with the ever increasing reliance and acceptance of technology and societal factors us and the Gen 'Y's are going to have to make PA an absolute priority in our lives. Messages such as increasing fish oil consumption and green tea intake are great and getting through to more and more people. The PA message is just as important. The key figure delivering this message was Dr Karim Kahn an Aussie trained sports physician now an associate at The Uni of British Columbia in Vancouver.

What must be highlighted is PA is anything. There is an abundance of ways to increase physical activity. If you are a sales person you could get 60 minutes of increased activity a day by scheduling in an extra 10 minutes per appointment and parking 5 minutes walk away and trekking to and from 6 appointments. Very simplistic example from a very simple man I know (me). Dr Karim states in his message that PA could even be more beneficial to the brain than the heart. He also goes on to say cell function, cancer prevention, type II diabetes prevention, bone strength and health are all benefits of this PA poly-pill. And adding a bit of sarcastic humour to the equation he also states if those benefits don't interest you then how about a 60% reduced risk of erectile disfunction.

What really interested me was the fact that the find 30 minutes a day message bandied around these days is well short of the mark. Something I will be addressing personally in my own life is that 7 days a week we should be incorporating 60 minutes of PA. Because the complete genetic makeup of a cell evolved with a high componet of PA so the benefits of increasing PA would be
evolutionary. The US only introduced the 30 minutes a day message because they thought finding 60 would be too daunting!!! The truth hurts sometimes don't it.

To finish with Dr Kahn quoted a conclusion from a study conducted by Frank Booth in the Journal of Applied Physiology, 2002 titled,'Waging War on Physical Inactivity' that says, "with the possible exception of diet modification, we know of no single intervention with such great promise than physical exercise to reduce the risk of all chronic diseases simultaneously". I don't think I need to add much more to this except pass this message on to all of your friends, family and loved ones. Any assistance needed to help you integrate PA into your tight schedule I would love to help.

If you feel the need to read the power points from Dr Kahn's presentation go to the apaconferenceweek07.asn.au/ website and the link is:
website_pdfs/presentations/MPA/Fri%20AM/Khan-K.pdf

Optionate to Increase Natural Energy

You read it right, optionate. It haven't spelt it incorrectly, I just manufactured another word. It is just my way of quickening the way I explain to people, you need to think options if you want to create a natural energy flow that influences long lasting positive changes. Even more so if you are a person of influence or want to be and would like to influence outcomes positively.

Let me illustrate my point by highlighting something I witnessed today. It is so common that we all would of heard something similar if not on a daily basis very regularly. I took my three children to a fast food outlet and let them play on the playground on their premises. For the record I took fruit and water for the kids and I bought a coffee just to satisfy the staff that we were paying customers.

There was another family there who were there to have lunch. I heard the following instructions being delivered to a young girl who would of been no older than 5 or 6 years old. The father or grandfather ordered her to stop blowing bubbles in her drink as it was splashing everywhere. Fine in theory but think of it from the little girls position. She was happy and enjoying herself and the instruction stopped the fun. To get a win win scenario for all parties involved would of been to approach it as follows. Mary (made up name) if you want to blow bubbles in your drink that's fine but I will be forced to take the drink off you because you are wasting the drink and are making a mess with something you are supposed to be drinking. Or you can stop blowing bubbles and I won't take the drink of you. It's your choice, which one would you prefer.

So the onus is back on the little girl to make a decision for herself that stops her blowing bubbles either way, so the father wins and she will not want to lose her drink so she would take the second option. So she perceives a win out of the situation also. Then there is no dummy spitting and tantrums thrown or worse still resentment towards the father for restricting her enjoyment.

Point being that any decision you take doesn't have to be restrictive. Such as cutting out certain foods completely because you want to lose weight or cutting calories ridiculously. Optionating the process so you are nudging yourself towards making the choice in order to achieve a desired outcome is far better than restricting yourself from doing something to achieve an outcome. More reasons why restrictive actions are not the best option to create natural energy flows. By taking an option that really empowers you to take action rather than restrict practices creates a force far greater and motivating than any action taken out of perceived necessity. Clear as mud?

Adaptation Should Be Your Enemy

Adaptation is defined as a form or structure modified to fit a changed environment. To many adaptation is what is desired. Mainly because it's comfortable and the feeling of being in control is important. I'm here to tell you adaptation shouldn't be tolerated unless you would like to stay exactly as you are right now. Can you see yourself doing exactly as you are doing now for the rest of your life and being happy doing it?

This applies especially for people trying to change their physical appearance by either toning up, losing weight or increasing muscle size. If these outcomes are desired then doing the same thing over and over again is only going to waste your time. Any change must be bought about by an increase or a change in the stimulus to evoke the desired end result. I have seen it myself in a gym I was once a member of. Walking back in their recently I saw familiar faces and familiar bodies. Don't get me wrong I applaude them for sticking to their exercise regime but if they are hoping to elicit a change, it aint going to happen. Same applies with running, riding or weights training. No increase in intensity, distance or format will allow the body to adapt and won't gain any benefit out of the activity after a while.

Same goes with personal development, education or anything for that matter; if you adapt and then don't change you aren't growing. I have heard some people state that if you aren't growing then you are dying!!!

So if growth and development is important for you then don't get comfortable for too long. Find new challenges, attempt new tasks. Bump up the weights in the gym and make your session shorter. Read a self development book and implement the changes. Just keep pushing the boundaries a little so you aren't ever in total control. A common theme I hear with succesful people is that their lives are like organised chaos. Never in control totally but not out of control either. Don't go with the mob get on the outer and see where it takes you. Make adaptation your enemy and if you aren't sure how to do this seek assistance.

Sammy is a Genius

I was introduced to Sammy on the weekend and he reinforced to me how to get a positive reaction from a perceived negative situation. See Sammy isn't human, he has only one leg and can't float. I was introduced to him by my son Tyrone who met Sammy at his swimming lesson on Saturday. For the record Tyrone is 3 years old.

Sammy's was introduced to Tyrone to encourage him to put his head under water. This is very frightening for Tyrone as it is for all of the other boys in his group. But Sammy was funny and captured the attention of the kids big time. Although the thought of dipping his head under the water wasn't any more inviting than before Sammy arrived; getting Sammy off the bottom of the pool was number one priority now. The priority had shifted from worrying about putting his head under water to getting Sammy off the bottom of the pool.

My point is some things don't seem very inviting. Such as eating fruit and vegetables over cakes or deep fried fast foods. Getting up in the morning to participate in exercise sometimes isn't as attractive as staying in bed for an extra half an hour. To get you to move forward and participate in the perceived not so attractive options you need to find a motivating factor that juices you to do anything needed to get it. I can't tell you what your end result should be, but if you look deep within it is inside and it will motivate you to greater heights.

Exercise Minus Healthy Nutrition = Unhealthy Lifestyle

On reading the headline you are probably saying to yourself,"I know this already, it's not rocket science". But the underlying message I am going to try and unearth for you isn't as simple as the title suggests. If it is then great you should be on the way to creating an existence rich in Lifesperity.

It isn't unheard of to hear of individuals making the sacrifice to exercise and attend to part of their lifestyle in a bid to increase their health and well being however nutrition and diet are not even addressed. They think because they are exercising they are automatically healthier. Nothing couldn't be farther from the truth. In fact if exercise is undertaken that is vigorous and of high intensity, without adequate nutritional habits you can actually increase the percentages of lifestyle conditions occurring.

Again I am probably going to sound like a broken record here but if one aspect of your lifestyle efforts is adhered to and others aren't then the likelihood of overcompensating in that area is greatly increased. As is commonly reported, exercise is carried out daily to cover for poor nutritional habits. Stress of exercise plus the stress of incorrect food options has no option but to equal double stress. They can't equal each other out. The sad fact is exercise is usually then carried out for longer to use up more calories in a bid to counteract poor nutrition; more stress!!!

As a lifestyle coach seeing these two common imbalances in a lifestyle means that emotional and spiritual health isn't optimal either. This is adding more stress to the equation just compounding the invisible and silent problem of an unhealthy lifestyle which are often realised only when you are diagnosed with some condition, relationships end or depression and associated problems present. Get holistic it is the way ahead, don't keep over compensating and kidding yourself that because you are exercising you are healthy.

Getting Back On My High Horse In Regard To Restrictive Practices.

As you have probably guessed by the title I am going to rant about how restrictive practices aren't the right way to go about achieving a long term positive outcome. The reason I get so passionate about this is I have learnt from my experiences. I have stopped positive outcomes in my life by restricting my actions. By not taking risks, by not questioning mainstream thinking. Just going with the mob and following the flow.

I am in the process of putting together a book about why fat loss and its associated thinking and practices need to lose their identity in the world of health and fitness. Because the mere sound of fat loss sparks thoughts of restriction and reduction. I was so happy to hear the thoughts of a high profile American nutritionist about how people should go about keeping their weight in check. Dr Chris Mohr was asked what are the three things he thinks are most important in keeping your weight in check. Here's his summary of what he said, "I never said cut your calories in half. I never said decrease your calories. I never said reduce your fat intake, reduce your carb intake or anything like that. The three things I said two of them were increase or eat more and one of was write down what you eat.

Hearing this from a high profile high flyer in the health and fitness world has given me great motivation to keep spreading the non-restrictive practices message and I hope it encourages you to stop restricting yourself and start taking actions that take you towards your outcomes. And more importantly don't believe and trust the first thing you hear because the person you heard it from is probably coming from a mindset of scarcity and not abundance. To see if some of the things you have heard are true or myths why not check out this myth busting resource to get you started.

How's Your Filter Working?

Recently our household experienced a leaking pipe from the sink which left water in our cupboard. Much to our disgust, as the house we live in is only three and a half years old. Consequently we were inundated with midges (small flying insects). As we don't use fly sprays in the house we can't seem to get rid of them. So Adriana googled midges and found out goldfish eat them and by getting a fish tank these little critters get attracted to the water and light, leaving them to become fish tucker. Of course with the fish comes the responsibility of feeding and keeping the tank clean. A filter is a necessity and vital for their survival.

Our filter should be viewed with the same degree of importance. Although not life threatening immediately like the goldfish's. If left unattended and even turned off it may become a life threatening hazard for us to. Whether you agree with it or not, we have control over our thoughts and our actions. However if you don't filter the thoughts entering your head space you relinquish that control. With dire consequences.

Your thoughts will be mixed and varied, that is a given. But the way we filter them isn't. If you choose to stay unaware of your thoughts you will automatically manifest your most dominant thoughts. So if a very negative outcome or fearful outcome is played out in your mind and you aren't filtering the way you react to that thought, there is a fair chance you will be moved towards that dominant thought. So in actual fact your dominant thought will be manifested by you if you leave them there to build momentum. Leading to actions congruent to your thoughts. Flip the scenario and ensure your filter is ramped up and working efficiently your dominant thoughts and emotions will be those of harmony, positivity, fun and ultimately favourable outcomes. Leading to actions also congruent with your thoughts.

Both of these thoughts require the same amount of energy so why not maintain your filter and see what the difference is. You have the choice and if you are totally honest with yourself you are responsible for every outcome that comes your way. Start immediately by analysing your lifestyle to see what sort of shape it is in. Once you are aware of any weaknesses in your lifestyle
filtering out any destructive emotions will allow you to get into positive lifestyle territory and build an extremely positive Lifesperity portfolio.

Start Asking Harder Questions

Do you like such and such? What do you think of him/her? You hear these questions asked a lot don't you? On reflection you probably ask these questions to don't you? I don't want to know why you ask these questions, that is for another time.

What I don't think happens enough is we don't ask ourselves that same question!!! That's right talk to yourself. We have over 50000 thoughts in a day, so we do talk to ourselves regularly. A healthy lifestyle consists of a healthy spiritual and emotional well being. So if your emotions that you allow into your head space are negative and you aren't aware of them. If your mind filter isn't working, this aspect of your lifestyle won't be as healthy as it should be. It is also known that what emotions you think or feel manifest into actions. If someone thinks angry and violently!!!!! Keep away from them. If someone is self doubting and unsure of their potential their actions become consistent with those thoughts.

So ask yourself do I like myself? If you don't why not? Then you can fix what part of yourself you don't like and move on to start liking yourself and accepting yourself for who you are and not for who society dictates who you should be. This should be a key step in starting long term lifestyle adherence and improving your health, happiness and well being. I call it Lifesperity.