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The “New” Normal. It’s a catch phrase that started going around late April of this year. It’s in reference to some of the new recommendations and in some instances requirements when it comes to living in 2020.

Some of the new normal is – well, actually what most of us should be doing anyway. Washing your hands, using hand sanitizer, keeping a respectful distance, and staying away from others when we are sick.

Others are “uncomfortable” and a change from our regular day to day. Homeschooling kids, wearing masks, shortened business hours, closed businesses, and more – can cause frustration and a lack of patience in a lot of us.

Will it ever end? Thats a topic for another blog…

This entire “new normal” phase of 2020 is wrapped around a virus. A virus that doesn’t appear to have a very negative impact on the majority of our healthy population. 

The healthiest of us seem to shrug it off like a cold.

The immune compromised and the unhealthy stand the biggest challenges when facing this virus.

It stands to reason that a healthy immune system is a huge benefit to anyone in a situation like this. Many folks decided long before this virus to live healthy active lifestyles and their risk during this time is quite low.

Some folks however – have had their eyes opened by the spread of this virus. Their lives before the virus hit may have been less than healthy. And let’s face it:  Life can consume us pretty quick if we don’t make active decisions to prioritize our health. Overworked parents, super stressful jobs, poor eating habits, lack of proper rest, little to no physical activity – leaving many people very vulnerable during this time.

Maybe this is you. Maybe you’ve wished you made better choices before this virus hit. 

Take a deep breath. I have great news – you too can have a healthy, strong immune system! It’s not too late! I want to help.

 

But I caution you – my suggestions are not products or pills. My suggestion is also not to just slap on a mask and hope someone fixes the problem so you can go back to being a danger to yourself and others.

Nope, I’m suggesting 5 ways – 5 Radical Ways – to Live in the New Normal.

 

How does one strengthen their immune systems? I’m not a scientist, but I’ve been around a lot of healthy people in my life. Here’s what I’ve learned:

  1. Start eating like an adult. No fad diets, no shake programs, no sodas. Stop skipping meals. Dump the fried food.

 Food was never meant to be difficult. People make it difficult to make a buck. 

Stick with lean meats, naturally occurring fats and green leafy vegetables. 

Or – just google: “Whole Food Nutrition”. 

If you need help from there shoot me an email. Put the diet coke down. 

2. Go outside. Get some sun. Walk around your neighborhood or take a walk outside while you are at work. 

If you can be alone with your thoughts – do that. If you’d rather involve your family or friends – do that, but get some time outside – in the sun and fresh air, everyday.

3. Drink enough water for you. Water is key first thing in the morning – your brain needs it, your muscles need it. 

Water is also important for flushing out the negative effects of your old life before the new normal began. 

Homework: google: “how much water should I drink for my gender, weight and activity level”. Then get a container and make it happen. Every day. 

Put all the diet cokes in the trash.

4. Rest – you’ve got to get 6-8 hours of rest per day. Rest meaning sleep.  I can’t emphasize this enough. Your body cannot heal itself or fight off anything unless you are well rested.

5. Exercise – find something you enjoy. Don’t just jump on a quick gym membership because it’s “cheap” or “close”. 

You should be looking forward to your workouts and training everyday. If your workouts are drudgery it’s time to change it up. 

There are so many things out there to help us stay active. Find a program that intrigues you – maybe one that makes you nervous and sounds like a challenge. 

Step outside of your comfort zone and go for it. It’s the New Normal after all!

And there you have it. 5 Radical Ways to live in the New Normal! Any one of these done with consistency will help. I’m asking that you do ALL 5 with consistency and make them a part of your New Normal – forever. 

Let’s make the New Normal exactly what it should be. An opportunity to make a few changes that could very well save your life. 

“New” means – well, new. As in – not the same as before – a drastic change in your lifestyle.

What do you have to lose? 

If you need help or guidance on any of these, I’m here to help. Hit me back and I’ll help you get where you want to go.

Coach Ted

#strengthoverfear

#actionsoverwords

#staysolar

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What is Sugar?

Sugar is an ingredient found in most foods we eat.  It occurs naturally in many foods, like fruits, milk, vegetables, and whole grains.  Sugar can also be added to food and this is why we tend consume too much sugar each day.  It is recommended that women only consume 6 grams of added sugar per day and men 9 grams.  Unfortunately, the average person is consuming  three times (or more) of the recommended amount.

 

Is all sugar bad?

Sugars that occur naturally in food are not included in the daily recommended amount because this is the preferential way to get the sugar your body uses for energy.  When we start consuming processed food, soda, fruit drinks, candy, cakes, etc., we are eating added sugar.

We know that soda, candy and sweets have added sugar in them, but there is added sugar in many foods that you would not think it to be.  It is very important to read labels and to know what ingredients are added sugar.  The most common forms of added sugar are the following:

  • Corn syrup
  • High fructose corn syrup
  • Honey
  • Maple syrup
  • Fruit juice concentrates
  • Molasses
  • Any of the sugar molecules that end in -ose, like glucose, sucrose, fructose, lactose, etc.

If you are unsure if something had added sugar then read the label.  The label has the total grams of sugar listed which will include the amount of added sugar.

 

What effect does sugar have on your body?

It is very important that we take control and begin to limit the amount of added sugar we intake every day.  Too much sugar can have very serious effects on your health and wellness.

Diabetes:  It is widely known that prolonged excess sugar intake can lead to Type 2 Diabetes by increasing obesity and increasing insulin resistance.

Weight gain:  We all know that excess anything can cause weight gain.  This is still true with sugar.  It may even cause weight gain faster than expected due to the fact that a small food choice that contains a large amount of sugar will not leave you satisfied and leave you still hungry.  You will probably eat to satisfy the hunger and therefore increase the calories by even more.

Heart Health:  Excess sugar intake has been linked to increased risk for heart disease.  Sugar has been shown to increase artery clogging deposits and increasing blood pressure both of which increase your risk of heart disease.

Teeth:  Sugar is the main cause of tooth decay.  Sugar feeds certain bacteria that as they grow in your mouth they produce the acids that cause decay to your tooth enamel.

Joints:  Sugar increases inflammation in the body.  Increased inflammation increases joint discomfort.  This is especially important to those that already have arthritis or joint pain.  Decreasing your sugar intake may help decrease the amount of day to day pain you have.

Brain:  Although sugar may give you a momentary spike in energy it is followed by a very hard crash.  This can cause more severe consequences than just feeling fatigued after the crash.  Too much sugar has been linked to depression as well.

 

Decreasing sugar is not just for you

Not only is decreasing the amount of added sugars you eat important to your health, but it is extremely important to our children’s health as well.  All of our children benefit from the healthy choices we make by having happier healthier parents, but if we apply our healthy living to their lives they will be healthier and happier too.  You are also setting up their future health choices.  If we teach them young it is easier for them to make healthy choices as they get older.  This is especially important for our children with special needs as the effects of sugar has been negatively linked to many special needs.

In my case, children with Down Syndrome tend to carry excess weight.  Their metabolism is a little slower than most people so I try to limit the amount of processed foods Kiera eats daily.  I do not cook separate meals for my family, so she knows (like all my kids) if she does not eat what is on her plate she will be hungry when she goes to bed.  Kiera loves grapes, bananas, strawberries, and mandarin oranges so I keep these on hand for snacks.  I am not saying she never has other snacks, but I try to limit them whenever possible.

 

How can I curb my sugar cravings?

Now that we understand what sugar is and why it has a negative impact on our health and wellness how do we stop eating so much of it?

Food tracking: Start writing down everything you eat.  You can better analyze how much added sugar you are eating and where you can cut back if you can see what foods you eat daily as a whole.

Read labels: Knowing what you are eating is the best step to eating the right foods.  There is a lot of useful information on the labels of food.  If you see sugar (or any of the other terms for sugar) in the ingredient list then it has been added.  If those ingredients are in the first 4 ingredients then A LOT has been added.  Be conscious of what you are buying.

One thing at a time:  After you have found where you are getting a lot of added sugars in your diet you may be tempted to cut them all.  This may set you up to fail and binge on foods with too much sugar.  Try eliminating one thing at a time.  Removing one sugar filled food from your daily diet each week will give you a better chance of sticking with it than cutting out all added sugar cold turkey.

 **Sodas and fruit juices are so full of sugar.  Because they are liquid and tend not to give you the “full” feeling that food gives you, you can consume a lot of added sugar to your diet without any benefits.  Therefore, these need to be the first cut from your list. 

Sugar replacement:  Have fruits available to you for the times when you are having a sweet craving.  The natural occurring sugar in fruits will help curb those cravings.

Stay busy:  Many of us eat because we are bored, looking for comfort, or it is just a habit to eat when not doing anything.  If you find yourself eating sugary snacks when you are not really hungry then get up and do something to occupy your mind.

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We do we need to actually work on fitness?

Our parents never needed to and they were healthy.

Lifestyles are different.
* Our parents actually did allot more physical labor throughout the day, whereas, we are becoming so automated.
* In the morning they would take the time to cook breakfast from scratch, cut potatoes, veggies and fruit instead of opening a bag of prepared and preserved foods.
* Iron the clothes that hey would wear that day, not just unwrapping the suit from the cleaners.
* Walk or bicycle to work, to the market or to run errands as opposed to jumping in the car to their jobs while stopping to get breakfast.
* They would actually work in the gardens every day, weeding, tilling, seeding and picking their veggies for that day’s meals.
* Laundry would be done by hand or in a manually operated wringer washer.
* If they wanted to participate in an activity they would actually physically participate. They couldn’t just sit in a chair with a keyboard or joy stick.
* If they wanted to socialize they would need to actually visit with someone and not just grab their cell phone.
Our jobs were different
* Our family had an “Ice Business” where they would work out on the frozen lakes throughout the winter months to harvest large blocks of ice that people would use in the “ice boxes” (refrigerators) throughout the year. Before I started school, I used to go with my dad on deliveries in the very early mornings. He would climb 4 flights of stairs with a 50-pound block of ice on his shoulders for 10 cents a block.
* Loggers would actually have to cut down trees and drag them out into the clearings to harvest the wood products. Now they just sit behind the wheel and operate joysticks.
All of our jobs have become automated for cost efficiency so now we have become operators instead of do’ers.
The point I am trying to make is that our lives are not anywheres close to being what they were in our parent’s generation. We need to substitute what was once manual labor with some sort of fitness routines that involves a constantly varied series of anaerobic (strength) and aerobic fitness (cardio) fitness.
Anaerobic fitness is where we build strength that we have lost as we aged. It doesn’t just help develop stronger muscles. It is also about resistance training that causes the bones to flex which in turn regenerates growth in the bone structure.
Aerobic fitness is where we work on getting the heart pounding at a higher level. Over time it will decrease the resting heart rate (good thing) and increase your metabolism and stamina.
Daily training programs usually have both of those pieces as well and some skill development and mobility work.

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