Category Archives: healthy living

ayurveda, blissful living, health and wellness, healthy living, Uncategorized

Personalize Your Hydration

In the heat of summer, it is easy to work up a sweat with a vigorous yoga practice, working out at the gym or engaging in  outdoor activities. On extremely hot days such as when the temperature reaches about 95 degrees, it is important to pay attention to your hydration status. The slightest decrease in how hydrated your body is can result in changes within the body that can cause you problems if you don’t pay attention to them. If you lose more liquid than you take in, you risk the possibility of becoming dehydrated. Signs and symptoms of dehydration include dry lips, a dry and sticky mouth, urine that is amber to dark amber in color, dizziness, muscle cramps, nausea or heart palpitations, which left untreated can become dangerous and may lead to cardiac arrhythmias.

Plain water is usually all you need however there are times when it is wise to spike your drink with a pinch of sodium, especially in the heat. Sports drinks serve the dual purpose of recharging you with electrolytes ( minerals, sodium and potassium) you sweat out during prolonged strenuous exercise. You probably don’t need to worry about missing electrolytes after a light workout, but is you are planning an all day hike in the sun or hot yoga, you might want to consider an electrolyte enriched drink.

I recommend making a sports drink instead of buying one of the packaged sports drinks. They are easy to make and you will known exactly what is in your hydration drink. The following is a recipe that I think you will find easy to make and great tasting.

Enjoy!

Homemade Sports Drink

1/2 teaspoon of honey, 1 cup of hot water, Juice from a quarter of a lemon and a pinch of salt. Combine all the ingredients, stir, and chill the drink in the refrigerator to enjoy later.

You may drink this during and after exercise.

The sodium (salt) is made up of the electrolytes sodium and chloride, which will allow the water to stay in your tissues and the honey is an energy boosting carbohydrate that adds sweetness and delight to your drink.

I recommend that you use bottled water or filtered water when making this sports drink.

Homemade Hydrating & Energizing Drink

16 ounces of filtered or bottled water ( I recommend using IWater by G.I.A. for its single file alignment technology)

1-2 drops of lemon essential oil or

1/2 juice from a fresh lemon

Combine in a container, shake and enjoy.

This drink is also great to take to the gym as well to keep you hydrated and naturally energized.

Remember the most important thing is to make sure you take in some liquid and fruits such as watermelon, grapes, plums, lemons, oranges, honeydew and cantaloupe all have high water contents and add to the amount of water that you take in.  One last reminder stay away from all caffeinated drinks as they will cause the body to dehydrate due to their diuretic effect on the body.

Now go forth and enjoy your summer knowing that you can personalize your hydration.

Wishing you much health and wellness!

Namaste,

Rochele Lawson, RN,AHP,CMS

The Queen of Feeling Fabulous

Host of “Blissful Living”

http://www.facebook.com/rochelelawson

twitter: @rochelelawson

http://www.youtube.com/rochelelawson

http://webtalkradio.net/shows/blissful-living

http://www.freegiftsfromrochele.com

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ayurveda, blissful living, health and wellness, healthy living, stress reduction, Uncategorized

Deprivation is not the key to successful weight loss

Lasting weight loss doesn’t begin with deprivation or counting calories. It begins by taking care of yourself physically and emotionally. Once you begin the process of becoming aware that you and only you can take care of yourself the way you should then progress with successful weight management can take place. Let me explain.

First of all let me explain that I am a person that has never had weight management issues. I have always been athletic and have always been very cautious of what I ate because when I was young I suffered from a chronic digestive condition. However because of my challenges and the weight management challenges of those around me as well as my experience as a health care professional, I have seen it time and time again that if you do not take the issues with food and weight in the mind, then you will struggle with losing and gaining weight for the rest of your life and each time you lose, you will gain more weight than you lost. It is going to be a never ending deadly cycle.

The good news is that I know that a person can successfully lose and maintain their desired weight bring more peace into their weight loss program. I have experienced my clients losing the weight that they desired and keeping it off, even during the holidays. The process of incorporating taking care of themselves both physically and emotionally, has made a significant difference in the way they viewed themselves and their relationship to food.

The program is not complex and has some components of what would be called “mental toughness” tools but within the structure there is support and accountability. My program consist of a cleanse/detoxification first to remove embedded toxins, gentle yoga asanas, breath work and meditation to help you de-stress your mind and your body and tune into what your body really needs. Most people focus on the food aspect first but for success to occur it doesn’t work that way.

Before you can embrace the lifestyle changes that result in lost pounds, you must first to learn to take care of yourself and make your health and wellness your number one priority. This also includes making a conscious practice to feed yourself healthy meals based on the guidelines designed for you in the program. When eating becomes a self care practice more instead of a reason of guilt or punishment, you are more likely to make healthy food choices and tune into your body’s cues when you have had enough. When living beings are nourished, they thrive.

If you are a person that is used to going for long periods without nourishment or depriving yourself then overeating, you will have to teach yourself to eat regularly. This may mean eating at least 3 times per day with a couple of snacks. This eating schedule will help keep your blood sugar regular and helps you to avoid unhealthy snacking and taking in excess unwanted calories that lead to toxins and fat.

Successful and lasting weight loss can be achieved in an easy manner. Although it maybe easy to do it is not a simple thing to incorporate when you have had such a bad habit for so long. Rest assured with guidance, support, education and practice you can be success at managing your weight when you utilize the secret success tools for weight management.

Would you like to learn the secret success tools?

Wishing you much health and wellness!

Namaste,

Rochele Lawson, RN,AHP,CMS

The Queen of Feeling Fabulous

For a free secret success weight management tool session send me a message at:

info@healthhealingwellness and in the subject line put “secret success”

http://www.healthhealingwellness.com

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ayurveda, blissful living, health and wellness, healthy living, stress reduction

The Goodness of Magnesium

Magnesium is an essential mineral required by the body for maintaining normal muscle and nerve function, keeping a healthy immune system, maintaining heart rhythm and building strong bones. Magnesium is also involved in at least 300 biochemical reactions in the body. A deficiency in magnesium can lead to muscle spams, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety disorders, migraines, osteoporosis and cerebral infarction. On the other hand consuming too much magnesium typically causes diarrhea as the body attempts to excrete the excess.

Below you will find 10 foods that are high in magnesium and good for your body. No worries there is something for everyone.

  1. Bran (Rice, Wheat & Oat) these are great additions to breads and breakfast cereals like oats, rye and buckwheat. One cup of crude rice bran contains 922mg of magnesium or 230% of the daily value.
  2. Dried Herbs are packed with vitamins and an healthy addition to almost any meal. Dried Corriander provides the most magnesium with 694mg per 100 gram serving or per tablespoon followed by chives and spearmint.
  3. Squash, Pumpkin and Watermelon seeds, dried or roasted make great snacks or in a salad and these seeds are packed with magnesium
  4. Cocoa Powder (Dark Chocolate) is becoming more popular and with good reason, long regarded as junk food dark chocolate is packed with vitamins and conferred health benefits. Cocoa powder provides 499mg of magnesium. So ladies when you get that craving for chocolate know that you are probably lacking in magnesium, so go ahead and indulge with a piece or two.
  5. Flax, Sesame Seeds and Sesame Butter (Tahini) are great sources of heart healthy oils and provide a good source of magnesium.
  6. Brazil Nuts possibly the largest of all nuts are a great source of magnesium. Brazil nuts provide 376mg of magnesium per serving.
  7. Sunflower Seeds are the number one source of vitamin E and a good source of thiamin. Sunflower seeds contain 325mg of magnesium per serving or 455mg per cup.
  8. Almonds and Cashews (Mixed nuts, Pine nuts) are great as a snack or as an addition to salads and soups. Almonds provide 286mg of magnesium and Cashews provide 273mg of magnesium per serving.
  9. Molasses is a good substitute for refined sugar in cakes and breads. It is also a wonderful source of magnesium. Molasses provides 242mg of magnesium per tablespoon.
  10. Dry Roasted Soybeans (Edamame) make great editions to salads or as a healthy snack. Dry roasted soybeans are a great source of magnesium. When roasted they provide a whooping 228mg of magnesium per cup.

With all the goodness that comes from eating foods that contain magnesium, I do not see how you will be able to resist. Not only are the above foods good for you but they are healthy and will help you to keep your waistline trim. So do yourself a favor and incorporate some of these foods into your daily routine.

For a full list of foods that are high in magnesium email me at: info@healthealingwellness.com and in the subject line put “magnesium” and I will send you my free report on ” Foods high in Magnesium.”

Wishing you much health and wellness!

Namaste,

Rochele Lawson, RN,AHP,CMS

The Queen of Feeling Fabulous

http://www.freegiftsfromrochele.com

http://www.healthhealingwellness.com

http://webtalkradio.net/shows/blissful-living

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