Easy Food Management

So here comes one of the hardest parts of living a healthy life, managing what you eat! Very few people eat "by the books" today; there's simply too much temptation from all the good, but unhealthy things around us. However, started doing a little trick that helps me watch what I eat and help maintain that healthy living.

I know many of you, like myself, would much rather have a big ol' cheese burger or some pizza for lunch than a boring salad. But, those veggies are all necessary aspects of our diets. All these healthy foods are necessary parts of our diets becuase of the vitamins and minerals they provide our bodies, so how can you get them with the life style you live? Take some multi-vitamins! Multi-vitamins are like a short cut. They provide the body with the essential daily vitamins and minerals it needs to stay healthy. Now, just because you take them doesn't mean you're 100% in the clear. Supplemental vitamins should in no way be seen as a complete substitute for a healthy life, they simply help those get nothing in their bodies at all.

So which vitamins should you take? There are literally thousands of options out there, and the best advice I can give is to simply go visit a local Vitamin Shop or GNC or Vitamin World or even one of the pharmacies at a Target or Wal Mart. All these places have professionals that can point you in the direction of which vitamins best support your life style. Someone like myself, an athlete, would take performance vitamins. These are different kinds of supplements in that they provide extra levels of certain vitamins and minerals that are used during hard work outs or extreme conditioning. Someone who is simply looking to help their body out a little bit don't need anything this extreme, a simply daily supplement such as One-A-Days will do. There are also multi-vitamins out there that specify for children, women, and men. Look into it, you have nothing to lose. You'll only be helping your body out that much more.

Want some more persuassion? Check this article I just found online! It'll make you want to run to the nearest pharmacy. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29958721/

Multi-vitamins are a simply, quick and easy way to help the body maintain itself. Clearly, the best possible solution to living a healthy life is to watch and regulate what you eat. Try and get at least one salad in each day. Try and eat a cup of fruit and vegetables. Anything you do will help your body that much more than not doing it at all. What I like to do is that I set maybe one or two days out of the week that I try my best to force myself to eat healthy. For breakfest I'll have a cup of yogurt and some fruit, for lunch I'll have some pasta, and for dinner I'll have some chicken and rice and some veggies; and if I ever get hungry and need a snack between meals I'll try and eat fruit or a salad. By having even a single day like this in a week you're improving your body and you're avoiding a whole days worth of unhealthy, junky food.

Just do what you can! Remember, no one is perfect. By trying and doing just a whole bunch of little things they'll all add up and do you so much good that you won't be able to believe it. It's easier to gradually ease into things rather than waking up one morning and trying to change your whole life around. So get out there, get your vitamins and minerals, get to walking, and watch what you eat. Anything you can do is better than doing nothing at all. Good luck, and have fun!

Fun Fact

So I'm sure many of you out there are like me and like to find new and interesting ways of helping your body. I like learning about how little things help the body maintain and improve itself, because after all, it's the little things that count right? Well, after pursuing one of my many curiosities I actually found something that I simply could not pass up and must share with everyone.

So how many times have you finished a long day or work and all you want is to take a nice relaxing hot shower? Well, like many of you I too am addicted to hot showers. They seem so relaxing and good for you. But how many times have you stepped into what you think to be warm water and found it to be freezing cold? Now that can't be good for you right? Wrong! Cold showers are actually very good for your body and it's maintenance.

One of the things I've always wanted to know was why at one of the gyms that I work out at back home to they have that dreaded contraption called "The Cold Splash" in the locker room. I remember walking out of the sauna I would see many people walk under the shower head and take the ice cold splash and just let out a loud yelp. I thought maybe it was just something to prove one's manhood in front of everyone; but it turns out it's actually something productive for the body. Cold showers help to not only refresh the body after being so heated from a workout but they also help the internal organs.

When working out, or just working hard in general, blood usually rushes to one's skin, or more towards the surface of the body. When that happens the organs are usually not as filled with blood as they normally are, that's why people are usually so red when they work hard. When, and if, the body were to be suddenly experience a drastic change in temperature (say a splash of ice cold water) all of the blood rushes from the skin back down to the internal organs flushing out all that old blood. And this isn't even all that these showers do for you! Some other benefits associated with cold showers are: brings blood to the capillaries, therefore increasing circulation throughout the body, cleans the circulatory system, reduces blood pressure on internal organs, provides flushing for the organs and provides a new supply of blood, strengthens the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, contracts the muscles to eliminate toxins and poisonous wastes, and strengthens the mucous membranes, which help resist hay fever, allergies, colds, coughs.

I know it sounds painful, but cold showers really are good for you. Now I'm not saying that every time you shower you have to shower in ice cold water the whole time, that would just be torture. What is recommended is that you should begin your shower as you normally would, whatever temperature you prefer. Towards the end of the shower however you should gradually ease into cooling the water as much as you can take, preferably ending the shower with the water being cold. I know that now that I started doing this technique I've started feeling fresher than ever. The cold water shocks the body awake and leaves you feeling just great once you're out.

I know I'm just a kid and I really can't explain all that goes on in the body but there are many websites. I know that's where I found all of my information. Here are a few websites that I visited.

http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/showers.html http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sampleworkouts/a/After-Exercise.htm

Well I know this blog wasn't so much about healthy living but I thought it was something really cool that many people probably didn't know about. It's just one of the many little things you can do to help your body stay healthy and feeling great. Try it out and see what you think! I now do this every single time I shower and I feel even better now. Hope you all found this to be as interesting as I did! Have fun, be safe, and be healthy!

Spring Break Challenge

So here comes one of the most challenging parts of maintaining a healthy life, vacations. It's spring break for us all, but that's no excuse to get off track from working out and being healthy. It's easy to understand how most people don't exactly plan on working out on their much deserved time off from school, so therefore the main objective here should just to do as much for yourself as possible; whether that be taking time to workout or simply watching what you eat. Whatever you can do will help.

So what can you do from where you are? Anything and everything! Luckily I, and I'm sure many of you went home for break. Going home is probably the easiest places one can go and maintain a healthy life style. At home you already know everything. You know all the possible runinng routes, you know the gyms, you know the food that is around, everything. Did you go to the beach for break? Even better! It's the best excuse to get outside, catch some sun, and get a great workout. Not to mention, the beach places usually offer some good old fashion healthy food. Go somewhere cold? Workout indoors! Find a gym somewhere close or in the hotel; and if worse comes to worse workout in the room. Do a quick ab workout, anything will do.

Overall, the most important thing one can do while on vacation is to not lose track of their goals and objectives. Vacations are everyone's weakness. I know when I come home all the true, real mexican food is just oh so tempting (and not to mention belly busting). I can't say that I resist completely, but when I do cave in I'm sure to take at least a 15 minute run to help burn some of it off. Everyone would much rather just take the week off, eat junky, and be lazy; but if you do that then getting back on track will be harder than ever. Now, I'm not saying to go out there and workout all day and all week long during your vacation, just something. Try not to snack between meals, do quick short workouts, and watch what you eat. Being smart is the best thing you can do while on vacation.

Alright everybody, so it's spring break. Get out there, have some fun, be safe, and be smart. Do your best to watch over self, but most importantly enjoy yourself. See you all when we get back!