Healthy Lifestyle LivingEverything you need to know – right here.

Throughout your day how often are you up and moving your body?  If you spend most of your waking hours sitting at a desk job, reading, watching TV or driving in traffic than you aren’t living an active lifestyle.  Living a sedentary lifestyle otherwise known as a, couch potato with little or no physical exercise, can contribute and lead to preventable causes of death.  The amount of calories we burn versus the amount and type of calories we consume is either helping or hindering our health.  Most of us over-rate our activity levels.  One way to measure our movements is to purchase a pedometer.  By counting our steps when we walk, jog or run, we can accurately determine if we are spending our day sedentary or moving and consciously increase our physical activity.

By tracking our movement we become more aware and by doing so are able to initiate change.  When we see how easy it is to control our activity levels it can motivate us to exercise more.  My friend, Drew works as a tax accountant for several large companies and spends a majority of his day at work sitting and another chunk of it commuting to and from his job.  After wearing a pedometer for a week and seeing that his “steps per day” average was less than 5,000 he made a goal to improve that number.  He began with small changes like taking the stairs up to his office instead of the elevator and parking farther away from the office building.  When he saw that making improvements was easy he felt motivated to go on walks in the evenings and that lead to running.  He is now an avid runner and participates in several marathons each year.

By counting our physical movement and steadily adding to it we will feel good because we are able to set a goal and accomplish it.  The benefits of living a more active lifestyle are innumerable as it will help reduce stress, improve circulation, build physical and mental stamina, help with weight loss and our overall well-being.

I always fantasized about having my own personal chef like Oprah and Micheal Jackson and even thought I would find out how to become a chef myself, except I don’t like cooking.  Healthy delicious hot cooked meals without all the hassle.  Plus, no more worrying about the fat and calories I’m consuming when I eat out or order pizza on the weekends because I didn’t feel like cooking.  Here are 5 reasons everyone should hire a personal chef!

1.  Saves Time -  Taking into consideration that meal preparation takes on average over an hour and if you add the time it takes to plan a weekly menu, grocery shop and cook, the total time over a week is mind boggling.  I believe time is more valuable than money.  Hiring a personal chef to cook for you and your family even if it’s just for dinner will save you loads of time.

2.  More Convenient – Who doesn’t love convenience when it comes to eating?  Why do fast food places stay in business?  They are simply, convenient!  When I’m hungry it’s fantastic to have a meal quickly without too much effort.  Cutting, slicing, dicing and peeling can feel monotonous.  Let someone else do it for you so you can spend time doing something worthwhile.

3.  Saves Money – When a professional plans a weekly menu they are organized and educated on the best food items to buy during their growth season, making them less expensive.  They typically know the best places to shop for the best deals and can group items on the shopping list for the week to cut down on spending for groceries.  Also, with a personal chef around you save by not eating out.

4.  Better for Your Health – My favorite reason… it’s healthier!  A chef is able to cater meals to your specific needs.  If you want to count calories, are vegetarian, or diabetic, then indulge in the fact that your meals will be served with all of your preferences in mind.  Eating fresh healthy meals that contain all the food groups your body needs will put your mind at ease.  You won’t have to justify that french fries count as a vegetable anymore.

5.  Its Delicious -  Even if you feel like you are talented in the cooking department, a trained chef has a better understanding of the art is a highly skilled individual.  A professional who takes pride in their work will want to make sure that each meal is a culinary masterpiece.  Not only will the meals taste delectable but you will appreciate the variety of different recipes and flavor combinations available to savor bite by bite.

You’ve heard the saying, “You are what you eat!”  If this is true it’s important to pay attention to what we are putting into our bodies.  Educating ourselves on what foods are natural and healthy for us can be a full-time job.  You practically have to become a detective to know what’s in or on the foods we eat.  Just the other day I read that the producer of aspartame, a common harmful and toxic ingredient in diet sodas, is trying to rebrand the sweetener which is already marketed under several trademark names with another new one.  Making it virtually impossible for the average consumer to depict exactly what they are consuming.  Here are a 3 everyday easy tips to follow for a healthier day and you!

Swap sugar and artificial sweeteners with agave.  Agave is a natural sweetener like honey.  Why is it better?  Sugar is a processed sweetener that has no nutritional value except for calories, plus it has a high-glycemic index causing blood sugar levels to spike.  Pushing our bodies to the extreme is detrimental to our health.  Agave, on the other hand has a low-glycemic index keeping our bodies constant. Agave also contains nutrients like saponins which reduce blood cholesterol levels, increases bone density and stimulates the immune system, and a nutrient called fructane which increases healthy bacteria in our digestive system.

One of the best ways to ensure we are eating healthy foods is to try and eat them in their purest form.  For example, fruits, vegetables especially those that are grown locally and organically are a safe bet.  According to WebMD organic crops must be produced without conventional pesticides (including herbicides), synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, bioengineering, or ionizing radiation.  If a food has a “USDA organic” label, it contains at least 95 percent organic ingredients, and a government-approved expert has inspected the farm where it was produced to make sure the farmer follows USDA requirements.

Replace refined grains with whole grains.  To choose a whole grain food, look on the ingredients list.  According to Wikipedia, a good rule of thumb to follow is if the ingredient lists “whole wheat,” “whole meal,” or “whole corn” as the first ingredient, the product is a whole-grain food item.  At kidshealth.org it explains why whole grains are so much healthier for our bodies than refined grains. “Whole grains contain all parts of the grain kernel. But refined grains, like the flour used to make white bread, have had the fiber-dense bran and the nutrient-rich germ processed out, leaving only the starchy endosperm. This means that refined grain is not as rich in essential fatty acids, vitamin E, magnesium, and zinc.”

Oils are considered mankind’s first medicine and have been used around the world for centuries.  In fact there are numerous biblical references suggesting their use and research dates the use of them back to 4500 BC. Recently oils have been reintroduced into modern medicine as a natural alternative that can enhance mood, aide our bodies systems, heal blemishes and offer stimulation.

Derived from aromatic volatile liquids found in shrubs, flowers, trees, roots, bushes, and seeds it is said to be natures living energy.  Plants use these distinctive oils to defend against insects, environmental conditions and disease.  They also are vital to help a plant, live, grow, evolve and adapt to it’s surroundings.  Their makeup is complex and the benefits are vast.  The oils are extracted from aromatic plant sources such as lavender, peppermint, marjoram, chamomile, and my favorite patchouli.

The real mystery lies in how the oils work.  Each essential oil has its own frequency; therefore emitting a different emotional response giving it a unique property of healing.  It is said that when an individual has a conflict between reason and feeling, humans side with feeling.  Our feelings may not originate from our current situation but from memories that are imprinted by emotional experiences of our past.  If we want our lives to be guided by good decisions that lead to health, happiness and fulfillment, being aware of and in control of our present feelings help us release the repressed emotions of the past.  When we can do this our thoughts won’t be limited by fear or lack of self-worth and our lives won’t fall short of our God-given potential.  Oils provide us with a vehicle to help with this task because their molecules pass directly to the emotional brain allowing us to clear emotional baggage and live life to our highest potential.

Cedarwood is a woody-scented essential oil that comes from the Juniperus Virginiana tree native to North America. It has been around for thousands of years, dating back to the ancient Egyptians, and is thought to be one of the first essential oils ever extracted.  It is most often used as a calming agent to help alleviate stress and anxiety.  Working in one of the most demanding top careers, like, an emergency room technician, real estate broker, senior executive or any other high stress job can cause lasting negative health issues.  Treating the symptoms through the use of this natural oil, not only prevents harmful physical affects on our bodies but clears the way mentally to manifest success in our work and all aspects of our lives.

There is a Divine and Infinite potential within every soul, an intimate access to the mind of God and the passion of the Universe ~K. Allen Kay