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Healthy Lifestyles: Be Beautiful, Inside and Out

In this fast paced world, life becomes a battle to beat the clock. Energy levels are zapped, stress evolves—it’s a vicious cycle. The media are filled with suggestions of figure-friendly foods, how to beat the blues, rev up your metabolism, and advice. Lots of advice. No pain, no gain. Pump up. Pump down. Repeat crunches. Rev up those abs to rock-hard six packs. Devour vitamins. Eat carbs. Omit carbs. So, what’s the skinny on all this advice? We went to the experts and learned that the simple, whole-body approach to exercise, nutrition and mental clarity is key for optimal health and wellness.Focus on Fitness to Maintain a Healthy Weight“Fitness and working out improve your overall health and well-being,” says Jillian Michaels, motivator, role model and author of Winning by Losing: Drop the Weight, Change Your Life, as well as the strength trainer and life coach for the Red Team on the hit series The Biggest Loser. Her philosophy stresses integration of fitness, nutrition and behavioral changes.“Fitness is not just about a flat tummy and tighter booty, but taking your power back,” she explains. “I believe that when people learn how physically strong they are it translates into other facets of their lives. As far as how much exercise we really need, I like people to get at least four hours of exercise in a week. All that crap about eight minutes in the morning to the body of your dreams is just that—crap. It sounds good and it sells, but it doesn’t work. Take the car you’re driving. I bet you have to work to earn the money to pay for it, as well as the house you live in. So, why would a healthy strong body be any different? Being fit does require a little work, but it’s so worth it.”If you’re confused about all the infomercials, latest trends and workouts broadcasted by the media, join the club!  Many of us are on the run and fitting workouts into a schedule when time is at a premium is a challenge, to say the least.“The latest trends in fitness are H.I.I.T. workouts,” explains Michaels. “That’s high intensity interval training. This type of workout combines resistance training and cardio intervals to burn maximum amount of calories and provide supreme conditioning for your muscles and cardio-pulmonary system. If you’re constantly on-the-go, exercise DVD’s are great because you don’t lose the travel time to the gym and back again, and you can fit them in any hour of the day when you’ve got a moment to yourself.”

If you’ve spent years as a couch potato and the only exercise you’ve accomplished is with your fingers flipping TV channels, you still have time to get up, get out and get healthy. Age doesn’t matter. “If a fifty or sixty-ish year old person hasn’t worked out for many years I tell them to consult their doctor first,” says Michaels. “Then, it’s good to start out slow for the first two weeks because this is the period where injury is most likely to occur. It’s not necessarily the muscles, but the tendons that need conditioning before strenuous exercise begins. I’d love these people to get out walking and then start with very basic strength moves to create muscle memory and conditioning. Like a wall-sit, crunch, static lunge, modified push up, bicep curls, shoulder press, triceps extensions and lots of walking, in good shoes!”
Nourish Your Mind and Body with Proper Nutrition
A proper diet is also important to maintain perfect health. The foods we digest are building blocks for a healthy body and mind. “What we eat also plays an integral role in our well-being and state of general health, so it’s important we make good choices at the table” says Jody Villecco, Food and Nutrition Quality Standards Coordinator at Whole Foods Market, an Austin, Texas based natural foods chain. “One of the most important changes people could make to improve their diet is to remove trans fat containing hydrogenated fats. The majority of trans fats in the food supply are chemically altered, man-made fats called hydrogenated oils. During the hydrogenation process, less stable, unsaturated fatty acids are converted into unnatural trans fatty acids, thereby increasing shelf life and improving texture. Some scientists speculate that the body cannot use trans fatty acids in the same way as natural fats. Studies have shown that trans fatty acids raise LDL (bad) cholesterol levels while, at the same time, decreasing HDL (good) cholesterol levels that increases the risk of coronary heart disease.”  In fact, according to Villecco, trans fatty acids have a worse impact on cholesterol levels than diets high in butter, which contain saturated fat.

“To ensure that you’re eating a nutrient dense diet, add naturally colorful foods to your daily consumption,” says Villecco. “Most experts agree that the colors in foods, also known as phytochemicals, are antioxidants that compound and protect cells from free radical damage. Free radicals are highly reactive particles—induced by cigarettes, sunlight and excessive exercise—that damage cells throughout the body by triggering oxidative reactions. As a general rule, have a least three natural colors on your plate at each meal.”
What’s the skinny on vitamins?  Recent reports have stated that certain vitamins don’t have the health benefits they claim.“

Misinformation is distributed by the media about vitamins and supplements that stem from sweeping conclusions made from single studies taken out of context,” explains Villecco. “For example, many of these recent studies showing negative results for particular supplements have had limitations in the study protocols; therefore the results should not be taken as the ultimate truth.  When used appropriately, vitamins and supplements can be powerful additions to an already healthy diet. We feature vitamins and supplements that are high quality and reputable. We carefully evaluate every product we sell to make certain that they support the well being of our customers and our environment.” For those who prefer organic foods, nature is on your side. Organic foods are grown according to specific standards set by the National Organic Standards Board, which include non-use of toxic or persistent pesticides as well as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or irradiation.“

They’re grown with methods that support the health and well-being of the planet,” says Villecco. “More people are choosing organic because they’re a more wholesome choice, and believe they taste better. But, the best food to support a healthy mood is fatty fish and fish oils: Salmon, sardines, black cod, anchovies, herring and trout provide omega–3 fatty acids, which are the primary components of brain tissue and vital for a healthy mood, brain and visual development. Alternatives to eating fatty fish are fish oil supplements.”
Find Calm by Thinking in the Present
If you’re exercising and eating healthy, add yoga classes to the above fitness and nutrition program to integrate your mind, body and spirit. By staying focused in the present, you can alleviate anxiety and find inner peace in today’s fast-paced world. “The ordinary mind is restless and looking to the future or past, fantasizing and thinking, but very seldom resting in the moment,” says Stephen Cope, Director of the Institute for Extraordinary Living at the Kripalu Center, in Lenox, Mass., and the author of The Wisdom of Yoga: A Seekers Guide to Extraordinary Living, Yoga and the Quest for the True Self, and Will Yoga and Meditation Really Change my Life? “This is one of the central discoveries of yoga—the mind grasps idealized versions of reality, to reach for some idea to think of how we should be feeling in the moment. Psychologists call this the ‘ego ideal’, but we see this as the practice of being present for experience. Yoga helps the mind and body settle down. We’re often triggered into negative self-talks or anxious moments with thoughts about what might happen, catastrophic thinking, fear, or irrational ideas. They stimulate the body by increasing heart, blood pressure and breathing rates.” According to Cope, two components to anxiety exist—the cognitive (thoughts) and physiological (body). Yoga postures include breathing and meditation, and interrupt negative self-talk loops and the physiological state. “It’s a two-pronged strategy that’s very effective in attenuating anxiety,” he explains. “At the Kripalu Center (the largest residential yoga center in the country) we see approximately 25,000 guests a year in programs ranging from yoga and meditation, personal growth, professional training in yoga teaching, body work, holistic health and more. Some of our visitors haven’t had any experience with yoga and others are experienced. We welcome everyone in our programs.” The whole-approach to health and wellness has been around for centuries, and it still holds true today. By integrating nutrition, exercise, and mindful thinking, you can look your best, inside and out.

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