Fitness & Wellness

It only takes making a few changes at a time to get big results. At Habitat Health and Fitness in Lakeland, Florida, FL we help you make those changes and identify those small steps to a healthier future. It can start with getting more exercise. You don't have to become an Olympic athlete overnight. In fact, it can be as simple as walking a little further by parking at the first spot you find when you shop, rather than circling the parking lot to find the spot closest to the door. It might mean getting up and moving a bit every hour if you're at a sedentary job or taking the stairs for a floor or two rather than the elevator.

Cut back or eliminate added sugar and build from there.

You don't have to make all the changes at once, you can start by cutting back on added sugar for a day and build from there. Start with easily identified sugar, like candy bars, donuts or pastries or soft drinks. Stick with it until you have that one area conquered. If you're a true fan of cola, switching out isn't easy. Don't go for the diet substitute, since it can be just as unhealthy as the real version. Opt for water or infused water if you want a flavorful option. You don't have to give up cola entirely, limit yourself to half the amount you drink each day, then a few weeks later, cut that amount in half.

Schedule a walk every day.

Put a 30-minute walk in your schedule every day. If 30 minutes at one time is tough to schedule or you don't have the energy for that long of walk, break the time up to three ten minute sessions or start with a 15-minute walk if you're really out of shape. You can even march in place in your living room for ten minutes while you watch television. Just keep moving. You'll be surprised at how much better you start to feel. When you feel comfortable walking 30 minutes, start extending your distance, so you'll have to walk faster.

Increase the amount of vegetables you eat.

Look for ways to increase the servings of fruit and vegetables you eat each day. If you love mashed potatoes, keep them in your menu, but substitute a fourth of the potatoes with cauliflower when you boil them. Try making red potatoes and leave the skins on when you mash them. You'll still get the mashed potato taste, and even the creamy feeling of potatoes in your mouth but with more nutrients from the skins and the cauliflower. You can experiment with other additions, such as switching out regular spaghetti for spaghetti squash, add to omelets at breakfast or make smoothies with a few extra vegetables.

• Have fruits and vegetables prepared and ready for snacking in the refrigerator. Take healthy snacks with you, so you won't be tempted to grab unhealthy ones.
• Switch to whole grain bread. Just like most highly processed food, white bread contains far fewer nutrients than whole grain does. Whole grain not only adds more vitamins and minerals to your diet, but also more fiber.
• Grill or bake your food, cut out frying. You can steam or boil, too. You'll cut the calories significantly and will probably love the taste of food more. Often, it's the grease and breading that keeps us eating fried food.
• Get adequate sleep and drink plenty of water. Sleep is often neglected, yet both the body and mind need it. Lack of sleep triggers the production of the hunger hormone, making you feel more hungry and less satisfied. Drinking more water can also fill you up, while maintaining a healthy body.

For more information, contact us today at  Habitat Health & Fitness

You don't have to take a lot of time to log your workouts, but you should do it. There are a lot of reasons for doing it and a lot of ways to do it. You can keep it simple, by creating a workout schedule that includes the exercises you do each day, the number of repetitions and number of sets of each. Just duplicate that for each week and adjusting the number of reps and sets as your fitness level improves. You can also make it more informative by including measurements and weight once a week and how hard or easy the workout was, so you know when to ramp it up and make the workout harder.

You'll save time when you have a workout log.

Have you ever started to exercise and had to stop and think about what to do next or finished and realized you forgot an exercise? It happens to everyone at some time. Even if you've done a workout for a long time, it can happen. However, we don't recommend doing any workout for longer than six weeks without changing it. Having that log can remind you what to do next and how many of each exercise to do.

You can track your progress easier and ensure you make progress.

Even if you start simple, such as doing a set of ten exercises and three sets of each, you may not progress at the same rate for each type of exercise. You might find some are easier for you to do because that particular muscle group started out more toned. Increasing the difficulty by increasing the number of reps and sets becomes more difficult the more accurate you are at challenging yourself. Logging your workout helps you even on those mornings you're not quite awake.

Keeping extra notes can help you look for alternate ways to address an issue. If a regular push-up is continuously too hard, opt for an easier version, like a knee bent push-up until you're strong enough for traditional ones.

Saving those logs and periodically looking back at where you started can be a big boost no matter what your goal. If you are disappointed in your ability to do a workout or shed a pound, seeing the progress can keep you motivated.

If you switch your workouts periodically, as you should, keeping old logs can give you a go-to plan months later. You can use some or all the workout but adjust the reps and sets upward.

At Habitat Health and Fitness, we track clients for a number of reasons. One of those is to ensure the workout is giving the best results. If you're not seeing the changes you want, it's time to take it up a notch or switch out some of the exercises.

When you come to Habitat Health and Fitness in Lakeland, FL, you'll notice we focus primarily on exercise, but that doesn't mean we don't encourage people to eat healthy. That's especially true if you have a condition, such as diabetes or heart disease, which responds well to healthy eating. Many of the healthy foods are also foods that are good for your heart. They're whole foods that contain heart healthy nutrients, such as Omega3 fatty acids, magnesium, vitamin D, folic acid, CoQ10 and potassium. You don't have to have a heart condition to benefit from eating these foods, they provide other benefits, particularly for those who want to lose weight.

The American diet is too high in Omega 6 fatty acids.

The body can make all types of fatty acids but two, these are essential fatty acids and derived from foods that contain Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. The ideal ratio of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids is one part Omega 3 to four parts Omega 6. The average American diet today is one part Omega-3 to twenty-five parts Omega-6. That's bad for heart health and can also increase agitation and other problems. One study in a violent prison, showed that by increasing the amount of Omega-3 and reducing the amount of Omega-6 it cut the amount of violence in half. Sources of Omega 3 are fatty fish such as salmon, herring or flaxseeds and other seeds and nuts. They can provide heart healthy nutrition and other benefits.

Sunshine is healthy.

You might worry about getting too much sun and that's a possibility if you don't sun safely. However, the right amount of exposure to the sun is important. It helps the body create vitamin D. Vitamin D helps regulate blood pressure and provides other healthy benefits. Smart sunning may not be an option, especially on overcast days. Luckily, many foods are high in vitamin D. Egg yolks, cheese, beef liver and products fortified with vitamin D can help you get the required daily amount you need.

Are you getting enough magnesium?

If you have high blood pressure, maybe you lack magnesium. A lack of magnesium not only causes blood pressure to rise, it causes muscle cramps---which includes the heart muscle, osteoporosis, mental disorders, irregular heartbeat and asthma. What should you eat? Avocados, raw spinach, soybeans and a favorite, dark chocolate all contain magnesium.

• Eat Brussels sprouts, lentils, broccoli and asparagus to get heart healthy folic acid. It lowers homocysteine levels in the blood and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke by 20%
• Are you getting adequate fiber? Fiber not only helps you lower bad cholesterol, it also helps you lose weight, which also reduces the risk of heart disease.
• Organ meats like liver are high in CoQ10. Low levels of CoQ10 are linked to high blood pressure and heart failure.
• The more colorful the food on your plate, which means including all colors of vegetables, the healthier your heart, since different colored vegetables contain different phytonutrients. Don't forget about a program of regular exercise to boost your heart health either.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health and Fitness

There are a great deal of studies that show exercise is good for anxiety. It helps burn off the hormones of stress, reduces fatigue, improves concentration and reduces anxiety. Exercise stimulates the production of endorphins that make you feel good. It helps you sleep, which can reduce anxiety and depression. Exercise stabilizes your mood, and just five minutes of aerobic exercise can provide anti-anxiety benefits. One study shows that yoga could be a beneficial supplementary treatment for anxiety.

Studies on anxiety and depression found that yoga and other types of meditative practices can help reduce stress.

Studies on meditation and yoga for both depression and anxiety started back in the 1970s. While meditation was the preferred technique in the 70s, yoga has become more popular. Yoga uses physical poses that work the muscles, just as other types of exercise, breathing practice that helps calm and meditation. All three things can reduce stress and bring more relaxation to the body.

Sometimes the reaction to stress becomes a habit and exaggerates the more it occurs.

Chronic anxiety comes with an exaggerated stress response. Yoga can bring relief through techniques that offer self-soothing. The meditation, relaxation, expenditure of energy and even sometimes, getting together with friends can shut off the switch that increases anxiety and stress. It helps reduce perceived danger and change the mind by aiding in lowering blood pressure, heart rate and rate of respiration.

Studies show that yoga can also increase pain thresholds and increase pain tolerance.

The study used MRIs to show the area of the brain that showed a response to pain. There was more activity in people that didn't use yoga. It showed those who practiced yoga had a higher pain tolerance. The study showed that those who practiced yoga had lower pain responses. People with hypersensitivity to pain also had higher anxiety and those with lower pain response suffered from less anxiety.

• If you don't have time for a full blown exercise session, just a quick ten minute walk can be of benefit. It may be the reason that people pace when they're nervous. If you're depressed, try walking briskly for a few minutes.
• When you do yoga, you learn to relax the body. That learned technique can be important when anxiety and stress sets in and takes over thoughts. It trains you to relax.
• Yoga, like any type of exercise, can help make you strong and improve your posture. Both changes can give you more self-confidence. Building self-confidence can also help overcome anxiety.
• Whether discussing yoga or any form of exercise, there is a connection between mind and body. When you exercise, you build energy and strength, but you also make changes in the brain. It helps improve clarity of thought and boosts cognitive thinking, as well as benefiting your overall mood.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness

Are grains unhealthy? The answer is not as simple as it seems. There are all types of grains and a variety of methods to process them. Not all grains are created equally. Whole grains are not the same as refined grains when it comes to nutrition. Whole grains contain all the nutrients of the bran, germ and endosperm. The bran is the outer layer of the grain that has minerals, antioxidants and fiber. The germ has the most nutrition with protein, fats, phytonutrients and antioxidants. The endosperm, which is the biggest bulk of the grain, is just starchy carbs and a tiny amount of protein. Refined grains only contain the endosperm and none of the nutritious content of the bran and germ.

Grains can be difficult to digest because of the complex protein they contain.

While whole grains are more nutritious than processed grains, they also can contain gluten. You've probably heard of gluten and gluten intolerance. Gluten is a combination of two proteins that makes it difficult for the body to digest and causes inflammation, with potential damage to the intestines and trigger an autoimmune response. Gluten is in both whole grains and processed grains. Due to agricultural changes to increase production, gluten has increased in grains in the last few decades.

Grains can affect your body's digestion.

In order to digest food, the brain sends enzymes, which are the body's messenger or catalysts that start that process. Without those enzymes, digestion simply won't occur. Grains are seeds. Mother Nature has a beautiful plan. Built into each seed are enzyme inhibitors that prevent plants from sprouting until all conditions are right. For instance, seeds are transported by birds and pass through their system to be planted when they defecate. Sprouting inside the bird would be the death of the potential plant. While the enzyme inhibitors are good for the seed, they're bad for your system and can impede digestion.

Grains contain phytic acid.

Phytic acid occurs naturally in seeds and grains are seeds. It affects the absorption of zinc, iron and calcium in the body and is often considered an anti-nutrient, since it can cause deficiencies. Consider the effects of lowered intake of calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium and even reduce the production of digestive enzymes that help break down protein, such as pepsin, amylase and trypsin. While whole grains may have higher levels of nutrients than processed grains, it also has higher levels of phytic acid.

• Processing methods can lower the amount of phytic acid in seeds and grains and make them easier to digest.. Soaking, fermenting and sprouting can help reduce the amount of phytic acid in grains. Sour dough bread is an example of fermenting.
• The more gluten the grain contains, the harder it is to digest. Wheat and all the forms of wheat like spelt, farina, wheat berries and graham are at the top of the list, followed by rye, barley, triticale, malt and brewer's yeast.
• If you think that you have problems digesting grains, try an elimination diet. Elimination diets are the gold standard for finding allergies, food sensitivities and food intolerances.
• Avoiding grains can help with weight loss, lower inflammation, improve your microbiome, improve your cholesterol and improve nutritional uptake. However, they're a good source of fiber and many nutrients.

For more information, contact us today at Habitat Health & Fitness