Holly Mosier's Blog, page 3

10 Reasons Why Exercise is Important to the Elderly Population

At an early age, we are already encouraged to have an active lifestyle, and we are also encourage to practice that lifestyle up until we grow old. But why is exercise especially important to older adults? Provided are 10 reasons why our elderly population should make a habit of exercising regularly.

#1 Exercise helps put off osteoporosis, one of the major health problems that occur in with old age. It does so by increasing bone strength.

#2 The elderly are also prone to slips and falls. This is because we tend to lose balance and coordination as we age. However, if people were to engage in balance and strength training, this can be delayed.

#3 Later on in life, people experience vertebral disk degeneration, which affects a person’s pulmonary function. Exercise can prevent this from happening, in turn preventing deformities in the thoracic cavity that decreases our capacity to breathe effectively.

#4 Regular exercise is known to maintain good cardiovascular activity. And with a healthy heart and vascular system, one is free from heart disease, the major cause of death and disability in older adults.

#5 Another health problem that plagues us is Type Diabetes or Non Insulin-Dependent Diabetes. Engaging in aerobic exercises helps regulate glucose levels in the blood, preventing the development of diabetes.

#6 You will notice that, when we lack exercise, our body becomes less flexible. It hinders us from achieving complete range of motion. Because of that, we are unable to perform certain activities like we used to. And this can be seen especially in older adults.

#7 A lot of older adults are concerned with being a burden to their loved ones. With proper exercise, you don’t have to be as it helps you maintain good functional capacity. It also helps maintain your independence, so you will be able to continue performing your activities of daily living.

#8 Those of us who undergo strength training know that this type of exercise can increase muscle mass that increases metabolism. This is highly beneficial to the elderly since aging brings about changes in body composition and organ function which lead to the decrease of metabolism and elimination.

#9 People who exercise also get to improve their mood. They don’t get stressed out so easily, and they get to avoid feeling depressed.

#10 As people age, they begin to experience loss, and they tend to lose this sense of belongingness. It would mean the world if they were able to join exercise groups so they would be able to have the social interaction they require.

6 Ways to Boost Your Immune System

So you’ve been sick in bed for the past couple of days. In fact, you’ve been feeling under the weather a lot lately. And now you’re wondering what is wrong. It’s probably due to a weak immune system. What causes that, you may ask? Well maybe you’re not taking care of your body the way you ought to. Our immune system is a bodily system that fights against foreign substances that can affect our health, and our immunity can be compromised by factors you might not even realize. See if you experience these factors, and find out what you can do to counter its effects.

If you don’t exercise regularly…

Without regular exercise, your immune system is compromised. So try to look for a physical activity that you enjoy. Even just a 30-minute walk in the park can elevate your feel-good chemicals, like endorphins, and make you sleep better, which helps boost immunity.

If you lack sleep…

Notice how you feel weaker after a few days of not having enough sleep. That is a testament to how some shut-eye is good for your health. Researchers have yet to find out exactly how sleep affects the immune system, but studies have been showing that people with enough sleep have lower levels of stress hormones and fewer signs of inflammation in the body.

If you don’t eat a healthy diet…

Many wonder why a sugary food items are bad for them. That is because it hinders the immune system from functioning at its maximum potential. You need a healthy diet, complete with all the essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. The food pyramid wasn’t invented for nothing, you know.

If you’re a grouch…

Everyone gets stressed, but some people seem to be unable to handle it. When you’re stressed out a lot, stress hormones continue to suppress your immune system, which is why you’re always prone to sickness. It would be a good idea of you find a good way to blow off steam. Reach out to someone whom you feel you can share your problems with. If need be, sign up for counselling sessions. It also helps to laugh – genuinely laugh – because that actually minimizes a person’s stress hormone levels.

If you lack social interaction…

Speaking of reaching out to people, try not to isolate yourself. Several studies have shown that individuals develop s stronger immune system when they stay connected with family, friends and other loved ones.

The Path

Something unexpected happened to me this past year. I’m now 51, turning 52 in March. I didn’t notice it at the time, but shortly after I turned 50, my perspective began to change again, and pretty dramatically. It was a similarly life-changing paradigm shift as when I turned 40, but without the trauma. What happened? Two things. I became more interested in whether my day-to-day life was satisfying me. And I found that, without any effort on my part, I had just stopped caring what others thought of my choices. Not in a nasty, “screw you” kind of way; in an accepting, respectful “everyone is entitled to their opinion and choices” kind of way. Live and let live. No more compunction to try to persuade others to see anything my way. Just gone. RELIEF!

Is this a natural progression of simple aging? Have any of you experienced this? In any event, it feels really good. I revamped my daily life to do more of what satisfies my basic constitution. I’m a student at heart. I have a deep intellectual curiosity. I like to delve into bodies of knowledge, distill them down to useable nuggets, then share those nuggets and solutions with others. That’s what led me to write my book, “Stress Less, Weigh Less.” And that has now led me back to the active practice of law, which I am enjoying so much.

We spend most of our lives preparing for events and pushing to achieve goals. We fill our daily life with things that strain us, stress us out and tax our physical and mental health in exchange for the happiness and satisfaction we hope to feel when a goal is achieved. I did that for years. But you know what? The excitement and satisfaction with a goal achieved were always short-lived. I’d celebrate an achievement, and then start gearing up for the next in a never-ending stream of goals, constantly looking to the future. It was in this past year that I realized events and goals are not “life.” They are the flowers on the path, but they are not the path itself. I became ever so much more interested in the path. And boy, is that satisfying.

In Eastern philosophy they teach to live in the “now.” In Western culture, we are taught to live always for future goals, keeping our eye on the ball. And there is a place for that. How would we get a degree or a new job if we just floated through life, looking at the daisies? But … what if we primarily focused instead on moment-to-moment fulfillment? Isn’t the future simply more of what we live now? Have you ever seen someone have a happy ending to an unhappy journey where the happiness lasted? Can you plant apple seeds and get oranges?

This seems to be the final piece to the stress reduction puzzle. My stress levels are not just low … they are non-existent!

New 5-ingredients-or-less recipe – Holly’s Tandoori Chicken!

This is a ridiculously fast, easy, high-protein, low-calorie recipe I’ve been making for this past year. And it is delicious.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Take 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and place them in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

Blend 1 level tablespoon each of ground ginger, cumin and turmeric. Add ½ teaspoon of salt, and cayenne pepper to taste. Blend well. Sprinkle half the mixture on the chicken breasts; flip them over and sprinkle the rest.

Now here’s the shortcut: Place the baking dish (with a cover to prevent splatters) into the microwave. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, then flip the breasts over and microwave on high for another 5 minutes.

Place the dish in the oven to finish – about 10 minutes or so, but cook until the chicken is completely cooked and there is no pink in the middle. If you need to, you can always increase the time in the microwave to make sure the chicken is cooked through.

That’s it! Simple. And I think it tastes even better leftover for lunch the next day.

Love,

Holly

Harsh Effects of Stress on Your Skin

Holly was recently interviewed by Mom.me about the harsh effects stress can have on your skin. “Stress impacts aging skin in behavioral, as well as physiological ways,’ says Holly Mosier, author of Stress Less, Weigh Less.” Find out what Holly and other leading experts say about the damaging effects of stress and how to combat them.

Click here to read the full article.

Airplane Yoga: Travel Calm and Relaxed and Prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis

One of my spiritual teachers always said, “The way you go in is the way you go out.” In other words, the way you begin anything – a relationship, a business, a journey – is the way you will complete it. If you begin on a shaky foundation, you’ll find that instability infects the entire venture.

“If you establish a firm and steady foundation, that stability will govern your experience.”

For many years I resisted this concept, because very little that I engaged in was begun in a calm, steady and unhurried manner. I was usually hanging in there by the seat of my pants. Yet after more than a decade of hearing her repeated sage advice, I finally capitulated. She was right; I proved it. It is impossible to have a happy ending to an unhappy journey. It is better to slow down and be more mindful and thoughtful right at the start.

Now I won’t rush into anything, including travel. You know that anxiety you feel before you leave for a trip? Like there are too many things to do before you go, and there is a chance you’re going to leave important stuff undone? I found much of that quelled when I packed at least two days before departure. Calm, unrushed and steady, it sets the tone for the trip. Of course, my mother has done that for years, but I always thought I was too busy to pack days in advance. I finally got sick of those strained, sleepless nights before departures, so I made time for Mom’s method. Now I sleep well the night before, and that sense of calm well-being accompanies me from the start.

But that is just the start. Plane flights, particularly those lasting more than a few hours, can cause sluggishness, stiffness and in some rare cases, deep vein thrombosis. Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is a dangerous condition in which a blood clot forms in a deep vein (usually in the legs). This clot can break off and lodge elsewhere, like your lungs, blocking blood flow. DVT can develop with lengthy sitting, as in long plane or car trips. A way to help avoid it is to move around. According to the Centers for Disease Control, on flights more than four hours long, we should avoid crossing our legs for long periods and drink plenty of water. The best way to prevent DVT, however, is to get up and move every couple of hours.

I have my plane travel routine down pat, and I’ll share it with you. This routine never fails to deliver me to my destination relaxed, happy and healthy.

“It starts in the airport terminal. I never sit and wait to board my flight.  I try to move right up until the time I have to sit on the plane.”

An easy way to stay moving is to simply walk the terminal. I’ll do a few laps, then stop and do a few modified yoga moves to keep me limber and ward off stiffness.  I start with a standing forward fold to stretch my hamstrings and lower back. To do this, slowly bend forward from the hips, and clasp your elbows, allowing your head to hang. Take a few 4-Count breaths (breathe in through your nose to the count of four, exhale through your nose to the count of four). Let the weight of your arms and head gently stretch your hamstrings and lower back. On an inhale, slightly bend your knees, and slowly come up to standing.

I follow this with a modified back bend. Stand up straight with your feet hip distance apart. Inhale as you reach your arms overhead and lean back, into a mild, modified back bend. Take a few deep 4-Count breaths. This opens the chest and stretches the hip flexors (which tend to tighten up with lengthy sitting). On an exhale, slowly bring your arms back down to your sides and your spine back to neutral.

After I do this modified yoga routine, I walk some more.

Once I am on the plane, every 60 to 90 minutes, I’ll get up and walk the aisles a bit, then go to the back of the plane and do my forward fold and mild standing back bend as I described above. When I return to my seat, I do my easy, stress relieving 3-minute yoga sequence for office workers and sedentary people. This feels terrific. Here’s what you do:

1) We start with an inversion. Inversions bring the head below the heart, and are believed to restore calm very quickly. Scoot your hips to the back of the seat. With your feet on the floor, fold forward, clasp your elbows and allow your head to simply hang for a few deep 4-Count breaths. Slowly come back up.

2) Next, we move into a mild back bend. Back bends open the chest and elevate mood. Scoot your hips forward a bit on the seat. Place your hands flat on the chair seat next to your hips, then extend up through the spine as you slightly arch back. Remain here for a few 4-Count breaths.

3) We end with twists. Twists are good for spine mobility, and are believed to “wring out” emotion and tension. Move your hips to the back of the seat. We first twist to the right. Sitting up straight, place your right hand on the arm rest, and your left hand on your outer right thigh. Inhale, and extend up through your spine; exhale and gently twist toward the right. Inhale and extend up through the spine again; exhale and continue to twist to the right. Repeat this pattern until you have reached your maximum twist that you can do with comfort, then remain here for a few deep 4-Count breaths. Repeat on the left.

Give my plane routine a try on your next flight. I’m betting you’ll feel the same way I do when I travel on long flights – relaxed, calm, happy and without that stiff, sluggish feeling that used to plague me on travel days.

All Calories are not Created Equal: Eat Low-Glycemic to Lose Weight Without Deprivation!

A new study out of Boston Children’s Hospital confirmed what I have long suspected:

“All calories are not created equal.”

Calories from certain types of foods promote weight gain, while calories from other types of foods support weight loss. Oh yeah, I am loving this! Let me tell you why, and how we can easily take advantage of this.

Here’s how it works: There is no magic bullet. You must burn more calories than you take in each day to lose weight. But the source of the calories makes a difference in how many calories you burn per day.

The study’s researchers formed three test groups. Each group was given a different diet. One group was assigned a high-protein diet modeled on the Atkins diet. A second group was given a traditional low-fat diet. The last group was given a low-glycemic diet, focusing on lower-starch and lower-sugar foods.

The results? The Atkins-type diet group burned 300 calories per day more than those who consumed a traditional low-fat diet. In the middle of these two is the low-glycemic dieters, who burned about 125 more calories per day than the low-fat dieters.

Though, before you jump on the Atkins diet, consider this: Although the high-protein group burned the most calories, they also had an increase of stress hormones and inflammation markers. And have you tried Atkins? I did years ago and it is a miserable way to live. All carb-ridden goodies are omitted, from wine to chips to frozen yogurt. Anything with significant carbs is verboten. That means deprivation, and deprivation means one thing: it is only a matter of time before we go for the muffins.

The low-glycemic plan is healthy, and it is the way I have eaten for the past six years (and part of what I teach in my book, Stress Less, Weigh Less). The focus is on fresh, non-processed foods that help keep blood sugar levels steady: non-starchy fruits and veggies, whole grains, low-fat dairy and lean proteins. It allows for a higher-glycemic glass of wine, or some chips, or an occasional cupcake here and there. Essentially, you minimize the “white” foods: white bread, rice, pastas, cakes, cookies; all those highly-processed carbs that spike your blood sugar and cause that “crash and burn” syndrome we are all familiar with.

With the low-glycemic approach, you burn more calories at rest than a low-fat diet, but you don’t have to give up all the foods that make life fun, like you do on the high-protein Atkins-type diet. Enjoying all types of foods in an intelligent way means you won’t feel deprived, and you’ll be happy to eat this way the rest of your life. That takes you off the diet rollercoaster for good. And, there are still more benefits: the low-glycemic diet is a very healthy diet. It promotes reduction in inflammation and stress hormones, and it also supports heart health.

But the best part about it? It’s easy, and you feel terrific, energetic and vital!

 

Stay Fit While You Travel, It’s Easier Than You Think – Part Two

Last week, I shared my easy, tried-and-true guidelines for exercising while you travel, so you can maintain your fitness while you explore the world.  But I believe, as do many health experts, that the way we eat has a much greater impact on our health, vitality and weight.  We can skip formal exercise for a week or two, and just get in some basic walking, and that is fine.  But for me, if I overeat or eat the wrong foods for even a day, I pay for it!  Not only in weight gain, but frankly, I feel lethargic and lousy.  That’s no way to enjoy a trip.

Here are my go-to rules for eating out, whether on vacation or at home.  These are universal rules; they’ll work for you anytime, anywhere.  They even served me very well when I was in India, and I didn’t even always know what I was eating!

•  As soon as you sit down, drink a glass of water.  It will begin to fill your stomach and allow you to make your selections without being quite as hungry.

•  Order a hot beverage, or a low- or no-calorie beverage, with your meal. This helps fill you up with few or no additional calories.  I almost always order tea with my meals, and I always eat less when I do.

•  Wine and other alcoholic beverages count as starch. If you order one, substitute the starch (bread, potato, rice, corn or peas) in your meal with low-glycemic vegetables (like broccoli, bell peppers, zucchini, cauliflower, or green beans).

•  Share a meal, or order an appetizer as your main course.  If I am not sharing a meal, I ask for a “to go” box before the meal is even served.  I put half the food in there as soon as it arrives.  Out of sight, out of mind!

•  Order the simplest foods on the menu:  baked, broiled, grilled, poached, roasted, stir-fried, or steamed entrées with the fewest sauces and other extras.  If there are no simple dishes on the menu, order all sauces, gravies, creams and oils on the side.  That way, you can add just a little for flavor without loading up on extra calories.

•  Use these portion guidelines:

•  Half of your fist – that’s your starch or carb portion

•  The palm of your hand – that’s your lean protein portion

•  Stick out your thumb – that’s the portion for fat, including cheese (Make sure to cut off all visible fat, as there can be a lot of hidden fats in restaurant foods.  Remove the skin from chicken, and cut away visible fat from a steak.)

There is nothing better than coming back from a trip, having fully enjoyed the food and the culture, but without gaining a pound.  These guidelines always work for me, and they will work for you, too. Bon voyage!

 

Stay Fit While You Travel, It’s Easier Than You Think – Part One

I love the summer travel season.  Whether I’m taking a road trip, or flying to a new city to explore, I’m like a little kid anticipating a visit to an amusement park.

We’re getting ready to do our annual white-water rafting trip with our kids at the Kern River in California.  It’s a two-day jaunt down some pretty big rapids.  Talk about an easy way to stay fit while you travel!  But what about trips and vacations that don’t include physical adventures, or that isn’t your cup of tea?  No worries. I have found that maintaining my fitness is more challenging when traveling, but it’s actually more fun if you keep an open mind.

This week and next, I’m going to share my tried-and-true guidelines with you, so you can enjoy your travels fully and come home feeling refreshed and happy, without that let-down and bloat we frequently feel on return.

Opt Out: This is my number one rule for travel, and life .

Do what I call “Opt Out” and gracefully decline to cram too many activities into each day.  Build a buffer of space for some downtime, I promise you will not regret it.  This keeps stress levels down and allows you to really enjoy your trip at a more leisurely pace.  You’ll come home feeling rested and refreshed, rather than needing another vacation.

Bring Along Some Easy Fitness Tools:

I am much more likely to do some exercise when I travel if the tools to do so are handy.  I’ll use a hotel gym (If one is available).  But sometimes there isn’t a gym, or I don’t want to take the time to do a gym workout.  That’s why I always pack a pedometer, jump rope and resistance bands (those rubber tubes with handles on each end).  These are all lightweight and easy to pack for traveling, and I can do some quick and effective exercise without feeling like I’ve wasted my vacation time at the gym.  Here’s what I do:

•  To maintain cardio fitness, if I am feeling energetic, I’ll jump rope for 15 to 20 minutes.  I’ll jump at a slow pace for a few minutes, then do a faster pace for 30 seconds, then slow back down for a few minutes, then repeat the pattern.  This altering a fast and slow pace is called “interval cardio” and it is extremely effective to maintain cardio fitness in less time.

•  If I am not feeling as energetic, or I have a lot of sight-seeing to do, I’ll clip on my pedometer and aim to walk a total of 10,000 steps that day. I am always surprised at how effortless this is to do in new surroundings.  There are so many walking tours in cities now, and they are easy to find on the Internet.  Sometimes I’ll take a taxi or subway for part of the way, then get out and walk again. I have been able to cover vast areas of cities doing this, and I always feel like I really learned about a place when I have walked it and experienced the sights and sounds up close.

•  Those are my tools to maintain my exercise when I travel.  But I believe that what and how we eat plays a major role in our health, vitality and overall fitness.  Next week, I’ll share my guidelines for eating in restaurants.  Stay tuned!

To keep my muscles toned, sometimes I’ll use the resistance bands for 10 or 15 minutes, followed by some abdominal exercises (crunches, planks …).  On days I don’t use the resistance bands, I’ll do one of my 10-minute yoga routines (I give three of these routines in my DVD, 10-Minute Yoga with Holly Mosier).  I particularly like these quick yoga sequences, because they not only tone and stretch my muscles (which feels terrific after a flight), they quickly calm and center me.

Should We Let A Barbie Doll Stress Us Out?

I don’t think we appreciate how much stress robs us of joy, and causes everything from illness to weight gain to depression.  I know I didn’t, until I turned 40 eleven years ago and crashed and burned.  I was a medical malpractice trial lawyer, newly remarried, trying to blend a family, and failing miserably.  I was gaining weight, losing energy, and sick all the time.  The stress was literally sucking my life away.

I spent the next five years researching stress and its debilitating effects on our bodies and minds.  I developed stress reduction tools that I could easily incorporate into my typically busy Western life.  It was like magic.  My body and my life reformed in every aspect.  I lost weight, I gained vitality, and the happiness I had as a kid returned.  It has never left.

One of the most helpful things that reduced my stress was when I realized that I could choose the way I viewed things.  There is always a happy perspective or a stressful perspective we can take on anything.  A happy perspective makes life fun; the other brings more stress, strain and unhappiness.

Here is a great example of this dynamic at work.  As reported a few days ago in DietsInReview.com in an article entitled “Yoga Teacher Barbie Bends Children’s Advocates Out of Shape,” apparently a controversy is brewing over Mattel’s latest Barbie – Yoga Teacher Barbie.  The reporter called to ask my opinion on this doll (I am a yoga teacher, and I have a yoga DVD out).  I read a description and saw the photo of the doll.  I thought it was cute, and pretty cool that very young girls would be exposed to yoga and fitness.

However, there were others who were disgusted by the doll.   One reviewer stated there was “… something about seeing that sickly-proportioned doll’s foot behind her head just makes me cringe. As if the stereotypes of yoga weren’t bad enough already, now kids are implicitly being taught that yoga teachers look like a big-headed Pam Anderson.”   Another reviewer “…blasts Mattel for Barbie’s long-argued position as a role model given that ‘she’s still sporting a bust-waist-hip proportion that’s physically impossible for real-life women to attain, let alone maintain an active lifestyle with.’”

A doll can cause this much stress and strain?  Why?  Why not focus on the positive aspects, and feel good?  What’s the harm in that?  As I told the reporter, “…anything that exposes kids to knowledge about yoga can be positive … Why not focus on the positive aspects? Barbie is going to be around anyway.”

 

Yoga Teacher Barbie – What is your take?

Apparently there is a controversy brewing about the new Yoga Teacher Barbie . . . Diets In Review, a popular health and wellness site, writes:

“Does controversy exist on its own or do we wait until the media tells us that we need to get hot and bothered about something?

Either way, the latest catalyst for consumer outrage is the new Yoga Teacher Barbie. She’s part of an exclusive line of Barbies in the “I Can Be…” series from Mattel and you can only find her in Target stores. The series isn’t new. Back in 2010, the brand ran an online voting competition to choose two Barbies for the series. The winners were a news anchor and computer engineer. The whole idea, according to Barbie.com, is to “ignite a national movement to inspire girls.” Who wouldn’t want to get on board with that?

Apparently it takes a twisty-legged, spandex-dressed doll to stir up a little unnecessary controversy. Just in time for the election year and the Olympics, the “I Can Be” series also includes a president and a tennis track star, swimmer, and gymnast. But it’s the yoga teacher that’s got people bent out of shape. . . .”

To read the rest of the article and add your opinion to the Diets in Review article, click here.

And as always we would love to hear your thoughts on the subject so send us an email at hello@hollymosier.com or simply comment on this post.