It is truly amazing how quickly we can dissipate our energy! It takes a lot of discipline and commitment to keep our body running at top condition, when we are working around the clock and maintaining our home and family. But, we only have one body, and if we do not take care of it, where will we live?
Now 56, I have focused the past several years on making sure I take care of my body every day. I started doing this because cancer runs in my family. On my father’s side, every one of his siblings and all my cousins are suffering from some type of cancer, discovered by the time they turned 40. I refuse to let that happen to me! Seven years ago I suffered from allergies, migraines, restless leg syndrome, chronic constipation, sleepless nights, bad skin and was 24 lbs overweight. I had very little energy and was fast becoming a “couch-potato”. My body had gone from a svelte size 8 to a pudgy size 12 and I could not see how to reverse the trend. Then, I learned about nutrition and how important it is in maintaining our energy and health. I applied what I learned and today I am a size 8 again and have unlimited energy!
Every day you can take steps to maintain your energy, and achieve optimal health in the process. Here are some things to be careful about:
- Caffeine: Caffeine is an artificial stimulant which can disturb your sleep cycle and also acts as a diuretic, depleting the body of its necessary moisture and lubrication. Try to drink only two cups a day, and always before 1 p.m. The best sources of caffeine are from green and white teas, which have the highest level of antioxidants. Keep your caffeine consumption at no more than 100 mg a day. Ask me for a free sheet on the caffeine counts in many beverages.
- High-Glycemic, Processed Sugar and Starch-y Foods: These foods give you a quick boost of energy but then crash you down and you just crave more. You end up eating too much of the bad foods and missing out on important energy-sustaining nutrients in healthier foods. You can even create a problem and become diabetic by eating too many of these foods on a daily basis, over several years. What are these foods? Potatoes, rice, pasta, white bread, cake, cookies, processed cereals. Good sugars are found in fruit and are called fructose. Fructose metabolizes more slowly than sucrose and glucose, and does not spike your blood sugar. A safe form of sugar is Stevia, which has no calories but is a natural sugar and safe for the body. Ask me for a list of the glycemic index counts for different foods, and a great cookbook on Low-Glycemic Cooking.
- Too Little Water: Not drinking enough water depletes the organs and the brain and you will feel tired, sluggish and may even develop headaches. The average person needs to drink half their weight in ounces of water a day! More if you are exercising and sweat a lot. Water also flushes the toxins from the skin and respiratory system. Not drinking enough water can make allergies worse!
- Too Little Sleep: Studies show that we need to have at least 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep a night. Without this, our body does not have enough deep sleep, which makes us tired and sluggish in the morning. Plus, the body does its repairs at night and if it does not have enough time then the cells degenerate, which leads to disease. People find that if they add minerals to their regimen, they will sleep better. Ask me what I take every night that lets me sleep straight through and wake refreshed!
- Not Enough Healthy Calories: If you are trying to lose weight, you may think you need to cut back on your food. But, if you cut back on the critical building-blocks such as protein, good fats, good sugar, carbs and fiber, you will actually send the body into starvation mode. This means your body will hoard whatever you give it and pack it onto your stomach! You need to eat balanced meals, at least 4 small ones a day. I have a great system that trains you to do this.
- Too Little Exercise: Lack of exercise creates multiple problems -- muscles deterioriate, fat accumulates, energy dissipates and you just basically feel crappy! The body is built to move, and to move every day! Make sure you get at least 45 minutes of exercise a day -- 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, which can include a brisk 30-minute walk, plus 15 minutes of strength-training with weights or pilates. Yoga is good for flexibility.
- Lack of Good Fats: We need good fats for our brain, nervous system and joints. Good fats are the Omega-3s, found in cold-water fish such as salmon and tuna, avocadoes, walnuts, flaxseed and olive oil.
- Lack of Enough Vitamins and Minerals – The old adage “you are what you eat” has never been more true than today. Our bodies are so deprived of essential nutrients that there is more incidence of allergies, asthma, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, cancer, heart disease and other degenerative diseases than in any time in history. Our food is depleted of nutrients, picked too soon and left in cold-storage. A tomato today has only 1/10th of the vitamins and minerals as one from 50 years ago! In a recent article in More magazine, Dr. Pamela Smith, M.D. of the Crittenton Hospital in Rochester Hills, Michigan, says: “Nutrition becomes more important overall, but we can’t get enough of everything we need from food, so supplements become important in bridging the gap.”
How important are vitamins and supplements? Consider this: very few women get enough vitamin D3 today, and it is a key link to preventing breast cancer. 2000 IU of Vitamin D3 a day will cut the risk of breast cancer in half. B-complex vitamins provide energy, but it is very difficult to get the full spectrum every day. Co-Quinone enzyme is critical for energy, and is the nutrient that powers every cell, yet we cannot get it from food and our body produces much less of it once we turn 27. Putting the right group of supplements together and then taking all of them every day can be a real drain, but is critical to our long-term health, and to maintaining our energy.
By now you are probably thinking, "This is too hard!" "How am I going to do all this every day?" Well, I took the easy way out. I decided I could streamline the process and started the Energy Unlimited Team of Usana Health Sciences. We offer health products that will help you feel and look your best. I have experienced great results in terms of new energy and stamina, so much so that, at 56, I feel like I am 30 again! Plus I have lost and kept off those pesky extra 20 pounds that arrived once I turned 40.
You can take steps to keep your body as healthy as possible and have energy to burn. Make a promise to build the best body you can, and keep it strong. You will have it to live in for the rest of your life! I would love to be of service to you in helping you determine the best strategy to reach your optimal energy levels. Please contact me at: 650-400-2612; deb@energyunlimited.biz and see my web-site: www.energyunlimited.usana.com.
Be Lean! Be Clean! Be Strong!
