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Be Your Own Project

Be Your Own Project

Published by on February 10, 2025 | Leave a response

Your project or goal for the year can include anything from finishing the family room to increasing your income. That doesn’t mean you can’t add one more. Getting fitter should be a top priority. Whether you need to improve your endurance, build strength, or improve your balance or flexibility, accomplishing your goal should be a top priority. It affects all other areas of your life. You won’t achieve your fitness life goals if you don’t have the energy or strength.

Start by identifying your goal.

Identifying your goal is vital to achieving it. If you want to remodel a room, you need a vision of the outcome. It’s important to have a specific goal to create the direction of your efforts. If your goal is to lose weight, it should be a precise amount of weight. Once you determine that, you can start breaking your big goal into smaller ones that are easier to achieve. If the goal is to lose 20 pounds, a realistic goal is to lose one to two pounds weekly.

Now determine how you’ll achieve PROJECT YOU.

Continuing to use weight loss as an example, a program of exercise and a healthy diet are two ways of achieving it. Putting exercise on your schedule and consistently doing it is a start. Eating healthier, not necessarily dieting, should be a top priority for a weight loss goal. A healthy body starts in the kitchen. Eating healthy isn’t dieting. It’s making smart choices when you eat. It’s choosing whole food and limiting highly processed food or food with added sugar.

You need to be consistent and track your results.

Consistency is the key to success. Methods to help you become more consistent include scheduling workouts, meal planning, and tracking your workout. Using a personal trainer can help you stay on track. The trainer will hold you accountable for exercising and meet with you regularly. The trainer also tracks your workout. If you don’t have a trainer, you should track your progress. It turns it into a game. It can be as simple as using notes on your phone to track the number of repetitions or as elaborate as following a meal planning program.

  • Each week is a new start when you have a goal. If you missed your goal one week, don’t quit. It may be a setback, but it’s not a failure unless you quit. Each week is a new start for Project You.
  • You can choose any fitness program you desire, but it should be balanced and contain endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility workouts. You need all types of fitness.
  • If you want to look younger, improve your complexion, or lift your mood, diet and regular exercise should be part of your program of development.
  • If you don’t care enough about yourself to be your project, who will? Your health and fitness should be your top priority if you care for others. If you’re sick, nobody will be there to care for them.

For more information, contact us today at Team-ISC

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How To Perform A Perfect Squat

How To Perform A Perfect Squat

Published by on January 25, 2025 | Leave a response

Proper form is vital when you’re exercising. It’s right up there with consistency. Your form should be perfect. Bad form can minimize benefits and cause injury. Squats are the gold standard of exercises, but to benefit, you must do them correctly. You’re working large muscle groups in your legs and core, so you boost nitric oxide intake that helps widen blood vessels and lower blood pressure. You’re also improving your functional fitness, which is critical for seniors. This exercise can improve your ability to get out of chairs, get in and out of cars, and rise after toileting.

Focus on your starting position.

Like following almost any set of directions, if you mess up the first step, none of the other steps will be correct. Start by holding your trunk straight with your head up, looking forward. Keep your shoulders relaxed, holding them back. Your spine should have a slight curve. Bending your head forward or backward diminishes the benefits of the exercise. Keep your spine in this neutral position throughout the exercise. When you bend to lower yourself, bend at the hips. It should remain that way throughout the exercise.

Lower your body.

The key to the perfect squat is maintaining your back’s neutral position. Find a spot on the wall and look at it to help you do that. Keep your heels on the floor as you lower your body and distribute your weight evenly between the balls of your feet and your heels. Your butt should be pushed outward as you do it. Keep your knees lined with your feet, not ahead of them, when you’re in full squat position. When your hips are lower than your knees, it’s time to push through your heels to bring your body back up.

The placement of your feet determines the muscles you work.

The distance between your feet and whether they’re pointing outward, inward, or forward changes the muscles you work. You can start working on other squat styles once you master the basics. If you do a sumo squat, start with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart. Your toes should be pointed outward at a 45-degree angle. Dip deeply until your thighs are parallel to the floor. A plié is similar, but your stance is slightly narrower. You lower your body slowly. The plié works adductors more than the sumo.

  • Weak thighs can cause your knees to move inward during a squat. That stresses the knee joint and ligaments and may cause injury. Only lower it to the point where you feel discomfort.
  • Squeeze your glutes and breathe out as you rise. Breathe in as you lower your body, tightening your core muscles. Don’t try variations or adding weights until you have your form perfected.
  • Squats are compound exercises. Compound exercises burn more calories than isolation exercises since they work more muscles, joints, and ligaments. They’re beneficial for people trying to lose weight.
  • If you can’t do a regular squat because of hip or knee problems, do a wall squat. Stand tall with your back against the wall. Slide your feet out 12 inches from the wall.

For more information, contact us today at Team-ISC

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New Year's Resolutions To Better Your Health

New Year’s Resolutions To Better Your Health

Published by on January 10, 2025 | Leave a response

It’s a good time in Sacramento, CA, to make changes that prolong your life. You can make New Year’s resolutions to do that, even if you didn’t start at the stroke of midnight. That’s because resolutions are nothing more than a goal for the coming year. Many people focus on achieving better health and building energy or losing weight. Feeling good and boosting your energy is the best place to start. That extra energy improves your physical ability to tackle other goals. You don’t have to change everything at once. You can start with one or two smaller goals.

You can resolve to lower your blood pressure, lose weight, or accomplish other health-related issues.

Identify the most important factor preventing you from becoming your healthiest and then create a goal to solve the problem. Create a plan to achieve that. If your problem is obesity, exercising regularly, healthy eating, and getting adequate sleep should be part of the plan. If you aren’t ready to tackle all those things at once, start with the one that makes the most difference. In this case, it’s making dietary changes. Opt for a diet containing more whole foods and a variety of vegetables and fruit. You can add exercise and a sleep schedule later as a healthier diet becomes a habit.

Start with smaller changes.

Not everyone is ready to tackle their biggest problems but willing to commit to smaller ones. If you want to lose weight, try mindful eating. You don’t change much, but it does make a big difference in your weight. You eat slower and focus on the taste, texture, and pleasure of each bite, chewing it thoroughly until it’s nothing but liquid. It slows food consumption, so your stomach can signal the brain it’s full sooner. You also decide with each bite whether it’s satisfying or not.

Get adequate sleep.

When you burn the candle at both ends, you’re not doing yourself any favors. Not everyone needs eight hours of sleep. Some people need more, while others need less. You need more sleep if you feel tired and dragged out the next day. Adequate sleep is good for your heart. It also helps maintain the balance of the hunger/satiety hormones. Lack of sleep causes you to produce more ghrelin, the hunger hormone.

  • Frequent hydration keeps you healthy and boosts your energy. In seniors, slight dehydration can cause symptoms resembling dementia.
  • Switch out soft drinks for water. If you drink two non-diet colas a day, you could lose 1.7 pounds a month or 20 pounds a year. Don’t switch to diet colas. Studies show it may increase waist circumference.
  • Focusing on walking faster can also improve your fitness without much effort. You can also increase activity by parking further from the store and walking or taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
  • If regular exercise is your goal, schedule it at the same time each day as you would an appointment. It helps it become a habit, which is harder to change. Always check with your healthcare professional before starting a diet or exercise program.

For more information, contact us today at Team-ISC

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Stress Hormones In Health

Stress Hormones In Health

Published by on December 25, 2024 | Leave a response

It might be a traffic jam in Sacramento, CA, that triggered the flow of stress hormones or your boss screaming or baby crying. It might seem insignificant, but each stressful situation triggers hormones that negatively affect your health. It’s part of the fight-or-flight response that prepares you for battle or to run. If you don’t do either, it can cause your blood pressure to rise, your body to accumulate abdominal fat or a plethora of other health issues that lead to far more serious conditions.

Stress hormones could save your life.

If you’re attacked by a wild animal or fight off a mugger, your flight-or-fight response is triggered. In those cases, it can help you survive. Unfortunately, other stressful situations trigger your flight-or-fight response, like an angry spouse or people cutting in line ahead of you. Those situations build up and can lead to serious health issues. The hormones released increase your blood pressure and heart rate. It increases the blood flow to the extremities. It causes the airways to widen in the lungs and increases oxygen consumption. Blood glucose levels rise, digestion slows or ceases, and you’re more alert.

If you don’t burn off stress hormones, it can lead to serious conditions.

Stress hormones like cortisol make the changes that affect most of the body. If you don’t burn them off and there are chronically high levels, it can lead to conditions like digestive issues, high blood pressure, weight gain, heart disease, headaches, heart attack, muscle pain, stroke, and impaired immune functioning. It can lead to mental issues like sleep problems, depression, anxiety, and problems with concentration and memory.

Exercise mimics running or fighting.

Pushing your body by exercising can burn off stress hormones and return your body to normal. It also enables the body to get stronger and handle stress better. If you’ve had digestive issues and started an exercise program, you may find those problems disappear. Cortisol is one stress hormone. People with high cortisol levels may have issues with a slower metabolism and where the body stores fat. The hormone causes visceral fat to be stored in the abdomen. Visceral fat is the most difficult type to lose and the most dangerous. It crowds vital organs like the heart or lungs.

  • One study estimated that over three-fourths of doctor visits come from illnesses caused by stress. It explains why exercise helps lower blood pressure, improve digestion, reduce depression, and improve cognitive functioning.
  • Besides exercising, learning mental stress control techniques can also help. Meditation and deep breathing techniques are two of those ways. Practicing those techniques can prevent stress from building.
  • Exercise helps you sleep better. Part of the reason is that it burns off stress hormones that cause sleep-related issues. When you sleep, your body repairs itself, and your brain reorganizes. It improves your immunity.
  • Stress can cause premature aging and lead to periodontal disease and tooth grinding. It can affect your vision and skin and lead to DNA damage. Stress shortens telomeres that protect the cell’s chromosomes.

For more information, contact us today at Team-ISC

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The Best And Worst Low-Carb Foods

The Best And Worst Low-Carb Foods

Published by on December 10, 2024 | Leave a response

Low-carb diets are popular. However, it takes more than just counting carbs to eat healthy. Not all low-carb foods are healthy. If you utilize that type of diet, you need to include the best low-carb foods and avoid the worst ones. Your body needs carbohydrates for energy so they should be part of everyone’s diet. It’s all about making the smartest choices that provide the most nutrition yet help you maintain or lose weight.

Eliminate the worst low-carbohydrate foods first.

You’ve probably already found the new low-carb snacks that mimic their high-carbohydrate counterparts. They sound pretty enticing. Who wouldn’t love the taste of forbidden sweets without the high carbohydrate count? Step away from the low-carb treats. They shouldn’t be in your diet. The sugar is replaced with sugar alcohol that doesn’t contain carbs but causes digestive issues and inflammation. New studies show they may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. They contain vegetable oils that cause inflammation, and most contain little nutritional benefit. Processed meat is another unhealthy, yet low-carbohydrate option.

The best low-carbohydrate foods provide a wealth of nutrients.

You may already know the answer to the best options. It’s most whole foods. Chicken, beef, and fish are high in protein and contain no carbohydrates. They’re healthy and should be part of your diet. Cucumbers, celery, and peppers are lower in carbs and also high in fiber and other nutrients. They’re another good addition to a low-carbohydrate diet. You’ll find a wealth of low-carb vegetables in the produce section of the grocery. If it’s grown above the ground, like broccoli, cauliflower, and kale, it’s a healthy low-carb addition. You have to be more careful when choosing root vegetables. Potatoes, for instance, are not a low-carb vegetable.

Don’t be fooled by “healthy” food.

Food options like protein bars aren’t necessarily healthy. Some are little more than candy bars with maybe a small addition of protein and a fancy wrapper. Check the wrapper for ingredients and nutritional information. If you want a protein bar for a post-workout snack, choose one with collagen, almond butter, or coconut oil. Avoid ones with additives you can’t pronounce. They can trigger inflammation.

  • Beware of processed meals you heat and eat. Many of these prepackaged meals contain saturated fat or trans fat. You can plan meals for the week, cook them all one day, and just heat and serve them at mealtime.
  • Just say no to diet soft drinks, even if they are low-carb. New studies show sugar substitutes in diet drinks can cause inflammation and lead to a larger waistline due to visceral fat.
  • If you want a snack that is easy to transport, pack individual-serving-size bags of nuts. Brazil nuts, pecans, and macadamia nuts are lower in carbs. Cashews and pistachios are higher.
  • Eat dark chocolate if you want a sweet treat that will feel decadent. It should be at least 70% cacao and sweetened with a natural sweetener like stevia. Dark chocolate is lower in carbs but not carb-free, so eat it sparingly.

For more information, contact us today at Team-ISC

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Mobility And Flexibility In Fitness

Mobility And Flexibility In Fitness

Published by on November 25, 2024 | Leave a response

At first, you may imagine that seniors in Sacramento, CA, are only affected by lack of flexibility and impaired mobility. That’s not true. Mobility is how easily the joints function. Flexibility is about the muscles. Flexibility is vital to everyone’s fitness, especially athletes. Lack of flexibility can cause injuries that diminish mobility. Diminished mobility can also reduce flexibility. As with most things regarding your physical health and well-being, it’s all interrelated.

Whether you’re mobile or have limitations, flexibility is vital.

What is flexibility? Flexibility is having muscles capable of moving joints in different directions with ease. You can bend, reach, or stretch with ease. That ability improves your range of motion, reduces injury risks, and benefits your posture. Flexibility training helps elongate the muscles and can improve the movements of people with mobility issues. If your range of motion is enhanced, you’re less likely to pull a muscle and can improve movement, so it’s less limited.

Mobility issues may limit your flexibility training, but they shouldn’t.

One reason people go to physical therapy after an injury is to build strength and flexibility. If a joint has been immobile, the muscles are weak, and the range of motion is limited. That doesn’t mean mobility issues should stop flexibility exercises. There are workouts to improve flexibility available for people with limited mobility. Some may require the help of others. Stretching every morning when you first awaken is a start.

That groan you make getting out of a chair may be due to lack of either.

Lack of flexibility is obvious if you feel sharp back pains bending over to tie your shoes. Lack of mobility is equally obvious when attempting to do a deep squat. Some mobility issues can be avoided with flexibility training. If you keep your muscles looser, they don’t restrict the movements of the joints. Flexibility exercises prevent injury during strength training. You need strength training to build muscles and tendons to reduce joint pressure. They move more easily, preventing mobility problems.

  • Before you start any workout, do warm-up exercises. They’re usually dynamic stretches that lengthen the muscles and increase circulation. After exercising, do static stretches. The muscle is warm and loose, so it’s a good time to improve its range of motion.
  • The older you are, the more important flexibility training becomes. It helps improve balance and reduces the risk of falls. Flexibility training improves posture, which affects all areas of your health.
  • Strength training can also improve flexibility and mobility. Any time you elongate your muscles, you’re improving flexibility. Doing a squat is one example, as long as you perform it in the full range of motion.
  • Stretch therapy is painless and can improve both mobility and flexibility. It focuses on the muscles that need extra attention to help you move easier, reduce pain, and increase the range of motion.

For more information, contact us today at Team-ISC

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Aging Gracefully And Staying Active

Aging Gracefully And Staying Active

Published by on November 10, 2024 | Leave a response

Aging gracefully is always better than alternatives. You look your best and face the future with optimism and joy. It’s about staying active and fit, enjoying the company of others, and exuding a spirit of happiness for all that life has to offer. Instead of being the cranky old man or woman who yells, “Get off my lawn.” You enjoy the company of others and welcome people into your life. Many things affect how well you age. You can’t control all those variables, but you can control some. When you gracefully grow old, you focus on the things you can control.

What you eat makes a big difference.

If your primary sustenance is junk food, you may not age gracefully. You might know someone who doesn’t eat healthy but still looks fantastic and robust. Life isn’t always fair. Those people may have exceptional genes, eat healthier in private, or have other factors that maintain their youth. For most people, focusing on good nutrition can help you stay fitter. It provides the necessary nutrients for good health and improved immunity. A healthy diet helps prevent obesity, which leads to serious conditions and makes you look and feel older.

Staying active plays a major role in mental and physical fitness.

Staying mentally and physically active is necessary for graceful aging. Mental activity keeps you sharp and interesting. It helps promote a healthy social life. Studies show that people who have a good social life live longer. Staying active physically keeps your body and mind stronger. It helps lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of diabetes, and improve heart health. Staying active helps you mentally, too. It keeps oxygenated and nutrient-laden blood flowing to the brain, reducing the risk of neurological disorders.

Get adequate quality sleep.

If you fall asleep watching TV and sleep in the chair with the TV blaring for hours, you aren’t necessarily getting quality sleep. Your brain requires that you go through four stages of sleep several times throughout the night. There are non-rapid eye-movement stages. One is a rapid eye movement stage. Quality sleep allows your body to heal and your brain to recuperate and reorganize. Adequate, quality sleep helps protect your heart, boosts your energy, improves your mood, and aids in weight management. Exercising regularly, sleeping in a cool, dark room, and maintaining a sleep schedule helps you sleep better.

  • Exercising helps improve digestion and the quality of your microbiome. A healthy diet also helps the microbiome. Scientists call the microbiome our second immune system. It also affects your mental health.
  • Exercise also lengthens the telomeres, which prevent the chromosomes from unraveling. The longer the telomere, the better it is. Once the telomere is gone, damage to the cell or cell death can occur. That can cause illness, aging, and death.
  • Smile more. Laughter is the best medicine. Studies show that people who smile more live longer, healthier lives. An attitude of gratitude for all the blessings you have also improves your life.
  • Enjoy the outdoors and do safe sunning. Studies show most Americans have a vitamin D deficiency, especially seniors. Spending time in the sun can help.

For more information, contact us today at Team-ISC

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The Link Between Sleep & Weight Loss

The Link Between Sleep & Weight Loss

Published by on October 25, 2024 | Leave a response

It seems logical to connect staying up longer with weight loss. You’re moving around more, which burns more calories. If you don’t eat more, you should burn more calories. That’s not necessarily true. There is a link between weight loss and sleep, but the lack of sleep often causes you to pack on the pounds, not lose them. Aside from the potential of eating more, lack of sleep negatively affects your body and makes it harder to shed extra pounds.

Lack of sleep disrupts hormone levels.

When you have adequate sleep, your body produces a balance of hunger hormone—ghrelin—and satiety hormone—leptin. When you lack sleep, the body produces more ghrelin and less leptin. You’ll feel hungrier. It causes you to overeat because not enough satiety hormones trigger to tell your body you’re full. Your body works against you, making you excessively hungry throughout the day. Lack of sleep can also leave you feeling dragged out and exhausted. Many people turn to high-calorie sugary treats for a lift, which adds excess calories.

Lack of sleep slows your metabolism.

Your body requires continuous calories to provide energy, whether asleep or awake. It uses calories to pump blood, digest food, maintain body temperature, grow hair, build muscle tissue, and maintain hormone and chemical levels throughout the body. It is called the basal metabolism rate—BMR. You can raise your BMR in several ways. Building more muscle tissue is one way. Another is to get adequate sleep.

You burn more calories when you sleep soundly.

How sound you sleep also makes a difference. There are four stages of sleep. One stage is REM—rapid eye movement and the other three are NREM—non-rapid eye movement. You go through these four stages several times a night. When you have poor sleep quality, you may not enter REM sleep or limit the amount you get. REM sleep burns more calories and is necessary for a healthy body. You can boost the calories you burn when you sleep by eating a small amount of protein, like cottage cheese or warm milk, a half hour to an hour before bedtime.

  • Sleep sounder and burn more calories by keeping your room cooler. Studies show that temperatures at 65 to 68 degrees help you sleep better than cooler or warmer temperatures.
  • People who sleep well at night have more energy the following day. They tend to be more active and burn more calories.
  • Eating a big meal before falling asleep can disrupt sleep. Some people do require a small snack to sleep well. It’s instinctive. Early man needed to stay awake until he found food to prevent starvation.
  • One of the most helpful ways to improve sleep is a sleep schedule. Going to bed and arising at the same time daily sets the circadian rhythm that controls sleep so you fall asleep quicker. You must keep the schedule every day, including weekends.

For more information, contact us today at Team-ISC

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Surprising Sources Of Protein

Surprising Sources Of Protein

Published by on October 10, 2024 | Leave a response

Finding healthy and inexpensive protein sources has become the goal in many households in Sacramento, CA. Some people look for alternatives for other reasons. They may be bored with traditional sources like beans, beef, or chicken. They also may want protein sources that contain a host of other nutrients. Some of the surprising sources of protein provide both macro and micro micronutrients.

Amaranth and other pseudocereals are rich sources of protein.

Pseudocereals are also called ancient grains. They are rich in nutrients and higher in protein. These grains have remained relatively unchanged for thousands of years and are staples for people across the globe. They’re not highly processed like most of today’s grains and have far more nutrients than wheat, corn, or rice. Amaranth, kamut, teff, and freekeh are higher in protein, containing 8 to 13 grams per cup. All are higher in fiber and loaded with nutrition. One of the best-known pseudocereals is quinoa. It’s high in fiber, folate, vitamins B6 and E, iron, magnesium, manganese, iron, copper, potassium, zinc, and protein.

Eggs aren’t just for breakfast.

One more traditional protein source is the often-ignored egg. It’s a great addition to noodle dishes like pad thai as the protein source or with a mix of vegetables in an omelet. Eggs contain 7 grams of protein for a large egg. It has high amounts of leucine that boosts protein synthesis to build muscles. The protein in eggs is easy for the body to digest and use. Eggs contain high amounts of choline to improve brain functioning and zeaxanthin to improve eye health.

Green peas are both colorful and a source of protein.

Many vegetables provide protein. Peas are among them. Vegetarian bodybuilders often use pea protein as their go-to when making protein smoothies. Green peas contain approximately 9 grams of protein per cup. Peas are high in fiber, vitamins A, C, and K, thiamine, folate, manganese, iron, zinc, and more. Leafy greens are also good sources. They contain most of the same vitamins and minerals and are higher in some, but only half the amount of protein as peas.

  • Trail mix containing nuts and seeds are loaded with protein. Sprinkle almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and other nuts and seeds on salads for extra protein.
  • Bone broth is a good source of collagen. Collagen is a protein beneficial for joints, hair, nails, muscles, bones, and skin. A cup of bone broth has 9 grams of protein. Add your favorite vegetables for a complete meal.
  • Most people consume vegetables for their vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, but many are protein sources, too. A few examples are edamame from soy, broccoli, kale, and sweet potatoes.
  • When choosing eggs for protein, opt for pastured eggs if possible. The hens eat a more natural diet and get sun exposure. It’s more humane, and their eggs have more omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins A, D, and E.

For more information, contact us today at Team-ISC

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