Take micro-breaks

When you use your keyboard and mouse for hours and hours, you tense your muscles without you knowing it. The tension builds up and fatigues the entire body. You need to ease up and relax those muscles. Take micro-breaks like for two seconds put your tired hands on your lap and also try to drop your hands, arms, and shoulders. You can also relax your abdominals which may also be a bit tight.

Deep breaths

As you tire your muscles when you do fine motor work in front of the computer, you might also be breathing shallowly. Instead of shallower breaths, make a conscious effort to take deep breaths using your diaphragm from time to time. Deep breathing also helps to relax those tensed muscles.

Walk instead of coffee breaks

If in the afternoon you feel drained, instead of a soda or a mug of coffee, try to walk around for a few minutes. Exercise will give you that extra energy and also get rid of some tight muscles. A small, low-fat snack after your walk will also boost your energy.

Protein breakfast

Instead of having cereals, muffins, or bagels which will stuff your system with carbohydrates, go for it with some protein. So get some cream cheese with that bagel, peanut butter for that toast, yogurt, or a breakfast bar high in protein. The energy from carbohydrates ran out faster so better complement it with the proteins which last longer.

Numbers on ingredients? Drop it!

If you are trying to be healthy and check out the labels of your food items, anything that has a lot of numbers on the list of ingredients should not end up in your grocery basket. These foods are convenience foods which has a good amount of preservatives and fat.

Salad alone is not good enough

The green leafy mix in that salad bowl is great for you but dieticians recommend that you eat it with something else like sandwich or a bowl of soup. The veggies coming into your system without any carbohydrate will not pull down the level of the hunger hormone called ghrelin which basically tips your brain to eat more. So when you get a serving of salad, get a bread, some fruits, grains, or some pasta to go with it.

Get enough sleep

If you sleep less than 5 hours a night, you are 73% more at risk of being obese. Get enough sleep and you will trim the odds of gaining more weight than usual down to 27%. So getting that pillow time is an essential part of losing those extra pounds. The body also releases less hunger hormone when you have had enough sleep. Some experts even say that you may want to get that 5 to 7 hours of shuteye rather than lack sleep and go to the gym.

Workout before breakfast

Experts say that doing an aerobic workout before breakfast is the best way to burn off the fats as your insulin is at its lowest. For the rest of the day, the insulin level of your body will be elevated and somehow that protects the fats since they will not be tapped when you exert some energy during exercise.

Have smaller plates

If you have already trimmed down or planning to lose weight, one good way to help your body is by getting smaller dishware. Smaller plates lead to smaller calorie intake.

Eat more fruits and vegetables

Ideally you need to make half of your everyday meal fruits and veggies. Let’s say for breakfast, fill your bowl with cereals until half and top it off with berries and banana. During lunch get half a sandwich plus two kinds of fruits. At dinner, make sure half of your intake are veggies.

Avoid eating on the run

If you love eating on the run during hectic days, most likely you will be settling for fast food. The usual burger and fries combo gives you a bit short to 1,000 calories. You will tend to over eat as your brain thinks of it as a snack.

Shorter recipes are better

The lesser the ingredients, the better. When you deal with longer ingredients list means more salt, artificial flavors, and more sugar. It might mean more unhealthy stuff in the food. Simpler one ingredient deals like broccoli, blueberries, or spinach always gets a green light.

Healthy food should not mean expensive food

The smart choices from the supermarket do not differ much from all the usual junk foods that fill up the grocery cart.

Eat with your family

Make meal time as a holy hour for the family where everyone sits around the dining table. You will have more control and avoid overeating when you are with everyone. You are what you eat so make the wises decision for a healthy body and a good life ahead.

Sometimes, we crave things that are salty. Many of the snacks that are high in salt are also high in fat and calories. Generally speaking, those type of snacks should be avoided as much as possible. Pretzels are a healthy replacement snack. They are low in fat and calories and will satisfy any salt craving that one is having. All of us have suffered from the case of the sweet tooth. When one has a sweet tooth, there is temptation to run to the store and buy a pack of cookies or cupcakes. Those things are not only high in sugar, but high in fat and calories. Instead, one should try celery and dip it in peanut butter. The celery is high in the fiber that the body needs and the peanut butter can satisfy those sugar cravings that we all get from time to time.

Many of us like to eat potato chips and they are not the healthiest choice for a snack. If one absolutely has to have chips, he or she should try vegetable chips. They are made from real vegetables and are filled with the nutrients that the body needs. There are many different brands of vegetable chips and they all average around 130 calories per bag, which is must less than the average bag of potato chips.

When one gets the urge to snack, he or she should try one of the above delicious and nutritious foods.

Here are our suggestions:

White and Green Pasta Salad

How about a great pasta dish for just 200 calories? The secret is not really in the color of the pasta ut in the combo of cottage cheese, pesto, and a pack of sour cream that is fat free. Add the green peas and you will have about half of your daily dose of Vitamin K responsible for your healthy bones. If you want some protein boosts, toss in some grilled chicken or some shrimp.

Asian Pasta

The sweet and sour flavor of this dish will tickle anybody’s taste buds. If you want something a bit crunchy, then you are in heaven with this mix of Chinese noodles, sunflower seeds, and almonds. Vitamin C is provided through the green onions and cabbage. You can also throw in some shitake mushrooms and some bell pepper to up your vegetable intake. It will also be great with some pork chops and some hoisin sauce.

Pasta Salad

This is a very easy dish that young and old will surely like. It is flavor packed with ingredients like turkey pepperoni and some Italian dressing. It is also very colorful with greens, yellows, and reds all over the plate which guarantees about 75% of your daily Vitamin C needs.

Another thing that ginger is known for is that it is actually a powerful antioxidant that is capable of banishing all kinds of free radicals and I can promise that whenever you add in ginger to your diet, you are going to be healthier.

The reason is because it can also regulate blood flow, relieve a lot of pain as well as lower blood pressure.

For one, Turmeric is actually a very, very powerful anti-inflammatory and it is a fantastic choice for people who are suffering from auto-immune conditions as well as tendonitis and arthritis.

Turmeric is also great for people who have colon cancer as well as Alzheimer’s disease.  More herbs in the next blog!

When you use Echinacea, you can actually use the entire flower, so the leaves, flowers and even the steams and you can actually use them as soon as you start to feel bad.  What this herb will do is help build up your immune system, so that way you will not get sick!

Take these tips and tricks to heart, they work.  I know that I tried them when I was stick and I can tell you that I feel a heck of a lot better now!

What this does is it makes sure that the tickle you feel in the back of your throat goes away, because it is hydrated and because it is coating the back of your throat.  Research has actually proven this and I can tell you for sure that it works – a heck of a lot of time.

Dark colored honey works best, as it is high in antioxidants and it certainly is something that is worth the investment.

The reason for this is because vitamin c actually rises up your immune system, which makes sure that your body can fight off the infection that it is feeling when you have a cold.

For me – Simply Orange is the best way to go, as it is by far the best tasting and it is that … simply orange!