Normally, weekends are a time for families to be together and sometimes those plans revolve around mealtimes.  Try arranging your plans to focus on fun, physical activity. Head outside with the family!  

Plant some new flowers or trees in the yard or garden. 

Sign up for a 5k race the whole family can do.

Go for a trail walk.

Play a volleyball game using a balloon!

Go to the driving range.

Play softball.

Go for a bike ride.

Play horseshoes or cornhole.

Throw frisbee.

Play mini-golf.

Create a simple obstacle course in your yard and see who can do it the fastest.

Wash the family car!

Go to the park for a swing and maybe a trip down the slide.

Have a good ole fashioned sack race!

 Anything you can do to be up and moving is better than sitting around snacking. An active person is a happier person.  Plan on activity this weekend even if it is only 20 minutes.  Once you admit to yourself it was enjoyable, and your kids loved playing with you, you’ll want to plan more and more activities. Whatever you decide to do make it fun and enjoyable!  Act young to stay young and have a wonderful weekend!

http://thechairmansblog.gallup.com/2012/04/why-us-healthcare-law-misses-point.html#.T47NmA7oWaI.email

by Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO

Yours in Health

Larry Mikkelson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo

If you aren’t all about the numbers there are many other benefits to getting bursts of exercise in throughout your day.   It helps relieve stress and clear the mind in order to focus on the task at hand.  It naturally (without sugar or caffeine) helps boost your mood and/or energy level.   There is “magic” happening inside your body when you exercise.  You may not realize the immediate benefit but when creating a habit of regular exercise it will benefit you from the inside out.  Turn on the magic!!

Try this for your first five minutes:

1 minute of speed skaters

1 minute of front kicks

1 minute of lunges

30 seconds  of jumping squats

30 seconds of high knee jog

30 seconds of football steps

30 seconds of calf jumps

Call me if you have questions!

859-462-0108

2) Timing yourself during challenges can also be a great way to stay motivated. See how many squats or lunges you can do in one minute and then add five or ten to it for next time. Another great test is to do jump ups onto a step. How many can you do in 30 seconds? Then hold a 2 or 3 lb weight in each hand and see if you can do the same amount next time.

If you need help creating workouts that keep you motivated just give me a call I will help!- 859-462-0108

It is a good thing to set high and lofty goals. The big secret is knowing how to achieve them. When we set out to achieve a big thing or “climb that mountain” we don’t just leap to the top in one fell swoop, we accomplish this one step at a time. We can also compare this to climbing a ladder one rung at a time. As with any goal, we need a plan to succeed. Using the ladder analogy, the ladder is our plan and each individual rung of the ladder is one small step toward our goal.

Let’s apply this to a popular goal: weight loss. “I want to lose 30 lbs this year.” This is a very achievable thing to do. However we have to understand a few basic requirements for this process. It will take some time (all great journeys do) and I will accomplish it one step at a time (with each step being one small but permanent change in lifestyle). There are 2 types of steps on this ladder; dietary steps and exercise steps. Now if we try to take too many steps at once (the most common mistake) we are unable to continue and we quit. Let’s start the journey (remember each step is a permanent change)
STEP ONE: (week one) Eat 5 smaller meals /day (instead of 2-3 large ones).
STEP TWO: (week two) Begin walking 20 minutes a day 4-5 times per week.
STEP THREE: Replace a certain “bad food” for a better food choice (one per week).
STEP FOUR: Slowly increase and modify your exercise routine.

These are the first steps in the process. There are many more steps that can be taken and there is no limit to how far you can go. Some of us have enough knowledge and experience to do this on our own. Some of us need help. We would love for you to share your New Year’s Resolution with us so we can help you achieve your goals. Simply call our office to set up a free consultation about you 2012 goals. But remember the best day to start a journey is today and the worst day is tomorrow!

HAVE A HAPPY AND HEALTHY 2012

LAWRENCE MIKKELSON

The 12-week LEAN program gives you motivation, direction, and guidance you need to live everyday actively and nutritiously. This educative and progressive program will:

Provide you with weekly support and tools that will help with your success when planning for lasting health and fitness.
Understand the necessary, but often confusing, nutrition information so you can apply it to your daily life.
Demonstrations at meetings to enhance your learning experience.
Join us for a grocery store tour to learn how to be a healthy shopper.
Apply new goals each week allowing you to take one step at a time towards a steady path of healthy eating and activity.
Fun ways to track your success so you can focus on more than just the numbers!
Receive weekly motivating message to inspire you along your journey.
Discover all the aspects of fitness to be your healthiest and feel your best.

Commit yourself to a lifetime of health!

The 12-week LEAN program is being offered at Rettay Chiropractic on Mondays at 7-7:45p starting February 5th, 2012. Purchase the entire program and supporting items for $120/person or $215/couple.

Most healthy adults need between 7.5 and 9 hours of sleep each night to function at their best. Below are a couple myths/facts from the National Institute of Health.

Myths and Facts about Sleep
Myth 1: Getting just 1 hour less sleep per night won’t affect your daytime functioning. You may not be noticeably sleepy during the day. But even slightly less sleep can affect your ability to think properly and respond quickly, and compromise your cardiovascular health, energy balance, and ability to fight infections.
Myth 2: Your body adjusts quickly to different sleep schedules. Most people can reset their biological clock, but only by appropriately timed cues—and even then, by 1–2 hours per day at best. Consequently, it can take more than a week to adjust after traveling across several time zones or switching to the night shift.
Myth 3: Extra sleep at night can cure you of problems with excessive daytime fatigue. Not only is the quantity of sleep important but also the quality of sleep. Some people sleep 8 or 9 hours a night but don’t feel well rested when they wake up because the quality of their sleep is poor.
Myth 4: You can make up for lost sleep during the week by sleeping more on the weekends. Although this sleeping pattern will help relieve part of a sleep debt, it will not completely make up for the lack of sleep. Furthermore, sleeping later on the weekends can affect your sleep-wake cycle so that it is much harder to go to sleep at the right time on Sunday nights and get up early on Monday mornings.
Adapted from: Your Guide to Healthy Sleep (PDF) The National Institutes of Health

There are MANY benefits to getting enough sleep. If you need more convincing on the importance of sleep and the affects on your health you can visit National Institutes of Health website, www.nih.gov.