Exhausted to the Core

Extreme fatigue, what to do if someone is feeling extreme fatigue all the time? The question that arises is why I am feeling tired all the time. Although it is pretty normal to feel tired after a long day, a constant urge to drop into a bed or a cozy couch is an alarm that something is amiss with your health. This article discusses why you are always in a press-to-snooze mode or feel drained post-lunch and recommendations to avoid the situation.

Extreme fatigue all the time can affect a person’s physical and mental health. It also takes a dig at the quality of life. Usually, a good night’s sleep or a day off can work well to restore energy levels or eliminate extreme fatigue. But if they are not fixing the issue, something could keep up with your mental health, and should be concerned immediately. It is beneficial to seek help sooner than later if you are not sure about the cause of being tired all the time despite a good diet and enough rest.

Here are 13 key reasons why someone might experience extreme fatigue all the time and when to seek help:

Diet is the most critical pillar of a healthy lifestyle, and o is importance important to leave feeling in sustaining the body’s energy levels. Skipping the meals drops the required level of calories. Long breaks between meals lower the sugar level and making makes you tired. It is essential to take a healthy diet and high-energy snacks to keep your systems running smoothly. Another more important thing is never to skip an end-day meal going hungry to bed reduces sleep quality, leaving you tired on the day after.

An active lifestyle improves energy level; levels the other hand, a sedentary lifestyle leave feeling feel exhausted and sleepy. In one study, researchers worked on how an inactive and sedentary lifestyle affects women’s fatigue levels. Some woman was physically active quite well, while others were not physically active.

According to the study’s findings, physically active women had a significantly lower fatigue level than women living a sedentary life. This supports the notion that a healthy lifestyle is physically active, leading to more energy and vigor. woman-fatique

Vitamin Deficiency multivitamins can be a sign of vitamin deficiency. It might occur because of low vitamin D levels, vitamin B-12, iron, magnesium, and potassium. A routine blood test is required to identify the deficiency. In case a person is vitamin deficient, the doctor may recommend taking supplements. The natural way to cope with the deficiency is to increase foods rich in multivitamins and other nutrients. For example, clams, beef, and calf liver may reverse a B-12 deficiency and reduce the constant tiredness and fatigue.

Stress can deteriorate sleep quality and its duration. Also, the lack of sleep elevates stress levels. Therefore, it is essential to manage the mental burden and enable better and sufficient rest, restoring your energy levels. Persistent stress keeps the body in a state of fight and flight, leaving you exhausted. Stress is also a trigger in worsening sleep disorders. It is advisable to avoid stressful events and off to bed in time for healthy sleep. Other ways to prevent stressful thoughts and remain calm are to practice meditation and build new achievable goals regularly.

When you are suffering from depression, lack of energy and tiredness becomes a problem. Feeling tired tends to associate with physical issues, but mental health problems like depression, anxiety, and stress contribute to exhaustion and chronic fatigue. Consult your therapist for mental health treatment or counseling. Antidepressants, anti-anxiety medicine, cognitive brand, and levels below therapy can make a difference to alleviate the symptoms of depression. If you’re struggling to cope with depression, it can cause Irregularities in sleep and begin to impact your mental health, seek medical advice immediately.

Sleep Disorders

If a person’s energy level doesn’t improve after weeks, or even improving lifestyle, speak with your doctor. You may need a sleep specialist. A sleep disorder such as sleep apnea or insomnia also affects a person’s cognitive, mental, and physical abilities. Sleep apnea is a disorder in which breathing pauses while a person is asleep. As a result, the brain and body don’t receive enough oxygen during sleep leading to daytime fatigue. mental-health

Sleep apnea is a complex medical condition that can cause hypertension (high blood pressure), decreased concentration, and even a stroke or heart attack. Sleep apnea treatment involves using a CPAP machine or an oral device to keep the upper airway open during sleep hours. extreme-fatigue

Burn-out If a person has a constant feeling of running on empty, one could be going through burnout consider. Doctors now consider burnout as a medical condition, defining the condition as a syndrome caused by chronic stress at the workplace. But how does it play a part in making someone feel tired all the time?

Scientific facts determine that a rest-activity rhythm is an essential requirement to perform well. Sleep is a prime pillar of human health which is mandatory for the body to perform well during working hours. If a person is becoming a workaholic and performing continuously without sound sleep or downtime, which is required to restore the body’s ability to function OK; what comes next is physical and mental health deterioration. Therefore, sidestep burn-out and let more downtime invade your daily routine for relaxation.

Being overweight can also cause tiredness all the time. When body weight is more than the desired BMI, it becomes harder for the body to carry your weight during daily life, making you exhausted or feeling tired all the time. You can gradually improve your condition by working on a plan to gradually lose weight by adopting a healthy lifestyle like eating well and starting exercises like swimming, jogging, walking, and gradually increasing the workout.

Daily activities become a struggle for people who have fibromyalgia, causing muscle pain and tenderness. Fibromyalgia affects the muscles and soft tissues, but it causes pain that, does not let you have a good sleep. The awakening of night and restless leg syndrome results in chronic tiredness throughout the day. An over-the-counter pain killer helps improve pain and sleep. Some people also find an antidepressant, physical therapy, and exercise helpful.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can make you feel tired all the time without any significant health ailment because of chronic fatigue syndrome. It is a long-term illness with various symptoms such as extreme tiredness, insomnia, and even some patients may feel like staying asleep for longer durations. Even longer sleep durations do not help to improve the feeling of tiredness. The cause of chronic fatigue syndrome is unknown, and the diagnosis is only possible after ruling out the chances of all other health disorders by a health professional. Treatment of chronic fatigue is possible only by understanding your physical limitations, mild to moderate regular exercise, and circadian rhythm changes.

Certain medications can make you drowsy and sleepy or make you feel tired all the time and complete everyday chores like driving or operating machinery challenges. On the other hand, some medications can cause insomnia, such as high blood pressure and asthma. Consult your doctor about any such medicine you are taking to find if any alternative or dose adjustment.

Diabetes

If you are continually experiencing fatigue, thirst, frequent urination, and unexplained weight loss, get yourself tested for diabetes. Feeling tired all the time can be a symptom of diabetes. If a person has diabetes, the body doesn’t make enough insulin leading to high blood sugar and leaving you tired and irritable. Consult a doctor for any unexplained fatigue as it can be a symptom of other medical conditions like heart disease and cancer.

Under-Active Thyroid Hypothyroidism, or an under-active thyroid, occurs when the body doesn’t duce the required thyroid hormones. An under-active thyroid causes symptoms such as fatigue, lethargy, and, weight gain. Although with treatment, people with hypothyroidism can lead an everyday life.

Post-Viral Fatigue feeling tired all the time or for most of the day after recovering from an infection like Covid or the flu as well as glandular fever, are the signs of post-viral fatigue syndrome. Symptoms include chronic tiredness, severe muscle pain, weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea, fever or chills, chest pain, and shortness of breath. It is common to feel tired after an illness, but if your symptoms are not alleviating for weeks or months and prevent you from leading an energized healthy man’s life-it’s better to seek medical advice. However, there is not enough research on post-viral fatigue, so it’s challenging to find treatment. The best way to improve the condition is by having self-care making you feel better gradually. woman-vitamin-deficiency

There is not a hard and fast rule that every other day is an easy day. A few days are meant to squeeze your energy and it’s quite understandable to feel tired at the end of such days. But being tired all the time is something that needs to be addressed by a health professional.

You may have a health condition that required to be discussed with your health professional. Another thing to understand well cannot be attributed to physical health alone, sometimes what needs the most attention is your mental health.

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Unlocking the Secrets of Emotional Intelligence

You’ve got emotions, right?

Or do they, have you? How many times have your feelings led you into trouble or made you feel like you’d been kicked to the curb by life itself? Life isn’t simply a matter of what’s in our minds. There’s a lot of power coming at us from what seems like the unthinking part of ourselves – our emotions. The thing is, emotions hold the power potential for good or ill. We need them! We just don’t need them to rule over us.

How wonderful life is once we’ve learned how to harness the interior energy and ride it like a tamed stallion into our daily life. It’s a journey that I call moving from recovery to mastery. First, we have to learn how to recover from the onset of negative emotions past or present. That’s the beginning stage—the ABCs—of emotional intelligence. Then, with those lessons well in circumstances place, we can begin to live as masters of our interior emotional state, enjoying life as a river of peace no matter what our outward circumstances may be. heart-pegusas

It never fails to surprise me that few of us were ever instructed in the ways of the heart when we were growing up. Our emotional state is immensely important, yet consistently underrated. Consider the effect that your emotional state has on the following:

* Your enjoyment of daily life

* Your ability to enjoy the Lord

* Your ability to be guided by God

* Your physical health

* Your relationships with others

* Success in work; fruitfulness in ministry

Now add in the well-proven fact that our emotions have the power to derail our lives and destroy our relationships—if we let them. That’s a ton of good reasons for wanting to learn how to gain mastery over our emotional state.

This isn’t a subject of mere academic interest for me. I lived for years besieged by an emotional life that I didn’t understand and couldn’t manage (that story is told in Rescued from Hell). Oh, I could keep it fairly well contained most of the time, but I was surviving, not thriving. I had a lot to learn, if I was ever going to come out from under mountains of emotional chaos and confusion. The great thing is that emotional intelligence can be learned. What I’ve been learning, anyone can learn.

Covering the Basics in Four Sections

In this article we’re going to look at the chaos agents of the emotional life—negative emotions—and seek to understand them from a thoroughly Christian point of view. Then I’ll go over seven ABCs of emotional intelligence that will help you get a winning, warrior’s perspective on the task set before us. Finally, I’ll close by going over the difference between recovery and mastery.

1) What Is Emotional Intelligence?

2) What Are the Negative Emotions?

3) Seven ABCs of Emotional Intelligence

4) From Recovery to Mastery

What Is Emotional Intelligence?

Persons with emotional intelligence, according to psychologists, have the ability to understand their own emotions as well as those of others and can act appropriately using those emotions. Here we’re focusing on the side of understanding our own emotions and becoming adept at dealing with them God’s way. This will inevitably help us better understand the emotions of others. We are not nearly as different as it seems.

Emotions can be conveniently separated into “positive” and “negative” emotions. This is something that we all instinctively do, though we sometimes fail to set the dividing line in the right place. Psychology tends to take the approach that all emotions have a positive value and that we need to learn how to manage them. I’m going to make the Christian case that certain emotions were never meant to be in us in the first place and that what we need to do is not manage them, but eliminate them when they show up.

In Christian terms, therefore, emotional intelligence includes the ability to exercise sovereignty over one’s own emotional state. We do that by carrying every negative emotion that seeks to dominate us captive to Christ. Then, He works with us, helping us be restored to confidence, trust and peace—His emotional life. This may seem like hard work at first, but it is certainly a sign of intelligence to do it. Like all worthwhile pursuits it requires effort and perseverance to gain the ability. The Lord knows this: He told us to keep our hearts with “all diligence.”

What Are the Negative Emotions?

The negative emotions are those that are unhealthy for both our inner life and our physical bodies. (See Spiritual Roots of Disease.) We don’t like them because they don’t feel right, but this isn’t always the best indicator. Some emotions that feel negative are ones that we need: a healthy fear of God, the fear that leaps on us in the immediate presence of danger, the grief that comes when someone we love dies, the guilt that alerts us when we’ve sinned. These are thankfully rare but they aren’t truly “negative” in Christian terms, because they don’t come from our fallen nature.

Many “positive” feelings, however, do come from below: a strong desire for too much to eat or drink, sexual lust in all of its forms, feelings of conceit that flatter our pride. I would go on, but you get the drift—downward and away from the Lord. Jesus, by the way, is our best indicator of where the dividing line is truly set between the positive (godly) emotions and the negative (ungodly) ones. Try imagining Jesus in any particular emotion and you will immediately see either its rightness or its wrongness. This is our unfailing test of what is right for us now that He lives in us. Any emotion that doesn’t fit into Jesus, doesn’t belong in you either, now that He is living in you. These are the truly negative ones He wants to teach us how to expel.

Seven ABCs of Emotional Intelligence

We don’t have to be dominated by the negative emotions. We can learn to exercise true sovereignty over them and live in the Spirit. Study these seven ABCs of emotional intelligence, and then put them to work!

We are sovereigns over our own hearts. This should be pointed out in connection with our “kingly” calling. The Lord has given everyone a realm of authority that has tremendous consequence in their life and the world around them: our hearts. The first step to emotional recovery is realizing the power that we have been given to manage our own hearts.

We can rule over our emotions. For the most part no one can help the emotions that go off inside of them—that’s a reflection of things deeper down. Don’t waste time blaming others or yourself for what you are feeling. Take charge over your feelings and “banish” the ones you don’t want by carrying them as captives to Christ. You have that power.

No one else can control our emotions. What others say or do may cause emotions to come up inside of us, but it always our choice if we are going to let them stay or drag them to the door. Real growth can take place once you grasp this principle that no one (and no circumstance) has power over your emotions, but you. God made it that way.

Don’t force your feelings or ignore them. As rulers of our hearts, we are meant to be servants, not tyrants. We cannot “force” the ones we want to come. Nor is the victory gained by ignoring the emotions our hearts are generating. Our loving God is never ashamed or shocked by any feeling we might hove, so be honest with Him about them.

Don’t believe your feelings. It is important to be aware of what our feelings are reporting to us, but it is even more important never to believe them without an inquest! Feelings are flagrant liars. There is a message worth listening to but it is rarely the one on the surface seeking our immediate attention (see point 6).

Our deepest beliefs control our feelings. Feelings don’t drop in out of the blue. Our present emotional reactions reveal what the fallen side of our heart still believes. That past programming will hold our emotional life captive unless we learn to fight back. By steadily carrying our negative emotions to Christ our heart begins to hold the new beliefs.

Freedom comes through believing truth. This is not a will power contest between you and your feelings. It is a truth encounter in which you choose by an act of your will to agree with God. In the light of Christ, we see the inner lie exposed (as in “You’re right, I don’t need to be afraid, jealous, angry, discouraged, etc., I need to settle down and trust You.”). Then we renounce our agreement with that negative emotion and ask the Lord to break its power over us. In this way we choose to believe what He tells us to believe and do what He shows us to do. Eventually, the thoughts of our heart give way to the new believing and our emotions shift—one episode at a time.

The next time that you notice your emotional state is being robbed of peace, don’t be passive like a department store “dummy.” Exercise your emotional intelligence by carrying every negative emotion (that seeks to dominate you) captive to Christ and be restored to confidence, peace and freedom—His emotional life.

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds, throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.- 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

From Recovery to Mastery

When the peace of Christ enters our hearts, it feels so good and liberating that we merrily float above all our old feelings. Eventually, however, we discover that our former host of negative emotions keeps showing up and dragging us down! To stay in Christ’s peace, we have to first learn how to get recovery over past issues that wounded us; then, we can use these same “tools” to gain mastery over our emotions in the present. Where our inner state is concerned, there are two great assignments which are gracious invitations to experience the surpassing vitality of new life in Christ:

Restoration: Preparing our inward state to hold up under the pressures of daily life requires recovery of the natural grace that got lost along the way. For countless reasons—not least of which is getting free of the pain—we need to recover from any emotional brokenness emanating from our past.
Mastery: As we learn to manage our emotional life, we not only receive freedom from the past, but we gain the graced ability to reign with wisdom over our own emotions, making it possible to live even the most active or embattled days with deep peace and Spirit-led resourcefulness!

We truly can learn how to be lifted and carried by the river of peace that God is sending our way each day. Being born again ushers us into a new life; the Holy Spirit within us provides the power to live a new life. He is the River of Peace. Are you only experiencing trickles and puddles of that peace? Take courage: It is never too late to learn the way of the heart!

For over a decade Steve Evans and Healing Streams have been helping people recover inner peace and freedom.

Find out how to gain mastery over negative emotions and live with childlike freedom of spirit by taking his completely free “eCourse for Healing” at HealingStreamsUSA.org. Get started now!

From Novice to Master Chef: A Step-by-Step Guide to…

Become A Great Cooker/Chef

How many times have you dreaded going into the kitchen to make breakfast, lunch, or dinner? You may require a brand-new viewpoint. Cooking may be enjoyable and relaxing in the event you attempt to see it in an additional way.

Here are a few cooking tips that are sure to get your taste buds tingling and entice your inner chef to come out.

There is a remedy that will quickly fix this problem. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons’ worth of water with 1 corn starch. Use this solution to instantly thicken any sauce. Make sure you combine them gradually and consistently to prevent the sauce from thickening too much.

If you need to slice meat into thin strips, then partially freeze it beforehand. This is great for various Oriental meals, such as Thai or Chinese dishes. There’s less tearing of the semi-frozen meat as it’s cleanly sliced. Allow the meat to thaw before cooking though, you must have so that it can cook evenly. During cooking, you must have sharp knives accessible. Not only can it be difficult to cut with dull knives, but it is dangerous to use them too. You could easily cut yourself if you are trying to cut something up with a dull knife.

When you are cooking with garlic, you may notice that your hands will pick up the strong smell. Following utilizing garlic or other foods with odors that stick to your hands, all you have to do is rub your hands on a piece of stainless steel, like your sink. This cleanses your hands thoroughly to avoid transferring the flavor of garlic to other foods.

Cook your vegetables in chicken broth. Utilizing chicken broth will stop the vegetables from sticking to the pan, in addition, to adding some tasty flavor at the same time. There is not a lot of expense when buying chicken broth, and most grocers carry it.

Read nutrition labels when you buy foods. May times common cooking supplies will contain some hidden ingredients which are unhealthy. You need to see to it that the ingredients are not high in sugar or sodium because both may cause complications to your health if consumed in large quantities. carrots-make-everything-good

Instead of adding all the seasoning in one rapid burst at the beginning, add it in increments over time to give it a better flavor. In the event you do it in this manner you can flavor your meals the very best way and use your components in the very best way.

When making a dish that contains garlic, make sure you purchase the freshest garlic at the store. It’s extensively recognized that the fresher the garlic is, much more than most likely the sweeter the taste will be. Check the freshness of garlic cloves by inspecting the skin. If it is bruised, soft, or shriveled, it is not fresh.

Use these tips for preparing your meals. Once you try some of these tips, you will believe that perhaps cooking is not so difficult after all. Not only will your meals be more fun to eat, but you’ll also look forward to cooking them; you might even start trying new recipes.

Go ahead, and begin your cooking journey today!

Chess for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide

Chess is a game that is universally known as an ideal platform for practicing critical thinking skills. The board game centers around 6 distinct pieces and a playing board of 64 squares of alternating colors, typically black and white. While competing, players will engage in a tension-filled tension and reaction to determine the next best move for the road to triumph. Even though this game has been played by medieval monarchs for over a thousand years, many beginners may require assistance to navigate the game. Read on for our concise step-by-step guide on how to teach yourself how to play chess.

How To Teach Yourself to Play Chess

Set up your chessboard

The game is equipped with a board consisting of a series of horizontal rows, which are numerically labeled 1-8 against vertical columns marked as A-H. Altogether, there are 64 squares on the boards and when placed in the proper coordination each side of the board will have a white square on the bottom right.

Following that, players should familiarize themselves with the arrangement of the chess pieces on the board. Each chess piece signifies a unique role and should be placed on the designated square as stated below:

Pawns: Set all your Pawns on the second row.
Rooks (the castles): Place these pieces on the farther left and right of the board.
Knights (the horses): These pieces should be placed right next to the Rooks moving towards the center of the board.
Bishop: Place the Bishops right next to the Knights.
King: The King piece should be placed on the middle square that contrasts its color, for example, a white King on a black square.
Queen: The Queen piece should be in the middle square that matches its color, quite the opposite of the King piece.
Learn how to move the chess pieces.

Like assigned roles to castle members, each distinct piece has special movements owing to their separate hierarchy. Many players are intimidated by the seemingly complex rules of the movement of the chess pieces, but with a little help as shown below, you will get familiarized with it in no time.

Pawn: On the first move, Pawns are granted the ability to move 2 spaces forward. Otherwise, from then on, they can only move 1 space forward and capture another piece diagonally. When a Pawn successfully gets to the end of the opposite board, you get to switch it to another piece except for the King.
Rook: The Rooks can move horizontally or vertically as many spaces are available.
Knight: These pieces move in an ‘L’ shape either with two spaces vertically or horizontally and the other one space in an opposite direction in a 90° manner. It allows Knight pieces to jump over pieces of both colors in the space where it settles.
Bishop: Bishops can only move diagonally on similar colored squares in an unlimited amount of spaces per direction.
Queen: Queens have a wide range of movement including horizontal, vertical, and diagonal in any direction or number of spaces, and captures similarly.
King: The King piece is the most valuable but only moves one space each turn in any direction and captures in this orientation too.
Understand the special moves or terms of chess.

You have heard the term “castling” so many times in chess. But, what is it? Under this segment, you will be further introduced to some chess terms you have heard before but may not understand.

Pawn promotion

If you manage to move a pawn to the opposite side of the board, you may then switch it to your desired choice of Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight piece. Simply remove the pawn piece from the board and convert it to the chess piece of your choice. Naturally, the Queen piece is a popular option for its high versatility.

En passant

“En passant”, or French for “in passing” applies only to pawn pieces. If a pawn, on its first move where it’s specifically granted 2 space movements, lands on the side of an opponent’s pawn, the latter has the option to capture the opponent pawn in a diagonal direction.

Castling

This move allows players to move their King and a Rook on a similar turn, where the King has moved 2 squares towards a Rook followed by placing the Rock next to the King on either side of the board. Castling is only allowed where both the Rook and King have no prior movement in the game with no pieces between them. Another situational circumstance that may apply to this rule is that it can’t be performed if the King is in check.

Decide how to win the game.

The game will end either through a checkmate, a draw, or the resignation of the opponent.

Checkmate

The primary objective of the game is to checkmate the opponent’s King when a King is in check and is unable to escape it. A King piece may escape a check by moving out of it, blocking the check, or capturing the threatening piece. The game is over after a checkmate is declared.

Draw

A draw can happen under several circumstances in the game. For instance, in a stalemate, a player’s King manages to run out of legitimate moves but is not in check. Other situations include insufficient pieces on board to achieve a checkmate or both players agreeing to stop playing.

Start playing and practicing

Now that you are familiar with the orientation and roles of the elements of the game, it is time to take these theories into practice. Remember, the first player is always the one with white pieces. While playing, bear in mind that the goal is to achieve a checkmate so protect your king at all cost. As you keep playing, you will eventually get better at the game.

The saying ‘practice makes perfect is especially true when it comes to chess. In time, you will learn that one of the attractive points of the game is its simplicity, which can be enjoyed by both grandmasters and players at all skill levels.

If you want to go beyond being just a beginner at this or any other skill, and work toward developing a real mastery, then you are going to need a deeper and more powerful strategy. What you need is a way to hack your brain so you can develop a winning mindset.

A winning mindset is a state of mind that allows you to enter a flow state at will. You do this by programming your subconscious mind.

Believe it or not, most of what you do throughout an average day is NOT freely chosen by your normal waking consciousness even though it may seem that way. The truth is that most of what you do on a day-to-day basis is done on “autopilot”.

An example of this would be when you’re driving your car and as you do so you get bored and begin daydreaming. Before you know it, you find yourself several miles further down the road with absolutely NO memory of having driven those last several miles.

Achieving Optimal Wellness Through Healthy Habits

Healthy Habits for a Balanced Life

I like to believe there are ten healthy habits one needs to follow to live a balanced life. No matter what I am doing whether on vacation or going about my day-to-day work these healthy habits are important to me. You may be wondering what these habits are. To know more keep on reading. My friends often find me saying that everything in life is about balance. Healthy living is the equilibrium of good habits, not something extreme. So how do we achieve this balance? To start with, we must focus on consistency but don’t rush because consistency takes time. Also, take a step back to disengage from negative self-talk and try to transform that into positive self-talk.

Remember that being obsessed with anything can cause the opposite outcome. Your reality is shaped by your thoughts and when you spend too much time thinking about losing calories, what food to eat, whether or not to use social media, or simply comparing yourself to others, you end up feeling depressed and disconnected from yourself. Changing these negative thoughts into more positive ones is a great healthy habit to try and develop.

Eating healthy foods provided by Mother Nature such as fresh fruits and green vegetables is another must-do if you are trying to develop healthy habits. Cut out processed and packaged foods as much as possible. Think about how you want your day to turn out and do one or two things for your health that will benefit you in the long run. healthy_foods

Exercising moderately, eating some greens or drinking more water are easy ways to build good habits that you can swear by. Be mindful at all times and realize it’s not about yesterday or tomorrow; it’s about where you are today and at this moment – it’s all about now. Now that we have a basic understanding of what healthy habits seem like and how you can find that equilibrium in your life, let’s dive into a list of ten good habits that will make your well-being a priority.

Change your mindset.

Think of your health as a lifestyle change and a daily balancing act.

Sleep sufficiently and in good time. Your body undergoes necessary repairs when you sleep. Physical and psychological repair takes place from 10 pm to 6 am.
Be patient. It takes roughly ninety days to create a new habit. So develop patience and learn to love yourself through the process of change.
Read voraciously. Educate yourself on spiritual practices, gain knowledge about the foods you eat, read about the lives of wellness masters – there are so many kinds of literature out there.
Be mindful of your energy system. Think of your body as particles of energy and ponder over what kind of fuel you want to use to keep it functioning. Do you really want coke and chips to get into your system? I hope not because they will eventually break down your system.
Hydrate often. Drink good quality water. If you like, you can add some lemon or other fruits to it to drink more frequently.
Eat healthily. Consume natural foods and stay away from processed, packaged food. At least, 80 to 90% of the time, your food intake should be healthy.
Don’t feel guilty. When you do eat food that is not good for your health, don’t kill yourself with guilt. Remember balance is important so once in a while, you can break away from your mundane diet and incorporate some junk in it until, of course, you’ve mastered the habit of eating well.
Move around. Exercise is the best medicine – even if it’s something as simple as going for a walk or as complex as working out at the gym. Your body is meant for movement. Being in nature is one of the best things you can do for your body.
Know yourself. Get to the root of why you’re self-sabotaging if you are and foster a more loving relationship of self-worth with yourself.

Eat Healthy – Be Well.

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Essential Survival Techniques

Basic Survival Skills

We live in a world marked by modern conveniences, which is great. Modern technologies allow us to find our way, stay warm, find shelter, and even get the food and water our bodies need.

While this is fine, have you ever thought of uncertainties that nature may present?

What if a heavy storm knocks power out?

What if your phone battery dies in the middle of nowhere?

You need a few skills to survive these inevitable life moments.

There are plenty of basic survival skills that everyone needs to know and practice. While most of them look less important to learn, they can potentially save your life, depending on the situation. This post will cover some of the basic survival skills you need to learn.

Of importance, until you get out into the field and practice any survival skills, all you have is a false sense of security.

Survival skills everyone should try and master:

To prepare yourself for whatever might befall you, here are basic skills you can learn on your own to prepare yourself to handle most survival situations:

Finding water

When it comes to surviving, water is often the first thing that people look for. After all, nothing is more critical to survival than clean, drinking water.

Finding food and water is a skill that people used daily for survival that has since been forgotten. While there is no guaranteed way to look for water, it is obvious that streams are found downhill or in crevasses where hills meet. If you can’t find a water source, you will need to explore the area further. Lush areas with green vegetation and animals are likely to have water.

Rain, snow, and dew are other reliable sources of clean water you can collect. In extreme conditions, you can squeeze water from vines and thistles.

Most importantly, don’t drink any water you find. Make an effort to purify or boil it. This takes us to the next survival skill.

Starting and tending to a fire

Even if you find a flowing stream with what seems to be clean water, make an effort to make it safer for drinking. In the wilderness, you will need to know how to start a fire to boil your water. Fire will also give you life-saving warmth, help you cook, scare predators away, and even other people notice your location.

While starting a fire with a lighter can be easy and quick, you need to learn how to start a fire from scratch, which requires practice and patience. One of the techniques is making a flint that can generate sparks. You can also short-circuit your battery to create sparks.

The most important thing is to practice and master how you can start a fire in different weather conditions. There are a whole lot of effective techniques to create fire by friction.

Foraging for food

While you can survive for a few weeks without food, as long as you have clean, clean drinking water, having the skill to hunt and forage for food is critical.

There are lots of edible wild plants that you can eat while in the wilderness. However, you need to be super keen; otherwise, you may find yourself feasting on poisonous fruits.

You will also need to learn and master hunting, trapping, fishing, and any other technique you can use to get food.

Building a shelter

Once you have water and food, the next most obvious basic thing you want is to find somewhere you can hide from the elements. The type of shelter you can build and how to build it depends entirely on where you are, how long you will stay there, and the available resources.

The basic requirements are branches for poles plus some clothing, a tent, or leaves to cover the finished structure. There are a lot of factors to consider as well. For instance, walking distance to water source and chances of immediate surroundings catching fire.

Basic First Aid

There are times when it is difficult for emergency services to reach you when you are sick or injured. Being able to administer first aid may save a life at such critical moments.

Apart from knowing how to use a first aid kit, you should be able to come up with creative ways to offer first aid using what is readily available. For instance, creating a brace with tree branches and harvesting natural medicine.

winter-landscape-camping

Final thoughts

Learning basic survival skills is a great way to prepare yourself for uncertainties. Practicing and mastering these skills can bring you closer to nature and help you save your life should things go wrong.

If you want to go beyond being just a beginner at this or any other skill, and work toward developing a real mastery, then you are going to need a deeper and more powerful strategy.

What you need is a way to hack your brain so you can develop a winning mindset.

A winning “mindset” is a “state of mind” that allows you to enter a “flow state” at will. You do this by programming your subconscious mind.

Believe it or not, most of what you do throughout an average day is NOT freely chosen by your normal waking consciousness even though it may seem that way. The truth is that most of what you do on a day-to-day basis is done on autopilot.

Be Safe wherever you Go!

Learn to Fish: A Step-by-Step Guide

There are more anglers today in the United States. Of these, millions fish every day, and the simple truth for doing so is that it’s a lot of fun. Casting your line and catching fish is an integral part of American culture.

Many people itch to go outdoors and fish but it’s not as simple as it seems.

Like most things in life, you need to learn and acquire knowledge and skills. Want to know how to fish?

Follow us as we help explain this craft.

Gather the Right Fishing Gear

Before you even step close to a lake or river, you’ve got to get the right fishing gear. You don’t have to buy expensive gear to learn fishing but if you can afford it, well and good. The most important things a beginner needs are a rod, line, and reel.

When shopping for fishing gear, choose a very good line. This will make learning a lot easier. We recommend the 300 to 400 yards spool as they hold high-quality monofilament. Avoid the 1,000-yard spools as they hold lower-quality mono. Teach Yourself How to Fish

Other important things to purchase include:

Rain jacket
Waders and boots
Leaders
4-to-12-pound monofilament fishing line
Fishing hooks (number/size 6 to 10)
Cork or plastic bobber

You’ll also need a selection of fishing lures or live bait.

Get a License

Get the current fishing license for the state you’ll be fishing in. You can get a license online or in convenience stores and fishing stores around the area. The license is fairly inexpensive but it costs more for non-residents.

If you want a better bang for your buck, we recommend that you get an annual license. It usually goes for about $30 to $200. You can use the annual license to fish throughout the year instead of getting a license every time you head out to fish.

Set Up Your Hook, Line, and Sinker

Tie the casting plug on your line. To do so, use the improved clinch knot. Start by passing the line through the hook eye then tag the end. Make five turns around the standing line then insert the loose end of the line between the first loop and the eye. Pass the tag end through the second loop and finally tighten the knot slowly.

Attach two sinkers at least six to twelve inches above the hook. The weight of the sinkers will keep the lure and bait down in the water. Attach the bobber to the fishing line with the spring clip. This allows the bobber to move up and down the line with ease. So, when fish nibbles at the bait, the bobber lets you know when it moves up and down.

Learn to Cast

The most challenging part of fishing is casting. Poor casting translates to missed opportunities. In normal fishing, people usually cast with the weight of the sinker, lure, or bait but in fly fishing, people cast with the weight of the line. This makes a weightless fly which is best for fly fishing.

It’s important to know the right place to cast. Before you cast, allow six inches of the line at the end of your fishing rod. Next, keep the reel below your hand. Now, flip the bail on your spinning reel. This helps to keep your line in place

To cast, hold the rod with a little tension. To put the cast in the back from the front, start slow then speed up as the rod goes back. Aim towards where you want to cast then move your line in one swift stroke. Now, stop your hand sharply and your line will go where you want to cast it. Once your lure hits the water, flip the bail back. Now, start reeling to attract fish to your bait.

fly fishing

Keep practicing to master the steps above. Once you do so, it will be a lot easier for you to fish.

Find the Right Place to Fish

Knowing where and when to fish influences the outcome. The where and when varies with your target species. Whether you prefer to fish from the shore of a stream, pond, river, or by the dockside, understanding the target species helps you determine the type of gear and line.

Since you’re a beginner, we recommend fishing with a friend by the shore of a river or stream. Other water bodies make perfect fishing spots in your local area. From lakes to oceans, you’ve plenty of options.

Baiting Your Hook

Now that you know how to cast, the next step is to learn how to bait your hook. There are different things you can use as bait. Some people prefer using 4 to 5 kernels of corn while others use ¼ slices of hotdog, especially on a #4 baitholder.

While all these are good options, we highly recommend using a small piece of Nightcrawler. They usually come in counts of 12 to 24 available at Walmart or your local tackle shop. You can also dig for smaller worms in the garden. To do so, find moist areas under rocks or leaves.

If you’re not comfortable using worms, then use the aforementioned items. To bait your hook with your worm, use your thumbnail and pinch off a small 1-to-2-inch section of the worm. Then pierce one end of the worm and thread to the barbs of your hook. Next, piece the worm on the other end and secure it to the bar. Make sure it covers the point of the hook.

Cast your line into the water and once your bait is in the water, your hard work should start paying off. If using a bobber, you should see it halfway submerged. However, if the bobber is completely submerged without a bait, then you added too much weight to your sinker. Or, the bobber is too small. Replace with the correct bobber.

If you follow the steps above, you should land your first fish in minutes. Remember, be patient and keep practicing to hone your skills.

A winning mindset is a state of mind that allows you to enter a flow state at will. You do this by programming your subconscious mind.

Believe it or not, most of what you do throughout an average day is NOT freely chosen by your normal waking consciousness even though it may seem that way. The truth is that most of what you do on a day-to-day basis is done on autopilot.

An example of this would be when you’re driving your car and as you do so you get bored and begin daydreaming. Before you know it, you find yourself several miles further down the road with absolutely NO memory of having driven those last several miles. So, who exactly was driving while your waking consciousness was in la-la land, and how exactly did you manage to avoid an accident?

Your subconscious mind was in control. You already spent years programming your subconscious with how to deal with a broad range of possible driving scenarios and thus it had no trouble taking the wheel while your waking consciousness took a little break. In other words, you were able to take effective actions without having to THINK about them.

Air Fryer Magic: Perfectly Cooked Veggies Every Time

Cook Vegetables in an Air Fryer

Cooking in an air fryer is a hit, especially when we talk about vegetables. This is because vegetables are very sensitive to heat the air fryer works best; therefore, in addition to being a very healthy food, we must know how to cook it properly to maximize its nutritional benefits.

If one day you need to cook vegetables, but they have gone bad or you have undergone a long trip to get to the kitchen, we propose some tricks that will help you get a tasty and perfectly cooked dish. Cooking in an air fryer recipe works for almost all vegetables.

Beginners should go for easy dishes if they are new to cooking. On their own, most vegetables taste great, even raw! The best way to make most leafy vegetables, such as kale, taste great is to cook them at a very low temperature for a very short period with some olive oil, salt, and garlic. Dressings have a very strong or pungent taste, which can often overpower the slight taste and texture of most vegetables, so they should be used only for the strongest, for example, chard or spinach.

It’s all about timing

It is always essential to turn on the hood 10 minutes before cooking boiled, steamed, or sautéed vegetables, to inspect the clock on the hob (and use the timer if necessary), and to look at the color of the ingredients to prevent overcooking. Freshly picked vegetables should have a high sheen and not have lost any of their original colors like green sheen, orange or yellow.

Moreover, they should not taste bland or greasy. An air fryer can also help you to prepare your vegetables, in addition to your cookware. Since this method does not damage the food, it keeps all of the nutrients and minerals intact.

The color and flavor are also enhanced. According to the food and the result you want, you can choose between 100% steam and baking mode with additional steam. Besides vegetables, you can also prepare meat and fish with great results. Following that, we explain how to cook various vegetables, so that you always find them accurate:

You can prepare broccoli buds by boiling, steaming, or sautéing them in a pan, stirring them for about 5-8 minutes to get the perfect texture.

To cook carrots with their original color, nutrients, as well as their characteristic crunchy texture, you should boil them for 5 to 10 minutes, steam them for 4 to 5 minutes, or sauté them for 3-4 minutes.

Eggplants need to retain their magnificent purple color. The process is simple: boil them for 5-10 minutes, steam them for 5-6 minutes or sauté them for no more than 3-4 minutes.

Red peppers are cut into strips. No matter which of the three colors this product presents, its appearance is consistent. In the presence of heat, they soften quickly. The best way to preserve their sweetness is to cook them in a pan which takes about two to three minutes at most.

Cooking sweet potatoes with salt and pepper. During the steaming process, they are cooked for 5-6 minutes, then sautéed with garlic and olive oil for 3 minutes. They are delicious and contain iron.

Kale or cabbages, for example, have an important complication: Cooking their stems requires more time than cooking their leaves. Separating the stems first and steaming the leaves before adding them is our recommendation. Let’s do everything together for three minutes at a time as the last step.

While pumpkins are a fun Halloween decoration, they are not a great candidate for culinary use. Many people think you can cook them like an apple. In reality, they are difficult to cut up, they have a very strong flavor, and they will quickly go from “cooking” to “boiling” in water.

After cooking your vegetables, you still have work to do. After shaking them thoroughly, they will not cook anymore. You may wish to do this step, especially if you are going to use the vegetable for a salad. The same applies to boiled or steamed vegetables. It’s easy to prepare a dish in advance and serve it hours later without worrying about it spoiling or losing its properties by simply shaking it. Squeezing those delivers more flavor, texture, and color.

In a bowl, mix water, a lot of ice, and half a tablespoon of salt. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables from the pot to the ice bath after they have simmered for a while. After a minute, put them on a plate and serve.

Cooking for the Campsite: Meal Planning for a Fun…

Plan Meals for Camping

Cooking

Planning out a week’s worth of meals at home is hard enough; it seems nearly impossible if you plan out all of the meals for a week-long camping trip. After all, you won’t have those easy fallback options of going out to eat or making a grilled cheese sandwich. The only food you will have is the food that you bring with you, so it’s important that you plan out your meals carefully and ensure that you have everything you need.

This article will give you a few tips on planning a menu for your camping trip so that you don’t end up scavenging for berries at the end of your trip. family_camping

Plan around the Cooking

You want to take as few cooking tools with you as possible when you go camping, so you should try to plan meals that all use the same outdoor cooking equipment in Alpharetta. So, if you have a recipe for Dutch oven biscuits, try not to also have barbecued chicken on the menu.

This would require you to have both the Dutch oven and access to a grill on your trip. Unless you know the campsite already has barbecues available for your use, this can make packing extremely troublesome.

If you really want to make things easy, plan as many meals as possible that require no cooking equipment. This can include things like tinfoil dinners, hot dogs, and other foods that can be cooked directly over the fire. Depending on how long your trip is, you may be able to plan a menu that doesn’t require you to pack any cooking equipment at all. However, if you’re going to be camping more than a few days, you’ll probably want some variety and will want to bring some equipment along so you can cook different meals.

Non-Perishable Foods

As easy as it is to serve everyone cereal and milk in the morning, keeping milk cold during a week of camping is quite difficult. Instead, you’ll have to plan meals that use non-perishable foods, like canned goods, rice, and pasta.

If you do have a few meals that use perishable food items, plan your menu out so that you will eat those items within the first few days. This will allow you to have those meals before the ingredients are in danger of going bad.

Advanced Preparation

Wherever possible, do as much cooking preparation in advance as you can. This can include things like chopping up the chicken and potatoes for your tinfoil dinners, or rolling up some breakfast burritos so they just need to be heated up over the fire. Whatever preparation you can do at home will save you a lot of time and hassle while you’re camping. After all, it’s much easier to chop up chicken on your clean countertop than to try to do it on a cutting board sitting on a log.

people camping

Divide and Conquer

If you’re going on a camping trip with multiple people, make sure that you divide up the duties for food. Put each person or group in charge of one meal or one day’s worth of meals and make them responsible for providing and preparing the food for that meal or on that day. This will lessen the load for you.

Plan meals for camping – Just make sure that you communicate with one another when you’re planning out the meals, you’re responsible for. Otherwise, you might end up having hot dogs every day.

The Best Energy Boosters to Keep You Going

Top 5 Energy Boosters

With so many ads about which superfoods are best, it can be confusing to decipher what’s a scam and what’s the truth. That’s why I compiled a list of the top five energy-boosting foods that will give you true, lasting energy to keep you hopping all day! Oatmeal

Oats contain the energizing and stress-lowering B vitamin family, which helps transform carbs into usable energy. Oats are also low on the glycemic index because they have a lot of fiber. That means that your body gets a steady stream of energy, as opposed to a short-term spike, because the carbohydrates gradually flow into your bloodstream.

The key here is to look for high-fiber oatmeal, like oat bran. For the best nutrition kick, avoid instant oatmeal and stick with more natural varieties, then add your own sweetness.

Lentils

Beans are a great source of fiber, which translates to a slow release of glucose, as well as B vitamins, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, calcium and copper. Lentils provide both carbohydrates and protein, making them a great addition to any meal. Lentils help reduce your cholesterol and blood pressure, and they’re low in fat and calories to boot.

Bananas

Bananas provide a lot of potassium, an electrolyte that helps maintain normal nerve and muscle function. Unlike some nutrients, the body doesn’t store potassium for long periods of time. This means that your potassium level can drop during times of stress or during strenuous exercise when the nutrient is lost through excessive sweating. The sugar in bananas is an easily digested form of carbohydrate. Other fruits such as apples, grapes, peaches and pineapples also make great energizing and refreshing snacks. We all know we need to be eating more fruits in our diet!

Chocolate

Studies show that chocolate can elevate your energy levels by way of certain bioactive compounds such as tyramine and phenylethylamine. Chocolate has also been claimed to improve anemia, awaken the appetite, aid in digestion, and improve longevity. Chocolate contains sugar and caffeine along with fat and calories so consume in moderation. When possible, opt for dark chocolate or raw cacao for the highest source of antioxidants.

Almonds

These little guys are great if you’re looking to improve your focus and mental clarity. Monounsaturated fats such as almonds provide essential fatty acids, known as omega-3s and omega-6s that produce an alert mental state.

Healthy Fats

Other healthy fats to include in your diet are avocados, seeds, nuts, olive oil, and fish oil. Of course, you’ll want to check with your health practitioner before making drastic changes to your diet. healthy oils

Incorporating these foods into your daily menu takes some planning, so here are some ideas you can use to ensure you’ll have all the energy you need every day.

Breakfast

* Smoothies: For breakfast, a banana fruit smoothie is a quick and easy way to get the potassium your body requires for normal function. In a blender, combine a small banana, some frozen berries of your choice, ice, 1/2 cup low fat milk, and a teaspoon of vanilla. You can also add a tablespoon of peanut butter or some raw cacao powder as well. If dairy is off the list for then I suggest you use almond – coconut – or another substitute of your choosing.

* Oatmeal: If you need a quick breakfast, you may not always think of oatmeal, or you may think of instant oatmeal, which isn’t as nutritious. Some companies are making instant oatmeal healthier by not adding as much sugar and artificial flavoring, but you’ll always want to compare the sugar and fiber amounts across a few different brands to find the most nourishing oatmeal.

* Cereals: Another great alternative to a bowl of hot oatmeal is bran and muesli cereals. They contain a lot of the energy boosting nutrients of oatmeal, and often contain healthy nuts and dried fruits as well.

Snacks

* Almonds: These nuts are perfect as a mid afternoon snack. Grab a handful and take them to work with you in a snack cup or baggie.

* Dark Chocolate: When you’re feeling sluggish, a small dark chocolate bar is all you need for a great pick me up that will last longer than an hour or two.

Dinner Side Dishes

* Beans: Lentils are a great side dish to enhance many dinner entrees such as tacos and burgers. You can also make lentils a main dish by combining several types into one dish as a bean soup or bean casserole served with cornbread. Another way to eat lentils is to add some pepper and melted shredded cheese as part of a healthy lunch.

Working these naturally energizing foods into your daily routine doesn’t have to be difficult. With a little imagination and effort, you can have all the energy you need to stay awake and alert throughout the entire day!

Outdoor Camping Gear

Outdoor camping gear

Camping is an adventure that lots of people have delighted in from the time they were children. It is something that is done by families, with friends, or alone to clear your head. There is absolutely nothing like being out in the open, living a bit like we made use of, before the days of computer systems and smartphones.

However, simply because it may want to be simple and take your mind off of things, you must not attempt to obtain away with bad, old, or damaged camping people camping equipment. Not only will you have a bad time with bad gear, but you might even be risking your life in some cases.

Camping gear comes in numerous kinds, influences, sizes, kinds, and brand names. From outdoor tents to sleeping bags to camp stoves to footwear and beyond, the list is very long. While you do not need everything on that list for each outdoor camping journey, you must know what pieces are necessary.

Start by finding out what kind of camping you’ll be doing then go from there. You may want to truly invest in the crucial pieces off of that list once you have that figured out.

Yes, it’s a financial investment and will cost a little money. A financial investment is expected to provide returns over time, and great outdoor camping gear will most certainly provide those returns after each use.

First, simply the expense per use of each product. If you buy something that is of greater quality that might cost a bit more, you will likely get a lot e, even more,se out of it than if you purchased an economical, low-quality piece.

Envision yoyourselfuy a $60 sleeping bag at an outlet store since you go camping a couple of times each year. Let’s say you get 20 makes use ou it before it begins tearing, disintegrating, or the zipper breaks past all repair work. The cost per use of that sleeping bag is $3.00.

Now, let’s say you buy a $200 sleeping bag online and go camping several times each year. Assuming the bag lasts you years, which excellent sleeping bags often do, we can assume that you get 100 uses out of it before you start looking for a brand-new one. The cost per use of the pricier sleeping bag is $2.00. Gear Doctors Ultralight 17oz Apollo-Air Sleeping pad

Even though you invest more upfront, you get much more out of it.

The second way to see the value of investing in the right gear is the general comfort or convenience that a good quality product gives you.

Roughing it is and expecting to leave some creature comforts behind is something, however sleeping in a leaky camping tent with a sleeping bag that does not keep you warm if the temperature level drops below 50 is not fun.

Take it an action further and think of your shoes and clothes. You may be okay with normal clothing and shoes when it pertains to car outdoor camping however the 2nd you get on that path or trip that mountain, you’re putting yourself in hazard if you don’t have good shoes and garments. If you slip since your hiking boots are rubbish, are not using the proper safety layers, and wind up hurting yourself and needing to await assistance, your opportunity of surviving is much higher if you have all the right equipment.

Camping should be enjoyable, it must be relaxing, and it should be hassle-free. Getting the right equipment before taking a camping break is necessary if you desire to get the very best value for your dollar and a good, safe time.

Now think about buying a $50 sleeping bag at a department store and you go camping a couple of times each year. Let’s say you get 20 uses out of it before it starts, degenerating, or the zipper breaks beyond all repair work. Now, let’s state you buy a $200 sleeping bag online and go camping a couple of times each year. Presuming the bag lasts you lots of years, which great sleeping bags often tend to do, we can assume that you get 100 uses out of it before beginning to look for a new one.

You might be fine with regular clothing and shoes when it comes to automobile outdoor camping but the second you get on that trail or trip that mountain, you’re putting yourself in danger if you do not have great shoes and clothing.

Be sure you have a first-aid kit with you.

Swiss Safe 2-in-1 First Aid Kit

The Benefits of Fasting: How to Fast Safely and…

Fasting Facts and how to do it Safely

People have been fasting for thousands of years for religious and health reasons, and some regard it as a weight loss tool. You’ve probably seen headlines about celebrities drinking exotic fruit juices to prepare for movie roles, and heard friends talking about their weekly fast days.

Fasting is still controversial among medical experts. If you’re trying to decide whether to give up food for weight loss or other purposes, consider these suggestions for staying safe while you fast.

Deciding to Fast

1. Losing weight. Any diet extremely low in calories will cause you to lose weight quickly, but you’re likely to gain it right back. That’s because you lose water and muscle mass, and your metabolism slows down. When you resume eating, you may gain weight while consuming the same amount of food you used to be able to manage.

2. Detoxify your body. Some diet books claim that fasting will purify your system and remove environmental pollutants. Most doctors believe that your liver and other organs do that job automatically.

3. Feel empowered. The stigma associated with being overweight can create a difficult relationship with food. You may appreciate the experience of control that comes with brief fasting.

4. Practice your religion. Many faiths include rituals based on fasting. Practitioners say it heightens their awareness and brings them closer to the divine.

5. Prepare for medical treatment. Listen to your doctor when they give you directions not to eat before certain medical tests or surgery. Proper treatment may require establishing an accurate baseline or giving your body a break from digesting food.

6. Live longer. A large body of research supports a connection between consuming fewer calories and extending your life span. The tradeoffs may be worth it for you.

Techniques for Fasting Safely

1. Drink liquids. Dehydration is one of the biggest concerns during any extreme diet. If you feel dizzy or confused, drink more water, and see your doctor if the symptoms continue.

2. Clarify your terms. There are many different kinds of fasts. Most healthy individuals can handle consuming nothing but water for up to 2 days. Fasts that allow liquid calories or eating at certain hours may be feasible for longer periods.

3. Alternate days. Alternate-day fasting is a hot trend since a British TV doctor wrote a book about his experience. You may want to experiment with his formula for five days on and two days off. Intermittent Fasting

4. Study nutrition. If you’re trying to take off weight, keep in mind that fasting is a temporary and intense approach. In the long term, it’s important to understand how to eat healthily to stay in shape. Pick up a book on nutrition and try out new recipes for vegetables.

5. Watch for side effects. In addition to dehydration, there can be other consequences to fasting. Look out for bad breath, trouble sleeping, and mood changes. You may find it helpful to decrease your level of physical activity and postpone tasks that require heavy thinking.

6. Know your risks. Some adults need to avoid fasting altogether, including pregnant women and those who suffer from diabetes. The bottom line is that there are many diets more effective than fasting if you’re trying to lose weight.

On the other hand, you may have other good reasons to stop eating temporarily. In that case, fasting may be good for your body and soul, as long as you talk with your doctor and take precautions that will keep you safe while you cut out calories.

Going Raw: A Guide to Implementing a Raw-Food Diet

Implement a Raw-Food Diet

As you hear more and more about the impact your eating has on your health and longevity, you may be considering a raw-food diet. While this lifestyle could be quite different from your usual fare, you might find that you thrive on eating mostly raw foods.

What exactly is a raw food diet? In general, it means eating only things that are in a completely natural state. This means foods that have not been processed or cooked. For some folks, this can even include raw meat, though many raw-food advocates do not eat meat, other than perhaps a little sushi.

These tips will help you make the conversion:

1. List acceptable foods that appeal to you. There are numerous books and websites available with lists of foods that conform to the principles of the diet. You’re likely to find a lot of foods you’ve never considered. Make a long list so you can provide yourself with a wide variety of foods and flavors!

2. Go shopping. Budgeting accurately may be challenging at first. While much of the food you’re likely to buy won’t be expensive, there will be a lot of it. Most raw foods don’t offer a lot of calories; you’ll be surprised how much you might need to eat.

* Avoid over-shopping, though; many of the foods won’t last as long as many processed foods.

3. Start slowly. If you’re not used to eating a lot of fruit, getting carried away might cause more than a little gastric upset. Introduce the raw foods slowly. Substitute a raw food item at each meal for something you didn’t typically eat raw. Continue adding foods over a week or two, until you’re 100% raw.

4. Throw out your processed foods. One way to be almost certain to fall off the wagon is to have other food readily available. We all have moments of weakness, so prepare for yours. Friends, family, and food banks will likely take what you no longer want to eat.

* If you have others in the house who won’t be eating raw, at least try to get rid of the items you’ll find most tempting.

5. Take a good multivitamin. Certain nutrients may be unavailable with a raw diet, and Vitamin B-12 is the classic example. Even if you’re not eating vegan and you usually scoff at manufactured supplements, talk to your doctor before you dismiss the idea.

6. Remember to get enough protein. Protein is another major nutrient you might lack if you’re not careful. Eating balanced meals is just as important as ever.

7. Keep adjusting until your diet is right for you. Assess how you feel. Are you losing weight? Are you losing too much weight? Are there other foods you’d like to try? Are there foods you’d like to eliminate?

8. Give raw foods for at least 30 days. If you can go 30 days without cheating, you should have an excellent idea of whether or not a raw-food diet is something that you want to continue. Any foods eaten outside of the diet will tend to interfere with an accurate assessment.

If a raw-food lifestyle is something you want to try, give the above steps a shot. Changing dietary habits is frequently a challenge; our bodies and minds get used to certain foods. Expect some challenging times over your first 30 to 60 days. However, keep in mind that medical data indicates that our dietary choices have a huge impact on our health.

Maybe a raw-food diet is an answer for you. Try it.

Get Moving and Feel Great

Some people love a tough workout, while others do not so much. 80% of Americans fail to meet government guidelines for aerobic and strength training, it’s obvious why most of us fall into the second category. A recent study by the University of Freiburg in Germany suggests that just 2 changes can make you enjoy exercise more.

Participants with similar fitness levels were asked to ride a stationary bicycle for the same amount of time. Those who considered themselves to be athletic said the activity was more enjoyable and required less effort. The researchers concluded that personal expectations made the difference. The secret is to believe in your athletic abilities and the benefits of exercising.

Think how much easier it would be for you to stick to a workout program if you really enjoyed doing it. Try these tips for building up your confidence and knowledge.

Believing in Your Athletic Abilities:

1. Develop your own style. Each of us has our own personal interests and signature strengths. You may like ballroom dancing or playing competitive sports. You may excel at sprinting or long-distance running. Choose activities that make you feel accomplished.

2. Create challenges. Set goals that will encourage you to keep going. Work at strengthening your tennis serve or increasing your lung capacity so you can swim more laps.

3. Use external rewards. Intrinsic motivation is more powerful, but you can give yourself treats to help you feel fulfilled while you’re waiting to reach major milestones. Promise yourself a pedicure or a weekend outing to celebrate any week you visit the gym consistently.

4. Share social support. While you’re cheering yourself on, it also helps to have family and friends on your side. Team up with an exercise buddy, post your workout plans on a fitness forum, and ask your family for the help you need.

5. Find a role model. Look for someone who has qualities and achievements that you admire. You can pick someone close to you or someone you see in the news. Study what they do and focus on what you have in common.

6. Repeat affirmations. Create positive statements that help you to realize your worth and make changes in your life. Write them down and read them when you’re feeling stressed.

Understanding the Benefits of Physical Activity:

1. Do some research. Browse online or visit the library to read about how exercise affects your body and mind. Visualize yourself having more energy, strengthening your muscles, and reducing your risk for serious medical conditions.

2. Take a course. Sign up for rock climbing lessons or take an anatomy class at a community college. Learn more about your body and how to care for it.

3. Work with a trainer. Maybe you prefer working with a professional one-on-one. Ask friends and fellow gym members for recommendations. A customized program can deliver impressive results.

4. Talk with your doctor. Ask your physician about any concerns you have. They may be able to suggest what priorities would be helpful for you, such as lowering your blood pressure or rehabilitating a previous injury.

5. Evaluate your performance. As you become more physically fit, you may notice the effects spilling over into many areas of your life. Maybe you’re eating more vegetables or responding more effectively to feedback at work.

6. Listen to your body. Feeling good may be the ultimate benefit of working out. Take pleasure in your flat stomach or glowing skin. When you want to exercise, you’ll find ways to overcome any barriers like being too busy or avoiding discomfort. A positive attitude about your athletic abilities and the benefits of physical activity will help you to stay healthy and fit.

Achieving Harmony in Your Work and Home Life

A balanced work-life is to believe there are “ten healthy habits one needs to follow to live a balanced work life. No matter what I am doing – whether on vacation or going about my day-to-day work – these healthy habits are important to me. You may be wondering what these habits are. To know more keep on reading. My friends often find me saying that everything in life is about balance. Healthy living is the equilibrium of good habits, not something extreme.

So how do we achieve this balance?

To start with, we must focus on consistency but don’t rush because consistency takes time. Also, take a step back to disengage from negative self-talk and try to transform that into positive self-talk.

Remember that being obsessed with anything can cause the counterbalance outcome. Your reality is shaped by your thoughts and when you spend too much time thinking about losing calories, what food to eat, whether or not to use social media or simply compare yourself to others, you end up feeling depressed and disconnected from yourself. Changing these negative thoughts into more positive ones is a great healthy habit to try and develop.

Eating healthy foods provided by Mother Nature such as fresh fruits and green vegetables is another must-do if you are trying to develop healthy habits. Cut out processed and packaged foods as much as possible. Think about how you want your day to turn out and do one or two things for your health that will benefit you in the long run.

work-life-balance

Exercising moderately, eating some greens or drinking more water are easy ways to build good habits that you can swear by. Be mindful at all times and realize it’s not about yesterday or tomorrow; it’s about where you are today and at this moment – it’s all about now.

Now that we have a basic understanding of what healthy habits seem like and how you can find that equilibrium in your life, let’s dive into a list of ten good habits that will make your well-being a priority.

1. Change your mindset. Think of your health as a lifestyle change and a daily balancing act.

2. Sleep sufficiently and in good time. Your body undergoes necessary repairs when you sleep. Physical and psychological repair takes place from 10 pm to 6 am.

3. Be patient. It takes roughly ninety days to create a new habit. So, develop patience and learn to love yourself through the process of change.

4. Read voraciously. Educate yourself on spiritual practices, gain knowledge about the foods you eat, read about the lives of wellness masters – there are so many kinds of literature out there.

5. Be mindful of your energy system. Think of your body as particles of energy and ponder over what kind of fuel you want to use to keep it functioning. Do you really want coke and chips to get into your system? I hope not because they will eventually break down your system.

6. Hydrate often. Drink good quality water. If you like, you can add some lemon or other fruits to it to drink more frequently.

7. Eat healthily. Consume natural foods and stay away from processed, packaged food. At least, 80 to 90% of the time, your food intake should be healthy.

8. Don’t feel guilty. When you do eat food that is not good for your health, don’t kill yourself with guilt. Remember balance is important so once in a while, you can break away from your mundane diet and incorporate some junk in it until, of course, you’ve mastered the habit of eating well.

9. Move around. Exercise is the best medicine – even if it’s something as simple as going for a walk or as complex as working out at the gym. Your body is meant for movement. Being in nature is one of the best things you can do for your body.

10. Know yourself. Get to the root of why you’re self-sabotaging if you are and foster a more loving relationship of self-worth with yourself.

And…for your sake eat right!!

balanced life

Here are 13 key reasons why someone might experience extreme fatigue all the time and when to seek help:

There is not a hard and fast rule that every other day is an easy day. A few days are meant to squeeze your energy and it’s quite understandable to feel tired at the end of such days. But being tired all the time is something that needs to be addressed by a health professional.

You may have a health condition that required to be discussed with your health professional. Another thing to understand well cannot be attributed to physical health alone, sometimes what needs the most attention is your mental health.

You’ve got emotions, right?

Become A Great Cooker/Chef

How many times have you dreaded going into the kitchen to make breakfast, lunch, or dinner? You may require a brand-new viewpoint. Cooking may be enjoyable and relaxing in the event you attempt to see it in an additional way.

Here are a few cooking tips that are sure to get your taste buds tingling and entice your inner chef to come out.

Use these tips for preparing your meals. Once you try some of these tips, you will believe that perhaps cooking is not so difficult after all. Not only will your meals be more fun to eat, but you’ll also look forward to cooking them; you might even start trying new recipes.

Go ahead, and begin your cooking journey today!

Pawns: Set all your Pawns on the second row.

Rooks (the castles): Place these pieces on the farther left and right of the board.

Knights (the horses): These pieces should be placed right next to the Rooks moving towards the center of the board.

Bishop: Place the Bishops right next to the Knights.

King: The King piece should be placed on the middle square that contrasts its color, for example, a white King on a black square.

Queen: The Queen piece should be in the middle square that matches its color, quite the opposite of the King piece.

Rook: The Rooks can move horizontally or vertically as many spaces are available.

Knight: These pieces move in an ‘L’ shape either with two spaces vertically or horizontally and the other one space in an opposite direction in a 90° manner. It allows Knight pieces to jump over pieces of both colors in the space where it settles.

Bishop: Bishops can only move diagonally on similar colored squares in an unlimited amount of spaces per direction.

Queen: Queens have a wide range of movement including horizontal, vertical, and diagonal in any direction or number of spaces, and captures similarly.

King: The King piece is the most valuable but only moves one space each turn in any direction and captures in this orientation too.

Believe it or not, most of what you do throughout an average day is NOT freely chosen by your normal waking consciousness even though it may seem that way. The truth is that most of what you do on a day-to-day basis is done on “autopilot”.

An example of this would be when you’re driving your car and as you do so you get bored and begin daydreaming. Before you know it, you find yourself several miles further down the road with absolutely NO memory of having driven those last several miles.

Healthy Habits for a Balanced Life

Eat Healthy – Be Well.

Basic Survival Skills

We live in a world marked by modern conveniences, which is great. Modern technologies allow us to find our way, stay warm, find shelter, and even get the food and water our bodies need.

While this is fine, have you ever thought of uncertainties that nature may present?

To prepare yourself for whatever might befall you, here are basic skills you can learn on your own to prepare yourself to handle most survival situations:

Believe it or not, most of what you do throughout an average day is NOT freely chosen by your normal waking consciousness even though it may seem that way. The truth is that most of what you do on a day-to-day basis is done on autopilot.

There are more anglers today in the United States. Of these, millions fish every day, and the simple truth for doing so is that it’s a lot of fun. Casting your line and catching fish is an integral part of American culture.

Many people itch to go outdoors and fish but it’s not as simple as it seems.

Keep practicing to master the steps above. Once you do so, it will be a lot easier for you to fish.

Cooking in an air fryer is a hit, especially when we talk about vegetables. This is because vegetables are very sensitive to heat the air fryer works best; therefore, in addition to being a very healthy food, we must know how to cook it properly to maximize its nutritional benefits.

Top 5 Energy Boosters

With so many ads about which superfoods are best, it can be confusing to decipher what’s a scam and what’s the truth. That’s why I compiled a list of the top five energy-boosting foods that will give you true, lasting energy to keep you hopping all day! Oatmeal

The key here is to look for high-fiber oatmeal, like oat bran. For the best nutrition kick, avoid instant oatmeal and stick with more natural varieties, then add your own sweetness.

Working these naturally energizing foods into your daily routine doesn’t have to be difficult. With a little imagination and effort, you can have all the energy you need to stay awake and alert throughout the entire day!

Outdoor camping gear

Fasting Facts and how to do it Safely

People have been fasting for thousands of years for religious and health reasons, and some regard it as a weight loss tool. You’ve probably seen headlines about celebrities drinking exotic fruit juices to prepare for movie roles, and heard friends talking about their weekly fast days.

Implement a Raw-Food Diet

As you hear more and more about the impact your eating has on your health and longevity, you may be considering a raw-food diet. While this lifestyle could be quite different from your usual fare, you might find that you thrive on eating mostly raw foods.

These tips will help you make the conversion:

* If you have others in the house who won’t be eating raw, at least try to get rid of the items you’ll find most tempting.

Believing in Your Athletic Abilities:

Understanding the Benefits of Physical Activity:

So how do we achieve this balance?

And…for your sake eat right!!

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