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Conquer Re-Entry Anxiety and Pursue Your Best Post-Pandemic Life

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It’s almost impossible to detail the many ways the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world we live in. Some of the changes to the way we work, interact, and travel may be with us all for a while. Others have to do with how we navigate shifting or uncertain circumstances in our personal lives right now. For many, the biggest challenge may simply be re-entering society after a period of quarantine or lockdown. Even those who are vaccinated and can be confident about the safety of the spaces they are entering might lack confidence in something far more essential: themselves.

Understanding re-entry anxiety.

Long months in lockdown, cut off from typical activities and interactions, may have left you feeling unhappy with your physical health and appearance as well as anxious about your status in the world you’ve been cut off from. If so, you’re not alone. In fact, it’s so common there’s already a name for it. “Re-entry anxiety” is a phrase that covers an array of social anxieties one may experience after quarantine, from fear of contracting or spreading disease, to agoraphobia, to dissatisfaction with one’s own health or appearance. So if you are trying to figure out why the prospect of meeting up with friends or going back to the physical workplace is so stressful, take comfort in knowing that this is normal and natural. And there are ways of coping with it.

Start Your Fix By Switching Up Your Meal Plan

What you put into your body makes a difference. And if you’re like many others in society right now, you’ve probably been doing a lot of comfort eating, or just-whatever eating, while waiting out lockdown. Or maybe you picked up a delicious bread-baking habit that has led to an uptick in carb intake. Whatever the case, the best first step you can make towards a healthier and more confident you is to improve your daily nutrition. Think about what your body may need that it hasn’t been getting: probiotics to improve your gut health? More protein, and fewer empty carbs? Focus on eating foods that are high in Omega-3s and vitamin D, as these will not only improve your physical health, but also boost your mood. For products and resources to aid you in your journey to better nutrition, peruse the array of beneficial supplements offered by iSmart Nutrition.

Exercise Every Day

Maybe it was difficult for you to exercise while in quarantine, and you are unhappy with your present fitness. This can be especially difficult because lack of confidence makes it harder to venture out, and you may not feel safe or confident getting back to the gym just yet. It’s easy to feel discouraged about your physical fitness, but try to think about it in a long-term manner. No, you’re not going to get an easy magic fitness fix overnight. But start now, don’t give up, and you will be closer every day to meeting your fitness goals. For those unable or unwilling to take gym time now, some other options for fitness include running or walking, dance workouts, yoga, or weight training.

Make A List Of Resolutions

Usually, we save resolutions for the new year. But think of reentering society as another kind of beginning, and you’ll see the value of writing a list of resolutions to follow or goals to pursue. This will help you take stock of who you want to be, even in the midst of changing circumstances. Maybe the pandemic has made you more aware of those in your society who are in need, and you’re interested in giving back. Consider volunteering with a charitable organization or donating to area food banks. Or perhaps you have discovered that you are burnt out at work and want a reset. Consider going back to school for an online business degree. Pursuing education in management or marketing will lead to additional opportunities as you plot a career change.

Everyone is different, and people may process the demands of this unusual time in different ways and at different paces. Wherever you are in your journey, try to find a balance between mindfulness in the here-and-now, and focus on achieving your goals. This will help you achieve the confidence you need as you return to your former interactions and activities.

About the Author 

Jason Lewis is a Certified Personal Trainer with a BA in Human Performance and Exercise Science. Jason is a Personal Trainer by day and primary caregiver of his Mom after her surgery. He writes for Strong Well and enjoys creating fitness programs that cater to the needs of people over 65. 

Visit him site at: strongwell.org

Balanced Nutrition for Entrepreneur Families, Yes You Can!

Balanced Nutrition for Entrepreneur Families, Yes You Can!

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Summer is the time to kick back and relax, but some things should not be compromised, even if — perhaps especially if — you are a busy entrepreneur. Your nutrition plan can be flexible while maintaining non-negotiable elements. Sticking to a balanced diet at home and away is vital in keeping you and your family physically and mentally healthy. While it’s perfectly okay to eat tasty treats every now and then, it’s important to resist the temptation to snack all day, hit the drive-through when you’re on the run or reach for ice cream after every meal, even if you’re hyped and in the midst of launching your dreams.

Another healthy fact to chew on: being more mindful of your nutrition will help you feel happier overall, which will boost your personal and professional life and might even help you create greater balance between the two. You might not need or want to overhaul your diet overnight, but making small positive steps will help you build better lasting habits. These tips from iSmart Nutrition.com  will help you do just that.

The Balancing Act

It’s no secret that a balanced diet is crucial for a child’s growth and development, but did you know what you eat also has an impact on how you feel? Meals that we consume each day have a direct correlation to our mental health. A balanced diet can help reduce depression and anxiety and help you cope with stress.

Summer is no time to slack in your eating habits, so make sure you and your family are eating a balanced diet. This means eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. It’s also important to look for foods that will help you keep your gut health in check; for example, this recipe for tangy guacamole is both gut-health-friendly and extremely tasty. Keep in mind, however, that healthy eating is a lifestyle, and it’s perfectly fine to treat yourself to a sweet summer treat every now and then.

Avoid Restrictions and Reward Systems

If you have picky eaters in the family, it can feel downright impossible getting them to eat right. It might feel counterintuitive but according to Psychology Today, avoid using any sort of restrictions or reward programs. Too often these tactics have a tendency to backfire,. Telling them they can’t have that chocolate chip cookie only makes them want it more and letting them have dessert as a reward for eating all their veggies teaches them to value cake over healthy options.

Try this instead, simply keep any foods you do not want eaten out of the house and stock up on healthy snack alternatives carrots and hummus are good. If you have a child who is able to get themselves a snack-on, try pre-cutting apple slices for easy access. The easier it is for kids to get the snacks on their own, the more likely they will reach for it.

Plan Your Meals in Advanced

Cooking your own food has numerous advantages. It allows you to control exactly what you are eating and your portion size, making it easier to sustain a balanced diet. But many people fall into the trap of unhealthy eating habits because they are pressed for time and just want to grab something quick.

This is why, when possible, you should plan your meals in advance. This is where meal prepping becomes your best friend. You can easily take one day of the week to plan out all your meals in advance. This way when you come home late from work, you do not have to sacrifice your balanced diet.

Eat as a Family

Another great way to make sure your family is eating healthy is to sit down and eat together. This is taking control over what is in the food they’re eating while leading by example. If they see you enjoying a healthy salad and nice cuts of well prepared meats, they will be more likely to follow this example as the get older.

Family meals are also a great chance to bond with everyone at the table. Sitting and eating  together gives everyone a chance to talk about their day and stay involved in each other’s lives. In fact, studies have shown that sitting down for a meal with your kids provides them with a sense of comfort and stability.

A Helping of  Exercise with that?

Nutrition is very important, when rounded out with regular exercise a powerful healthy-living lifestyle emerges to sustain thriving individuals and families. Physical activity isn’t just great for your physique, it also has huge brain benefits, increasing your cognitive function so you’re more productive, focused, and emotionally-balanced. If you’re new to exercise, start slowly so you begin to build a foundation. For instance, set aside some time a few days a week to dedicate to fitness, even if it’s just 30 minutes taking a walk around your neighbourhood. From there, you can build up to running for 5 minutes and walking for 20, and so on.

Commit to a Living Your Best Life

It is important to not view eating healthy as a challenge. As you build good habits and learn what you should and should not be eating, you’ll find eating a balanced diet comes naturally. The earlier you start incorporating these new habits, the better they will stick and don’t be afraid to start small. 

About the Author 

Elena Stewart is a certified life coach specializing in career guidance, with a background in Mindfulness-Based Meditation, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Elena is also a Registered Yoga Teacher. 

Visit her site at: elenastewart.com

Best Monday Ever

How to Overcome the Sunday Scaries and Stop Dreading Monday

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For many of us, Sunday is not the relaxing and rejuvenating day we would like it to be. That feeling of dread that clouds your beautiful weekend is called the Sunday scaries, and it’s more common than you may think — your coworkers likely experience the same thing! Worrying about the coming work week is surprisingly normal, but it can zap your energy before the week even begins and leave you feeling exhausted and unprepared for Monday. To help you alleviate Sunday anxiety and feel ready to face the week, here are some helpful tips.

Develop Healthy Habits to Reduce Anxiety

Engaging in healthy self-care habits like exercise, healthy eating, and getting enough sleep will help ease anxiety and boost your ability to cope with stress.

  • Pick up a mindfulness practice like yoga or meditation to gain better control over your thoughts and feelings.
  • Guided meditations are a great place to start relaxing. Pick up some headphones so you can listen on the go.
  • Turn to tried and true relaxation exercises when you start to feel anxious.
  • Whenever possible, get outside and enjoy the healing benefits of nature.
  • Fuel your body with brain-healthy foods and avoid those that can contribute to stress.
  • Prioritize the importance of a good night’s sleep and take steps to improve sleep habits.

Prepare for the Coming Week

When you feel more prepared for the approaching work week, you’re less likely to feel anticipatory anxiety about the unknowns ahead of you.

  • Plan your meals ahead of time to keep your dinners healthy and enjoyable, then go grocery shopping and stock up on everything you need for the week.
  • Plan your Monday outfit so you have one less thing to worry about in the morning.
  • Write out a to-do list for the week and prioritize tasks that are causing anxiety — these tend to be the ones we procrastinate the most.
  • Schedule something to look forward to after work, such as a hot soak in the bath or a coffee date with a close friend.
  • Get your house in order fast and don’t waste your whole weekend cleaning!

If your Sunday is fueled by anxiety over the coming week, you’re far from alone. The Sunday scaries can affect anyone. While it can be difficult to enjoy your weekend when you’re dreading the week ahead, prioritizing a little self-care can go a long way toward alleviating anxiety so you can make the most of your Sunday. 

Elena Stewart

About the Author 

Elena Stewart is a certified life coach specializing in career guidance, with a background in Mindfulness-Based Meditation, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. Elena is also a Registered Yoga Teacher. 

Visit her site at: elenastewart.com

Stop the madness, Zero to Fit in 3 Steps

Stop The Madness – Zero To Fit In 3 Steps, Part 1

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3 Easy Steps To Integrate Fitness Into Any Lifestyle.

The temptation to overlook health and fitness can have negative consequences. Here are three easy steps to help bounce back after overlooking your body while building a career, providing for family and / or raising children.

The Big Picture.

Step 1, Preparation is the foundation of success

Step 2, Rethinking nutrition is key to lasting results.

Step 3 Establish a simple support system

The mind body connection is real, use it to your advantage.

(Caution – skip immediately to step 1 to avoid the rambling thoughts of the author) 
 
For most people their body has far greater value than their home so let’s begin by asking this question, would you spend money and energy to build an impressive house but cut corners and skip over important steps in the foundation with the full knowledge that your investment would soon need costly repairs, sucking up your cash, draining your time and even preventing you from using your home for an undetermined period of time?
 
Of course not, the idea is enough to make anyone feel upset but that’s exactly the type of disaster we risk in beginning a fitness journey without preparing and educating ourselves in the details.
 
In spite of this example the temptation remains very real to say, “Sure, training is easy I’m going to start exercising right away, it’s no big deal because I have enough will power so let’s go!” As a matter of fact you might even have a fitness program ready and the intention to follow it every day until you look like an Instagram model, yeah hold up a second there Champ. Yes you are right in so much as that you can do great things in fitness with a sold foundation and I want to be the first to applaud and support your effort but did you know that the quickest way to failure for most people is to throw themselves into an exercise routine without a thought out and balanced plan for success which is why a full 90% of all these same people with great intentions to become their fittest selves will abandon their dreams in as little as only a few months.
 
Have you ever seen that person on Facebook purposely jumping up and down, straining through dangerously improper technique and too heavy a weight? Why would anyone place their health in such danger for a few minor neurological changes only to end only up aggravating an existing injury or creating a new problem before abandoning in despair, it’s complete madness.
 
As a society we sleep too little, exercise rarely or never and overeat processed food for too long. Add to this socially encouraged fermenting, over caffeination and blind acceptance of health risks that can culminate in illnesses and worse, no wonder FB guy is frantic, he and most of society is crying out for help.
 
There is a sane and rewarding way of self care though fitness and nutrition, and your example can even help the people around you as you increase your positive energy and outlook on life as a healthier, fitter and more balanced person. Beginning a fitness journey is among the most selfless things that you can do, the effect of improving and maintaining your health will positively impact your family and all the people that count on you including your future self. So, even though some changes might seem like a bit of a short-term shock, you can lessen the impression of physical and psychological impediment by agreeing right now that you deserve to enjoy as much of your life as possible and that you are willing to follow a plan to reach this goal.
 
Now if you waited for a perfect person to share how simple it can be to turn yourself around from a downward health and wellness spiral to wellness and performance, it wouldn’t be me because I’ve been guilty of most of the above and perhaps it was even worse. After having begun a career in fitness at 19 I succumbed to my own personal version of the Superman syndrome by ignoring my body’s warnings as I tried to reconcile the excitement of a growing family, entrepreneurship and triple digit work weeks. Slowly but surely I not only ignored training and nutrition at the expense of health and happiness but ended up on an operating table for bicep tendon reattachment surgery as my reward. The initial injury wasn’t so bad but the subsequent daily instalments of time and lost opportunity during rehabilitation were a hard stop grounding experience that really sucked. In retrospect I’m very grateful as the experience was a test of my resolve and forced me to change a lot of broken things in my life which became the blessing and catalyst that brought me to rethink my concept of whole body fitness and re-immerse myself in the nutrition components that support total wellness and performance. Let me share with you now a few of the lessons I’ve learned while rebuilding my body and returning stronger with greater balance, energy and zest for life.
 
Moving forward lets consider the general perception of what exercise is. According to Wikipedia “Exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness.[1]” Depending however on who is speaking it’s common to hear more about personal preference than what is actually right for us and because we also have individual preferences it’s common to focus on a single aspect or activity for a time. Often enough any single-minded focus can satisfy an urgently lacking need in the short term but as soon as our bodies send us the signals that we are still not alright we quickly either move on to the next best thing we hope will complete our wellness, take a break or quit. This lack of a holistic fitness foundation is a major contributor to failure for most people who regularly start /stop and abandon their fitness goals.
 
Most of us enjoy trying new sports and activities, even participating in multiple sports, i.e; mountain biking in the summer and skiing in the winter (that’s me by the way). If you really want to get the most out of everything you do sport or not, you’re going to need a go-to health and fitness system that supports your goals.
 
A successful fitness system begins with #1, a balanced and motivating physical preparation that creates positive reinforcement, #2, improves your nutrition and #3, culminates in a progressive and often multi-phased physical training program. Although the concept is presented as a how to guide for entering into a fitness program from low or complete inactivity, the 3 steps we’ll discuss are designed to assist in encouraging the adoption of a healthy fitness lifestyle that will benefit the casual fitness enthusiast and professional athlete alike as the system provides an easily adapted framework capable of scaling with changing performance demands.
 
While it’s normal to think the primary benefit of physical exercise is physical, the following 3 steps are also powerful tool in the maintenance of mental health. To be clear I’m not suggesting exercise is the one magic cure of all mental health issues for everyone but, studies show people think and perform at a higher cognitive levels and with greater emotional stability when following a regular workout. From personal experience and working with all types of people who have increased their focus after beginning a progressive return to physical activity after an extended period of inactivity, I definitely agree.
 
Below are the steps I have found to be the safest, sanest and most rewarding while leveraging the power of whole fitness to feel better and enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

Step 1: Preparation

As a beginner, good preparation to integrate fitness into your lifestyle cannot be understated. Both the visual changes in body composition including fat reduction, firmer muscles and strength increases come as a result of all the body’s systems working together in reaction to training and you’ll want to activate everything properly before pushing any limits.

For most people the beginning is as simple as dedicating a 30 minute time slot each day, putting on running shoes (or boots depending on your climate) and taking a five-minute walk to the corner. On the return home you might practice a few box breathing repetitions, enjoy a quick stretch before taking off your running shoes and gifting yourself back any remaining time in your 30 minute slot. Is this a small step, absolutely but it’s important because one of you’re really important goals in starting off is to creating a simple and satisfying habit where you get to rack up a few easy wins.

I know there will be a temptation to ring your hands in exasperation saying no… I’m ready for more right now but trust the system. Pretty much everyone who has been sedentary for any extended period will benefit from racking up a few easy wins as you prime your body and release endorphins you will be reinforcing your decision and desire to get fit. For those of you who are already active in different ways your proverbial walk to the corner might resemble something more like a 20-minute bike ride or other activity but the important thing to keep in mind is not what for how much you do but rather that you are developing and important fitness habit without punishing your body.

The simple act of carving out a specific time in your day used to improve your health is a win and completing these initial goals without tearing yourself down encourages your body and mind to naturally yearn for more which is a great big win. Although your training preparation phase should be easy by design you’ll begin experiencing an increased sense of satisfaction and well-being as you wake up your central nervous system and begin to activate your adrenal and endorphin functions that are invaluable in naturally maintaining you new healthier mindset and lifestyle.

Social support is also important. It’s not always easy to find a workout buddy particularly during a lockdown like Covid but you can usually always find an accountability partner. This should be somebody who will encourage you as you check in with them daily to share your experience and success. Choose someone who will care or at least be interested enough to follow up with you if you forget to check-in when you’re supposed to. This could be anyone from close family, a work colleague or perhaps a friend you just don’t seem to connect with often enough.

Step 2: Nutrition (overview from part 2)

If you are serious about energy and stamina during training, recovery after training and wellbeing beyond fitness this segment is for you.

A good nutrition plan does not need to be complicated but ignoring our body’s nutritional needs is an impediment to success. In contrast learning to apply sound nutritional principals increases health, performance and wellbeing in and out of an exercise program.

Did you know that nutrition is where abdominals are either showcase or buried?

Step 3: Training (overview of part 3)

If preparation and nutrition are the unsung hero’s in the beginner’s arsenal, the actual training is where many people will find the most fun as you experience and enjoy the improvements in your performance as you learn to increase the intensity of your workouts.

What do I do first? How long should I train? When should I change programs?

Learn the power of beginning slowly and finishing strong, build the fitness program that’s right for you.

Now that you have an overview of the process remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. The naturally gifted hare stopping often throughout the race because of overconfidence in his abilities. His old belief failed him when the tortoise who was following a simple but well planned system beat him to the finish line. Whether you are more like the a tortoise or a hare, following this 3 step system that will carry you to your own finish line faster and with less stress which in my opinion is the best way to succeed in advancing  from sedentary or minimal activity into a long lasting and satisfying fitness plan.

See you in the next part of the series as we dive deeper into Nutrition, and it’s important role in you’re own fitness journey. Until then we hope you enjoy exploring and applying the preparatory guidance presented and continuing moving forward into long lasting health and fitness.

Neil D