Healthy Lifestyle

How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness

December 4, 2019 by Martha Minniti

Here is a list of how you can deal with health challenges one at a time through these 20 tips:

Stop thinking that your body is your enemy.

It is actually the opposite. While you are battling with your illness, your body is helping you with your fight. As the old song goes, “your body is a wonderland.” And it surely is! Although your body is not invincible to injury and illness, your body is better off with your compassion than your anger.

Stop blaming yourself if you have health problems; it’s not your fault.

At some point in our lives, we will have health struggles. But if you end up blaming yourself, you will just make yourself feel worse about it, which may only trigger more problems. So, refrain from thinking that it is your fault.

Accept that life is unpredictable and that things don’t always go your way.

When you want to make peace with what you are going through right now, the best way to go is to accept what you cannot change and embrace what is in front of you.

Stop wasting your energy in worrying about what others think about your illness.

Trying to spend your energy on people who are not worth your time is a no-no for you. Instead of thinking about how to deal with them, just use your time and energy taking care of yourself.

Learn to forgive yourself – again and again.

If you have been neglective of your health, forgive yourself right away. Looking back on your mistakes is helpful since you take a lesson out of them. However, don’t be so hard on yourself. Self-forgiveness is essential if you want to embrace compassion and positive vibes in you.

Be with people who support you all the time.

Surround yourself with people who genuinely support you. Although not everyone may be very good at showing that they care, learn to discern so you would distinguish if the person understands what you are going through or not. Knowing that you got people’s back is a relief when you have a chronic illness.

Don’t be surprised if your friends and family may disappoint you every now and then.

Learn to expect that sometimes people, especially your family and loved ones, will let you down. And sometimes, you overthink if it is your fault. The truth is, most of these circumstances happen because of what’s going on in their lives and not yours.

Convert resentment and envy to happiness.

If you are not used to being happy for others, it may require you to practice this. However, turning your resentment and envy to positive feelings reduces the times that you will feel worse about yourself.

By refraining yourself from being spiteful and envious, you become more receptive to positive emotions.

Learn to ask for help.

Asking for help is never a sign of weakness. Asking for help is showing compassion to yourself. Not everything can be done alone. You will need people to look after you.

There is nothing wrong with being lonely.

The feelings of isolation and loneliness are reasonable, and there is nothing wrong with it. Just make sure you do not succumb yourself too much with negative emotions.

Practice helping others when you have the opportunity to do so.

If you want to reduce your feelings of isolation, try reaching out to others, especially when they are in need. Helping others can also help you stop worrying too much about your health condition.

Regaining your health does not mean that your life is going to be perfect.

Make sure you stop comparing about could happen if you are healthy or not. Life is not perfect, whether you have an illness or not.

Show your appreciation to your caregivers.

Caregivers are one of those people who have continuously showered their affection and care to keep us in good shape.

They deserve our love and our appreciation.

Patience is always the key.

As cliche as it may sound, patience is a virtue. It is not a surprise if you encounter annoyances and difficulties in your life once in a while. With patience, you can alleviate your problems without making your symptoms worse.

Assess what you can give up and let go realistically to start moving on.

To make room for a new life, you need to let go of some things that you may not need anymore as you move forward. Being fixated with your past may just bring suffering and block you from enjoying the new possibilities in your life.

Your life is an adventure. So, you have to make the most out of it.

Say No when your body says No.

Saying NO is one of the hardest things you will ever do. So, as early as now, it would be best to get acquainted with the art of saying No.

When you say No, you get to practice your independence and enhance your decision skills. Learning to say No gives you the freedom to express yourself in whatever you think is appropriate.

It’s okay if you are not working in an office.

You don’t have to feel bad when you are not part of an outside workforce. Remember, taking care of yourself is work, especially if you have an illness or you are experiencing chronic pain! The truth is, you are actually engaged in a full-time job!

Feeling fed-up is okay sometimes.

It’s normal when you feel sick of being sick. It’s okay if you are having a bad day. You can always start over tomorrow. And if tomorrow is still a bad day for you, there is the day after next. Not everything is permanent so that you will have a good one soon.

Make yourself your own unconditional ally.

Being your own ally is hard to do, but if done regularly will make a lifelong habit. When you are quick to shift negative judgment to yourself, give yourself a break. And imagine what it would feel if you spent the whole day being more caring, friendly, and considerate to yourself. When you are capable of thinking about it, that means you can also do it.

Even if you have health issues, you will always be a whole person.

Being sick does not make you less of a person. Regardless of what you are going through, you are still a human being. Never let anyone try to convince you that you are different. You and everyone else are just the same.

Developing a Better Sleep Routine for Better Sleep and Rejuvenated Mornings

November 4, 2019 by Martha Minniti

Research now supports what we’ve always known and felt — that bad quality or even an outright lack of sleep negatively impacts our health. Clinical studies report that poor sleep may contribute to a host of health problems including depression, anxiety, diabetes, and obesity.

This is especially frightening for those of you who regularly sacrifice sleep to juggle your many responsibilities. But now that we know that sleep plays a crucial role in the normal functioning of the mind and body, the question is what can a busy person do to encourage better sleep?

The simple answer is to develop a sleep routine. There are many factors in life that interfere with your sleep that you have no control over. But there are simple habits that you can adopt to encourage better sleep.

Here are some of these easy practices from experts that will help you get started on a routine for better sleep. Developing these habits and a routine will not only help you get a good night’s sleep but will also help you feel more energized and rejuvenated in the morning. Here’s the secret to feel ready to take on the world.

Turn your bedroom into a cool, restful environment.

One of the things that you do have control over is the place where you sleep — your bedroom! Create a sleep-inducing bedroom. Experts agree that a cool environment is the most ideal for sound sleep.

Maintain your room temperature comfortably cool. 60° to 75° F (15° to 24° C) is the ideal temperature for the onset of sleep. To achieve this, keep your room well ventilated. Taking a hot bath is another natural way to help the body feel cooler. The Harvard Medical School Healthy Sleep program explains that when you take a bath “the rise, then fall in body temperature promotes drowsiness.”

The Harvard Healthy Sleep program also adds that it is helpful “to make sure your bedroom is equipped with a comfortable mattress and pillows.” You may consider investing in temperature-controlled bedding.

Be mindful of lights and sounds around you.

In addition to being cool, a sleep-inducing environment should also be dark and quiet. Your tech devices emit blue light that affects your sleep. “Avoid prolonged use of light-emitting screens just before bedtime,” suggests the Mayo Clinic. Use room-darkening shades, heavy curtains, or an eye mask. Blocking the light will promote a sound slumber.

You also need to lower the volume of outside noise to achieve a quiet environment. Consider using earplugs, a fan, or other “white noise” devices that suit your needs. There are now countless “white noise” apps that can mask the noises that wake you up.

Try out essential oils therapy.

The use of essential oils to improve health, also known as aromatherapy, has long been known to have beneficial effects on sleep. As part of your sleep routine, break out your essential oil collection and experiment with aromatherapy.

You now have a wide range of products available such as diffusers, inhalers, bathing salts, body oils, creams, and lotions. You have options available to you for your different needs and your preferred style.

In addition to the wide range of products, you also have hundreds of essential oils to choose from. But don’t let this overwhelm you. You can start with the more popular oils. Lavender is known to relax the mind, improve your breathing, and influence your feelings about your surroundings. This is helpful in transforming your bedroom into a restful environment.

Whichever product and essential oil you choose, aromatherapy is an inexpensive and uncomplicated way to improve sleep quality.

Pay attention to food and fluid intake.

What you eat and drink throughout the day can affect the quality of your sleep. The key here — for both food and fluid intake — is balance. Avoid going to bed feeling too hungry or too full. Eat lighter meals during the evening. Stay away from food that can cause indigestion.

Similarly, the Harvard Healthy Sleep program recommends that you drink “enough fluid at night to keep from waking up thirsty—but not so much and so close to bedtime that you will be awakened by the need for a trip to the bathroom.”

Paying attention to food and fluid intake also means avoiding stimulants, especially in the later hours of the day. The Mayo Clinic reports that “Nicotine, caffeine and alcohol deserve caution, too. The stimulating effects of nicotine and caffeine take hours to wear off and can wreak havoc on quality sleep.” This means avoiding substances like coffee, tea, alcohol, and tobacco products for a few hours before bedtime.

Make use of mindfulness and guided meditation apps.

The key to a good sleep routine is establishing a “wind down schedule before going to bed,” explained Dr. Susheel Patil, a sleep expert of the Johns Hopkins Sleep Center. Doing relaxing activities before bedtime promotes better sleep because it helps you transition from wake time to sleep time. These calming activities include meditation, mindfulness exercises, and yoga.

Fortunately, technology is now a powerful tool that can help us with these relaxing activities. There are now dozens of options readily accessible and free for everyone. These include sleep improvement, bedtime yoga, and guided meditations apps. Using these apps and online options will surely help prepare your mind and body for good sleep.

7 Habits to Have a Healthier Lifestyle

September 19, 2019 by Martha Minniti

Embracing a healthy lifestyle is not as challenging as a lot of people would think of it. If you want to make a revamp with your life, you do not need to go to the extremes of making drastic changes to your current routine.

Small changes matter, especially if they are done with consistency. If you are planning to change your lifestyle, these habits will help you in this journey:

1. Put standing in your routine

Of course, you are well aware that our bodies are meant to move all the time. So if you have been sitting in your chair for quite a long time now, you need to stand up and move around.

Sitting has adverse effects on the quality of your work and life, such as inflammation and the reduction of good cholesterol that may increase your chances of having a heart attack.

Standing and walking around allows you to move your muscles to promote proper digestion of sugars and fats. In a study by Dr. James Levine, standing up for about 90 seconds activates the muscular and cellular systems responsible for the production of triglycerides, blood sugar, and cholesterol.

Less sitting means more chances of living a healthier life.

2. Get the right amount of sleep

Sleep was never a luxury. To keep your body. Exceptionally your brain healthy, you have to acquire at least 7 hours of sleep.

Having a good sleep enhances your performance on a day to day basis. Those who cannot acquire the right amount of hours are not fully recharged to face and endure the day that is ahead of them.

While there are people who can function with just having 6 hours of sleep or even more, an average adult should have 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep per day, according to WebMD.

Having the right amount of sleep improves your memory and cognition, reduces stress, and keeps you fit. It also alleviates depression.

If you want to change your sleeping habits, a personal assessment would be excellent to cater to your needs.

3. Just keep moving!

A sedentary lifestyle is not a good idea if you want to develop healthier habits. You need to move around even just for about 30 minutes.

Moving around has benefits for your body, mind, and even your waistline. Exercising enhances your confidence and boosts your energy. It also helps you battle with stress.

You can do the basic exercises in the morning for starters. Do some stretching or walk around your neighborhood.

If you are too busy to hit the gym, you can always do squats and burpees at home, or run up and down the stairs to keep your body moving all the time.

4. Always drink water.

For sure, you are all so crazy about diet soda, but nothing will ever compare to water. You release fluids every single day, and you have to drink lots of water for you to replace them.

Keeping yourself hydrated all the time enhances your metabolism and replenishes your body. It also helps you burn more calories and aids in your digestion.

Make drinking water a part of your health routine, and it sure will boost your chances of living.

5. Start opening your windows

When you open your windows, you are also allowing fresh air to go inside your home. And of course, you need this.

Your home has pollutants and particles that are very harmful. With this, opening the window helps air everything out.

Who knows? Your house might have more air pollution than you’d ever thought. Pollutants may come with the form of candles, fumes, hairspray, etc. As these may not be harmful to you, mixing these things all together in the air might raise blood pressure, harden your arteries, and cause inflammation.

Keep your room ventilated at times as this conserves energy and promotes better health.

6. Eat nuts

When you aim to keep yourself healthy, choosing an excellent and healthy snack is a good idea since it makes you feel better.

Ditch the crackers and potato chips and indulge yourself in eating nuts instead. With its omega-3 component, nuts are known to be good for the heart and even your waistline. They also have healthy unsaturated fats to reduce inflammation and cholesterol and avoid the dangers of having cancer or heart disease.

7. Remove clutter from your life

You need to declutter. You must get rid of the things you don’t need and use.

Having too much clutter around you prevents you from getting focused on things. Decluttering allows you to keep your house clean and remove the unnecessary items inside your home. You also get to make your area spacious if you start eliminating clutter around you.

Decluttering does not apply to things or stuff at home. It may also mean people. If you start eliminating people who you don’t need and are toxic to you, you will begin to feel more relieved and energized. It does help your emotional health, too!

Having A Healthier Lifestyle

In a study, it has been found out that healthier habits can add more years to a person’s life.

If you are up for the challenge of embracing a healthier you, choose the habits that you think will suit you well. Never pick something you cannot handle.

Learn to appreciate the small changes that you witness every day since lifestyle change is a process. You are never too slow or fast, but you keep on moving forward.

Having a healthier lifestyle might be tedious, but it does not mean it is not doable. It may take time, but all the sacrifices will surely be worth it. Everything will work the way you want them to be.

10 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Start a Healthy Lifestyle

June 6, 2019 by Martha Minniti

10 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Start a Healthy Lifestyle

No matter what age you and if you’re feeling like you’ve been neglecting yourself, stressed, burnt out or not the best version of yourself it’s never too soon or too late to start a healthy lifestyle.

Practice Self Care

I want to start first with self care. This is taking care of your mind, soul and body. This is the basis for everything else I cover here and doing this will help make all of the pieces fall together easier.

Self care isn’t just a single activity. It encompasses everything else on the list below. It means that you practice self care daily and make it a priority. When you do this you have energy and the mindset to tackle everything that comes your way.

There are many ways you can practice self care, meditating, eating nutritious meals, exercising daily or making sure you find a quiet time every day among others. Pick things that you enjoy doing that are healthy.

When you start and get in the habit of living a healthier life, you will reap a lot of benefits. Not just your body but your mind and soul as well.

Starting a healthy lifestyle is easy but sustaining it is where the real challenge lies. Think back to all of those New Year’s Resolutions you made like going to the gym, eating healthier and giving up sugar. You began with good intentions and somehow life got in the way and you stopped doing them.

There are always lots of excuses to skip doing things that you know are healthy. So next time procrastination rears its ugly head or that voice inside of you starts telling you can’t or shouldn’t here’s 10 ways to motivate yourself.

1. Have Written Goals

Start small and add more goals as you make progress. Don’t try to do it all at once. It takes time to turn them into habits. Try creating queues that remind you to do something from your goal list daily.

For example if you want to exercise daily lay out your clothes the night before and them put them on the next morning as a queue to exercise.

2. Have a vision board.

Practicing the law of attraction and having a vision board is another powerful tool to keep you motivated. Put it where you can see it first thing and during the day as a reminder of your goals.

Include photos of your goal and any motivational words or images. Fill your board with meaningful cues.

Look at it daily, even multiple times a day and whenever you feel like you are slipping back to your old habits, as a reminder of what you really want. This will help keep you working towards your dream.

3. Focus on one new habit at a time

As I mentioned in #1, you want to start small and work your way to adding more goals.

Who hasn’t tried piling on a bunch of goals at once and then didn’t accomplishing anything?

This is why it is important to choose one new habit/goal and work on achieving before adding another one from your list.

Start small and focus your willpower on one goal and you’ll have a higher chance for success.

4. Break Down Your Goals

If you have a big goal you want to achieve, it can be overwhelming. One way to get out of overwhelm and into action is to break it down into smaller victories (smaller goals). Doing this will give you the motivation to keep moving forward.

Choose to do the easiest task first before hurdling the big ones.

I highly recommend reading the book by Darren Hardy called the Compound Effect – it’s all about how smaller action steps keep you moving forward and add up into big achievements.

5. Get an Accountability Partner

If you feel you need help/support to keep moving forward, find a friend and ask for their help.

Ask them to support you when achieving your goals is getting tough to remind you of your goals. Maybe ask them to join you on your journey towards a healthy lifestyle.

You can also celebrate your milestones together.

It’s smart to declare your mission out loud. The more people who know about your goals, the more you are likely to stick to your plan.

6. Build the awareness habit.

Self-awareness or being aware of who and what you are is a good tool to facilitate behavioural change. When starting a habit, we have to know our weaknesses and conquer them before they conquer us. This takes a lot of mindfulness, willpower and dedication, but once we become acutely aware of it, we are well on our way to success. It is difficult to admit where we have possibly fallen short of our goals. We end up making up excuses for our behaviours. Get out of your comfort zone, know your weaknesses and your contributions then learn and grow from it. Find time at the end of each day to reflect and meditate on how you can improve yourself.

7. Link new habits with old ones.

Habits that you are already successful at can help you to establish new ones.

When you link new habits to old ones, it is easier to remember the new ones..

An example of this would be drinking water before you sit down to eat a healthy meal. Another example is to meditate daily when you wake up in the morning.

8. Practice the 5-second rule.

Why the 5 second rule? You want to get started right away on a new habit because if you don’t, your primal brain will kick in with all of the reasons why not to do it…procrastination, overthinking, feeling overwhelmed or tired.

A very helpful tool is to set up an urge jar so anytime your brain kick in and you overcome the negative thoughts and do the habit you add a glass bead to an urge jar. You can find out the details why this really works at theLife Coach School Podcast Episode #263 [

9. Commit at least 60 days to building a new habit

When you are building new habits, commit to at least 60 days. Many people believe that it takes 21 to 30 days.

According to habit expert James Clear it takes on average, more than 2 months before a new behavior becomes automatic — 66 days to be exact.

Do not worry if you mess up. His studies also show that missing or skipping a day or two will not affect your habit forming process.

10. Add rewards to the process

Add some fun into building your new habits by rewarding yourself.

Say you are building a healthier eating practice. You can reward yourself with a cheat day where you can eat what you want.

Don’t go crazy with the rewards and resist the normal tendency to be hard on yourself.

11: Use daily reminders to initiate behaviour.

This can be in the form of written goals, a vision board or a friend. There are also apps available to help remind you of your goals and record your achievements.

Create a routine.

on the other hand, is the consistent action you take to create a behavioural change.

Focus on how you feel.

Self awareness is powerful. Take a few moments daily to reflect on what you’ve done and how you feel is a great way to keep in touch with the positive effect living a healthy lifestyle has on you.

Use any or all of these tips to help get you going and keep you on track to a healthy lifestyle.

How to Stay Fit Despite Your Age

May 30, 2019 by Martha Minniti

Exercising will improve your health especially as you age. Not only that it will keep your body in better shape making it easier to get around especially in your 70’s and beyond.

Being consistent and taking the time to exercise pays off by helping you to reduce the risks of having heart diseases, cancers, and diabetes. As you get older, what you are capable of doing changes.

Your age determines the amount and type of exercise you should be doing.

We’ve created this simple guide to help you figure this out:

Childhood and adolescence:

For children, regular amounts of exercise and activity will help build healthy bones, give kids more self-confidence, controls weight, and keeps kids in healthy sleep patterns.

Children should be active for at least an hour per day. This can be hard in the winter months, you’ll have to get creative and find fun ways to engage your child in activity when it isn’t possible to get outside and move.

You want to encourage your child to participate in a variety of sports which can help them develop certain skills. They can also do non-scheduled physical activities, like going to playgrounds.

During adolescence, teenagers may not become as physically active as before, especially for girls. Managing anxiety and stress and having a healthy body image can be achieved by exercising moderately.

To keep teenagers physically active, parents can persuade them to join at least one sport, regardless if it is with a team or not as long as it can help them stay fit.

20s:

People who are in their 20s are usually the most active. At this stage, VO2 max, which measures the rate at which oxygen can be pumped into the muscles, is at its peak and their reaction times are the fastest. However, every year, up to 1% of the VO2 max decreases and one’s reaction time tends to slow down. Here’s the thing, exercising regularly aids in slowing down this decline.

Retaining the optimum VO2 max and reaction in your system can be achieved by increasing your bone density and lean muscle mass.

To keep yourself fit, you can choose various physical activities while having fun. Rowing, boot camp or tag rugby are great examples for this.

If you work out regularly, you can ask a professional to help you establish periodization while you are training. With this, you can divide your activities into different aspects, like volume, intensity and type of exercise. Doing so allows you to boost your performance and prepares you for any exercise events.

30s:

Focusing on your cardiovascular strength and fitness is essential when you are in your 30s. With your career and your family as your priorities, a sedentary lifestyle might not be avoided. Always remember to have a good posture and refrain from sitting for long periods of time. Even while you are at your home, you can always use household chores as reasons for you to move around.

At this stage, HIIT or high-intensity interval training is something you can try. This involves high-intensity activities that are divided into lower intensity exercise periods which would only take 20 minutes for you to finish.

Pelvic floor exercises can be done by women, especially after giving birth. These activities, often called as Kegel exercises help in the prevention of incontinence.

If you want to explore more, you can also try yoga, boot camp, or spin class.

40s:

As people tend to start gaining more weight as they turn 40, resistance exercise is recommended to burn calories and prevent the accumulation of fat. Resistance training for ten weeks can help gain lean weight, increase metabolic rate, and decrease fat weight.

You can go to the nearest gym and follow a weight training program. Instead of walking as an exercise, running would be better. If you want to reduce back pain, build your core strength by doing pilates too.

50s:

At this age, you are at a greater risk of developing chronic conditions like cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes.

Weight-bearing and strength training exercises can help you stay fit and robust. You may also try activities that promote balance and provide relaxation.

60s:

As you get older, you are more prone to various chronic conditions, even cancer. To avoid such, people at this age should engage in a high level of physical activity.

Even if aging declines physical activity, it is your mission to stay fit and active.

Exercises that improve strength and flexibility should be done at least twice a week. You may also engage in various forms of dancing, like ballroom dancing. Aqua aerobics and brisk walking can help you, too.

70s:

As cognitive functioning starts to decline at the age of 70 and above, exercising is very crucial as it improves your brain’s health. Keep yourself mobile, especially if you experienced being ill before.

To keep yourself fit, talking walks with family members and friends when they visit would be a great idea. Cardiovascular, balance, and strength exercises should also be a part of your exercise regime, as of course, with the approval of a professional.

Regardless of what age you are, exercising indeed is beneficial and essential in achieving good health.

How to Improve Your Brain Age

May 23, 2019 by Martha Minniti

Exercising moderately and having a balanced diet, according to a study, cut 10 years of your brain age.

Research says that one can reduce mental decline for about 10 years by exercising at least thrice a week and maintaining a balanced diet.

In this study, it was found out that older people who eat healthy foods such as whole grains, vegetables, and fruits and who work out for at least three times a week have higher scores get higher scores in tests that measure certain skills that fall away in older age such as organizational and planning skills.

160 people who were around 65 and who have sedentary lifestyles participated in the study. Each of them is not suffering from dementia yet are having issues in planning and making decisions.

Cycling, walking or jogging sessions for 35 minutes thrice a week while having a balanced diet were done by one group.

With the use of a series of tests that measure one’s thinking skills, the mental age of 93 of these individuals have improved to 84 after six months.

Since exercising and eating healthily help in one’s blood circulation, these two habits can easily boost the health of one’s brain, which is beneficial to develop better thinking skills.

The 160 participants were divided into four groups by the researchers from Duke University Medical Centre in the United States. One group was assigned to do the exercises only.

Another set of people employed the same exercise program with a balanced diet. Others were given pieces of health advice through phone calls, while the .last group only acquired the dietary part.

Individuals who received health advice had a decline in the results of the three tests on thinking skills that they have taken. Others who had exercise sessions and maintained a healthy diet experienced the opposite.

Using this study, it can be concluded that there is a huge impact on one’s brain health when a lifestyle change occurs.