Living a life of health and fitness is hard but it is not impossible. In fact, with discipline and commitment, you can actually change your habits and finally get rid of those habits that affect your health.

Below are some of the things that we feel are important parts in the road to a better and healthier you. Read on and see if you have any of them or are doing most of them.

1. Serious commitment If you really want to change your life and get rid of habits that you have for so long been doing, youve got to want it real bad. You need to really commit on it to ensure that you will see the plan through. There are a lot of people who start eating healthy and living healthy who will fall back to their old ways after some time. Dont be like those people. Starting and stopping will only serve to deflate your spirits and make you believe that you can never really do it. Start when you feel that you really want it bad enough and you can really do it. Will power can be really amazing. It can make miracles.

2. Support system Changing old habits whether foregoing with a bad diet or quitting a vice, is hard but when done with people who live and support you, the task can be easier and more manageable. This is the reason why diets and programs for quitting alcoholism and smoking have support system programs within their organization. People who share your experiences whether or not they are undergoing the same things as you are will help encourage you to continue with the goals that you have set.

3. Avoid temptations Without the will power to avoid temptations, your plan to change will constantly be derailed. It is important that you remain in control when it comes to the changes that you want to do for yourself. But this however is not something that is easy to do. There will be lots of instances when you will be truly tested and most people will fail the test. They will go back to their old habits once, and then twice and then thrice until they completely forgo with their plans for a healthy lifestyle.

To avoid this, you should first stay clear of the temptations. If you have friends for instance who influence you to not eat and not live healthy, dont go with them for the meantime especially if you know that you will only be tempted when you are with them. You should also avoid going to places that you know will tempt you to go back to your old ways.

4. Reminders People who are constantly being reminded of how they should proceed have better chances of making it through the program than those who are just doing it alone. This works in the same way as the support system but even better because in this instance, you have somebody who really point out to you what you should be doing. Sometimes, we go back to our old ways not because we want to but because it is something that your bodies are already so used to. So if you want to really change your ways and live a life of health and fitness, have somebody you trust and respect with you all the time.

Tags: Alcoholism, Change Your Life, Diet, Diets, Discipline, Eating Habits, Eating Healthy, Experiences, Health And Fitness, Health Fitness, Healthy Diet, Instances, Life Fitness, Miracles, Old Habits, People, Quitting Smoking, Reason, Spirits, System Programs, Temptations, Will power —

Recover Your Healthy Self
Jay Morganson (aSuperHealth.com)

Effective Stress Management:
A Must For Those With Busy Lives

What would you do with increased stamina, decreased anxiety, and solid peace of mind? You would probably get more done in less time–at the very least, each day would be more enjoyable. In the long term, you would certainly experience better physical health and a longer life span.

The only thing standing between you and a higher level of general well-being is the unpreventable occurrence of stress. Daily stress can rob us of our potential, weakening every aspect of our lives. Consider the following:

Stress breaks down the efficiency of the immune system leaving our bodies vulnerable to illness and disease.

Stress causes heart problems and high blood pressure.

Stress contributes to addictive behavior, causing alcoholism, eating disorders, nicotine addiction, and workaholic tendencies.

Stress causes social withdrawal, perpetuating symptoms and leading to destructive isolation.

To avoid stress and related symptoms you must be proactive, nurturing your body and mind through a balanced diet, exercise, and reserved time for relaxation.

A Balanced Diet – We know that a balanced diet can improve your health, but can it really do anything for your stress level? Experts say it can. Research has found that good nutrition has a tremendous impact on our ability to ward off the damage stress can do to our systems. Sure, you’ll still feel tense, but with your body nutritionally armed for battle, you’ll handle things better. There are many things you can do to maximize your body’s fighting power.

One of the most significant things you can do is to reduce the amounts sugar and white flour in your diet. Sugar and white flour cause a host of problems you could do without. By reducing these items in your diet, you will be able to maintain better weight control, reduce the risk of heart disease, and increase your energy level. Why? Because items made with these products metabolize too fast in your blood system. The result is unhealthy spikes in your blood sugar, rapid depletion of energy, and damaging stress symptoms.

Exercise – In addition to eating right, exercise can be a tremendous help in fighting stress. As you get moving, your circulation delivers oxygen and nutritional elements throughout your body. The result is muscle relaxation, the release of mood elevating chemicals, and a strengthened immune system. Studies show that those who exercise regularly are less likely to suffer from stress related illness.

Relaxation. When your body relaxes, it reverses stress symptoms. You experience a sense of control as you eliminate the feelings of helplessness that often accompany stress. Find that one thing that really helps you to kick back and forget about things for a while. Here are some suggestions:

– Catering to our senses, such as sight, smell, and sound can reduce anxiety. So put on some favorite music, keep fresh cut flowers in view, and sink into a warm bubble bath.

– Reduce the clutter in your life. Passing a stack of papers as you leave for work, tripping over boxes, or stuffing a breakfast plate into a sink of dirty dishes, creates underlying tension that acts as a fuse when something gets you fired up.

– Deal head-on with anything that has been bothering you. Ignoring problems won’t make them go away–resolving them will.

– Get a good night’s sleep. Your body needs this time to heal and “reboot” in preparation for the next day’s challenges. Deny this basic need and you drain all of your systems of their strength.

Good nutrition, exercise, and learning to enjoy life will help you ward off dangerous stress symptoms. It’s important that you take steps now to ensure a healthy future. That is why I dedicate several sections of my ebook series, Recover Your Healthy Self, to teaching you how to reduce the levels of stress in your life, instantly improving your quality of life. You’ll learn: How to cope rather than stress, 13 affirmations to move beyond stress and its impacts, how to become a relaxation guru, and much more.
About the Author

Jay Morganson from aSuperHealth.com

Tags: Addictive Behavior, Alcoholism, aSuperHealth.com, Author, Balanced Diet, Diet Exercise, disease, disorders, Eating Disorders, Effective Stress Management, energy level;, energy;, Good Nutrition, Healthy Self, heart disease;, Heart Problems, high blood pressure;, illness, Jay Morganson, Life Span, mood elevating chemicals, nicotine, Nicotine Addiction, Peace Of Mind, Physical Health, Produ, Relaxation, Risk Of Heart Disease, Significant Things, Social Withdrawal, Stress Breaks, Stress Level —

I Am Healthy
Kay Kopit

I Am Healthy
By Kay Kopit
It is amazing to be able to say that! I will say it again, I am a whole, happy, healthy, loving woman. I was sick for the first 40 years of my life. Like millions of other human beings I grew up immersed in the family disease of alcoholism. For generations it has plagued my family. The unbalanced life I led is so common in our society; I didnt know anything was wrong. I was a participant in the chaos, confusion, neuroses, pain and suffering, which is present in dysfunctional families. I call it The Dance of Death.

I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri in the community of Clayton. The only memories I have of my father are when he would beat my brother and me with his belt so severely my clothes would cling to the bloody strap marks on my legs. He would make us wait for our punishment in our room before he dealt the ugly blows. My mother closed her eyes to what was happening. Both of them partied on weekends where I would find empty highball glasses scattered all over the living room. I had holes in the soles of my shoes while my mother would model a new diamond cocktail ring, winnings from a weekly poker game. My dad was also a compulsive gambler. He died at the age of 45 when I was nine years old.

My mother attracted another alcoholic to her life soon after my fathers death. They had a symbiotic, codependent and alcoholic relationship. Every ten days they would consume a case of scotch, which was delivered to our apartment from the local liquor store. My mother never appeared drunk but she was distant, selfish and narcissistic. My stepfathers disease had progressed to the point he was visibly drunk most evenings. His attitude was condescending, nasty and self-righteous. He was verbally abusive and drove his car while intoxicated on many occasions. When I think back to that period of my history I remember keeping my personal life secret!!! I was ashamed of their behavior. I pretended all was well and I began developing neurotic habits for self-preservation.

In my teens I danced several days after school, participated in theater groups, worked in a department store and had creative life in my head. I imagined the way I wanted my world to be and was in denial as to the truth in front of me. I became obsessive, compulsive and an over achiever. Because I worked so hard I accomplished a lot for a young girl but the reality was it was inspired by fear, insecurity and a need for control.

In college I devoted myself to art and earned a B.S. in Education and a M.A. in Painting and Ceramics from the University of Missouri. I was hired as a college instructor soon after graduate school. I felt happy for a time because I was away from home and involved in teaching. I took my job very seriously but the loneliness I felt when I was by myself was debilitating.

I longed for love . . . any kind. I didnt realize it at the time but I had never felt affection. I became preoccupied with thoughts of men. I had guys on my mind constantly! I was popular and had many choices but I picked the ones who I thought needed me. Most often they were from dysfunctional families. I dated a lot of drunks during my 20s. It felt familiar. In spite of my success as an artist and a teacher, I had low self-esteem and I knew something was wrong with me.

In l969 I began a new life in another city. Within a week of moving to Boston, Massachusetts, I was brutally raped and hospitalized. I never received help with this trauma and didnt properly grieve until years later. I pushed down the pain and was then, more than ever, resolved to create the perfect life for myself, (as if it were in my hands?)
This was made easy for me when Joey Haudel entered my life. He filled the position of my Knight in Shining Armour, albeit, distorted. He was young, handsome, and alcoholic and had just been released from prison. We needed each other like ducks need water. We bonded in a codependent relationship that lasted 12 years.

Our experiences together were astounding. What I learned about myself was profound. Our journey is almost unbelievable. I have told this story in a dramatic narrative, I Survived: One Womans Journey of Self Healing and Transformation on DVD. It is filled with the dark world of illness and moves to the light of wellness. I reached my bottom after years of suffering. I was contemplating suicide but was saved by the Grace of God and the dear voice of a telephone operator who kept me on the phone for over an hour.

I spent years in recovery; beginning with Al-Anon meetings in 1973, several series of Adult Children of Alcoholic Therapy Sessions, individual therapy with numerous therapists and devouring self help books. I had the courage to look within and face the demons. It wasnt easy and many times I wanted to quit. I often felt I was too crazy to get well. One step at a time I forged ahead and never looked back! I visualized a healthy prognosis. Today I am living that beautiful picture!

I am happily married to a man 19 years my junior. I am older than his mother. We just celebrated our 17th anniversary and continue to share the most fabulous life. We have one child, a precious daughter, who we adopted at birth 8 years ago. I was 54 at the time. I am grateful that I am able to be a good parent and relish every moment I spend with both of them as a family. Sometimes I almost gasp for air when I realize I am living a balanced life. Each day I thank God for the gifts I have been given.

Sadly, Joey wasnt as fortunate as I. He died at the age of 42. My dear friend Debra took her own life in 2002. She too was alcoholic. I feel their presence; they are the angels guiding me in my mission to inspire people to their own healing and recovery. Lets continue to get well. We are all loving souls on an enlightened path of a new way of being, HEALTHY.

www.isurviveddocumentary.com

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About the Author

Kay Kopit, accomplished artist, actor, writer, speaker and gifted teacher.

Tags: actor, Al-Anon, Alcoholism, artist, artist and a teacher, Author, Boston, Codependent, Compulsive Gambler, Dance Of Death, Debra, Disease Of Alcoholism, Dysfunctional Families, Highball Glasses, I. He, Joey Haudel, Kay Kopit, Kopit, Liquor Store, Loving Woman, Massachusetts, Missouri, Neuroses, Neurotic Habits, Nine Years, Pain And Suffering, Personal Life, Poker Game, Soles, speaker and gifted teacher, St Louis Missouri, St. Louis, telephone operator, Unbalanced Life, University of Missouri, writer, www.isurviveddocumentary.com, Years Of My Life —

It’s been quite noticeable in some celebrities: the sudden weight loss and return to a svelte figure is often touted to the result of liposuction or a lot of dedication in the gym. But there are some celebrities that have gone that extra mile and had a gastric bypass. That may sound like some sort of heavy surgical procedure but it’s actually one of the more easy to handle weight-loss surgeries.

Getting a gastric bypass is a pretty simple process you just have to go to your local hospital and consult with a surgeon. They obviously won’t just let you have one willy-nilly, of course, there are several guidelines that limit the administering of a gastric bypass procedure to someone. The main things that restrict any prospective recepient of the procedure are the following: the patient must have been obese for more than five years, the patient must also not have a history of alcoholism and psychological disorders.

Finally, the person should not be younger than eighteen years old and no older than sixty-five years old. If you fit all of these categories, you’ll also be judged if you have exhausted all other weight-loss measures for yourself. This is because it may be one of the safer surgeries that can be done, a gastric bypass is still a major operation and cannot be taken lightly.

If you do pass all of these tests, then you’ll be up for the procedure. Here’s a simple explanation of it: it is essentially, having your stomach capacity lessened and making your digestive tract skip a part of your small intestine. To go into the nitty-gritty of it, the procedure creates a small pouch in the upper part of your stomach, usually via surgical staples or a plastic band. This stomach pouch is usually small it can get to the size a walnut for some procedures. After this pouch is created, the middle of your small intestine, the jejunum, is connected to it. This means your food will skip the main part of your stomach and your duodenum, the upper portion of your small intestine. The result is lower stomach capacity and a lower calorie intake. You will be able to satisfy your appetite more quickly and have less calories inside your system, creating a consistent and quick weight loss for you until your body has adapted to it.

It may sound easy but still it’s a long road after a gastric bypass. After the four-hour operation you will be under observation for the next few days, while being limited to liquids only so that your stomach can heal. After five days you can be released from the hospital but your ordeal won’t end there. For the next twelve weeks, you will be following a diet that will slowly progress you from liquids to solids, getting you new stomach used to the strain.

Even then, you will have to deal with some of the side-effects your whole life lower energy intake can be detrimental to your health, while over-eating can cause you to vomit or feel great pain, so a gastric bypass should be a last resort for anyone who’s suffering from obesity.

Tags: Alcoholism, Celebrities, Dedication, Digestive Tract, Duodenum, Extra Mile, food;, Gastric Bypass, History Of Alcoholism, Jejunum, life lower energy intake, Liposuction, Local Hospital, More Than Five Years, Nitty, obesity;, Psychological Disorders, Recepient, Small Intestine, Staples, Stomach Pouch, strain, Sudden Weight Loss, surgeon, Surgeries, Svelte Figure, Upper Portion, Weight Loss Surgeries —