Bye, bye back pain

Suffer from a sore aching back? Unless the pain is sharp and sudden, you don’t have to take it lying down. Most back issues result from the back being tight and the core muscles being weak. Instead of popping another pain pill that simply masks the pain, try these moves to stretch and strengthen your back and abdominals.

The bridge: Lie down with your entire back on the floor, your legs hipwidth apart and feet flat on the floor. Keep your arms by your sides, palms facing down. Roll yourself up, starting from the tip of your tailbone to your upper back. Keep the back of your neck long and your shoulders down and level. You should create a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Hold for 30 seconds. Roll down slowly one vertebra at a time. Work on increasing number of reps and length of time in the air.

Pain-proofing stretch. Lie flat on your stomach with your elbows directly under your shoulders and palms flat on the floor. Slowly lift your upper torso off the round, from the belly up. Once you’re upright, roll your shoulders down and back, reaching your heart and chest upward. Keep your gaze forward, chin parallel to the floor, and pull in your abdominals. Hold for 30 seconds. .

e-Diets--New Year, New You

Love them or hate them. We've all made New Year's Resolutions at least a time or two. What about you? Have you given it any thought this year? New Year's is only a few days away, and I'm sure you've given some thought into what you hope for 2010.

Let's face it. 2009 wasn't too hot. Who couldn't stand to see some improvement. How about a new job. Less spending, more earning. Spend more time with the kids. Get ahead in a lagging economy. Stop smoking. Lose a pound...or fifty.

Whatever it is, we all start thinking about how we can improve our lives in the new year. Many of our New Year's Resolutions revolve around improving our health. The average person wants to lose at least 10 pounds. E-Diets wants to help you do just that with:

Menus personalized to your tastes

Plans customized to your weight loss goals

Convenience, recipe and fast food options

Over 20 plans available, from GI Diet to vegetarian

Click here or on the above icon to find your plan and get started right away.

An End to Leg Cramps

You just survived a long, frustrating day searching for the perfect last minute gift, to be topped off by endless lines and impatient shoppers. Now you’re tired, cranky, and have killer leg crams than no amount of rubbing will abate.

To get relief, enjoy a glass of tonic water (vodka optional) with dinner. The fizzy drink contains the powerful ingredient quinine, which replenishes minerals that are lost thru perspiration. This stops the repeated muscle contractions that can lead to painful cramps. You’ll feel better in a flash and ready to head back to the grocery tomorrow to take advantage of $1.99 a pound for the Christmas ham.

Turbo Jam Beach Body Workout

Tired of my old workout routines and ready for something more exciting and challenging I decided to give Turbo Jam Beach Body a try. I was a little leery starting out since I don't know my right from my left and have about as much rhythm as a beached whale.

Even with my lack of grace and cooridination, I instantly fell in love with the workout. Chalene Johnson has tons of energy and enthusiasm. You can tell she loves what she's doing, and her enthusiasm comes through the screen. She makes you want to put everything you have into the workout.

It didn't take long before I was ready to try the entire Turbo Jam series. Even for klutzs like me, it's easy enough to fit the workout to suit you. In fact, Chalene encourages doing just that. And as Chalene points out, even mistakes burn calories.

A time counter at the bottom of the screen is also very motivating. You know at a glance how much longer you have in each segment and how much remains of the entire workout. You will be amazed at how quickly the time flies by.

If you are ready to take your workout to the next level, I suggest you give Turbo Jam a try. Loads of fun, high spirited, motivating instructors, and most of all, a great calorie burn you will want to do over and over.

Disclaimer: Fit to Excel is a paid affiliate of Product, Partners, LLC.

Good-bye to stubborn fat

Getting your necessary daily recommended servings of vegetables is as easy and convenient a store bought vegetable juice. But did you know it can also be an easy way to melt 300% more flab than if you used the sensible diet plan alone.

Here’s why. Juice kills hunger. You feel full longer. A cup of vegetable juice contains only 50 calories. But the juice takes up a lot of space for those 50 measly calories, making your body feel fuller longer.

Juice boosts fat burning. Juice drinkers got double the vitamin C of other dieters. Vitamin C enables our bodies to produce an animo acid crucial to fat burning. Folks who skimp on C burn less fat while those who up their C intake burn 30% more.

Juice works magic. In addition to Vitamin C, a single serving of vegetable juice is packed with literally thousands of different vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and anti-flammatory compounds. Researchers aren’t exactly how, but this new study certainly seems to prove they can help with weight loss.

Added bonuses. Vegetable juices also keep bones strong. It is one of the richest sources of he nutrient lycopene. Lycopene is linked to significantly reducing age-related bone fractures.

Juice also protects your heart. Up your intake of tomato-rich food like veggie juice from one serving a week to one serving a day and you’ll cut your risk of cardiovascular disease by 30%. It even reduces your risk of Alzheimer’s. Drink vegetable juice at least three times a week and you’ll reduce you risk by 76%.

Have fun--It's good for you.

Stressed by the crowds at the mall, sitting in traffic, or the economic news of further downturns? Who can't use a little bit of fun and relaxation right now?

Try these instant stress-busters.

Invite a friend over to chat, watch a tear-jerker, put together a scrapbook or a jigsaw puzzle, or to do any similar activity. Sharing fun with a friend melts worry and tension by raising your body’s level of progesterone, a hormone that triggers a relaxed state. Pairs of women who shared 20 minutes together bonding emotionally had higher levels of progesterone in their blood than those who shared a boring, nonemotional task, sach as sorting coins.

So laugh. Forget shopping and catch a movie instead. Relax and have fun and leave the worry and traffic for another day.

Moderation is Key

You’re probably like me and your inbox is inundated with emails claiming to hold the secret to staying thin forever. They make you feel like a failure or lazy if you struggle with your weight.

Let’s face it; it’s hard to lose weight. It’s even harder to maintain. Food tastes good. I love it. I love the experience of eating. But I love even more how I feel when I open my closet and fit into every single outfit in there. (That isn’t exactly true. Some have gotten too baggy lately and I haven’t yet found someone to pass them onto.)

This time of year I don’t even think about losing weight. Don’t get me wrong. I still obsess over maintaining whatever my current weight is—which is always at least 5 pounds more than I like.

Years ago I started a precedent by sending a platter of cookies to work with my husband. It seemed harmless until I began to focus on a healthier lifestyle. Now everyone on his shift wants the cookies. I enjoy creating and baking. I like the compliments and big deal they make over them. But I can’t resist nibbling at the broken ones when they come out of the oven.

I believe in a lifestyle of moderation. I’ll bake the cookies and nibble at a few. But no cookie tastes as good as having my clothes fit or being able to run up a flight of steps without collapsing in a panting, heaving, red-faced mess.

It’s unlikely I will reply to the weight loss magic messages in my inbox. Practice moderation and save your money. You’ll need it to buy the ingredients for your Christmas cookies.

We are Killing Ourselves

Any plans for Christmas yet? I have more than enough invitations to fill my day. And they all involve eating and sitting around the TV complaining that we didn't get the gifts we asked for.

We live in a society where we'd rather watch TV than go for a walk. We'd rather go out for dinner at a restaurant we can't afford than eat a healthy home cooked meal. And we'd rather spend a late night in front of the computer than get a good night's sleep.

What's going on? We know what to do to stay healthy. We just aren't doing it. Each of us needs to decide to embrace healthier habits by literally changing the way we live. Until a few years ago I didn't know it was possible to grow old without a dependence on prescription medication. Everyone I know over the age of 50 is on at least ONE medication for high blood pressure, sugar, high cholesterol, and/or some type of pain management.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Are these medications really necessary? According to the bombardment of commercials produced by the pharmeucetical companies, they are. To maintain the quality of life protrayed on those commercials, we should be taking 15 or 20 per day. We won't even discuss the side effects they warn us about very quickly at the end of the commercial.

I say, Enough! Stop the madness. I'm not here to suggest a person shouldn't take the advice of his/her doctor. Most of us will require prescription drugs at some point or another. But should they be a way of life?

By all means, get and stay healthy. But I hope there is another, more dignified way to grow old. My goal is to remain drug prescription free for the duration of my time on this planet.

That's what this blog is about. I am here to chronicle my journey though life as an advocate of a healthy, active lifestyle. And I plan to do that without counting pill bottles on my windowsill every morning the way my grandparents did.