Invest In Yourself

 

It’s end of the year 2020. The pandemic made it tough, survival is a great accomplishment.

You are making life investments every year. Investment is not only for your wealth, but more important in your health, which is more than just absent of illness. Where should you invest in?

1.      ​Nurture Your Mind and Body Nurturing both your mind and body allows you to have more to give now and in the future — more energy, more knowledge, more compassion, more ideas, greater strength, physical and mental endurance.

2.      Care for your body. Your body is like a well-oiled machine. If you care for it in the way that you might maintain an expensive car, it will perform marvelously and last for a very long time.

3.      Be your own boss: Your future is largely determined by your willingness and ability to invest in yourself now. Human body require maintenance by ourselves. Self-care is not selfish. Selfishness is an anxious focus on the self. Take self-care promote personal growth, such as to sustain family and social relationships that bring us connection and meaning, get quality sleep to rest tired body, and spend good time on personal enjoyment.

4.      Find healthy comfort items. One of the most important ways you can invest in yourself is to comfort your mind and body in healthy ways. Your habit can make or break it.

5.      Making Intelligent Investments in Your Health. To learn more, go to  https://www.qualitylifeforum.net/invest-in-yourself.html.

6.      Invest a health coach: It’s worth it in the long run and save you from the costs of trial and error.  A health coach can assist you in putting all of these strategies into action. A coach is your partner and resource on your wellness journey, to help you achieving your best potential in healthy aging.

The best resource that you have right now for making a contribution to the world is YOU. When that resource is depleted, your most valuable asset is damaged. When neglect investing in your bodies, minds, or spirits, you derail life train to the best potential future. Investing in yourself means making small, continual improvements that enable you to do more, be more, grow more, and love more. These investments can lead to immediate opportunities and long-term positive change. They can help you earn more money, discover the future you always wanted, follow your dreams, and uncover hobbies that fill you with joy. Make yourself accountable for self-improvement and be a healthy happy person. Your happiness matters; happiness is a choice. A healthy mindset and body is the baseline for a happy life.

Follow https://www.qualitylifeforum.net and benefit from health coaching for your health investment.

Moderation

 

It’s November again and the holiday season is upcoming. Moderation is a golden rule to follow for healthy aging.

Moderation in Appetite

Several recently published studies on aging all seem to lead to the same conclusion: for healthy aging, moderation is crucial. Whether it concerns weight management, physical activity or alcohol and tobacco use, health experts urge people to consider their limitations and changing needs as they approach their senior years.

In one study, led by researchers at the National Institute on Aging, found that gradual calorie restriction in midlife could help lower the risk of many diseases later on. The findings confirm what has previously been shown only in animal studies, namely that reducing caloric intake could have a positive impact on aging and longevity. 

Moderation is Personal. Dietary and caloric needs vary from person to person. The first step to define moderation for you is to determine your body needs. You may track recommended target intakes for grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy,  protein, and fat as well as the total number of calories you should consume each day. Or, in a simple way, make sure you eat a balanced diet at 80% full for each meal. In fact, there is no good foods or bad foods, eat all foods in moderation is a good rule to follow. A key to moderation is not becoming fixated on one part of life but, instead, taking a big-picture view so that assessing your overall balance of priorities is possible.

Moderation in Physical Activities

Experts recommend age-appropriate behavior when it comes to exercise. While physical activity is crucial for healthy aging – as it is for good health in general – there are limits to what many people can endure as they age. Of course, much depends on a person's fitness level, but certain precautions such as starting slow and dealing with pain and fear should be observed regardless.

Don't Overdo Exercise. It has become more exercise-obsessed (as well as weight-loss-obsessed) society today, as many believe that more miles on the road or hours in the gym means more benefits. However, this is not science-evident. Rather, a plenty of studies show a relatively small amount of exercise works wonders, which is a good news.  Smaller doses of regular exercise can produce significant benefits, not only for the aging body but, equally as important, for the mind. As studies have shown, even less strenuous activities such as walking, bicycling or swimming can help improve heart health as well as cognitive abilities. For seniors, trying harder may not necessarily lead to better results.

Most people exercising to keep fit. If an individual exercise in moderation, exercising will become an integral part of the fitness plan. There are also certain adults taking exercise to an extreme level and  holding themselves to certain unrealistic ideals. They take extreme dieting and exercising to challenge their body for a sense of ageless personal success. In such case, this is unhealthy and hurting the body. It might lead to certain injuries and malnutrition. Compulsive dieting and exercising may cause serious health problems.

Balancing health and fitness is something we should all be striving to do. It takes logic, common sense, critical thinking, and most importantly, avoiding the extreme. Enjoy your run, walk, ride and swim, but don’t exhaust your body. Nourish it with hydration, nutrition, and adequate rest.  it is important to know your limits. When working out, go at a pace that you are totally comfortable with. Listen to your body is the key. Exercise moderately to maintain good health without pushing yourself past the point of your own endurance.

Moderation in Emotions

Holiday season may bring mixed emotions – happiness, sadness, joyfulness, loneliness, remembrance, stress, anger, and more. Our emotional intelligence (emotional regulation ability) play an important role in our well-being. Without a moderate emotion we cannot make proper judgments. Extreme emotions should be consciously self-regulated for psycho-social well-being and self-care.

Changes in emotions with age are complex. Late adulthood is not simply a time of emotional well-being and tranquility. Strong emotions exist and reactions to important life events may increase with age, rather than diminish. A study by Streubel and Kunzmann (2011) suggests that emotional arousal is a factor that needs more attention in aging research. In circumstances in which strong emotions are aroused, older adults may not be able to regulate their emotions as well as younger people. 

In another study of young and older adults in emotion-regulatory strategies, by Allard and Kensinger (2014) , suggested possible compensation for less efficient cognitive control processing in aging.

Health coaching is your friendly resource for healthy aging

Aging brings us new challenges each day. Are you well prepared? Health coaching is your friendly resource. To learn more of the practical tips and strategies for moderation, go to https://www.qualitylifeforum.net/moderation.html . Feel free to reach out QualityLifeForum@outlook.com for help and support. A personal chat or an individualized coaching program may change your life. Take action today.

Process vs. Result

 

The result is the final outcome, hopefully is the goal, which keeps people motivated. Cheer the finish line, and be proud of any achievements, no matter big or small. Getting results is a great accomplishment. Too often, people are under timeline pressure for quick results and care less for how to get to it. But actually,  it matters. 

The process is how to get results, it could be quick and easy or long and hard. In fact, process may just as valuable or sometimes more meaningful than getting results. Finding values in the process is important. Success is in progress by doing it, not only by achieving it. 

With any goal that you're pursuing, there is a PROCESS to get there.  There are most likely certain skills and habits that you first need to learn and master before you're capable of producing the result that you want.  The process is something that is often ignored, as it takes time and trial and error.  There are often failures and many ups and downs during the process.  But, what people often don't understand is that if you master the process, you will easily be able to create the results again and again. 

Do you value more for the results or process? Find the balance - While focusing on a specific result is great, many people get upset, frustrated, disappointed before seeing results or when having setbacks and often times give up.  Realize that the process is just valuable and beneficial.  Rather than taking on the high pressure and pushing on results delivery, learn to focusing on the process and enjoy it by doing.

Health coaching can help you to implement a healthy life style process for your wellness designation - visit www.qualitylifeforum.net to learn more about health coaching. The process initiation is the start of your success and a valuable experience. Let’s get on the road map and enjoy the health journey. Act now – contact qualitylifeforum@outlook.com today.

Time-Restricted Feeding Is A Healthy Lifestyle Choice

 

A growing body of evidence indicates that time restricted feeding (TRF), a popular form of intermittent fasting, can activate similar biological pathways as caloric restriction, the only intervention consistently found to extend healthy lifespan in a variety of species. The findings from older adults study suggest that time restricted feeding is an acceptable and feasible eating pattern for overweight, sedentary older adults to follow. 

By doing something small like adjusting eating schedule, we can re-set our body and improve health. Time-restricted eating means that a person eats all of their meals and snacks within a particular window of time each day. This timeframe can vary according to the person’s preference and the plan they choose to follow.  Typically though, the eating window in time-restricted feeding ranges from 12 - 18 hours a day.

1  Time-restricted feeding is not a ‘starvation’ diet, it’s a choice of healthy lifestyle

• Time-restricted feeding (TRF) is simply reset your feeding schedule; different than the traditional breakfast, lunch, dinner routine. 
• The 16/8 time-restricted feeding (TRF), really isn’t fasting, but where normal feeding is restricted to a 6 – 8 hours eating window (i.e, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.), with the rest of the day fasting/no eating.  This isn’t difficult to do, providing you are willing to stop eating after dinner and not snack for three hours before bedtime. For example, if you finish eating at 7 p.m., you would delay your first meal the next day 14-16 hours. That would be at 9 a.m. or better still, 12 p.m. You’re allowed coffee or tea, as long as you don’t use sugar or milk. Heavy cream and stevia are okay, as they don’t stimulate glucose levels. 
• Make the 16/8 time-restricted feeding consistent as daily routine.

2. Science evident benefits 

1. Reduces insulin resistance: Fasting is one of the most effective ways to restore normal sensitivity to your insulin receptors.
2. Autophagy: This is the amazing way that your cells will “eat themselves” to get rid of damaged cells and recycles the more youthful components. Autophagy is also the process that destroys foreign invaders such as viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. Another process is apoptosis when the entire cell is recycled. Without this mechanism, your risk of cancer increases because damaged cells start to replicate.
3. Detoxification: Most of us have experienced a lifetime of exposure to toxins from food and our environment. Most of these are stored in fat cells in our bodies. Fasting is one of the most potent ways to remove toxins from your body.
4. Circadian Rhythms: Your body’s internal clock regulates nearly every process in the body and when it is disrupted, a cascade of negative effects can happen. When you take a break from eating, you reset your circadian clock.
5. Gut health: Fasting gives your digestive system and gut flora a chance to reboot. This is important because your immune system is controlled by the health of your digestive system. Increasingly, there is more evidence that human moods and mental health are co-dependent with our gut microbiome.
6. Weight Loss: Not surprisingly, fasting helps boost weight loss. It also lowers insulin levels so your body is no longer receiving the signal to store extra calories as fat.
7. Brain Function: When you don’t eat, your body will burn up your glucose reserves in your blood and liver, and then the liver will turn fat into ketones and start using them for fuel. Your brain and heart actually prefer ketones over glucose for fuel as they produce fewer harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS). Your brain will work better and improve your ability to think and learn.
8. Heart Function: Your heart cells can use fats, carbs, ketones, and amino acids for their high energy needs. Ketones have a fine-tuning metabolic role that optimizes heart performance and protects the heart from inflammation and injury
9. The less frequently your eat, the less hungry you are, as frequent intake stimulate the “hunger hormone” more frequently.

To learn more about what to eat within the eating window and practical tips, go to https://www.qualitylifeforum.net/time-restricted-feeding-is-a-healthy-lifestyle-choice.html

Action call

Are you ready to start time restricted feeding? What you got to lose? Probably some extra body fat. Make your healthy life choice today - click here to register for the Time-Restricted Feeding for Healthy Aging program designed for you.

Quality Life Forum health coaching help active adults to eat healthy and simplify life through practice time restricted feeding.  If you are serious about your wellness transformation, reach out to QualityLifeForum@outlook.com today. Personalized health coaching helps you to identify where and why you are struggling, figure out what works for your body, discover your true potential and foster action through motivation for achieving your wellness goals.

Keep Fit For Your Age

The effects of exercise are scientifically evident. It can protect our body from a range of conditions, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, cognitive function, bone health, lower cancers risks, and more. However, the type and amount of exercise we should do changes as our body age.  For older adults, it’s important to keep active and do the right type of exercise safely for health benefit.

As longevity increases, the average 65-year-old can expect to reach his/her 85th birthday, and the average 75-year-old will live to age 87.  How we'll celebrate those birthdays — with good quality of life or immobilized with pain and suffering — has a lot to do with what we do today. Physical activity tends to decline with age, so keep active will energize our mind and body.  Although we are facing aging challenges, there's no doubt that regular exercise will help improve our ability to function at almost any age or level of fitness. 

To learn more of the experts shared best exercises for older adults in details and exercises seniors should avoid, go to https://www.qualitylifeforum.net/keep-fit-for-your-age.html

Tai Chi Practice Benefits for older adults

Tai Chi is a slow and gentle exercise that offers the benefits of flexibility, muscle strengthening, and endurance training. Tai chi is especially suitable for older adult.  It involves a series of movements performed in a slow, focused manner and accompanied by deep breathing. It often described as "meditation in motion," but it might well be called "medication in motion. " There is growing evidence that this mind-body practice, which originated in China as a martial art, has value in treating or preventing many health problems. And you can get started even if you aren't in top shape or the best of health.    

Tai Chi is for all ages, benefits including, but not limited to the following:
• Easy to follow and any age can do
• Addresses the key components of fitness — muscle strength, flexibility,                 balance, and, to a lesser degree, aerobic conditioning.
• Helps reduce falls and improves balance
• Improves brain function
• Promotes serenity

Here are more benefits of Tai Chi for aging population: 
• Relieves physical effects of stress
• Promotes deep breathing
• Reduces bone loss in menopausal women
• Improves lower body and leg strength
• Helps with arthritis pain
• Reduces blood pressure
• Requires mind and body integration through mental imagery
• Accumulates energy by releasing endorphins rather than depleting it
• Enhances mental capacity and concentration
• Improves balance and stability by strengthening ankles and knees
• Promotes faster recovery from strokes and heart attacks
• Improves conditions of Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson’s

For how to get started and Tai Chi practice tips, go to   https://www.qualitylifeforum.net/keep-fit-for-your-age.html

The Take Home Message

The type and amount of exercise you should do changes as your body age.  For older adults, it’s important to keep active and do the right type of exercise safely for your benefit. Although aging is challenging, there's no doubt that regular exercise will help improve your ability to function at almost any age or level of fitness.  Let your body guide you for exercise frequency and intensity, but it’s important to be consistent. The key message is to keep moving throughout your life. Sustained exercise is what benefits health most.  No matter your age, the best exercise for you is safe, enjoyable, and feeling good.

Action Call 
Take action today; don’t put it off. If you are serious about keeping fit and Tai Chi practice benefits, contact QualityLifeForum@outlook.com for a free call. An individualized fitness plan and wellness coaching program can help you achieving your personal health goals.

Listening to Your Body: Your Trusted Guide to Mind-Body Wellness

Your mind determines what you want and your body tells what you need. Therefore, keep the communication channel open between mind and body is essential for your wellness.

Your body is programmed for survival. Heeding early warnings for your health. Familiarize yourself with how your body communicate with you. It wants you to be well and reacts protectively. Increasing body awareness helps you sense the nuances of its messages. Listening to your body is a powerful step towards self-care that benefits mind-body wellness.

Listen intuitively to your body

Your body technically has functional intelligence of its own. Listen to it - appreciate what it’s doing for you and learn how to take better care of it. The art of listening entails sensing smaller symptoms before they become full blown. Mindfulness is key. Denial is the antithesis of intuition. You must do what you can to get past it.

Your bodies are smart to react, as you act in such way naturally. They do this in the form of illness, fatigue, stress and more. All of these things are like red flags signal you to pay attention to what's going on internally. If you’re willing to listen, your body will tell you everything you need to know. And nothing is more important to your health than giving your body what it needs.

Keep mind-body communication flow

Communication is not giving orders or directions or criticisms. Communication is like a conversation, where "listening" is just as important as "speaking." Your body communicates with you by sensations, emotions, memories (even of words) and habits. Sometimes it also uses intuition and dreams. You can consciously communicate with it by thoughts, words, imagery and conscious actions.

Your body's physiological signals (e.g., headache, rapid heartbeat, hot flush, agitation, stomach upset), or more serious conditions (e.g., pain, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure) are sending you meaningful messages. Whatever the signal, the message is alarming. Your body is talking to you. Learn to recognize your body’s warnings. Don’t override your body's signals with your ego. You may have unconsciously turned off the communication between your mind and body and not aware that is happened.

Mind-Body Wellness 

The point of all this is to let your body guide you to your best potential in mind-body wellness. The older you are, the better your relationship with your body, and the more empowered and confident you should feel in control. By keep communications flow, you will get results.

To learn more details in how to tune into your body, steps in communicating and receiving feedback from your body, and taking actions, go to https://www.qualitylifeforum.net/listening-to-your-body.html

If you are serious about mind-body wellness transformation, reach out to qualitylifeforum@outlook.com  today for a personalized health coaching, which will help you to identify where and why you are struggling, figure out what works for your body, discover your true potential and foster action through motivation for achieving  your wellness goals.

Breathing and Blessing

In Italy, a 93 year old gentleman was on the ventilator in ICU fighting for the Coronavirus and survived. When his Doctor told him that he is billed for 500 Euro for one day ventilator use, he cried. The Doctor tried to comfort him not to feel sad for the cost. But he said was:” I am not crying about  the money.  I am crying because I have been breathing  air for 93 years at God’s blessing but never paid a penny. Knowing I owe 500 Euro for breathing one day on a ventilator, how much I owe God? I never thanked him for his blessing until now”.

We took too many things as granted in life. As we are taking each breath today, appreciate the blessing of free fresh air and healthy lungs.  The older population is more vulnerable for Coronavirus infection and respiratory/pulmonary illnesses, as lung function decreases with aging. it's helpful to understand how  lungs change over time, what's natural, and what we can do to maintain optimal pulmonary health.

To learn more about age-associated changes in the respiratory and pulmonary system,  vaccines for the high risk group, and some simple ways to help protect your lungs and maintain optimal lung function throughout your life, go to https://www.qualitylifeforum.net/breathing-and-blessing.html

The COVID 19 pandemic caused US a death toll higher than any wartime casualties, over 100,000 in late  May, 2020. This is a shocking, but a reality.

Coronavirus infected people may show no symptoms, or flu-like symptoms, or develop shortness of breath with serious respiratory distress and multi-organ failure, within a short time. Although many US states starting to re-open,  this pandemic is not yet well-controlled. Due to the highly contagious nature of Coronavirus, limit social exposure remains as essential for public and personal safety. Imaging, if you see the street fighting in a war zone, your instinct is self-protection and trying to hide from the gun fire.  However, knowing the Coronavirus kills, many are still careless and appears unprotected in social exposures. Sadly, the war with Coronavirus is killing more lives than any war time.

Action call : Continue to limit non-essential outings. Be aware that the Coronavirus risk still remains high. We have become accustomed to the free style social life and modern conveniences, but we can survive just fine with the basics. Protect yourself, practice good hygiene and social distancing. Take actions today.

Hope Endures

The Coronavirus pandemic is marked as dark age in history, may be worse than the wartime in the past. Worldwide, millions of people were infected in more than 200 countries and the number is still on the rise.  Worldwide, more than 3,000,000 people are infected and of these, 1/3 are in the US. The death toll in the US is now over 60,000 total. In early April, the US death doubled from 10,000 to more than 20,000, in just five days. It is the first time a US president has ever declared a  major disaster in all 50 states at once.

The death of a loved one is a profound grief and pain, many are also experience grief as a result of job loss, emotional trauma, and depressing world event like the coronavirus pandemic.

Many are being alone for self- quarantine at home or due to lock down. The social distancing makes us feeling alienated. In these home-alone days,  time is quiet and slowing down,  news are scary with Coronavirus continued development, family and friends are distant, economy is depressing, future is uncertain.

To learn more on spending quality time alone and dealing with your true emotions, go to https://www.qualitylifeforum.net/hope-endures.html.

Join our hearts to get through this pandemic - 

• Support health care professionals and essential business workers; show your appreciation
• Learning virtual skills and keep connected
• Keep the hopes on and believe in yourself
• Maintain a sense of normalcy and routine, go outdoor for any amount of time when possible
• Focus on basics of self-care – quality sleep, healthy eating, stay active and maintain psycho-social well-being. Keep your hopes on and get life back on track.

Transform Pandemic Fear to Self-Care

You heard and read a lot about Coronavirus recently. Schools and many businesses are run on-line. Restaurants, theaters, libraries, museums, shops, and non-essential businesses are closed. Social events are canceled. You are told to practice social distancing and stay at home.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a pandemic with global outbreaks spread quickly. No effective medical treatments are available for this new viral disease, although immunization and new drugs are under development. No supplement will cure or prevent Coronavirus. Older adults among age 60 to 80, especially with chronic medical conditions, are particularly vulnerable to severe or fatal infection. The fight against the coronavirus outbreak has disrupted the lives of millions of people in most countries worldwide. The WHO had raised the healthy emergency to its highest level in March. 

During this difficult time, everyone stay home is our contributions to our community in slowing down the disease spread. The best thing to do is to keep a positive spirit and take good care of yourself. Make sure to put your own well-being on the top priority, Eat healthy and rest well to optimize body’s immune function. Keep optimal Vitamin D levels, as it enhance overall immune response. Getting vaccinated against the flu and other diseases. Note: for those over 65, keep both flu (vaccine for over 65) and pneumonia shots up to date will provide better protection for you. Vaccination stimulates the immune system to protect against illness. 

To learn more about protective measures in self-care and at-home activities to keep productively busy, go to  https://www.qualitylifeforum.net/transform-pandemic-fear-to-self-carenew-page.html

Self-care begin with self-compassion. Self-care is valuable investment on our well-being. We must help ourselves to stay healthy. The most effective way to fighting virus is strengthen body’s immune functions by taking good care of self. Stay home and stay well with winning confidence will make a big difference.

Healthy Aging Energy Source - Carbohydrate

Foods high in carbohydrates are part of a healthy diet. Carbohydrate quality is more important for healthy aging; some types of carbohydrate-rich foods are better than others:

The healthiest sources of carbohydrates—unprocessed or minimally processed whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans—promote good health by delivering vitamins, minerals, fiber, and a host of important phytonutrients.

Unhealthier sources of carbohydrates include white bread, pastries, sodas, and other highly processed or refined foods.  These items contain easily digested carbohydrates that may contribute to weight gain, interfere with weight loss, and promote diabetes and heart disease.

The rule of thumb is to select whole foods and avoid processed and refined carbohydrates.

To learn more for healthy aging, go to https://www.qualitylifeforum.net/healthy-aging-energy-source-carbohydrate.html. Personalized health coaching is also available to help your specific needs.

Healthy Fat for Healthy Aging

Fats and oils are part of a healthy diet and play many important roles in the body. Fat provides energy and is a carrier of essential nutrients such as vitamins A, D, E, K, and carotenoids. But we have been hearing about low fat advocate and many are not quite sure about what to eat.

For decades, doctors, nutritionists, and health authorities have told us that a diet high in saturated fats raises blood cholesterol and increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. However, the association of dietary fat intake,  cholesterol level, and cardiovascular diseases remains controversial and more studies are needed. We've also learned that eating healthy fats (i.e., avocado, olive oil, and nuts) may help to increase metabolism and burning belly fat. Healthy fats also fill up longer to reduce hunger.  Low-fat is a not fit all solution.  Healthy fat plays important role in late life for brain health and overall well being.

To learn more, go to https://www.qualitylifeforum.net/healthy-fat-for-healthy-aging.html

Action time:

Diet review – what is your fat intake and of what kind?

Do you know your lipid profile and cholesterol (LDH and HDH) levels?

Do you know the risks and benefits of adequate fat intake for your age?

Take action today for healthy aging; starting from a free call by contact QualityLifeForum@outlook.com. Personalized coaching can help you achieving your specific health goals.