​Choose Your Hard: Prioritizing Health and Exercise

Life is full of choices, each presenting its own set of challenges and rewards. Whether it’s personal growth, professional advancement, or simply navigating day-to-day activities, every path we choose comes with its own unique difficulties. The concept of “choosing your hard” encourages us to acknowledge that while all choices are tough, we have the power to decide which difficulties we want to tackle. 

In the context of the gym, embracing the concept of “choose your hard” is about deciding to face the challenges of a healthy lifestyle rather than the inevitable hardships that come with poor health. 

• Exercise is hard. Maintaining a consistent workout routine requires discipline, effort, and time.
• Being unhealthy is hard. Dealing with chronic illnesses, lack of energy, and the emotional toll of poor health can be even more challenging.

Reframing what it means to choose your hard can transform your approach to fitness and overall well-being, leading to a more intentional and fulfilling journey.

The Benefits of Choosing Health and Exercise

1. Empowerment Through Choice

Choosing to prioritize your health empowers you to take control of your well-being. Instead of feeling at the mercy of health issues, you actively decide to invest in your body and mind. This sense of agency can be incredibly motivating and uplifting.

2. Alignment with Long-Term Well-Being

When you commit to exercising and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you align your actions with the goal of long-term wellness. The short-term discomfort of a workout is outweighed by the long-term benefits of increased energy, better mood, and reduced risk of chronic diseases.

3. Personal Growth and Resilience

Leaning into challenges fosters personal growth. Overcoming the initial inertia and pushing through difficult workouts builds physical and mental resilience. This resilience spills over into other areas of life, making you more capable of handling various stressors.

4. Avoiding Health-Related Regrets

By choosing to focus on your health now, you can avoid future regrets associated with preventable health issues. Taking proactive steps to maintain your fitness helps ensure you won’t look back wishing you had taken better care of your body.

Make Choosing Hard Easier:

1. Identify Your Motivation

Start by understanding what drives you. Do you want to be more active with your kids? Do you aim to reduce stress or improve your mood? Identifying your personal reasons for prioritizing health can provide powerful motivation.

2. Set Realistic Goals

Set achievable, realistic goals that align with your current fitness level and lifestyle. Whether it’s walking 30 minutes a day, committing to attending 3 classes a week, or joining run club, having clear objectives helps you stay focused and motivated.

3. Create a Plan

Develop a plan that incorporates your fitness goals into your daily routine. Schedule workouts like appointments, prepare healthy meals in advance, and track your progress. A structured plan makes it easier to stay committed.

4. Seek Support and Accountability

Find support from your fellow members and the coaches at the gym. Having accountability within the community can make a significant difference in staying motivated and overcoming challenges.

Embracing the Journey

Choosing the hard of maintaining a healthy lifestyle is not just about enduring workouts and healthy eating; it’s about embracing a journey that leads to a more vibrant and fulfilling life. 

​Remember, the next time you’re faced with the decision to exercise or skip it, consider which hard you’re willing to choose. By consciously opting for the challenges of a healthy lifestyle, you’re not just enduring hardship; you’re actively shaping a healthier, happier future. Lean into the hard choices, your future will thank you!

​Discipline is said to be more important than motivation to achieve fitness success. There’s a lot of truth to that philosophy since you will not always feel motivated to make healthy choices. In those moments, it will be a disciplined mindset that keeps you going.  

Discipline Creates Success

Discipline can feel like a negative word. Remember when we were disciplined as kids? It felt horrible at the time. However, if done out of love, discipline can provide structure and a healthy lifestyle. Because I am a disciplined person, it has helped me become the fit and healthy woman I am today. The same can be true for you.

Discipline has made the ranks of being a positive part of success. As a result, discipline provides the drive to pursue fitness goals even on days when motivation is lacking. Without discipline, I think my life would be completely different. Without this structure, I wouldn’t have the discipline to exercise, eat healthily, or take care of myself overall. 

Fitness Discipline

Discipline includes keeping workout appointments without excuses. Preparing meals ahead of time to stay accountable to healthy eating also takes discipline. Remaining true to fitness philosophies takes a disciplined attitude. It could be easy to get off track, but a disciplined mind provides the strength to stay the course. 

Discipline takes on a whole new meaning and can be defined as a good thing for you and me. Maintaining fitness is an individual responsibility and daily choices determine how that turns out. This means having the discipline to do what needs to be done to become successful with fitness and in life.  

Discipline Keeps You Going

Sometimes there are bumps in the road, but they shouldn’t sabotage your goals. It takes discipline to shake it off and get back on track. For example, if you happen to skip your morning workout, just push it to the afternoon or evening.  Never throw in the towel and forget it.

Being disciplined is what will help you be successful and achieve your fitness goals.

​The Great Diet Vs. Lifestyle Debate

With the new year comes a new opportunity to make changes in your day-to-day habits. Typical goals or ambitions include losing weight, eating better or increasing physical activity. However, most people find themselves falling into the “instant gratification” rut, which can lead to unhealthy “fad” diets. Another common misstep is starting a vigorous exercise routine, which can be too much for a person and provides little chance to follow through and succeed.

These health and wellness errors can easily derail you and get you so off track that your “new year, new you” doesn’t happen. The key to achieving and maintaining a healthy lifestyle isn’t about short-term changes. It’s about a lifestyle that includes healthy eating, regular physical activity and balancing the number of calories you consume with the number of calories your body uses.

What Do We Mean by Diet vs. Lifestyle?

In other words, a diet is a short-term adjustment, while a lifestyle change is a lasting modification in how you approach your health and wellness.

Key characteristics when people think of a diet include the following.

• Weight can be lost quickly and in a short period of time
• Foods are either “good” or “bad”
• Copy diets that you see working for other people (ex: The Ketogenic Diet [Keto] is popular right now, so everyone assumes this will work for them)
• Restrict calorie consumption because you assume less calories mean less weight
• Use the scale to check your progress and don’t factor in other areas of improvement
• Stick to low fat or low-calorie foods with artificial sweeteners because they have less calories

Key characteristics when looking to make a lifestyle change include the following.

• Nourish your body by eating more nutritious whole foods, keeping you satisfied longer
• Stop restricting foods and focus on simple moderation
• Exercise on a more regular basis, even if you only have fifteen or twenty minutes
• Listen to your body to find out what it needs
• Keep weight loss to ½ lb. to 2 lbs. a week
• Use more than just the scale to track progress (use body measurements like body fat testing or simply checking to see if your clothes fit better)

What is the Difference Between a Diet and a Lifestyle?

When you change your focus to more of a long-term lifestyle mindset, you tend to be kinder to your body. You will most likely experience less hunger, exhaustion, mental stress and food deprivation. Additionally, when you make lifestyle changes with a focus on weight loss, it may take longer to see the weight come off. However, the weight is more likely to stay off because it’s not a sudden change for your body. There are numerous studies showing that individuals who diet typically regain most, if not all, of the weight they lost. Some can even see more weight come on after they stop their diet.

​Lifestyle changes can be discouraging because it takes longer to see results. However, the results achieved last, and you are more focused on your overall health and wellness rather than just weight. You will not regret the results you see from changing your lifestyle.

Strategy #1:

I aimed for “good enough” instead of “perfect”. I’ve seen it in so many people.
They want to follow the “perfect” diet.

So they adhere to strict meal plans (to the last measured teaspoon) Monday to Friday. And, the whole week, they worry incessantly about screwing things up.

By the weekend, though, the willpower gives out. They’re so sick of restrictive eating and can’t wait to eat food they actually enjoy. Bring on the weekend binge!
For most of them, there are only two options: perfect or crap.

​So the logic follows:

“It’s Saturday, I’m out to lunch with my family, and I can’t have my perfect pre-portioned kale salad like I usually do, so instead I’ll just overeat a giant bacon cheeseburger and a huge heap of fries.”

If you take “perfect” off the table, things change. You feel empowered because there are now other options. Instead of kale salad vs. five servings of fries, there’s:

“I’m actually in the mood for a salad with my burger because I had fries at that work lunch on Thursday.”

Therefore, my solution: Always aim for “good enough”.
Throughout the work week and the weekend, I started to consider my health and fitness goals, what I was in the mood for, what was available, etc. I came up with a definition of “good enough”, and aimed for that.

Remember: The decent method you follow is better than the “perfect” one you quit.

Strategy #2:

I let go of my food rules. If perfectionism is the Wicked Witch of overeating, then food rules are the flying monkeys.

Food rules tell you:

• what you can and can’t eat,
• when you can or can’t eat it,
• how you can or can’t eat it, and/or
• how much you can or can’t have.

Spreadsheet time!

These rules take up an awful lot of mental real estate. They also set you up for disinhibition… aka “the Screw It Effect”.

Here’s how the Screw It Effect works.

Let’s say your #1 food rule is Don’t Eat Carbs. No croutons on the salad; won’t touch a sandwich; no potatoes with your omelet. Thanks.

But this Friday night, you find yourself out with friends, and everyone’s having beer and pizza. You hold out for a bit. Finally, you give in and grab a slice.

That means screw it, you’ve “blown your diet”, so you might as well keep eating. Cue the binge and uncomfortable after effects.

Of course, if you have one food rule, you probably have several. That means there are lots of ways to “mess up” (and disinhibit). Maybe all night. Maybe all weekend.

Eating by the rules almost always leads to overeating crap, because once you deviate, there’s nothing left to guide you.

My solution: I ditched the rules and let hunger be my guide.

Non-dieters (or so-called “normal eaters”) eat when they’re physically hungry and stop when they’re physically full, no matter if it’s Wednesday or Saturday, morning or evening, work lunch or happy hour.

Start by paying attention to your own food rules and responses.

When, where, and how are you likely to say, “Screw it?” What might happen if you let go of that rule and really tuned in to your physical hunger and fullness cues instead?

Strategy #3:

I gave up on “Cheat Days”. Monday through Saturday is all about being faithful to your diet. But Sunday… That’s Cheat Day.

​Oh, Cheat Day. The happiest day of your week.

You wake up on Cheat Day morning like a kid at Christmas. Go hog wild all day long, eating all the stuff you didn’t permit yourself during the week.

As evening nears, you start to freak out. So you eat (and maybe drink) even more. Because tomorrow, it’s back to reality. Back to fidelity and compliance. And no fun.

Sure, some people find the idea of a weekly Cheat Day useful both mentally and physically. If this is you, and it works for you, then by all means continue.

But for most of the people I’ve coached, having one Cheat Day means the rest of the week is food purgatory.

My solution: I quit the Cheat Day routine, and gave myself permission to choose what I wanted all week long.

Like the Screw It Effect, Cheat Day depends on scarcity.

Scarcity makes us feel anxious, needy, and greedy. The counter to a scarcity mindset? Abundance.

For you and most people around you, food is abundant — not something to be hoarded or feared. (If that’s true in your life, be grateful. It’s a privilege.)

You don’t need to “cheat” because there’s nothing, and no one, to “cheat” on. Maybe you enjoy some dessert on a Tuesday night because you’re in the mood for it, or maybe you don’t because you’re satisfied from dinner.

What and when you eat is up to you — and your hunger and fullness cues. No matter what day of the week it is.

Strategy #4:

I owned my choices (Really. Owned them.)Do you ever barter with yourself? Make deals, trades or swaps related to food?

“Okay, self, I’ll turn down dessert today… but I’m gonna collect on the weekend and you better pony up the whole damn pie.”

In this mindset, one “good deed” gives you license to “sin” elsewhere. These trades rarely pay off — they usually just amount to a lot of mental gymnastics that help you avoid making tough decisions and help you justify overeating.

Look, we’re all adults here. Trading off “good” and “bad” is for little kids and convicts. There is no “good” and “bad”. There’s no prison warden holding the keys.
Mind games like this undermine your health goals — and your authority over your decisions.

My solution: I started owning my choices, and letting my adult values and deeper principles guide me when I sat down to eat.

I started making food decisions by acknowledging the outcome I would expect, based on my experience. For example:

“I’m choosing to eat this tub of ice cream on Saturday night. I’ll probably feel nauseated and anxious afterwards. In this instance, I’m fine with it.”

In the end, own your choices: Don’t moralize them. You’re free to eat and drink anything you want. You choose your behavior.

Just remember that different choices produce different outcomes.

It’s your call.

Strategy #5:

I stopped rationalizing. Weekends present all sorts of comfortable justifications for eating a bunch of non-nutritious foods.

It could be anything:

• You were busy. Or maybe you had nothing going on.
• You were traveling. Or maybe you were at home.
• You had to work. Or you had no work to do.
• You had family/social meals. Or maybe you ate alone.

Any excuse will do. Powerless victim of circumstance!

But busyness, boredom, travel, work, or family dinners don’t inherently cause overeating. People eat or drink too much in lots of different situations. Their explanation simply matches whatever happens to be going on at the time.

Rationalizations are a convenient script. They help us make sense of — and perpetuate — our overeating or other unhelpful behaviors.

My solution: I stopped rationalizing and asked myself why I was really overeating.

Sometimes, you’ll want to eat crap. And too much of it. That’s normal.

But instead of falling back on the tired victim-of-circumstance narrative, take the opportunity to ask yourself what’s really going on.

Are you bored? Stressed? Sad? Happy?

Do this over and over and over, and you’ll start to see some patterns. That’s your pot of gold. That’s your opportunity to change overeating behavior — and do something else to address those emotions instead of bingeing.

​What to do next:

There is no “perfect time” to eat better. Not tomorrow; not on Monday. Life is always a little nuts.

All we can do is our best with what we’ve got. Right here, right now.

Here’s where to start.

Ask yourself: How’s that weekend overeating working for you?If you’re loving your Cheat Day, Friday junk-food bonanzas, or gut-punching Sunday brunches, and you’re happy with the results, keep doing it.

But if you’re conflicted, it could be time to investigate further. Ask yourself: What does weekend overeating do for you? What is it a path to? What does it enable you to get or feel?

How does it solve a problem or have a purpose for you?

In my case, weekend overeating was self-medication for stress, stimulation and novelty, and a way to connect with other people.

To rearrange your mindset and break the cycle of weekend overeating, try:

• aiming for “good enough” instead of “perfect”,
• letting go of your food rules,
• giving up the Cheat Days,
• owning your choices, and/or
• quitting the rationalizations.

Here are some reasons you're not losing weight despite your efforts

If you’re pursuing weight loss, there might be a variety of reasons why, from wanting to keep up better with your family to improving a specific health biomarker. No matter what motivates you, it can be frustrating when the scale just won't budge despite your dieting and exercise efforts.

You came to learn about the sneaky reasons you can’t lose weight, but here's the twist: instead of pushing for those short-term weight-loss goals, we'll explore why focusing on sustainable, health-promoting habits is actually a much better idea. 

Forget about restrictive diets and unpleasant workouts—it's time to look at how you can support your long-term health and find a healthy balance with food in the process.

1. You’re Focusing on Elimination and Restriction

Most people quickly eliminate foods and heavily restrict calories to lose weight, but being too restrictive can often backfire and prevent weight loss—or even lead to weight gain.

Restriction often leads to feelings of deprivation, which can trigger binge eating or overeating. Instead, focus on balancing your meals with plenty of protein, fiber and foods you enjoy eating.

Focusing on what you can add to your diet is a much more sustainable way to promote health and well-being. Take a bird’s-eye view of your eating habits and look for what might be missing. Are you getting enough protein? Fruits and veggies? Look for opportunities to add more nutrient-dense foods to your diet instead of focusing on what you need to eliminate. 

2. You’re Skipping Meals

While you may think skipping meals will help you lose weight, it often increases overall calorie intake later in the day. Skipping meals or going too long without eating often leads to intense hunger and cravings. This may cause compulsive eating, eating too quickly or eating more than what feels good to your body. And overeating might lead you to feel shame and want to skip meals, and so the cycle can go. Over time, this can lead to problems for your health and make it difficult to honor your body’s hunger and fullness cues. 

Instead of skipping meals, Tune into hunger and fullness cues, and focus on adding more nutritious, satisfying foods to improve your relationship with food and support a healthy weight.

3. You’re Chronically Dieting

Chronic dieting and undereating calories can slow down your metabolism, making it harder to lose weight and easier to gain it back. When you’re in an extreme calorie deficit for an extended time, your body’s metabolism slows to conserve energy. 

Researchers studied metabolism changes in participants from "The Biggest Loser" competition, where rapid weight loss significantly slowed their resting metabolic rate. Six years after the show, participants had regained most of their lost weight and their metabolisms remained suppressed, even though they maintained their physical activity regimen.

If you’ve been dieting for a while and you’re not losing weight, your body likely needs a break and time to recover from being in a calorie deficit. Talk to an expert like a registered dietitian to find out how many calories you need and what is a safe deficit to support weight loss for you. 

4. You’re Eating Too Few Carbs & Not Enough Fiber 
​
Low-carb diets, keto and carnivore are all fad diets that many people claim helped them lose weight—and fast! But the science suggests that going too long without eating carbs, or eating too few carbs, can lead to increased cravings and excess calorie intake. 

Carbohydrates are essential for energy and brain function. Low-carb diets can lead to fatigue, poor concentration and nutrient deficiencies. Instead of avoiding carbs, aim to include a moderate amount with each meal. 

If you’re not eating enough carbs, chances are you aren’t getting enough fiber either. Fiber is crucial for digestive health, regulating blood sugar levels and maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. Eliminating whole food groups can significantly reduce fiber intake, impacting overall health. 

Fiber slows digestion, increases feelings of fullness and helps regulate blood sugar levels. Research shows that consuming about 30 grams of fiber daily can promote a healthy weight, lower blood pressure and enhance insulin sensitivity.

5. You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep

Sleep is important for so many aspects of health, as it helps regulate hormones related to appetite, stress and metabolism. While sleep itself doesn’t cause weight loss, insufficient sleep can disrupt your metabolism and has been associated with greater caloric intake throughout the day, making it more difficult to lose weight.

Poor sleep can disrupt these hormonal balances, potentially leading to increased cravings and challenges in managing healthy eating patterns.

Insufficient sleep affects cognitive function, mood and overall well-being, which can further complicate efforts to maintain a balanced and supportive relationship with food and body image. 

6. You’re Focusing Too Much on the Scale

Focusing too much on the scale can negatively impact your health. Research has shown that weighing yourself daily can lead to depression and anxiety, decreased self-esteem and decreased body satisfaction.

​Using weight as the only marker of progress isn’t helpful. Weight fluctuates daily for many reasons, including bowel movements, hormones and carb or salt intake. Fixating on the scale can diminish your motivation, causing a vicious cycle of food restriction and bingeing. By shifting the focus away from the scale, you can take a more holistic approach to your health and well-being. ​

​Eggs have 6 grams of protein

Many Americans are looking to increase the amount of protein in their diet. Whether you're trying to build muscle, hit the hills harder in spin class, or simply maintain a sensible lifestyle, protein is a critical building block of any health and wellnes regimen. Here's why eggs are a smart protein option that's easy on the wallet, the waistline, and the planet:

Eggs are a complete protein

The 6 grams of protein found in an egg are made up of all 9 essential amino acids that are vital to our survival. Containing every essential amino acid makes eggs a complete or "whole" protein.

Eggs are nutrient dense

Eggs are considered nutrient dense, and for good reason: those 6 grams of protein plus 12 other essential vitamins and nutrients are all packed into a mere 70 calories. Needless to say, eggs are an ideal food for those seeking to bulk up, lose weight, or just stay fit.

Eggs are an inexpensive source of protein

Eggs are an incredibly affordable source of protein. Although meat is more commonly thought of as the best protein source, it can be much more costly per gram of protein, and tends to have a more deleterious impact on the environment. And, for those who avoid meat for dietary reasons, it's not an option at all.

​What does it mean to age gracefully?

You can’t stand in a checkout line without seeing at least a few magazine headlines about how to look younger. While dreading some wrinkles and sagging isn’t uncommon, there’s so much more to aging well.

Aging gracefully isn’t about trying to look like a 20-something — it’s about living your best life and having the physical and mental health to enjoy it. Like a bottle of wine, you can get better with age with the right care.

Read on to find out what to do and what not to do on your quest to age happily.

Tips for aging gracefully

Use these tips to help you age gracefully from the inside out.

1. Be kind to your skin

Your skin is your body’s largest organ.

If you treat it with care, it can better protect your body from the elements, regulate your body temperature, and provide sensation.

To keep it looking and functioning at its best:

• Wear sunscreen and protective clothing when outside.
• Get yearly skin cancer screenings.
• Stick to gentle products in your anti-aging skin care routine.
• Stay hydrated.

2. Exercise

Regular exercise significantly lowers your risk of diseases, such as heart disease and cancer, and helps you retain your mobility longer. Exercise also lowers stress and improves sleep, skin and bone health, and mood.


The Department of Health & Human Services recommends that adults do:

• 2.5 to 5 hours per week of moderate-intensity exercise, 1.25 to 2.5 hours per week of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise, or a combination of the two
• muscle strengthening activities of moderate intensity or greater, that involve all major muscle groups, two or more days per week

Some examples of aerobic exercise include:

• walking
• swimming
• dancing
• cycling

Muscle- and bone-strengthening exercises can be performed using weights or resistance bands.
Older adults should also focus on activities that include balance training in addition to aerobic and muscle strengthening exercises.

3. Mind your diet

Healthy foods are the way to go when it comes to aging gracefully.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans
 recommends that you eat:

• fruits and vegetables, either fresh, frozen, or canned
• lean protein, such as fish and beans
• at least three ounces of whole-grain cereals, breads, rice, or pasta every day
• three servings of low-fat or fat-free dairy, such as milk, yogurt or cheese that are fortified with vitamin D
• healthy fats

Avoid using solid fats for cooking and use oils instead. Stay away from processed foods, refined sugars, and unhealthy fats.
You should also keep your salt intake to a minimum to keep your blood pressure down.

4. Mental health matters

Being happy and keeping your stress down goes a long way in helping you live and age well.

To keep your mood elevated:

• Spend time with friends and loved ones. Meaningful relationships and a strong social network improve mental and physical well-being and longevity. Don’t forget your furry loved ones as having a pet has been linked to lower stress and blood pressure, reduced loneliness, and better moods.
• Accept your age. There is evidence that people who maintain a positive attitude about aging live longer and may recover better from a disability. Aging is inevitable and learning to embrace it can make all the difference.
• Do things you enjoy. Taking the time to engage in activities you enjoy will only fuel your happiness. Spend time in nature, pursue a new hobby, volunteer — whatever brings you joy.

5. Stay physically active

Numerous studies have linked a sedentary life to an increased risk of chronic illness and early death.

Some options to stay active are going on walks and hikes, taking vacations, and participating in group exercise classes.

6. Lower your stress
The effects of stress on your body are vast, ranging from premature aging and wrinkles to a higher risk of heart disease.

There are a number of proven ways to relieve stress, including:

• using relaxation techniques, such as meditation, breathing exercises, and yoga
• exercising
• getting adequate sleep
• talking to a friend

7. Quit smoking and decrease alcohol consumption

Smoking and alcohol have both been shown to cause premature aging and increase the risk of disease.

Quitting smoking isn’t easy, but there are resources available to help you quit. Speak to a doctor about how to quit.

As for alcohol, limit your intake to the recommended amount to avoid health risks. That’s one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.

8. Get enough sleep

Good sleep is important for your physical and mental health. It also plays a role in your skin’s health.

How much sleep you need depends on your age. Adults over 18 should aim for seven to eight hours of sleep every night.

Getting enough sleep has been proven to:

• lower the risk of heart disease and stroke
• reduce stress and depression
• lower the risk of obesity
• reduce inflammation
• improve focus and concentration

9. Find new hobbies

Finding new and meaningful hobbies can help you maintain a sense of purpose and keep you engaged throughout the course of your life. Evidence shows that people who engage in hobbies and leisure and social activities are happier, experience less depression, and live longer.

10. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness is about acceptance and living in the moment by focusing on the present. Practicing mindfulness has many proven health benefits that can help you age better, including:

• improved focus
• better memory
• lower stress
• improved emotional reaction
• relationship satisfaction
• increased immune functioning

To practice mindfulness, try:

• meditation
• yoga
• tai chi
• coloring

11. Drink plenty of water

Drinking enough water helps keep you regular and improves your energy levels and brain function. Coincidentally, it’s also been proven to help keep skin healthier and reduce signs of aging.


How much water you should drink depends on:

• your thirst
• your activity level
• how often you urinate and move your bowels
• how much you sweat
• your gender

Speak to a doctor if you have questions or concerns about your water intake.

12. Take care of your mouth

Not taking care of your teeth not only ages your smile, but also puts you at risk for gum disease, which has been linked to heart disease, stroke, and bacterial pneumonia.

Along with proper oral care, it’s important to see a dentist regularly.
According to the American Dental Association, a dentist can spot signs of nutritional deficiencies, infection, cancer, and other illnesses, such as diabetes. They recommend brushing twice a day, flossing once a day, and using a mouth rinse.

13. See a doctor regularly

Seeing a doctor regularly can help the doctor find problems early or even before they start. How often you see a doctor depends on your age, lifestyle, family history, and existing conditions.

Ask your doctor how often you should go in for checkups and screening tests as you age. Also, see a doctor anytime you experience concerning symptoms.

Takeaway

Aging gracefully is more about being healthy and happy than keeping wrinkles at bay.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle, surround yourself with people you love, and do things that bring you joy.

It’s natural to worry about the challenges that aging can bring, so don’t hesitate to speak to someone about your concerns.

​5 Benefits of Cardio Training

Cardiovascular exercise is a form of aerobic activity that entails elevating your heart rate for a prolonged duration to condition the heart and lungs, as well as to improve endurance. It involves activities such as jogging, using the stair climber or rowing machine, swimming lengths, or cross-country skiing. Cardio has numerous advantages for the body, including:

1. Cardio Training Improves Heart Health and Endurance

Increased cardio means increased aerobic capacity — the amount of oxygen your blood receives and uses. This improved cardiovascular health allows your heart and lungs to move oxygen through your body more efficiently, which increases your endurance to get through longer training sessions.

2. Cardio Exercise Reduces Body Fat

Due to the elevated heart rate and continuous intensity, cardio burns more calories than strength training. This higher calorie burn is why cardio workouts are more often associated with fat loss. That said, there are two types of cardio for fat loss to consider.
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): For HIIT workouts, you want to get to at least 80% of your maximum heart rate during the high-intensity intervals and not allow it to drop below 50% for the low-intensity intervals or breaks.

HIIT workouts help you to retain current muscle mass. HIIT fat loss is believed to be related to an increase in hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), a fat-burning enzyme activated by the release of hormones.

Low-Intensity Steady State (LISS): LISS workouts consist of aerobic activities (walking, jogging at a leisurely pace, swimming laps, etc.) performed at low intensity for an extended period. It’s the opposite of HIIT.

Research suggests that LISS workouts may help burn fat at a higher rate than high-intensity workouts. As a result, LISS is often considered better for anyone with significant fat loss goals, especially since it’s suited for all fitness levels.

3. Cardio Workouts Increases Energy

There’s a complex relationship between stress, hormones, and energy. When you do cardio, your body releases stress hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine). When released in small amounts through exercise, these hormones give your body energy.

4. Cardio Regimens Lower Blood Pressure Levels

Regular cardio activity makes your heart stronger, allowing it to pump blood with less effort, decreasing the pressure on your arteries while lowering your blood pressure. In addition, studies have shown that endurance exercises like running, cycling, or rowing are effective at decreasing blood pressure.

5. Cardio Activity Increases Mental Clarity

The increased blood flow from your cardio routine is good for your body and brain. Improved circulation can lead to better memory, as well as increased alertness and brain function.

5 Benefits of Strength Training

Strength training, also frequently referred to as weight training, involves engaging your muscles against resistance in order to boost muscle endurance and power. The muscles are tasked with counteracting forces generated from your workout gear, whether that's weight training equipment like YBells, kettlebells and dumbbells, specialized machines, or your own body weight. Some of the advantages of strength training include:

1. Strength Training Builds Muscle

Lifting weights builds and sculpts your muscles through hypertrophy, which is an increase in the size of muscles. Weights put more resistance on your muscles, breaking down tissue quickly and triggering your body to heal and build muscle in the process.

A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that participants increased their lean mass through a weight training program.

2. Strength Training Burns Calories Even After the Workout

While cardio training burns more calories during the actual workout, strength training burns calories long after the workout ends. Your muscle is constantly being broken down and built back up, which requires energy (calories). This after-burn leads to a more significant calorie burn throughout the day.

3. Weight Training Protects Bone Health

Weight training helps to increase your bone density, which strengthens your bones. Stronger bones can slow down or help to prevent osteoporosis, not to mention avoiding breaking or fracturing your bones.

4. Strength Training Prevents Injuries

Stronger muscles support your joints, increase your mobility, and reduce your risk of hip or knee damage or arthritis. Strong joints also prevent injury through better balance, coordination and improved posture, decreasing lower back and neck pain.

A study from the National Library of Medicine showed that strength training reduced the risk of falling by 40% in older people (who are at higher risk of falling).

5. Weight Training Improves Cardiovascular Health

Weight training increases lean muscle mass, allowing your lungs to process more oxygen as you breathe and your heart to pump more blood with less pressure. Lowered pressure on your arteries puts less demand on your heart, reducing heart-related health issues.
If you regularly lift weights, you’ll reap the benefits of a lowered risk of a stroke or heart attack.

According to the latest weight-loss research, 95% of dieters end up regaining the weight they lost within two years. Calorie-restricting diets are often successful at helping people lose weight, but they’re very unsuccessful at helping people maintain that weight loss.

So what are you to do if you want to lose weight but avoid regaining that weight?

As a psychologist who specializes in eating disorders, I recognize many diets and weight loss programs as problematic. But there are ways to make lifestyle changes that lead to better health for you, both physically and mentally.

Understand how and why diets often fail

When diets fail, it’s not simply because of a lack of willpower or moral character in the dieter. Our bodies are wired for survival, and they interpret less energy availability (through dieting) as a threat to survival. Therefore, our bodies react to calorie deprivation with countermeasures that include metabolic, hormonal and neurological changes that overwhelm willpower.

Calorie restriction can lead to slower metabolism, increased hunger hormone (gherlin) and decreased satiety — or ‘feeling full’ — hormone (leptin). You not only feel hungrier, but you’re less likely to feel full or satisfied by what you eat. It tends to increase the mind’s preoccupation with food and increases activity in the brain’s reward center when we consume high-calorie foods.

Some of us also have genetic risk factors to respond to food restriction with binge eating (eating a significantly large amount of food in one sitting, combined with the compulsion to keep eating). For some people, binge eating is the direct result of dieting. Not only does binge eating decrease self-worth and feelings of control over one’s life, but this response to a diet also often leads dieters to end up at a higher weight than before they started a diet.

Ask yourself some questions before starting a diet

I often advocate for individuals to meet with a registered dietitian to develop sustainable meal plans that fit their unique needs, instead of following a restrictive diet plan that’s not designed specifically for them. Nutrition isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” concept.

Make small, sustainable changes that fit in with your individual life circumstances to protect your metabolism and lead to health improvements that you’re more likely to maintain.

Try asking yourself these questions that Katie Chapmon, a registered dietitian and public speaker, suggests when a patient is starting a diet:

• Is the diet sustainable? If so, for how long? After that, what’s likely to happen?
• Have you tried something like this before? If so, how did it go? What went well, and what was difficult?
• Are there some foods that could be adjusted instead of eliminated?
• How different is this from what you’re currently doing? Will switching up your way of eating feel jarring?
• Could you practice curiosity and take pauses during the diet to evaluate this approach?

I discourage fad diets, especially those with severe calorie restrictions, such as liquid diets, because they rarely lead to sustainable weight loss. They more often lead to feelings of frustration and hopelessness.

I also discourage getting nutritional advice from anyone without training in the science of nutrition — personal trainers and coaches, for example, typically haven’t received the kind of training that gives them a full understanding of how nutrients work in individuals’ bodies.
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Adopt healthy ways of thinking about food, diets and the roles they play in our bodies

In my practice, I often use cognitive-behavioral therapy that reveals problematic thinking patterns.

Patterns that create distress include all-or-nothing thinking, such as dividing food into strict “healthy” or “unhealthy” categories and thinking of food in extremes. Dieters engage in all-or-nothing thinking when they believe they’re “good” if they eat zero cookies (restricting) and “bad” when they eat a whole bag of cookies (bingeing). We encourage finding the gray area between those extremes; one serving of cookies, for example, is a more balanced way of allowing yourself to enjoy foods without bingeing.

​There are several concepts that can help reframe the way we think about diets, food and weight:

• Diets don’t work.
• Food is fuel.
• All foods, in moderation, can be part of a healthy meal plan.
• If weight loss is as simple as “calories in, calories out,” then why do dieters regain the weight they lost within two years?
• If a physician told you that a treatment has a 95% failure rate, would you want that treatment?
• Eighty percent of your weight and shape is genetic. Exercise may not be very effective for weight loss, but fitness is more important to health and longevity than weight is, so exercise is worth prioritizing. Our bodies are meant to move!
• Compare yourself to who you were yesterday — not to anyone else.

Prioritize your mental health when it comes to body image and weight loss

Positive body image is a skill to practice. I often ask my patients what they appreciate about their body, and have them list activities they enjoy because of their body.

A book I recommend to practice this skill is The Positive Body Image Workbook, from Ohio State alumna Nichole Wood-Barcalow, PhD, Ohio State professor Tracy Tylka, PhD, and psychologist Casey Judge, PhD.

We all experience sadness and anxiety in our lives. But it’s time to seek help from a mental health professional when a mental health disorder occurs — when there’s significant distress and interference with functioning in everyday life (health, work, school, sports, relationships).

For example, if you’re excessively tired, irritable and food-focused because of the way you’re eating, that might be a time to seek help. If your negative body image is interfering with dating or work performance, or you’re avoiding all exercise because of fear of others judging your body, a mental health professional can help you sort out these feelings and function more fully in everyday life.

It’s definitely time to seek assistance from a mental health professional and dietitian if you have symptoms of an eating disorder. You can find immediate help and screen yourself for symptoms at nationaleatingdisorders.org, the National Eating Disorders Association website.

​Weight isn’t the only determinant of health, and particular weight ranges may not be realistic for everyone. But if you’d like to feel more at peace with your body, sustainable lifestyle changes and positive body image are important to your success.