Recently in Wellness Category

Can a positive mood change your life?

Although dating can be fun and exciting, it can also be stressful and overwhelming, especially if you have been out of the dating scene for many years. 

"As much as Americans are portrayed as an overindulgent society, the truth is that when we decide to care for ourselves in a more attentive, proactive and soul-nourishing way, we're forced to confront a cultural view that selfish is a dirty word" - Cheryl Richardson

"For never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo." - Shakespeare

"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring close-knit family
in another city." George Burns

Conquer your fear of failure and live your best life

The road to self-forgiveness

By Diane E. Lykes, LCSW 

There is a secret when it comes to finding love. It won't surprise you when you hear it, but it is often forgotten.
For some, looking for love has become synonymous with looking for a job. Many people are working very hard to find their perfect match. Sometimes it may feel as though we have switched over from Monster.com to Match.com. However, for a lot of people, this has led to endless dates that lead nowhere. Until we learn the secret for a lasting relationship, speed dates, blind dates or Internet dates will not result in a 1ong-term relationship.
Consider pausing for a moment to learn more about this age-old secret for finding love.  Perhaps you will discover that you no longer have to work so hard to find love...because love will find you.

The secret
Simply stated, the secret is this: When you are strong, confident and happy, you attract love. When you feel good about who you are and what you have to offer, you attract a healthy partner who appreciates and values you. In this healthy place, you no longer have to search for love. Self-love emanates from you and people are completely drawn to your positive energy.
Unfortunately, the reverse is also true. When your heart has been broken, when you are living in fear that you will be hurt again and when you don't love yourself you will emanate negative energy. This type of energy attracts unhealthy partners or sends the good ones packing after a few dates.

Finding your "MoJo"
"What's the worst thing that can happen to a quarterback? He loses his confidence."    --Terry Bradshaw
So, how do you go from projecting negative energy to radiating confidence? The answer lies in serious self-evaluation. You will need to fully understand the "blocks" you may be putting in the way of relationship success.
To help accomplish this, try answering these questions to get a better sense of your "Mo Jo"- that magnetic quality that attracts others to you. 

The top 10
1.  What are you looking for?
2.  What is holding you back?
3.  What can you improve in yourself?
4.  How will you accomplish this one step at a time?
5.  What messages are you sending out?
6.  What does your body language say when you are on a date?
7.  Are you a complainer?
8.  Do you talk about all your past relationships and broken hearts?
9. Do you feel that you are not worthy of love...that you are not good enough?
10. What messages has your mind taped and is replaying over and over that keeps you completely stuck?

Getting unstuck
If you are feeling stuck try some of these suggestions to get your mind moving in the right direction:
Act happy be happy: Researchers have found that just by acting happy and confident, you will become more happy and self-assured. How does this work? What you radiate to others is reflected back to you. People treat you with higher regard and want to be around you. This has a huge impact on your self-worth. Ask yourself this important question...how would your life change if you choose to not have low self-esteem?
Practice self-forgiveness: Forgive yourself for your past mistakes. Acknowledge what you did or what was done to you and move on. Really believe that whatever has happened is over.
Let go of the past: Know that whatever it is that you want, you deserve it. And you can have it when you stop believing that the past can control your life.
Take time to heal: If your heart needs time to heal, nurture it. Instead of looking for someone to take away your pain, take some time before entering the dating world to strengthen yourself. You will have a much better chance of attracting a healthier person in the long run. Exercise and get enough sleep to improve your mood and help you look and feel better.
Single and fabulous: Finally, are you telling yourself that you need to have a partner in order to be happy? The truth is that you do not need another person to "complete" you. You are complete just as you are and you have every opportunity to be happy right now. When you take care of yourself everyday and fill your life with rich experiences you will find that you stop searching.

So where do you find love?
Attracting someone means having the confidence and self-esteem to invite love and romance into your life. Take those first and difficult steps to look deep inside your heart.  As you begin to feel stronger and happier, you will spread your positive energy all around you and you will meet people wherever you go. And, you just might find that this road to self-discovery also leads to love.
Diane Lykes is a Principal of Synergy Counseling Associates in Albany where she specializes in individual and couples counseling, educational training and clinical consultation.  Synergy is a unique counseling practice providing compassionate, solution-oriented treatment for adults, children, adolescents and families.  She can be reached at 466.3100 or lykes-synergy@nycap.rr.com. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

This is the time of year when many of us take inventory of ourselves and in doing so decide to jump on the pulsating energy of a "new year" with the most notable goal being to improve our physiques! 

So, we look to our role models, which often times turns out to be those beautiful people who grace the covers of the magazines that stare us in the face while we are in the check-out at the grocery store (perhaps we should re-think the inventory on the cashier's belt?)
What do these miraculously chiseled men and gloriously thin women do that result in these amazingly thin and lean bodies? Some behaviors are worthy of role modeling in our own lives and some are definitely risky and should be avoided.

Kelly Ripa
This celebrity has established herself as a fitness role model in 2008 as she graced the covers Self and Fitness. She has arms that are being compared to Madonna (known for her vigorous workouts and yoga practice!) and has lost significant weight on a frame that once ballooned up to 170 pounds during pregnancies.
What did she do to go from over-weight pregnant to chiseled super lean? Ripa has been a runner for many years and has returned to her 3-4 times a week 3-5 mile runs. But, she attributes her more recent weight loss and body fat reduction to her new obsession: Physique 57.
Physique 57 is a workout studio in Manhattan with a specific technique that is designed to facilitate increased cardiovascular capacity, superior muscle tone and turbo charged flexibility all in one class! The technique originated out of the work of Lotte Berk, a world-famous ballerina, and is being perpetuated with some refinements by Tanya Becker, owner of Physique 57, who was extensively trained in the Lotte Berk method.
The Physique 57 website describes the technique as "a vigorous and dynamic exercise method designed to rapidly transform your body" and Ripa is a walking testimonial!

Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez is arguably the most notable female celebrity who has always been recognized for her extreme attractiveness in the absence of excessive thinness. She is a role model for women - she has a successful singing and acting career, a successful marriage, is the mother of twins and in 2008 successfully completed the Malibu Sprint Triathlon! (This after giving birth six months prior!)
Jennifer trained in swimming, cycling and running in order to compete in the California triathlon that attracts pro-triathletes and Hollywood stars alike. 
Her trainer, Gunnar Peterson, said not only did Lopez work out, but she also followed a sensible eating plan designed to maintain energy throughout the day and for her workouts. Unlike some regimes where celebrities are going without eating for relatively long periods through the day, Jennifer ate her first meal within 30 minutes of waking up in order to block the body from thinking it is starving and thereby hording its body fat. A typical breakfast was a cup of oatmeal with some sliced fruit and several scrambled egg whites.
Eating at regular intervals (every 3-5 hours) has been linked to successful weight loss and weight management. It causes a jump start in your metabolism every time you eat and it stops you from getting so hungry by the end of the day that you eat like an animal!

Beyonce Knowles
You would have to be living under a rock to not know that Beyonce dropped over 20 pounds in order to play the Diana Ross character accurately in the movie "Dream Girls" in 2006. She had to be heavier in her (Diana Ross's) younger years and leaner in her middle years in the movie and so she had to lose weight, and lose it fast, during the shooting of the movie.
Beyonce regularly works out with a trainer, but in order to drop the weight quickly, she decided to use the Master Cleanse. This regime involves taking in nothing except a liquid drink consisting of maple syrup, lemon juice, water and cayenne pepper. It is touted as a purifier and cleanser. Beyonce is reported to have stated that she felt like she was going to die while on the program and that she was driven to eat fatty foods upon completion which lead to a regain of all the weight she lost.
There are several products currently being promoted in the Capital Region claiming similar benefits to the Master Cleanse. These are Isagenix and Metafast. In my opinion, the major flaw to these regimes is that they teach how not to eat and do not promote experiential learning and practicing of how to be with food on an ongoing daily basis.  For these reasons, many people who try these and other fasting regimes, have a similar experience to Beyonce. The weight loss does not last.
To Beyonce's credit, by continuing her workouts with her trainer and changing her eating habits incrementally over time, her body is more buff than at any other time of her life, including the time she did the Master Cleanse!

Matthew McConaughey
With his beach boy good looks and lean, chiseled physique, Matthew McConaughey  is the epitome of men's fitness. He added another fitness accomplishment to his resume this year by competing in his first triathlon in Malibu.
McConaughey's fitness philosophy is to do something to break a sweat every single day. Not one to be what he terms as a "fitness fanatic" his approach to working out is less structured and more consistent. He doesn't like to do workouts that involve sets of pre-determined intervals or reps and sets. Instead, McConaughey likes to bring an element of play to all his workouts, going by how he feels and making it fun more than having to complete a dictated format. 
In the weight room, he likes to keep his workouts varied by throwing in variations in the middle of his workout program. For instance, he will perform a random set of 200 push ups when the spirit moves him!
But he never misses a day and has been seen doing everything from running with a weighted vest to biking next to his buddy Lance Armstrong to surfing with his girlfriend to caving with buddies to getting in a superset weight workout in the gym.
He takes as similar approach to his eating. He generally eats a high protein, low carbohydrate diet, but has said if he goes to a party and they have beer and wings he isn't going to say "I can't eat that!"
If McConaughey stays as active as he currently is he can maintain his physique while indulging, but portion awareness will have to come into play as he ages if he wants to stay as lean as he is now.
Bottom line: celebrities use a mixture of healthy and not-so-healthy tactics to look as good as they do. Try to take the healthy behaviors and integrate them into your daily regime of self-care and fitness and leave the others back with the now finished year of 2008. 

Judy Torel is a USAT coach, personal trainer, nutrition consultant and psychotherapist. She conducts online services through her website www.judytorel.com. Her office is located in Planet Fitness, Loudonville. She is also a competing triathlete who is currently training for Ironman, Florida.

By Alissa Lubanski

Our bodies are practically waging a war against the toxins we ingest and are exposed to everyday. These toxins are eliminated in a number of ways, such as through the blood, liver, kidneys, intestines, lungs, lymph and skin. However, when our natural system of detoxification is not running smoothly, toxins can build up, which opens up the possibility for sickness and disease.
If you have the following symptoms, you might benefit from a detox:       
• Trouble concentrating
• Insomnia
• Bloating
• Craving junk food
• Depressed or anxious
• Headaches
• Joint pain
• Brittle hair and nails
• White film on tongue
• Constipation
• Reduced sex drive

"The average American can benefit from a gentle detoxification program that includes reducing exposure to toxins, regulation of the diet, and support of the liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract and skin in their detoxification and elimination functions," said Dr. Ann Cary Tobin, integrative medicine physician with Partners in Healing in Delmar.

With Tobin's advice in mind, we created a list of relatively simple detoxifying strategies.  If you incorporate some of them into your daily regimen, you can start to clean out the unwanted debris, feel better and live healthier.
Eliminate alcohol, coffee, cigarettes, refined sugars and unhealthy fats (at least for however many days you intend to detox). 
Avoid harsh chemicals, dyes, and fragrances found within many household cleaners and personal care products, and switch to all-natural products. 
The skin can eliminate 10 percent of all waste from the body. Use a skin brush (you can find these brushes at health food stores). Brushing the skin stimulates circulation and the lymphatic system, helping to drain toxins. A warm bath with Epsom salts, apple cider vinegar and a few drops of Rosemary essential oil can also help pull toxins out through the skin. Of course, you can sweat out toxins by exercising or heating up in a sauna.

Rebounding 
Jumping on a rebounder, or mini-trampoline, is one of the best exercises for toning your body and getting your lymph fluids flowing, which helps drain the toxins out of your body.

Heavy metals
Cilantro's purifying powers help to pull heavy metals such as aluminum and mercury from your body. Pair with garlic or chlorella, which helps to further carry out the aluminum and mercury that the cilantro has extracted from your body's tissues. 

Digestion
Increase fiber intake to clean out and remove toxins via your intestinal tract.  Eat brown rice and organically-grown fresh fruits and vegetables; for added fiber try psylium husk capsules or powders. 

Hydration
It is important to stay hydrated, so drink sufficient quantities of clean, filtered water. The water will help flush out toxins through your kidneys and urine.

Cold shower therapy
After your hot shower, follow with a blast of cold water for 30 seconds, or as long as you can stand it.  This helps to cleanse the circulatory and lymph systems, and strengthens the nervous system and mucous membranes, all of which aid in the elimination of toxins. 

Good old-fashioned fast
Try going from lunch to lunch, or dinner to dinner, without eating and only drinking water. When you fast, you rest your organs and digestive system, so instead of processing all of the food you eat, your body can tend to other matters, helping to improve your overall system with the elimination of toxins. 

Liquid diet
Drinking only fresh fruit juices and healthy organic vegetable soups for a weekend will help your body loosen up toxins and flush them out. 
Other foods and herbs that help detox:  pumpkin seeds, lemon, dandelion, milk thistle, mullein, goldenseal, burdock, fennel, sage, chamomile, and peppermint. 
Cleansing supplement packages generally contain fiber, herbs, vitamins and minerals.  There are many packages to choose from at your local health food store. 

Possible detox side effects
It's not uncommon to have some side effects when detoxing, especially if you have a heavy load of toxins. Symptoms may include:
Headache
Excessive sweat and body odor
Fatigue
Feeling unusual emotions
Dry mouth
Rash
Constipation
Disclaimer:  Do not detox when pregnant, breastfeeding, menstruating or if you have any other medical problems being treated by a doctor. Always check with your doctor first before beginning a detox program.