Searching for that Work-Life Balance!

Hello friends,

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Its been a while since I posted and this is why...

So, I've started working. Full time. My first 9 to 5 and I am ever so grateful for this opportunity working to conduct research. 

It's been 6 months in the new job and I am beginning to engage in conversation (mostly internal) about not being caught in the 'rat race.'  

And what is the rat race you might ask?

Think of this analogy of many rats in  a maze expending tons of energy, running around in a maze, expending tons of energy, running around aimlessly (in circles) and getting absolutely no where. Now let's transfer this to the real world.
The 'rat race' is often used in reference to full time employment (the '9 to 5'), where one works way too much, often long hours and not much of a life outside of work. Basically, the 'rat race' refers to a poor work-life balance.

Truth be told, I am getting worried that I may fall into this awful pit of long work hours, despite the fact that I may love what I do.

I miss school break and month long vacations; not having to do the same thing day in and day out. I miss he spontaneity of life as a student. 

Like I mentioned earlier, I love my job and the work that I do everyday. I am no longer a student. It seems that I miss life as a student. Since, I am so new to the '9 to 5' life I believe that I am still trying to adjust.

For those of you, who have similar work schedules as myself, how do you ensure that you don't get unhappy with your job? How to do balance work life and personal life?

I need help with this new schedule.

Thank you in advance,

A great Resource: Exercise and Muscle Directory

Hello lovely people,

I came across this great site for all things exercise. It is a great resource if you want to isolate exercises for certain muscle groups. The link is below.

Image via Pinterest

The link: http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

 

I hope this helps,

Using Liquid Nutrition to Combat Health Disparities

Hello friends,

                          Using Liquid Nutrition to Combat Health Disparities

I’m sure you’ve heard all about green smoothies and/or green juices. Green smoothies and juices are quick and easy to make. Most importantly, they are delicious and highly nutritious, because they flood our bodies with much needed fiber, nutrients, antioxidants, enzymes, and chlorophyll. I think they are an excellent way for us to engage in healthier behaviors, give our bodies the nutrients it needs, and do our part to eliminate heath disparities in our communities. 

www.liliashealthbook.blogspot.com

Minorities have the worse health conditions in the United States, with African Americans leading the pack. For example, obesity is one of the fastest growing epidemics in the United States, but even more so for Black women. For example, according to the Office of Minority Health, African American women are 70% more likely to be obese than Non-Hispanic White women. I think, we as Black women can reverse or even eliminate these statistics by incorporating more fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies in our diets. Here are two reasons why I think so.  

1.  Juicing has shown excellent promise in weight loss. How? Well vegetables and fruits are naturally low in calories and fat. So, replacing as many foods as you can that are higher in calories with fruits and vegetables in the form of a juice or smoothie would be wise to do for anyone who’s trying to lose weight. Moreover, fruits and vegetable juices and smoothies provide our bodies with large amounts of nutrients that are quickly absorbed by the body to help in the elimination of any nutritional deficiencies.

2.  Green smoothies are full of fiber, which is very important in the elimination of waste. Personally, I’ve noticed significantly more bowel movements (i.e. daily movements) since incorporating daily green smoothies. Fiber helps you feel full quicker and keeps you full longer. This is definitely ideal in anyone who’s looking to lose weight and to help build and maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

The health statistics for Black women are appalling and I for one did not want poor health to become my reality. I began incorporating green juices and smoothies in my diet as a way to increase my intake of more fruits and vegetables, because we all know that fruits and vegetables are good for us.

More information on green smoothies and juices can be found on the links below:

http://liliashealthbook.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-new-love-green-smoothie.html
http://liliashealthbook.blogspot.com/2012/06/berry-infused-coconut-smoothie.html
http://liliashealthbook.blogspot.com/2012/10/green-smoothie-recipe-3-celery-kale.html
http://liliashealthbook.blogspot.com/2012/02/green-smoothie-recipe-2-kale-spinach.html 
http://liliashealthbook.blogspot.com/2012/03/tips-on-eating-healthier.html
http://liliashealthbook.blogspot.com/2012/02/eating-healthy-is-sexy-fruit-vegetable.html

I hope this helps,

 

Positive Fitspiration: keeping the mind, body & soul in good health

I am very excited to bring to this guest post by Claudine. Claudine is a great writer and is passionate about overall health like myself. If you would like to see more information like that which is presented below, please let Claudine know in the comment section below.

Eating well and exercising are very beneficial for being healthy and staying fit, however if the internal being within us is not well we are robbing our selves of true health. In today's world many things can dampen our minds, our bodies and our spirits. We all fall in one or more categories of having stressors which can disturb the mind.

 Some common stressors being lack of jobs, debt, relationship or marital problems (just to name a few common areas) can cause major mental and emotional problems in our lives. This is why from time to time self evaluation is neccessary for our inner bodies to cleanse. We should make it our duty to ask ourselves questions such as: 

What is causing the problems in our lives? 

Why are we being subjected to them? 

What can we do to change this problems?

Who are we allowing into our lives or what are we allowing into our lives to dampen our spirits,to bring unrest,to unsettle our emotions?

 Many times bitterness, anger, jealousy, pain and so many other negative emotions over cloud our bodies. These emotions when inhaled can cause illnesses in our bodies such as high blood pressure, internal cancers, mood disorders which we develop such as bipolarism, schizophrenia, anxiety, nervous breakdowns, depression etc. An unsettled inner body leads to an unsettled outer body. 

Often times we drown ourselves in liquor, wine, smoking and other detrimental habits in order to drown our pain thus destroying our bodies more. We should know when its time to make changes. 

I encourage you to surround your world with positive energy, positive people, to love and respect yourself and your body enough to let go of whatever is hindering your growth. Pray. Meditate. Exercises such as yoga and  kickboxing are ways to get rid of some of the internal anger and bitterness which can destroy our bodies. Take care of your temple and it will function the right way. This has been Fitspiration! Be happy, be blessed, give yourself the gift of inner and outer health.

This post has been brought to you by Claudine. 

All images via Pinterest.
 
I hope this helps,

 
 

Detoxification 101: The Lymphatic System (Part 4)

 Hello friends,

Today, let's discuss the lymphatic system  as part of our detoxification series. Refer to the links to join in the conversation for the other posts in this series on the Skin and the Liver.

What is the Lymphatic System? 
-The lymphatic system is a major part of the body's immune system. The lymphatic system aids the immune system in removing and destroying waste, toxins, pathogens, dead blood cells, and cancer cells from the body.  In addition, the lymphatic system removes excess fluid and waste from the interstitial spaces between cells.
Basically, it acts as a filtration system.

The lymphatic system does not have a pump! (like the circulatory system). Therefore, it is highly dependent on movement ( such as exercise, dancing, jumping, physical activity, massage etc.) to help it do its job efficiently. I think another great reason to exercise!

It is important to note that if the other elimination organs of the skin, liver, intestines, and kidneys are working at top capacity, then the lymphatic system is able to to do its job even better.
A poor working lymphatic system can cause swelling, joint pain, skin puffiness, nausea etc.

So what makes us the Lymphatic System?
Lymph nodes, bone marrow, the spleen, tonsils, and the thymus gland all make up the Lymphatic system.

Ways to encourage the Lymphatic System to do its jobs:

1. Exercise. "Nuff said...
2. Massage...such as the Lymphatic Massage
3. Dry Skin Brushing - stimulates the lymphatic system to drain and remove from the entire body
4. A healthy-balanced diet-mostly plants; little processed foods
5. Sweat - Don't be afraid to sweat. Sweating is a great overall health. Sweating eliminates waste and toxins and helps support a healthy Lymphatic system. 

Well, my friends, I hope this helps. If you have any questions or comments, please do so in the comment section below.

Take Care,

Detoxification 101: The Skin (Part 3)

Hello friends,

I promised to write a post on the skin being one of the largest elimination organs, so here it is! Please refer to my detoxification post and the liver detox post for more details on detoxification. 

The skin is the largest organ. Yes, the biggest!

Its function is to protect everything else that’s underneath; which means that we need to show our skin constant love and care. The skin also helps to control our body temperature.

Source

The skin is made up of 3 layers:

                The top layer - epidermis (what you see)

                Middle Layer –  the dermis, houses nerve endings, blood vessels, oil glands, sweat glands, collagen and elastin

                Third layer – this is where you can find the subcutaneous tissue (fat).

So now that we’ve quickly gone over the layers, let’s talk about how we can keep our skin healthy via detoxing. 

The epidermis is what we can see, but what we cannot see is the formation of new skin cells. As new skin cells push their way to the epidermis, old skin or dead skin cells slough off.

Did you know that a typical skin cell has a life cycle of about 2 weeks? In fact, we lose about 30,000-40,000 skin cells per minute, every day.

So what does the skin have to do with detoxification?

The process of detoxifying :: removing toxins:: removing impurities::cleansing.

Again, the skin is the largest organ. It is a major detoxifying organ, because it excretes waste via sweat. Also, the skin acts as a respiratory organ- it is porous; it breathes.  For instance, one of the side effects of going through any detox often involves skin blemishes. This is a sign of the detoxification process-toxins being expelled through our pores. Our bodies are constantly cleansing and removing waste, but there are many things that we can do to help that process run more smoothly.

 

Important note: The skin is a reflection of our insides. In other words, the skin reflects the health of our large intestines and other organs. (this is why daily bowel movements are so important for me). There is  definitely a connection between the large intestines and the skin. When the body has a difficult time removing waste through the colon (i.e. bowel movements), the body finds other avenues to get rid of that waste. And that pathway is usually the skin (gross right!). Pimples, blemishes, acne, cysts all surface as the body tries to get rid of waste. Some people can eat whatever and still have perfect skin, that is not the case for me. My skin is not perfect at all, but it has definitely improved.

It is of utmost importance that we keep our intestines clean. Make a conscious effort to get as much water, veggies and fruits as you can will definitely help to do just that. If you’re being with me for a little while, then you know I do this via my delicious green smoothies. (link ) In summary, a clean large intestine reflects healthier looking skin, but this is just 1 way of keeping the skin clear. There are many other ways:

1.  Skin Brushing – I’ve never tried this yet, but I hope to do so in the near future. Dry skin brushing is easy to do and the health benefits are amazing. Dry skin brushing improves blood circulation to the skin encouraging the lymphatic system to release toxins and to drain any trapped metabolic waste, thereby, keeping the blood and other tissues clean. Also dry skin brushing reduces cellulite and puffiness. Most visibly, dry skin brushing sloughs away dry, dead skin to help reveal new skin cells. 
2. Sweating- a great way to detox the body and release toxins and waste. Sweating is good; this is why I’m against deodorants that prevent sweating under the arms for long periods of time. Infrared saunas are especially great for this method of skin detoxing. They encourage sweating and claim to improve circulation and to eliminate heavy metals in the body.   
3. Exercising- is not only great for the skin, but for overall health. I love cardio workouts for this reason. I get to sweat and my heart gets a great workout.
4. Baths- not just any bath- A detox bath will definitely assist the body in the elimination of waste and toxins. Ingredients like Epsom salt, baking soda, bentonite clay, essential oils, like lavender, tea tree oil etc. are key to most detox bath recipes.

** These are just some ways to encourage your body to detox via the skin. Please share any other skin detoxification tips. We can all learn from each other. 

I hope this helps,