Health & Wellness: It's Heating Up Out There

By Eli Fields

     The seasons this year have been a series of head-scratchers. When’s the last time you can remember having a Memorial Day weekend that felt like it took place in October? As I sat and gnawed on a flash-cooked rack of ribs (hard to grill ‘em right when the rain keeps snuffing out the light), watching as some old guy herded a long procession of paired animals onto an old-fashioned party yacht across the street, I struggled to conjure up any recollection of having ever experienced such a dreary finale to May.

     Have no fear. Despite all inconsistencies, those temperatures are continuing to climb and that sun is increasingly blazing as the summer commences. Around this time of year, many of us start looking a little harder at our reflections in the mirror. After bundling up for months on end to deal with the semi-Siberian winter of the Northeast, it’s always a bit of an emotional and visual adjustment when you inevitably make the wardrobe switch to the tried-and-true Collegiate style: t-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops. (Please avoid the ill-fated cargo shorts – those pockets are just… too much.)

     Perhaps some of us have put on a few pounds over the winter that we’re fully seeing for the first time and want to get rid of. Perhaps some of us want to be in a better state of health and physical fitness overall. Maybe it’s both! Whatever your goals, and whatever the motivations that inspired them – make this year the one where you put your foot out the door and get to work! Most importantly, make this summer the Summer of You.

     Getting in shape can often seem like a drag. Like many new things, some of this has to do with the learning curve, which requires patience and persistence to surmount. Some of it has to do with our psychological and biological attachments to rewards; unlike the near-instant pleasure that chips, ice cream, and red wine give us, working out and eating right are long-term investments which can take a little time to start seeing returns on.

     The keys to sustaining weight loss and better health are implementing small changes incrementally and trying new things to see a wider spectrum of foods and workout activities you enjoy. It’s important to stay intrigued, because that can have a lot to do with staying motivated. This month, if you want to cut down on your sugar and general junk food intake, one of the easiest switches you can make is to start subbing in water or unsweetened iced tea for sugary sodas. Take it slow at first and see how much you’re willing to build up to – if you drink three cans of soda a day, for instance, try drinking two cans of soda and one bottle of water tomorrow, and proceed accordingly. Start making some fruit salads and add a side dish of Greek yogurt (whether flavored or not), and you’ve got yourself a great alternative to ice cream and cookies, and one that’s great for the pool. Speaking of the pool: swimming is regularly cited as one of the best cardiovascular workouts you can get, if not the best. It’s easier on your joints than most other cardio, but is equally challenging. Most swim clubs, in addition to YMCAs, offer swim classes of varying difficulty for all different age groups. It’s never too late to grab trunks and jump in.

   

Stay cool out there, and keep tuning in for more summer-themed Health & Wellness topics!

Read the Article Here: http://delcomag.com/Archive/JULY2017DCM/index.html?page=67