Archive for December, 2011

How to Make a New Year’s Resolution Stick

December 29th, 2011

Sign up for PayPal and start accepting credit card payments instantly.

Almost a month ago, I resolved to keep this blog as fresh as a new-born babe. Then I was offered to ghostwrite a business school blog and, pfffftt, my resolution vanished as fast as I could make it.

A few days from now, we will greet a new year. As always, people, like me, will be driven to a frenzy making resolutions, vowing to turn a leaf as new as the coming year.

A few will give their darndest to live out their resolutions while most will forget it before Valentine’s Day.

Old habits die hard and a few lines of desires are not enough to kill it. It needs a steam roller.

But if you must turn a new leaf and really want to make it stick, this formula is going to help you do just that.

1.   Have a realistic goal:

By realistic, I mean something that you can do, with a little bit of pain, perhaps. It must be specific and doable.

“To lose weight” is not specific, even if it is doable.

“To lose 10 pounds within two months from now,” is specific and doable if you suffer a little bit in your calorie intake and exercise a lot.

And pick only one. Don’t cheat yourself by having a fallback position.

2.  Do it now:

Procrastination is the nemesis of a good many intentions. If you want to do it, start now.

Settle yourself in a quiet place, and think of the things you want to change in your life the coming year.

Pick one, write it down and start planning on how to accomplish it. Put in milestones so you can track your progress.

3.  Start small:

Don’t choke yourself to death by biting more than you can chew. Consider having a resolution as a marathon, not a hundred-meter dash.

Go easy. Do the small things first, going to the bigger and more difficult tasks in your plan.

4.  Don’t make a re-run of past resolutions:

People have the habit of re-running past resolutions. If you did not do that well enough last year, there’s no reason you can do better this year.

If you must do a similar thing, give it a little twist. Rectify those things you had difficulty or missed doing

5.  Change does not happen overnight:

A habit is an act done over and over again. It may start as something uncomfortable. But if done repeatedly, you will soon learn to embrace it. It will become a part of you.

This process applies to both good and bad habits. It takes time to set in and take roots. If you want it badly enough, it will come. Just give it time.

6.  Get up when you fall down:

Nothing can be worse than staying down when you fall. And you will fall down, repeatedly. Remember, you can never lose if you don’t quit.

So keep your momentum up. The best boxers are those who throw the most  punches. Pretty soon, one of them, a haymaker, will find its mark resulting to a knock-out.

7.  Get support from family and friends:
Think of pursuing a resolution as a journey. You can either go the entire distance alone or have your family and friends to cheer you all the way.

Which of the two scenarios will get you there more successfully?

Of course, there are times they may discourage you, deride you, cause you to fall.

Talk to them and let them know that you need their support, not their ridicule.

Good luck! You need tons of it.

Donate $ 1.00 and give an orphan a life


Comments Off

, ,

Things You Should Know about IBS (Part 2)

December 10th, 2011

Sign up for PayPal and start accepting credit card payments instantly.

When I was young I had bouts of stomach ache and bloating that usually occurred early in the morning or late nights. The doctor in the family, my grandmother, prescribed hot-water compress on my stomach. If that didn’t work, she had me take a very bitter laxative.

Over the years I learned how to keep away from things which, I suspect, caused them. Unless I am to deliver a speech, which was always preceded by severe stomach cramps or have an occasional diarrhea from bad food, I knew not what IBS is.

Of course, probably due to ignorance or the word didn’t exist then, I simply didn’t know that what I had were IBS episodes.

Anyway, this post is not to give a historical account of my stomach problems but to underscore the fact that IBS can be treated the doctor’s way or grandma’s way.

Here are few of them.

Medical remedies:

There’s good news and bad news re treatment of IBS, medically. The bad news is that there is no treatment for IBS, per se. The good news is its symptoms can be treated.

There are medications for constipation and diarrhea. To control colon muscle spasms and reduce abdominal pain, antispasmodics are sometimes recommended as well as antidepressants to relieve some symptoms.

However, both drugs, antispasmodics and antidepressants, can worsen constipation making it necessary to use other drugs to relax bladder and intestinal muscles.

Consult your physician who knows best.

Natural remedies:

If you are averse in the use of drugs, you can opt for natural medications to treat your irritable bowel syndrome.

My grandma’s natural cure for my stomach problems will not be very handy in the busy world of today. It’s not easy to be pressing hot-water bottles against your tummy while going about your day’s activities.

There are several books devoted to the natural treatment of IBS. One such book, The Secrets to Curing Irritable Bowel Syndrome by Kelly Parks-Hoffman, tops the best-seller list in Clickbank.

It is a product of long years of study in the use of natural remedies, not only for IBS, but of the holistic approach to wellness.

In a world hungry for green technology, this is a good reference material for the natural treatment of your IBS.

Self-help remedies:

In a general sense, you can do your share by watching your diet and your stressors.

Stressors are events, things, situations and circumstances that stress you out.

Stress stimulates the colon spasms in people with IBS. Like the heart and the lungs, the colon is partly controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which responds to stress.

This explains my severe stomach cramps before delivering a speech.

Some evidence suggests that IBS is also affected by the immune system which, in turn, is affected by stress. I am sure that you know that stress can engender a lot of other medical ailments; and it is one of the major killers, world-wide.

If your IBS is wearing you down, check if your stress level is wearing you out.

If you are not as tight as a guitar string, check your diet.

A lot of food that we eat greatly contributes to whatever stomach problems we have.

This year I checked into a hospital in two separate occasions. he first was for severe constipation and, in the second, for diarrhea that almost dried me out. . Both situations were food-related.

Consult your nutritionist to see what food types suit you best.

No treasure is more precious than our overall wellness. IBS, though not life-threatening as it is, can severely affect your day, your life, your happiness and  fitness.

Donate $ 1.00 and give an orphan a life.


Comments Off

, ,

Things You Should Know about IBS

December 5th, 2011

Sign up for PayPal and start accepting credit card payments instantly.

What do you do when you wake up each morning?

I say a little prayer of thanks for having had a good night’s sleep and the chance to see another sunrise. Then I go to the toilet for my early morning ritual.

There are days, however, when the prayers would be more appropriate after using the toilet. When (and there are so many people with the same problem), it would require the effort of a weightlifter to dispose of the previous day’s waste.

When after all the huffing and puffing, with sweat running down my forehead, only a trickle, if ever, comes out of my bowel though I still feel full in my stomach.

Conversely, there are days when my stomach feels like being twisted like a knot,   and my bowel is discharging like a never-ending stream.

If you have a recurring experience like this, chances are that you have the IBS or irritable bowel syndrome.

What is IBS?

IBS is a disorder commonly manifested by stomach cramps, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation or diarrhea.

Though it does not result to permanent and serious harm to the intestines, it can give severe discomfort and distress. It is never nice to make a mad rush to a toilet when you are outdoors or engaged in an important task.

IBS is fairly common. According to estimates by the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, roughly one in five Americans suffer from IBS, making it the most common disorder in a physician’s clinic.

IBS affects women more than men and 50% of the people affected by it are around the age of 35 onwards.

What causes IBS?

Despite its being such a common disorder, researchers are still facing a blank wall re its specific cause.

For now, have possibilities such as:

-    Sensitivity and reaction to some foods and stress;

-    Irregular movement of the colon;

-    Bacterial infection;

-    Abnormal functioning of the immune system.

How would you know if you have IBS?

When something is wrong with my car’s internals, I have it checked by a qualified and certified mechanic. You can do less with your body’s internals.

If you feel something is wrong inside, check in with your doctor. The following is a rough guide when to do so:

-    Abdominal pains, bloating and discomfort that won’t go away with your ordinary laxatives;

-    Frequent occurrence of constipation;

-    Frequent diarrhea;

-    Alternating and long-running diarrhea and constipation;

Constipation is often induced by the type of food we eat and insufficient liquid intake.

Diarrhea, on the other hand, can be induced by bacteria in the food we eat, stress and allergy.

If one or both persists for long periods of time, or goes away and comes back, a medical check up is needed.

IBS is a disorder affecting the normal functioning of the colon. Though it is common and has never shown to result to more serious illnesses of the digestive system, you must have it checked by your physician.

Anything that affects the colon should not be taken lightly.

Donate $ 1.00 and give an orphan a life


Comments Off

, ,

     
     

HFO (Happiness and Fitness Online)

Rock-kitty.net