Tips and idea's of things that might help us out

General
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7 Days to Fight Fatigue (From Dr. Oz's website page)

Today too many people become weighed down by busy lifestyles that can zap energy levels. Here are the four main reasons why people lose energy:

  1. Poor diet
  2. Not enough sleep
  3. Lack of exercise
  4. Stress

Dr. Oz’s 7-Day Plan to Fight Fatigue addresses all of the above and will help you keep your battery charged all day long.

Day 1: No Simple Carbs Before Noon

Many people start their day with simple carbs such as sugary cereals, baked goods or fattening coffee drinks like caramel lattes. The problem is, simple carbs give you a quick high, but then you crash quickly. You’ll feel very awake for an hour or two and then spend the rest of the day trying to regain your energy.

To avoid simple carb energy spikes, focus on having only protein for breakfast. Try a protein shake or have some eggs with turkey bacon. Be careful not to overdo it with the sodium.

Day 2: Introduce High-Fiber, High-Protein Snacks

Endurance athletes are taught to eat and drink whenever they’re hungry or thirsty, a wise idea since otherwise the body can go into starvation mode, which actually slows metabolism and makes you feel tired. Healthy snacking keeps your blood sugar regulated so you’ll maintain energy levels and a healthy waistline. Fiber and protein are a winning combo since protein gives you energy and fiber helps make the energy last.

For a great mid-morning or afternoon snack, reach for dried peas; they’re crunchy and contain no sugar or fat like chips do. Put them in a plastic baggie and enjoy on the go (a quarter-cup provides 3g fiber and 6g protein). As an alternative, eat pistachios, a rich source of protein, antioxidants and other nutrients.


Day 3: Take a Multivitamin for Energy

Multivitamins contain key nutrients to support overall health and keep your immune system strong so you can fight off illness. If you’re a pre-menopausal woman and/or still have your ovaries, you’ll want to take one with iron – otherwise you no longer need this nutrient in supplement form. (You may want to discuss with your doctor.) Take a multi every morning that contains:

  • No more than 3500 IU vitamin A
  • No more than 30 IU vitamin E
  • And 100% daily value of other vitamins

Day 4: Take 5-HTP to Improve Sleep

Everyone’s goal should be to get 7-8 hours of restorative sleep. If you’re not getting this amount, try to manage your time better so you can carve out just an extra hour of shuteye. Habitual sleep loss by even 1 hour can lead to chronic drowsiness.

If you struggle with getting enough Zzz’s, try taking 5-HTP (5-Hydroxtryptophan), which may help boost serotonin levels to aid sleep; 5-HTP is an amino acid found in low amounts in foods like turkey and bananas. 5-HTP is the molecule the body uses to make serotonin, a molecule that helps elevate mood. Available over-the-counter at drug stores.

Day 5: Zero In on Hydration

Your body is a machine made up of two-thirds water. Since we are comprised of so much fluid, even slight dehydration can leave you feeling lethargic.

Try Dr. Oz’s “Wakeup Water.” Make a pitcher each day that contains:

  • 8 cups water (to stay hydrated)
  • 3/4 cup cooked pearl barley (contains iron to fight fatigue)
  • 2 lemons (for antioxidants and vitamin C)
  • 1/4 cup honey (to make it palatable and sweet)

Method: Add barley to boiling water and soak for 10 minutes. Strain and remove barley from the water. Add the juice of 2 lemons and a quarter cup of honey. Try bringing a portable pitcher with you to work. (You can save the cooked barely for dinnertime.)

Day 6: Walk at Least 10 Minutes a Day

It may seem counterintuitive to walk when you feel tired, but physical activity actually increases your energy level for up to 2 hours. Walk the stairs at work, stroll on your lunch break, however you can squeeze it in. Just make sure to walk every day. You can start with just 10 minutes and try to work up to 30 minutes or even an hour per day. This will make a huge difference in your energy level as well as your overall sense of well-being.

Day 7: One-minute Breathing Exercise

Improve physical and mental activity by practicing deep breathing from your abdomen to get rid of stress. You can even do this while you’re getting in your daily walk.

  • Deep breathing exercise: Put your right hand over your stomach. Start by taking in a deep breath for 2 seconds. Then slowly breathe out for 4 seconds. Repeat for at least one minute until you feel rested.
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thanks - that is very informative and easy to understand.

Patsy

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I think that I'm mildly infatuated with Dr. Oz, but I missed his show the last couple of days.

Thanks for the tips!

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Me too, I just love all of his informational stuff!!! I can't seem to get enough. :0) I watch his shows, DVR them too and signed up for his email news letters to even get more information from his site! :0) That's funny!!!! :0)

I really think he makes health issues more understandable. When he shows organs of at are in the body and how they work I find it very interesting. He also has ton's of great tips that I try to incorporate with all the foods etc. Glad I'm not alone! :0)

Does't he also have a new show coming on this fall too?

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Yeah Patsy, he seems to make anything dealing with health really easy for me to get also. :0) Do you ever get a chance to watch him or go to his website? I think it's worth checking it out sometime. You can watch some of the shows on line too. :0)

Here is his link: http://www.doctoroz.com/


Patsy said:

thanks - that is very informative and easy to understand.

Patsy

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Please give me his email address

so i can get newsletter

thanks this has helped so much

Lorraine

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Hi loz, I signed up for his newsletters that are delivered in my email box http://www.doctoroz.com/newsletter

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hi Jeannie

have done it signed up

Please can you advise me on walking sticks which to have

thanks

Lorraine

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Hi Lorraine,

I'm sorry I don't use any walking sticks right now. I got to the point of choosing to use one or not and I talked with Dr. Tom Clouse and he dirrected me to work on getting my core stregthend and to work on getting more strength in my legs in hopes I won't need one.

So that is what I've been working on the last few months now daily.It's been really focus let me tell ya, and hard work too. It took me 3 months to see any diffrence (feeling of more strength), but that finally encurraged me to keep going when I was ready to just about quit. I'm glad I finnally pushed through and kept working at it because I feel so much more sturdy and actually can walk a bit farther than I did a few months ago now.

I walk on the treadmill everyday for 10-15 mins, and everyother 2x's per day. Everyother day I'm doing 20-30 in one strech now. Which is huge for me! I'm jazzed about this! I still need to hold on but I'm constantlly testing myself so someday I know I'll be able to walk on it without holding on, watch! :0)

So to answer your question, I have a folding cane that I keep in my purse for security I guess in case I run into a cituation that I'll need it. I do use it for airports so I can balance with my suitcase though. We will see if I'll still need to as much as I did before.

Here is the site that I purchased mine from: http://www.fashionablecanes.com/Small_Compact_Folding_Travel_Walking_Canes_Travel.html

Hope this gives you something to start with, and that you find something that works for you! :0)

Maybe others here have other places they go too?!
loz said:

hi Jeannie

have done it signed up

Please can you advise me on walking sticks which to have

thanks

Lorraine

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Ball Sit

How to do it: Sit on a large stability ball, with your arms straight out in a T, feet flat on the floor, abdominals engaged, and spine tall. Lift your right knee, letting your right foot dangle an inch or two off the floor. Build up to holding this position for 20 to 30 seconds, trying not to wobble while you maintain the pose. Switch legs and repeat for one set. Do two sets total.

What it does: As you remove one point of contact with the floor, your body has to work to keep the ball from rolling around underneath you, which strengthens your core.

Make it harder: Do the move as above, but lift your arms straight overhead in line with your body, palms facing forward. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds. Rest, then repeat for one set. Do two sets total.

Ballet Balance

How to do it: Stand next to a chair with your left hand on it, right hand on hip, and toes of your right foot pointing straight ahead. Raise your right leg so that the knee is bent at almost 90 degrees. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds. Tighten your buttocks and rotate your knee out to the right; keep hips facing forward. Hold for a count of five. Return to the starting position and repeat five more times. Switch legs.

What it does: The added motion of the leg swinging out to the side forces you to activate your core and gluteals.

Make it harder: Add even more motion. As you lift your leg forward, extend and raise your arm on the same side so that it’s parallel to the floor and directly over your knee. As you rotate your knee out to the side, let your arm follow, keeping it in line with the knee. More Muscular Middle

Single Leg Bend

How to do it: Stand barefoot next to a chair with your left hand on its back and your right arm extending out to the side, palm down. Lift your right thigh till the knee is bent at nearly 90 degrees; point your toes. Bend your left leg and slowly sink down, keeping your back straight. Push up, slowly straightening the left leg to the starting position. Repeat five times, then switch legs.

What it does: As you work to stay balanced throughout the up-and-down bending motion, you also strengthen your core, rear end, and thighs.

Make it harder: After you bend your knee and sink down, extend your right leg forward, straight, keeping your toes pointed and your foot a few inches off the floor. Pause, then return to the starting position.

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Thanks so much for all your gel Jeannie
X

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Help

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Forget About Flexibility

Forget About Flexibility

Want to do yoga but can’t touch your toes? Don’t let that stop you, says Natasha Rizopoulos, a senior teacher with Yoga Works and Down Under Yoga. “Yoga will help you become more flexible but it’s not a prerequisite.” In fact, sometimes being a little stiff can protect you from getting injured -- your limited range of motion will keep you from trying advanced poses. Beginners who are naturally flexible often try more advanced poses without the necessary strength in their joints and muscles or the know-how for proper alignment, setting them up to get hurt easily. The goal is to strike a balance between strength and range of motion so you can sit and stand comfortably, says Rizopoulos.

It sounds so obvious, but it’s one of the most common mistake newbies make. “They think, ‘I’m an athlete’ or ‘I was a dancer’ and sign up for an all-levels class, mistakenly believing a beginner’s class is boring,” notes Rizopoulos. But beginner classes are anything but boring, she says. They are essential for learning the basic mechanics of postures, alignment and how to link your breath with the poses at the right pace to cultivate mindfulness and being present in everything from downward facing dog to corpse pose. With a solid foundation, you’ll be less likely to injure yourself as you progress to more complicated poses or a faster pace. Holding poses and moving through them slowly is plenty demanding, says Rizopoulos.


Choose Your Class Carefully

Many beginner classes are designed for different types of people -- everything from chair yoga for seniors to beginner flow for the young and fit as well as plus-size practitioners. Find a class that fits your needs, suggests Rizopoulos, and steer clear of classes that are competitive, aggressive or hurried. “You should feel great after the class. Not sore or exhausted,” she says. Yoga is taught nearly everywhere these days so don’t limit your search to yoga studios. Check your local gym, YMCA or community center and don’t be afraid to ask a potential teacher about his or her experience. That includes investigating certifications, years of teaching and expertise with beginners.


Adopt a Beginner’s Mindset

Bring your most open self to the class, advises Rizopoulos. Think back to when you were a kid and learning was fun. Remember the pleasure and possibility of discovering something new. “It’s such a gift that beginners have that enthusiasm and curiosity and openness,” says Rizopoulos. Leave your assumptions and preconceptions at the door and be open to learning something new.


Wear Form-Fitting Clothes (and Lose the Socks)

Some beginners are self-conscious about their bodies, notes Rizopoolos, and body-hugging exercise clothes can increase that feeling. But a loose-fitting t-shirt and sweats make it harder for you and your teacher to see and correct your alignment. Instead, Rizopoulos encourages newcomers to wear comfortable-but-form-fitting clothes so they can see the shape of the pose and position of their limbs. She also reminds them to take off their socks before class starts. Practicing barefoot allows you to feel and access all parts of your feet (arches, toes, heels, four corners) -- a crucial part of yoga -- and make solid contact with the floor.


Don’t Buy a Mat Just Yet

Yoga mats provide stability and traction --- when they’ve been used a few times. Brand new, yoga mats are as slippery as ice. Before rushing out to get your own mat, Rizopoulos suggests borrowing one from the studio or a friend. Use different mats for the first few classes to determine what style works for you. Once you buy your own mat, break it in by rinsing it in the shower, letting it dry completely, then rinsing and drying it again. After that, it should provide reliable traction and you can create your own relationship with your mat.


Embrace Props

You may think using props -- a folded blanket or a yoga block -- means you’re less athletic, coordinated, flexible or strong. Not true. Props actually allow you to experience the pose properly with your joints and limbs in the correct position. For example, if you sit cross-legged on the floor and your knees are higher than your hips, and your back is rounded, you’re stressing your knees and your back and you’re not experiencing the full integrity of the posture. Put a block or folded blanket under your butt and suddenly you’re transformed. Your knees are lower than your hips and you can sit up straight to protect your back. Using props from the beginning of your practice helps imprint the right alignment on your muscle memory. Props are not crutches, Rizopolos says. They are teaching tools and a great teacher



Be Open to Adjustments

When a teacher makes adjustment to your pose by shifting an arm or repositioning your hips, it doesn’t mean you’re being singled out or that you’re doing something wrong. The teacher is trying to give you more information about how your body should feel when it’s maintaining the integrity of the pose. An adjustment can be transformative if you’re open to it, says Rizopoulos. In fact, many advanced students crave adjustments for just that reason.



Give It a Fair Shake

Too many beginners give up on yoga after one or two classes. Rizopoulos recommends practicing twice a week for a month before you decide that yoga’s not for you. And remember this maxim: If yoga is hard for you at first, it will get easier. If it’s easy it will get harder.



Make It Affordable

If you’re used to $10 aerobics classes, you may balk at the $15 to $20 drop-in price for yoga classes. Look instead for discounted beginners’ series or donation-based classes or purchase a Passport to Prana, a $30 card that allows you to sample a variety of studios and styles for one year at participating yoga centers. (Check the web site for participating cities.) Once you've decided that yoga is something you want to pursue, most studios offer a discount when you pay for multiple classes at once (usually 10 or more). If you prefer learning at home, go to the Beginner Center at Yogaglo.com to download one of seven beginners’ series that you can watch on your iPad, computer or TV. There are also hundreds of yoga DVDs available online or in stores.



Skip the Hot Yoga Class

Bikram yoga, often called “hot yoga” is popular, but can be dangerous for newcomers. The heat, generated by room temperatures around 110 degrees, creates an illusion of flexibility, which may encourage you to overextend because your body doesn’t give you the usual signals of stretching too far, cautions Rizopoulos. What may have felt good at the time could turn out to be a serious injury. If you do injure yourself, back off from the pose immediately and alert your teacher.



Celebrate Every Win

The learning curve can be steep for a beginner, but the upside is a million little victories, says Rizopoulos. You’ll quickly see improvements in balance, coordination, flexibility and strength. Unlike intermediate students who may plateau for weeks, beginners often see improvements at almost every class. Instead of getting frustrated by what you can’t do, appreciate all that you can do. Relish your progress and each improvement, no matter how small.



Read More http://www.ivillage.com/yoga-beginners-12-fool-proof-strategies-get-started/4-b-464712#ixzz1zlRMb4sX
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All your info. has been extremely helpful Jeannie...thank you!!!

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Your welcome, these help me to focus too that’s why I posted them. I’m always looking at this kind of stuff to help me get/move even a little bit better. Glad it helps you too! ;0)

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Thanks for the helpful tips Jeannie! I appreciate what Dr. Oz says, as he really knows his stuff! I agree JC, keeping muscles tight and active really strengthens them, so important for people with ataxia. Thank you also for your important advice JC!

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Hi Jeannie,
Very useful tips, and looks simple to follow. Health is wealth and let us aim for some good health! Thanks for the information.

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Nan, I love to watch his program! I always come away with a few tips that seem to help me if I use them. I kinda pick and choose what I think would help me then I look them up on diffrent sites or run it passed my Dr to get the ok.

I've heard about having cold water in the morning before anything elce and I have made a habit of doing that now. I add alittle lemon to cleans out my liver and make the track of my esophagus run through my foods or coffee easier. I visualise like a putting water in a dry stream what that looks like then after water runs through it how fast everything runs through it then. So this was huge for me!

I love the pea's idea for snacks andI love them. I didn't think of doing this until I heard it on his program. I use caned but rinse them. My favorite way to fix them (but I also put diffent spices on diffrent days) then I spray them lightly before cooking with a little coconut cooking spray to make the galic power that I sprinkle stay on and either toss them into the oven or my dehidrator.When I use the oven I bake them @ 325 for 21 mins (I like them not too dry so to me they have more flavor but experiment with the time to see how you like them too) then I set them aside to cool and dry out some if I don't keep sneaking them to eat them before they dry out. :0)

I am eating mostly raw foods now, 'mI finding that I'm actually getting more energy from them so if I do have anything cooked I only cook them just a little bit or /2 way so they can retain as much as the energy nutrients as possible and still be concidered cooked. I love this snack! Pea's are just ok but when I put a spice on them, even my Grandkids eat them now! :0) Try them I recomend it! :0) Let me know what spices and how you like them. I love diffrent thoughts on how to do something! :0)

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Thanks to your "tip" I started drinking a glass of cold water w/lemon when I wake up in the morning Jeannie. I agree, I have an easier time swallowing or drinking when I eat breakfast...who knew? I'm going to try your pea ideas also...sounds good! Thanks again Jeannie!

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Great Rose, but I can't say I'm surprised about you having an easier time swallowing after drinking water with lemon in it, because I've been exsperencing that too! Isn't that great! :0)

Yes, you have to try those pea's snacks! But be careful they are very very addictive! :0)

Also, I on another site I read that to incorperate as many raw foods into your diet as you can because the nutrients that are alive help with fatigue. So I've added as many raw food items as I can each day and I can't believe the diffrence it has had also. I think this was another huge peice of the puzzle for fatigue.

I saw these Gluten free Raw crackers by "Two Moms in the Raw" the tomato Basil eas crackers are great. I bought them at whole foods but they also have a site you can order them from if you want to try them. I love the cruch and the health benifits of theses make them taste even better! :0) Check these out http://www.twomomsintheraw.com/ ;0)