Have you ever wondered how some people seem to lose weight without even going to the gym?

Do you wish you could find the time to get more exercise in your day?

Do you want to know how to use your mind to help you lose the pounds, lower your blood pressure and lose body fat?

A recent clinical trial from Harvard University showed that housekeepers who were educated about the exercise benefits of routine household duties like dusting and vacuuming lost weight within four weeks without working harder or eating better.  Because these women were informed that vacuuming and performing other cleaning duties were equivalent to working out, their minds transformed these routine activities into exercise.

Visualize working your quadriceps and hamstrings when you walk up and down the stairs carrying loads of laundry.  Imagine increasing your upper body strength with every window cleaned and each tub scrubbed.  And if you’re fortunate enough not to have to do any significant housework on a daily basis, you can use the same mind technique in everything that you do. 

Whether you’re walking up a flight of stairs, shopping aisle after aisle at the supermarket or picking up after your little one, think about the calories you’re burning doing these activities, the exercise your body is getting by participating in these tasks and the pounds you’ll lose by keeping your mind focused on exercise in whatever you do.

Even before I read this article, I was silently amazed that I lost two pounds without even changing my eating habits or increasing my workout routine.  What I did notice is how I focused my mind on getting the most out of every flight of stairs I climbed…how I pictured my thighs getting exercised with every step I took…how I understood that I’d burn a significant amount of the calories throughout the day just by walking up and down the halls of the hospital. 

The pounds suddenly starting coming off and staying off once I focused my mind on burning calories during my normal daily activities.  After looking at those flights of stairs as more than just a means to get from one floor to another but as my own unique way to exercise and to burn calories…I lost an incredible two extra pounds in two weeks!

The key to using this technique is to be informed and knowledgeable. 

You have to actually know and believe that you can burn calories by doing regular household chores, gardening or routine daily activities like shopping.  Only then will you possess the power of your mind to lose weight, lower your blood pressure and live a healthier life.

So start exercising your mind!

To your wellness,
Dr. Traci Ferguson, The Health and Wellness Queen 

Don’t believe that you’re doomed to suffer with poor health or frequent sick visits to the doctor because there is a proven way to get fit, get healthy and live longer. 

You won’t need to save up your money to get that tummy tuck or liposuction. 

You don’t need to waste your time or money on programs that don’t work. 

What you need to knowledge about how to turn your life around….knowledge about what you can do now to live longer and healthier.

Research has shown that four simple changes in your lifestyle can prevent you from having a heart related illness and from dying early.

The first step to attaining a healthy lifestyle is to adhere to a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.  With fast food restaurants around nearly every corner, our full and busy schedules and snack machines loaded with everything but healthy options, it’s no wonder why most of us fall short when it comes to eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Reaching this goal takes premeditation and planning to make sure your refrigerator is full of healthy options for you to grab on the go. 

The second step to turning back the clock is to exercise at least 2 and a half hours per week, which can be easily achieved by engaging in moderately intense physical activity for at least 30 minutes on at least 5 days out of the week. 

Don’t feel confined to a gym when it comes to meeting your goal of exercising at least 30 minutes five days a week.  Go walking, ride a bike, get in the backyard and do some gardening or follow along with an exercise DVD and you’ll get the exercise you need to lower your risk of developing heart disease and can also decrease your risk of other diseases like cancer and diabetes by just becoming more active. 

The third step to adopting a healthy lifestyle is to maintain a healthy weight as measured by having a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5 to 29.9 kg/m2.  You can calculate your BMI by multiplying your weight in pounds by 703 and dividing that number by the square of your height in inches.   Studies on mortality consistently show that leaner you are (the lower your Body Mass Index is within the range of 18.5 to 29.9 kg/m2) the longer you live.

The fourth and final step to living a healthy lifestyle is to not smoke. Smoking places you at risk for not only lung cancer and certain other cancers but raises your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

Living a healthy lifestyle takes dedication, perseverance and determination but you can do it. 

Take the time now to rededicate your life to living healthy by eating more fruits and vegetables, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight and not smoking and you’ll add greater health and wellness and longevity to your life.

To your wellness,
Dr. Traci Ferguson, The Health and Wellness Queen
 

Smoking kills.

Driving drunk kills.

And now…. having obese friends can kill your hopes of losing weight.

And it’s true.

A recently published study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that people who have a social network of obese friends were more likely to become obese themselves. 

The study showed that if you have a friend who became obese over time, you have a 57% chance of also becoming obese.  And the obesity influence is not limited to just friends.  If you have a sibling that’s obese, your chances of becoming obese increases by 40% and if you have a spouse that’s obese, you’re 37 percent more likely to also become obese. 

And it’s not because of the water or any other local environmental influence because this obesity influence was NOT seen between neighbors—which means you can have an obese neighbor and NOT be influenced to pack on the pounds like you would if you had a friend, a sibling or a spouse that was obese. 

Obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index-BMI- of greater than or equal to 30.  You can calculate your own BMI by using this simple equation:

English version:  BMI =  your weight in pounds multiplied by 703 and divide that number by your square of your height in inches

Metric version:  BMI = your weight in kilograms divided by the square of your height in meters

If your Body Mass Index is 30 or above, you’re considered obese.  And if that’s the case, take an inventory of your friends, your siblings and your spouse.

Here’s what you need to ask yourself.

1.  When did you start putting on all this weight? 

2.  When did your friends, your siblings or your spouse start gaining alot of weight?

3.  Did you notice the weight gain?  And if you did, how accepting were you of your friends, siblings or spouses’ weight gain?

4.  Did you come to view your own weight gain as “okay” because you’d already accepted your friends’ weight gain as “okay”?

Your honest answers to these questions will most certainly illuminate the situation concerning the growing obesity epidemic.  Your social network of friends can greatly influence how you see yourself, how you value your health and how you eat. 

But don’t get discouraged if you look around at all the friends in your social network and see one friend struggling with her weight after another.  Because this social network doesn’t have to only influence weight gain….it can influence your weight loss…especially if you take the lead. 

Although this study focused on the strong influence your social network can have on obesity, the same could be said about the as equally strong influence in the opposite direction….towards achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, towards greater physical fitness and towards improved wellness. 

You hold the key to determining what your circle of friends—your circle of influence are going to focus on.  It can be gaining weight, becoming obese, developing diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease…OR….it can focus on eating healthier, getting more exercise, maintaining a healthy lifestyle—all the things that I have been writing about for months now. 

Now is the time to get your social network back on track and focus on your health and wellness!!!

Get motivated….get excited….and get moving!

To your wellness,

Dr. Traci Ferguson, The Health and Wellness Queen

P.S.  You can jumpstart your new healthy living program by getting your very own copy of The Backyard Workout today!