Category: Health & Fitness

Depression is one of the most common serious illnesses for moms in the United States. On a national scale, 1 out of 9 women experiences depression after having a baby. It depends on which state you’re in, with some states having as high as 1 out 5 women suffering from this disorder.

One of the most common ways to prevent depression is to watch out for your health and fitness. The problem is that even people without children struggle to lead healthy lives. As a mom, you’re always on the go because you’re responsible for your children, making it hard to stay fit.

Staying fit and healthy as an “On the Go” mom needs more than an hour at the gym a few times a week. It requires you to stay strong, dedicated, and to work hard. Here are some tips to maintain your health and fitness:

Make Sure You’re Well-Rested

Having a good night’s rest can make a huge impact on your health and fitness. Even if you’re busy, make sure that you get yourself a proper bedtime. Organize your schedule in a way that you have sufficient amount of sleep while fulfilling your busy schedule.

If you get enough sleep, you become well-energized throughout the day. It helps you think more clearly and choose healthier lifestyle choices. It gives you more means to figure out how to quit smoking weed and other possible unhealthy behaviors.

Aside from that, proper sleep boosts your mood, improves your creativity, and makes it easier for you lose weight. Going to bed half an hour earlier than usual can make a big difference to the day ahead.

Don’t Forget to Include the Family

If you want to improve your health and fitness, the best way to start is to include your family in your healthy lifestyle choices. It’s hard to stay committed if you’re going alone, even if you have a supportive spouse. Make meals without over-processed foods for them and set healthy meal times.

You can make fruits, vegetables, and whole grains as your primary food source. Eat as much organic food as your family can. It helps you sleep better, reduce your stress and anxiety, and make you more energetic while on the go.

Spend More Time With Your Kids

Watching over your busy, growing children is one of the best ways to get exercise. Instead of letting them play alone in the yard or in the living room, go with them and run along. You can go biking together and go on hiking trips whenever possible.

Spending time with your children keeps them happy and help you bond with them more. Your children love feeling special. If you have more than one kid, try to spend a one-on-one time with each of them if you have the time.

Plan Your Meals on a Monthly Basis

Taking the time to plan your upcoming meals is one of the best ways to keep your healthy eating on track. No matter what kind of meals you prepare, you should plan it to suit your family’s dietary needs and favorite foods. When you plan your meals, it saves you a lot of time while shopping for ingredients in the grocery store.

It comes in handy when you’re pulling up a blank on what to cook. However, don’t forget to add date nights with your family. Go out and eat in family restaurants and give yourself and your family a treat.

Spend Some Time for Yourself

Regular diet and exercise are important, but spending some alone time to care for yourself can make it more worthwhile. Your alone time can be a 15-minute intensive skincare routine every evening or an hour’s worth of bubble bath on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Whatever activities you choose, taking the time to enjoy your own company helps make your health and fitness better.

You deserve the break, even for short periods of time. Focusing on yourself can help you find calmness amid an otherwise hectic schedule.

Don’t Forget to Stay Hydrated

If you don’t drink enough water, you are at risk for various complications like urinary and kidney problems. Water is one of the top things you need to have to have good health and fitness. You’re supposed to drink at least 2 liters of water daily, making it an important component of your day.

A good way to stay hydrated if you’re always on-the-go is to keep a water bottle with you at all times. Drink as often as you can and refill it whenever it runs out. For better results, drink water instead of those sweet, sugary sodas you often take.

Choose Your Snacks Wisely

Getting snacks is an unavoidable part of your day. There are lots of times when you feel hungry but it’s not enough for you to eat a full meal. Usually, that can lead you to have some poor health choices.

Be wise when picking the food you snack on. Instead of eating a bag of chips or chocolate chip cookies, eat some fruits and vegetables. Trail mix and mixed nuts are solid choices when it comes to health and fitness too. There are lots of healthy yet tasty snacking choices waiting for you out there.

Get More Health and Fitness Tips Today!

Maintaining your health is a task that needs a lot of strength and dedication. Ignoring your needs for the sake of other things in life will leave you empty. Taking the time to focus on yourself makes you more energized and make it easier for you to interact with your family and finish your tasks with purpose.

A healthy mom is a happy mom. A happy mom becomes a better mom for her children and a better person overall. That’s why it’s important to care for yourself first–to better care for your family in the long run.

If you’re ready to make a big health and fitness change, contact us today. We can help you get started.

If you are a nurse, you know all about bacteria and how to protect yourself from it. You wash your hands often and wear your mask and gown when necessary. But have you ever stopped to think about how dirty your clothing gets during a shift?

You’re exposed to a lot throughout the course of your day (or night). And everything that you’re exposed to, your nurse scrubs are exposed to.

Do you know how you should handle your scrubs? If you are not following good practices someone could get sick. Members of your family are particularly susceptible for obvious reasons.

Here is some great advice on how to take care of your nurse scrubs the right way.

How Dirty Do Your Nurse Scrubs Get?

As a nurse, you spend most of your time in scrubs. You want comfortable, breathable scrubs because your job is already stressful enough. You’re always wanting to learn more about where you can find comfortable scrubs.

You’re concerned about comfort, but how often do you think about cleanliness? We may first need to convince you about how dirty your scrubs get during your shift. It’s natural for human beings to get desensitized to things they are around all the time.

If you don’t know what we mean, think about the first time you cleaned up someone’s puke. It may have really grossed you out and you wanted to puke yourself. Now you don’t even bat an eye.

The intrinsic level of the grossness of puke hasn’t changed. But you’ve been desensitized to it because of constant exposure.

In the same way, when you first started working you may have been more aware of your clothes. You may have gone straight home and dumped your clothes in the wash first thing. Now on a busy morning, you may pick up a dirty shirt, give it the sniff test, and toss it on.

Though that shirt may look clean, it isn’t. The intrinsic level of bacteria that contaminates your clothing hasn’t changed. You may have been desensitized to it, but it’s still really dirty.

Do You Need to Worry About Bacteria Contamination?

The short answer is, yes. But, in case you need convincing, here’s the long answer.

This study followed 10 nurses at a hospital in Washington State. They started each shift (both day and night) with sterilized uniforms. Within 48 hours the dangerous bacteria MRSA was present on 7 out of the 10 uniforms. And that was only one of the bacteria strains they found on the clothes.

And don’t think you’re out of the woods because you wear scrubs made from antimicrobial fabric. Duke University Hospital also did a study on nurse scrubs. They wanted to see if antimicrobial fabrics limited the number of bacteria on scrubs.

They tested 3 types of scrubs. These included

• Regular cotton scrubs
• Scrubs with a silver alloy in the fibers
• Scrubs made with other antibacterial materials.

They followed 40 nurses for this study. They took over 5000 cultures from their clothes and the patient’s rooms. They found no significant difference in the presence of bacteria in the fabrics.

Instead, they found that scrubs got contaminated anew about 33% of the time. MRSA was one of the most often seen bacteria.

Don’t Wear Your Scrubs Around Town

Think about what that means. Your clothes could be dangerously dirty. What if you stop off at the grocery store on your way home from work? You could unwittingly expose a lot of people to some intense bacteria.

In fact, many countries, like the UK, Canada, and Australia have rules about this. They don’t allow you to wear scrubs and other hospital clothing outside of the hospital. The risk is too great.

It goes without saying, but you shouldn’t ever wear your scrubs for a second shift either. Always wash your scrubs between every shift. It doesn’t matter if they don’t look dirty. They are dirty.

How to Wash Your Scrubs

Now you understand how important it is to clean your nurse scrubs. Here are some tips on how to wash your scrubs and thoroughly disinfect them between uses.

You can wash cotton scrubs in cold water and dry them on your dryer’s lowest setting. Turn them inside out first to prevent wear on the outside finish. This can happen by rubbing against other the other clothing in the wash.

You can wash cotton-polyester mix fabrics in warm water. You can also bump the dryer heat up to regular. Don’t ever use hot water for either fabric type, though. This can set stains and wear your scrubs out faster.

Commercial fabric softeners are often scented, which can be bothersome to some patients. To avoid using them, toss a half cup of distilled white vinegar in with the rinse water.

How to Disinfect Your Scrubs

Washing your nurse scrubs is great, but you also have to disinfect them. This is how you can be sure that you kill all those harmful bacteria like MRSA.

It is a good idea to keep your dirty scrubs separate from other clothing. You won’t need to disinfect normal use clothing, but your dirty scrubs could infect it. Also, if the person who handles the laundry gets sick easily, gloves are a good idea.

For white cotton scrubs, you can toss chlorine bleach into the dispenser. The machine will release the bleach into the water at the right moment. Be aware that oxygen-based bleaches do not disinfect the way you need.

For everything else, you should use a pine oil based disinfectant. Be sure the brand you choose has at least 80% pine oil in the ingredients. Add this to the water at the beginning of the cycle.

Be Safe!

Being a nurse is a hard job and we’re glad that you’re willing to do it. Remember to take care of yourself and your family too.

Use your scrubs at work only and wash them well between shifts. For more great cleaning tips, be sure to check out the cleaning section of our blog.

With nearly 45 million Americans going on a diet each year and most dieting targeted toward women, it can be hard to know what makes for good health.

No two bodies are the same and it’s rare that one diet can work for multiple people. While there are some basic facts related to calorie intake for women, there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Understanding what number of calories each woman should eat is related to how active you are and what kinds of calories you consume. While calories are measured in a general way, blame has been put on fat instead of the true enemy: sugar. A low-calorie diet high in sugar is as bad as one with high calories and no sugar.

If you’re wondering what the ideal calorie intake for women is, you need to balance it with your activity. Here are a few ways to look at the problem.

For Active Women

Women who walk more than 3 miles a day or perform more than 30 minutes of exercise daily are considered “active.” Those women can easily consume 2,000 calories of fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein and maintain a healthy weight.

The average idea is to have about 18 calories per pound of body weight. For a 120-pound woman, this means 2,160 calories per day. Athletes can consume more calories than this.

If you have a diet full of healthy whole foods and organic produce, consuming this amount of calories will easily balance out the workouts you do on a daily basis.

For Moderately Active Women

If a woman walks about 1.5 to 3 miles per day and or does 15-20 minutes of exercise a day, 1,800 calories can provide a healthy balance.

When eating mostly whole foods, fibers, grains, and a diet low in sugar 1,800 calories can be hard to meet. Prepackaged, prepared, or fast food is where you can start racking up those bad calories that are hard for the body to process.

Calculate about 16 calories per pound of body weight to get a better idea.

For Less Active Women

Women who work at an office job or don’t exercise beyond daily activities are considered to be sedentary. In this case, 1,600 calories a day is an appropriate range.

Multiply body weight by 13 to get an accurate figure.

To lower your calorie intake, try adding more seafood for high-quality protein with low calories.

For Overweight Women

To help with weight loss, a balance of smart drugs, calorie reduction, and exercise are recommended. Avoid “diet” or “low fat” foods, as the natural fats have been replaced with hard to process chemicals that the liver turns into fat.

For this calculation, multiply your desirable body weight by 10. Getting down to the 1,400 calorie range isn’t too hard if you fill your diet with fruits and veggies.

A sugary apple will give you about 90 calories while a carrot has about 25. A really robust salad with oil and vinegar can easily fit under 500 calories.

Calorie Intake for Women Isn’t the End-All

As we’ve described, calorie intake isn’t everything. Activity and the kinds of calories you eat are what makes the biggest difference.

Switch from processed foods and make a rule of eating nothing with more than 5-8 ingredients listed on the package.

If you’re ready to make a big dietary change, contact us today for more tips on how to get started.

As a woman, you have special dietary requirements. Your daily meals should be rich in calcium, magnesium, zinc, and B-complex vitamins.

These nutrients can help balance your hormones, which in turn, will improve your mood and overall health.

Calcium, for instance, keeps your bones strong and lowers the risk of osteoporosis. This condition affects over 200 million women worldwide.

What if you don’t have the time to cook healthy meals and track your daily nutrient intake? In this case, women’s vitamins can help.

The key is to use them as part of a balanced diet. Let’s review the best vitamins for women.

Are Women’s Vitamins Really Necessary?

Nowadays, most foods are processed and lack nutritional value. In fact, over 70 percent of the foods available in U.S. stores are loaded with additives, preservatives, and other chemicals.

Even if you eat clean, you may still fail to get enough nutrients in your diet.

Fruits and vegetables, for example, lose valuable antioxidants during storage and transportation. Cooking reduces their nutritional value as well.

Considering these facts, it’s no wonder why most people are deficient in one or more nutrients. About 30 percent of the world’s population is anemic due to iron deficiency. More than 41 percent of Americans don’t get enough vitamin D in their diet.

Nutrient deficiencies can affect your chances to get pregnant. In the long run, they may lead to hormonal imbalances, depression, and osteoporosis. If your diet lacks vitamins A, C, and E, you may experience premature aging.

Women’s vitamins may help prevent these issues and boost your health. Let’s take a look at the most important ones:

Vitamin D

Your body produces this fat-soluble vitamin when it’s exposed to the sun. That’s why health experts recommend spending at least 10 minutes outdoors every day.

Vitamin D plays a key role in calcium absorption, cellular reproduction, and immune function. It also regulates phosphorus levels in the blood and helps your body build stronger bones.

Certain foods, such as tuna, salmon, and cod liver oil, contain this nutrient.

The problem is that most people don’t eat enough of these foods. Women’s vitamins can help prevent deficiencies and add nutrition to your diet.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C supports immune function and protects against infections. Plus, it increases collagen levels in your body, which helps maintain youthful skin.

Your body needs this vitamin to build new tissues, heal itself, and fight disease. Even the slightest deficiency can wreak havoc on your health.

Consume plenty of citrus fruits, leafy greens, and berries to get your daily dose of vitamin C. Take dietary supplements containing this nutrient, especially when it’s cold outside.

Omega-3s

Omega-3s are not a vitamin, but they do play a vital role in women’s health. These essential fats fight inflammation, promote brain function, and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Unless you eat fish, nuts, seeds, and avocado on a daily basis, take Omega-3s in supplement form.

Select a premium brand to make sure it has optimum doses of EPA and DHA. Check out this website for quality Omega-3 supplements.

The Smart Way to Boost Your Health

These are just a few of the many vitamins every woman should take. Remember that prevention is better than treatment. Beware that not even the best supplements can compensate for bad eating.

Dietary supplements are not a cure-all, but they can keep diseases at bay and boost your health.

Do you take any vitamins? What would you recommend to other women? Leave a comment below!

Women between the ages 35 and 44 are 67% more likely to experience stress more than men. Working women are suffering considerably higher levels of work-related stress, anxiety, and depression than their male coworkers. The pressure to be do-it-all women is making women sick.

Women are overloaded with expectations like being the caretaker for the children, taking care of their aging parents, along with working a full-time job. Add media manipulation to the mix, it really is no surprise why stress is on the rise.

Stress releases copious amounts of cortisol, which is the body’s stress hormone. If not tended to, it could lead to anxiety, digestive issues, decreased productivity or worse; heart attacks.

The problem is, with all this stress on the rise, how do we deal with it? How do we let go of the stress without turning our lives inside out?

Read on to find out how.

Stress and the Working Woman

There are countless studies currently trying to understand the causes of stress and the working women. They have narrowed it down to a few common culprits, the main reason being that they’re just too overscheduled! Common stresses of the working woman are;

• Being a mother
• Being a boss
• Being an employee
• Being a caretaker of the family
• Trying to have a social life
• Societal pressures from media about image and beauty
• Pressure to be strong, the suck-it-in and suck-it-up mentality

These are just a few of the many stresses that working woman has on their plate. The sad thing is that it isn’t going anywhere. It is time to take a time out and learn how to cope with it.

Become more Mindful

By focusing on the present moment, we can overcome the anxieties of the future and the past. Practicing conscious mindfulness can help protect you from excessive stress responses. By constantly going back to mindfulness, we can control our reactions, which for someone with induced stress; can feel a lot like anger.

Take some time away from your common triggers and stressors, and find a quiet place to sit, solo. Focus on your breathing, if anything comes up- just kindly let it go and go back to focusing on your breath.

Focus on Gratitude

Studies show that people who focus on gratitude have 23% less stress than people who do not. It doesn’t only help you feel good to count the blessings in your life, it is actually good for your health!

Gratitude can help you sleep better, improves your immune system, lower inflammation and lower blood pressure. Making a list of 10 things you are grateful for every day will help you feel a beautiful sense of gratitude.

Slow Down

If you are feeling overly busy, perhaps you committed to too many things. Take a look at all your non-essential activities in your life, if you are still doing something that doesn’t give you enjoyment, stop it. Your body and mind can only take so much stimulation, good or bad, eventually, it could make you feel sick.

This is also related to perfectionism. If you are constantly working on a project, trying to get it absolutely perfect, stop. Know and understand that you are doing the best of your abilities and just relax.

Break a Sweat

We all know that exercise is good for the body, what you may not know is that it is also amazing for your mental well being. Physical activity lowers excess cortisol levels in the body, thus reducing associated stress symptoms. A perfect balance for the working woman

There are numerous other benefits of keeping active. It can slim your waistline, build bone density, and improve your posture as well. Mentally, exercise helps reduce depression and anxiety, promotes inspiration, improves memory and much more.

The most important muscle in your body is your heart, which is also very vulnerable to stress. By working your cardiovascular system you are strengthening your heart and preventing the big bad cortisol bully to affect it.

Nourish Your Body

It may seem like a comforting idea temporarily but in long-term, junk food can create more stress in your body. Empty calories such as sugary treats and high fat, hydrogenated oils can create a toxin-like effect in the body, leading to other health issues.

Instead, focus on providing your body with micronutrients from vegetables, which will help the cells in your body feel a sense of “euphoria” and happiness. Start to appreciate how good your body feels after a green smoothie and make that your go-to comfort food choice.

If you think back to the caveman days when the cavewoman got stressed, she didn’t go make herself a giant pizza, eat ice cream and pig out on chocolate cake. She ate foods that came from the planet to keep her body (and mind) strong.

Your digestive system is already compromised by stress — do not make it worse!

Put Yourself First

You do not have the ability to truly help another person if you do not help yourself first. If someone has requested you to do them a favor, and it will negatively affect you in some way, learn to say no.

People pleasing will only add to stress and hurt your body in the long run. Learning to say no will give you your power back and help you to focus on the most important thing in your life- YOU.

Where this shows up for people the most is in romantic relationships. If your partner wants to go shopping for the big engagement ring AKA the anillos de compromiso, and you are not ready yet, this will cause your stress levels to skyrocket.

Learning to voice your feelings and opinions in any relationship, whether it be romantic, friendship or family will help lower stress and also boost confidence. Take your power back into your own hands, and start living your life for yourself.

Summary

If you would like to learn more information about coping with stress, or perhaps you want to learn more tricks to being a savvy mother, feel free to contact us.