meditation

Guest post, by Daniel (The LadyPrefers2Save’s better half).

Spring break is just around the corner. That means no school for a whole week! Kids home for a week and looking for something to do. This may be the article to help keep your sanity, and look like a pretty cool parent to boot. How? Teach them to juggle. Balls never need batteries, they’re cheap, and will keep your kids doing something productive and healthy. “I can’t juggle!” you say. That’s fine, I’ll teach you and you can teach your kids.

So, you may be asking why Juggling? Well juggling is a really good exercise for life. In fact, there are a lot of benefits to this sport too! Juggling can help you with the following life-boosting skills:

Brain growth: Juggling has been scientifically proven to help your mind grow larger, prevent gray matter deterioration in the elderly and help with focus issues with children with ADHD. 

Posture: The average person spends 8-12 hours daily at a computer, causing your neck and back to become unaligned. You can combat this unhappy hunched back situation by juggling is perfect. As juggling forces the proper body and spine alignment used to stand up straight, relaxing neck muscles, and correct hand-eye coordination.

Anxiety: Juggling can help users learn ways to de-stress, aid in anxiety relief, and help relieve computer screen eye strain. 

Focus:  Juggling helps users focus various muscles, including neurological related muscle groups, and through regular practice and focus can be an overall, built-in reward. Consider this, one of the worlds premier jugglers, Reid Belstock, transformed by juggling. He sited focus and developing time management skills as the two major benefits to juggling:

Being an adaptable learner: The act of Juggling helps your mind adapt to learning new sequences of movement, and when you gain the learning to learn idea, you’re on your way to being a super learner.

Relaxation: Juggling is like meditation for the mind. Juggling is like Active Meditation, in that it helps you focus on the present, be more aware of your surroundings, positive self awareness, and helps you be aware to shapes, colors, and space in new ways. be aware of yourself.

So with this in mind, how do you start? 

1. First find three balls that are about the same size. Tennis balls, racquetballs, and even baseballs will do, but I recommend tennis balls or bean bags. The following steps are laid out to help you train your brain to do to things at the same time. The balls will travel in a pattern similar to an infinity sign. Don’t rush yourself. So take a deep breath and let’s start.
2. Take one ball and toss it from your right hand to your left. The ball should be at a comfortable height. The hand that is about to catch should not need to move much to catch the ball. This will make the next few steps easier if your throws are consistent.
3. Once you can throw the ball back and forth at least 10 times without dropping it, pat your stomach once with the hand right before you catch the ball. This will help you prepare to make the second throw. Do this until you can go ten throws in a row without dropping the ball. Go for two pats before you catch and ten throws without a drop.
4. Now you are ready for two throws. Throw the first ball from your dominant hand. At the top of the arc of the first throw, throw the second ball behind the first ball. It should happen at an equal cadence of 1, 2, 3, 4 or throw throw catch catch. Take your time.
5. This is the last step. Place two balls in your dominant hand and one in the other. In the hand with two balls, hold one with your first two fingers and your thumb. Hold the second with your other two fingers and your palm. Start with the ball between your first two fingers and thumb. Make the same pattern you have practiced. This time instead of stopping, make another throw. It should follow a pattern of 1, 2, 3, 4, or throw, throw, throw, catch. You have just completed a cascade pattern.

So, that’s it folks! Take your time. If you run into issues go back a step. All things worth doing, take time and effort. Believe in yourself. You can do this on your own first or even try to work on this as your kids do. Whatever you choose to do, have fun.

I will post a quick video to give you a visual of the instructions.

Your friend,

Daniel

Hello again, savvy savers! It’s time again for another Battle Of  The Bulge, Budget-Style post!

As always, this series will focusing on ways to live a healthier, more active lifestyle while be able to afford clean, organic, obtainable foods! I believe this series can be worthwhile for many, who like myself, wish to get more in shape, not through crash-dieting but by small attainable lifestyle changes! With that said, here is where I am currently: I have a family history of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. I am looking to lose 60lbs., find affordable non-gym membership options for working out, and change the way I consume food; this includes meals, snacks, and splurges!

Here’s where I am today:

• I am 32 years young
• 5’6”,
• Weight 191 lbs; I am down two pounds since last week.

Ways I’ve used to workout this past week:

• I walk my dogs.
• Continued yoga and meditation.
• Using a pedometer
• Portioning my meals
• Measure myself monthly using seamstress tape

So for those who may know know, I used to be in shape. I played tennis, took jazz, ballet lessons, and would walk for miles on end at the beach. That, of course, was then. That was before life piled up. A decade of graduations, working, saving, relocating, marrying, and general laziness began to take its toll, on my health and life. 

For this weeks Battle-of-the-Bulge, Budget Style post, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite ways to exercise, and that is with basic, everyday housework! Consider the amount of time you spend each week completing the following, and you will see how much extra pounds you will be able to shed!

Here is a simple guide as to how many calories you can earn by completing each for 15 minutes:

• Carpet sweeping, sweeping floors: 39 calories
• Mopping: 43 calories
• Multiple household tasks all at once, light effort: 26 calories
• Dusting: 26 calories
• Washing dishes, While standing: 22 calories
• Vacuuming: 43 calories
• Butchering/Freezer Cooking Prep: 85 calories
• Cooking and Canning: 17 calories
• Serving food: 26 calories
• Feeding animals: 26 calories
• Putting away groceries: 26 calories
• Carrying groceries upstairs: 111 calories
• Food shopping: 22 calories
• Ironing: 22 calories
• Doing laundry: 17 calories
• Putting away clothes: 22 calories
• Making the bed: 17 calories
• Moving furniture: 85 calories
• Scrubbing floors: 48 calories
• Sweeping garage, sidewalk, and outside of house: 51 calories
• Watering plants: 26 calories
• Playing with children: 26 calories
• Carrying small children: 34 calories
• Elderly & Disabled Adult Care: 51 calories
• Playing with pets: 26 calories
• Bathing pets, while standing or kneeling: 43 calories

You might not relish the idea of doing household chores, but viewing and completing that tired, old vacuuming and mopping routine with gusto are as good for you as any session at the gym. These exercises will stretch and tone your muscles, and you’ll burn up to 315 calories an hour – that’s more than twice as many as you would sitting in front of the television.

And it should be remembered that since housework isn’t a good form of cardiovascular exercise, you will still need to work your heart and lungs with walking, swimming or cycling. 

So, savvy savers how to you lose weight around the house? What’s your chore du jour? I’d love to hear about it below!

Here’s to better health,

Hello again, savvy savers! It’s time again for another Battle Of  The Bulge, Budget-Style post!

As always, this series will focusing on ways to live a healthier, more active lifestyle while be able to afford clean, organic, obtainable foods! I believe this series can be worthwhile for many, who like myself, wish to get more in shape, not through crash-dieting but by small attainable lifestyle changes! With that said, here is where I am currently: I have a family history of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. I am looking to lose 60lbs., find affordable non-gym membership options for working out, and change the way I consume food; this includes meals, snacks, and splurges!

Here’s where I am today:

• I am 32 years young
• 5’6”,
• Weight 191 lbs; I am down two pounds since last week.

Ways I’ve used to workout this past week:

• I walk my dogs.
• Continued yoga and meditation.
• Using a pedometer
• Portioning my meals
• Measure myself monthly using seamstress tape

So for those who may know know, I used to be in shape. I played tennis, took jazz, ballet lessons, and would walk for miles on end at the beach. That, of course, was then. That was before life piled up. A decade of graduations, working, saving, relocating, marrying, and general laziness began to take its toll, on my health and life. 

As the years wore on into my twenties, exercise became less important, less frequent. Injuries began to take their toll, starting with my ankle, then a diabetes diagnosis, and further limiting my activity, working from a home office upwards of twelve hours a day. The predictable result is that today I am but a shadow—a soft, blurry-edged, crusty shadow—of my 120-lb tones, svelte frame of yore.

While I’ve made my peace with my life-work-toil life at home, the overall dénouement of hitting the big 3-0 and beyond, occasionally when Facebook posts photos of “this was your life, many moons ago” wall posts, I can’t help wondering: What went wrong?

So, just this last month, during DH and myself’s weekly to-do chat, we decided to set up a home gym, in what was formerly my home office.

So, the idea of a home gym intrigued me. I know myself, I loath working out in front of others. So if I could in some small way both turn back the clock just a bit on my health, it would be worth it. But what would it take? How much would it cost? And where would I even start? 

As a savvy saver I know that it’s universally know that the best time of year to buy workout equipment is in the quarter post-Christmas, when stores are trying to cash in on consumer self-inflicted New Year’s weight lose resolutions, but I needed a home gym today, post-haste!  I also didn’t want to re-create my grandmothers, 1990’s fossilized, cliché home gym equipped with a dusty elliptical trainer, sit up machine, and every as-seen-on-tv unit money could afford! So, one thing was for sure, this would be a  gym-on-a-dime operation. 

So, here are the steps I’ve used to help implement my new home gym:

1) A Room with a View:  It’s hard to get a workout in when you’re beset by screaming kids or overflowing laundry hampers.  You want a dedicated room with a door that you can close off from the rest of your home, so your workout isn’t interrupted.

2) Accessories: To make my room more inviting I’ve planned to add a full length mirror to a door, to self-monitor my progress, and have wifi speakers put in to focus on my workouts and not the rest of my home. 

3) Think small: All you truly need is a smaller room, with adequate lighting, and cleared space. In my workout room, I have nearly floor length windows for lighting, foam gym mat packs ($20.98 from Sam’s Club, which covers 24 square feet, per pack) for flooring, neutral colored walls, mini blinds,and that’s it for space customization’s. 

4) Time: Consider the realistic amount of time you will actually use your gym. Are you going to work out for an hour a day, occasional training, or a set regime every few days. I plan to immolate a core training circuit; a 30-Minute daily, morning (between 6-7 am) Research-Based Workout Exercise system. 

5) What Are You Training For? Okay, you’ve got your space, with or without mirrors, stereo, and floor mat. What about the actual exercise equipment? What you buy should depends on your objectives—weight loss, cardio fitness, strength training, or some combination thereof—but it’s not quite as simple as that. You will also need pieces to help with weight lose plateaus, such as Pilates, jump ropes, etc. as after three weeks or so your body adjusts and you stop losing weight. A general rule of thumbs is a combination of cardio and resistance training is best for weight loss and overall fitness—even though that message itself is sometimes resisted. Especially for women, the above mentioned extras will help with what we need most, toning. 

6) Dumb and Dumber:  As my husband, a former US Army Sargent advised me early on, every home gym must be equipped with a full set of dumbbells and kettle-bells. Shop for the three weights you think you’ll use most often,  5, 10 and 15 lb bells for women. What’s nice, is that each piece can be purchased for under $7.00 each at mass retailers. Also, dumbbells store easily, on a small table or bench, and with the right glute and leg exercises, you will not need to purchase expensive rowing or leg machines for your home gym. 

7) Second hand first: So, first thing is first, you need a home gym budget. After my husband and I settled on having a $500.00 home gym budget, we planned to purchase mostly, second hand equipment for our home gym. Thus far we have found an elliptical on a local Facebook group for $20.00, a stationary bike for $10.00, and free jump ropes, resistance bands, yoga ball, and dumbbell bench. We still plan to buy a treadmill, weight bench, and finish outfitting out dumbbell and kettle bells. Also consider looking at Freecycle, Craigslist, and Penny Savers for additional sources of gym equipment. 

8) Think outside the gym: In order to help me with one of my more pressing issues, poor posture, I plan to invest in a stability ball as a replacement for my home office chair. What’s nice about this option, is that for under $30.00 online, this call will allow you to do abdominal crunches, squats, hamstring curls, body bridges, as well as preform basic office functions, too!

So, there are my plans and tips for starting a home gym at home. If any of my readers have a gym at home already, and have some tips for revamping my above mentioned plans, I’d love to hear about them.

Here’s to your health,

Hello again, savvy savers! Today I am starting another new blog series, Battle Of  The Bulge, Budget-Style! I will be focusing on ways to live a healthier, more active lifestyle while be able to afford clean, organic, obtainable foods! I believe this series can be worthwhile for many, who like myself, wish to get more in shape, not through crash-dieting but by small attainable lifestyle changes!  All of the changes I propose will be free or affordable, and most meals and plans will contain couponed savings or deals! Fads are fancy, but coupons are a commitment! With that said, here is where I am currently: I have a family history of high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. I am looking to lose 60lbs., find affordable non-gym membership options for working out, and change the way I consume food; this includes meals, snacks, and splurges!

Today I am 31 years young, I am 5’6”, and weight 191 lbs; I am down tw0 pounds since last week. I walk my dogs but beyond this am not terribly active. My lifestyle causes sedentary behaviors; I work-from-home, blog, run two internet businesses, and perform advocacy work online as well. I am an internet-based excuser! Today finds my continued yoga, meditation, walking my dogs, using a pedometer, portioning my meals, and now I also measure myself monthly, using seamstress tape!

For today’s  installment in this series, I want to discuss a way I Have found to push through the pain of exercising. If you are anything like me, then losing weight was as much an aesthetic change, as a needed, life affirming chance. One thing that has hindered me is the physical pain, the exhaustion, and the sheer effort that occurs from exercising. Here is a list of ways I have found to push past the pain while exercising:

1. Count To 100:  Focus on the steps you are taking, the vaporous breaths, and concentrate on nothing else.  Count to 100 over and over again. This mental exercise can be extremely helpful during times when workouts never seem to end.
2. Find A Catchphrase: Find a mantra that resonates with you. It can be one word or a whole paragraph. Something that you find soothing to repeat over and over again until your workout is through or you get a true second wind; my keyword is happy, as in, “I am exercising to get back my happy.”
3. Picture Your Goals: You must have a reason for exercising. Call on those goals when you’re at your breaking point. Think about the pants that you can’t wait to fit into or the health gain you will receive, and even the way you will be able to just live, longer, better, and without pain and difficulty. Think small, attainable goals.
4. Put It Into Perspective: Compare your workout time to the rest of your day. Let’s say your exercise session is 45:00 minutes long. That leaves 23 Hrs and 15 Min out of your day that you haven’t dedicated to exercising. Your workout session really isn’t a lot of time in comparison to the rest of your day. Next time you want to drop a workout for one day to the next, consider that every time you workout you are losing the negative seconds, minutes, hours, and days that you spend in pain, in discomfort, and in a body less than you deserve. Learn to make the most out of your time, so you can make the most of your life.

Here’s to your health!