One week to set smart and attainable goals

Wow, another Christmas just zoomed on by without a hitch, that is pretty amazing with all going on in the country. I think many of us feel that the big picture is so far out of our hands that we need to just concentrate on the things we can fix like our health, our family, and maybe getting ready to control our bad habits with next weeks resolutions.

I am amazed because it seems like more and more people are really starting to want to make some changes, and I think for the first time in many years, I think they really mean it! All I can say is over the next week as you ponder where you are and where you would like to be, when you mull over your bad habits and the changes you would like to make, set easy and attainable goals. What I mean by that is, if you have sixty pounds to lose, set your goal at five pounds per month. When you are able to satisfy your goals every month, you WILL stay motivated and you will find you can even lose more every month once the goal is attained.

When you have a huge mountain goal in front of you it is a mountain that most people can not conquer, but attainable goals are satisfied, and you will walk over them and on to the next one with a positive and take on the world attitude.

So, be kind to yourself and smart about the goals you set, and logical on how long they may take to complete.

Good Night! R U sleeping or staring at the ceiling?

How do you sleep at night? When asked this most people say, I go to bed and I wake up in the morning. Daah!! What I am interested in having you do is to take a look at are you getting the rest you need and deserve, or are you just going through the motions?

Think before you answer these questions.

1) Men, do you get up more than once or twice per night and have trouble going back to sleep again. If yes, it could be stress or it could be time to get your prostate examined to find out if you have prostate enlargement, which could cause frequent urinary elimination or the urge during the night. Remember, there are many natural remedies that can and are very successful with prostate problems.

2) Do you get leg cramps frequently or Charlie horses in your legs? This could be over or under worked muscles, and a sign that you need to take a chelated multiple mineral supplement as well as some supplemental calcium and magnesium. We heal the muscles and joints when we sleep so having minerals in the system help this process and keep the body from robbing needed minerals from our muscles that cause us to cramp.

3) Are you the person who cannot shut down your head? You take work and personal problems and stress to bed with you and you dwell and cannot stop thinking. Are you always thinking about what could happen before it does or dwelling on the days or past weeks to the degree that you could not fall asleep if you wanted to? There are great nutritional supplements to take for this as well before you jump into the addictive pharmaceutical drugs.

We need to remember, if sleep is a problem for you at any age get some nutritional help. If you do not get rest you actually are causing your immune system to become faulty, putting stress on your body and heart, keeping your body from healing and repairing, causing cloudy and foggy brain activity and affecting your memory.You will also age faster and visibly show the signs of aging. Now that should be enough for you to do something, and quick!

Holiday spirit

Have you noticed that as December begins most people are in good moods? Maybe because they are still full from Thanksgiving dinner, but realistically they may be feeling the holiday spirit.

On the other hand make sure to suck up all of this good energy because as the month rolls on, the niceness seems to go away and the short tempered moods, irritated personalities and hateful scrooge like attitudes emerge. I am a believer that most people go so overboard during the holidays and I really do think that fear of disappointing someone adds to the gift list, the credit card statement and the stress now and when the bills come in January.

I am also a believer that most people have lost the true meaning of the holidays and have instead become a product of guilt driven Madison avenue price tag holiday bliss.

About ten years ago a dozen, actually 6 couples whom I have known for years told me they had all decided to step away from the holidays. The twelve of them always did the gift swap and every year it continued to get bigger and bigger including everything from clothing to trips and cruises. They said they had decided to do it different and they were going to rent three cabins at Mt Charleston, north of the Las Vegas Valley. They packed up all the food and festivities and put all their names in a hat and each drew one name. This is the one and only gift they could buy and the limit was twenty dollars.

They arrived at Mt Charleston and went into their cabins. They went on hikes, went on a sleigh ride, popped popcorn and strung it with cranberries and decorated a big pine outside one of the cabins. They built fires and sat around and enjoyed each others company free of the normal high price tag holidays. They told me it was the best holiday ever and that it would continue yearly, and it has with this year being the tenth year in a row. They said they still spend twenty dollars on the gift but they have all become extremely creative when they shop and try to out do each other with creativity and variety.

I wish this for everyone, but not everybody is able to do this, so for those of you stressed out and starting the 4 week steep climb to the holidays, these few nutritional changes may help you stay focused and healthy and a little more stress free.

Drink plenty of water and do not skip meals to keep you blood sugar from dropping, take time out and schedule meals. Did you know that when blood sugar drops it causes your emotions to change, causes you to make bad choices and may just keep you from staying focused and on track.

Take plenty of B Complex vitamins for energy and stress relief and plenty of good chelated multiple minerals at night to sleep well and keep those muscles and bones strong. Take your Vitamin C to keep your immune system strong, and wash your hands as frequently as possible. Get enough rest and when going shopping go out with a list and stick to it.

I thought you might enjoy the story of my friends and their quest to regain the true holiday spirit. Their story allowed me to enjoy and remember and experience the true meaning of the holidays.

GIVING THANKS, BEING WITH LOVE ONES, GREAT FOOD AND CELEBRATING LIFE!

i