Do you know the signs of a Stroke?

During a BBQ, a woman stumbled and took a little fall – she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) …she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Jane went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Jane’s husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital – (at 6:00 PM Jane passed away.)
She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Jane would be with us today.
Some don’t die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead. It only takes a minute to read this.
A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke…totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough. RECOGNIZING A STROKE
Thank God for the sense to remember the ‘3’ steps, “STR”. Read and Learn! Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
  • S *Ask the individual to SMILE.
  • T *Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. Chicken Soup)
  • R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS. If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
  • New Sign of a Stroke ——– Stick out Your Tongue NOTE: Another ‘sign’ of a stroke is this: Ask the person to ‘stick’ out his tongue. If the tongue is ‘crooked’, if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved.  Please Share

 

STRESS!!! Who needs it?

The holiday season is upon us and as we didn’t have enough stress already, now we get parties, family, presents, shopping, wrapping, etc…  It doesn’t see to ever stop.  Here is an article built to help with the stresses of everyday.

Ways to Relieve Your Stress

By Sarah Stevenson

Back in Paleolithic times, stress and its associated hormone release was an important survival tool. Things like adrenaline gave us the juice we needed to dodge a famished cheetah, while cortisol helped out should that cheetah decide to pursue us for a long, long time.

 

The problem is, sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Prolonged exposure to stress and its merry band of hormones can lead to all kinds of problems, including inflammation, fatigue, and many modern ailments, such as fibromyalgia and IBS.

In our busy, always on, always online world, it’s like we’re all being chased by cheetahs every single day. So it’s time to take that cat by the whiskers and let stress know who’s boss. Here are 30 quick tips to help you release stress in a matter of moments:

  1. Smile. When you smile, feel-good chemicals are released into the bloodstream, taking the place of stressful chemicals.1So smile and watch the world smile back at you.
  2. Take a deep breath. The act of deep breathing allows your mind to focus on the present moment and stop the worry train. Take a deep inhalation through your nose, allowing your lungs to fill up completely, and as you exhale through your nose, allow your lungs to empty entirely.
  3. Calm music. Relaxing music’s long, slow, spaced-out beats require less energy for the brain to process, and its predictive structure can be almost meditative.
  4. Man CallingCall a friend. Research suggests that people who have close ties with friends and family are all around happier, healthier people. Hearing the comforting sound of a loved one can help make a stressful situation less so.2
  5. Visualize. Whether you take a few minutes to visualize a serene setting that you’d love to be in, or imagine what the life of your dreams looks like, visualization gives your mind a break from the stress you’re feeling.
  6. Scream. This is a quick, harmless way to relieve pressure that has built up. When you are all plugged up, sometimes all you need is to let your steam out. So be a little teapot short and stout; when you get all steamed up, give it a shout.
  7. Make to-do lists. Knowing what needs to be done can help you navigate what you need to do for the day, and it allows you to focus on the tasks at hand and not on remembering all of them. As you finish them, check them off. At the end of the day, you’ll see how much you have really accomplished. Making this list the night before can even lead to a less stressful morning.
  8. Focus on the positive. Someresearchers believe that your thoughts can affect your physical body. Anxious, sad, and angry thoughts can make your entire body feel more stressed because they cause the brain to release the stress hormones, while pleasant, peaceful thoughts can make the body feel less stressed because they can cause the brain to release the pleasure hormones dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin.
  9. Relax your muscles. Focus on one muscle at a time; tense it for a few seconds then relax it and notice that sensation of relaxing. Begin at the top of your body and work your way all the way down until your body is completely relaxed.
  10. People Playing GamesPlay a game. Getting together with a group of friends to play catch, engage in a board game, or jam out on Rock Band®will take your mind off what’s causing you stress, at least for a little while.
  11. Aromatherapy. Research has proven that lavender, chamomile, and sage all have stress relieving properties when taken in through the olfactory system. Burn a scented candle, use an oil diffuser, drink some tea, or bring those herbs into your space to lower your blood pressure.3
  12. Laugh. Laughing gets endorphins and dopamine coursing through the bloodstream. These feel-good chemicals will help you feel happy and relaxed.4
  13. Get a good night’s sleep. Staying up too late can cause one to wake tired and depleted, and even everyday tasks will take more time and energy. Having trouble getting a great night’s sleep?
  14. Imagine them in their undies. If people stress you out, why not try the age-old idea of imagining them in their underwear? How intimidating is a person walking around in their skivvies?
  15. Journal. Mental health professionals currently promote journaling as a proper behavioral technique to reducing stress. Get the anxiety and negative emotions going on inside your brain onto paper. That way it doesn’t weigh the mind down.5
  16. Cup of  TeaHave a cup of tea. Chamomile tea to be exact. Chamomile tea has calming agents that can relax the body both through breathing them in and drinking them.
  17. Take a hot bath. Soaking in a hot bath relaxes the muscles that tense up every time stress hits the body. Ease them by slipping into a warm tub for a half hour or more.
  18. Go for a walk. When it’s too much, step away from it and get some fresh air into your lungs. Even a short, five-minute walk can help give you a fresh perspective and relieve stress.
  19. Have a good cry. Being brave and keeping a tough exterior can create a pressure cooker effect. Seeing a sad movie, listening to a touching song, or just allowing emotions to flow when faced with something sad can help give your body the release it occasionally needs.
  20. Plan something fun for the future. When you’re under a lot of pressure, this can give you a light at the end of the tunnel to look forward to. Just don’t make planning this stressful too.
  21. Get sweaty. Exercise relieves stress. Research even says that if you have a hard workout right before bed, you’ll get longer, more restorative sleep.6
  22. Couple KissingBe affectionate. People who kiss, touch, and hug produce less stress hormone and more feel-good chemicals than those who do not. When we are touched, our pre-frontal lobe gets a signal that we have another “carrying the load.” Our body then gets the “OK” to relax.8,9
  23. Tell a joke. Step away from the seriousness of the stress you’re under and share a joke with someone else. You’ll improve his or her day and you’ll get the satisfaction of bringing joy to someone else.
  24. Drink less caffeine. I know that’s just mean, right? But it’s true. If the body is all jacked up on caffeine, it has more energy but is also in a very reactive state, which can lead to mega stress.
  25. Create a mantra. Negative self-talk can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Create a positive mantra instead such as: “I live in a loving, peaceful world” or “It feels like a lot, but I can handle it. I’ve done it before and I can do it again.”
  26. Have a dance party. Pump up the volume and break out any move that feels good. You might feel silly, but the combination of exercise and feel-good music will put you in a better frame of mind.
  27. Tony StretchingStretch. When you are faced with a stressful situation, your body tenses up immediately and quite often does not relax unless you consciously make an effort to relax it. Stretching is a great way to relax those tense muscles. Stretch several times a day. Your body will thank you.
  28. Play with your pet. Research suggests that people with animals live longer, happier lives. Dogs love to lavish you with bouncy attention and some cats are content to rest in your lap for hours. Either way, their unconditional love will ease your stress.11

Resources:

  1. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=smile-it-could-make-you-happier
  2. Scherer, K. R. (2003). Vocal communication of emotion: A review of research paradigms. Speech communication, 40(1), 227-256.
  3. Motomura N, Sakurai A, Yotsuya Y. Reduction of mental stress with lavender odorant. Percept Mot Skills. 2001 Dec;93(3):713-8.
  4. Bennett MP, Zeller JM, Rosenberg L, McCann J. The Effect of Mirthful Laughter on Stress and Natural Killer Cell Activity. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, March-April 2003
  5. Richardson, K. M., & Rothstein, H. R. (2008). Effects of occupational stress management intervention programs: a meta-analysis. Journal of occupational health psychology, 13(1), 69.
  6. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise-and-stress/SR00036
  7. Carey, B. (2010). Evidence that little touches do mean so much. The New York Times.
  8. Harlow, H.F. The nature of love. American Psychologist, 1958, 13, 673-685.
  9. Brody, S. (2006). Blood pressure reactivity to stress is better for people who recently had penile–vaginal intercourse than for people who had other or no sexual activity. Biological Psychology, 71(2), 214-222.

To see original article visit here: http://www.beachbody.com/product/newsletters/nl_515.do#article3

Thanksgiving is over but the holidays are just beginning

Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus…

As the Thanksgiving weekend comes to a close one big hurdle is out of the way but not by far are we in the clear.  As Christmas, Hanukkah and other celebrations approach, there will many parties and other opportunities for holiday treats to tempt us.

So the real question is how do we fight off these temptations and make sure that we aren’t falling off the band wagon?

Here are a few things that have helped me during the past Holidays, Birthdays, Anniversaries, etc…

1. Set Goals – The first and most important thing is a goal.  Goals are our ultimate reason why we so almost anything in life.  If we know where we are going it is much easier to stay on the path.

2. Commit – It is one thing to commit but to really take it to the next level share your commitment with those around you, post it to Facebook.

3. Accountability Partner/group – Having someone to report your progress will help you keep you on track, just knowing that you have to report to someone is motivation not to eat that one sugar cookie or that piece pie.

4. Keep moving – Not only does working out help us stay on the path but you get to eat more food when you exercise.

5.  Food Journal –  We often don’t know how bad or good the foods are that we are putting in our bodies.  By keeping a food diary, we are able to see not only what we are putting in our bodies but also how we feel when we are eating the correct ratios of food.  You can either is a classic book form diary or use your Smart Phone or computer to track using a program like myfitnesspal.com or Calorie King.

6.  Eat your food.  Many people will cut their calories to an extreme level (FYI.. sometime a 500 calorie deficit is extreme) which deprives the body the fuel that it needs to run correctly.  Eat enough food and take a multi-vitamin.

7.  Plan, Plan, Plan – one of my favorite sayings is “If we fail to plan, we plan to fail.”  When a choice is placed in front of us, we have to make a decision of what to do and if we have cravings at that point it is hard to make the right choice, but if we have taken the time to decide what we should do before we are presented the choice we are much more likely to choose the healthier choice.

So what is your goal, do you have someone to share your food and exercise goals with?  Do you have your workouts planned?  Are you tracking you food?

Are you ready for the Holidays?

October’s Success Story

Challenge Group Update

I want to give a shout out to Janel (TurboFire) week 10, Erica (Insanity) week 4 and Ryan (P90X) week 2 for their continued progress.

And I want to send out a congratz to Adam, Zepuur “Z”, Ben, Cynthia, Barbie, Elizabeth, Steven, and one more person??? As the will all be starting Insanity on the 3rd of December,  additionally Dave is also going to be starting P90X.

I have a P90X/Power 90 group starting on the 7th of January and I already have 2 people committed so the spots are filling up quickly, I will also be starting a other groups so get your spot now by messaging me.  If you want to start earlier contact me and we will get you started.

Last days of Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale

Instead of giving something that won’t be used, why not give the gift of health!
This is a amazing deal for you, a friend or a loved one.  Don’t wait this ends when either they run out of stock or at 9 PM Pacific Time/Midnight Eastern Monday the 25th.

To order click here: http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/holidayoffer?referringRepId=96438

Main Offer Page Squishy Ball Offer Body Gospel Offer Hip Hop Abs Offer 10 Minute Trainer Offer Power 90 Offer P90X Offer Please contact me if you have any question about fitness, health, or any

Beachbody

Program or Product.

Gregory Short
www.coachgshort.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gshort76