Enjoy your Age and Age healthy

Isn’t it funny how a 5 or 10 year old very specifically tell you that they are 5,5 years old or 10,5 years old, but if you tell a 49 year old that they are 50 you are walking on thin ice. The 5 and 10 year olds are proud of their age and really looking forward to the next year.

Can anyone tell me when this changes?

If I’m honest I’m really enjoying my age, I’ll not tell you how old I am but I’m not 5 and not 70, but I feel confident and I’m looking forward to feeling fit and healthy as the years adds on.

I also know that I have to actively work on aging healthy and there is plenty we can do to stay youthful. I don’t mean that we should aim for a 20 year old body and face, that’s not what healthy aging is about. It’s about being independent, move freely, be illness free, keep a healthy brain and be social.

Here are some tips for healthy aging:

1.    Remember that your best year are not behind you.

2.    Veggies—and green veggies in particular—can be your fountain of youth. Full of vitamins, minerals, and life-giving chlorophyll, raw green veggies should be the basis of your diet.

3.    Being physical active is very important for healthy ageing – Move it or Lose it -.

4.    Studies show that inactivity is the worst thing you can do (or not do) as you age. Inactivity has been shown to be a contributing factor to heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer, and colon cancer. You don’t have to run a marathon or pump tons of iron either. A vigorous walk 3-4 times a week is better than nothing.

5.    Be kind to the people that care about you. You may have been hurt in the past, or may be scared that you’ll be too vulnerable, but truthfully, the more you withhold LOVE, the unhappier you’ll be. Start with yourself.

6.    We know that being physically active is very important, but it is also very important to be socially active. Meet up with your friends for lunch or dinners, go on holidays, go to concerts, theater, there is plenty to do just make sure you get out of the house.

7.    Surround yourself with positive people and life is so much easier.  

8.    Laughter really is the best medicine.

Get the kid back into your soul and stand up tall and be proud of your age. The worst thing you can do is look at ageing as something negative then you have very very many years of struggling and feeling miserable, and guess what – you’ll probably died earlier due to that. 

Consider what Oscar Wilde said: Aging is not so bad considering the alternative!

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

I made this for dinner the other night, it is really nice. I had it with a green salad, but made rice for the boys in the family.

Papaya salsa with prawn skewers

Serve 4

1 kg green prawns, peeled, deveined

2 tbsp grape seed oil

1 long fresh red chili, peeled, grated

2 cm piece fresh ginger, grated

1 lime, rind finely grated, juiced

¼ cup chopped coriander

1 papaya, seeded, cut into 2 cm pieces

2 spring onions, thinly sliced

Methods

Combine the prawns, oil, chili, ginger, lime rind and 1 tbs of the coriander in a larger bowl. Season. Thread onto soaked skewers.

Marinate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix papaya, spring onions, chili, lime juice and remaining coriander in a bowl.

Cook the prawns on BBQ for 3-4 minutes or until prawns’ changes color.

Serve with papaya salsa and rice.

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

I’m sure you are all curios to know how my 24 computer-free hours went!

Last Friday I decided to have a powerful rest for my body and mind, and go computer-free for 24 hours.

I have to admit that on Friday night I was climbing the walls a bit, “what was happening in the world that I was missing?”, but by Saturday morning I actually felt very relaxed and full of fresh ideas in my head. Due to the time saving by not sitting by the computer I did both my cardio session and a Body Balance class.

Reflecting on my little “test”, I do believe we need to take some computer-free time on regular basis. We might not feel stressed, but how many of us don’t get on the computer first thing in the morning, and have to see what has happened in the mailbox, blog, twitter, FB, etc?

At the same time as this can be "good stress" due to the new way of communication with friends and work, it still adds the pressure of I have to check. So why don’t you give it a try and let me know how you went? I’ll definitely do it again, and I will really enjoy it!!

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

 

Are you one of “no-breakfast” population? Skipping breakfast is a common strategy for people who are trying to lose weight, but unfortunately, it's usually not a successful strategy. Your body (or more likely, your brain) expects to be refueled a few times each day.

When you don't eat breakfast you may feel so hungry by lunch time that you eat more foods than you normally would, which cancels out the calories you cut by skipping breakfast. You may also be tempted to choose foods that are not the healthiest choices when you feel like you're starving.

Research studies tell us that people who eat breakfast are more likely to maintain a healthy weight.

This is a very nice porridge/muslie that is prepared the night before (so you don’t have to thinking about planning breakfast in the morning), after having this you’ll never go back to not having breakfast.

 Blueberry Banana Overnight Oats

(Per single serving)

1/3 cup oats

1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1/3 cup  milk, slightly overflowing
1/2 banana (1/3 if it's particularly large)
Scant 1/4 cup blueberries
Granola, or nuts

Mash banana and blueberries together in a bowl until blended together. Stir in oats, yogurt, and milk. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Top with granola and fresh berries/bananas in the morning, if desired.

I’m sure you’ll enjoy this and it will get you flying through the day!

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

If I could get a penny for every smile I get when I fit someone with a Swedish Posture brace I could retired now. It is so great to see someone that suffer from a bad posture, it could be from pain or the feeling of having a bad posture, when they try the Swedish Posture brace, that relief/amazed look on their face when the realize how nice it is to be in the right aliment.

The Swedish Posture brace have been on the Australian market since February this year with great success. The response from both costumers and health professionals that are using them are very positive.

We have received comments from physiotherapist saying; “patients whom are having lots of pain from poor posture found it to be very helpful”, and feedback from costumers using them that “even when I am not using the brace I’m reminded to keep a good posture because when I use the brace I know how I should be”.

Posture causes pain that ranges from the most common lower back pain, shoulder and neck pain to frequent headaches. Bad posture is a downward spiral because your body typically compensates for bad posture with a worsening posture.

Better posture will not only give you BETTER POSTURE but also:

• Instantly take off a couple of kilos in appearance
• You will look and feel younger
• Improves circulation, digestion & breathing
• Eliminates many aches and pains

If you would like more information, please give me a call on 0414 725 932 or visit www.swedishposture.com or www.newfitness.com.au.

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

Sometimes when I tell my clients that they should have a salad for lunch they will either say – “but I need something more with that” or – “but it’s so boring with a salad”.

I do my shopping on Mondays and Thursday. So yesterday when it was time for lunch I have to admit that the refrigerator was a bit empty, but this is my new creation from yesterday.

Spinach salad (serves 1)

1 cup spinach, roughly chopped

1 cup red cabbage, shredded

2 slices of red onion, finely chopped

½ avocado, roughly chopped

½ apple, roughly chopped

5 walnuts chopped

Handful of sunflower seeds

Splash of olive oil with a squeeze of lemon

Place all ingredients in a bowl, toss and serve.

Enjoy!!!!

PS. I forgot to take a pictures yesterday but I promise next time I make it I will.

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

How can I take my training to next level?

If you look at people who are successful in almost any field, you'll find a belief that they all share.

They all use positive thinking to get to the next level.

The belief that makes all the difference,

 “I am responsible and I can and want to do it”.

It doesn't mean you have to beat yourself up over anything that goes wrong.  It means when something isn't good enough, it's up to you to change it.

And only you!

When you adopt this belief, truly accept it as fact, you begin to see through all the excuses you've been employing to keep yourself from adding a bit more exercise.  And once you can do that, change is inevitable.

Believing that you're responsible for whatever happens affects more than just your training, of course.  When you believe it, you stop making excuses, even little ones you didn't realize you made.

So it doesn’t matter how old you are you can always increase you training. If you have been walking a track for the last 4 months 4 to 5 times a week, you have certainly increased you fitness so why not try a very slow jog part of the way next time.

The same comes to your muscles and resistant training, meaning you don’t stay on the same weight, but challenge muscles to keep improving by increasing the weights as you get stronger.

So if you’re 40-ish or older and want to stay strong for the long haul, keep up your exercise program to help maintain both muscle power and strength.

Think of it as ‘Super’ for your body – a lifelong plan for your functional security in your later years.   

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au