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Can’t Wake Up In The Morning Without Your Coffee? Here’s How To Have More Energy Without Caffeine

/16 August 2021/ All MFN blog/

In this day and age fatigue is a very common problem. If you look at our daily lives, we’re constantly on the go, usually rushing through life trying to meet deadlines, do well at work and also have space for a social life and some physical activity.

You may feel like in order to keep up with this kind of lifestyle, you have to reach out for coffee or energy drinks to give you that much-needed boost so you can reach the end of your days without feeling like you’re about to pass out.

If you’re interested in reducing your caffeine consumption whilst still keeping up with your schedule full of energy, read on to discover some tips to ditch the caffeine but remain lively and ready to take on the day!

It’s all about your diet

Food is fuel, and you need to put the right kind of fuel into your body for it to run properly. If you want to feel satiated for longer whilst also maintaining high levels of energy avoid refined processed sugars and processed food in general. Take nutrient-dense foods that take longer to break down in your system and that won’t give you insulin spikes. The well-known sugar crash is what’s more likely to make you want to reach out for some coffee or an energy drink!

Get good sleep at night

Easier said than done but getting the right amount of quality sleep at night is crucial. Make it a point to keep good sleeping hygiene habits like not staring at blue light screens right before sleep or getting a lot of stimulation right before hitting the hay. The quality of sleep is also important, it’s no use if you’re waking up every few hours because your back hurts or the room is too noisy or the wrong temperature, so take time to prepare for bed and make sure you’ve created an environment that facilitates getting quality z’s.

If you miss your cups of coffee, try raw cacao instead

Sometimes it’s not so much the caffeine as it’s the habit of having a warm drink that you miss. If that’s the case, switch to having a hot cacao instead. Cacao has PEA (phenylethylamine) which is known to naturally increase the energy levels in people without needing to consume caffeine for the same effect. On top of this, there is truly nothing more enjoyable than a hot cup of cacao!

Take a brisk walk

If you’ve sat in front of your desk for hours and are starting to feel sleepy and drowsy, take a brisk walk in the fresh air for 10-20 minutes. The exercise will get your blood pumping back through your body, your heart rate will increase and you’ll feel more energized. Also, the fresh air is likely to wake you up and make you feel refreshed.

Take a power nap

Maybe a brisk walk isn’t going to cut it, so if you’re nearing the afternoon and you’re feeling that post-lunch drowsiness, find a quiet spot and take a quick 20-minute power nap. Power naps can rejuvenate you for the rest of the day as you get that much-needed rest without entering into a three-hour sleep cycle. It’s important you don’t overdo your power naps though, if you sleep for too long you may end up feeling even drowsier and sleepier than before.

Get them tunes out

Sometimes listening to your favorite, upbeat music can really help you crank up your energy levels. Music is known to do wonders with the human brain and one of those benefits is making your mood lift, as well as energizing you naturally.

Summary

If you feel like you need an extra bit of energy but don’t want to over-rely on the consumption of caffeine, be sure to try these tips and tricks and you’re guaranteed to see your energy levels rise while you also build healthier habits into your routine, it’s a win-win!

Kendra Beckley helps companies enter a new market and build long-term relationships with partners. She is also interested in writing articles on various topics at Next Coursework. She is a business development manager and editor at Write my dissertation and Dissertation writing service.

Water Droplet

Guide On How To Be Hydrated: MOVE Your Water

/13 August 2021/ All MFN blog/

Water requires movement to stay energized. Even inside our bodies, water needs to move to have its potent cleansing and healing effect.  How much we move has far more impact on our hydration than we previously thought. The human body is a hydraulic pump system and squeezing, twisting and contracting all deliver hydration more deeply into our tissues. Our spinal canal and joints are central to this hydraulic system, as is fascia, our sponge-like connective tissue found throughout our bodies, in fact, there’s miles of it in there.

Lori M Self Evaluation

A Self-Evaluation To Do at Home

/12 August 2021/ All MFN blog/

Take notice before your muscles begin to evaporate, and you need someone else to take charge.

Here are some questions, allowing you to make a self-evaluation, which can help you decide if you need assistance.

  1. Can you walk 50 feet in 12 seconds? This benchmark is a good indicator of the ability to walk for exercise. If you can’t, it’s time to think about ways to get moving.
  2. Can you walk 400 meters (a little less than a quarter mile) in just over five minutes? For endurance, the threshold is walking 400 meters or about one lap around a high-school track.
  3. Can you stand up from a chair five times in 11 seconds or less? This is a way to assess lower body strength needed for numerous tasks climbing stairs, walking, getting out of a chair or car, picking something up off the floor, getting off the toilet, or stepping out of a tub.
  4. Can you walk 10,000 steps a day? If you can achieve this benchmark, good for you. Studies have shown that it can help protect people from osteoarthritis and from developing mobility problems.
  5. Can you stand still with one foot directly in front of the other for 10 seconds without tipping over? If you didn’t sway or step out, great. Practice more complicated moves by continuing to take ten steps in a straight line without losing your balance. (Click here to take my Balance Quiz.)

Exercise is for everyone. But the truth is, some people, especially seniors, lack the range of motion, strength and flexibility to exercise. That’s especially true for those just starting out.

Assessment tools used by personal trainers are designed to meet the basic criteria that helps to measure physical fitness parameters and functions needed to accomplish activities of daily living.

Reprinted with permission from Lori Michiel. 

Lori Michiel, NASM, has been assisting seniors in their homes since 2006 with customized exercise programs including those designed to address Parkinson’s, metabolic disorders, arthritis and diabetes. These adaptive programs are specifically designed to improve balance, circulation, flexibility, mobility and promote independence. Lori Michiel Fitness has over 40 certified trainers who are matched with clients in Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange Counties. Connect with Lori at www.LoriMichielFitness.com.

Stroke-Neuroplasticity

Sensory Input Drives Motor Output – “You gotta feel it to move it!”

/5 August 2021/ All MFN blog/

In our previous article, we showed you this picture to help understand neuroplasticity and how neurons that wire together, fire together. In this blog we’ll use the same picture to understand how sensory input to the brain affects motor output.

The sensory area (purple) is on the front “slice” of the parietal lobe. The neurons here will be activated by sensory input such as touch, vibration, threat, pressure, temperature and joint position. Lying just in front of the sensory area is the motor area (blue), which is the back “slice” of the frontal lobe. The neurons here are activated through volitional movement.

In both the sensory and motor areas of the brain, you can see in the illustration that specific areas are dedicated to specific body parts. And those areas are represented in the same areas for sensory and motor (e.g., where the hand is located in the sensory area is in the same place in motor area along the “slice”).

Why sensory input matters for stroke survivors

The bottom line is that for you to move an area well, your brain must be able feel, or “sense”, the area well. This is why issues like peripheral neuropathy in the feet so greatly affect the ability to balance and walk. Having good sensory input from an area of the body is a prerequisite for good motor control when we try to move an area.

One of the most prominent dysfunctions after stroke is a reduced ability to move one side of the body. This can occur at many different levels, from total paralysis to reduced coordination of fine motor skills. Common examples include limb spasticity, usually in flexion (e.g., a clenched fist held close into the chest), or what is termed “drop foot”, an inability to dorsiflex (lift) the foot, which severely interferes with a safe, functional gait pattern. This happens because the stroke damaged areas in the motor cortex associated with the affected body part.

The good news is that by increased sensory input to the affected area, we can begin to improve motor output. You have likely seen this already if you have ever used things like percussion guns or kinesiology tape. The many new “toys” we see in the fitness industry these days are simply sensory input devices, providing the sensory area with more and novel input, which then allows the motor area to “fire” better and provide better movement (i.e., improved range of motion, more strength, etc.).

A 2017 study found that “kinesio tape application to the tibialis anterior has significant effects on motor recovery of the lower extremity, spasticity, ambulation capacity, HRQoL (health-related quality of life) and gait compared to the control group and baseline.” (1)

The concept of sensory input affecting motor output and how to harness it is not only for stroke recovery, but also for general fitness, performance, and pain clients!

Begin learning a neuro-centric approach to medical fitness and how to work with stroke survivors with our Stroke Recovery Fitness Specialist online course, available through the MedFit Classroom.

Pat Marques is a Z-Health Master Trainer and NSCA-CPT specializing in training the nervous system to improve performance and get out of pain.  After retiring from the Active Duty Army, Pat pursued his education and certifications in exercise science, initially working with wounded, ill, and injured soldiers. During this time that Pat discovered the power of using a neurological approach to training to get out of pain and improve fitness and performance. He currently provides exercise therapy, movement reeducation, and strength and conditioning for all levels of clients at NeuroAthlete, from chronic pain sufferers to Olympic-level and professional athletes.

References

  1. Belma Fusun Koseoglu, Asuman Dogan, Hilmi Umut Tatli, Didem Sezgin Ozcan,Cemile Sevgi Polat (2017). Can kinesio tape be used as an ankle training method in the rehabilitation of the stroke patients? Complimentary Strategies in Clinical Practice, Vol. 27.
avo on toast

Try These 5 Snacks to Lower Your Cholesterol

/4 August 2021/ All MFN blog/

High cholesterol levels can dramatically increase your risk of heart disease. In particular, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is the bad kind of cholesterol, and it’s the kind you most certainly do not want floating around in your bloodstream.

The good news is that, by sticking to the right diet, you can reduce LDL cholesterol levels in your blood and keep them at healthy quantities. You should make sure to eat only foods with lots of healthy fat and fiber, such as fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, whole grains, legumes (for plant protein), and lean meats like fish and chicken. Just increasing your fiber intake can reduce your cholesterol levels by 10% or more.

If you already have high cholesterol levels, it’s important that you don’t aggravate the problem by taking even more saturated fats in your diet. Try to reduce quantities of dairy and meat in your diet, keeping them at no more than 5% of your daily caloric intake. For someone who consumes 2,000 calories a day, that’s no more than 11 grams.

You should also be careful about which snacks you consume. Many snacks are highly processed, which means they’ll contain high amounts of fat. Try to stick to healthy snack options that are packed with healthy fat and fiber.

In this article, we’ll help you do just that by recommending 5 super snack foods that will keep your cholesterol levels as low as they need to be. They are all homemade, so it’s stuff you can get when doing your regular grocery shopping. They’re also quite easy to prepare and flexible enough that you can use them as inspiration for your own recipes. Each of the snacks below is packed with healthy unsaturated fats, plenty of fiber, and consists of whole grains, vegetables, or fruits. They also have very little LDL cholesterol.

Avocado on Toast

Avocado is a popular fruit well known for its high amounts of healthy unsaturated fats. It has also been shown to drastically lower the amount of unhealthy LDL cholesterol in the body. Taking just half an avocado will provide up to 5 grams of fiber, more than enough to meet your daily requirements. If you take it with some whole-grain toast you can get even more fiber from the mix.

Making avocado toast is very easy. Simply toast a slice or two of whole-grain bread, peel and slice an avocado up thinly and top the bread with it. If you’d like to add some flavor, sprinkle some herbs and maybe a bit of lemon juice.

Tuna Wraps

Tuna is a very nutritious food, with plenty of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 is a healthy unsaturated fat that drastically lowers bad cholesterol levels in the blood. It also tastes really good if you’re into fish!

To make some tuna wraps, start by making a tuna salad. Get a can of tuna and  mix it with your favorite vegetables, such as celery, onion, or something else. Don’t forget to pour some olive oil into the mix too.

For the wrap, you can also get nori, a type of seaweed that comes in thin, edible sheets. Wrap the tuna in the nori and eat to your heart’s content! Alternatively, if seaweed isn’t your thing, you can get lettuce leaves to make tuna sandwiches.

Curried Salmon Salad Celery Boats

While we’re still on the topic of fish, salmon is yet another fantastic option. It is a delicious food and also a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. Also, just like tuna, it can be used to make nutritious and delicious snacks.

To make salmon salad, get a can of salmon and oil-based mayonnaise. Mix the two together, and throw in some chopped grapes, curry powder, honey, and cashews. Next, take some of your delicious salad and place it on a few celery sticks to make a simple snack for your taste buds and health.

Guacamole

Let’s take a quick moment to revisit the glorious avocado with this simple yet delicious and nutritious snack. Guacamole is simply a fancy name for avocado salad. You can make it by getting a ripe avocado and mixing half of it with a diced tomato, a chopped onion, some minced garlic, and some lime juice to give that extra zing. To give the guacamole even more character, you can mix it with slices of your favorite vegetables, such as asparagus, bell peppers, and carrots.

Oatmeal

If you want a snack that gives you plenty of energy, oatmeal bites are yet another great option. Not only are they very low in bad cholesterol, but they are also a rich source of protein. You can make your own high-protein snack using rolled oats, ground flax seeds, chia seeds, nut butter, dried fruit, honey, and some dark chocolate.

Mix the ingredients into a thick paste that you can easily mold, and then scoop some portions and roll them into balls. Throw them in the fridge for long term storage, taking them out whenever you’re going out and need some energy!

Jessica Chapman is a college paper writer and editor at BrillAssignment. She also writes best assignment writing service UK reviews. She is into sports and politics and enjoys traveling.

KOMPAN_ActiveAgersBalanceStation-640

Active Aging Fitness

/3 August 2021/ All MFN blog/

The future will see an increased proportion of elderly people throughout all modern societies. It is estimated by the WHO (World Health Organization) that in the year 2050 there will be equally as many elderly people in the world as there are children (1).  Not only will there be more elderly people but the perception of being old will also continue to change. Previously, age was seen as a natural weakness process and reduction in lifestyle options.

fitness-savings

Medical Insurance and Medical Fitness or Exercise Therapy Coaching

/1 August 2021/ All MFN blog/

Can you accept insurance for medical fitness/exercise therapy? Can your clients use their FSA & HSA (medical savings account) for your services? The answer to both questions is yes, however, it’s not an easy yes. The only way for your clients to do these two things is if you are billing for qualified medical expenses.

What are qualified medical expenses? Qualified medical expenses are expenses that mitigate, treat, or prevent disease per IRS.gov Publication 502. The IRS narrows the expenses that are deductible even more by limiting the qualified expenses to supplies (example: KT Tape) or an action being billed that will alleviate or prevent disability or illness. The catch for medical fitness/exercise therapy is that general health and well-being are not qualified medical expenses.

So, how can your client use their insurance or medical savings accounts for your services? The client needs their doctor to provide them with a prescription that identifies your services as medically necessary. The doctor saying you really need to lose weight is not a prescription.

What expenses or activities are covered per the IRS Publication 502? One example is a weight loss program for a client with a medical need for weight-loss. The weight-loss program becomes medically necessary when the doctor has diagnosed the client with obesity, heart disease, or some other disease and has determined that your weight-loss program or something similar will help the client improve or alleviate the disease or condition. What isn’t covered as a qualified medical expense are the dues for your club, the weight-loss program for a client without the prescription from the doctor, or the sessions to maintain good health after you fixed the problem your client had a prescription. The key is that a doctor or medical professional has diagnosed a disease and given the client a prescription for your services.

Accepting FSA & HSA is as simple as contacting your credit card processor and making sure you are set up correctly in their system. Most of the time this is as easy as answering a few questions about what you do. Making the decision to accept medical insurance at your facility is a much more extensive process, one that will require you to have a NPI (National Provider Identifier) number and a lot of extra time for the processing, filing, and record-keeping that goes along with dealing with medical insurance companies.

In short, if your client has a medical necessity for your services and their doctor has given them a prescription, then your client can use their FSA or HSA for their sessions. They also may be able to submit their receipts back to their insurance company for reimbursement. If your client doesn’t have a medical savings account or an insurance company that will reimburse them for their expenses, they can collect the receipts for the services, that qualify as medically necessary, and submit them with their taxes to their tax preparer. There are minimum limits that clients must reach before they can start using their medical expenses as itemized deductions. Their tax professional can help them with this.

To learn more about exactly what is and isn’t considered a qualified medical expense refer to the IRS Publication 502: irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf

Heather Nusbaum is a Certified Management Accountant, Exercise Physiologist, Licensed Massage Therapist, MELT Instructor, and Master Trainer with NASM & ISSA. In 2013, Heather created Paws for Fitness a program to incorporate canines in the workout process. Over the years, this program has become a therapeutic modality within the training protocols of her business Nutree Fitness.

How did Heather go from Accounting and Business to Exercise Physiology? At a young age Heather was diagnosed with ‘Dysfunctional Knees’, this was a label that was attached to describe being in pain 24/7. This pain continued for the next 15+ years. After gaining weight due to age and inactivity, she realized that something had to give in her early 30’s. On her own she picked up and modified a box program and within 1 year had completely removed all the knee pain she’d suffered for the last 15+ years. Over the next few years it became apparent that she could help other people do what she had accomplished by accident, improving their quality of life and moving toward a pain free existence.