16 'Menu for Mid-Life Health' Tips

Feb 4/06: Getting it all Together (Tip #16)

Since the beginning of October 2005, the Women's Mid-Life Health Centre of Saskatchewan has provided you with a number of life tips. The intention of these short articles is to give you useable information to improve your physical and emotional health. We hope these tips are of use to you in making changes to your life style. May at least one of them motivate you to incorporate a new healthy habit.

We started out by highlighting the importance of setting goals as a means to making a behaviour change. From that original goal, we identified smaller, manageable steps to achieve that goal, and to allow room for flexibility.

Other points to remember about making lifestyle changes:

1. Rome wasn't built in a day—but building it did require persistence and dedication.
   
   
2. Life happens. Many events or circumstances can crop up, often unexpectedly, that will divert us from our goal.
   
   
3. Getting it all together is a myth. As we mature in body, mind and spirit, we will continue to change our goals and the steps we take to achieve them.
   
   
4. Don't fret the small stuff. If you get side tracked, just start again. No guilt.
   
   
5. Celebrate! Each small success needs to be acknowledged and rewarded.
   
   
6. Never stop growing. Never give up. Never stop laughing.

We hope you find these life tips useful. Creating them has been useful for us, because we are all mid-life women on our own journeys, who, along with all other mid-life women, are trying to be the best we can be, in this place and at this time.

Salute!

Jan 29/06: Lifestyle for Bone Health (Tip #15)

Osteoporosis:

• is characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue, which leads to fragile bones and increased risk of fracture particularly of the spine, hip and wrist.
  
  
• can be a very disabling disease causing pain, loss of independence and a diminished quality of life.
  
  
• can occur at any age—it is estimated that one in four women over 50 and at least one in eight men over 50 have it.
  
  
• is often referred to as the "silent thief" as there are no symptoms of bone loss. Bones gradually become weaker and the risk of fracture increases.

After age 35, bone loss starts to occur in both men and women. And for women, rapid bone loss starts after menopause. Bone loss can occur at a rate of 3-5% per year for the first five years after menopause and then slows to about 1% per year following. Menopause is considered a risk factor for osteoporosis.

Prevention is so important! There are simple choices we can make to improve the health and strength of our bones and live longer, healthier lives.

For more information about osteoporosis causes, risk factor assessment, diagnosis and treatment, check out the Osteoporosis Canada.

Tips to Improve Bone Health

• Eat foods rich in calcium and vitamin D.
  The recommended daily requirements of calcium for adult women and men age 19-50 is 1000 mg. Over 50 year olds require 1500 mg of calcium. If you are unable to get enough calcium from your diet, supplements may be required. Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, recommended daily dose for under age 50 is 400 IU and those over age 50 need 800 IU. Some foods have Vitamin D added; in the summer we may be able to get enough sunshine to synthesize our own vitamin D, but winters in the northern hemisphere require us to take supplements.
  
  
• Be physically active every day.
  Participate in weight bearing exercise for 30 minutes daily; strength training (lift weights) 2-3 times a week; and balance training once a week is recommended. A simple and enjoyable way to improve balance is to take a dance class or go dancing! Consider ballroom, western, salsa, and belly, modern or improvisational dance.
  
  
• Maintain a healthy body weight.
  Being underweight increases the risk of bone loss and fractures. Don't go on fad diets that may exclude or strictly limit some food groups.
  
  
• Protect yourself from falls.
  Fractures are often caused by falls. Have your vision checked. Make your home safer by removing clutter in your walking paths, ensure you have adequate lighting, wear shoes with good support and grip, and install bath bars and handrails. Carry out a home safety check up and make any changes you identify.
  
  
• Avoid smoking, limit alcohol and caffeine intake.
  Smoking and heavy alcohol intake reduce bone mass and increase your risk for fractures. Coffee and colas in excess (more than 4 cups a day) can have the same effect.
  
  
• Discuss your risks with your family physician.
  Check with your health care professionals about your risks and determine if you should have a Bone Mineral Density test. The results of the BMD test will determine if further treatment is needed.

Bone Health Resources:

• Osteoporosis Canada
  • Saskatoon Chapter (306) 373-2545
  • Regina Chapter (306) 757-2663

• Strong Women Stay Young by Miriam Nelson, Ph.D., 2000
• The Everyday Calcium Cookbook, 2004 by Helen Bishop MacDonald
• The Osteoporosis Book (2nd edition) by Gwen Ellert and John Wade (scroll down)
• The Ultimate Nutrition Guide for Menopause, 2003 by Leslie Beck
• Leslie Beck's 10 Steps to Healthy Eating, 2002 by Leslie Beck

Jan 21/06: Dreams: the stuff that life is made of (Tip #14)

There are a number of recent books targeted at midlife women who are feeling at a crossroad in their lives. Some very insightful authors encourage us to take a good look at our lives:

• where we have come from,
• what we have done (or not done) to this point, and
• what our life experiences have taught us.

These authors also encourage us not to stop there, but to actively embrace the possibilities of the future. After all, we're only partway through our life journey—women in the years between 45 and 65 have at least one third of the life journey yet ahead.

One book of interest is Dreams Have No Expiry Date: a Practical and Inspirational Way for Women to take Charge of their Futures, by Laurie Gottlieb and Deanna Rosenswig. The authors, two mid-life women, take the reader on a journey of self-exploration, reflection and discovery. Key words such as:

• challenge,
• strengths,
• resources,
• preparation,
• readiness and
• change

are all discussed, and exercises to identify and accomplish these steps of the journey are included within the chapters.

Some women don't feel in control of their current life situation, and can't imagine a bright, shining, and exciting future. Environments at work and/or home, as well as personal relationships with friends or family, are getting them down, causing stress and depression, and quashing their dreams. This is a very distressing place to be.

We can get mired in assigning blame or attaching responsibility for feelings of unhappiness. Solutions can only be found when we take responsibility for changing our circumstances ourselves.

Who holds the key to one's feelings? Where lies ability to change one's lot in life? Even though there are many things impacting us that are beyond our control, each one of us is the author of our own destiny. We do have power in our thoughts, perceptions and actions to transform our circumstance, our dreams and our reality.

Past experiences can pose obstacles to our present happiness and the attainment of dreams for the future. When Your Past is Hurting Your Present, by Sue Augustine, takes the reader through a 21-day process of reclaiming the self-worth and confidence that may have been diminished by old hurts.

There are many other useful resources, written and personal, that women can use to claim the power to create and realize dreams. Dreaming is not a new idea, and not only essential for women in midlife. Younger and older women, too, may be willing to share a portion of their journey with you. Talk to your friends, colleagues, and sisters about their dreams. You may find great support from those around you that you had no idea was there.

Jan 14/06: Healthy Living with Vitality (Tip #13)

Jan 8/06: Expand Your Mind This New Year (Tip #12)

Each year at this time, we're bombarded with admonitions from advertisers, friends or self to set New Year Resolutions. Many of these have to do with purchasing exercise equipment or joining a fitness club, swearing off junk food and sweets, and all other kinds of physical health improvement plans ... anyone need to lose 20 pounds this year???

Those are all admirable ideas, but it is also a good idea to resolve to improve your mind this year. Expand your knowledge on a particular topic that interests you, read more for enjoyment, read as a method of self exploration and spiritual renewal.

Other suggestions:

• Learn to use the computer or a new program you have yet to try. This will exercise your memory and improve hand/eye coordination.
• Play games—card games, board games, even solitaire stimulates your mind
• Jig saw puzzles
• Play chess or bridge, or learn a new game if these are already familiar to you
• Crossword puzzles
• Sudoku. Solve puzzles with reasoning and logic.
• Read books from a genre that is out of the ordinary for you
• Attend plays, concerts, education sessions
• Memorize poetry, music, verses, the provinces/states and their capitals
• Add a list of numbers without a calculator

Try to increase your awareness of your everyday life experiences. Have you ever been on the drive to work and realize you are almost there but you don't remember the last few blocks? Or travelling to Regina, all of a sudden you are at Chamberlain and you can't remember much past the Grasswoods Esso? Good thing the deer are watching out for cars on the highway! Engage your senses in your awareness:

• Smell/taste—when eating your lunch, try to identify the individual tastes/aromas in your meal: the spices; the different flavours of the salad greens; the flavour of the pasta separate from the sauce.
• Hearing—when listening to your favourite music try to identify the various instruments, pay attention to the lyrics, pick out the voices in harmony, and sing along.
• Sight—on your routine routes to and fro chose to pay close attention to something different each trip. How many stop lights along your route? How many pedestrian crosswalks, how many courteous drivers?
• Touch—Become aware of how common place objects and new objects feel: the quality of the paper from your printer; the softness/roughness of the skin and the pressure of the grip when you shake hands; the texture of fabric; and the cold nip at your nose on the -25 mornings.

Many memories are evoked when we consciously focus on our sensory inputs. The touch of velvet reminds me of the beautiful deep purple velvet dress with the wide, white lace collar that our mother made for my 2-year old sister, how she looked with her little white leotards and black shiny shoes, and that was 35 years ago!

Reminiscing exercises our minds by recalling and rehearsing stories from the past. Some are enjoyable memories and some we might rather not have remembered, but then we can choose to deal with them.

This new year, I wish us all health, happy times, intellectual stimulation and the love of good friends.

Happy New Year, 2006, from the Women's Mid-Life Health Centre

Dec 17/05: Relax—Take a Deep Breath (Tip #11)

Relaxation is one life-enhancing strategy that busy women often neglect. "If I take time to relax, I'll never get everything done" is a mistaken belief that most of us share. The opposite is actually true. Taking time for rest and relaxation breaks throughout the day actually helps us to be more productive and use less physical and mental energy in our efforts to "do it all". Which begs the question, why do we feel we have to do so much?

Relaxation enables us to find that state of internal balance. Consistent practice of relaxation:

• Improves overall feelings of well-being;
• Increases energy, productivity, concentration and memory;
• Decreases feelings of fatigue, tiredness and lethargy;
• Promotes alertness and ability to focus and think more clearly;
• Refreshes our mind, body and spirit;
• Creates a positive attitude and outlook on life;
• Lets us practice saying "no" to something so we can make relaxation a priority;
• Decreases the frequency and severity of hot flashes/night sweats.

But how can you relax? Though there are many strategies for getting to a state of relaxation, the foundation of most relaxation techniques is deep breathing. When we are feeling stressed, one of our body's automatic reactions is shallow, rapid breathing, which can increase our stress response. Taking slow, deep breaths is one way we can get out of the stress response and turn on the relaxation response.

Deep breathing is simple and easy to do:

• Get into a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down. Close your eyes and shut out the busyness around you.
• Place one hand on your abdomen, just below your rib cage.
• Slowly breathe in through your nose. Your abdomen should rise and expand outward as you fill your lungs completely.
• As you inhale, repeat to yourself "I am…"
• Pause. Slowly exhale through your mouth and say "…relaxed." As you empty your lungs completely, your abdomen will fall.
• Pause. Repeat this breathing pattern several more times saying "I am" as you inhale, "…relaxed" as you exhale.
• Concentrate on your breathing. Don't allow other thoughts to come into focus.
• Continue doing this until you feel relaxed: 5, 10 or 20 minutes.
• When you are finished, slowly stretch your whole body. Open your eyes a sliver at a time.
• Practice this exercise several times per day.
• This is a particularly useful thing to do if you have difficulty getting to sleep at night or returning to sleep, if you awaken in the night.

Make deep breathing and relaxation an essential component of every day.

Dec 10/05: Healthy Appetizers (Tip #10)

During the holiday season, appetizers are a great way to add flair to a party or meal. Appetizers may be served hot or cold, simple or elegant. Their purpose is to whet the appetite in anticipation of a meal. However, appetizers can pack a lot of fat and calories in a very small package. If you want to avoid weight gain during the holiday season, choose carefully.

• Minimize items that are deep fried and/or made with pastry. Examples include buffalo wings, sausage rolls, mini tarts or turnovers. Just 6 buffalo wings (without dip) contain 680 calories and 50 grams of fat!
  
  
• Even though nuts are nutritious, a mere handful contains about 120 calories and 11 grams of fat. A healthier choice would be a "trail mix" with nuts, popcorn, pretzels, dried cereal and dried fruit.
  
  
• Go easy on the cheese and cracker tray. Both of these foods can be high in fat and calories. Lower fat choices include bruschetta or a seafood or shrimp cocktail.
  
  
• Try to steer clear of the potato chips and Cheezies™. Pretzels or baked tortilla chips with salsa are better choices. The healthiest option is to dip vegetables and/or fruit in low fat dip made from fat-free sour cream, yogurt, or low fat salad dressing.
  
  
• Be wary of those trays of chocolate and "sweets." Each choice may be 100 calories or more. For example, 1 Turtle™ (17 g) contains 90 calories and 4.5 grams of fat.
  
  
• Too much alcohol can go to your waistline as well as your head. Either limit the number of drinks you have or choose lower calorie options such as wine spritzers, alcohol mixed with diet pop or non-alcoholic 100% fruit juice, tomato juice or diet soft drinks. Watch the eggnog—just one cup of a non-alcoholic variety may contain more than 300 calories and 10 grams of fat.

Dec 3/05: Key to Surviving the Holiday Season—Be Natural (Tip #9)

	Breathe deeply—it will help increase energy levels.
	Exercise 20 minutes, three times a week—running from errand to errand doesn't count!
	Nutrition—three well-balanced meals each day.
	Attitude—negative attitudes are contagious and destructive. Try to see the glass half full.
	Time management—set priorities and don't take on more than you can handle.
	Uniqueness—recognize and treasure your own uniqueness. Say "no" when necessary.
	Relaxation—schedule private time to read or listen to music; a time to not focus on the next item to do.
	Associations—maintain contact with nurturing support systems: colleagues; friends; family.
	Laughter—still the best medicine.

Nov 26/05: Bladder—in control (Tip #8)

Women who experience bladder control problems often suffer in silence. Loss of bladder control can alter your activities for fear of accidents and embarrassment. But, bladder control can be cured or drastically improved. Discover how you can take action and get back in control of your bladder and your life!

Urinary incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine (in any amount, from a few drops to complete bladder emptying) or the inability to control when or where emptying of the bladder will occur. ("I Laughed So Hard I Peed My Pants!" by Kelli Berzuk, physiotherapist, 2002).

There are several types of urinary incontinence:

• Stress incontinence occurs with pressure from sneezing, laughing, running, jumping, lifting. Muscles in the abdomen and pelvis press on the bladder forcing urine out. The cause may be from muscle weakness, pregnancy, delivery, impact exercise, or hormonal changes of menopause.
  
  
• Urge incontinence occurs when the urge to void and the time to get to the bathroom do not correspond! This may be triggered by turning on the tap, putting the key in the lock at home, hearing water running. The cause may be from hormonal changes, bladder irritants, side effects from some medications. For men, an enlarged prostate gland will cause this.
  
  
• There are other types of incontinence but these two types reflect what women most commonly experience. (Some women are doubly blessed with both types!)

What to do?

• Keep a 'voiding diary' for 2 or 3 days and nights. Record:
  
  
• fluid intake (amount and type) e.g. 250 ml diet cola 6:30 p.m.
  
  
• fluid out put, e.g. large amount at 2:00 a.m.
  
  
• accidents e.g. a few drops with a sneeze or huge amount at aerobics class— totally humiliated! Now I know where gym keeps the mop!


• Take your diary with you when you talk to your doctor or the Nurse Continence Advisor about your urine leakage problem.
  
  
• Modify your diet if necessary.
  
  
• Drink 6 to 8 cups of non-caffeinated fluids per day
  
  
• Decrease fluids taken in the evening to avoid night time wakening to void
  
  
• Eliminate bladder irritants:
• Caffeine: no more than 2 cups of coffee, colas or tea
• Alcohol: limit to 1-2 drinks per day
• Nicotine: do not smoke


• Take steps to prevent constipation. Constipation can irritate the bladder and cause urine leakage.
• Exercise
• Fibre
• Fluids


• Do Kegal exercises (Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises)
  
  
• Seek more information:
  
  
• Canadian Continence Foundation
  
  
• Consult local healthcare resources:
• Your physician
• Nurse Continence Advisor for Saskatchewan: Elizabeth Meggs, RN, NCA 306-652-3314

Nov 19/05: Humour (Tip #7)

Of all the healthy life choices, my favourite one to cultivate is humour. My sense of humour gets me through a lot of tight spots in my life (though it has gotten me into a few as well).

Humour is a marvellous holistic health practice that integrates physical, psychosocial and spiritual well-being. Humour and playfulness are mechanisms for survival. They:

• Lighten life
• Promote health
• Improve communication and relationships
• Enhance options and motivation
• Add creativity to problem solving.

Laughter, a behavioural response to humour:

• Increases heart rate and respirations
• Activates muscles in the face, ribs, diaphragm, abdomen
• Positively affects the nervous and immune systems
• Eases pain (check out Anatomy of an Illness by Norman Cousins, 1979)
• Provides distraction
• Increases the body's ability to fight cancer cells.

Humour and laughter create an atmosphere where hope can flourish. Humour that heals is compassionate; it is mutually supportive and builds confidence.

Take a few moments to take a humour inventory for yourself:

• How many times a day do you laugh out loud? Fewer than 12 times a day suggests you need to work on your jocularity.
  
  
• Do you look on the up-side or the down-side of life circumstances? Is your cup half full or half empty?
  
  
• Do you easily share a smile and make eye contact with people you meet?
  
  

If you think your humour inventory looks a bit bleak, here are a few simple things you can do to add to it:

• Create a Joy List. Write down the things that bring you joy.
  
  
• List all your blessings. Some days there will be fewer blessings than others. These are the days you need to be a blessing for someone else.
  
  
• Name 5 things that make you laugh. Keep adding to the list.
  
  
• Play games—board games, card games, go bowling or curling, whatever gets you out of your doldrums and into the laugh light.
  
  
• Surround yourself with upbeat, happy people.
  
  
• Create a Humour Kit. Collect humorous quotes, jokes, cartoons, stories, movies so you have a ready arsenal of light-hearted fun for those days you need a boost. Here are some quotes to get you started:
  
  
• Trouble knocked on the door, but hearing laughter, hurried away. Benjamin Franklin
  
  
• The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter. Mark Twain
  
  
• After thirty, a body has a mind of its own. Bette Midler
  
  
• Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons. Ruth Ann Schabacker
  
  
• And from Barbara Johnson, author, humorist:
• When the road is all downhill, you're probably holding the map upside down.
• Do you ever stop to think…and forget to start up again?
• She, who laughs last, thinks slowest.
• If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?

And finally, check out this fun web-site full of good clean humour: www.minniepauz.com

Nov 12/05: All Aboard! (Tip #6)

Motivation tops the list of barriers for people to make positive lifestyle changes. How do we overcome this? By getting others in our lives on board to help us reach our destination!

Once we come to the point of action in our decision to make healthy life changes, our intentions are pretty good. (And we all know what road uses "good intentions" for pavement!). Getting that action started is the key.

What spurs us on?

• Support, accountability, encouragement. Let someone in on your plan. Once you tell someone else what you are planning to do differently, then you can elicit their support and encouragement. You feel somewhat accountable to live up to the expectation you have placed on yourself, since now someone else knows and will ask you from time to time how you are doing on the new plan.
  
  
• Family play a role here, too. Get them on board. Their willingness to help you will keep you on your path. Example: I need to decrease my indulgence in high fat/salt snacks. Family can help by not bringing those desirable products into the house. If it isn't there, I can't get it....without walking to the store. And, if I am walking to the store, I might as well take the dog for a walk, but he can't go into the store so I won't end up going in to buy chips. There, now I have gone for a walk and not eaten chips, all because those ungrateful offspring won't bring mama any chips. Bless their hearts!
  
  
• Women encourage each other. Call a girl friend to act as an encourager or an accountability partner. If you expect a call to check up on your progress, you will want to have something good to report. Good accountability partners won't listen to your excuses, they tell you to get up and get at it!
  
  
• Partner with someone. This works well for changing physical activity or eating habits. If you have someone to exercise with, you are likely to keep your exercise date. Some days when you just don't feel like going for a run/walk, it is so much easier to just go than having to create a good enough excuse to explain to your friend why you can't go. Just do it!
  
  
• What motivates you? Write down your motivators and then choose one or two and put them into action.

Let your family and friends know your plan and get them on board, then get going full steam ahead. Your health will be better for it!

Nov 5/05: Fruits & Veggies (Tip #5)

Remember what your mama told you? Eat your fruits and veggies! Eating five to ten servings of vegetables and fruit per day as part of a healthy diet can help reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke.

How can we get our 5 to 10 servings a day?

• Aim to eat at least 3 different coloured fruits and 3 different coloured vegetables a day—different colours equals different nutrients.
• Buy pre-washed, pre-chopped salads/vegetables. No more excuses about not enough time!
• Avoid the temptation to drink pop. Buy a vegetable drink instead (but look at the salt/sugar content first).
• Order salad instead of fries. Ask for your dressing on the side and dip your fork into the salad dressing, then pick up your bite of salad. You still get the dressing's flavour, but with fewer calories.
• Use dark green lettuce and spinach for salads.
• Add pieces of fruit to salad or breakfast cereal, e.g. kiwi, raisins, apple, strawberry.
• Instead of icing, use fresh fruit to top your Angel food cake, e.g. strawberries, raspberries, peach slices.
• Try sweet potato.
• Try unusual fruits in season. Pomegranate makes a good snack for movie night! By the time the movie is over, you should be just about finished the pomegranate.
• Dip veggies or fruit in a low fat dressing or low fat yogurt.

Good sources of more information:

• Heart and Stroke Foundation
• Canadian Cancer Society
• Dietitians of Canada

Oct 28/05: Flexibility (Tip #4)

As we age, our ability to stretch and move our joints through a full range of motion naturally declines. For some women, joint pain and stiffness is one of the symptoms in their perimenopause. You can prevent this decline in flexibility with simple stretching exercises and by staying active. Dancing, gardening, housework and many other activities make you bend and stretch.

Flexibility exercises can be done anytime, anywhere. They relieve tension and increase blood flow to the joints and muscles. This is especially important if you sit at a computer a good part of your day.

Arthritis in the Workplace is an excellent web site to check out for this type of exercise. Click on Top 10 Exercises in the right hand panel. Do these exercises a couple of times each day.

Get in the habit or warming up your muscles and joints before physical activities. Stretch again at the end of your activity or exercise session to provide your muscles with a gentle cool down.

If you're looking for some good, gentle exercise programs to try, check out the Forever…in motion Physical Activity Guide for Adults 50 and Better 2005. The on-line version can be found on the web site of the Saskatoon Council on Aging. These references are for Saskatoon, but give you some ideas so check with your local recreation co-ordinator or health centre for exercise programs in your community that might suit you.

Exercise can be fun…even some of the names of classes are appealing. Try the Big Fat Ass Dance Class™: Improvisational Dance for Ordinary Women (306-374-4704 in Saskatoon). Aileen Hayden, the instructor says no experience required, no steps to learn, and any size ass will do. Sign me up!!! Other good flexibility programs would include Yoga, Tai Chi, etc.

Check out the in motion and Saskatchewan in motion web site for more ideas for exercise, flexibility, and fun ideas.

Get your whole family in motion!

Oct 21/05: Rewards (Tip #3)

While you're involved in the process of creating a new healthy habit, giving yourself little rewards along the way provides incentive and a “bonus” as you're headed toward your long term goal. Rewards are sustenance for the soul.

Some women shy away from personal rewards, thinking that rewarding oneself is an act of selfishness. Well, rewards are about being good to yourself and acknowledging your success thus far.

Rewards can be anything that brings you pleasure, a “treat” for reaching a milestone:

• A long luxurious bath ala bubbles, candles and fine beverage
• One chocolate, dark and of good quality (left over Halloween candy does not count)
• A new book, music CD or concert ticket and the time to enjoy
• Massage
• Coffee with a friend
• Movie date
• A walk along the river bank
• A play date with grandchildren
• New lipstick

Include your chosen reward in your overall plan. Then you can set your sights on the small achievable steps, reward yourself for getting there, and then move on to the next step with a new reward in mind.

This summer I had the huge job of weeding my garden. The goal of “remove all weeds from the garden” was overwhelming. Thinking about it usually brought on the urge to nap. So, I broke the task into small steps. Weed for 20 minutes, read my book for 15 minutes, repeat until garden weed free. I set my timer so I wouldn’t be tempted to cheat and forget to go back to weeding. Weeding was the goal. Reading was the reward. It took me a bit longer to get the job done, but it got me started, was manageable and it got done. (I delude myself. When is weeding ever done?!)

We want to hear from you. Email your reward ideas to us and we will share them (anonymously) on future life tips. Go to contact us.

Take care. Enjoy.

Oct 14/05: Water and Fluids (Tip #2)

Water is the most essential of fluids—we can live a lot longer without food than we can without water. Every body cell and body function requires fluid to work properly. Our job is to provide that fluid as part of our healthy life, but staying well hydrated is often a challenge for women. Today's tips should help you meet that challenge!

How much and what type of fluids are recommended?
The basic recommendation for fluid intake is 8-10 glasses (8 ounces or 250 ml) each day.

Additional fluid is needed when:

• You work in an air conditioned building
• You are exercising
• You are outside on a hot day
• You live in Saskatchewan in the winter!

What fluids make good choices?

• Water
• Milk, soy or rice beverages
• Vegetable juices
• Unsweetened fruit juices
• Tea—black, green or herbal

A few things to consider:

• Health benefits of the fluid i.e. nutrients, minerals, etc.
• Calories
• Fat, sugar, salt content
• Caffeine content, 2-3 servings a day are okay for many people (Not Grande size, though!)
• Alcohol, only one serving per day, and sorry, alcohol beverages cannot be added into the fluid balance

Benefits of keeping your fluids up:

• Skin is more supple and less dry, itchy, wrinkly or flakey
• All mucus membranes benefit, nose, mouth and vagina
• Cold beverages help keep core body temperature lower and may help decrease the severity of hot flashes
• Bladder and bowel function better
• More energy!

Keep track of your fluids for a few days just to see what an average day is like for you. Keep a bottle of water at hand at your desk, in the car, at your leisure activity and especially where you exercise. Remember, thirst is a poor predictor of your body’s need for fluid. Don’t wait for thirst to remind you to drink.

Okay, bottoms up!

Oct 7/05: Steps to achieving your goal (Tip #1)

Congratulations! You've chosen to start a new venture to healthy living! You’ve made the biggest step already, deciding that you need to make a change in your life to improve your health. And you are going to act on your decision. Bravo!

• Pick one task to do in order to achieve your goal.
  
  
• Write it down. It's easier to be accountable to your plan when you see it in writing. This is your “I will ….” statement.
  
  
• Post it where you will see it everyday, a reminder of the new thing you will be doing in your life.
  
  
• Be very specific. "I plan to walk" is too vague. “I will walk 30 minutes per day, 4 days a week” is much better.
  
  
• Set up a specific schedule. “I will walk after supper on Tuesday and Thursday, and on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.”
  
  
• Remember to allow yourself a little flexibility—you may want to add an extra walk(!) or change the day or time. You can allow for flexibility, and still be committed to your plan.
  
  
• Keep track of how you're doing … mark it on the calendar.
  
  
• Evaluate every 2 to 3 weeks. How do you feel? Are you moving in the right direction? Have you over- or under-estimated how much you can do? Are there adjustments you can make to improve your plan?
  
  
• Reward success. Plan to give yourself a treat for the little successes along the way. This can be just the motivation some of us need to help us over the "rough patches" on the path towards our goal!