New Year Resolution Part 2

It should come as no surprise that this series of articles is focused on New Year resolutions. After all, many of us look at the start of a New Year as a chance for us to create a new body.

More than 80% of Americans made a New Year's resolution in 2005.

Health and fitness: 26%

Career: 13%

Organization and time management: 13%

Personal growth: 12%

Personal finance: 12%

Family and relationships: 8%

Education and training: 8%

Home improvement and real estate: 4%

Recreation and leisure: 4% (Source: myGoals.com)

10 million-plus Americans will pledge to get fit in 2005 said Katie Rollauer of the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association.

Some of the more intelligent and entertaining gym members at Pick Up The Pace, a 30-minute workout facility for women, suggested that instead of making a New Year resolution, it would be more honest (and funny) to make a New REAR resolution. We tend to agree with them!

So how do we go about making a good New Rear resolution?

In a recent article we discussed how to draft a SMART goal. Remember that a New Rear resolution (or any goal) must be:

a) Specific

b) Measureable

c) Achievable

d) Realistic

e) Time Bound

Now that we've all done our homework and we have our resolution in writing, let's take it one step further and break our goal down by month or even week.

You can make your resolution much more manageable if you break it down into smaller pieces. This will make your resolution much less intimidating.

For example, if you want to lose 60 pounds this year, that may seem overwhelming to you.

But how about setting smaller resolutions. Like losing 10 pounds by the end of February? How about promising to do strength training for the next 2 months every Monday, Wednesday and Friday?

Doesn't that resolution sound much more manageable?

If you keep setting smaller resolutions for yourself throughout the year, before you know it, you will have succeeded in your big resolution.

So, if we haven't done so already, let's get our New Rear resolution in writing. Let's post it on the mirror, on the 'fridge, or in the car.....anywhere we'll see it every day. At the bottom of the page let's write down our short-term resolution. Here's an example:

+ NEW REAR RESOLUTION: I will lose 50 pounds of fat by the end of this year.

+ SHORT-TERM RESOLUTION: I will exercise 4 times per week until Easter with the goal of losing 1 pound per week (on average). My exercise will be at the gym each Monday, Wednesday and Friday with a 25 minute walk over the weekend.

See how much SMARTer it is to create a short-term resolution? The typical New Rear resolution is overwhelming.....lose 50 pounds of fat?!?! Are you kidding? But the short-term resolution is manageable. We can do that! Not only can we do it, but if we do it IT WILL WORK. Losing 1 pound of fat each week x 52 weeks in a year = WE ACHIEVED OUR GOAL!

At the end of the short-term resolution (Easter, in this example) all we have to do is measure our progress and write up a new short-term goal. It's that easy.

Goals and resolutions are a wonderful thing. They help us stay motivated, and they show us the light at the end of the tunnel. So let's make sure we have our own New Rear resolution in place. We can do it!

* Copyright 2005 Pick Up The Pace. Permission is not required for the distribution of Pick Up The Pace articles as long as they are used in their entirety, are properly credited to Pick Up The Pace, and are accompanied by our website link: www.letspickupthepace.com.

* The information in this article and on this site is for general reference purposes only and not intended to address specific medical conditions. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical exam. Prior to participating in any exercise program or activity, you should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional. No information in this article or on www.letspickupthepace.com should be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition.

Tracie Johanson is the founder of Pick Up The Pace, a 30-minute exercise studio for women, focusing on fitness, health and nutrition for maximum weight loss. Please visit http://www.letspickupthepace.com for more information.

Diabetes and Your Mouth

We diabetics have to pay even more attention to our teeth and gums than other people.

We are at greater risk of cavities, gum disease and tooth infections. Not only that, but those infections can cause our blood sugar to rise, so it becomes a vicious cycle.

Here are some mouth problems common in diabetics.

Plaque

Plaque is, of course, a problem for many people, not just diabetics. But it's caused by starches and sugars, and of course we have more than our share of those! So diabetics are highly prone to plaque.

Dry mouth

Sometimes my mouth is so dry in the morning I can hardly speak?I'm sure you know how that feels. But it's more than just inconvenient, it's dangerous to the health of our mouths. You see, saliva washes away many of the bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease. Dry mouth cuts the amount of saliva available for this job, so the result is more cavities and gum disease. Dry mouth sometimes also creates inflammation of the soft tissue in the mouth, making eating difficult and unpleasant.

While there are artificial saliva substitutes, which your dentist can tell you about, you can usually stimulate your own saliva by sucking on a sugar-free hard candy. I like no-sugar-added Ricola for this purpose. And of course, drinking water helps.

Fungal infections

Not only do we diabetics have less saliva than we need, but the saliva we do have is high in sugar content, so it's double trouble for us. This can cause a fungal infection called candiasis, commonly known as thrush. It produces sore red or white spots in the mouth. Medication can help though, so ask your dentist.

As a diabetic, you must pay great attention to oral hygiene. Brush your teeth twice a day, and floss daily. Examine your gums for signs of problems?and always visit your dentist at least twice a year.

Bob Fleming suffers from Type 2 diabetes, but he does everything he can to suffer as little as possible! Visit his website at http://www.thediabetesinfoplace.com for informative articles and resources, and sign up to receive http://www.thediabetesinfoplace.com/ Bob's free weekly diabetic-friendly dessert recipe!

History of the Contact Lens The Vision of Leonardo Da Vinci

Although I have been wearing contact lenses for just over two years now, my first recollection of lenses was from bob-a-job week when I was eleven years old. My sister had recently started wearing them. Attempting to put them in one day she's dropped one and couldn't find it. The whole family helped and I was the lucky soul who managed to find it by a better method than standing on it. For my troubles, my mother kindly gave me 11p towards my bob-a-job total.

(For those in countries other than the UK, Bob-a-Job was something that members of the Boy Scouts would do once a year. During a specific week of the year, normally in the Spring months, doorbells and knockers up and down the length of the country would sound as eager, scrubbed faces joyfully announced to those foolish enough to answer the door Bob a job week, have you any jobs you'd like doing? Tradition was that you'd find a simple, innocent and non taxing job for them to do and then give them a bob or two. All the money they collected would then be handed into the scoutmaster at the end of the week and passed to charity. I was glad never to be one of the sorry victims who ended up having to clean a car inside and out for 10p!)

Now the contact lenses my sister had were scary. It was in the time when contact lenses were made out of non permeable glass! ( I shudder even now at the thought of having to try and place a thin sliver of curved glass into my eyes!)

But it got me to pondering recently - what is the history of contact lenses? When did they first appear and who was the first person to think of them? The answers will, I think, surprise you quite a bit.

So - starting from the beginning, can you think who might have dreamed up the contact lens? A famous or pioneering doctor maybe? An optician thinking way before his years?

And in what year did the first contact lens idea spring up? Who had the vision of foresight - if you'll pardon the pun?

Well, not unsurprisingly, the first person to dream the concept of a contact lens was none other than Leonardo da Vinci in 1508!! It's surprising that it was in 1508 but not at all surprising that the father of so many far sighted concepts, Leonardo da Vinci, should be the man to first sketch the idea.

Nothing really happened for over a century once Leonardo had thought of them. After all, they didn't exactly have the precision tools and knowledge to make them at that time.

So it's again surprising to find that in 1632 a Frenchman called Rene Descartes came up with the idea for the corneal contact lens. This idea was left on the shelf for almost another two centuries until 1801, when Thomas Young evolved Descartes's idea to correct his own sight by using a quarter inch long glass tube, filled with water and a microscopic lens at the far end.

Development of the contact lenses we know today started to speed up from this point in time.

In 1827 (although it maybe as early as 1823, opinions differ on this point) the English astronomer Sir John Herschel introduced the idea of actually grinding the contact lens to a specific shape to better conform to the eye's shape.

Then the breakthrough. In 1887 the German glassblower F Muller made the first ever contact lenses specially made to be worn on the eye without causing irritation. This kickstarted two opticians from separate countries - Edouard Kalt of France and Eugen Fick of Switzerland - to report that they had used contact lenses to correct the sight of patients successfully.

In the US - William Feinbloom made the first ever American lenses in New York and introduced the idea of plastic as an optional material. Delayed by the not too small event of World War Two, the AOA (American Optometric Association) declared contact lenses a formal practice of optometry in 1945.

Following this approval, work on designing the best lenses proceeded apace. In 1950 Dr. G Butterfield designed a corneal lens, an important step forwards in that it allowed lenses to be created that would follow the shape of the eye instead of sitting on top of it.

Ten years later in 1960 Otto Wichterie and Drahoslav Lim begin experimenting with water absorbing soft plastic as a means of making lenses. Eleven years later in 1971, the soft lens officially became available for commercial use in the US with the rest of the world following at varying degrees, dependant on their ruling medical bodies granting permission for use of the material.

And it is this step which gives us the biggest move in making lenses commercially available today.

Based on the acceptance worldwide of soft lenses, we now have the different styles we know today. Rigid Gas Permeable lenses, toric lenses, tinted and colored lenses, bifocal lenses - all the different lenses we have were born from that point.

So when you get to the end of a day and stand before your bathroom mirror, carefully taking out your lenses and placing them in their overnight lens case - just pause a second and think of Leonardo and those clever people who came after him.

From the simple sketches of an idea in a book filled with clever, before their time ideas, through the dedication and imagination of more clever people and finishing with you standing in your bathroom balancing a small sliver of plastic on the tip of a finger, the contact lens has had one hell of a journey already!

Do you have the vision to see where it should go now?

Copyright::Rufus Steele 2005

Rufus Steele loves writing and has covered a variety of different topics. Anything that takes his interest or tickles his funny bone gets written about. You can read more of his articles and reviews of Contact Lenses at Contact-Lens-Info-Online.com

Preseli Venture Helps Companies Take Positive Action on Mental Health

Mental health is a huge issue for companies and it has a direct impact on the bottom line, so Preseli Venture is keen to encourage clients to give their team a ?mental health boost? and give them time, away from the office, to think about coping with this important topic.

Nearly three in 10 employees will have a mental health problem in any year, and more than ?4bn is lost annually to stress-related absences from work, according to the Mental Health Foundation.

Improving physical health may sound surprising but the Mental Health Foundation is running a year-long campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of exercise in treating mild to moderate depression. Also, exercising for half an hour at least twice a week during midlife significantly reduces a person?s risk of dementia in later life.*

Furthermore, researchers from the University of Hull have suggested that drawing ideas from sports psychology, where participants in outdoor activities showed improved mental toughness and also less stress when exposed to demanding tasks, can help people cope with the ever-demanding pressures of working life.

Preseli Venture aims to give companies an unbeatable cocktail for great mental health ? and even better business performance. Combining the recognised benefits of exercise and fresh air with the theory that being in and connecting to nature can itself provide mental health benefits is a sure winner. People find there are real mental health benefits after spending a few days in the spectacular Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, enjoying the glow of achievement and sense of well-being that can only come from sharing fun, refreshing adventure activities.

Sophie set up Preseli Venture in 1988, with her husband, Nick. She is passionate about spending time in a wilderness environment and pushing herself into her 'adventure zone'. Sophie is committed to helping companies develop better internal and external relationships through sharing fantastic experiences in the stunning Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

Basic Relaxation Techniques Create Better Health

Basic Relaxation Technique

When you first try this exercise, you may want to begin by lying on the floor or on your bed. However, if you are tired, you may find that you cannot stay awake and you won't be able to develop the skill of conscious relaxation. This is a great exercise to help you sleep better at night, but for purposes of developing an awakened sense of relaxation, consider whether lying down works for you or not. If you too easily drift off to sleep, begin by sitting in a chair where you are comfortable and your back is straight and your feet touch the floor.

Loosen any tight clothing, such as your shoes, collar, or belt. Whether you begin by lying on the floor or not, you will eventually graduate to sitting either in a chair or on the floor. The purpose of this technique is to be able to mentally call relaxation to your body anytime, anywhere regardless of where you are or what physical position you find yourself. You are going to scan your entire body, locating tension pockets and relax each area, one area at a time, releasing tension completely. Here's how:

Focus your attention on your breath until your breathing begins to slow and deepen. Keep your mind focused on your breath. You might also conjure some peaceful image as you do this exercise. As you do so, you have already begun to relax.

You attention will first focus on your feet, beginning at the toes. Starting with the toes, wiggle your toes, squeezing and flexing, and then relax and release any tension. Next, rotate the ankles, followed by flexing and pointing the feet. Then relax and release. Move up to the calves and the long muscles of the thighs with your attention, tensing and relaxing until you can let the tension go; your feet will fall outward comfortably.

Next, move your attention to your abdomen, midriff and lower back. This is another part of your body that can easily carry excess tension. Tighten your abdominals; hold the tension for a count of five, and then release. Do this two more times, releasing tension each time you relax. You may find yourself adjusting the angle of your lower back as you encounter and release tension.

Shoulders and arms are next. Shrug your shoulders, tense and release your arms, clench and release your hands. Do this three times and finally, release all tension and let your arms and shoulders relax. Even as you are relaxing and feeling your tension drain away, remember to continue focusing on your breath. Between each area of focus, draw your attention back to the breath and let all tension leave your body with the out-breath and draw in a sense of relaxation with the in-breath.

Are there any other tense muscles in your head or face or neck? Probably, since this is a major focal point for tension. Focus directly on your facial muscles, opening the mouth and eyes wide three times and then consciously release tension and let your face relax. If you feel tension in your neck, turn your head slowly to the right and then the left a few times and finally, settle the neck to relax. Finally, shift your attention to the very top of your head. Consciously tighten the scalp by lifting your eyebrows and then scrunching them. Do this a few times and when you release and relax the tension, your scalp will relax.

At first you may have to retrace these steps until all regions of your body are relaxed at the same time. Keep at it until you are able to relax completely. By focusing attention and deliberate movement on various areas of the body, you are able to let those muscles to relax.

When you have mastered this method of relaxation, you will have gained control of the tension you are prone to carrying in your body and you will be able to relax at will for the rest of your life. Focusing on your breath, you can maintain this sense of control by simple association. As a result, you can relax even if you are in a room full of people. This is also a great beginning point to begin your meditation.

In time, being able to relax will not take you 15 to 20 minutes, but rather moments. By simply scanning the body with the mind, and focusing on the breath, you will be able to achieve quickly any level of relaxation you desire.

(c)2005 TAO Consultant, Inc. All rights reserved.
Website: www.taototem.com

Chesa Keane has taught meditation and self-help for more than 30 years. To receive your free starter Basic Meditation and Basic Relaxation Techniques and an introduction to a unique meditation tool, the TAO Totem, visit: http://www.taototem.com

Acid Reflux Part 3 Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR)

While Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR) is cited in some journals as a part of GERD, it presents its own set of symptoms and potential health problems. LPR affects the larynx, pharynx, bronchi, trachea, and possibly even one's lungs.

LPR occurs when the upper esophageal sphincter (UES) opens and allows reflux to enter the throat. Since the components of the affected area (see the list above) are constructed of softer tissue that the esophagus, the potential for damage is greater from stomach acid and digestive enzymes. And if the reflux is aspirated, or breathed into the lungs, the risk is increased for one to develop aspiration pneumonia. Other pulmonary problems whish may manifest are coughing, wheezing, asthma (especially adult onset), and interstitial fibrosis (the tissue in the lungs becomes inflamed and/or scarred). Excess acid reaching one's mouth can also lead to the decay of the tooth enamel, gingivitis, halitosis, and waterbrash.

Further complications can include odynophagia and dysphagia. And pharynx symptoms can include laryngitis, hoarseness, soreness, the sensation of a lump in one's throat (globus), and earache due to fluids entering one's Eustachian tubes between the throat and the ear.

Overall symptoms may include the above plus:

- Dysphonia
- Frequent throat clearing
- Post nasal drip
- Spasm of the larynx

- Blockage of the breathing passage
- Swallowed food coming back up
- Difficulty singing, especially the loss of vocal range.

Diagnosis of LPR can be more difficult, due in part to the fact that less than 15% of those affected have the heartburn associated with typical GERD symptoms. Your physician or health care provider may do a laryngoscopy to diagnose and evaluate the condition. Please consult him/her as quickly as possible if you experience any of the aforementioned symptoms.

Other testing may include:

- pH testing - two sensors are placed (one on each end of the esophagus) to determine if the reflux is reaching one's upper esophagus and to assess the pH content of the reflux.

- Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, if one complains of dysphagia or odynophagia

Lifestyle changes:

These are the same as those mentioned in Part 2 of this three-part series.

Medical treatments:

- Antacids - Prescription medications to reduce acid production in the stomach
- the Nissen Fundoplication mentioned in Part 2.

As with treatment of GERD one's physician may recommend one, or a combination, of the treatments cited, depending on the severity of your case. And it is recommended that one seek medical care as quickly as possible, should one experience any of the symptoms described in these articles.

Please remember that Acid Reflux can lead to very serious health issues, including some forms of cancer, if left untreated. So see your physician as often as needed to alleviate this potentially devastating disease.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Acid Reflux
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Understanding Acne and Its Devastating Results

There are many days that get started off with a frightful scream or heartbreaking dismay from both men and women. The source of this shock and disappointment is an inflamed greasy and oily clogged up skin pore.

Acne is an unwelcome blemish on anyone?s face; it can be quite painful too. If left untreated, acne can leave an unpleasant scar on the face, neck or back. Unlike the common pimple, acne can be inflamed and possibly turn out to be infected.

Hormones that go into overdrive during the teen years of a person cause acne, they produce an excess of oil deposits in the glands resulting to this skin blemish. While they are not particularly life threatening or are they extremely painful and disturbing they can leave permanent scars in the affected area.

Acne usually happens around the teenage years, from 13 to 19, and usually disappears there after. Different people have different levels or seriousness of acne infection. These will all depend on the amount of oils and dirt the face has. While some have minor infections that can be treated by simply washing the affected area, there are those that necessitate the consultation of a dermatologist or a skin expert.

Acne may not seem to be a serious matter for some, but it is an infection that can greatly affect many. There are people with acne who locks themselves up in their rooms waiting for the acne to disappear. It is a serious blemish that they cannot show to the world. Every year, ointments and acne medication has estimated sales of over a hundred million dollars. This just shows how many people are dead serious in eliminating acne.

Article written by Hector Milla, editor of http://www.acnetreatmentstips.com, a website pointing Proactive acne treatments, visit their directory for further resources about acne at http://www.acnetreatmentstips.com/directory/, thanks for publish this article in your website or ezine keeping a live link.