Never ran more than a mile in your life but yet your heart skips a beat when you see that look of satisfaction on a runner after a marathon? That can be you. Whether you’re 25 or 40, if you have the determination and the right training schedule — everything is possible! Here are some quick tips to get you started:

GET FRIENDS INVOLVED
Training with friends brings fun and encouragement into the picture. Involving your friends will keep you motivated to do your runs even on lazy days.

MIX THE IN AND OUT
Don’t do all of your training in the gym. While the treadmill is a good way to start building your endurance, the actual run is going to be outside — so you need to get used to it. Hit the gym on the weekdays, and then run outside on the weekends with your friends.

STRETCH YOUR BODY
Make stretching a part of your warm up and cool down. It’ll prepare your muscles for the stress and help prevent injuries and cramps.

If 26 miles is too much to fathom, why not start by training for a 10k (that’s 20 miles less than a full marathon)! Take little steps towards achieving a satisfying, healthy goal.

Happy running!

Honey lovers are always distressed to learn that a lot of the conventional sticky stuff is laden with gunk like pesticides, antibiotics, and cyanide, used to harvest honey from bee colonies.

That’s why there is a lot of buzz about Deluxe Honeydrop drinks. They are mildly sweetened with all-natural, pesticide-free honey extracted by organic beekeepers in the Amazon - beekeepers committed to preserving the natural habitats and lifecycles of our pollinating pals.

Founder David Luks (the “Deluxe” in his company’s namesake) believes honey’s mix of fructose and glucose is nature’s perfect complex carbohydrate, so it makes nature’s perfect sports drink. But this isn’t some nasty health drink. The  flavors - apple, blueberry, blood orange, and chamomile –  are delectable. These tasty treats boast nutrients for optimum health benefits, which is why Deluxe Honeydrop is the bee’s knees.

If it were a perfect world, you and I would be eating about 9 different fruits and veggies a day, exercise often, and love it.  However, the world is not perfect, and neither are the humans living in it.  Fruit and veggies can be delicious, but sometimes putting the time and effort to prepare or purchase such a variety can be a task few can achieve and maintain.  Here are some vital nutrients we need, where to find them, and the alternative: a multivitamin.

Calcium Every woman is at risk for developing osteoporosis and we need at least 1,000 milligrams a day.  You can find calcium in milk, yogurt, cheese and canned salmon.

Vitamin D This vitamin helps calcium get absorbed into your body to maintain bone strength as well as promoting your immune system.  You need at least 400 International Units a day and can be found in fortified milk, cod liver oil, salmon, and swiss cheese.

Folic Acid You need this especially when you are preparing for a child or are pregnant already.  Studies have shown that a lack of folic acid can be linked to developmental problems for your child.  You need 400 micrograms a day and you can find these in leafy greens and legumes.

Iron Essential to your body for transportation of oxygen throughout your body, muscle maintenance, and prevention of anemia, you need 18 milligrams a day.  Iron is usually found in lean beef, spinach, shrimp and, yummy, liver.

These are only a few vitamins you need.  So unless you eat a lot of fruit, nuts, veggies and drink milk daily, then perhaps an “insurance” plan would be a multivitamin.  You don’t lost much from taking one a day and it will give you all the essential nutrients you need for a healthy life.  However, you still need to eat healthy and exercise, as well as avoid smoking and excessive drinking.  What a multivitamin does is give you the vitamins you may have missed that day, not a day pass to indulge in chocolate all day.  You can find some great multivitamins at your local food store.  Ultimately, it is being aware of what your body needs and making the conscious effort to treat it as your temple.

The average adult requires about seven to nine hours of sleep. It allows time for your body to heal itself and rejuvenate for a new day.  If you are getting less sleep but find yourself needing naps, coffee, or other stimulants to keep you up during the day, read on.

When you are sleep deprived, a roller coaster of negative effects occur in your body.  Your blood pressure increases, which spikes up your risk of stroke and heart disease. Levels of insulin resistance also increase, causing blood sugar levels to go up higher than normal, therefore leading to higher chances of diabetes. Your production of antibodies go into decline, making your immune system more susceptible to illness, allergies, and feeling overall like crap. With less sleep, you demonstrate poor memory, slower reaction time (which explains a lot of car accidents due to lack of sleep), and decreased cognitive ability. Occupational and Environmental Medicine once did a study in 2000 that showed people who have not slept for 17-19 hours demonstrate the same motor and cognitive skills of a person who has a blood alcoholic content of 0.05%, with a decrease in alertness by 77%, response speed by up to 15% and reaction time by 200%.

If that doesn’t scare you enough, that is just the beginning.  When your blood pressure goes up, your levels of cortisol also go up.  Cortisol is a hormone that instigates the stress response.  So here you are, sleepy, and you are stressed for no reason but the fact that you are sleepy.  Your body is trying to keep you stressed so you stay awake.  If you think that’s good, think again.  Being constantly in stress mode, you actually make your body agitated and unable to function normally.  Therefore your  metabolism goes down and you start gaining weight.  Studies have shown that increases in cortisol levels demonstrate an increase in abdominal fat and overall weight gain.

So why do you need your beauty sleep? Not because for beauty’s sake.  Your health depends on it.  A beautiful snob is gorgeous inside and out.  Here is how you can get better sleep.

Get a routine. Have a consistent sleeping schedule, even on the weekends.  To help you get to sleep easier, try reading a light book or magazine before bed or listen to soft music.

Don’t worry, be sleepy. When you are worried, you end up having horrible sleep.  Your body just can’t get into the deep sleep it needs to rejuvenate.  Make time before bed a key time to just be at peace and quiet.  Try relaxation techniques also.  Forward bending yoga poses, such as the child’s pose, is great.

Turn off the tube.  In fact, don’t have a TV in your room.  The light from the TV can make your body’s natural clock think it’s earlier than it is, making sleep difficult.  TV programming is usually stimulating, so it only keeps your body awake instead of calming it down.

Eat well. Avoid heavy and spicy meals before bed.  Also don’t drink so many fluids right before you sleep, or expect visits to the toilet in the middle of the night, which messes up your sleeping patterns.  Liquids definitely include alcohol and caffeine, which both end up interfering with your sleep.  Foods that help you sleep include whole-grain, low-sugar cereals, granolas, and bread with peanut butter or some turkey.  A banana helps and even some low-fat milk or yogurt.

Make your room a place to sleep.  Make sure your bed is large, soft and welcoming.  Invest in cozy comforters and super soft sheets.  Eliminate unnecessary noise.  If neighbors keep you up, you can turn on a fan to make some sort of white noise to block them out.  Keep your room dark by turning off the lights and using your window blinds effectively to block out street lights.  Keep your room at a comfortable temperature and make sure you have enough ventilation.

Lastly, exercise regularly. Morning and afternoon exercise is considered better, as evening exercise may stimulate the body.  However, any exercise is good, so fit it in to give your body a “thanks” for all it’s doing for you during the day.  Check out our older article regarding catching some more zzz’s.

Your body is your temple.  Treat it well, and it will do the same for you.  Happy sleeping!

Special thanks to a friend who helped provide some useful research for this article.

I recently started going to a pilates studio and I am loving it! I tend to call myself a yoga-lover, but adding some pilates for core strengthening and toning is great for every body.

Pilates focuses on mind-body movements that improve flexibility, agility and has shown to decrease lower back pain. It uses a floor mat and exercise equipment to challenge your body in a safe environment.

I’ve used Winsor Pilates before, but nothing compares to a class with an instructor to guide your movements. My abs feel tighter and my arms and thighs look more sleek after a few weeks. It takes hard work, but it’s totally worth it. Prepare for summer with pilates and find a studio near you!

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Image Credit: www.pilates.com

We hear all about it in magazines, television ads, everywhere. Take this pill and you will lose weight! Drink only lemon water for a week for a beach body! Eat only cabbage for a thinner you! Please. Keep doing diets and you will go up and down in weight like a yo-yo.

A diet is temporary and usually unhealthy. A person can safely lose 1.5 to 2 pounds a week by lifestyle changes. The key is lifestyle. You are making changes in your life, for the long term. Not one week. Not three days. Eating healthy is forever.

So throw away those Atkins books, the Zone diets, and the South Beach diet guides. Start making changes in your daily routine that you can consistently do in the long run. Yes, you can have that brownie, but not the entire tray. Enjoy that handful of chips, but don’t grab the entire bag. Hungry? Have a piece of fruit and go jogging.

A snob has lots of desires, but she will not sacrifice her health to fit into those leather leggings, no matter how hot they may eventually look. The snob is already fabulous.

There are a lot of foods out there that we consume. Do you know what the nutritional contents are? Knowing what we’re eating enables us to make better choices for our health. A great resource is Nutrition Data . This website has the most detailed breakdown of all foods. From apples to apple pies, you can find the good and the bad about what you eat.

Nutrition Data offers other great tools and features that include a body mass index calculator, weight loss tips, as well as a breakdown of the amount of calories your body needs in order to reach or maintain a certain weight. It also has current information pertaining to health and a ton of delicious recipes to try at home. Sign up for their newsletter for the latest information about nutrition and health. Remember, knowledge is power.

Honestly, do you sleep enough? Young adults should sleep about 9 hours a night, according to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Sleeping in on weekends does not help you make up sleep either. You need regular, consistent night time zzz’s in order to maintain quality health. Along with a good diet and regular exercise, sleep is a huge factor to your performance at school, work, and life in general. Here are some tips:

Sleep regularly, even on weekends. A late night out occasionally is okay, but if you sleep at odd hours during the weekend, it can actually effect your sleep schedule during the regular week too.

Avoid heavy meals before bedtime. That tends to sit in your stomach and may lead to discomfort before going to sleep. Your body also is still digesting, so it may not be ready for sleep.

Stop watching television or blasting the latest hit CD before bedtime, which tends to stimulate your brain and makes it hard to fall asleep. Try reading a good book or write in a journal before bed.

Reduce caffeine consumption. From teas to lattes, the caffeine you consume in the morning can still have an effect on your sleep schedule at night.

Stretch before bed to relax your muscles. Deep breathing is also good if you are especially stressed right before bedtime. Yoga is also an amazingly calm workout to do before bedtime.

Our company, a health care services provider, is going to roll out a computerized documentation program starting in June, eliminating all paperwork and scheduling. This new program will create our daily schedule, our tasks, and automatically remind us of when deadlines are due or if we made an error in our documentation or billing. Sure, it may save time after we figure out the system, but it also makes us think less.

It makes me wonder whether some of the digital tools are making our generation the most empty-headed? Most of the technology we are using in today’s culture include cool gadgetry, from snazzy cell phones to colorful laptops, that only immerse us into a digital world full of distraction. Instead of opening a novel, we read blogs, which are small bites of commentary and news. Instead of writing complete sentences, we use “ROFL” or “WTH.” We may be gaining speed in our typing skills, but are losing enriching opportunities to build our character, as well as our vocabulary.

We are focusing more on ourselves. Networking sites, YouTube, and blogs have made everyone feel as if their lives and words matter the most. We are intensely into ourselves, our friends, and what is happening now. The content is pretty anticlimactic on most sites. Do your friends care how you feel today? Do they really check your status symbol? Probably not, as they are more focused on how they feel and their own status. We may be interacting more using the internet than, say, watching television, but the value added from all this daily media saturation is probably not making us any smarter.

Something we can all do is to cut down on digital time. Check out the article regarding interacting with life. Going to the gym, watching a play, reading a book, cooking a new dish, dining out with friends at a new restaurant, and even taking a small vacation is a good start to less time in front of the screen. I am definitely a culprit to spending too much time online, and have started to shut down my laptop at a certain time so I can read, exercise, or just laugh with my boyfriend. It has definitely made me more aware of my time online, and while I have yet to find a good balance, I believe I am taking that conscious effort to making my life better, one less click at a time.

As you all know, I started doing pilates and love it! I still do yoga at home, but since pilates is a new workout, I need the extra attention from an instructor to guide my body towards the correct movements. Sarah Graves, the instructor, gave The Conscious Snob a personal interview about herself and how all of us can be fit and fabulous. She’s taught for the past two years as a personal trainer and wellness coach for studios, one-on-one, and with companies such as Google and Cisco. Here are her words.

How did you come about choosing pilates? Why pilates for you?

It took me a long time to try pilates, let alone become a pilates instructor! I was much more comfortable riding my bike, running, skiing, swimming, doing aerobics and step, and lifting weights. My body was not flexible and it was so hard to sit up straight, open my chest, hold neutral spine! Every time I tried a mind/body class like yoga or pilates I vowed I would never go again, because my body just couldn’t do the movements!

About 7 years ago I was working with a personal trainer who was really pro-pilates. Many of the exercises I did with her were based on pilates principles, and before long I started feeling more comfortable with doing pilates exercises. It really made a difference learning how to do the moves with her one-on-one, as she worked with me to get the right form, both on the mat and on the reformer.

About two years after this I began teaching group exercise classes for fun in my spare time. My mindset was more traditional fitness rather than mind/body, but with my instructor’s encouragement, I decided to go for it and teach pilates! I spent many hours taking courses through Balanced Body University and fulfilling the student teaching requirements necessary to receive certifications in both mat and reformer pilates. I also received my personal trainer certification through AFAA, which allows me to work one-on-one with people needing more personalized workouts.

It has turned out to be the most satisfying for me to teach pilates to other people now, probably because it was so hard for me at first. I really listened to the cueing, worked really hard to get the movements right, and because it is so ingrained in me now, I find it delightful when I can get someone else to stay motivated and happy when they can get a difficult move done correctly, or see results from their continued practice! I really enjoy this form of exercise and have recently decided to pursue teaching pilates as a career because I believe in it so much and really know that it works!

What is your health routine?

I indoor cycle and do step aerobics three times a week, walk the dog everyday or hike in the hills at Rancho San Antonio and do mat pilates 6-8 times per week. I also try to practice on the reformer.

What advice do you have for people who are new to pilates and want to get healthy?

Pilates is a shift in mindset from the traditional methods of exercise, and it takes a commitment of time and energy. There are a lot of things to remember at first, so try not to get discouraged if something seems hard, or you can’t get the breathing right. It will all come with time. To experience the optimal benefits of pilates, it’s important to practice regularly. I recommend a minimum of 3 times per week, more if you can make the time. Whether in class or at home, practicing pilates on a consistent basis will accelerate your learning and greatly enhance your overall health.

What pointers would you give to people to stay motivated to be healthy?

The most important advice to living healthier is to make a commitment to an exercise and diet regimen and stick with it! The trick is finding a motivating factor that works for you. Doing anything is better than doing nothing. Setting realistic positive goals and working towards achieving them will work. There is so much information about proper diet and exercise, it is hard to miss it. Finding a friend to do things with you, getting a personal trainer, talking to a nutritionist, are all first steps in the right direction.

So many of us have desk jobs that pull our bodies out of alignment; giving us shoulders that are hunched forward, back problems, tight hip flexors and hamstrings. The more you move around the better you’ll feel. The more pilates you do, the stronger and more flexible you’ll become. You won’t want to eat poorly, you’ll sleep better at night! It snowballs into a healthy lifestyle.

What aspects of your lifestyle are you most happy and proud about?

I am happy that I have been able to take what I know and pass it on to others interested in maintaining some level of fitness. It makes me happy and proud to think that I may have influenced or motivated someone to live healthier. I am also happy to see that I have been able to influence my children’s health choices by living healthy and showing them by example.

Check out Sarah-Graves.com for more information on her services and schedule of classes, based northern California.