~ Tips to help with Stress and Anxiety ~

We worry about our family members. We worry what the boss thinks about our work. We worry about traffic and being late. A little worry helps keep us in line, so we do a good job. Stress can be helpful in dealing with an unsolved problem. A mild amount is considered good for the normal person, but for some us, anxiety can be overwhelming and start to consume our whole lives if we are not careful. It interrupts our sleep causing nightmares and insomnia.

I have friends that are workaholics, and they can’t slow down and relax. They are bored the first few days of vacation because it takes a few days for them to unwind.

We have all heard that you need to get your heart rate up with exercise. Your mind and body also need down time to deal with the stress building up in your body. Some people do this by walking, meditating, or by praying. Others find solace in reading a book, but that doesn’t always give your mind time to relax. 

Here are a few tips to relax:

1. If you are worried about something out of your control, tell yourself over and over that everything is going to be fine and will work out for the best. 

2. Try to be positive when things are getting you down. Being negative and worrying about an outcome could trigger depression or unhappy feelings. A positive attitude helps you achieve your goals and improves the ability of being happy with your life. Norman Vincent Peale has written many books on the power of having a positive attitude. If this is your issue, I recommend picking up one of his books.

3. Try to relax by deep breathing exercises. Inhale for 5 seconds, hold for 5 seconds, and then exhale for 5 seconds. Repeat 5 times, and you will start to relax. 

4. As you do the deep breathing exercises, try to clear your head. Remove all stressful thoughts by thinking about nature. I usually think about a sunset at the beach or springtime flowers. Many athletes visualize about making the play or crossing the finish line. This helps realize their goals are within reach.

More stories and photos:  bloggergirlapril.com and http://thelatesttoday.blogspot.com.

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~ 7 Things to Enhance Your Day ~

Quick Fixes to Improve Your Mood and Stress Level

1. Be in the Present.

Forget the past. Don’t cry over something you can’t change. Try focusing on today and making plans for tomorrow. Tell yourself today is a great day.

2. Improve your posture.

Sitting up straight can help improve your attitude. Notice how you are sitting and make the changes.

3. Listen to music.

Happy music changes your emotional state. Find an upbeat song to get the day going.

4. Take deep breaths.

Inhale for 5 seconds, Hold for 5 seconds, and then Exhale for 5 seconds. Repeat 5 times, and you will start to relax.

5. Message your temples.

Lightly messages your temples in a circular motion. Another good spot is the base of the skull (back of the neck) on each side of the spine.

6. Take a walk.

After taking the time to exercise, you will feel much better. There is a definite link between healthy mind and a healthy body.

7. Talk to a friend.

A friendly hello or smile can make a big difference to the next person you encounter. Even better say hello to a friend. It’s nice to hear their voice.

More stories and photos:
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April

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Favorite Nature Photos from April 2016

My favorite pictures taken by me, April Kooy Riley, over the month of April 2016.

A brown booby flying over the Caribbean Sea next to a cruise ship.

A beautiful flower photographed in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. 

A wildflower photographed at Grayton Beach Start Park in Florida, USA.

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron enjoys a crab in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. 

A wildflower photographed at Grayton Beach Start Park in Florida, USA.

I’m having a difficult deciding which picture I like the best. I have narrowed it down to these five. Let me know what you think.

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bloggergirlapril.com and thelatesttoday.blogspot.com/

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See you later!

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Photography: Better Composition

Composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a photograph. In photography, the rule of thirds is used. Basically cut your photograph in thirds to make visual impact.

This photo focuses on the ladybug.

This photo focuses on the leaf than on the ladybug, but it also gives movement since there's room for the ladybug to move visually.

It's good to get in close for a detail photo. A clean background helps that detail stand out.

Then moving back to get the whole picture.

In doing selfies, I recommend getting more background to show personality or to show where you are.

Or get in close to show your expression.

More stories and photos: bloggergirlapril.com and thelatesttoday.blogspot.com/

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~ How to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes ~

Or Get Better Control of your Diabetes.

Many people believe the vegetarian diet is extremely healthy, but that depends on what foods they are enjoying. A low starch diet based on different vegetables is very healthy. A diet based on potatoes, rice, and pasta have a high glucose content and a high amount of calories to cause weight gain. Last year, my cousin gained 50 pounds over six months due eating pasta and potato products. This put my cousin at high risk for diabetes.

Keeping your weight within the normal range of the Body Mass Index (BMI) scale is the best way to prevent diabetes type 2. A way to get better control of your diabetes is to lose weight, so the goal is slowly working off the weight and moving closer to your expected BMI. The more weight loss the better control of your diabetes. Many diabetic with stable weight complain of insulin resistance, which causes a patient to take more medication, so losing weight will prevent increased insulin resistance.

The two main factors of diabetes type 2 are exercise and a low carbohydrate diet. The diabetic diet consists of 50 percent vegetables, so if you are trying to prevent diabetes due to high risk, increase your vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, peppers, squash and many more. Avoid corn and potatoes products since they have a higher starch content.

Diabetics have to cut back on fruit because of the high amounts of fructose. For non-diabetics fruit can be helpful in losing weight if eaten in moderation. This is except for bananas. The bananas contain a high amount of starch and calories. They have twice the amount of calories than any other fruits, so cut back on the bananas.

Everyone, who is healthy, should be walking or exercising at least 20 minutes a day outside of work. At lunch, I try to walk around the hospital building. It's a great way to get fresh air for relaxation. Your heart needs that exercise. If you have problems with your joints, exercise is still important. Swimming is a great exercise that does not put pressure on those joints. If you are not sure if you should be exercising due to a certain health issue, talk to your doctor.

Weight loss, exercise and eating more vegetables may seem like three easy things to accomplish, but they are not. Basically, this is a change in lifestyle, and that can be a challenge. Anyone can make a change for a week, but a change for life is difficult. Many diabetics are sweet lovers or addicted to carbohydrates, so they have a difficult time eating healthy. I try to recommend cutting back on the foods people crave, but not cutting them completely out of their diet. Avoiding diabetes can be difficult, but finding new recipes that helps your goals can be fun. Look for the positives that will help you achieve your goals.

Yummy Vegetables: Parmesan Zucchini

Following the diabetic diet, fifty percent of this specific diet is eating vegetables. Most diabetic are complex carbohydrate lovers with their favorites being breads, potatoes, pasta and rice. They have a difficult time switching to the diabetic diet due to their dislike of vegetables. The key is to find delicious recipes that can motivate people to enjoy their vegetables.

Zucchini is a vegetable that is low in calories. It is also a good source of Vitamin A, Thiamin, Niacin, Phosphorus and Copper, and the vegetable also contains fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Potassium and Manganese.

Here is a family recipe that we have loved for generations.

Recipe: 

I usually use one zucchini per person, but most people use one zucchini per two people.
Time: Ten minutes to prep and one hour to bake.

Ingredients:
2-zucchini
½ tablespoon of margarine (soft)
1 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese

Directions: (see below for pictures)
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Spray pan with cooking spray such as Pam.
3) Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise.
4) Take out a small piece of the zucchini for the butter to have a place to sit.
5) Like bread, spread the butter on the interior portion of the zucchini.
6) Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the butter.
7) Bake for one hour until cheese is golden brown.

Slits cut into the zucchini to hold the margarine.

Cover the zucchini with Parmesan Cheese.

Bake until cheese in golden brown, which usually takes about 60 minutes.

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~~~~~~ 5 Excuses to be Happy ~~~~~~

Happiness has been found in places overlooked in the past

1) You are unique. Embrace the differences between you and everyone else. The world would be a boring place if everyone acted the same. Don’t try to live up to someone else’s expectations, so set your own goals to make your dreams come true. The way to accomplish your big goals is to start small and slowly build up to those main goals.

2) Tomorrow can be a better day. If life isn’t going as planned, you can make changes, so that things will improve for tomorrow. I see too many people that give up when the chips are down. If times are tough, this is the moment to figure out how you can improve the situation. Forget the past, and forgive yourself for the human mistakes that you have made. You have to find a way to move on to the present and future. Many people are stuck in the past and can’t move forward to a preferable prospect. When one door closes, a better door opens.

I know a woman who lost her son in a car accident. She could have spent years thinking of what could have been, but after a period of grieving, she decided to have another child at age 45, which is not easy. Not everyone who grieves can replace the love that they have lost, but they could try to bring their love to the lonely. There are nursing homes full of people who would love someone to spend time with them. I worked two years in a long term facility or nursing home, and there are many amazingly smart people who live there due to not having a support system that could take care of them. Volunteering at the local level usually has many opportunities to help people. There are children in need of foster parents. Many of these children may have never known unconditional love.

3) Look beyond yourself and enjoy helping other people. Realizing that money doesn't make a person happy, but helping people and animals have a way of bringing joy into someone else's life and your own. Many rich people are very unhappy and find out much too late that family and friendships are more important than money. As we get older, our family and friends move away or pass away, so holidays are spent alone. It’s different when we are younger, and we chose to be alone. This gives us a sense of empowerment. Recently, I had a patient that didn’t like her birthday because it reminded her of the wonderful days she spent with her sister, but now her sister was gone. All she had was memories, and no one to celebrate the day with her.

4) Happy people are more keen and able to accomplish their goals, but depressed people have a hard time getting anything done. Meanwhile, accomplishing goals brings more happiness. Keeping busy is one way of curing basic depression naturally.

5) Find peace by appreciating what you have and the people who cares about you. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence. The risk of going over the fence could be fulfilling, but it could be heartbreaking. It’s best to appreciate what you have before going over the fence, so you can return if thing don’t work out. Too many people burn bridges when they leave the family, the job and old friends.

The key to happiness is appreciating what you have and not focusing on things that you don’t have. It's a difficult thing to do, but once accomplished your life will change for the better.

Life is short, so enjoy it.

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