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Ririan Project

A personal development blog with practical ideas on how to make important changes in your life, both big and small, so you can get your life on track and start living up to your true potential.

Exercise at your deskJanuary 6

I’m not going to pretend that this is the best route to go when you’re looking for a way to lose pounds or inches, but there definitely seems to be a need to find out how to get in as much exercise as possible in today’s busy lifestyle.

Let’s face it; our bodies were just not made to sit around at a desk for most of the day. We were built to move! It doesn’t matter how much attention you pay to the ergonomics of your office space – without movement you are bound to suffer from back pain, stiffness, and headaches.

It is generally recommended that you try to get in at least 30 minutes of activity 5 days per week. It will help you to feel better, look better, be more productive and help to melt away those winter pounds. If you do nothing else, be sure to get up from your desk every ½ hour and take a short walk or stretch your body.

Try these exercises the next time you’re sitting at your desk:

1. While sitting in your chair, lift your leg off the seat and hold it out in front of you for 5 seconds. Lower your foot to the floor (but don’t rest it) and hold it for five seconds. Switch to the other leg. Do 5-15 repetitions on each leg.
2. Try a mini burst of cardio by pumping your arms over your head for 30 seconds, then switch to tapping your feet on the floor for 30 seconds.
3. Place your hands on the armrest of your chair and lift yourself out of the chair. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat 5-10 times.
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The Signs of Depression and What You Can Do About ThemDecember 30 2008

This blog post is not in any way meant to diagnose or treat depression. If you feel that you, or someone you know, may be suffering from this disease, please seek professional medical assistance.

At times, everyone feels a little blue; there are days that seem impossible to get through or even days that you don’t want to even get out of bed. Depression goes beyond this periodic sadness. It is not something that you can just “snap out of”. It is an illness that is actually very common but is often misunderstood or missed in the diagnosis.

Signs of Depression

When the signs of depression last longer than 2 weeks, you should consider seeking the advice of your family doctor. Symptoms include feelings of sadness, loss of interest in activities that were once enjoyable, changes in sleeping or eating patterns, feelings of guilt, worthlessness, hopelessness, fatigue, and suicidal thoughts. Although not all people who are depressed are suicidal, it is believed that all those who are suicidal are depressed. If you have ever considered, tried to plan, or thought about suicide, you should seek outside help. You can contact a doctor, health care provider, someone from your faith community, going into the hospital emergency room or calling a crisis line are all excellent forms of help available in all communities.

Prevention
Although there’s no sure fire medical way to prevent depression, there are things you can do today that hel

The Pros and Cons of Getting a Flu ShotDecember 24 2008

Influenza (“the flu”) is a respiratory illness that affects millions of North American’s every single year. There are a variety of strains of influenza that circulate world wide throughout the year, and in North America, the flu season generally runs from November to April. It’s estimated that up to 25% of the population get the flu each year.

Flu vaccines have been available since sometime in the 1940’s and it’s made from fragments of inactivated influenza viruses. Since the flu virus is capable of changing from year to year it is very important that the vaccine is updated on an annual basis.

The term flu is often used to describe illnesses that may be a cold or a case of food poisoning. True influenza begins with a headache, chills, cough, and are accompanied by loss of appetite, a general achy feeling, fatigue, fever, runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes and an irritated throat. Although uncommon in adults, children can also experience nausea, vomiting and diarrhea as well.

There are certain classes of people who are deemed to be high risk and, according to the experts, should get the flu shot regularly. They are as follows:

People over the age of 65
Res

Why a Personal Trainer Will Increase Your Fitness LevelDecember 23 2008

When you think of a personal trainer, do you think of the celebrity trainers that seem to produce miracles right before our very eyes? Do you think of the movie stars who are back to their pre baby body within a month of delivering their child? I have good news for you! Personal trainers are available in your city, they’re affordable, and they’re going to help you to increase your fitness level. In fact, experts estimate that by using a personal trainer, you can expect to see results that are up to 80% better and 3 times faster!

You can find personal trainers at your local gym, or you can choose to hire a trainer to complete group sessions or one-on-one training. Keep in mind that the personal trainers that you can access at your local gym will be able to help you get things started by providing a body analysis and give you tips and advice on the types of exercises you should be doing and how often you should be doing them, but they won’t work directly with you to ensure the success that has been mentioned above.

A trainer will help you start your program by looking at your body type and your fitness level in order to start you on a program that will give you the most benefits. They will be able to monitor your progress a

Fad Diets – Why they work, and why they don’tDecember 21 2008

Have you ever wondered why on Earth people would try some of the fad diets that are knocking around? I once knew someone who swore by The Marshmallow Diet. She insisted that it was a tried and true diet where you only eat marshmallows. In case you are wondering, I do not recommend that you only eat marshmallows. However, being the diligent reporter I am, I did Google the diet and found absolutely nothing on this so called diet. You may not have ever been tempted to try The Marshmallow Diet, but some of the following diets may have caught your eye.

The Low Fat Diet sounds reasonable enough. Eating fat would make you fat, right? That’s why a lot of people try the diet, and in theory, it should work because there is actually 9 calories for every gram of fat; but carbs and protein are probably closer to 4 calories. So why doesn’t the diet always work the way we had hoped? Because the chances are, you won’t replace it gram for gram. Eating a reduced fat diet is a good idea, but please remember not to add two helpings of your low fat replacements to your plate!

A Mini Fast (also known as the Hollywood Diet) sounds like it could work for a lot of people. Most of the people I know who are trying to lose weight give up because they don’t see results quickly. A mini fast sounds like it would be right up their alley especially when they find out that the diet is only 2 days long! The problem is that the weight you are going to lose in those two