Healthy Returns: The Importance of Taking Care of the Business…Of You

We dedicate so much of our lives to work, school, community service projects, and new ventures that we often forget we need some attention, too. All too often we neglect what could perhaps be the most critical component — our health. Relying on the “work hard, play hard” mentality to get by can act like a charm for a while, but eventually it takes a toll.

A few months ago, I found myself sinking into a bit of a depression. I’d just finished a huge project that had consumed my life for the past year, had come off the high of a successful final event and crashed. I think I slept for something like 15 hours on my first day off, but had a lot of trouble bouncing back to my normal self. A few days of dragging turned into weeks of diminished capacity.

I’d certainly pushed my physical, mental and emotional limits on the project, but even when it was over, any of the bad habits lingered and kept me in what I’d soon discover was a rather self-destructive zone. I figured I’d just snap out of it at some point, but instead had the good fortune of having dinner with some friends who changed my perspective on my weakened state of health and performance. In fact, over the next few months, they’d actually change my life.

Ashleigh Bravo and Shawn Leege own a private training and nutrition company in Los Angeles called New Life Private Training. Every time Bravo asked me when I was going to start working out with them, I’d blow off the idea, citing how busy I was. But seeing her and Leege at dinner, looking and feeling fabulous in the midst of dealing with their won entrepreneurial growing pains, suddenly inspired me. The next morning I was in the gym with Leege, who put me on a weight-training, cardio and nutrition program that represented the polar opposite of the terrible habits I had defaulted to time and time again. That meant no more sugar, caffeine or processed foods, but tons of water, fresh fruit, vegetables, protein, and lots of exercise and sleep.

Despite the initial shock of quitting cold turkey all that I had grown  to depend on, I quickly became addicted to this new way of living. It was a little brutal at first, but somehow the challenge became a wonderfully exciting one I was suddenly determined to conquer. Every morning I’d meet Leege to work out, and with in two weeks I started to see a noticeable difference in how I looked, felt and even worked. I soon was jumping out of bed earlier than ever, glowing with excitement and energy, and even turning a few heads.

It’s been a few months now and, admittedly, my travel and work schedule (and, yes, the reckless abandon of a vacation, too) haven’t allowed me to be as diligent, but I have maintained some outstanding new habits. My favorite is starting each day with a good sweaty spin on the elliptical machine. With music blasting through my iPod, CNN on the TV, and newspapers and trade journals draped over the bars, my body springs to life, the adrenaline starts pumping, and my head fills with creative ideas and solutions. In these 30 or so minutes, my day starts with a bang. (sure beats dragging myself out of bed each morning and pumping myself with caffeine to wake up!) Perhaps the most valuable takeaway, though, is the epiphany that my overall performance is directly connected to how well I treat my body. Just think of what you could do with all that extra energy, stamina and confidence. Enhance your own health and happiness, not to mention your image as a leader, and become an even greater role model and inspiration to all those you work with.

Are you in your mid-30s but sometimes feel like a senior citizen when you wake up in the morning? Or maybe you’re a senior citizen who’s as nimble as a twenty-something! Sure, you know exactly how old you are, but do you know what your RealAge is?

Your RealAge is the biological age of your body based on how well you’ve maintained it over the years. Whether you run every morning and preserve a healthy diet or choose “value menus” and actually light up during your “smoke breaks,” these factors affect your body’s biological age. Luckily, it’s easy to find out how old you really are.

As you answer the questions on the patented RealAge test, you can watch your RealAge grow, younger or older. When you finish the test, you’ll even get a personalized RealAge plan developed by MDs and PhDs that will help you adjust your lifestyle to make you become a healthier and happier person. The plan is especially helpful for all those people who know they need to treat their bodies better but just don’t know where to start. It is completely customized and can give you more solid information than your average doctor’s visit — without the poking and prodding!

Remember, you’re never too young (or old!) to start thinking about how your everyday habits affect your long-term health.

Is it just me or has everyone been experiencing tough times lately? A lot of people I know, myself included, are feeling stressed or burned out but are having difficulty pinpointing a specific cause. Some days it’s work, other times it’s the economy. Some times it’s lack of sleep and then it’s because of personal problems. It feels like the reason changes on a day-to-day basis.

In my conversations here at YSN.com and with my friends, I’ve blamed 3 influences for this general malaise with the status quo:

1. The Election
Let’s face it: the presidential campaigns have everyone thinking about all of the changes needed in our country and our lives. Just as we question political policies and decisions every four years, it’s always a good idea to assess your own. What have your successes been in the past few months? Years? Your failures? What do you want to change in your life? What can you change?

2. The Season
It’s finally warming up and with the changing season comes the always-fun Spring Cleaning. As you start pilfering through your old stuff deciding which items you value and which to throw out, it’s almost inevitable that you start doing the same with the rest of your life.

3. The Year of the Rat
People look at me like I’m a crazy person when I bring this up BUT hear me out! 2008 is the Year of the Rat, according to Chinese horoscope (and, no, I’m not Chinese). One of its underlying themes is productivity –getting things done – and it’s marked by possibilities, progress and trying new things. As the first sign in the Chinese horoscope, the Year of the Rat symbolizes new beginnings but it doesn’t always mean tossing aside the old. The rat is always on the move so it really means finding a way to take your life to the next level and move forward.

My best advice is that “This too shall pass” so instead of identifying problems, identify what you hope to achieve. Then put your head down, stay focused, keep doing what you can to get closer to your goals… and then go a step further.

Let me just add that it does feel like the fog is lifting slowly, and that instead of just knowing there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, I can actually see it. So hang in there! Before you know it, we’ll have a new president, the seasons will change (and then change again), and the Year of the Rat will be a thing of the past.

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Sometimes people laugh when I say that NBC’s The Biggest Loser is one of my favorite TV shows. It’s okay, I get it; it’s a show about a bunch of really fat people trying to lose weight. But before you dismiss The Biggest Loser completely, if you have ever tried to lose a few pounds, you know the sacrifice, discipline and hard work it takes to be successful. These contestants work their butts off (literally!) to lose the most weight each week, stay in the game and change their lives. Since we here at YSN.com are all about SUCCESS, allow me to point out some of the lessons learned and strategies used by the show’s contestants that you can apply to your life and career.

1. Don’t let setbacks or repeated failure derail you from your overall goal. No matter what change you’re trying to make or goal you want to achieve, you need to commit to it 100 percent in order to be truly successful. Most of the contestants failed multiple times to lose weight before going on the show, and every week, one person is voted off and sent home. But that doesn’t stop them. The booted contestants have a chance at the end of the episode (and in the finale) to show how their lives and bodies have changed. They continue losing weight on their own because they committed to changing their lives.
2. Fear is an excellent motivator. The contestants know their lives are at stake. They’re not just fat, they’re obese and many have diabetes, high cholesterol or young children at home. But not only do they fear dying prematurely, they fear feeling “like this” for the rest of their lives: unhappy, unfulfilled and knowing that their life could be better, more enjoyable if they could just make the change.
3. Prove all the naysayers wrong! This season’s winner was actually booted off the show after the first four weeks and had to earn a spot back in the house. As a result, Ali Vincent became completely focused on becoming the first female Biggest Loser and proving that she deserved to be there! 112 pounds and $250,000 later, she was! One of the joys of success it being able to prove to everyone else that you could do it – including yourself.
4. Don’t be afraid to “cut the fat”: Whether you’re trying to lose weight or take your career to the next level, take an inventory of your life and cut out whatever is holding you back. It could be bad food choices, poor decisions or negative people. Sometimes you need to nix ties and lighten your load in order to get what you want even faster.
5. Expect the ups and downs. One week someone loses 15 pounds and the next week the same person loses 2, despite having worked twice as hard. Achieving success is a constant battle and, chances are, it gets even more challenging the closer you get to your goal. There are some things you just can’t control. Just keep reminding yourself that you’re in it for the long haul.

Check out some of the other success lessons you can learn from popular TV shows!

Success According to… HOUSE
Success According to… GREY’S ANATOMY
Success According to… HEROES

Sometimes those 24 hours in a day just don’t seem like enough time to accomplish everything on our to-do lists. But if you were really able to add more hours to your day, would you?

Back in 2000, the Uberman’s Sleep Schedule created a buzz on the internet as a way to gain more waking hours in the day. Instead of sleeping in a single eight-hour block of time (or monophasic, as most people do), you stick to a strict schedule of six 20-to-25 minute naps every four hours.

The idea behind this polyphasic sleep schedule is that you train your body to enter REM sleep immediately, the most important phase, so that the cumulative three hours of shut eye you do get leave you feeling refreshed and mentally alert. The biggest selling point is that if you start this sleep method at age 20, you gain more than 11 years in the average lifespan!

Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison and Napoleon are rumored to have been chronic nappers, and there are several blogs from individuals who have tried Uberman’s Sleep Schedule, including personal development guru Steve Pavlina. Many critics say you can’t switch the body’s natural tendency toward monophasic sleeping and warn that just napping could cause similar side effects to sleep deprivation. To date, there have been no scientific studies.

Obviously, the strict napping schedule makes it difficult for those with classes, meetings or a regular 9-to-5 job (unless you have a very understanding boss). One of the biggest complaints about the system? Boredom. With 22 hours in a day, there’s just not enough to do!

Click here to read the pros and cons about the Uberman’s Sleep Schedule from the blogger who first got people talking!

What do you think? Would you do it?

Jovie Baclayon is the editorial director for YSN.com and an expert in the experiences faced by emerging adults. To learn more, check out Jovie’s YSN portfolio and feel free to e-mail her! She blogs every Wednesday and Friday on Waste Time Wisely.