Love Your Body Workout (Valentine's Addition)

  Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you are sharing it with someone special. I am sharing it with several special people, my family! But, just because its Valentine's Day, doesn't mean you need to skip your workout! I mean, after all those chocolate covered strawberries and other treats, I am going to want to get cranking! This workout is simple, fun, and a great way to get your sweat on! The moves are Valentine's Themed to make it special!

Warm Up:
50 Jumping Jacks

Stretch:
The Hug ( Its simple, just give yourself a hug!)
Kiss Your Feet ( Reach as far to your feet as you can. No, you don't have to really kiss them!)
Lots of Love (Hold your arms out as far as you can. Like your going in for a big hug!)

The Workout:

20 Heart Push-ups. (Place you hands so that your fingers make a 'heart shape. Start from your knees.)
30 Heart swings. (Move your arms like you are drawing a  heart in mid-air.)
40 squats ( Just plan old squats to get those thighs in tip-top shape!)
50 sec. Heart Plank (Like the heart push-up, but just hold instead of going up and down.)
20 Kiss the Guns!( In a plank, raise one arm to your face and 'kiss' the bicep and then do they other one!)
50 sec. Happy Dance (Jog in place)

Now that wasn't so bad was it? You can repeat it as many times as you like. Remember to only do these moves if you are able, I don't want anyone getting hurt.

I hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day!
Keep Healthy and SAFE!
H.Banana

Food Facts

Here are a few facts about food that will hopefully get you motivated to become healthier! I know that I was pretty 'wowed' by a few of them!

#1
This fact came from Style Craze 
Eating an Apple is a more reliable way to stay awake than drinking coffee. The natural sugars in apples are more potent than the caffeine in coffee.

#2
This fact (and a few of the following) are from paleo-diet-menu
Cherries help calm your nervous system.

#3
Grapes relax your blood vessels.

#4
Apples help your body develop resistance against infection.

#5
Watermelons help control your heart rate.

#6
Oranges help maintain great skin and vision.

#7
Blueberries help protect your heart.

#8
Kiwis increases bone mass.

#9
These next few facts are from Relax Deco
Bell Peppers are full of Vitamin A which contributes to healthy, glowing skin.

#10
Green Tea is rich in antioxidants to help fight off wrinkles and ageing.

#11
Water keeps your skin hydrated and glowing!

Well, that's a few facts about food. Let me know if you didn't know any of these! Now, when I eat any of these foods, I will think about the benefits they have!

Keep Healthy and Safe!
H.Banana

Your Body On: Diet Soda

  Diet soda may seem like a good option to some. You get the soda you love without the calories right? But, what you don't know is that Diet Soda is so terrible for you! I did some research and I found out a lot! Here are the reason you should never drink diet soda again!

Teeth:
Drinking 3 or more diet sodas a day increases your risk of tooth decay due to the super high acidity level.

Mood:
Drinking 4 or more cans of diet soda makes you 30% more likely to develop depression.

Metabolic Syndrome:
Consuming diet soda daily can cause your risk of metabolic syndrome to increase by 36%. Not sure what Metabolic Syndrome is? Well, WebMD has a great article explaining everything you need to know! I encourage you to check it out!

Heart:
A study in 2012 found that drinking diet soda daily can increase the risk of a heart attack by 43%.

Kidneys:
Drinking 2 or more diet sodas a day has been linked to double the risk of kidney disease. The information came from a study of 3,000 women.

Weight:
A daily serving of diet soda increases the risk of obesity by 41%.

Diabetes:
Drinking at least one diet soda a day can increase the risk of type2 diabetes by 67%.

This information came from Prevention.com

  So, now that you know what diet soda will do to you, are you going to give it up? What about just regular soda? Are you going to give that up too? You should. I gave it up several months ago and I am so glad I did. I am healthier because of it, I know. And, to tell the honest truth, I don't miss it at all! I have tried to have a sip or two here and there but it doesn't taste the same and I don't enjoy it. I encourage you to try to give up soda. Maybe you feel like you can't live without your daily soda, but start with a week and then two until you're going months without it. I know it can be done, because I did it! Not just diet soda, but every sugary soda out there needs to be cut from your diet!

Let me know if you are trying to cut soda from your diet and how you are doing it! I hope this post has given you some proof that diet soda isn't good for you and encourages you to take another step to becoming a healthier you!

Keep healthy and Safe
H.Banana

The Many Benefits of Green Tea

Green Tea isn't just refreshing and delicious but it has so many benefits! I did some research and found a few Pins on Pinterest that list the benefits of Green Tea! I will link those websites at the bottom of the post!

I love drinking Green Tea over almost any other kind of tea. You can drink it cold over ice or hot and curl up with a good book! I was excited to learn that Green Tea isn't just tasty, but good for your health as well!

Green Tea Can Help Weight Loss
Green tea has ingredients like Caffeine, Theobromine, Saponins, Theophylline, Vitamins and Epigallocatechin. These ingredients lead to thermo-genesis which lead to increase in your body's heat and that will turn up your metabolic rate and help keep your weight down!

Green Tea is Good for Your Heart
Green Tea helps fight Cholesterol Disease. Its helps keep your arteries healthy and unblocked which will help prevent heart attacks! This wonderful tea has ten times the amount of antioxidants that are found in fruits and veggies!


Dental Health
Along with the natural fluoride found in tea, polyphenols and catechins are associated with killing bacteria that cause a number of dental issues like; tooth decay, bad breath and gum disease, which by the way is the number one cause for tooth loss! A study published by the European Journal of Nutrition  found that drinking at least one cup of green tea a day can decrease that risk of tooth loss!

Green Tea can Help Avoid Cancer
Research as shown that tea is beneficial in preventing cancer including  prostate, pancreatic, breast, colorectal, esophageal, bladder, lung and stomach! The catechins found in tea prevent the cell mutation, deactivate certain carcinogens and reduce the formation and growth of tumors. To reap the anti-cancer benefits of green tea you might have to drink at least four cups of tea a day!

These are only a few of the many benefits from drinking green tea! If you want the website where I found this information, along with more benefits of green tea, you can go to - www.stylecraze.com

I hope this makes you want to drink more green tea and to learn more about the benefits associated with it! I personally love green tea but if you haven't tried it before, here are a few good brands to try!

www.wholefoodsmarket.comrepublic-tea-earth-day-mint-green-tea - Mint green tea is a delicious and refreshing drink hot or cold!

www.tazo.com

www.tazo.com

I hope you enjoyed this post about the benefits of drinking tea! If you want to know more about tea you can see my Mom's blog teainthemorningtoo  .


Keep Healthy and SAFE
H. Banana