Life Tips Daily

I’m going to be a bridesmaid in a wedding in just over two months and it has just hit me: my dress will be here in a few weeks and it might not fit as nicely as I’d like it to! While I don’t want to lose so much weight that the dress no longer fits me [ahem], I would not mind beginning a healthy program that guarantees that my bare arms are toned, my stomach protrudes as little as possible, and my chin and neck regions look long and elegant.

To this end, I’d like to suggest some healthy tips and exercise ideas that you can add to your (work) day. You’ve probably heard of or thought of these before but it never hurts to repeat them:

Who needs one hour for lunch?
No matter how long your lunch period is, I challenge you to slash it in half: spend half of it eating, and the other half walking. I must admit, if anybody had dared suggest this to me even a month ago, I’d have looked out the window and laughed in their face but spring is here and the sun is out. To make this even easier, I suggest you bring in a pair of running shoes to work and leave them there. This conveniently gets rid of the “I don’t have my appropriate footwear” excuse (one that I have used a few times in the past)!

Trade your coffee break for a water break
For those of you who use coffee as a jolt or pick me up, I know that replacing coffee with water probably won’t do the trick. However, if any drink will do, I suggest you trade in that coffee for water, or a beverage many don’t get enough of: milk. These two choices will help with hydration of the body and milk consumption has been linked to abdominal weight loss (see here and here), which is especially important since abdominal fat has been linked to diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.

Create an everpresent fruit bowl
I’m lazy and if I have to choose between eating the jellybeans in my desk drawer, or going to the kitchen, washing an apple and bringing it back to my desk to eat, I’ll reach for the jellybeans every time. So why not bring in a bowl, wash some fruit and keep them on your desk? This way it’s even more accessible than that bag of jellybeans that you have to open the drawer for! And hopefully, replenishing your jellybean supply will become a thing of the past, and you’ll tempt yourself with the bright colours of apples, oranges, peaches, plums and bananas instead. A coworker of mine does this and I have to stop myself from reaching for an apple when I’m in her office.

Take the stairs
Another coworker of mine (did I mention that about 70% of my coworkers are health freaks?) takes the stairs up to our office which is on the 15th floor. Fifteenth. She does this every day and considers it her exercise for the day. I am not yet at that level of fitness but I do know that I could take the elevator to the 10th floor and then climb the remaining flights of stairs if I wanted to. The workout that climbing upwards provides to your gluteals and thighs is worth the panting at the top of the stairs, I promise (and since very few people use the stairs, no one will witness it!). I intend to do this once a week, and hopefully work up from there.

What easy exercise/good health opportunities have you snuck into your day? Plesae share!

walk, health, work, fruit, diet

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Today I have the day off from my day job, and I should spend this day doing all sorts of things that I put off until I have a spare moment. I’m sure you’re the same: you think of or see something that needs to be done and you have to postpone it until the next time you have enough time to get the task done. I do this all the time and now have a to do list that is humanly impossible to complete in less than 10 days.

I’d like you to provide you with a list of things that can be done during a typical workday if you’re lucky enough to have the day off:

• Sort through your closet with the intention of giving away or selling anything that is too big, too small, too worn, or not your style any longer
• Update your address book (whether you use a little black or pink book, or have it on a spreadsheet) to include the names and addresses of new friends, people who have moved and recently sent you mail with a new mailing address, or just to consolidate all those small scraps of paper you have stuck to the fridge or pinned to the bulletin board
• Make a large batch of cookie dough and freeze the rest for popping in the oven when guests drop by unexpectedly (you will of course have to bake a batch right away to make sure the recipe was followed accurately)
• Wipe down your cupboard doors. I firmly believe that few people do this often enough
• Bond with your bathroom and discard any products that you no longer use (even if they’re still full!), that have expired or any bottles or jars that are empty or whose construction make it impossible to reach that last bit of leftover product
• While you’re in the bathroom, you might want to take note of what regular supplies you’re running low on (toothpaste, toilet paper, shampoo?) and add them to your general shopping list, and why not toss that shower curtain in the wash too?
• If you keep your mail in a common area, you may want to sort through this mail and make sure that action has been taken on those time sensitive pieces, and ensure that bills have been paid, magazine subscription renewals mailed back, mail-in contests entered, and the most time consuming: tossing all that junk mail in the recycling box

And if your eight hours are not yet used up, please swing by my home and do the same, and while you’re here, please give me some tips!

organize, clean, clothing, bathroom, kitchen

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Yesterday at work, we had enjoyed an Easter potluck, and the along with our gastronmic delights, we made some time for physical activity too. No walking for us: we had an Wii competition.

For the uninitiated: the Wii is Nintendo’s latest game console, and boasts wireless controllers, which gives the user a wider range of motion than was prevously possible with its wired controllers. The game console comes with a sports pack of games, which includes bowling, boxing, golf, baseball and tennis, and it is this latter game that my colleagues and I enjoyed.

For someone like me, who would much rather surf the web than engage in anything that smacks of gaming, I was genuinely surprised at how much fun I had using this system. While previous sports games require the user to fumble through pressing series of buttons in order to swing a tennis racket, for example, all you have to do to do is swing your Wii (once you have strapped on your wrist strap, that is) and if you time it right your “racket” connects with the ball and over it goes to your opponent’s side of the court.

After a glorious defeat of my colleague, I was suprised to find that my cheeks were warm and I could feel the efforts of my exertion. It’s no surprise: this article (based on a BBC News report) claims that the use of consoles such as Wii is related to weight loss! In fact, very regular use (12.2 hours a week, the typical gamer’s average) could lead to a loss of approximately 1800 calories a week! I can see parents choosing this game console over others, much in the way they sneak vegetables into their child’s favourite dishes. And best of all, I can see parents and children alike clamouring to use the console!

In fact, for the first time in my life, I may have to consider gaming a new hobby!

Wii, video games, health, exercise

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I just realized how broad the areas that this blog could potentially cover are. I don’t want to limit myself, but at the same time, I don’t want to jump all over the place trying to cover a spectrum of topics and ideas that is just too large to do justice to them, or cover topics that nobody is interested in. I guess as this site gets up and running again, I’ll be able to gauge the readership and see what people want but for now, I’d love to receive your answers to the following questions:

When you see the words “Life Tips Daily”, what are the first 3 words that come to mind?

Do you think lost opportunities are lost forever, or can you always find another route to achieving your goals?

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Following my last entry, are you still wondering how to make living at home pleasant; not only for you but for your parents too?

Here are a couple more ways to make being an adult child in your parents’ home as enjoyable as possible:

• Maintain your independence (somewhat)
  While it’s hard to chant about your independence when your living arrangements say otherwise, you can still make sure that you take responsibility for all other aspects of your life. This means you should be the one getting yourself to and from work, buying clothing (with your own money), making your own doctor’s appointments, to name a few things. There are a few parents out there who are still treating their adult children like toddlers, and it may be tempting to sit back and enjoy it. However, by asserting your independence, you will be better off in the future (unless you plan to move your parents into your home when you move out).
• Treat your parents like friends
  It’s almost a given that if you live at home as an adult child, you get along fairly well with your parents. Instead of allowing the relationship to be based soley on the fact that you share a mailing address, befriend your parents. This doesn’t mean you start cancelling plans with your peers to spend every night with your parents but take the time to talk to them every now and again, keep the communication lines open. Go for dinner, learn to talk to each other as adults and not strictly parent and child. You may even be able to teach them something!

So, if you remember today’s two tips along with yesterday’s, you’ll be all set to live at home for as long as you want without forcing your parents to move out of the country to get you out. Happy cohabitating!

home, family, living, parents

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I recently came across a report by Statistics Canada that claims that more adult children are living with their parents longer. As a 27 year old woman who still calls her parents’ home hers too, I can certainly relate.
This interesting report identified several factors that are responsible for a child’s earlier departure from the family home. These included having a non-traditional family (and the disruption that can occur from blending families), living in a large family (which is thought to promote independence faster), being of a Western culture mindset (versus an ethnic or religioius group with a focus on the family unit), being from a small town, a higher level of education (for men) and being a woman (who tend to leave earlier than their male counterparts due to marriage or for cohabitation).

When I compare some of the conclusions to my own situation, the reasons some of the factors are true for me: I had a very stable family structure so the need to “get away” from the family was never an issue. However, although I live in a large family it was not until very recently that my parents began to encourage independence with respect to living space and now I’m just thankful that they haven’t packed my bags yet and sent me on my way with a wave and a promise to write! My parents do come from a non-Western background that puts a lot of emphasis on the family unit.

For those adult children who are living at home and who want to make sure that their parents don’t change the locks on them the next time they go out, here are a few things you can do:

• By the age of 24 or 25, discuss your plans with respect to living in the family home, and the terms of this arrangement with your parents
  There is nothing magical about the ages of 24 or 25; although by this age, students pursuing post secondary education should have completed at least one degree, and future education or employment plans should be a focus.
  
  A discussion is key because it shows enormous respect to parents when their child comes to them and expresses appreciation for the support provided (room and board in exchange for chores or what is usually a nominal rental fee is a good deal) and shares the 2, 5, or (hopefully not) 10 year plan to leave the family home. Concrete plans are best, even if all the details aren’t known (”I plan to leave home by the end of summer 2008″ versus “I’ll be home for a few more years”) as it’ll give you something to strive for. A good discussion should include an offer on the part of the child to contribute something to the family, be it the doing of regular chores, payment of a rent or other contributions. The parents may reject this outright, but they will appreciate the consideration that brought their child to ask.
• Respect the family rules

  Once you’ve taken the time to include your parents in your future departure plans, you should make sure that you are aware of what is and isn’t allowed in your parents’ house. You may find that more is expected of you with respect to what you contribute to the house, but perhaps less is expected from you with regard to reporting your whereabouts. Since you are choosing (for whatever reason) to live under their house, however annoying it may be, their rules must be allowed to prevail.

• Learn what you can while you have the safety net
  One thing you will realize once you’ve moved out and are on your own, be it as a home owner or a tenant, is that there are so many things that just “get done” that you had previously never had to think about, such as leaky faucets being fixed, the lawn being mowed, or, if you’re especially spoiled, food being cooked. While your parents are performing these activities, you can be their apprentice and learn skills to store away later fo when they are required once you’re on your own.

home, family, living, parents

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I am your new host, Jummy, and I plan to feed you all sorts of tips that will improve your life. The tips will cover a range of areas of life, and suggestions and comments from you are not only very welcome, but they are what will drive this site.

A little about me: I’m a Canadian who was born in the USA to Nigerian parents so I have a triple identity going. I studied science and general arts in university which makes me a great match for my day job which features in part, scientific writing. I love too many things, from dancing, to writing, reading love stories, scrapbooking and baking. I’m organized when I need to be but my room is a very poor reflection of this claim. I still live at home. I’m the oldest of four children. My parents are my heroes.

I hope you enjoy the site and find that its tips improve your life.

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