Tag Archives: stress

Financial, Internal

ARE YOU PREPARED FOR A RAINY DAY?

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It’s never a bad idea to prepare for a financial emergency.

Unexpected expenses, market fluctuations, or a sudden job loss could leave you financially vulnerable. Here are some tips to help you get ready for your bank account’s rainy days! (And we don’t mean a money shower)

Know the difference between a rainy day fund and an emergency fund … but have both!
People often use the terms interchangeably, but there are some big differences between a rainy day fund and an emergency fund. A rainy day fund is typically designed to cover a relatively small unexpected cost, like a car repair or minor medical bills. Emergency funds are supposed to help cover expenses that might accumulate during a long period of unemployment or if you experience serious health complications. Both funds are important for preparing for your financial future—it’s never too early to start building them.

Tackle your debt now
Just because you can manage your debt now doesn’t mean you’ll be able to in the future. Prioritizing debt reduction, especially if you have student loans or credit card debit, can go a long way toward helping you prepare for an unexpected financial emergency. It never hurts to come up with a budget that includes paying down debt and to set a date for when you want to be debt-free!

Learn skills to bolster your employability
One of the worst things that can blindside you is unemployment. That’s why taking steps now to help with a potential future job search can be so important. Look into free online educational resources and classes, and investigate certifications. Those can go a long way towards diversifying your skillset (and can look great on a resume).

None of these tips will do you much good unless you get the ball rolling on them now. The best time to prepare for an emergency is before the shock and stress set in!

Health and Fitness, Physical

8 Foods to Fight Stress

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Under stress – whether it is work, study or a relation, dietary habits change substantially. Some people lose their hunger when under stress whilst others tend to overeat – most often fatty, sugary and junk foods. Always blaming stress for making poor food choices is not the right approach. In fact, making the right food choices will help stabilize blood sugar levels and your emotional response. Good nutrition helps in balancing your stress hormones, relieving stress and boosting your mood.

Here are 8 foods to reach out for when you have just about had enough which will calm and soothe you.

🌾OATS: Being a complex carbohydrate, oatmeal causes your brain to produce serotonin, a feel-good chemical. Serotonin calms you down and makes you feel good. Oats are also rich in beta-glucan, which help in lowering blood cholesterol level and also help in weight management.

🌰NUTS: Nuts help replenish Vitamin B stores that are depleted in stress. The B vitamins help us manage the fight or flight response in stress. The potassium in nuts also helps keep the blood pressure in check thus reducing the strain on the heart.

🐟SALMON: Eating salmon on a regular basis has been linked to reducing the risk of getting depression because of the omega 3 fatty acids present in it. It can reduce stress and anxiety in individuals when eaten even twice a week.

🥬LEAFY GREENS: Leafy greens contain folate that produces dopamine in your brain. Dopamine is involved in the emotional regulation in the brain thus keeping you happy. Besides folate, magnesium in the leafy greens also helps in keeping us calm and good.

🌱SEEDS: Seeds like the sunflower seeds, flax seeds, watermelon seeds, etc have stress-reducing benefits. These tiny powerhouses are rich in magnesium that promotes a healthy nervous system. They also are full of tryptophan which is an amino acid that helps in the production of serotonin that helps you feel calm.

🥑AVOCADOS: Avocados are rich in the stress relieving B vitamins, Vitamin C and folate. They also contain potassium that naturally helps in lowering blood pressure. This makes them one of the best foods for relieving stress and anxiety.

🥛MILK: Milk contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid which is a precursor for the neurotransmitter Serotonin. Serotonin is a “feel good” chemical known to promote relaxation and calm in a person. And, milk taken with another carbohydrate will help in the absorption of tryptophan.

🍲LENTILS & BEANS: Being stressed can be detrimental to your nerve health. Lentils and beans are rich in magnesium, folate and potassium which help calm the nerves, reduce anxiety and promote brain health.

Researchers have found that eating a diet of processed, sugary and fatty foods increases the chances of stress and depression. So, as a general rule steer away from these foods if you are looking to improve your mood. Eating a healthy diet not only helps in maintaining a healthy body weight but also helps in keeping the moods in order.

Café Nutrition with their weight loss clinic in Mumbai offer weight loss in Mumbai and over the world through their online and offline nutrition services.

Arati Shah is an expert nutritionist who crafts personalized weight loss programs at Café Nutrition. Having earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition along with a Post-Graduation in Sports Sciences and Nutrition from S.N.D.T Juhu, she runs one of the top weight loss clinic in Mumbai. She heads the team of weight loss in Mumbai and takes a personal interest in each and every client of Café Nutrition.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Arati_Shah/2280869

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9962741

Health and Fitness, Internal, Lifestyles

Cooking 101 – Simple Tips And Tricks To Make You A Better Chef

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By Will Hanran

When you’re thinking about taking up a hobby, consider cooking. Cooking is often overlooked because you are probably doing so much of it, but the truth is that cooking can be a wonderful source of relaxation for the home chef, as well as a way to create and explore. Here are a few tips to help your cooking exploration.

Make sure that you have the place settings set beforehand so that you can reduce the stress that you will have when you are bringing your food to the table. High levels of stress do not mix well when you are cooking, given the danger, so you will want to reduce this as much as possible.

When deep frying foods, hold the food below the oil with the tongs for a few seconds. Holding the food under the oil for around five seconds will create a useful seal around the food. This seal will work to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

To improve your level of convenience in the kitchen, one of the things that you can do is to freeze the excess sauces that you create, in ice cube trays. This will allow you to reheat them when you need sauce again and also to save money on the excess sauce that you kept.

As you cook your meal during the course of the night, make sure that you taste it at several different points. This will allow you to pinpoint exactly when it is done, so that you do not run the risk of overcooking it. Tasting your food is important to achieve the quality you desire. Looking for an indoor grill? Check out the electric Hamilton Beach Grill and see why this little indoor grill is big on features and flavor.

When it comes to cooking, a good habit to do after preparing garlic is to rub your hands on the stainless steel sink vigorously for about 30 seconds. This will remove the unwanted odor from your hands. Washing them less than 30 seconds will not take all the odor away.

When you are cooking for your family, try not to stick to one style. If you cook the same meal over and over, it can get boring and your family will become jaded with the dishes that you make. Change things up every night so that you can introduce new meals and cuisines to your family.

One important tip to remember when cooking dishes focuses on the size of the dish being prepared. The smaller the dish is that you are cooking, the higher the baking temperature and less time needed to cook the dish. Smaller dishes generally take only a few minutes at high temperatures to fully cook.

You may or may not have heard of schmaltz, but it is a very useful component when cooking. Schmaltz, otherwise known as chicken fat, is very rich. The flavor of schmaltz is deeper than duck fat and can be used for many things, such as cooking meats or poaching fish.

Plan your meals in advance. One of the biggest time wasters is engaging in the “what am I going to fix for dinner?” debate. Often, we could have dinner on the table by the time we fuss with examining the options. Over the weekend – or whenever your free time occurs – think through the upcoming week and loosely plan four or five meals you know your family will enjoy. This advance planning allows you the time to stock your fridge and pantry with the items you need.

Be certain to use only wines that you enjoy as ingredients in your recipes. You risk the final flavor of any dish if you make it with an unfamiliar wine or one with an off taste. Look through your grocery store to find wines that are used specifically for cooking.

If you and your significant other loves cooking, then consider taking a cooking class for couples! Couples cooking classes can help you explore new cuisines, enjoy each other’s company and also learn more about working together in the kitchen. A well-kept secret is that the guys enjoy these classes as much as the ladies and it often leads to the fellows taking a greater role in cooking at home.

Take these tips and use them in your dishes to make them come alive. Serve them to guests, bask in the compliments and then do it all over again. The wonderful thing about cooking as a hobby is that you can always recreate or create anew; you’ll always need something to eat!

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Will_Hanran/2496001

Financial, Health and Fitness, Physical, Uncategorized

The FULL COST of Smoking Cigarettes

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Cool cigarette smoking guys

This is how smoking is usually pictured when the cigarette companies used to freely play mind games to convince you to smoke.

Nowadays, not many would argue the fact that smoking is bad for you. It’s linked to lung cancer and heart disease, and is associated with nearly 1 in 5 deaths in the United States.¹ Yet so many people, even some I know personally still smoke despite the health consequences.  Besides ruining your physical health, smoking can also seriously ruin your financial health.

The upfront cost of smoking
Cigarettes aren’t cheap. Prices per pack vary from $5.25 in Missouri to $12.85 in New York, but the national average comes out to around $6.28.²’³ Smoking a pack per day will run you $44 per week, $188 per month, and $2,292 per year. Over 20 years you’ll have spent $91,671 on cigarettes. You’ve literally burned almost 6 figures!

If you got it like Granny, then ‘burn baby burn’, I guess.

Health care costs of smoking
Besides the up front cost, there are more subtle costs associated with what I’ve heard some say is their way to relieve stress. Extra doctor visits, prescriptions, hospital bills, and other treatments all cost money, and smoking increases your chances of needing those at some point in your future. In total, smoking-related illness costs the United States over $300 billion per year.⁴ Smokers also have to face higher insurance costs because of the health risks presented by their habit. All told, smoking one pack per day costs around $15,000 a year, or $40 per pack.⁵ Having $15,000 go up in smoke sounds pretty stressful to me.

The opportunity cost of smoking
Opportunity cost is a concept covered in economics and business courses. So unless you’ve taken both at the K-12 and collegiate level like I have you might be drawing a blank here. In a nutshell, it’s FOMO realized. In other words, (for my non Gen Z & Millennial readers) what are you missing out on because you decided to spend resources on a different option.

In our smoking scenario it means what could you have done with that $15,000? Did you want to start building a business but found yourself short on start-up funds? Maybe that could be the foundation of your child’s college fund or inheritance. Or is it that vacation you desperately want to take (of course while still keeping your physical distance; not trying to sort out catch dat ‘rona). Is your habit costing you the potential to live on your terms and start building your future?

Anyone who may be reading this and is struggling to quit smoking, I understand that it’s hard but keep trying. I want to see you reach your full potential and stop missing out one life-changing opportunities. Check out these resources from the CDC. And share your story in the comments.

(1) https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_cig_smoking/index.htm

(2) https://worldpopulationreview.com/states/cigarette-prices-by-state/

(3) https://smokefree.gov/quit-smoking/why-you-should-quit/how-much-will-you-save

(4) https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/economics/econ_facts/index.htm#:~:text=Smoking%2Drelated%20illness%20in%20the,%24300%20billion%20each%20year%2C%20including%3A&text=Nearly%20%24170%20billion%20for%20direct,due%20to%20secondhand%20smoke%20exposure

(5) https://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/benefits/events/flyers/tobacco-free/hidden-cost-of-smoking.pdf

Health and Fitness, Internal

National stress awareness day

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Today is National Stress Awareness day. When I was thinking of things that relieve stress the first thing that came to mind was getting a massage.  It releases all of the built up physical tension in your muscles while giving you time to mentally decompress. If you’re religious or spiritual, you may share the sentiment in the photo. My friend Jessica said that when she gets stressed she works out, which is another great way to handle stress. Exercise releases feel good chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins are natural stress fighters. The hardest part sometimes is convincing yourself to get off the couch or stop the countless activities that may preoccupy you to actually exercise. But it’s definitely worth the effort if you want to relieve your stress. Share what you do to relieve stress. If you’re a Jacksonville, FL resident you may win a gift certificate for a massage at Massage by Bobbilee.

 A randomly selected comment will be selected for the gift certificate by April 30, 2014. If the randomly selected comment did not originate with a resident of Jacksonville, FL, subsequent random comments will be chosen until a local is awarded the certificate.