Stressed Out! The Impact of Stress on our Health and Well-being

May 10, 2013 By 1 Comment

stressI’ve heard my mother say a million times that stress can kill you. When I was younger I would just roll my eyes at how dramatic this sounded but as an adult, I now understand what she means.

A few weeks ago I went to a conference about the health and wellness of black women. A lot of issues were discussed: obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and even infant mortality. What was interesting was that everything kept circling back to stress and the habit a lot of women have of taking on more and more with little thought of their own health and well-being. We’re so used to being “stressed out” that we accept it as a normal part of life. This emotional pressure, over a prolonged period, becomes chronic stress and can harm your mental and physical health, contributing to many serious conditions.  [Read more...]

Filed Under: Thrive, Wellness Tagged With: , ,

Managing Your Career: Creating a Plan

April 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Photo by Piotr BiziorThe idea of what constitutes a career has become more fluid and personal compared to several decades ago and people now have more power to decide what that career might look like and how they would like to steer their course. This freedom brings complications because you are responsible for making your own career choices and it’s not always clear which way is the most direct path towards your goal. For women in particular, we often must make decisions that balance our professional aspirations with family and community obligations in a way that men do not. It’s important to take stock of where you are now and where you want to be. Then, establish a career plan to serve as your personal map to help you navigate through the decisions you will have to make to achieve your career goals.

Let’s look at the process for creating your career plan which involves three main steps:

  1. Take inventory of your values, interests, skills, and lifestyle
  2. Identify your strengths and weaknesses
  3. Develop a career plan

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Career, Inform Tagged With: , ,

Baked Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Roasted Parmesan Asparagus

March 28, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Like most people, when I get home from work the last thing I want to do is cook. But I want to eat healthy and the best way to do that is to avoid take-out and prepare your own meals. These are two of my go-to recipes that can be thrown together rather easily. They only take about 20 minutes of actual effort. Add a baked potato and you have a quick, healthy meal.

Baked Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Ingredients:

Lemon Garlic Shrimp1 ¼ pounds of uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined (I buy a bag of the frozen extra-large raw shrimp)

¼ cup of fresh lemon juice (About one lemon)

2 tbsp. of margarine, melted

3 garlic cloves, minced (I use Spiced World minced garlic in the jar. ½ tsp = 1 clove)

1 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce

¾ tsp. of lemon pepper

¼ tsp. of ground red pepper [Read more...]

Filed Under: Food, Thrive Tagged With: , , , ,

Beat Daylight Saving Time: Tips for Better Sleep

March 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

sleeping dog

It’s the Monday after daylight saving time began and it’s the Monday I’ve started a new work schedule where I have to be at the office earlier and work longer hours. Great. Usually the whole “springing forward” doesn’t bother me but combined with a change in routine just might do me in this year. All over Facebook and Twitter people are complaining about being tired and wanting their hour back. Well, you can’t have it. At least not until fall. In the meantime, why not focus on making the most of the hours you do have and getting the best sleep possible?

The average adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep every night. Not getting enough sleep – six hours or less – can have some serious consequences. Insufficient sleep results in four times the risk of stroke symptoms. It can also lead to obesity by increasing the production of the hunger hormone ghrelin and decreasing leptin which helps balance food intake. Some studies suggest that a lack of sleep can increase insulin resistance, thus increasing diabetes risk. Sleep deprivation can also cause permanent cognitive issues like brain deterioration. In addition, there is research that points to inadequate sleep contributing to osteoporosis, increase risk for certain types of cancer, heart disease, and overall earlier death than those who get proper amounts of sleep.

There are lots of easy ways you can start improving your sleep habits. Here are a few suggestions: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Thrive, Wellness Tagged With: , ,

Family, Relatives, Friends and Foes

February 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment

friendsI’ve been thinking a lot about family versus relatives, friends who become family and the people you’d rather be none of the above. I’m not sure why. I think it started with the holidays and continued as my cousin lost her dad and has had to deal with an array of family dynamics  these past months. I once heard someone say “family is who you choose, relatives are given to you by nature.” I thought that was interesting and I can see how one can come to that conclusion. The reality is that there will be people in your life that will become like family because of the way they love and support you and there will be those you call family who you would expect to be able to trust and depend on and they will let you down big time. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family, Relationships, Thrive Tagged With: , ,
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