Sexy Over Sixty Blog

You know life is not passing you by, unless… you let it.

Are you feeling out of touch with your life?
Do you feel invisible?
Are you becoming your mother?
Do you and your significant other argue a great deal of the time?
Do you feel abandoned by your friends?
Are you bored with your career?
Do your kids ignore you and seem to be so ungrateful and unloving?

If you allow these things to get to you, then life is truly passing you by, because you are letting it.  So you ask what can I do to change these feelings? I think that the first thing to do is to recognize them and then decide how you are going to handle them.  So let's go through them one by one with each other:

• If you are feeling out of touch with your life then find a new hobby, go to a seminar or ask a friend out for lunch or dinner
  
• If you are feeling invisible first determine if it is emotional or physical. If it is emotional then pamper yourself, get a mani and pedi... get a facial... buy a new piece of clothing, jewellery, shoes or a bag. If it is physical then sit down and put together a new eating and exercise plan. Find a workout or walking partner to spend some time with.
  
• If you feel like you are becoming your mother and it makes you feel uncomfortable then spend some time with your mother and recognize her beautiful traits and see those traits in yourself.
  
• If you and your significant other are arguing a great deal of the time, arrange a date night, get dressed up and really admire and complement each other like you would on a first date. You will be surprised how things can turn around in one evening by adding a little romance.
  
• If you are feeling abandoned by your friends, ask yourself if you have in fact been hiding, not picking up the phone, returning e-mails and generally being reclusive - reach out you will be surprised with the results.
  
• If you are feeling bored with your career then perhaps it is time to make a change or ask if there is another opportunity within the company that you are working for. If you are self-employed then spice up your business with some new ideas and act on them as quickly as possible to get those creative juices flowing.
  
• If you are feeling that your kids are ignoring you and are ungrateful and unloving then spend more time with them. Invite them out for dinner, to a show, for a walk, a bike ride… anything which allows you to have one to one time with them that is fun and not critical or serious.
  

One of the most important things that you can do for yourself is to validate your accomplishments personally and professionally. You, and only you, have the ability to "live in the eye of your life"... make it happen and have fun doing it!


If you would like further help and someone to guide you through the transition you are experiencing in your life, contact Leslie.

Do you want to improve your sex life?  Avocado is actually a "superfood" that helps to increase male and female libido since it contains folic acid and Vitamin B6 which improves male hormone production, and potassium which is helpful in regulating women's thyroid glands. Not to mention, they are delicious and you can add them to salads, shakes and make a chocolate pudding with them.

Shake it up with this shake recipe! 
Avocado Shake:
Whole Avocado
2 Tbsp. Cocoa
A little Almond Milk
1 Tbsp. Raw Honey
....DELICIOUS!.

Research is proving daily that resting your mind is good for your health.  In one study, research teams from two world-famous universities studied seventy-three residents in homes for the elderly.  The subjects were given either no treatment or daily meditation.  After four years one quarter of the non-meditators had passed away. All of the meditators were still alive.

In 1978, Robert Keith Wallace completed a ten year study of meditators, evaluating their biological age by using three indicators; blood pressure, hearing and near point vision.  He found that the subjects who had meditated for five years or less were on average five years younger biologically and that the subjects who had meditated more than five years were on average twelve years younger biologically. For example, sixty-five year olds had fifty-three year old bodies.

If you could subtract twelve years from your biological age by simply doing a twenty minute practice of Meditation daily would you? For me it is easy, I say YES and have been meditating since the age of seventeen and I guess that is why people say I do not look my age. Biologically, I am 65; however, it feels great to be 53 and loving every minute of it!

Why not start now? Download my FREE guide to taking Meditation Breaks and contact me about Meditation Coaching.

Did you know that you will burn out if you live in a chronic state of flight or fight? It is important to take a break from stress and recharge our minds and bodies.  You can break the cycle of stress by participating in activities such as deep breathing, meditation and exercise.  If you do not take these breaks you can over time drain all of your energy reserves and then you fall victim to feeling unhappy, exhausted and unmotivated.

Download my Meditation Break for a quick Meditation and Deep Breathing Technique and go out for a 20 to 30 minute walk every day or walk on the treadmill.  Within a week of doing this every day you will start to feel a slight surge of energy, feel motivated and start to feel happier...Can you imagine if you continue for three more weeks how great you would fee? What have you got to lose, nothing... all you have to gain is a more positive and productive way of living... hooray!... Small Baby Steps...

You are eating all of the right things by following a clean diet, exercising 4 to 5 times per week combined with 3 days of weight training and nothing is happening.  In fact you are putting on weight.  I know from personal experience this can be very discouraging.

When I first started to exercise and clean up my diet I found that I was hungry all of the time because I had turned my body into a "fat burning machine". At least, I thought that I had. "Why was it not working?", I asked myself. Well, this is why; I had increased my portions, so all of that hard work at the gym was not paying off. My "fat burning machine" was working, however, I was putting in more calories than I was expending. This is when I felt like "throwing in the towel", instead I decided to find out what a real serving actually was, and to my surprise it was not what I was eating. I had been eating literally twice as much as I should have. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not talking about starving, I am talking about eating portions that are reasonable and not more than your body can process to fuel that "fat burning machine".

Portions

• The size of both hands put together equals a little more than a cup of greens.
• The size and thickness of the centre of your palm equals four ounces of fish, poultry and lean meats.
• The size of your two thumbs equals two tablespoons of salad dressing, oil, nut butter, nuts or seeds. In the case of hard cheese it equals one ounce.
• The size of your fist equals one cup of milk, low-fat cottage cheese, Greek style yogurt, chopped fresh fruit and veggies.

Give this method a try. I did and found that the pounds starting dropping off as did the inches! Good luck, I would love to hear about your progress.

Have you ever thought how you can eat healthy nuts and NOT pack on the pounds?

Well, the USDA has found that whole almonds have 24% fewer calories than previously thought.  So take advantage, pack them for an on the go snack.
14 almonds = l00 calories
...and don't forget their daily value of Vitamin E!

The Journal of Nutrition says Pistachio nuts may reduce cholesterol because of their high value of antioxidants.
25 pistachios = 100 calories
You can buy them already shelled so that they are easy to pack for a snack.

Enjoy...

At this time of year many of us are thinking about how we can avoid that nasty "five pound" weight gain that the Experts talk about. Believe me this is not necessary, in fact you can maintain your weight during the holidays very easily.

The time up to Christmas and between Christmas and New Year’s is a wonderful time for getting together with family and friends.  However, it is also a dreaded time in so many people's minds and often times many of us just give up to those extra "five pounds" and say "Who Cares I Will Lose It in the New Year". Rather than making a New Year's resolution to lose weight, why not make a Pre New Year’s Resolution not to put any on.

Here are some suggestions:

• Make sure you get a good night’s sleep the night before a party. Sleepless nights are directly linked to an increase in the body's production of a hormone called Ghrelin, which is a hunger hormone.
  
• Keep up your exercise program, and in fact, exercise in the morning before any holiday dinners or parties.
  
• Drink plenty of water; make sure you drink an 8oz glass of water before a big meal.  Also, drink water in between an alcoholic beverage.
  
• Find healthier recipes for holiday parties with tasty substitutes for high fat ingredients.
  
• Fill half of your plate with healthy veggies.
  
• Bring a healthy dish to a party that is tasty and that everyone will enjoy. It will be easier for you to eat wisely when you have support.
  
• When getting ready for a party, usually we tell ourselves if we starve ourselves all day we can eat more later that night, but actually, it is important to eat every 3 to 4 hours, at the same time of day if possible, it lowers insulin, causing less cravings and less body fat.
  
• If you want to lose weight do not eat 3 hours before bedtime. So for example if you go to sleep at 11:00 p.m. your last meal or snack should be at 8:00 p.m.
  

You do not need to deprive yourself of enjoying the wonderful food during the Holiday Season just remember to make those healthy choices and keep at the back of your mind that in The New Year you may want to lose 10 lbs. but not 15 lbs. by putting 5 lbs. on during the Holidays.

• Research has shown that those who regularly practice meditation typically look and feel as many as 15 years younger than their peers and have more energy. That is because giving the mind some time off to repair itself is undeniably rejuvenating.
• Great thinkers such as Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison were known to have practiced meditation in a variety of forms to experience breakthroughs in the creative thinking process.
• In 2003, a cover story in Time Magazine declared meditation as the anecdote for stress. The article went on to report that more and more physicians were recommending meditation as an effective method to control physical pain, anxiety, depression and a number of other conditions that were formerly treated with medication.  Why? Because it Works. 

I have experienced and practiced a number of forms of meditation over the years.  I have been a Meditator since the age of 17.  I have practiced Mindfulness Meditation, Buddhist Meditation.  I have always been drawn to colour and decided to experiment with colour meditation to take my own spin on the meditation process combing these two modalities with Colour Meditation.  Have you ever walked into a room and either felt embraced by or repelled by the colour of the room? Are you drawn to certain colours that make you feel good and you tend to wear those particular colours?  Colours have a profound effect on our emotions and when we  introduce different colours into Meditation colour can  change our emotional responses to the situations and circumstances that we deal with on a regular basis and that cause us stress...Each and every colour that is used in Colour Meditation has a specific meaning and when I am working with a client I use the different colours to help them through blockages that they may be experiencing or working through anxiety, pain, depression and hot flashes, relationship difficulties and generally feelings of being out of sorts.

As a result of working with Colour Meditation on myself and then using it with hundreds of clients that I have coached through difficult situations, I have come to know and believe that it works. If you are in a point of transition in your life and need something to help you push through the stress and uncertainty, give me a call and see if colour meditation and coaching works for you.

You Are Invited to Attend Sexy Over Sixty's Group Coaching Workshop! 
Would you be interested in an interactive workshop in a fun and safe environment that will leave you feeling inspired, focused and with a plan of action for the transitions you are facing in your life? Yes!? Well, Sexy Over Sixty is offering one in January!

Change Your Mind, Change Your Body Change Your Life Workshop:
Date: TBD, date will now be in February...
Sign up below and be notified of the details.
Where: Angus Glen Golf and Country Club, 10080 Kennedy Road, Markham, Ontario
Food: Tea & Muffins, Lunch and Snack
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST (2 15 minute breaks and 1 hour break for lunch)
Cost: $175.00 plus HST, $150.00 early bird special, 2 person ticket $325.00
*$50.00 deposit is required

Session 1:  Change your Mind:
1.  Do your old behaviour patterns hold you back?
2.  Do you keep sabotaging yourself?
3.  Do you feel hopeless and lost?
4.  Do you talk negatively to yourself?
5.  Do you have a plan and a strategy to Change Your Mind? 

Session 2: Change Your Body:
1.  Do find yourself starting new lifestyle plans and then giving up?
2.  Do you dislike exercise?
3.  Do you dislike certain foods?
4.  Do you know the foods that you can substitute for your trigger foods?
5.  Do you feel as though changing your body is too difficult a task?
6.  Do you feed your emotions through food?
7.  Do you find that certain times of the day trigger your desire to eat?
8.  Do you have a plan and a strategy to Change Your Body?

Session 3: Change your Life:
1.  Do you feel unsatisfied with your relationships?
2.  Do you feel unsatisfied with your business or your job?
3.  Do you feel alone?
4.  Do you find yourself getting depressed often?
5.  Do you feel hopeless?
6.  Do you feel you have accomplished very little in your life?
7.  Do you blame others for your failures?
8.  Do you have the tools and a strategy to Change Your Life?