Energy drinks are a growing trend for those looking for an energy boost. Some use it as a morning pick-me-up. Others use it to push themselves at the gym a little harder. No matter the reason, energy drinks are being consumed more than ever, but does that mean that they are a pain friendly choice? And, when it comes to pain patients, how do energy drinks affect you and impact your pain condition?

Energy drinks: By the numbers

This fairly new product is starting to get more attention from the scientific community as a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that emergency room visits involving energy drinks doubled from 2007 to 2011. This is partly due to the fact that the energy drink industry had a 60% market growth during this time, but it does show a trend that some energy drinks can have serious health consequences.

How do energy drinks affect you?

Let’s break down the ingredients most commonly found in energy drinks and dive into what they do in the body in order to determine an energy drink’s impact on health.

Caffeine

Caffeine is one of the most widely used drugs on the planet and stimulates a person’s central nervous system. It is a part of most people’s daily life and it is a generally accepted guideline that a consumption of 400 mg of caffeine a day is considered safe.

Even in safe limits, though, there are extra (and tricky) considerations. Some fibromyalgia sufferers, for instance, find that even small doses of caffeine can cause a pain flare-up, or can adversely impact sleep to the point of causing more pain the next day. Some migraine or headache sufferers also report that caffeine can cause pain. On the other hand, some migraine sufferers actually find that caffeine can help alleviate head pain symptoms, and some fibromyalgia sufferers find the same.

Your body and your pain are specific to you. When it comes to caffeine, keep a pain and food diary to track what you eat and associated symptoms so you can start to figure out what helps and what hurts. It is also a good idea to consult your doctor if you are taking prescription drugs as caffeine is known to interact poorly with many other medications.

That concerns safe levels of caffeine consumption, however. Energy drinks contain large amounts of caffeine and, depending on the drink, can have reported amounts of anywhere from 50 – 250 mg of caffeine per can. This is the main reason why energy drinks produce a performance boost, increase memory, and make the user more alert.

High caffeine consumption comes with quite a few downsides, though. Regular caffeine intake can cause high blood pressure, risk of heart attack (even in younger adults), increase risk for gout attacks, decrease bone density, increase anxiety, and lead to insomnia, just to name a few.

Sugar

Sugar is a simple carbohydrate that our body breaks down and uses as energy to fuel our cells. Generally, an eight-ounce energy drink has somewhere between 21g and 34g of sugar that can come in the form of sucrose, glucose, or high fructose corn syrup. The American Heart Association suggests that adult women should only consume 25g and men 37.5g of sugar at most per day, so it is easy to see how drastic a single energy drink can be.

Sugar does provide some benefits like an instant energy boost, but mostly it can hurt your body. It can cause increased inflammation in joints, it can decrease the immune response, it can cause a pain flare-up, and it also has some nasty effects on the tooth and gums. It also can cause a sugar crash, which will leave you tired and cranky. Sugar is one thing that you should always make sure you are consuming in moderation.

Even if the energy drink contains a sugar substitute instead of actual sugar, there simply hasn’t been enough research done on the more popular sugar substitutes to know how they impact the body.

Guarana

Guarana is a South American plant compound found in most energy drinks that has a large amount of natural caffeine – approximately 40g per 1g of guarana. What does that mean exactly? It means that drink companies are not required to report that added caffeine to the total of an energy drink, which means that it is likely that your favorite drink has much more caffeine than you realized.

Taurine

Taurine is a common amino acid that supports numerous bodily functions including brain development and regulating water and in minerals in the blood. While there is some preliminary evidence that it helps prevent and treat cardiovascular disease, further studies are still required. As it is, diets in the U.S. are generally fairly rich in taurine so it is unknown whether more of this compound has any other additional benefits.

These are common ingredients in energy drinks, but there are many more depending on the brand you choose. So, how do energy drinks affect you, especially if you have a chronic pain condition? Generally, not well. Based on their ingredients (and the amounts of those ingredients), it is always better and healthier to find an alternative to energy drinks especially if you have chronic pain.

What are some better alternatives to energy drinks?          

The large amounts of sugar and caffeine make this “dietary supplement” a poor choice for a healthy lifestyle. Instead of grabbing an energy drink the next time you are in a slump, try one of these tasty alternatives to get you energized and back in the game.

• Smoothies are always an excellent choice. Specifically, vegetable smoothies that include spinach, kale, or parsley. You can also add a touch of ginger to help boost your energy levels and even reduce pain. Throw in some fruits or honey to create different combinations so you never get bored.
• Green tea has many health benefits that beat out energy drinks. Not only does it boost your metabolism, but it also has been reported to have positive effects on the heart and brain. It does usually contain caffeine, but only 25 – 40mg. That’s just enough to get your body making cortisol, an important hormone in keeping up energy levels.
• Chocolate milk provides a great balance between carbohydrates and protein, plus it gives you calcium. Grab a small glass of it for a healthy treat that is a perfect post-work out recovery drink.
• Coconut water is a good option as it has fewer calories and more potassium than most energy drinks. It also has many other essential nutrients such as magnesium, phosphorus, and calcium. This drink is rich and refreshing while still being great for your body.
• Good ol’ fashioned water. Water is very important for a healthy body as it supplies the muscles with nutrients and is crucial in every metabolic reaction. When you are dehydrated, your metabolism slows down and you start to feel sluggish. Downing some water can be just the trick to pep you back up again. Added bonus: add some fresh fruit to your water to get some added vitamins and minerals even more energy!

How do you get your motor running when your energy is low? How do energy drinks affect you?

A migraine can be an intense event that can ruin a whole day or even a week. It can be a chronic condition that you have to manage for most of your life, too. Throbbing pain in the head is the classic symptom of this disorder, but it is also known to be accompanied by vomiting, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound. So it is easy to assume that if you do get migraines, you want to make sure you minimize them as much as possible. A migraine diet can help.

What is a migraine?

Migraine affects nearly 38 million people in the U.S. While throbbing head pain is the most widely-recognized symptom, other symptoms can include fatigue, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound. When a migraine hits, the last thing on your mind might be food. Turns out, there are some foods that can actually help ease the pain of migraine while soothing other common symptoms.

A migraine diet made easy

We have put together a list of tasty and healthy foods that are rich in the vitamins and minerals that will help fight off migraines. We have also included some tips and tricks on crafting an overall better migraine diet, from what to avoid to what you should definitely eat. Finally, we rounded that up with a collection of “eat this, not that” recommendations at the end.

There has been quite a bit of research done on the correlation between certain foods and migraines. The results are usually classified into categories such as pain-safe foods that never contribute to headache and common triggers that often cause headaches. Everything else can fall in the middle and not all diet choices will be right for you.

Some triggers will affect you and some won’t, so it is always a smart idea to keep track of what you eat and how it affects you. You can use a daily activity journal to track and identify problem foods and activities to better understand how to mitigate your migraines. It is also a good idea to keep in mind that it could take several months to notice a sizeable difference when eliminating certain foods. Remember, changing your diet isn’t guaranteed to make you migraine-free, but it is a powerful tool in helping you reduce migraine episodes and pain overall.

1. Drink more water

Dehydration is one of the most common migraine triggers. Water is essential for the body to be healthy and function properly. Also, with the wide selection of sugary drinks and juices, we often forget that we aren’t drinking as much water as we should be. If you don’t like just drinking plain old H2O, you can always reach for other options like herbal tea and decaf coffee as they are mostly water and low in sugar and calories.

2. Eat more healthy fats

Some people still think fat is a bad word, but there are some major benefits to adding certain ones to your migraine diet. Omega-3 fatty acids, mainly found in fatty fish such as mackerel, tuna, and salmon, can really help with migraines. Olive oil is also another great source of healthy fat. The monounsaturated fats can be just as beneficial as omega-3s and they can be a healthy substitute in most recipes. Research has shown that they help reduce the frequency, pain level, and duration of migraines. Make sure you add in a healthy dose a few times a week to start seeing some positive changes.

3. Add magnesium to your diet

Magnesium is a great nutrient to add to your migraine diet. It can help with increasing energy, calming anxiety, and relieving digestive issues. It also has been shown to prevent and soothe migraine headaches of all types. Try adding spinach, quinoa, and whole grains to your diet as they are high in magnesium and other essential nutrients. If you can’t seem to fit in enough, magnesium supplements are an excellent alternative.

4. Don’t forget the riboflavin

Also known as vitamin B2, riboflavin has been shown to combat migraine incidents. Research shows that it can reduce migraines up to 50% when taking 400mg daily. B2 is also essential for metabolic energy production, so adding more of it can boost energy levels. Adding foods that are high in vitamin B2 like quinoa or asparagus can help you reach that 400mg mark.

5. Identify your trigger foods and construct a migraine diet plan

This is where the daily activity journal will do the most good. Since foods affect people differently, it helps to reset your diet to mostly safe foods to begin with. Trigger foods usually take about two days to start causing headaches again so you can then slowly add in foods you enjoy to see if they are the culprit for headaches.

Caution should be advised when changing your diet as there is no universal migraine diet that is right for everyone. A well-balanced diet is recommended. You should avoid skipping meals as this can have negative effects and actually exacerbate migraines.

Common migraine triggers

Here is a list of well-known trigger foods, so be careful if you want to add them to your diet.

• Alcohol: A small amount usually isn’t a problem, but certain liquors such as red wine or beer can be very powerful triggers for most people. If you are drinking, make sure to drink plenty of water as well because alcohol can cause dehydration.
• Aspartame: This can be found in artificial sweeteners that are often in diet drinks, low-calorie deserts, and yogurts.
• Additives: Be careful of additives in a variety of foods such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium caseinate, and yeast extract.
• Nitrites: Nitrates are a preservative that is also used to add flavor to meat products. Nitrites are most frequently found in any food that is smoked, cured, pickled, or canned. Specifically, a high amount of this is most often found in deli meats, hotdogs, sausages, and jerky.
• Tyramine and phenylethylamine: These two amino acids are the most common food triggers for headaches. Make sure to be careful when eating chocolate, aged cheese, nuts, or soy food, as they have large concentration of these amino acids.

6. Eat this, not that for a migraine diet 

Finally, we hope you enjoy these fun switches you can make to easily up your migraine diet to find relief.

Instead of: Fresh oranges for breakfast

You may think that eating plenty of citrus fruits is a good thing to begin your day, but for some people, fresh citrus can be a trigger. Plus, the added acid isn’t doing a stomach upset by migraine any favors.

Try: Cooked fruit such as pears or cherries

Compounds in tart cherries can ease inflammation, including inflammation that may make a migraine worse. Mixed in with some overnight oats, chia seeds, and rice milk, cooked cherries or pears help you work towards your daily recommended amount of fruit without increasing your pain.

Instead of: Products with wheat flour

For some people with migraine, wheat-based foods (bread, pasta, and crackers) may trigger or worsen migraine headaches. Wheat can also cause gastrointestinal problems for those who are sensitive to it. That’s the last thing you want if one of your migraine symptoms is nausea.

Try: Rice- or oat-based products

Gluten-free foods have come a long way in the last decade. Gone are the crumbly breads, hard crackers, mushy pastas, and dry muffins of the past. Rice-based pastas are especially well-tolerated for those with migraine, potentially due to the high magnesium and niacin content. Brown rice is also a staple part of the elimination diet that is often suggested to migraine sufferers in order to diagnose triggers.

Oat flour and oats in general are also an excellent, mild food for upset stomachs that can come with migraines. A migraine diet that includes oats for breakfast is a great start to the day.

Instead of: Coffee

Coffee and the effects of caffeine are hotly debated. For mild headaches, a bit of caffeine seems to help with the pain, but when it comes to a migraine diet, caffeine is a commonly identified trigger. But if you need a morning jolt of caffeine to just wake up, you may find yourself rolling the dice and gambling that this time it won’t be a trigger.

Try: Green tea (and others)

Green tea has caffeine in it, yes, but it also has other compounds that may help ease the pain of migraine. Pair it with ginger, skullcap, and feverfew for a morning drink that attacks multiple symptoms of migraine, including nausea. If you are used to caffeine in the morning, eliminating it totally may actually cause headaches. Replacing your normal cup of joe with green tea can help ease the transition and relieve pain at the same time.

Instead of: Soy products

As a migraine sufferer, you have probably tried a plant-based diet to help ease the symptoms of migraine. But you find that soy triggers migraine just as much as a big, juicy burger. So what do you do for protein?

Try: Beans and nuts of all kinds

If your migraines are triggered by fluctuating hormones, soy products can exacerbate that and cause headaches. Soy products are also processed so much as to be unhealthy in general. Instead of focusing on soy for your protein needs, look towards a wide array of beans. Beans such as navy beans, pinto beans, lima beans, and kidney beans, and nuts and seeds like pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, cashews, and almonds contain protein and magnesium, a migraine-fighting mineral that many in the U.S. are deficient in.

Beans are affordable, versatile, and delicious, with a seemingly endless array of recipe options. You won’t miss meat or soy.

Instead of: Raw vegetables

As we move into summer, fresh raw vegetables look more and more appetizing. It makes sense that when the days heat up, we like to cool down, staying out of the kitchen and taking advantage of the farmer’s market bounty. But in addition to the triggering effect of hotter temperatures and a rising barometer, many raw fruits and vegetables like corn, tomatoes, onions, apples, and bananas can also set off migraine pain. It can be a catch-22, deciding between migraine pain and getting the health benefits of vegetables.

Try: Cooked vegetables

While some experts disagree with the idea that certain vegetables can trigger migraines, if they do bother you, skip them and reach for foods that have never been linked to migraines, such as leafy greens, broccoli, carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes. These vegetables are filled with antioxidants and may also be anti-inflammatory. Steam or roast them lightly on the grill to retain their nutrients and keep your house cool in the summer months.

Instead of: Ice cream or frozen yogurt

Nothing says summer like a big bowl full of ice cream or frozen yogurt, but dairy and sugar can trigger and increase migraine pain exponentially. Is it really worth it?

Try: Mango berry “nice cream”

Most of the dairy-free “nice cream” circulating around the web these days feature bananas and coconut milk, two foods to skip on a migraine diet. This mango berry nice cream is rich and sweet with no added sugar. Berries are at their very best in the summer. To take advantage of this treat year-round, freeze them first on cookie sheets. Then put them in pre-measured bags for a quick frozen treat whenever the urge strikes!

If you need more directed help with your migraine headaches, talk to a pain doctor today to learn about treatment options that could help you. Click here to contact one of our pain specialists.

Experts flood the health and wellness field, each offering sometimes contradictory advice for appropriate amounts of physical activity. Wondering “how much should I exercise?” Fortunately, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has analyzed the data and issued guidelines that people can follow to stay fit. Here’s what you should know.

How much should I exercise? 

If your current levels of physical activity fall below the recommended guidelines, don’t let that keep you from exercising. Any amount of physical activity is beneficial. If possible, start small and gradually increase physical activity until reaching the recommended amounts. Here’s what you can expect based on your age and other guidelines.

Adolescents ages 6 to 17

Children at this age often have abundant energy, and while some get plenty of exercise, other find their imaginations captured more by television and video games than playing street hockey.

Federal guidelines recommend adolescents should get at least 60 minutes or more each day of moderate or vigorous exercise. Reaching that one-hour block of time impacts health more than the intensity or type of exercise, according to the guidelines. Most of the exercise should fall into the aerobic category. This includes running, playing team sports, or dancing. It should also include vigorous physical activity at least three days a week.

Adolescents should also work to build muscle at least three days a week, and complete bone strengthening exercises three days a week. Muscle strengthening exercises include climbing trees, playing on playground equipment, or lifting weights. Bone building activities could include running, tennis, or weight lifting.

Adults ages 18 to 64

In adulthood, recommended levels of exercise fall from 60 minutes daily to 150 minutes to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week, although more exercise imparts additional health benefits. An equivalent combination of 75-150 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise is also a good amount to go for.

Activity should be at a moderate intensity, and can include activities such as gardening, walking at least three miles per hour, or slow bicycling. People who tend to workout more vigorously—think singles tennis, jump rope, or difficult hikes—can make do with 75 minutes each week.

Workout sessions should last at least ten minutes and spread them throughout the week, ideally on at least three separate days. At least two days a week, adults should work out all of their major muscle groups through activities such as weight lifting, using resistance bands, or doing pull-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups.

Adults ages 65 and older

Older adults should also aim for at least 150 minutes of exercise weekly, although additional exercise offers greater health benefits. Adults with chronic conditions that make it difficult to reach desired exercise amounts should do what they can and try to avoid becoming inactive.

Unfit older adults should take care to adopt an exercise regimen in accordance with their current levels of physical fitness and adjust as capabilities expand. Other than that, older adults should follow the same guidelines as younger adults. In addition to the general guidelines, they also suggest that older adults should:

• Be as physically active as their abilities and conditions allow, even if this isn’t 150 minutes of activity a week
• Do exercises that maintain or improve balance if they are at risk of falling
• Determine their level of effort for exercise relative to their level of fitness

People with health conditions (including pregnancy)

A final section of the report touches on additional considerations for special populations of adults. As the study notes, “some people have conditions that raise special issues about recommended types and amounts of physical activity.” The populations it looks at specifically in the guidelines are pregnant and post-partum women and those with chronic health conditions or disabilities.

The guidelines give examples of appropriate activities in their report, but they also point out three key messages for these groups. Namely:

• Adults with chronic conditions still obtain important health benefits from exercise
• If exercise is done according to a person’s abilities, it can still be safe
• Adults with chronic conditions or those who are pregnant should be under the care of a healthcare professional, consulting them as necessary as to the type and amount of activity appropriate for them

In all sections of the U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines, healthcare professionals stress that physical exercise is crucially important for health and attainable for any person, no matter their age or ability.

Why is aerobic exercise so important? 

Cardio, or aerobic exercise, can promote good heart health, boost your energy, and help you control your weight. This type of exercise raises your heart rate and gets your blood pumping throughout your entire body. This boosts circulation of the oxygen and nutrients your body needs to work efficiently.

Federal guidelines recommend 150 minutes to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week, 75-150 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise, or a combination of the two. Here’s why they recommend making this a priority every week.

It helps you control your weight

It’s no secret working up a regular sweat is a great way to burn calories and shed fat. But did you know cardio exercise has also been shown to suppress appetite and curb cravings? The next time you feel tempted to head for the fridge, hit the treadmill instead.

It fights disease

Physical activity is linked with preventing heart disease, high blood pressure, lowering cholesterol, lowering risk of diabetes, combatting depression and other conditions.

It makes you happy

Cardio exercise promotes the production and release of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers and “feel good” chemicals. As a result, you may find you feel happy, calm and relaxed after a good workout.

It gives you energy

It seems counterintuitive that rigorous cardio exercise would give a person more energy, but it’s true. Developing stronger muscles and elevating your heart rate on a regular basis will boost your overall physical stamina.

Studies have also shown that people who exercise regularly sleep better. There’s an exception to this, however. Don’t exercise too close to bedtime. You may have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.

It makes you smarter

There’s some science to support the theory that regularly releasing the hormones associated with cardio exercise, plus increasing blood flow, helps your brain grow. In one study, researchers found that people who exercised for one hour per day, three days a week, over the course of six months, increased the size of their brains’ hippocampus — the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning.

A study conducted by the International Journal of Workplace Health Management also found that people who exercised during their workday were 23 percent more productive on those days than on days they didn’t exercise. And get this: 72 percent of the study’s participants did cardio exercise.

What do they mean by muscle-strengthening exercises? 

Along with aerobic exercise, muscle strengthening is a vital part of fitness for all age groups and levels of fitness. Muscle strengthening occurs when a specific muscle is put through a series of repetitions that build and condition that muscle. The ideal number of repetitions is the number right before you are not able to perform the exercise without help. Adults should aim for muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week. Before you begin any new exercise program, though, consult with your doctor.

You don’t have to restrict muscle strengthening exercises to the gym. Yoga, gardening that involves digging or shoveling, and pushups on your bedroom floor all count. As long as the exercises involve all of your muscle areas at some point, they count. Using resistance bands (standing on a band and doing curls) and your own body weight (pull ups) are both excellent ways to work your muscles.

Older adults should get the same amount of muscle strengthening but with special attention paid to changes in balance and endurance.  Some of the exercises may be completed while seated or holding on to a chair. Those new to strength training should work with their doctor to develop a safe, comprehensive plan that includes aerobic exercise and muscle strengthening.

Muscle strengthening with chronic conditions

Muscle strengthening is also an important part of health for adults with disabilities or chronic conditions.

A study in 2003 found that many symptoms of pain and weakness decreased significantly after exercising two times a week, and another study in 2007 found that those people suffering from arthritis had a higher quality of life if they exercised the recommended 150 minutes a week. Any muscle strengthening exercises can also be completed while seated or holding on to a chair.

Children should also incorporate muscle strengthening activity at least three days a week.  The best way to do this is through their regular play, adding games that use lunges, pull ups, or sit ups. Have them learn these exercises without resistance bands at first. The goal is not to become a bodybuilder but to help build strong, correct muscle groups and support bone density. Don’t skip the stretching and warming up, and remind kids to hydrate throughout the exercise.

Get started with exercise

It is important to note that you need not exercise in hour-long blocks to get the benefits or meet the guidelines. Brief, ten-minute muscle strengthening activities such as push ups at the office or lunges in the elevator help you meet the weekly requirements and are just as effective as a class at the gym. Add daily walks with your dog or significant other. It’s easy to incorporate these activities into your daily routine!

Could exercise change your life? In one simple, precise, and perfectly accurate answer: yes. Here’s why and how you can start exercising in 2019.

Why is it so important to start exercising?

We’ve heard the statistics. Two-thirds of people in the U.S. are considered overweight. We also know our lifestyles have greatly changed in the last several decades to include less physical activity – think of the time you spend commuting, instead of say, walking – and more processed foods.

The good news is, it is entirely within each person’s control to start exercising and change your life. New research shows behavior change isn’t as difficult as you may think. Fitting into those jeans in the back of your closet may be a goal that you achieve in 2019. And, exercise is the easiest way to change your health trajectory today. It needn’t cost hundreds (or even dozens) of dollars to get and stay fit. You don’t need a special trainer or a complicated fitness routine.

Evidence is mounting: if you want to improve the quality of your daily life while increasing your longevity, start moving. Here’s how it can benefit you.

Avoiding premature death

Sweating and increasing your heart rate daily is key to avoiding premature death. In a six-year study of over 246,000 people in Australia, researchers found that those who engaged in both vigorous and moderate activity daily decreased their chance of death by nine to 13%. Lead author Dr. Klaus Gebel from James Cook University’s Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention found the benefit of vigorous exercise crossed all demographics:

“The benefits of vigorous activity applied to men and women of all ages, and were independent of the total amount of time spent being active. The results indicate that whether or not you are obese, and whether or not you have heart disease or diabetes, if you can manage some vigorous activity it could offer significant benefits for longevity.”

Previous recommendations from the World Health Organization have included 150 minutes of moderate exercise and 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, but this new research increases the recommendation for vigorous exercise and suggests that interval training might be a way to work in the new recommended amount of daily sweat.

Helps with chronic conditions

Although the above study recommends an increase in vigorous exercise, not everyone can add more vigorous workouts to their daily routine. Fortunately, for some, moderate exercise is enough to increase the daily quality of life for people who desperately need a boost: cancer patients.

A study out of Kansas State University found that moderate exercise may be just what is needed to improve outcomes during cancer treatment. This same moderate exercise can counteract the negative effects of treatment, including low blood pressure, fatigue, and lost muscle mass. Exercise increases tumor oxygenation which can help improve treatment success for cancer patients, especially for those with difficult-to-treat tumors.

Brad Behnke, associate professor of exercise physiology, points out the potential for moderate exercise’s positive effects on both overall health and improved cancer treatments:

“If we can increase the efficacy of radiation treatment, then the patient’s prognosis is enhanced. An intervention like exercise has almost universally positive side effects versus other treatments that can have deleterious side effects. Exercise is a type of therapy that benefits multiple systems in the body, and may permanently alter the environment within the tumor.”

Moderate exercise also has progressive benefits for the elderly, including increased life expectancy and increased quality of life. This benefit starts in adolescence, as women who began exercising in their teens had a 16% lowered risk of death from cancer and 13% risk from all other types of death.

Other benefits of exercise

Other research shows that exercise can:

• Reverse age-related bone loss in middle-aged men. Moderate exercise helps to improve balance and coordination, which can prevent the falls that lead to injury. This results in fewer incidents of brittle-bone fractures.
• Exercise with a physiotherapist as an add-on to medication results in a positive effect on depression. Study participants who exercised with an eye to reducing their weight and improving their physical fitness found the most benefit.
• Lessen the effects of brain damage due to senility or minor stroke, allowing those who suffer from either to stay active and mobile for longer.
• Improve erectile and sexual function in men; this result was found to cross race and economic status.
• Aerobic exercise lessens the severity of asthma attack symptoms by lessening the inflammatory response that is mounted by the body during an attack.

Exercise can save not only the life of individuals, but can reflect the improved life of an entire neighborhood. A community effort to revitalize a neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama led to an increase in exercise and improved diet, both due to an increase in green spaces that include walking trails that led to grocery stores that had fresh fruits and vegetables.

How to start exercising

It is clear that exercise can change your life both in quality and quantity. Incorporating exercise into your daily routine does not require totally overhauling the way you live. If you’re planning to diet to lose weight or to get fit, exercise will likely be part of that plan. Working out and staying in shape can prevent pain and help with your weight loss efforts.

Start small

If you’re not currently exercising at all, your first step is simply to take the first step; you’ve just got to start moving. Talk to your doctor about your fitness goals, then start small by incorporating something as simple as a 15-minute daily walk.

Make it fun

Officials at Mayo Clinic report seven critical benefits of daily exercise. These include:

• Weight control
• Prevention of health conditions and disease
• Improvement of mood
• Increased energy
• Improved sleep
• Improved sex drive
• Fun

Fun?! you might be thinking, “If exercise was ‘fun,’ I’d be doing it every day already. One tool to behavior change is finding activities that are actually enjoyable and fun for you. Perhaps you don’t see yourself ever crossing the finish line of a marathon, but remember when you loved to golf? Enjoyed that bowling team? Caught up with friends on long walks?

To make exercise a lifestyle, you simply need to find an activity you like doing, and do it regularly. Set a goal to do something fun at least two or three times per week. Perhaps it is swimming laps, or chasing your grandchildren around the park. Maybe you enjoy yoga, golfing, tennis or even playing Frisbee with the dog. Just because you exercise doesn’t mean you have to strap yourself to an elliptical at the gym. Make exercising fun. If you find joy in an activity it won’t seem like exercise.

Exercise well

If you start with a daily walk, follow recommendations for both vigorous and moderate exercise by participating in interval training.

Walk for two minutes at a moderate pace, then increase the pace for one minute to work up a sweat and get your heart pumping. As your fitness level increases, swap that ratio and go for two minutes of vigorous walking with one minute of moderate rest. The same goes for other activities you do. Incorporate short bursts of higher intensity in your tennis match, swimming, or yoga.

Organize a buddy walk

Improving your own fitness is a great way to change your life, so why not improve the lives of those around you? Invite your kids, your neighbors, or your coworkers for a daily walk in the morning, during lunch, or after dinner. Exercising with others is a great way to build community and to hold everyone in the group accountable.

To find an exercise plan that works for you, it helps to have a buddy hold you accountable. If you have someone walking the neighborhood with you every morning, you’re less likely to pass on a chilly morning or a hot summer evening. You also want to find someone on a level playing field. If this is the first time you’ve worked out in ten years, you don’t want your buddy to be a fitness pro. Why do that to yourself? Find someone at a similar level and start there.

Stay consistent

Small changes add up but only if you stick to a daily schedule. If you follow the rule of not missing more than one day in a row you will build the habit of healthy exercise, and that habit will change your life.

Find your motivation

Once you set a goal and achieve it, give yourself a reward, but don’t reward yourself with food. That’s one of the bad habits you’re trying to break! “I’ve had a rough week. I deserve a pizza. Or a hotdog.” Nope.

You deserve good fuel in the form of a healthy meal and rest or self-care. That’s how you reward yourself. Take your kids bowling or spend the day at the park. Buy a new shirt. Now, that’s a reward.

Create achievable goals

Here’s how to make goals you can actually keep by:

• Being specific: Set a goal and give it detail. For example, “exercise more,” is great, but “exercise three times a week” is stronger. “Exercise for 20 minutes three times a week after I leave work” is best.
• Making attainable goals: Nothing is less motivating than constantly failing at your goal. Set a goal for drinking five glasses of water per day, or eating two pieces of fruit each day. Don’t make your goal, “Lose 20 pounds this month,” or you’ll likely feel miserable when your target is missed.
• Forgiving yourself: Exercise and weight loss is a long-term goal. Short-term weight loss has shown to be destructive and short-lived. Consider losing weight a life-long challenge and you’ll be more forgiving when you have that piece of fried chicken or hit the snooze button instead of going to the gym. Weight loss, like any behavior change, takes daily dedication over a long period of time.

Starting with exercise

Speak with your doctor today for more information about healthy weight loss. Your pain specialist will be able to tell you what your healthy weight is, and how being in this range will likely lessen your pain.

Let’s review. Finding an easy exercise plan to suit your needs means starting slow. You don’t want to take yourself out with an injury before you’ve been able to see and feel real results. Set your goals, find non-food rewards and a good buddy to work with you and you’ll feel better in no time! And keep the pain away. Hit the comments to share why you’re choosing to exercise in 2019 and how you’re going to get started.

We all have our regular tendencies and practices, but the difference between a routine and a habit is that routines are relatively easy to adjust and change, while habits can be especially difficult to give up. That is the bad news. The good news is that you can change your habits. Doing so can help you reduce pain levels, get better sleep, and live a generally more healthy life. Here’s some of the leading research and theories on how to break bad habits, for good. Use the ones that resonate with you to help guide your habit change.

Stages of Change model

Contrary to popular belief or what you might think, habits are not stagnant creatures we are doomed to carry around for the rest of our lives. But they are also not generally changed overnight. The act of changing habits has many stages, and there are concrete ways to improve your chances of actually sticking with the changes you make.

One of the most difficult habits to change is addiction – to alcohol, drugs, food, or any other substance. Over 20 years ago, Carlo C. DiClemente and J. O. Prochaska studied the actions of alcoholics attempting to change their habit. They observed six distinct stages that were common in this process:

• Precontemplation: When the habit or addiction is identified.
• Contemplation: Understanding that there is a problem, and that a change needs to occur.
• Determination: The decision to change is made, and a plan to change is created.
• Action: The plan is put into place. Lifestyle changes are made in support of the plan, and support in various forms is gathered.
• Maintenance, relapse, recycle: This stage acknowledges that there may be times of relapse or faltering. This does not mean change has failed but that the stages must be re-entered with renewed commitment.
• Termination: At this final stage, the habit is completely changed. There is no chance of relapse.

This model is simply referred to as The Stages of Change. While it may seem simplistic, for addicts or others struggling with changing habits, this can be a powerful model for those who feel like they are making no real progress towards change, especially when they fall back into the old habit. Because it takes an average 66 days to actually change a habit (not the previously touted 28 days), this model can provide support, structure, and encouragement to the effort.

The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg

In the morning, you wake up, brush your teeth, and head downstairs. You feed the dog, maybe make coffee or hot tea, then make lunches and breakfast. You head upstairs, get dressed, and then head out to drop everyone off at school. Once at work, you check your social media accounts in the same order every day (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest) before checking your personal email and finally settling down to work.

You go to lunch at 11:45. Eat the same sandwich. Back to work until 5, when you pick up the kids, do homework, make dinner, spend some family time in front of the TV or playing a game, then it’s off to sleep. Wake up the next day, and the cycle repeats. It is so routine that you don’t even really think about it anymore. Some days, you fall into bed and can’t remember one single moment clearly.

And this, says Pulitzer-prize winning author Charles Duhigg, is where our brains trap us into bad habits. In his book The Power of Habit, Duhigg explains how we can use the three-part habit loop to change our lives for the better instead of living out a daily routine. In his book, there are a number of actionable tips for how to break bad habits.

The habit loop

Part of understanding how this works is to focus on the habit loop. The habit loop consists of a cue, the actual routine, and then a reward. Duhigg found that most studies in habit formation focus on the routine. In fact, Duhigg found that it wasn’t changing the behavior that changed the habit as much as it was changing the cue and the reward.

Duhigg believes that the meaningful reward and appropriate cue change the behavior (the routine) more than changing the routine itself changes:

“This gets to how habits work. The reason why these cues and rewards are so important is because over time, people begin craving the reward whenever they see the cue, and that craving makes a habit occur automatically.”

In short, we can change our routine by cueing behavior instead and rewarding it in a meaningful way.

Our brain on habits

In his book, Duhigg presents an example of experiments in laboratory mice that illustrate this point. Researcher Wendy Wood pointed out that 40-45% of what we think of as daily decisions are actually just habits (like the daily routine above). Another researcher decided to examine what is happening in our brains as we go through these daily habits.

Ann Graybiel from MIT examined what happened to the brains of rats as they completed the world’s simplest maze: a T-shaped maze with the rat at the base and a piece of chocolate at the end of one of the arms. At first, when the rat was dropped in the maze, there was a flurry of brain activity. Time after time as the rat was dropped in the maze, the brain activity increased. But as the rat got used to the maze and finding the chocolate in the correct arm, brain activity decreased to a nearly sleeping level. The rat was completing the routine of finding the chocolate in a half-awake state.

This is what happens to our brains on habits. In some cases (like a healthy exercise or healthy eating habit) performing these actions on autopilot is a good thing. But what if you are trying to change a habit that is not healthy or form a new habit?

Create meaningful cues and rewards 

The Power of Habit offers a very simple suggestion when it comes to these habit loops: wake up.

If you want to change a habit in a long-lasting way, it is important to understand your own habit loop and wake up in the middle where the routine is. The key to doing that is using an obvious cue and offering a meaningful reward. What kind of cues and rewards work? That is entirely up to the person who is making the change. Maybe you want to exercise more and watch less TV. Hanging your dog’s leash by the door where you hang your coat reminds you that it’s time for a walk. That’s the cue.

The reward should be something tangible; maybe it’s a movie, a special treat, or a new pair of shoes. Whatever it is, the reward needs to be something you would actually want to work towards. For another example, consider that you want to save money, but it seems like every time you try to save, something comes up and you are unable to put away any part of your check. Create a meaningful cue to change the behavior, and then focus on a reward.

An example might be:

• Meaningful cue: You receive a five-dollar bill
• Routine: The five-dollar bill goes in a savings jar
• Reward: After a certain dollar amount, treat yourself to something that is valuable to you, whether that is a new book, a sporting event, or a day trip somewhere.

You have made changing your behavior automatic but not in a way that puts you to sleep by choosing a specific cue and then designing an appropriate, meaningful reward.

We can wake ourselves up instead of sleep-walking through the daily routines of life by doing things like choosing a reaction ahead of time (i.e., when you get a five-dollar bill and don’t want to save it) and focusing on our specific rewards. Reminding ourselves to make mindful choices instead of falling into the sleepy rut of a routine we don’t remember is a powerful way to create big changes in our lives.

The power of small changes

Making changes to cues and rewards can help change habits, but sometimes a short-term small or grand gesture is the ticket.

Matt Cutts’s TED Talk urges his audience to try something new for 30 days. In these short periods of 30 days at a time, he climbed Mt. Kilamanjaro, wrote a novel, biked to work every day, and took one photograph a day. His experience made him feel more adventurous and alive, but the one thing he learned from this was counterintuitive to the 30-day experiment model:

“I learned that when I made small, sustainable changes, things I could keep doing, they were more likely to stick. There’s nothing wrong with big, crazy challenges. In fact, they’re a ton of fun. But they’re less likely to stick.”

In the end, it was the small changes within the larger ones that made the changes stick, not the grandiose gestures.

The Evans Health Lab, made most famous for its popular whiteboard video 23 1/2 Hours, has written extensively about what it takes to change a habit. While there are strong arguments for the fact that changing a habit can be a small, daily re-examination of smaller habits.

How to break bad habits: Getting started

So what does this mean for you? First, now is the time to make a change. No matter what time of year it is, you can start learning how to break bad habits now.

Next, understand that small, incremental changes in habits will probably be the most successful. This may mean instead of quitting smoking cold turkey, you get some help with a nicotine patch, nicotine gum, and a support group. Talk with your doctor about the habits that will have the best, most lasting effects for you and your pain.

Finally, change your environment, cues, and rewards so that you can be successful in changing your habits. Just as alcoholics who wish to quit drinking no longer go to bars to see friends, so, too, must other environmental changes be made for other types of behaviors. If you want to watch less TV, put the TV in the basement or in an inconvenient or uncomfortable room.

Instead of waiting for the urge to exercise to strike, schedule a weekly workout with a friend. Join a team with weekly practices and games. If you want to lose weight or eat more healthy foods, chop a week’s worth of vegetables. Then, keep them within easy reach in the refrigerator.

The best time to start changing a habit is right now. What steps will you take today to make positive, lasting change?

No matter how you’re traveling, it’s likely that you’ll run into some issues. Here’s our best tips for how to manage pain during travel, whether you’re going by plane or car.

Managing common travel issues for pain patients 

The best way to manage pain during travel is to prepare for it beforehand. We have more specific advice for road trips and flights below, but there are some issues you’ll deal with during both. Here’s how to manage it.

Junk food

Everyone knows that gas station hot dogs and airplane food court options aren’t good for us but that doesn’t stop us from consuming them, especially while on a long travel days. People travel thousands of miles and stopping for fast food restaurants seems like the best idea when you just want to get wherever you’re going in the fastest way possible or you’re on a four-hour layover.

While junk food doesn’t make you feel good and can cause indigestion, did you know it could also cause other forms of pain? If you eat well most of the time but suddenly introduce your body to food of the junk variety your systems could reject it in curious ways. A healthy diet for a healthy person keeps the body’s insulin levels regulated naturally. When you add a sudden influx of unhealthy food the body goes into overtime producing insulin that can cause inflammation, aches, and pain. Imagine what junk food does to a person over an extended period of time.

Try to pack healthy snacks ahead of time, or find healthy restaurants along your route or layover airports.

Tight muscles

When you need to drive ten or twelve hours to get to your final destination you are likely to push through which means you’re sitting in a fairly unnatural position for far too long. Those on an airplane have to deal with cramped seats and smaller spaces for their legs.

Drivers experience tightness in the muscles in their back, legs, and arms from keeping them in the same general spot the whole time. Passengers also experience pain but may have an opportunity to stretch out or sleep during the trip.

See below for tips on stretching and keeping your muscles loose during travel.

Stress

With any luck your relationship with your family is wonderful and travel with them is a breeze. That doesn’t mean there won’t be stress along the way though. Traffic can be exceptionally stressful and instances of passenger anxiety are pretty common which, of course, causes more stress for the driver. Airlines are notoriously bad at delaying flights or making last-minute gate changes.

Stress is a known cause of pain including tense muscles, headaches, and clenching of the jaw. Talk to your family beforehand about ways to manage last-minute changes and deal with stress while traveling.

How to manage pain during road trips 

Do you remember the road trips from your childhood? Piling into the back of an old woodie station wagon with all your siblings and no regard to safety restraints would be the height of excitement. Your parents would drive half way across the country to see things like the Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota or the place where you could drive through the middle of a tree. There would be quick bathroom stops and snacks would be doled out on an as needed basis. If you started fighting, your mom or dad would inevitably say something like, “Don’t make me come back there,” or “Don’t make me stop this car!” Those were the things memories were made of.

Then you grew up.

As an adult the car trip is an entirely different thing. You may still love adventure and visiting family but now it involves a lot more seat belts and you hear your own parents’ voices come out of your mouth when you shout commands into the back seat of the mini-van.

Sometimes long car rides can lead to pain as well. In spite of increased attention to ergonomics in modern cars back aches don’t take long to develop, junk food along the way leads to indigestion, muscles get tight, legs feel achy, and adjusting to the cold every time you get in or out of the car can be frustrating. Above all else, road trips can be stressful. Let’s take a closer look at the ways some of these individual situations cause pain while driving or riding in the car.

Prepare for your road trip

Before you get in the car it is a good idea to prepare some things to avoid pain. Here are a few ideas:

• Pack healthy snacks and plenty of water so you don’t have to rely on junk food
• Be sure to have warm coats and accessories available to avoid exposure to extreme cold
• When packing the car, be sure to lift the luggage correctly to avoid strains
• Bring a lumbar support pillow to help take pressure off your lower back and adjust your seat so you are comfortable before you leave your driveway

How to avoid pain while in the car

Of course, preparing for the trip is only part of the battle. Here are more ideas to avoid pain while on the road:

• Stretch any chance you get at rest stops, gas stations, restaurants, or any break along the way
• Switch driving responsibilities as often as possible to give everyone in the car a chance to relax
• Drive with both hands on the wheel because it is not only safe but it will also keep your spine from rotating uncomfortably
• Pay attention to your posture at all times and do regular neck exercises to lengthen your spine

Rather than a source of stress and pain your car trips should be the beginning of an exciting adventure or a wonderful time with family and friends. Use these tips to make sure you stay safe and pain free.

How to manage pain during flights

Air travel has made traveling so much easier for many people. That is to say, it’s easier if you don’t mind paying the high prices, standing in line for security, taking off your shoes, packing everything in an overstuffed carry-on bag so you don’t have to pay for checked luggage, and sitting in a crowded airport for hours waiting for the plane. And, with any luck, there won’t be any delays for weather or mechanical issues. But, in spite of all its faults, flying gets us where we want to go quickly and safely.

Besides these inconveniences, flying can have other drawbacks as well. Everyone is susceptible to pain when sitting in a cramped airplane seat for too long. It can be even worse for someone who already deals with issues of chronic pain. If you’re concerned about pain while flying there are a few things you can do to alleviate or prevent excess pain during your air travels.

Booking your ticket

The biggest trick to managing your pain while flying is to make several strategic decisions when planning the trip.

When purchasing your tickets see if you can request a seat by the aisle and where you don’t have to climb over another traveler to stand up. Most airlines will offer you the option to select a seat based on a map of the cabin so take advantage of this feature. If you can afford the extra cost or you belong to a rewards membership program, don’t be afraid to upgrade to first class. Also, if you feel like you can help in an emergency, select an exit row seat so you have a little additional legroom while flying.

Depending on the length of your trip you may want to divide it up to keep your body a break from sitting in the cramped airplane seats. Schedule a layover where you can spend an hour or two at another airport to walk and stretch.

Before you travel

When packing for the trip think about the need to hoist your bag over your head in to the compartments. If you can’t lift a bag easily you may wish you check baggage so you don’t have to struggle once you’re boarding the airplane. Otherwise pack a lightweight bag that is easy to lift. Other passengers may also help you if they aren’t feeling the stress of travel themselves.

Even if you pack a carry-on bag that needs to be stored in the overhead bins, you can also take one personal item. For women this is typically a purse or it may be a laptop case or other small bag. This is the bag where you should store all of the items that you wish to have direct access to during the flight. It will be kept under the seat in front of you so you will be able to utilize it during the trip. Pack your electronic entertainment or a book so you can reach it easily. You may also wish you have a bottle of water (purchased in the airport after security) and some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen that you can take if you feel mild pain while traveling.

Call the airline or check your flight information ahead of time online to make sure that everything is running smoothly. If you can minimize your wait in the airport you may avoid some additional pain while traveling.

At the airport

Plan to arrive several hours early for your flight so you don’t feel the need to rush through the airport. Take your time getting through security. Many people want to push through this experience too quickly and end up lifting their bags incorrectly which can twist and pull muscles that are already feeling the effects of a stressful environment. Be pleasant to those around you but don’t feel like you need to do everything at the speed of light.

When you get through security evaluate the airport layout. Where is your gate? Where is a good place to sit comfortably and relax while you wait for your plane? This will largely depend on the size of your airport in general. If you know where you’re going and when you need to be there it will make the walk through the airport less stressful in general. If you need help in the airport, be sure to talk to disability services before you get to your gate.

On the plane

Of course, the real test comes when you’re sitting on the airplane. For much of the trip you will be asked to remain in your seat with your seatbelt securely fastened. While seated you’re not going to be able to move very far. Even so, you can take advantage of some easy stretching exercises. These will help keep your blood pumping and your muscles from getting stiff.

• Ankles and feet: Stretch your ankles by lifting your feet off the floor and making circles with your toes. Change directions and try moving each foot in a different direction. Then move on to foot pumps by resting your heels on the floor and lifting your toes upward as high as they can go. Repeat this motion.
• Legs and knees: With your knee bent, lift each leg off the ground while contracting the muscles in your thighs. Next, hold each knee with both hands. Lift your leg to your chest repeating the motion with the other leg.
• Shoulders, back, and neck: Do a shoulder roll by rotating them toward your ears in circles. Do arm lifts by placing your hands on the arm rests and bend them upwards at the elbow. Flex your entire body forward by placing your hands on your knees. Slowly walk your hands down your shins while moving your body forward. To stretch your neck muscles relax your shoulders and tilt your head from side to side so your ear reaches toward the shoulder.

More exercises and descriptions can be found on the Boeing website.

Finally, please recognize that you are on an airplane with other travelers and their comfort is just as important as yours. The flight attendants are also there to make your trip pleasant so ask questions to see how they can help.

How do you stay comfortable and manage pain during travel? To get even more advice based on your exact pain condition, talk to your doctor. 

Traditional advice to have a better diet is repeated so often that most of us can recite it in our sleep: eat less, move more, eat more fruits and veggies, cut back on sugar, etc. This is solid advice and can result in better health, but there may be one factor that undercuts all of your best efforts to eat well: your environment. We can have the best intentions for dietary changes, only to have our environment rise up and stop us in our tracks. Brian Wansink is a professor from Cornell who has been studying the ways in which our environment can affect diet. Here are six ways our environment can sabotage our better eating habits and how to fix it. 

How your environment can affect diet

Environment = everywhere you are and everyone you’re with.

In this case, environment does not mean trees, plants, and earth’s basic biology. Environment is every setting we are in daily, from our work to our home to our car. Beyond that, environment can also mean any family, friends, or health challenges that affect health and wellness goals.

1. The office

This is a big one. Many offices have breakrooms where doughnuts magically appear every Friday or leftover pastries from the morning meeting ends up. Other challenging aspects of the office environment include birthdays, retirement, and other parties, where cake and chips are present and delicious.

Many people try to avoid these snacks and treats by brown-bagging it for lunch. While this can work more often than not, peer office pressure may result in one too many cookies at a mid-morning break or abandoning your lunch in the office ‘fridge to go grab lunch at a local restaurant.

2. The home

Believe it or not, where you store your food can be a key factor when it comes to how your environment can affect diet. It can be a big challenge to maintain a healthy environment that encourages your health and wellness goals. Keeping snack-like food in easy reach means we will eat more of it. The same goes for sugar-laden cereals and empty-calorie chips.

Later in this post, we discuss this aspect in depth because it’s the one you likely have the most control over.

3. With family and friends

There is arguably no harder environment to counteract when it comes to unhealthy eating habits than that created by family and friends.

Whether it’s picky kids that insist on nightly chicken nuggets (that you finish up after dinner), family celebrations filled with comfort food served in huge bowls, family-style, or outings with friends that include bar food and cocktails, many gatherings pose a huge challenge to healthy eating.

4. The grocery store

Grocery stores are built to get consumers to buy more expensive, pre-packaged food. The layout of the store itself moves you towards the bakery and the center aisles, where more expensive and unhealthy foods exist.

The most sugary cereals are at both adult and child eye-level (to up the whine factor when choosing breakfast). Some stores even scent their entrances with the aroma of baked goods to trigger your brain’s desire to eat. When you are hungry, you buy more food.

5. In the presence of illness

While not strictly an environment, a chronic illness such as chronic pain can be challenging for healthy eating. When you are in pain, the last thing you want to do is worry about healthy cooking and eating. Why chop vegetables and broil chicken when you can eat a box of macaroni and cheese?

As anyone with a chronic condition can attest, one of the hardest parts of the day is mealtime. Especially for chronic pain patients with children or families to feed, the struggle to find the time and energy to put healthy meals on the table can make every day feel like an uphill battle.

Eating a healthier diet with pain or another chronic illness is possible, though, and can actually reduce your pain levels moving forward.

6. The mind

Our brains are powerful tools both for and against healthy eating. While you may eat a virtuous salad for lunch, your brain may convince you that one healthy meal deserves a treat. Your brain is hardwired to crave sugary foods, and with enough of them the structure is actually changed in the same manner as a person who is addicted to cocaine. Not only is the environment of the mind fertile ground for positively re-thinking the way we approach food, it can also trick us into believing that we are eating better than we actually are.

So, environment can affect diet? Absolutely. The good news, though, is that we can change these things about our environment in very simple and practical ways.

How to create a healthier home to improve your eating habits

One way to combat all of these environmental influences is to create a healthier fridge and pantry so that meals and snacks come together in a snap. Here’s how.

Organize a healthier fridge

Organizing your fridge (and freezer!) is the first step towards creating a healthier fridge and pantry. Making a few simple changes can help you become a more efficient cook and also reduce food waste.

• Door: Many of us use the doors to store milk and eggs, but that it not the best place for these temperature-sensitive foods. Doors are the warmest part of the fridge, and milk and eggs should be kept colder to extend their useable life. Store condiments and juices in the doors of your fridge.
• Upper shelves: This is a great place for grab-and-go foods and snacks like tortillas, hummus, and leftovers. Make sure leftovers are placed in clear containers so everyone can see what’s there.
• Lower shelves: This is the coldest place in the fridge. Store temperature-sensitive items like eggs, yogurt, meat, and seafood here. Take care to keep raw meat and seafood away from other foods by keeping it in its packaging and placing it in a separate container just in case it leaks.
• Crisper drawers: Crisper drawers are designed to maintain a cool, humid atmosphere to keep fruits and veggies fresher, longer. Fruit should be stored separately from vegetables, as certain fruits and vegetables give off ethylene, a natural gas that speeds ripening. Delicate fruits like berries should be stored on upper shelves and washed right before eating. Vegetables like greens, lettuce, carrots, and celery can be washed and chopped for easy salad prep.
• Freezer: The key to eliminating food waste and making your job as a cook easier is to label and rotate anything you freeze. Freeze extra soups, sauces, and freezer meals in plastic freezer bags laid flat to optimize space. Don’t forget to label everything with what it is and the date you placed it in the freezer.

Stock up with healthy alternatives

Organization of the fridge is just the beginning. The key to a healthier fridge and pantry is in what you buy. Many of us reach for convenience foods with tons of fat, salt, sugar, and preservatives because they are just that: convenient. The trick is to make healthy eating easier. When stocking the fridge and freezer, focus on these healthy staples:

• Hummus: Store bought, or try this version if you like a more mellow flavor
• Cheese: Cut into cubes or slices
• Baby carrots, cut-up celery, or sugar snap peas
• Fruit: Berries, apples, oranges, or pears
• Yogurt: Unsweetened so you can control sugar
• Eggs: Hardboiled and not
• Nuts: Store in the freezer
• Whole grains: Cooked rice, quinoa, or barley make a great meal base
• Fermented foods: Pickles, kimchi, or kefir
• Leftover roast turkey or chicken
• Tortillas: Corn or flour, great for quick quesadillas and wraps
• Cooked pasta: Great for a pasta salad or to heat up for dinner
• Chicken or vegetable stock: Freeze in two-cup portions for quick soups
• Fish, chicken, and grass-fed beef: Freeze in four-ounce portions
• Freezer meals: Make them yourself, or find one healthier option in the grocery store for those times when cooking needs to be fast and easy
• Frozen vegetables: Frozen peas, carrots, broccoli, and spinach can all be added to soups, pasta, and rice at the last minute to round out a meal
• Bread: Bread can be frozen but should not be kept in the fridge
• Ginger: Keep a hand of ginger in the freezer

For the pantry, stick to staples to keep your options wide open:

• Dried pasta
• Variety of beans: Canned or dry, but canned is generally more convenient
• Rice
• Variety of grains: Quinoa, couscous, or barley
• Canned tomatoes
• Canned vegetables
• Oils: Canola and olive
• Canned tuna
• Granola: Store-bought or homemade
• Jarred pasta sauce: For quick meals
• Mexican staples: Salsa, enchilada sauce, taco sauce, but watch for preservatives and additives
• Asian staples: Fish sauce, sesame oil, and soy sauce (or tamari for gluten free)
• Spices: Spices add flavor without adding salt, fat, or calories. Chronic pain patients benefit from anti-inflammatory spices like ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, and cayenne
• Chocolate: Dark chocolate is anti-inflammatory and can benefit the heart

As always, work within your dietary needs. Focus on the foods that are healthy for you, and ask your doctor for input when you need it.

Plan ahead for easy meal prep

Now that you have stocked a healthier fridge and pantry, make sure you use all of the food you have bought.

Even before you hit the grocery store, think about what dinners you will prepare for the week ahead. Some people may even want to cook once for the entire week or even the entire month with freezer meals for the crockpot or just to heat up quickly. Consider lunches and snacks when you make your shopping list. Meal planning eliminates waste at home and also keeps you from making impulse purchases at the grocery store.

Plan ahead for healthy meals and snacks by washing, chopping, and pre-portioning vegetables. When you bring your produce home, wash a week’s worth of lettuce, spin in the salad spinner to remove all of the moisture, and store in a freezer bag with a paper towel (for residual moisture).

As you cook for the week, make sure to store leftovers at eye-level in clear containers in the fridge. You can also go through the fridge and pantry periodically to rotate canned goods. Whenever you buy canned goods, make sure to store them towards the back of the pantry, rotating older cans to the front to eliminate food waste.

Be more intentional about eating

Beyond these tips, there are a few more things you can do that easily reframe how you eat, how much, and when. If it works for you and your family, consider:

lear your counters: Keep snack food off your counters and make it inconvenient to reach in your cupboards. If you must keep food on the counters, make it easy-to-eat fruit (think clementines, apples, and bananas).
Service matters: Mimicking the environment of a restaurant, Wansink found that serving food individually portioned onto plates instead of family-style resulted in a 19% drop in food consumption.
Size matters: Use a smaller plate to decrease portion size.
Pay attention: Turn off the TV, sit at a dinner table, and eat mindfully. Pay attention to what you’re eating, chew your food slowly, and talk about your day with your family (or coworkers). Slowing down will give your brain time to receive the signal that you are full. This will result in less overeating.

Changes to your environment to improve eating habits needn’t been drastic or difficult. Which tip can you put into place today?

With the flood of fad diets and weight loss programs bombarding you from every side, it’s difficult to figure out what you should and shouldn’t eat. It becomes even more complicated when you’ve got one or more medical conditions, such as chronic pain. Before you know it, figuring out mealtimes can become downright stressful. Eating doesn’t have to be a chore, though. Armed with some basic knowledge, you can make nutritional choices for chronic pain management that help you stay at your healthiest, while reducing your pain levels.

Top 10 food choices you can make for chronic pain management

1. Try to eat something from each food group with each meal

The food pyramid that most of us learned about as kids has now been replaced with the MyPlate guidelines. The food groups are still the same, but the proportions are slightly different. Additionally, the food groups are arranged as though they’re on a plate or place setting, so it’s simple to visualize how much you should each from each food group. Below we talk about important switches you can make at each meal, but for an overall diet task for chronic pain management, try to eat something from each food group with each meal.

Fruits and vegetables

Vegetables ought to take up just over one fourth of your plate. This will help fill you up, which can support weight loss or the maintenance of a healthy weight. In addition, vegetables are packed with different nutrients, so eating a wide variety will provide your body with a lot of different vitamins and minerals. Try to mix up your vegetable intake so that over time, you get as many different nutrients as possible.

Fruit should take up just under a fourth of your plate. When combined, fruits and vegetables should fill half your plate. Again, filling up on fruit instead of high calorie, unhealthy alternatives can support a healthy weight. Fruit is also packed with lots of nutrients. In particular, berries are full of antioxidants, which support a healthy immune system and can even potentially lower chronic pain levels. Eat a big variety of fruit to get a big variety of benefits. When choosing your fruits and vegetables, trying to get a lot of different colors can help you get as many nutrients as possible.

Grains

Grains should fill one fourth of your plate. Whole grains, such as barley, oats, brown rice, or wild rice, are unprocessed and still contain everything that makes them healthy. For this reason, try to make sure that at least half the grains you eat are whole. Whole wheat pasta or whole grain breads can also fill this requirement.

Protein

Protein should take up the last fourth of your plate. Red meat tends to be higher in fat content, and it’s also been linked to increased inflammation, so it ought to be minimized. Other meats, such as lean poultry or fish, are overall healthier. Additionally, meat-free proteins like beans can be used in place of meat if you really want to cut back on fat while increasing fiber.

Dairy

Dairy can be a healthy part of a balanced diet. These products contain a lot of nutrients, but they have been linked to a potential increase in pain with some chronic pain conditions, so pay attention to your body (this is true for any changes you make for chronic pain management). If your pain increases every time you add a dairy product to your meal, consider choosing something like dairy free milks and products (soy or almond are popular), or simply going without.

2. Eat fresh, whole, unprocessed food as much as possible

Highly processed foods usually have most of their nutrients removed. Unfortunately, they also usually have other things added, such as sodium, sugars, or unhealthy fats. Before eating foods like pre-packaged snacks or frozen meals, look for an alternative. For example, instead of frozen breaded chicken tenders, check the meat section for raw chicken breast tenders that you can bake them yourself. It won’t take much longer to cook, and the end result will taste better and be much healthier.

Processed meals or foods are often so high in sodium that switching to fresh, unprocessed foods might leave you thinking your new meals are a bit bland. This will change over time as you adjust to a new, low-sodium diet, but you can also explore the spice section to give your food a punch of flavor. Some spices, such as ginger and turmeric, might even be able to help your chronic pain management.

3. Following a healthier diet doesn’t mean you have to deny yourself

If you’re craving a scoop of ice cream or an order of fries from your favorite fast food place, don’t deny yourself so strictly that you get frustrated, throw in the towel, and go on a binge, completely wrecking your chronic pain management plan. Instead, allow yourself a small, controlled indulgence once in a while.

You can also look for healthier alternatives that still hit the spot when you’re craving your favorite guilty pleasures. When you’re craving a sweet at the end of the day, have a bowl of fruit. To make it extra special, you can add a little whipped cream to sliced peaches or a light drizzle of chocolate to fresh strawberries.

To satisfy your craving for fries, try cutting a potato into wedges, tossing them in olive oil with one or two of your favorite spices, and baking them. If you’re craving potato chips, look into products like Pampered Chef’s “Make Your Own Chips Set” that allow you to quickly make your own chips without adding any grease, fat, or salt.

Also keep in mind that not all fats are bad. The fats found in fish and nuts are very good for you in moderation. In fact, these healthy fats may even help you reduce your chronic pain. We discuss even more healthy swaps you can make later in this post.

4. Don’t forget to think about what you drink

Drinks that contain alcohol and caffeine may exacerbate pain. Some medications may also negatively interact with alcohol, so always talk about this with your doctor while creating your chronic pain management plan. Pay attention to your body’s reaction if you do have alcohol or caffeine. If you notice more headaches after your morning coffee or worse aches after your beer with dinner, consider skipping it.

Additionally, check the label before grabbing a soft drink. Regular sodas are full of sugar with no real nutritional value. Artificial sweeteners, like those found in diet sodas, can often exacerbate pain. Some sports drinks have added sodium. To avoid any unwanted additives in your drink, consider switching to plain water or herbal tea. You can add a squeeze of lemon juice if you need a kick of flavor, or you can even try out water bottles that allow you to infuse real fruit for flavor.

5. Make healthy swaps for breakfast

Instead of: Frozen egg, sausage, and cheese breakfast sandwich

Try: Egg and veggie omelet

The breakfast sandwich may taste delicious, but freezer-stored, pre-prepared food is often heavily processed and stuffed with unhealthy sodium. And while sausage is not the worst thing to eat, it consists of red meat, which tends to cause inflammation and exacerbate chronic pain symptoms.

If you’d like to eat red meat, consider saving it for later in the day and reserving breakfast as a meatless meal.

Instead of the sandwich, try an omelet with your choice of veggies served with a slice of whole-grain bread or side of fruit.

For a long time, eggs had a bad reputation because they were linked to high cholesterol. However, most of the studies supporting that idea included foods that were also high in saturated fat, according to Medical News Today. Subsequent research has showed that eggs are likely neutral on blood cholesterol levels because they’re not high in saturated fat. Eggs also happen to be an excellent source of protein.

While you might not eat eggs every day, eating them several times a week provides numerous health benefits for chronic pain management, including nutrients for a resilient immune system, excellent eyesight, and strong muscles. Amplify the nutritional benefit of the already-healthy egg by adding in tomatoes and spinach, or any other vegetable you desire.

Instead of: Cereal

Try: Oatmeal

Cereals may taste good, but they’re often packed with sugar. Even those boasting heart-healthy benefits or whole-grain ingredients often contain unhealthy and heavily processed additives.

So skip the cereal and try heart-healthy oatmeal. Oats are also anti-inflammatory, an important factor for chronic pain management. The grocer’s aisle is full of oatmeal packets with tempting-sounding flavor combinations, but these are also frequently full of sugar. The healthiest versions are the raw oats you buy and prepare yourself.

Feel free to add in fruit of your choice, like apples or bananas, nuts, and a little honey for sweetener.

6. Take another look at lunch

Instead of: Fast food hamburger

Try: Turkey and cheese sandwich on whole-grain bread

Sandwiches are a fast, easy, and healthy way to eat a satisfying lunch. If you like meat, try eating sliced turkey, which is among the healthier lunchmeats. Try to purchase low-sodium cuts that aren’t filled with salt and other preservatives. As a general rule, the smoother and shiner a piece of meat is, the more processing it has gone through and the fewer health benefits it offers.

Increase the health benefits of the sandwich by layering on lettuce, onion, tomato, and perhaps even a few sprouts. Opt for mustard, which is low in fat, as opposed to mayonnaise. For a treat, you might even add avocado, which offers an abundance of health benefits despite its high (unsaturated) fat content. Skip the cheese if you wish, but one slice is fine for most people. When choosing bread, purchase loafs without high-fructose corn syrup.

If you aren’t a turkey fan, try a sandwich with just veggies. Lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber, and sprouts topped with a slice of cheese and avocado makes a tasty and satisfying meal.

7. Redo snack time 

Instead of: Chips

Try: Trail mix

If you’re craving something salty and crunchy, you may start salivating at the idea of potato chips melting in your mouth. But the hard-to-resist snack is notoriously unhealthy, with each slice of processed potato smothered in unhealthy oils and high in fat and calories.

Instead, try trail mix if you’re putting together a chronic pain management plan. Your best bet is to make your own because store-bought mixes often come with chocolate- or yogurt-covered goodies that may taste good but aren’t much healthier than the chips you so dutifully left on the shelf.

Visit the bulk foods section of your local supermarket and stock up on walnuts, almonds, raisins, and other delicious items. Once home, mix them together and keep on hand for an easy, healthy snack. If you buy dried fruit, try to find options without added sugar.

As a note of caution, nuts are high in fat, so try to keep the portions small. However, the fat is mostly the heart-healthy, unsaturated type, which means nuts are filling and satisfying. Nuts also contain omega-3 fatty acids that fight inflammation, promote heart health, and may reduce chronic pain, according to the University of Maryland.

8. Make better choices at dinner

Instead of: Enchiladas

Try: Freshly made burrito bowls

Take inspiration from Chipotle and create your own easy, delicious, and inexpensive burrito bowl at home.

First, cook up some brown rice. Then, in a separate pot, stir-fry veggies like onion, corn, tomato, peppers (if you’re okay with nightshade vegetables), zucchini, and broccoli in olive oil. Add delicious spices like red pepper flakes, garlic, chili powder, and pepper. Enjoy the vegetables on a bed of rice, along with chopped lettuce and any other toppings you’d like, as long as they’re healthy and not processed!

Instead of: Fried chicken

Try: Roasted chicken and vegetables

Nothing says comfort like fried chicken and mashed potatoes, but when you’re living with chronic pain, every choice counts. Fight pain at the dinner table by roasting your favorite meat instead of frying it. Add taste with spices like thyme or rosemary.

On the side, serve sweet potatoes cooked in olive oil and garlic and your favorite vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, or green beans. Look to spices like lemon, garlic, and rosemary to add flavor.

9. Do-over on dessert

Instead of: Cake

Try: Peanut butter, banana, and chocolate smoothie

Smoothies taste incredibly yummy and, when made at home, you control what goes in them, making this dessert a healthy chronic pain management choice, too.

To make this smoothie, combine in a blender almond milk, a frozen banana, and a tablespoon each of peanut butter and raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder. Blend until smooth at your desired consistency, adding more almond milk as needed.

10. Be kind

Lastly, don’t go from fast food three times a day to a brand new diet overnight. Altering your eating habits for chronic pain management takes time and effort, so make the changes gradually. It also requires some kindness and forgiveness to yourself when you inevitably make choices that aren’t exactly in line with the “perfect” diet plan.

So, start small. Switch out your vending-machine snacks for fresh fruit or vegetables first. Then choose a meal, such as breakfast, to make healthier. Allow a week or two for each new change to become habit before adding another new change. Changing diet habits requires a small initial effort that becomes easier if you introduce them slowly and as you develop a repertoire of healthy meals to choose from.

What food choices have you made after being diagnosed with chronic pain? Which ones help most with your chronic pain management?

This month as been all about how to manage your health and diet with different tips, tricks, and tools. There are literally hundreds of different ways to redefine your diet and help fight off that nasty chronic pain.

From simple diet changes to smart phone applications, here is some great research and insight on how you can help create a healthier, happier you this March, and beyond.

Be aware of and fight emotional eating

Learning how to avoid stress eating is one of the first and most powerful steps to change your diet and keep with it. In our post “What’s The Connection Between Stress And Emotional Eating?” we talked a lot about how to gain awareness of this habit as well as some great ways to break it.

14 ways to a better body and fatter wallet

One of the main struggles in eating healthy is that it can be so darn expensive. It is usually cheaper and easier just to go the route of quick, processed food when you are hungry. Of course, that is also one of the worst options when you are trying to combat chronic pain. By taking a few simple steps, you can eat better and save beaucoup bucks.

Our suggested changes include:

• Simplify your meals
• Buy your food in bulk
• Prepare for the week by making some big meals to snack on throughout the week
• Have some emergency frozen foods that are still healthy, just in case
• Avoid nutrient-deficient foods
• But no really, you need to start using a crock pot

Swap the junk food to kill the cravings

Another big way to keeping to a diet is to find a healthier way to satisfy those junk food cravings we all have. Check out the “Eat This, Not That: Healthy Junk Food Swaps” post that focuses on tricking your brain into munching on a snack your body will love even more.

Don’t forget the crazy awesome new food research!

Scientists are finding out all the time just how much different foods and drinks affect our mental and physical well-being. We noted in our post:

“We live in a world that is constantly evolving. New things are discovered every day that make each of us healthier and help provide a better life in the world of food research.”

Here is a quick recap of what that research shows:

1. Algae is high in protein, easy to digest, and a heart-healthy alternative with thousands of strands to choose from.
2. A glass of wine can have beneficial effects on inflammation and depression-related behaviors that come from social stress.
3. Eating as much as one egg a day has been shown not to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
4. New research shows that women who drink beer once or twice a week have a lower risk of heart attack.
5. Eating leafy vegetables (like kale, collards, or mustard greens) can slow cognitive decline.
6. Organic meat and milk are foods that are generally all around better than their non-organic counterparts. Although, a diet high in animal proteins isn’t the best health choice, there are other considerations to take into account when choosing the right red meat if you wish to indulge.

Sugar, sugar everywhere

Sugar is a topic that comes up a lot when dealing with your diet. It is one of the most common additives in today’s food and adds no nutrient, but tons of calories. It can also give you a great boost of energy, but is almost always followed up with a nasty sugar crash. Sugar can increase inflammation, decrease immune response, increase stress, and cause tooth decay. In short, watch out for sugar as a lot of it can sneak into your diet without even realizing it.

Speaking of which, we also took a look at energy drinks in the article “Pain Patients: How Do Energy Drinks Affect You?” If sugar wasn’t enough, these drinks are packed with caffeine which can be very problematic for those with fibromyalgia or chronic migraines. Pain is specific to the patient, but it is good know the effects and alternatives to sugar to keep your body healthy.

Busting obesity

In a post about recent obesity initiatives, we stated that:

“Obesity is arguably the number one preventable cause of illness and death, leading to conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.”

Here are a few strategies that are being developed to help our society on the whole:

• Reduce the price of healthy foods
• Schools to provide nutrition education for students and their families
• Redesign of communities that prompt more exercise and better access to healthy, fresh foods

Did these strategies make you want to know more? Check out our article “5 Findings From The Latest Obesity Research” to really learn about all the amazing new concepts scientists are discovering about obesity today.

Eating right to manage your chronic condition

This month we also went over the best ways to manage inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and fibromyalgia with a healthier, well-crafted diet. Here are a few quick takeaways that can set you on the right track:

• Be mindful of what you eat by keeping a food diary
• Make sure you always stay hydrated
• Know that exercise and rest is almost always beneficial to your health
• Reduce your stress where you can
• Develop a strong support structure and ask for help when you need it

4 must-try gamified apps

Let’s wrap this month up by talking about all of the neat, new technology that will help us all live healthier. In our post, we covered four (out of hundreds) of available smart phone applications that can help you manage your diet as well as other parts of your life. These apps are simple, easy-to-use, and can give you the boost you need to get out of that slump and make a real change. Make sure to take a look and get going on making positive life changes today.

Which tips, tricks, or tools will you use in your life to help manage your health and chronic pain condition?

Controlling those hunger pangs can be one of the most challenging things during a busy day. Being in high stress mode and having little time can make your cravings get out of control and make you reach for the nearest candy bar and a comfy couch. So, how do you train your brain to stop yearning for a bag of chips and start wanting to go that extra mile? The answer could be gamified apps.

What is gamification?

Gamification is the use of game elements in non-game contexts. Specifically, gamified fitness apps are used to engage users in a variety of health-related tasks to increase the user’s self-control and to modify their behavior to be more goal-oriented.

For example, gamified apps take everyday activities (like tracking calories) and turns them into a game-like scenario that clearly monitors and displays progress (calorie intake per day). This progress can then be translated into rewards based on goals like achievements and public recognition that gives the user gratification and reinforces their desire to continue on their personal goals.

Do they work?

According to a study done by the University of Plymouth, playing Tetris as little as three minutes can lower cravings for substances like food and drugs by as much as 20%. Of course, the success can vary greatly depending on the user, but with results like that, what do you have to lose?

The problem with this gamified approach is that it requires careful planning and execution for an application to actually help the user and seldom do apps live up to this goal. The best apps tap into a person’s intrinsic motivations to prosper. This is accomplished by providing the user with a focused reward like badges, as well as a unique story to get over the initial hump of starting the tough journey on a road to achieving goals. And finally, they’re also fun and engaging. Gamified apps also require the user to have the desire to succeed, but they do add a level of motivation by allowing you to check things off a list and be rewarded with colorful reinforcement.

A big reason the most popular gamified apps flourish is that they tap into a person’s aspiration to win in a friendly competition. That is why they usually host a function that allows you to compare times and achievements with friends and other members of a likeminded community. Gamification has been shown to work, but there are some caveats to these positive effects. Not every person is motivated by the same things, so you have to choose wisely when you are picking an app that will best help you thrive. The success of these apps also is dependent on the quality of the user base. If you don’t fit into the culture the app develops, it is unlikely that it will assist you in reaching your goals.

Are gamified apps right for me?

Mobile games are a modern craze and health and wellness apps are no different. You can find hundreds of different fitness apps in the Google or Apple stores that claim to give huge results, although most are unrealistic. The tracking they provide could be invaluable to someone who is dedicated to succeed. The game style also provides enjoyment and entertainment to otherwise boring or difficult challenges.

So, should you go download one now?

It depends. Like most self-tracking tools, it is heavily dependent on the user. If you have no interest in changing your eating habits, a gamified app is unlikely to promote the change. Although, if you are ready to take the leap, there are gamified apps that provide excellent encouragement and support, which will help you overcome your initial roadblocks. It is important to note that the research so far is relatively new, but gamification seems to work best on short-term goals. It can help you build habits that will last long after you stop using the application, but that can be a big benefit as the early stages of any fitness goal are often the hardest.

In short, gamified apps can be a big benefit and a great tool to use, but only if you find one that is tailored to your current interests and motivations.

How to get started

If you’re ready to get started, check out one of these apps if you’re looking for that extra motivation to keep your diet and exercise plan on track.

1. SuperBetter

SuperBetter is a free app designed by author Jane McGonigal that has helped nearly half a million people achieve goals from overcoming anxiety to forming better eating habits. Once you choose your main goal you can add quests to complete to earn points in different stats. It comes with prebuilt adventures or you can craft your own to better suit your needs. It is a fun app with tons of features, so if you are looking to succeed, it might be perfect for you.

2. CraveMate

CraveMate helps you focus on the moment, like when those pesky junk food cravings hit. It encourages you to stay mindful and allows you to share your success with others who will support you. You can do this by taking a photo or writing a text, post, or email. It allows you to set alarms each day to remind you of your goals and gives you insights and tips on how to beat your cravings.

3. Health Month

Health Month is another highly customizable app that helps you identify motivations and choices in life. After you set your rules for a month, you have to agree to a contract that focuses on what you want to accomplish. It also provides colorful pie charts and tracks your progress as you play.

4. Mindbloom

This self-improvement app is a fun, story driven way to make real progress in a variety of goals. Once you have identified what is important to you, the objective becomes to grow and develop your life tree. You do this by accomplishing objectives you set in your personal development plan, such as eating healthier or providing a random act of kindness. This game provides tons of rewards like points and badges that motivate you to do the things you have always wanted to do!

What gamified apps have motivated you to reach your goals?