Tuesday Inspiration: Edgar Hernandez

Edgar has lost 165 pounds in a year and a half.

Here’s a story that should inspire you to live healthy: Edgar Hernandez, 18, has lost nearly 200 pounds in two years. At 16 years old, 5’ 7” and 370 pounds, Edgar was diagnosed as pre-diabetic by his doctor—a problem shared by both his parents, who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in their forties.

His whole family had a weight problem. Plagued with bullying, depression, extremely low self-esteem, and now, the looming threat of diabetes, Edgar made a decision that would change his life: he took responsibility for his weight problem. Seeing his mother burst into tears at the doctor’s office was the tipping point for what has been an extraordinary journey to a healthy lifestyle.

“It was time to stop blaming others for my choices and make a choice to take responsibility,” he said, according to CNN. He went for a spur-of-the-moment jog, making it just half a mile before he had to stop and throw up, a sure sign that getting healthy would be more like a marathon than a sprint.

He started by walking before and after school, scaling up gradually until he was walking about two miles per day. Next, he added short running intervals, which he added to gradually. Eventually, he was able to run a full mile.

Edgar’s older brother, Mario, was 5’ 7” and weighed 235 pounds. Inspired by Edgar’s dedication, he teamed up with his brother and together the two tackled the next obstacle: food. Together, they swapped the family’s stock of processed, fatty, and sugary foods with fresh produce and chicken breasts. Healthier foods paired with portion control helped the brothers begin shedding the pounds.

By January, just two months after Edgar decided to get healthy, the two began going on runs together. In just over a year and a half, Edgar has gone from not being able to run half a mile to running in a half marathon last month. He now weighs a healthy 180 pounds, while his brother Mario weighs 165.

With his new healthy lifestyle has come another gift: happiness. Edgar has been able to find his way out of depression and now says his favorite activities are running and weightlifting.

Edgar participated in his first 1/2 marathon last month!

“Running is what made me feel happy,” he says. “I had gotten what they call ‘runner’s high’ and now running has become a lifestyle,” he says.

“I wouldn’t even step out my door to get the mail before,” he said. “People don’t see the dark, sad side of me anymore. They see a bright, happy kid.”

So, what’s Edgar’s advice to those who want to live healthier? Don’t hold back. If you say you’re going to run, do it today. Don’t put it off until something serious happens.

You can follow Edgar and his amazing journey on Facebook and Twitter.

Images: "Run With Edgar" Facebook page.

It’s a Beautiful Day Out! Here’s One Legit Reason to Take a Walk.

Sigh. If only I could spend all sunny days at Volunteer Park Conservatory!
Image: cdrin / Shutterstock.com

The sun is shining, the market is calling, and you’re stuck in a cubicle. Sound familiar? Yep, that’s the definition of today for many Seattleites—and that will continue to be the case for the coming months. As much as I want to go play outside, alas, I must work and be productive. Sigh.

But wait! Here’s some great news from the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition: new research suggests that going for a walk can boost creative or “divergent” thinking by as much as 60% when compared to remaining stationary (AKA sitting in that cubicle).

According to the research, going for a walk as opposed to sticking it out in the office all day might actually be a huge boon to productivity. I’ve always been a big proponent of taking midday breaks, being sure to eat lunch AWAY from the computer screen, etc.—so this research is right up my alley.

Researchers from the Stanford School of Education’s Awesomely Adaptive and Advanced Learning and Behavior (AALab) assessed creative thinking abilities of participants, some of whom went on a walk and some of whom (poor things) just sat and thought. The tests required participants to come up with as many solutions or ideas possible in a given amount of time, and as it turns out, walkers scored much higher. The researchers even controlled for environment—and found that even when walkers simply walked on a treadmill in a stimuli-free (blank walls, etc.) environment, they still scored higher on the tests.

Important to note is that although walks appear to have a very positive effect on brainstorming, or divergent thinking, in many cases it actually had a negative impact on focused, or convergent, thinking. Convergent thinking is when you’re trying to come up with one correct answer or solution, and apparently the extra brain stimulation doesn’t make coming up with a solution easier.

So, here’s the TL;DR—if you’ve got some creative thinking to do or some brainstorming that needs to happen, get it done while taking a walk out in that beautiful sunshine (especially you, Seattleites—sun doesn’t last forever here!). But if you need to buckle down and focus, put off the walk until later.

Anyone out enjoying the sun today? I hope not everyone is stuck inside!

10 Inspirational Quotes for Rainy May

So far, I'm not overly impressed with May. It's been very rainy and gray here in Seattle, and all I want is more sun! I've been a little lacking in the inspiration department lately, so I decided that today I'd keep my post simple and just share some inspirational quotes with you all. I hope you enjoy them.

Source: http://prettystuff.tumblr.com/post/80624164004

Source: http://www.oprah.com/quote/Eckhart-Tolle-Quote-Quote-on-the-Present-Moment

Source: http://ignitelight.tumblr.com/post/6013556745

Source: http://creativeoriginalconfident.tumblr.com/

Say Bye-Bye to Work Blues

Stress levels at work lately have been skyrocketing all around—and at least for me, stress comes with work blues. By the time Friday hits, I’m ready to run out and never return, and when bedtime arrives on Sunday, I’m never quite ready to finish up the weekend.

This is how I want to feel ALL the time: happy, relaxed, content.
Image: Shutterstock

Don’t get me wrong—I like my job quite a bit. I am constantly learning and there is always something to do. I work with some really awesome people, and I’m happier in this career than I have ever been before. But some mornings, I wake up and wish I could just roll over and forget about work.

Unfortunately, work’s not going to go away—and that means I’ve got to come up with a way to deal with these dang work blues when they come around. I don’t have a perfect solution to workweek blues, but I do have a few suggestions that have helped me in the past:

Resisting the urge to stay up late on Sunday night. As much as I want to get a few more hours of weekend in, it’s usually not a good idea to stay up late and not get enough sleep for Monday. My ideal sleep time is 9 hours, so getting only 6 is a recipe for disaster. Try getting at least 7 hours of sleep on work nights—you’ll be surprised at how much it helps!

Cutting down on binge TV-watching and video games. Don’t get me wrong, I’d LOVE to sit down and watch four episodes of House of Cards in a row, but honestly it’s not worth it. Whenever I use up my entire evening playing video games or watching TV, the time slips by too quickly and I often end up staying up too late. I limit myself to one hour per night.

Make plans during the week. This one is hard for me. The last thing I want to do during the week is add more to my plate, but it really does help give me something to look forward to. It can be a solitary activity (like going to exercise classes or club meetings) or it can be dinner with friends—you choose.

Slow down. As much as I want to get to work, get done, and come home as early as possible, those mornings when I rush myself out of the house and don’t let myself enjoy a good lunch are the worst. Allow yourself even a 15 minute lunch break—away from your workstation—and you’ll be rewarded with less stress and a refreshed mind and body.

What do you do to kick work blues to the curb? I’d love to hear some of your suggestions, tips, and tricks!

Spring Clean the Homemade Way – 5 Recipes for DIY Cleaning Supplies

Use lemon essential oil and other natural ingredients to make nontoxic, homemade household cleaners.
Image: Shutterstock

It’s time for a little spring cleaning—the nontoxic way. Have you ever noticed how cleaning with many store-bought products can leave the entire house smelling chemically? I accepted this for a long time as “just the way it is,” but as I’ve gotten a little older, I’ve also gotten a little wiser.

That nasty chemical smell smells bad because, well, it’s bad for you! As well as chemical compounds made wit bleach, ammonia, and other solvents might get the house clean, they can also be toxic for us to breathe in.

Luckily, there are some super easy and super natural (see what I did there?) homemade cleaning supplies that can get rid of the dirt, grime, and germs just as well as those toxic mixes. I borrowed the following 5 recipes from this Yahoo! Shine article, which also has recipes for three additional cleaning mixes, so be sure to check it out!

Surface Spray

Instead of Lysol, mix up this disinfecting solution for all your home’s hard surfaces. It even smells good!

Ingredients:

7 oz. distilled white vinegar

7 oz. water

7 drops tea tree essential oil

7 drops lavender essential oil

7 drops lemon essential oil

Soft Scrub

Clean grimy surfaces with this simple scrub and they’ll be shining in a jiffy! Keep it in a glass mason jar.

Ingredients:

½ cup baking soda

½ cup castile soap

15 drops antimicrobial essential oil (rosemary or sage both work well)

* If you don’t use it all, add about a teaspoon of vegetable glycerin to hold in the moisture. Don’t forget to seal it up tight!

Antibacterial Soap Spray

Ditch the bleach. Instead, use this mix to get the bathroom back in order. Castile soap may leave a little residue, so follow up with some surface spray (above).

Ingredients:

14 oz. water or rosemary hydrosol

3 Tablespoons castile soap

15 drops tea tree essential oil

15 drops oregano essential oil

Wood-Floor Mop Formula

Wood floors can be tricky, and harsh chemicals can often damage the wood and finish. Spray down the floor with this gentle mix, mop, and buff dry to keep floors clean and healthy.

Ingredients:

½ cup distilled white vinegar

1 teaspoon vegetable glycerin

20 drops lemon essential oil

Water (enough to fill a 20 oz spray bottle with the previous ingredients)

Linoleum and Tile Floor Mop Formula

Have tile or linoleum floors? Mix these ingredients up with 2 gallons of hot water and you’re all set.

Ingredients:

¼ cup castile soap

½ cup distilled white vinegar

20 drops tea tree essential oil

20 drops sweet orange essential oil

I dare you to check the back of your cleaning supplies for the ingredients list—are any of them as short as these (barring just plain old “bleach”)? Likely the answer is no. It’s certainly possible to get “green” cleaning supplies that are far less toxic and more natural, but those are often expensive. Stock up on a few basic ingredients at home instead, and you can make your own cleaner for far less money in the long run.

Heart Disease: The Numbers

Back in December 2013, I wrote a post on heart disease and how it's very quietly killing millions of people every year. It's the number one cause of death in the United States and in the world... and yet, it tends to get overlooked frequently. And it's not just in the United States; in fact, about 80% of the deaths caused by heart disease each year occur in low- and middle-income countries.

About half of all adults have at least one risk factor for heart disease, which approximately doubles your risk--do you know if you are in danger?

The good news about heart disease is that it's largely preventable. We can reduce our risk of heart attack or stroke by up to 80% if we choose to.

I had the honor of being contacted by Healthline with this beautiful infographic about heart disease--check it out to see heart disease by the numbers, see where in the world heart disease is most prevalent, find out if you are at risk, and learn how to drastically reduce your chance of heart attack or stroke.

Soil Safety When Urban Gardening

Homegrown strawberries.

One thing I love about living in Seattle is the number of urban gardens I see every day. I love that I can see rooftop gardens on top of high rises in downtown. I adore going to restaurants whose back patio is brimming with homegrown fruits and veggies that will later be served up on a patron’s plate. I can’t resist the temptation to try and grow my own food—strawberries, tomatoes, herbs, onion, and garlic are a few of the forays I’ve taken (not all successful). I’m proud to live in a city that’s the home of a 7-acre food forest, Beacon Food Forest (still in development).

The culture of growing your own food is intoxicating, and once you’re around it, it’s hard to put away the notion of jumping on the DIY gardening bandwagon. And that’s certainly an attitude that I can’t disagree with—I’ve been there. I’m there now. I love it, but I’m still learning a lot—and there are a lot of important things to learn.

Urban gardening increased a whopping 29 percent between 2008 and 2013, with 9 million Americans now saying they grow food in urban areas. The sentiment is fantastic, and one that I stand by absolutely. I think that we’ve allowed ourselves to lose touch with food, where it comes from, and what it takes to grow—and it would be to everyone’s benefit for more people to reconnect.

However, growing food in an urban area has its fair share of hazards, which aren’t always immediately apparent. See, soil has a legacy. One of the reasons it’s great for growing plants is because it absorbs water, which the plant’s roots can slowly absorb. Unfortunately, it also absorbs other things, dangerous things: lead, asbestos, heavy metals, cadmium, arsenic, petrochemicals, and more. Cities take their toll on nature in many ways, and growing produce in contaminated soil means we’re bringing those chemicals right into our bodies.

If you’re planning on doing some urban gardening, it needs to be done the right way. If you’re planting straight into the ground, you’re most at risk (but that doesn’t mean raised beds or pots are safe from hazard). The first thing you should do is get your soil tested to see whether or not it has been contaminated by lead, cadmium, or arsenic. Unfortunately, those tests don’t check for petrochemicals and some other really hazardous chemicals that may have seeped into the soil from car exhaust, cleaning solvents, old Laundromats, or even demolished buildings.

The best solution is to research your plot of land and learn its history—if any buildings were demolished nearby, whether it used to be a parking lot or a gas station or something else, and if there is any other cause for concern. Since you can never be completely sure whether the soil is 100% free of contaminants, wearing gardening gloves and washing all produce thoroughly is always a good idea.

If you’re using raised beds, be sure to think about what they are made out of (or what you’re using to build them). Reclaimed wood can be hazardous since you won’t know its history or whether it was ever treated with chemicals. The point: better safe than sorry.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to safely urban garden, check out this urban soil safety guide from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Do you urban garden? I’d love to hear about your successful and unsuccessful gardening endeavors!

Image from Shutterstock.