Posture

I know what your thinking, you have been standing practically your entire life so why am I writing a blog entry to talk about standing and posture? Here is the simple truth, chances are you are doing it incorrectly and as a result your body is suffering. Do you have little aches and pains in your back, neck, hips, legs, etc.? All of that could be reversed simply by standing correctly.

Correct Posture

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart
• Knees relaxed (not locked)
• Your weight should be evenly distributed on the balls of your feet (not your heel or your toes)
• Arms should be lose and comfortable at your side
• Draw your hips slightly forward and your tailbone down
• Shoulders back and in a neutral position (people often bring their shoulder up towards their ears and forward when they are stressed often times without even noticing it)
• Head and neck up
• Elongate your spine (think tall!)

Having the correct posture will instantly make you look slimmer and more confident. Posture is especially important during pregnancy. Having correct posture can help ward off little aches and pains throughout your body and can help your body bounce back more quickly from pregnancy and childbirth.

Correct Pregnancy Posture
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart

Knees relaxed (not locked)

Your weight should be evenly distributed on the balls of your feet (not your heel or your toes)

Arms should be lose and comfortable at your side

Draw your hips slightly forward and your tailbone down

Suck your bellybutton in and up- This will engage your core muscles and help your body carry the

      weight of the baby better

Shoulders back and in a neutral position (people often bring their shoulder up towards their ears

      and forward when they are stressed often times without even noticing it)

Head and neck up

Elongate your spine (think tall!)

Try correcting your posture by looking in a mirror. If your having trouble remembering to hold correct posture throughout the day try setting yourself little reminders on you phone that will alert you or a sticky note on somewhere you frequently visit like the kitchen sink (because we all know your getting the recommend amount of daily water right...!)

-Brittany

"Be YOUrself, everyone else is taken."- unknown

Have a question/comment/concern? Leave us a comment below or email us at trulyfit.fishhawk@gmail.com. Don't forget to Like us on Facebook

Water Challenge

Have you ever heard that your supposed to be drinking 8 glasses of water each day? Well I'm here to tell you that is a bold faced lie, you should actually be drinking upwards of 11 glasses a day (13 for men!) If you work out on a regular basis, you actually need to drink at least 2 more glasses of water on top of that. Live in a hot/humid/dry climate., go ahead and add at least 2 more glasses. So are you drinking enough water?

Most people don't realize just how deprived their body is of water. Headaches, hunger, and fatigue can all be attributed to not drinking enough water. Just by adding more glasses of water a day (water everyone, not-coffee, tea, soft drinks, alcohol, etc.- water!) you will see some serious health improvements. Adding just a few more glasses of water a day can alleviate headaches, hunger, and fatigue. Drinking 1-2 cold glasses of water before each meal will actually help you to eat less. Drinking more water can actually even boost your mood, and who doesn't like that added benefit?

In addition to drinking more water, there are some added beauty benefits that I think everyone will love. After taking a nice warm bath/shower, which can help alleviate aches/pains and melt away stress, turn the water down. Adding the cold water to your hair will leave it looking more shiny. Before you put your makeup on splash some cold water on your face, this will help shrink your pores. Drinking more water can even leave you looking younger!

So here is this weeks challenge, it is a 3 part challenge.

1. Drink at least 11 glasses of water a day (13 for men)
2. If you drink anything other than water you drink another glass to compensate. For example, say you drink 1 cup of coffee in the morning and a lemonade at lunch, you now need to up your water intake by two glasses totaling 13 glass.
3. Drink at least 1 glass of water before each meal.

Continue this for one week and let us know how you feel after the week is up! Need a reminder? Tie a blue string around your wrist, set a reminder on your phone, put an empty glass in a place you frequently go (if you sit at a desk for work, put an empty glass by your computer) anything that will remind you to drink more.

- Brittany

Have a comment/question/concern shoot us an email at trulyfit.fishhawk@gmail.com or leave us a comment below. Don't forget to Like us on Facebook!

"There is magic on this planet, it is contained in water." - Lorah Eisely