A friend of mine handed me something one time that she claimed was a vitamin B pill that when paced under the tongue to slowly dissolve was meant to give me a burst of energy. If you are like me you would be happy to get any kind of an legal spike in energy level to get through the day. I was disappointed when 30 minutes went by and then an hour with no sudden burst or even flicker of energy. I wanted to tell her she wasted her money on an expensive placebo but kept my opinions to myself.

Fatigue and mild depression have forever been my nemesis. Sometimes I have days where I just can’t get over the slump of exhaustion and I end up sleeping away precious time needed to get things done. This can be frustrating and feed into depressive patterns.

Have you been in that position where you are suddenly hit with a surge of motivation to take on a new sport or get in to shape in order to make that great impression by losing weight or bulking up? By overshooting fitness goals people tend to get injured which exacerbates the problem to be overcome in the first place. Overdoing it does not produce faster results. If you are looking for a magic “get in to shape” quick fix then you will be at the mercy of every popular fitness advertisement available.  Not only that but sometimes forcing a “square peg into a round hole” so to speak creates frustration and misguided fitness goals.

So you think you are ready for a new challenge? Whether it’s racing in your first 5K or training for an Ironman the key to success is preparation. My husband, who has worked a sedentary job and has not trained regularly for any sport since our boys were born, recently got into the game of running and has had spectacular success. He is an analytical man and spent a great deal of time finding the right “equipment”. The right stuff to keep him on track included the Runmeter GPS, which he uses on his iPhone. http://appadvice.com/appguides/show/gps-activity-loggers This app helps him to track his progress, competes against his own time, maps each route with exact distances calculated and even

I never understood the power of what has been deemed “Super” foods until I recently tried to add more of these nutrient rich foods into my life. I am not always good about eating enough fruits and vegetables so I found that grinding up a mix of frozen fruit and some super foods has really improved how I feel. I have suffered for years as many Americans do with fatigue and, at times debilitating, depression. The side effects of most medications, for me, are such that I do not feel I can function as well as needed when I am taking them.

Exercise helps and what really put me into a more healthy state was the midday and morning drink I mix. I simply added frozen blueberries, frozen mangos, fresh spinach, cacao powder and water into a drink. The first time I tried this concoction I felt as if the circulation in my whole body had just been reset. I have been able to think better, feel stable and find energy to exercise much more often. In addition I have lost a lot of the cravings for the foods that used to tempt me several times a day. I have been off my anti anxiety medications and anti depressants now for almost a year and feel better than ever.

My mom is almost 70 years old and has been chronically ill for the past 13 years or more with Sarcoidosis. When she first became symptomatic she thought she had developed a cough related to some sort of typical upper respiratory infection. The coughing worsened and lasted for many months, impeding her breathing and physical activity. My mom works hard and does not bother much with doctors. She believes strongly that prolonging life when someone is seriously ill does more harm than good. Once she realized the seriousness of her disease she completed “Do not resuscitate” paper work and she makes certain all who are near her know about her wishes. She prefers that no extraordinary measures be taken to extend her life.

When specialists finally took a closer look at her lungs they thought maybe she had cancer throughout her lungs. It appeared that she had tumors but it was really scar tissue from the ravages of sarcoid on her lung tissue. The damage to her lungs makes it very difficult to breath. Her lung capacity has been reduced to about 30%. Despite all this my mom still works as a CAN in a nearby hospital in order to keep her health insurance and because she enjoys working. She has taken prednisone, methotrexate along with inhalers to help her breathe.

In addition my mother suffers from the debilitating and painful effects of rheumatoid arthritis. She lives alone on the East coast and has had to use a motorized chair to get to work and function with everyday living. She sings the praises of Enbrel http://www.enbrel.com/index.jspx which is a medication that has helped her regain mobility and significantly reduced the pain of her arthritis.