Romantic Gifts For Healthy Living

Romantic Gifts often overlook these healthy living ideas. Whether you are thinking about your soul mate, true love, partner, or even your brother, a special friend, or a favorite aunt, you can encourage them to embrace a healthy lifestyle by giving those who you love an opportunity to explore their favorite outdoor or indoor activities. Not only will your ideas be unique, but they may spark a deeper and truer meaning of friendship than the one you already share.

Because after all, it's memories that our lives are made of.

I was at working at home when a large dose of carpal tunnel hit me this January. I use one hand to type so, this was horrific to me. I was forced to live outside my little personal space box and explore the world around me, instead of sitting at the desk, on the computer for 10 hour days (+).

The first thing I did was go to a personal trainer, who told me that I had to get back in the gym on the cardio machines instead of trying to work out at home. So, I did. At the gym I found a weight room, cardio machines, sauna, hot tub, pool, and ice skating rink. My first three weeks were what I referred to as "noisy."

It was in the gym where I came up with the idea that wouldn't it be "romantic" if we had a date night once a week at the gym where we could enjoy the benefits of exercise, ice skating and a hot tub! My husband (who is fit as a 'fiddle' naturally and through his work) reluctantly agreed after my third week. Off to the storage unit we went to collect snow skis, ski boots, ice skates, bikes, scuba and snorkeling gear, rollerblades, and helmets and protective gear and some weight equipment for the house that was being stored.

My goal is to recover without surgery - Oh YEAH!

February was a great month to begin looking for that romantic gift of health since the holidays had been our time for family, nostalgia, turkey and apple pie with ice cream, and January had been a month to recover from all that.

Don't just give the gift - Set a date to use your new athletic gear aside and make exercise a regular habit. Habits take 20 days to establish. You'll find that if you miss a 'date,' then you truly do feel like you are missing something special and worthwhile.

Tips For Revving up To Cut Back on some useless Calories And Get Started

• My best advice if you are trying to cut down on sugar is to simply reduce your sugar intake by cutting it out of your coffee and/or tea, plus cutting back on your use of sugar in any recipes you use to bake with. If you cut back, you truly don't notice a difference in taste.
• Make your romantic gift fun! Try something you haven't done before - Maybe you'd like badminton or tennis for something different. Maybe you'd just like to go for a walk with your best friend - Walk fast and meet once a week.

Maybe your romantic gift for healthy living involves planning a special celebration, or party. Here's what you want to do to add to your plan.

This is a mini success plan for healthier eating instead of gorging yourself on those tempting fatty dishes. Don't wait - Plan Right Now For how to eat.

• Before the party date - Increase your workout, decrease your calorie intake, and lose one or two pounds before the event.
• Don't let alcohol consumption rob you of vital B and C vitamins - Increase your fruits and vegetables and grains the week before.
• Being thirsty doesn't mean you are hungry. When you feel those hunger pangs, grab a glass of water and drink it before you grab that donut.
• Skipping meals is the worst thing you can do - eat 5 light meals a day. A protein bar, a small sack of vegetables, can count as two meals. Not eating makes your body think it is 'hungry' and when it thinks it is 'hungry,' it stores fat. Eat before you go to your function - you will be less hungry once you get there - a light snack.
• Snacks with no guilt attached - Chocolate (stick with no more than two servings of 30 grams each), Nuts (you'll get the added benefit of reducing cholesterol), Cinnamon sticks in your tea (Bonus benefit of reducing blood glucose - helping to thwart off diabetes), and Cranberries (I read that this helps reduce bacteria in the urine of women who drank cranberry extract).
• Enjoy just a plate - one - of goodies. Once you are finished do not go back for seconds, use that time to get to know your guests or find out what your special someone likes to do outdoors so you can plan your romantic gift.

Most of us grab wrapping paper to embellish our special gifts with, but this time why not try something that leaves no waste - Wrap your romantic gift GREEN.

Sport bags make stunning and simple gift-wrap, plus they leave no wrap waste behind.

You could even add your favorite healthy cook book to the mix, tie it up with string and athletic wrist bands or ties for pants for riding bikes, or ski boot straps that hold ski boots together with a string loop.

If you are wrapping for a girl - Hair ties are fun 'gift wrap' ties and help hold hair back for any sport.

• Fill out the name tag to say: "Looking for a ___________ (ice skating, tennis, walking, work out . . . ) partner, and hoping it's you!"

Hmmm, what would I do - Not in this order, but on my list:

Cardio workout followed by light weights

A Swim and Hot Tub and Sauna

Get out and walk - My gym is only 14 blocks from our house, so I don my tennies and walk the distance! Go Hiking, Mountain Trekking, or Start my own Romantic Walking Club.

Bicycling

Roller Blading, Ice Skating

Snow ski or Water Ski or Snowboard

Tennis or Badminton, or Racquetball

Football, Baseball, HardBall, Softball, Vollyball, Soccer, Golf (Sorry fellas, Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Issue is not a sport).

Rafting, Kayaking, Canoeing

Scuba Dive or Snorkel

The opportunity and Choices are only limited by YOUR imagination, so Go Take A Hike! And have fun doing it!