Eating out, Eating Well: How to make smart Choices

In a time when all we do is eat out, it can often be hard to keep a healthy diet. However, you should know that there are many healthy alternatives out there which are readily available. There are a lot of Dining options in New York City. Big portions, too many calories and too much salt can make ordering a challenge. However, small changes in your meal selections could make a BIG difference. Choosing grilled, broiled or baked foods over fried foods or even just choosing water over fruity drinks can help improve your health.

Here are a few tips for you to start making smarter choices:

Downsize! Eat smaller portions.

·         Don’t super size anything. Order the small size whenever you can.

·         Eat only half, and take the other half home for another meal.

·         Share a main course with a friend

·         Let your server know that you are passing on the breadbasket chips.

Eat more Fruits and Vegetables.

·         Choose fruit with your meal instead of chips or pretzels

·         Ask for a side of vegetables or a salad with dressing on the side

Drink water, seltzer or other low-calorie beverages.

·         Skip soda and other sugary beverages, such as sports drinks, “energy” drinks, sweetened tea and lemonade.

·         Compare calories on menu boards. Many coffee and tea drinks are high in calories.

Cut the salt.

·         Ask for sauces and dressings on the side.

·         Choose soy sauce with less sodium.

·         Cut down on cheeses and meats, such as: bacon, ham and salami.

·         Ask for your meal to be prepared without added salt or MSG. You can always salt to taste.

Avoid High Fat foods.

·         Skip the cheese on sandwiches and salads

·         Choose chicken (without skin), fish and lean cut beef and pork.

·         Choose broth-based soup instead of cream based soups.

Maintaining a healthy diet is a very important part of staying in good health. With all this in mind, we want to remind you to be more conscious of what you put in your body. At First Care of New York, we believe everyone’s health is important, which is why we have all our Certified Home Health Aides and Personal Care Aides trained efficiently so that you or your loved ones are getting the right health professionals in your home to provide safe care. If you or someone you know is having difficulty with activities of daily living, please feel free to reach out to us and see how we can help 718-741-5956. Or you can visit our website http://www.1st-care.org/

Avoiding Depression

Fall is right around the corner and it’s safe to say that stress is at an all-time high. Children are going back to school; adults are coming home from vacation. The world is upside down! With emotions at an all-time high, it is very easy to fall into a pattern of mood swings and maybe even depression. That is why this week I want to take a moment out to give you a few pointers that could help you battle the emotional ups and downs you might be going through. First and foremost, CALM DOWN! Things are out of whack and you have 1001 responsibilities but guess what? Stressing about it isn’t going to make your problems disappear. One of the things that I find helps me when I am stressed out is organizing. For instance, making a “To do” list, or putting things in order from greatest importance to least can be helpful. However, realistically speaking, making a list isn’t for everyone, but don’t fret, there are other ways to cope with stress.

Since life is an emotional roller coaster, some days you feel like nothing can stop you. Other days you feel completely hopeless. Most of the time, you are somewhere in between both extremes. Understanding the pattern of positive and negative emotions will help you put your feelings in perspective. Next time you feel down, just remember that it’s a natural emotion that will inevitably pass. Knowing that a feeling of depression is only temporary makes it less dreadful. Also, even though you may be pressed for time, try to include some leisurely time in which you can meet up with positive people. Nothing affects the way you think and your emotions more than the people you interact with. Thoughts (both positive and negative) are contagious. If you are surrounded by negative people, it’s only natural that you will start to think and feel the same way. To improve your outlook on life, spend time with positive people. Try to understand the way they see the world. Most likely their happiness will rub off on you. Above all, the best way to stop feeling depressed is to take action. What is your biggest problem? How can you alleviate it? Once you decide to stop moping and start moving forward you won’t have time to feel depressed. Action will occupy your mind and give you something to look forward to. Once you get some results, you’ll build momentum and positive thinking will keep getting easier.

Always remember that First Care of New York provides the proper care for our clients affected by an array of medical issues by utilizing our Certified Home Health Aides or Personal Care Aides to help our clients with their activities of daily living such as: visiting their doctors regularly, assisting with medication reminders and also preparing meals with the dietary necessity to help lower blood pressure and other ailments. If you or a loved one can no longer manage on your own or are having health issues due to medical conditions, do not hesitate to give us a call to find out how we may be able to help. Our number is 718-741-5956.

How to stay committed to your commitments

O.k. so the New Year is upon us. We have made our list of New Year’s resolutions and like every year, we think this year is the time for change. Sadly, two weeks later, we stop going to the gym, one month later we are still fat and now paying a monthly gym membership, yoga class and Pilates, which we thought was going to make us healthy, skinnier and open our minds. By the end of February, our hopes and dreams have once again been shattered until next year.

The big question here is: WHY?

Why do so many of us make New Year’s resolutions (i.e. eating healthy), commit to do things (i.e. love more) and even commit to make changes (i.e. quit smoking), but time and time again we keep failing. This does not make us a bad person or a failure by any means. Most of us have plenty of distractions in our lives, which force us to make different levels of commitments. The shameful truth is that we make excuses because we LOVE comfort, safety and simplicity. We all know the effort it takes to count calories, go the gym and work out, but most times we slip into our old habits with “yeah but” which always trumps our commitments.

In order to stay committed one must learn how to be and stay committed without letting “yeah but” back into our vocabulary. Regardless of the commitments that we make to ourselves or others, here are a few key words of advice to help you stay committed.

Sacrifice
A key to knowing we are committed is by being able to sacrifice for the good of our commitment. Think of the athlete that is willing to train for countless hours at the gym to be able to perform at their personal best. If you are willing to sacrifice for something knowing it will disrupt the comforts of your life then you are committed.

Create a ritual
Make working out part of your schedule. The same way taking your kids to soccer practice every Tuesday and Thursday is part of your routine, you should make the gym or whatever other commitment part of that same schedule. Over time this will make you go to the gym almost subconsciously, since it will be part of your weekly routine.

Determination
There will be inevitable setbacks while you are trying to complete your goals. Like the athlete that could not workout on Monday but decides that they will go to the gym on Tuesday instead to make up for Monday. We must face our challenges with confidence and resilience to make sure that our commitments are met. This involves us learning to solve problems in order to take the necessary steps to work past them.

Get support
There are plenty of people out there and in our lives that would love to help us if we need the help. If you are trying to go to the gym as a regular routine, but sometimes feel discouraged or “out of it”; find someone to go with you so you can motivate them and they can motivate you.

Lastly, it is also important that we keep our goals in context. We should remember that the point of achieving our goal either today or years from now is to improve our lives. However, we are still living in the present and must acknowledge that. If we live only for our goals, we will possibly resent the present, and start resenting our goals as well.

At First Care of New York we are always committed to providing the best home care services possible. We understand the delicacies that come with our clients and the condition they are in versus the life they used to lead. We understand that they want to continue to live freely, independently and with the same energy and fervor that makes them happy. The ability to continue to perform their daily activities, whether it be in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan or Queens areas. You can count on First Care of New York to be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for any and all Live in Care, Personal Care, Home Health and Companionship. For your convenience, we may even schedule a nurse to visit you or your loved one’s home and evaluate the level of care that is needed. This will help clarify some questions you or your loved one may have. First Care is a licensed home care service agency that provides top quality aides to all our clients. We are regulated by the NYS Department of Health and are accredited by The Joint Commission. If you would like to have more information, please feel free to contact us by phone at 718-741-5950 or on our website at http://www.1st-care.org/.