The John Tesh Blog

A mental "Ready, Set, GO!"

Having trouble switching from dreamland to realities of work and school? Head for the kitchen. RealAge has some great breakfast choices to help us be more alert, think more clearly, have more energy, and even be more creative, says Elizabeth Somer, R.D., author of Food & Mood. Assuming you’ve clocked at least seven hours of sleep, these foods will get you up, focused, and feeling like a morning person—even if you're totally not.

1. A spoonful of sweetness. A small bit of sugar in your coffee or honey in your smoothie stimulates the release of acetylcholine, a brain chemical that enhances memory. But don’t overdo it or you’ll soon feel drowsy. Excess sweetness can raise serotonin levels to a sleep-inducing high.

2. A whole-wheat bagel. Your brain fuel staple is glucose, the basic building block of carbs. So after
a night of fasting, your brain is on red alert for a carb fix. But you don’t need a lot -- half a whole-wheat bagel will rev up your engines. So will a bowl of oatmeal. Pick your fave.

3. Lox on that bagel. Salmon contains a fat known as DHA that comprises 97% of the omega-3 fatty acids in your brain. And you need lots of those to get your mental decks cleared for action -- part of DHA’s job is to carry away cellular waste products that make your brain feel sluggish. 

4. Spicy V8. Hot and spicy foods amp up blood flow, which is like warming your engines. If tomatoes are too acidic for you in the morning, toss a tablespoon of peeled fresh ginger into hot tea or a cold smoothie for a similar rush.

5. Soy. It contains compounds called isoflavones that help clear your mind (and fight memory loss too). Drink a glass of calcium-fortified soymilk, pour it over whole-grain cereal, or toss some chopped tofu
into scrambled eggs.

6. Ice water. A small glass of frosty H2O will get the blood pumping. The cold shock forces your system to defend its normal temperature, slightly boosting your metabolism.

7. Coffee. But of course! Caffeine helps alertness by dampening a chemical called adenosine, which otherwise blocks energy-boosting brain chemicals. As a result, you think faster, drive better, and remember more. Just know your jitter threshold -- getting too wired can undermine your efficiency.

8. If all else fails: Place a tin of ginger-flavored Altoids -- or a few Red Hots or a packet of Listerine strips -- beside your alarm clock. When the buzzer goes off, pop one or two of any of them into your mouth before hitting the snooze button. It’s virtually impossible to sleep with that “curiously strong” taste waking up your mouth!

Try a few ideas to put your brain into "Ready, Set, GO!" mode, and find the day off to a brighter start!

John

Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

Check out the new John Tesh Social Network. You can connect with new friends, post your own blog, visit various forums, upload your favorite John Tesh music and share your photos.  To learn more about how to join, click here.

If you're taking a walk down the aisle this year, take a look at some new trends.

Congratulations are in order, then, as well! It promises to be a special day for you and your soon to be spouse, and for family and friends sharing the occasion. You, naturally, are looking to make it an occasion that stands as a reflection of the two of you, and you might just find some terrific ideas for that in some of the newest wedding trends rounded up by The Knot, a catch-all site for everything from finding out if it's okay to post pics of your engagement ring on facebook (yes, but only to your inner circle of friends- not all 400!) to  budget and planning checklists you can download and print. The Knot offers a free membership with loads of free tools and ideas, as well as a paid, upgraded membership. (Check the free first- right?)

So, what's hot for Your Wedding: 2010? 

Trend 1: Retro-Chic Weddings

Retro-style weddings- at a hotel, in your parents' backyard, or even at a restaurant- are a favorite now, and should continue in 2010. It's really no wonder: A wedding filled with vintage details, whether from the 1950s, '60s, or even '70s, can make for a meaningful heirloom-filled, back-in-the-day vibe, and the decor options are limitless. Use a turquoise-and-raspberry color combo, get milk-glass cake stands for your dessert table, dress the tables with pretty eyelet runners, and ask your florist to arrange your centerpieces in small porcelain vases or silver pitchers. Even your menu options can reflect your theme, with pigs in blankets and punch (served up in glass punch glasses, if you can) at the cocktail hour.

Trend 2: Dinner-Focused Receptions
Say good-bye to informal buffet lines and light hors d'oevres stations and welcome back a sit-down reception dinner. The Knot advises that you think of it as a re-creation of a dinner party in your own home: lots of food and a comfortable setting are both key. To achieve this level of comfort, order starter plates to get guests munching and chatting from the get-go and choose a dinner menu of the meat-and-potatoes variety. Have the meal served family-style so that all the food, wine, and iced tea or lemonade is set in the middle of the table for guests to help themselves, just like they'd do at their own homes. Do it this way and you'll encourage conversation and create a more intimate atmosphere.

Trend 3: Innovative Ceremony Setups

This year, it's really all about comfort, so whether your ceremony takes place in a church, at a farm, or in a ballroom, consider adding elements that make your guests feel right at home. Skip the common aisle-down-the-middle arrangement and create a living-room vibe using a mix of couches and chairs, replace all those chairs with hay bales covered with quilts, or even spread blankets on the ground right in front of the altar for the kids. The best part is that anything goes just so long as the details create an intimate feeling.

Trend 4: Shorter, Tea-Length Dresses
From ball gowns to slim, structured sheaths, a shorter-than-floor-length style will make a huge resurgence on ceremony aisles this year. And the bride doesn't have to have a casual wedding to pull it off, either — the key is in the fabric. Look for dresses made from cotton or layers of airy tulle for an outdoor spring or summer wedding, get a silk-satin gown for a more formal wedding, or go for heavy silk with a soft bolero or even an overcoat for a wintertime wedding.

Trend 5: Classic White Wedding Cakes
While dessert tables and candy bars have been popular for the past few years, wedding cakes have made a comeback. But instead of the colorful two-tiered styles that were big in 2009, 2010 brings back a classic white wedding cake. Order a simple, round, three-tiered cake frosted with white buttercream or covered in white fondant and finish it with an antique cake topper (from your parents' or grandparents' wedding- thus bringing in sentiment and cost savings), a few fresh flowers that match your bouquet, or leave it clear of add-ons for an even simpler look.

Trend 6: Textural Flower Arrangements
The typical tall centerpiece, overflowing with roses and calla lilies, has given way to low, textural arrangements that call to mind a springtime garden, crisp autumn foliage, or a snow-covered evergreen. To throw extra color and texture into the mix, have your bouquets wrapped with lace or patterned fabric, or line your flower-filled vases with birchbark sleeves. As for the centerpiece vases, ask your florist to use small planters, classic pedestals, vintage-inspired vases, or even rustic apple crates.

Trend 7: Turn Table DJs/Specialty Music

Everyone loves a live band, but DJs are resurging in popularity- though not necessarily somebody with an iPod and speaker set-up; rather skilled turntable DJs who can create a unique mishmash of music tailored to your guests, guaranteeing you a packed dance floor all night long. If it's in your budget, hire a specialty band that speaks to your relationship or wedding locale (like a jazz trio, bluegrass band, or even funk group) for the cocktail hour.

Trend 8: Souped-Up Photo Booths
The photo booth trend is so not going anywhere, it's just becoming more personalized. If you'd rather not rent one, make one. Create your own backdrop using a piece of patterned fabric, a simple curtain, or even paper streamers. If it's an outdoor wedding, pin the fabric to an arbor or trellis; otherwise, use a wardrobe frame to secure your fabric. If you've rented more of a traditional wedding space, ask your site manager whether they have in-house "pipe and drapes" that you can use (a fancy term for a stand-alone bar with a curtain attached). You could also make a completely custom photo backdrop out of wood, cover it with wallpaper or paint, and then decorate it with fun frames or anything else you can think of. Cut out circles for your guests' faces, or encourage everyone to get comfortable together on a great couch placed in front of the backdrop. And don't forget the funny props, like hats, fake mustaches, and glasses!

Trend 9: Themed Engagement Photo Shoots
Just like your dress and reception decor, if you decide on an engagement photo shoot, make it a statement of the "you" the two of you are. That line of thinking has couples coming up with the most creative themed engagement photo shoots, from Mad Men and Breakfast at Tiffany's to more obscure 1950s backyard barbecue shoots. Not into the theme idea? Tone it down with a couple props, like colorful balloons, umbrellas, or a tandem bicycle.

Trend 10: Wedding Videos (They're Back!)

While classic cinematic wedding videos are still an in-demand style, couples are also asking their videographers to use motion picture in new and creative ways. A few ideas The Knot highlighted: short wedding Super 8 wedding videos for that grainy, vintage look (which can later have music dubbed in), the one-minute wedding video first created by the Flashdance DJ out of Los Angeles — a fast-motion version of the dance floor throughout the evening, or an ultra-creative save-the-date video- posted on YouTube, of course!

So today, the wish-list. Coming this week, we'll take a closer look at how to start your marriage off on a note of less debt, while still trying out some of these ideas, and why  optimism with a heavy note of realism most definitely has a place in your wedding plans.

John

Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

Check out the new John Tesh Social Network. You can connect with new friends, post your own blog, visit various forums, upload your favorite John Tesh music and share your photos.  To learn more about how to join, click here.

You know you want to quit smoking; you know you don't want to gain weight.

It's a fear that men and women alike express when confronting a reluctance to quit smoking- and many former (and recurrent) smokers do complain that their decision to quit smoking caused them to gain unwanted pounds. Typically, it's not a huge amount of weight gain—it's maybe 5 or 10 pounds. But the frustration is obvious and understandable: they feel they've replaced one negative habit with another—excessive consumption of calories.

Lisa Drayer, a registered dietician in private practice, says that the cause of hunger and weight gain after quitting smoking is related to a few different factors. For one, the nicotine in tobacco can slightly raise metabolism, enabling you to burn more calories than you typically would on a daily basis. When you kick the habit, you experience a slight decline in metabolism, which increases your susceptibility to weight gain. Another theory suggests that when you quit smoking, levels of serotonin—the neurotransmitter responsible for calm, relaxed feelings—are low, and this can lead to irritability and carbohydrate cravings. Consuming sweet and starchy foods increases serotonin levels and enables you to feel more at ease.

Aside from these biological factors, your smoking habit probably consumed some amount of time during your day. Whether it was during a work break, or once you got home, taking time out for a cigarette was probably a regular part of your routine. As a result, it's not uncommon to find other activities to occupy the time you previously spent smoking, like a now-daily stroll to the nearest vending machine for some M&Ms or a Snickers, or heading down to the company cafeteria to grab a bag of chips.

But with your decision to quit smoking, you've made a smart decision that will improve your overall health and physical fitness. Anyone can understand that watching the scale go up is not exactly what you would call a reward for your behavior, though. To help you avoid packing on pounds after you've kicked the habit, follow Drayer's suggestions outlined in Women's Health:

Tips to minimize hunger and weight gain after quitting smoking

• Plan activities for times when you have the urge to grab a cigarette. Go for a coffee break, call a friend, take a walk, or do some errands. 
• Keep your hands busy at all times. This is key for the evening hours. Take up knitting, catch up on e-mails, or indulge your nails: give yourself a manicure or plan for a daily polish change.
• Carry a water bottle with you whenever you can. This will occupy your hands, and sipping calorie-free water throughout the day will help you avoid weight gain.
• Bring healthy snacks with you, in portion controlled Ziploc bags. Dried fruit and nuts, string cheese, and low-calorie energy bars are good choices.
• Keep sugarless gum, mints, or a travel-size mouthwash in your pocketbook. It's great for cleansing your palate when you're craving sweets. At night, brush your teeth right after dinner.
• Get moving! If you haven't been exercising, now is a good time to start. Exercise will minimize your hunger, boost your metabolism, help you burn calories, and improve your mood.
• Take your former cigarette money, and invest in a revved up metabolism- with a membership to a local gym.

John

Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

Check out the new John Tesh Social Network. You can connect with new friends, post your own blog, visit various forums, upload your favorite John Tesh music and share your photos.  To learn more about how to join, click here.