Friday, May 25, 2012

Empowering Interests For Women

Of course women are interested in many things. But the question remains- are those interests that empower women or lower their self-esteem? Many women enjoy reading gossip magazines. However, pages filled with negative gossip about celebrities and unreal physical bodies does not empower women, but rather disempowers them. This article instead will outline some athletic, literary, and educational interests that women can pursue which positively impact society and specifically, women.

Through the simple athletic act of running, women can gain great self-esteem, courage, and empowerment. Running can act as a catharsis for stress and negative emotions. Running helps women to work past those issues and embrace something that is more positive. Many women find it empowering to begin running their first mile, and eventually work up to running six mile marathons.

Other athletic interests that can be empowering for women are weight-lifting and boxing. Weight-lifting teaches women how to gradually build strength, and also contains a mentally empowering aspect. Boxing teaches women how to be confrontational, which is a truly great skill for women to learn. Typically, women are viewed as being non-confrontational and thus become stereotyped as quiet or timid in society. Participating in boxing helps women to consciously break this stereotype and gain enough confidence to stand up for themselves.

Literary interests that can be empowering for women are any sort of financial books or career guidance literature. Financial books by women like Suze Orman help women learn how to make their own money and invest it wisely. Typically, women are risk-averse and shy away from investing money into stocks. Women can try reading investing books to learn how to overcome this fear and confidently pick stocks that will help grow their money. By growing one's financial life, a woman can see how interesting finances can be and fun as well.

Educational interests are a wonderful way for women to find empowerment. One of the best ways to gain empowerment after a divorce is to try something out of the ordinary, like taking a French class, finance course, or cooking class. Empowering interests may seem rare for women, but they exist. Women just need to consciously seek them out, and enjoy the confidence those activities bring into their lives.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Health Tips for Pregnant Women

Pregnant women have special health and nutrition needs. They are eating for two people, for themselves and for the new baby that is growing inside their womb. So they want to be sure they are eating healthy foods. It is important for pregnant women to watch what they eat and drink. For example, doctors advise the strict avoidance of all alcoholic beverages during pregnancy.

It is also recommended to take a folic acid supplement. Folic acid is included in any good quality brand of prenatal vitamins, as are other important nutrients such as B vitamins, minerals like calcium, etc.

If you are trying to conceive, experiencing some symptoms of pregnancy, or are now pregnant, you will want to eat a balanced and healthy diet. Your body will experience many changes as the months go by. Be sure to get plenty of rest. Fatigue is a common complaint of pregnant women. Your body is going through a lot of stressful work to create a human life. You are doing something totally amazing. And you deserve a rest, don't you think? Of course you do. So take plenty of breaks, sit down, even take a nap every day if you can.

You and your baby will need more calories during the pregnancy stages. Some doctors estimate that you will consume round 300 additional calories each day. Just make sure the added calories come from healthy foods, not junk food. It is normal to have some cravings, because you need extra nutrients, but these cravings can be lessened by taking prenatal vitamins. You body wants and needs added nutrition, to help your baby grow, so eat plenty of health foods such as yogurt, fruit, bran muffins, veggies, etc.

Stay away from cigarettes and from people who smoke them. Second hand smoke can be bad for you and for your developing baby. Also avoid chemicals of all kinds. Don't use, inhale or be around any paint, harsh cleaning compounds, bug sprays and pesticides, weed killers, or any serious chemicals such as those.

Get some mild exercise every day. Going for a walk is the best form of exercise. This gets your blood flowing and increases oxygen levels in your body. Don't do any sit ups or crunches or tummy exercises. And avoid doing any heavy lifting.

Talk to your nurse or doctor on a regular basis. Pregnant women are going through a special time in their lives and they have special needs, special eating habits, special vitamins, etc. Take extra special good care of yourself so you will have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.