P.E.P. Talk - February 2023

Welcome to P.E.P. Talk dedicated to your
Physical, Emotional and Personal well-being.

Staying healthy, well and strong with
Brain, Body and Balance.
We are all in this together!

P.E.P. Talk is our Virtual Activities Program that will be sent monthly throughout the year. We hope that you enjoy these activities no matter where you are!
Please look for our weekly calendar and newsletter that will be sent every Wednesday from October through April.
In an effort to support our contactless environment the weekly updates will be sent through email.

DOES IT REALLY TAKE 28 DAYS TO CREATE A HABIT?

Well yes, and no. The 28 day rule states that it generally takes anywhere between 21 and 28 days to create a new habit. Meaning that the first 3 to 4 weeks of performing a new task is often the hardest. Only once you cross that 3 or 4 week period do things start to get easier as the task then becomes a habit.

It doesn’t always take exactly 28 days to create a habit, but the rule has held true over time. People that are able to stick to their plans for those first 3 to 4 weeks are then far more likely to keep going for 2 months, then 6 months and then a year.

Let's take the 28 days in February to start to form some new healthy habits.

I hope everyone takes the time to look through all of the information included in this month's P.E.P. Talk and use it to help take better care of you!

I look forward to hearing from you. - Erin

WHAT CAN YOU DO, TO HELP HIT THAT 28 DAY PERIOD?

By hitting that 28 day goal, you’re well on your way to reaching your targets and crossing a milestone that most fail to reach. Here are seven tips to help you get there.

1. SET SOME TANGIBLE GOALS TO REACH

Be very clear in highlighting a few goals that you want to achieve as a result of exercising. These need to be as specific as possible, in order to make reaching them much more likely. For example, you might want to set a goal of adding one set of strength or balance exercises daily to feel stronger and improve your balance by the end of the month.

2. CREATE A CLEAR PLAN OF ACTION

Now that you have your goals, you can go about creating a plan that will help you to reach them. Next, break down each individual session for the next four weeks into exactly which exercises you will be doing and for how long. That way, you know exactly what lies ahead and what steps need to be taken in order to reach your long term goals.

3. TALK TO YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT YOUR GOALS

In order to make your goals real, you should talk about them with anyone who is interested and who can support you. Make it clear that you are committed to maintaining your workouts for at least the next four weeks, and they should hold you accountable.

5. SET REWARD

You should set rewards for maintaining your schedule. This might include having a cheat day every Sunday or buy yourself something to help keep you motivated.

6. TAKE PROGRESS PICTURES

You’ll be surprised by just how quickly you start to see results. By taking progress photos of your body every week at the same time you will start to see just how much positive change your new lifestyle is bringing.

7. GET A WORKOUT PARTNER

Perhaps the best thing you can do is find someone who also wants to commit to working out and join you in your 4 week challenge! Your chances of success go up greatly if there is someone else there ready to motivate you.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Hopefully now you understand a bit better why it takes 28 days to create a habit and what you can do to hit those key milestones. Keeping a journal or a calendar visible can help you stay organized and focused.
A February 2022 calendar is shown below to help you start to visualize and prepare for your challenge.

Good luck and have fun!

Have you ever wished there were more hours in the day? Sometimes it can be difficult to manage the many demands on our time. It is possible to take control of your time and enjoy a healthy mix of work and play.

Here are some tips to help you make more of your time.

Make the most of your peak performance times. If you are a morning person, complete difficult tasks soon after breakfast and leave the easier ones for the afternoon.
Prioritise your tasks. Do the important or urgent things first and try not to be disrupted by emails or phone calls that can be dealt with later.
Use a diary or calendar. Keep track of short, medium and long-term commitments. Never work from two diaries – combine work and social engagements in the one diary.
Get organized. Develop easy-to-maintain physical and electronic filing and storage systems and keep them tidy. Being organized makes procrastination difficult.
Start with smaller tasks. If you know you procrastinate or find it difficult to start projects, choose a small job and concentrate on completing it. Once you start, a rhythm will form and you won’t feel so anxious.
Be realistic about what you can do. When prioritizing or scheduling engagements, don’t overload yourself. Concentrate on achieving results, not just on staying busy.
Break larger tasks or projects into smaller chunks. Plan how you might divide up a large task and then focus on each section separately.
Reward yourself. Setting rewards for the completion of tasks will strengthen your desire to start difficult or unpleasant jobs. Make the rewards something you usually don’t have time to do, like making a new anti-inflammatory desert (see the recipe below).
Ask for help. Ask those around you to help from family and friends. Let them know what you are trying to accomplish and have them help hold you accountable.
Set yourself some limits. A little bit of TV and internet surfing is enjoyable and good for relaxation, but both have a tendency to take over. Set an alarm on your clock or phone to remind you it’s time to get on with things.

Prepare your activities for the week on Sunday evening. If you are going to build in some daily fitness activities throughout the day have them ready to go to save time and any procrastination. This way you can fit in a few minutes throughout your day that, added up at the end of the day, can easily add up to another 30 minutes of fitness activity a day.

Here are six exercises that can be added to your routine throughout the day for a total of 30 additional fitness minutes daily.

Please see the fitness video below for even more great ideas!

These antioxidant and anti inflammatory turmeric bars are a delicious treat that requires zero baking. They're gluten, dairy and refined sugar free and packed with healthy fats.

Ingredients

Crust
3/4 cup coconut flour
3 scoops Terra Origin Organic Turmeric Blend (Chai)
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups almond butter (note: use 100% almond butter with no added oils)
1/2 cup maple syrup
Filling
2 cups sugar-free chocolate chips
¼ cup coconut oil
¼ cup coconut flakes

Instructions

Line a deep 8 x 8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add dry ingredients for the crust, mix and set aside.

In a microwave-safe bowl or on the stovetop, melt the almond butter with maple syrup until combined.

Mix your wet and dry ingredients and mix until a thick batter remains.

Transfer the dough to the lined pan and press firmly in place Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Once dough refrigerated, melt your chocolate chips and coconut oil on the stovetop and pour over the bars.

Sprinkle with coconut flakes and additional Terra Origin Organic Turmeric Blend and cinnamon.

Freeze until firm.

Store in the refrigerator or the freezer in an air tight container up to 5 days.

Locals Only
Welcome to the Coachella Valley's locals only recommendations for you. This is a list of local businesses, excursions and happenings throughout the desert. They can be experienced as a single event or group them together to customize your own adventures and day trips.

Please visit each website to confirm the days and hours of each location.

Cabot's Pueblo Museum
Local Tip: Make sure to get tickets in advance if you want the guided tour. Lots of history, artwork and artifacts in this historic house museum. Highly recommended.