YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health Spring 2017 | Page 6

GLORIA CABRERA, APD
Gloria is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and qualified personal trainer, who loves
food, nutrition, cooking, fitness, and helping others improve their health. She works in
private practice helping clients with weight management, pre and post surgery weight
loss, and chronic health conditions (e.g. diabetes, high cholesterol, irritable bowel
syndrome). Find out more about Gloria at www.nutritionsavvy.com.au
FOUR - WEEK
STRENGTH
CHALLENGE
Are you feeling strong? True strength encompasses mental, physical and metabolic
strength. So how can you obtain and maintain such strength? Read on, as nutrition and
exercise expert Gloria Cabrera explains.
Mental Strength
The brain is often considered one of
the most complex machines on earth.
It houses our thoughts, memories,
feelings, beliefs, attitudes and our
actions. The system of our mind can
be divided up into conscious
(current thoughts and feelings),
subconscious (auto-pilot decisions and impressions), and
unconscious (our mind’s reservoir of feelings, thoughts,
desires, and memories). It is possible to boost our mental
strength and, depending on your interests and desired
outcomes, there are many ways to do this.
Your brain consists of the left and the right hemispheres, and
the different hemispheres manage mental tasks. Various
techniques can be used to target these hemispheres and
boost your mental strength. So in addition to brainteasers,
puzzles and crosswords (which most of us have heard of
already), here are a few other techniques to help keep your
brain function strong and healthy:
Mind mapping
A mind map is a diagram that has one central key word or idea,
with other ideas, tasks, words or other items arranged radially
around it to show how they link. They are a great way to capture
your thoughts and bring them to life visually, and in doing so you
can help improve memory, creativity and problem solving. You
can use mind maps for almost any thinking and learning task,
including studying a subject, career planning or changing habits.
Learning a foreign language
If you’ve ever tried to learn a new language, you know it isn’t
easy! But learning a new language is a complete mind power
technique and can result in a process called ‘neurogenesis’
(neuron creation in the brain). Research suggests that your
intelligence and memory can improve as you learn a new
vocabulary and grammatical rules.
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YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE SPRING 2017
Writing
This engages your creativity and doing
this more often trains your brain to reach
the creative state faster which, over time,
can increase the power of your mind.
Learning to play a new musical
instrument
We all enjoy listening to music but
learning to play an instrument is a
great way to improve mental ability.
This is because the process creates
new synapses (used to transport
information) between neurons in
the brain.
Goal: Enhance your mental strength
with these techniques. Start with one
technique by first researching it well, to
ensure it is something that you have
time, ability and finances to be able to
see through. Determine how you will
start, and develop a plan to incorporate
the technique into your schedule.
Physical Strength and Fitness
Physical strength doesn’t happen
overnight, but it will happen with
consistent effort. If you’re not
physically strong or already an avid
exerciser, then make your goal to just
start getting active on a regular basis.
Here are some ways to improve your
physical strength.
If you’re inactive and not keen
on exercise:
• Start by working on your incidental