Home Care San Antonio enables seniors to live happy, healthy, and independent lives in their own homes.

Valentine’s Day can be lonely for seniors, particularly those of you who are reminded of romantic activities that you may have done in the past with a spouse that’s no longer with you. But that doesn’t mean you have to succumb to those feelings; instead get out there and have some fun!

• Attend a community event – visit a senior’s center or community center hosting Valentine’s Day celebrations. Performances like concerts by choirs, plays and poetry readings can be fun to attend and great for the whole family

• Try doing some crafts – seniors who are already part of craft groups are likely to be beginning themed activities for Valentine’s Day, but do them at home as well. Seniors can also make cards and decorations with their family members

• Do some baking – Valentine’s Day is often associated with treats. Chocolate and goodies are usually a feature of the holiday. For seniors that can eat these items without any health repercussions, they can do some baking with family members. Otherwise healthier recipes can be tried incorporating food coloring of heart shapes to get into the spirit!

Via: Suite101

Image: daylife.com

Home Care San Antonio provides senior care in San Antonio, Helotes, Leon Springs, Castroville, Pearsall, and Pleasanton. For more help, please call Home Instead Senior Care San Antonio at 210-614-1132.

With heart disease affecting more and more seniors each year, many people are taking some steps to include exercise in their daily lives. An exercise program can greatly improve the health of the heart and lower the risks of heart disease. These exercises also have other benefits, such as lowering blood pressure, improving sleep and enhancing mood. The list provided below contains some tips that all seniors should be aware of as they begin a new exercise regime.

Before starting any exercise program, San Antonio Home Care wants to remind all seniors to check with their doctor first to make sure that the exercises they’re doing are safe.

1. Make sure all exercises are paced. You do not want to go too fast or over-do it. Give your muscles time to relax between exercises.

2. Individuals who have heart failure should always exercise in a controlled climate. Do not exercise outside in the extreme heat or cold.

3. During all exercises, make sure to have water nearby. Staying hydrated is one of the most important factors of a healthy exercise regime.

4. If you become fatigued, stop the exercise. Do not exercise if you have not been feeling well or if you experience any shortness of breath.

5. Pain can be an indicator of other health problems. If you experience any pain, stop the exercise, especially if the pain is in the chest.

6. After all exercises, check your pulse 15 minutes after you have stopped. Your pulse rate should be lower than 120.

Source: webmd.com

Image Source: sxc.hu

Home Care San Antonio provides senior care in San Antonio, Helotes, Leon Springs, Castroville, Pearsall, and Pleasanton. For more help, please call Home Instead Senior Care San Antonio at 210-614-1132.

There are many benefits for seniors who begin their resolutions early. Instead of waiting until the first of the year, it may be best to start a resolution as soon as possible. This can be very beneficial for seniors who have made resolutions to improve their health. While most people wait for the New Year to begin, at Home Care San Antonio we see that seniors are among the many individuals starting early. Below is a list that provides some tips and reasons for starting resolutions early.

1. Millions of people make resolutions each year and many of them are seniors. These goals are often centered on changes that will improve daily life, so there is no better time to start than now!

2. Resolutions do not have to be made just for the New Year. You can make a resolution at any point during the year and begin working on it as soon as you can. There is no need to wait until the first day of a new year.

3. When starting early, you will see there are benefits. You will begin improving your life sooner. Self-discipline is one of the most important factors of any resolution success, so start early and make changes for the better.

4. Keep your goal in mind, no matter when you start to work on your resolution. Create a plan that will allow you to stick to your convictions and achieve your goals. Resolutions not only improve life, they also help people grow physically, emotionally and psychologically.

Source: ehow.com

Image Source: sxc.hu

Home Care San Antonio provides senior care in San Antonio, Helotes, Leon Springs, Castroville, Pearsall, and Pleasanton. For more help, please call Home Instead Senior Care San Antonio at 210-614-1132.

Reaching a goal can be a challenge for anyone. Seniors often have difficulties attaining their new goals. The internet is a great way to find resources that will help with planning and keeping track of progress as seniors strive to achieve their goals for the year ahead. Below, Home Care San Antonio has listed a few websites that are very helpful and commonly used by seniors.

1. ResolutionsReminders.com – This is a free site that can help you stay on track and attain your resolutions. The site was established in 1997 and has been going strong ever since. It contains valuable resources and users can sign up to receive email reminders.

2. DietTV.com – This site is great for anyone who has set diet goals for the New Year. A personalized program can be created, including a customized diet plan. The site has many areas that will help with all diet and exercise needs, such as an exercise finder and support groups.

3. StopSmoking.net – Many seniors still smoke, and many members of the senior population make resolutions each year to quit smoking. This is one of the hardest goals to achieve, especially for seniors who have been smoking for many years. The site also offers tips on how to quit as well as the option of creating a personalized stop smoking plan.

Source: helium.com

Image Source: sxc.hu

Home Care San Antonio provides senior care in San Antonio, Helotes, Leon Springs, Castroville, Pearsall, and Pleasanton. For more help, please call Home Instead Senior Care San Antonio at 210-614-1132.

Here at San Antonio Home Care, we know that your goals can be accomplished this year and you’ll improve your life as you age. This year can be different than those past where you’ve struggled to meet them after a few turns of the calendar, if you make sure you don’t enter into the following pitfalls:

1. Don’t procrastinate – get started with them right away. As soon as you set your goals, get going. The longer you procrastinate, the less likely you’ll ever begin on your journey

2. Overcome the hurdles – it’s Murphy’s Law that what can go wrong will go wrong; but just because you encounter hurdles while trying to meet your New Year’s resolutions doesn’t mean that you need to give up. Overcome!

3. Don’t let a plateau discourage you – no matter what your goal is, you’ll see a lot of progress early on and then hit a plateau. This doesn’t mean you’re not meeting success, this a natural occurrence, and you simply need to keep moving forward with your goals

4. Recognize that if you feel discouraged, it’s simply an emotion – at some stage along your journey to reaching a goal, you’ll likely feel discouraged. But that doesn’t have a bearing on your success, especially once you recognize that it’s simply an emotion and you can get through it

Via: Huffington Post

Image Source: sxc.hu

Home Care San Antonio provides senior care in San Antonio, Helotes, Leon Springs, Castroville, Pearsall, and Pleasanton. For more help, please call Home Instead Senior Care San Antonio at 210-614-1132.

New Year’s resolutions are small changes people vow to make in the year ahead. They could be simple or complex, but no matter what, they need to be achieved. Seniors often make resolutions relating to their health, whether it is losing weight, eating differently or exercising. Regardless of what the goal is, the tips below will help seniors achieve their new set of goals for the upcoming year.

1. Keep the list of goals as simple as possible. Make sure that each goal can be attained. Goals should provide a sense of satisfaction when they are achieved.

2. Goals should be realistic. Seniors cannot set the same goals as younger people because those same goals are not always realistic.

3. Have a plan. Each goal should have a specific plan to go along with it. This makes achieving goals much easier. It may be helpful to make a list of things that can be done to meet a goal and cross it off when it is attained.

4. Set a timeline. You should have a deadline for yourself. This will help motivate you to meet your goal.

5. Write a list. When making resolutions, be sure to write them down. People who make lists of their goals are much more successful at achieving them.

6. Keep tabs on your progress. You may want to use a journal to take notes. This will help you see what kind of progress has been made already and what is left to do.

Source: associatedcontent.com

Image Source: sxc.hu

Home Care San Antonio provides senior care in San Antonio, Helotes, Leon Springs, Castroville, Pearsall, and Pleasanton. For more help, please call Home Instead Senior Care San Antonio at 210-614-1132.

With the beginning of a new year, most senior citizens have promised themselves to stay healthy. Part of staying healthy comes with new and improved fitness efforts. Here are some ideas seniors can use towards fighting off that extra piece of cake.

• Change Old Eating Habits—Two may be better than one in this instance. Try and eat with your senior, switching out high calorie foods for healthier dinner staples such as salads with vegetables and lean proteins.

• Record What You Eat—Sometimes writing it all down will give seniors or their caregivers some perspective on their eating habits. By recording what you eat, a senior can easily reduce calories just by visualizing those foods causing the most damage to a slim trim.

• Exercise Together—While reducing calories can help lose weight, seniors must go one step farther and exercise to see results. Take long walks daily with your senior, working together to reach fitness goals. If a senior goes it alone, they may be less likely to stick to that daily walk.

• Meditate—As strange as it may seem, negative thoughts about your body and weight can ruin any fitness efforts. Find a quiet place in your home for 5 minutes a day, and just focus on breathing. This simple act will help clear the mind from critical thoughts about your body, allowing for a greater appreciation of the physical self.

Source: aarp.org

Image Source: sxc.hu

Home Care San Antonio provides senior care in San Antonio, Helotes, Leon Springs, Castroville, Pearsall, and Pleasanton. For more help, please call Home Instead Senior Care San Antonio at 210-614-1132.

show that New Year’s resolutions very rarely survive past Valentine’s Day, which means they’re abandoned almost as soon as they’re set. Whether your New Year’s resolution this year is to lose a few pounds, increase your social life, or travel to better enjoy older adulthood, you can stick to your goals using these methods.

1. Focus on fun – particularly when it comes to losing weight or starting an exercise program, the resolution can become a burden rather than something you desire to achieve. Find exercise activities you enjoy, and if your resolutions have nothing to do with weight loss or exercise; ensure you go about attaining your goals in a way that’s focused on fun!

2. Think about your future today – if you have goals for the future, there’s no better time than now to start working towards achieving them. You might have excuses, whether it’s related to your age, your health, the logistics of getting around or something else; but those are aspects unlikely to change so take the bull by the horns and work towards the goals you set

3. Talk to others – if you tell others about your goals, you’ll be more likely to stick to them. It almost creates a challenge, since you’ll be encouraged to tell your friends and family that you’re successful rather than failing at your New Year’s resolutions. This also gives you a support network for encouragement

Via: AARP

Image Source: sxc.hu

Home Care San Antonio provides senior care in San Antonio, Helotes, Leon Springs, Castroville, Pearsall, and Pleasanton. For more help, please call Home Instead Senior Care San Antonio at 210-614-1132.

The holidays can be hard for seniors when they’re not as they were in the past. Family and friends they used to celebrate might no longer be with them, their health might not be what it was; and these are elements that can make the holiday season less enjoyable to seniors. Help seniors take joy from the holiday season, by using these tips to make positive holiday experiences.

1. Allow memories and past rituals to live on – don’t discourage seniors from reliving those important memories of holidays past, thinking that it will prevent depression. Share memories of family members no longer with you, look at photos, and keep old family traditions alive

2. Make sure visiting seniors are comfortable – to help reduce the stress of seniors coming into your home over the holidays, make sure that your home is senior-friendly, with safety being the primary concern

3. Avoid impulsive holiday activities – to ensure that seniors can be involved with all holiday activities, avoid being impulsive that way seniors can be well-rested for more excitement

4. Focus on the joy – while it’s okay to reminisces, over the holidays make sure that all memories discussed focus on the positive

5. Create new traditions – while you can focus on incorporating old rituals into the holidays, create new ones as well that give the whole family, including seniors, new things to look forward to doing together. Holiday activities can’t just focus on the past

Via: ArticleBase

Image source: sxc.hu

Home Care San Antonio provides senior care in San Antonio, Helotes, Leon Springs, Castroville, Pearsall, and Pleasanton. For more help, please call Home Instead Senior Care San Antonio at 210-614-1132.

Almost everyone is searching for a way to save money, especially when traveling. The good news for seniors is that this is possible! The following list will provide you with some tips when planning a vacation. It is important to start planning as soon as you can. This will help when trying to find the best deal. Working with a travel agent is the best way for seniors to book a vacation and find the best available price.

1. Make sure to know personal preferences before contacting a travel agent. These requests should be made in advance. Some common requests for traveling seniors include aisle seats on airplanes, morning flights and non-smoking accommodations.

2. Be sure to deal with a travel agent directly. Many travel agents have personal assistants that relay messages. If possible, try to arrange to speak with the agent directly.

3. If there are time constraints, make sure to have a back-up plan. Use a calendar to plan for schedule changes. Often times, a change in time could mean a greater discount.

4. Inquire about car rentals and hotel rooms. Your travel agent may be able to book a complete package which would offer additional savings.

Source: www.ehow.com

Image source: sxc.hu

Home Care San Antonio provides senior care in San Antonio, Helotes, Leon Springs, Castroville, Pearsall, and Pleasanton. For more help, please call Home Instead Senior Care San Antonio at 210-614-1132.