Time To Start

 
   

     Every step that you take forward is a step in the right direction.  It might be small and you might think it doesn't matter.  It matters.  If you walk, just walk for a minute you burn 6 calories.
    I really need to stay flexible and keep moving. I am so determined to keep tying my own shoes, keep getting myself dressed and to really stay active into the golden years of my life.
    Don't tip toe into the coming years of your life. Go out, move and live those years. Take the first step.


You need to take the first step now...

One Thing Leads To Another...

     
     Healthy living is really a cycle of positive behavior.  If you eat better and exercise regularly, you feel better.  If you feel better, your attitude changes and you look better.  Your attitude changes and you tend to think  more positively than negatively.  You live a better life.
      Jump into the cycle.  Make the choice in the morning to eat better and pack some healthy meals and snacks to take to work.  Take a ten minute walk around the building or around the parking lot at break.  The weather is changing now, it's not so hot and humid and it's a good time to enjoy it.
      I do think one of the most important things in this cycle is positive thinking.  Because if you think you can't do something you are right.  If you think your life can get better, if you think you can find the time to exercise, if you think you can eat more produce and fruits--you can.  Thinking is believing and believing is doing and it starts the whole cycle out.   Did you ever notice that being around negative people has a tendency to suck the life right out of you?  They are always complaining about how bad their lives are and no one really feels comfortable around them. Positive people will always feel better, do better at work, home and school and will always attract other people.


Jump Into The Life Cycle...

Just Like That.

      Have you ever decided that, starting tomorrow,  you are going to make a positive change in your life?  You are going to eat better, exercise more, think positive thoughts, stay away from negative people...just make better choices   Then, in your head, you talk yourself out of it.  You don't have time to make salad for lunch, you don't have time to exercise and do laundry, etc.
     Change happens when you realize that you can accomplish anything you want to.  If you want to feel better, than you have to actively work to pursue that.  That means evaluating your eating habits, your vitamin and mineral intake, your exercise habits...and you have to decide that you are worth that makeover.  Because you are.
      You can change...just like that.  You decide it's a nice day, so on your break or lunch at work you are going to walk out to your car, then back the long way around the parking lot, walk up and down the steps a few times, soaking up the sunshine and Vitamin D.  You make a salad for dinner,  and you make a little extra and put it in a bowl for lunch the next day so it is convenient and you can just grab it.  Throw a load of laundry in, then walk on the treadmill until it goes into the dryer.  If you have a favorite show, and you are going to watch it anyway,  walk the treadmill, touch your toes, lift some soup cans or do something while watching it. Instead of going to McDonald's, go to the Farmer's Market and buy some fruit and vegetables to eat all week long.  You can always get something good to eat at your local Farmer's Market.


Tomorrow can start today...
   

Get Out There Together

     As we get older, we do have a tendency to forget things.  Probably not on the scale as this couple in the picture, but I have walked into a store and thought...what did I come here for?
      One way to help prevent dementia and keep the brain working is to keep blood flowing to it.  Increasing blood flow by exercising is a good way to ensure that blood is flowing through your heart and to all of your important parts.  It is also a good idea to exercise the brain by reading, by learning, by playing games specifically meant to challenge the brain.  Some of those can be found on Lumosity.com  or by going to AARP's site, as they have some really decent "brain games".
      We all  know that exercise helps to keep our muscles, joints, tendons and all of our body parts moving and can help us avoid injury from simple falls or wrong turns.  If you do get injured, exercise and therapy can help you to recover quicker, with programs designed to restore function.  Being in shape helps to shorten recovery time from surgeries and other procedures that you may have to undergo as you get older.  Keeping your brain sharp may help you to function for a longer time on your own into your golden years.
     Remember, when thinking of exercise I am not saying you have to join a gym or spend a lot of money on a personal trainer.  If you can do that, and you would like to do that, that is great.  However, at any age, exercise can be as simple as taking a walk.  Bike riding is good exercise as well, but please, put your clothes on.  You may end up with brush burns or bruises in spots where you won't want them


Exercise, like nakedness, is more fun shared....

Small Changes

     I know that I sound like a broken record at times.  I just don't think some people get it.  You are never going to do a complete makeover overnight. You will get discouraged about the things you want to change and give up.  I hear well, starting tomorrow, I am going to eat better, get some or more exercise, lose weight, get more sleep, take a class or work on my hobbies more.  All of that tomorrow?
     First of all, if you start by exercising a little bit you will lose a little weight and get more sleep.  So, for a little while take a walk outside at break or lunch, or after dinner.  Don't want to go out?  Grab those soup cans and raise them over your head or try to touch your toes ten times.  You just have to start there.

     Eating better may require the biggest change.  If you give up eating the things you love all at once or vow to never have them again, you are setting yourself up for failure.  Small starts, big results.  How about, for one meal a day, you have no carbohydrates.  You shouldn't eliminate carbohydrates for the whole day, you need them for energy.  For one meal, you can do this. You make yourself a nice salad every day for lunch...mixing it up a little bit with tuna one day, chicken the next, leftover steak the third and so on.  Be careful with the dressing, yours  may be full of fat and sugar.  Low fat, low sugar.  See?  For one  meal a day you are making a significant change.  Plan it ahead and you can take that walk for five minutes after you eat it.  And it will only be a change for an hour a day.
     We are humans and we have stress and we fail.  When that happens, we get up every day with a different mindset.  We can make it, we can change it and we can do it.

Small steps, big results...

Believing Is Beginning

     It is really true--some basic fitness "problems" start in your mind. If you think you can't, without even trying, you are probably right.
    No one expects you to get up off of the couch and start running a marathon.  All you have to do is get up off of the couch.  Not feeling like getting up off of the couch?  Grab some bigger cans out of your food pantry and raise them up and down like hand weights.  Stand up and touch your toes. Or your knees.  Whatever you can reach. Walk out into your yard and pull some weeds.  Be a little more active every day.
      Sometimes, I don't feel like exercising at all.  I have to convince myself that I must do something, anything. Instead of running, I walk on the treadmill.  I try to mix it up a little bit and walk backwards on it.  You have to be careful when you do this, the treadmill has to go slower so you can get into a rhythm.  Or I just do some time on the bike.  I put my ear buds in and my You-Tube educational videos on and ride.       By the way, that is one thing that helps pass the time in any fitness activity.  If you find music you like, or an app that lets you run through the countryside or something fun on the TV that passes the time in front of the treadmill, it always makes exercising easier.  It doesn't matter what you believe you can do or what helps you do it better.  Just make sure you do it.


I think I can, I think I can...

Get Out and Be More Active!

 
     My wife and I attended the Blueberry Festival in Montrose yesterday.  Blueberries are very good for you, high in antioxidants and certain vitamins.  We parked at the bottom of the hill and walked up to the festival, then walked around for a little while.  We did treat ourselves to a little blueberry shortcake for our efforts.  We had a nice day.
     The point, really, of this story is that you should at least be fit enough to enjoy life.  To be able to get out, walk around, eat blueberries or even pick them, and have a pleasant day in the sunshine.  To be able to get out and make some memories.  Walking a little bit, a few times a week, is a good place to start.  Life isn't going to come to you, you need to go out and find it.
       Tuesday, we will be married one year.  Of course, we have been together now for ten.  I am looking forward to making memories, going on vacations, going to festivals or just for walks with her for the next ten years.  If she can put up with me, that is.

Life isn't black or white, you have to throw a little blueberry in there.