Do Something Fun...

     This is my granddaughter, Jules, bowling at her Birthday party.  All of the kids and adults are having a good time, laughing and getting exercise.   Bowling is great exercise.  It is great fun for young or old alike, as it doesn't require a certain "body type" or too much flexibility to get that ball down the alley.
      Of course, then we all had cake.  It is a must at a party to celebrate.  The fact that you are exercising though, makes the calories and carbohydrates in the cake not so bad.  It's really all a trade-off.  You need to burn more calories than you take in to lose weight, it's as simple as that.  You don't need the advanced liquid diets or the vegetarian diets or the diet where you can't eat anything at all that you like.  You need to balance your life with exercise and eating to where you at least burn the calories you take in to maintain your weight, or burn more calories than you take in to lose some weight.
      It was a beautiful fall day today.  My wife, her sister and her niece and friend went out to the pumpkin patch and cider mill.  They walked through the corn maze.  The flung apples with a slingshot at targets in a field.  They felt that exercise entitled them to an apple cider doughnut.  They are right.  Enjoying life while keeping moving is how you survive.
      It will be getting colder soon.  Don't fret.  Bowling, roller skating, walking on the treadmill, snowball fights are all great activities.  You don't have to shut down when the weather changes, you have to change with it.

Bowling and cake are awesome...

What Are You Eating?

   

     Most nations, including Australia, Japan and all of the countries in the European Union, do not consider GMOs, Genetically Modified Organisms, to be safe.   Genetically modified food, also known as genetically engineered food, are the crop plants that have been modified in the lab  to enhance desired traits, such as resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content.  

     Currently commercialized GM crops in the U.S. include soy (94%), cotton (90%), canola (90%), sugar beets (95%), corn (88%), Hawaiian papaya (more than 50%), zucchini and yellow squash (over 24,000 acres).  In the U.S., the government has approved GMOs based on studies conducted by the same corporations that created them and profit from their sale. There is a growing body of evidence that is now connecting GMOs with health problems, environmental damage and the violation of consumer rights.  The creation of GMOs is also leading to the development of stronger, more dangerous pesticides.  

     You should be aware of what you are eating and what you can do about it.  If what you are eating is dangerous, you need to know that.  You also need to contact your representatives and tell them that the new DOW pesticides should not be allowed.   My wife and I signed several petitions on Dr. Oz, calling for the labeling of GM foods and the ban of these super pesticides. 

     

     

You are what you eat...

Don't Sit

     You don't have to sit on the cactus.  As a matter of fact, you don't have to sit that much at all.  If your job requires you to sit, at least stand up every hour or so and stretch and touch your toes and walk to get a drink of water or to go to the bathroom.  On your break, on your lunch, get up and move around.  At home, walk around the house, walk outside, walk down the block.  I firmly believe the more mobile you are now, the more mobile you will stay into your later years.
      Also, I am reading more and more about food additives, artificial sweeteners, GMOs and I really think that we need to make more natural food choices.  We should make 2/3 of our plate vegetables and fruits, with protein making up the last third.   Stay away from the artificial sweeteners, the soy and the corn additives, the food so processed you don't even recognize that it is food anymore.  Get back to basics.

At this rate, it might be better to eat the cactus...

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....