exploration for a healthier me

Exactly one year since this blog was started and about 9 months since it was updated. Most people are so busy it is hard to follow everything. I was not sure anyone was interested any more, so I lost interest too. With this new year, I am starting again. I am trying to finally take all the knowledge/reading and put it to use in my life. I am a certified trainer and nutrition advisor. For many years I was a nationally certified massage therapist, that I have let go. I am still licensed for now, but as I rarely give massages anymore, I decided last fall not to stress about national certs. I have decided to be smarter this year, last year I went a full steam ahead and got hurt trying to increase my activity level too fast. It took months to totally heal, so now I am even less flexible, have less stamina, and less muscle mass. So it is time to wisely start again. I did not make a bunch of new year goals and such this year. We (Dale and myself) are going to start slowly. First step is ...

As I read article after article, it is so easy to get confused on what is the best way to eat, exercise, think, relax, and in general be healthier. I am finding it harder to believe what I read or even what the doctors tell me. They so often contradict each other or even themselves. I have decided that it is truly up to me to decide what is best for me. Everyone has advice for me, but some times i find that two doctors will say totally different things. And heaven knows reading articles in books, magazines, or on the internet will lead you to all most always finding opposite views and research, so it is hard to know what to trust. I have decided that I will trust myself most. I am the one living in this body. Next I will trust test that tell me what my actual amounts of things in my body are, not just ones that indicate that there might be a problem maybe. Doctors are people too and not gods, so I will listen to their advice, but understand that I have read more" cutting edge...

Each day we can make a choice on how we will live that day. And even if one day or group of days are not your healthiest, you get to start again the next day.  If you are like me, the days kinda sneak up on me and I don't always handle them in ways that are the best for my health. I am glad that a few bad days do not ruin my life because I can alway get back on track. Even if it seems that you take two steps forward and then end up going backwards, remember, you can always start forward again any tine you wish. Do not give up if it seems somedays impossible to make progress.  Though it does not seem fair, but going forward is harder than siding back. You can do it though, just one step at a time, one day at a time. If you find you are having trouble staying committed,reach out to someone for support, do little things (they really make a difference over long periods of time), be your own best friend, and stay positive. I know it is not easy and the farther you have to go , the ...

Stress is a major factor I have found for some of the unhealthy things that happen in life. I have come to realize that stress effects me in many ways. First, I have serious problems sleeping when I am stressed. I have had times where several times a week, I can not get to sleep or wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep. I then spent hours tossing and turning trying not to disturb my husband. The next day after a bad night, I have noticed, that I have very little energy, my mood is negative, and things get on my nerves easily. Second, for me, stress has the effect of craving foods. None of my cravings are very healthy! I am about 40 lbs over my "best" weight according to the doctor, my cholesterol is up, as is my sugar. I have tried to loss weight for years, but have usually ended up giving into cravings. This has been a serious cycle for me, over the years I have created the habit of eating to calm my nerves, when upset, or when I feel down. ...

We are our own hardest critics in most cases. I know I am. Today I would like us to treat ourselves with the kindness we would treat our best friends and would want them to treat us. Really would you hang out with someone who was finding fault with how you look, what go can do, etc. I would not, except with myself.  We all need to remember that we are always growing and changing, we are a work in progress, not a finished piece. There are things about myself I want to improve on and change, but I am working on supporting myself and not tearing myself down. I hope this is true for all of you. Sometimes it seems as we are not making much, if any, progress and it is discouraging. Remember we are here for the whole life and we take it day by day. If one day or more, we seem to be going the wrong way, stop and take a breath. Figure out if you can what went wrong and then step back on your trail to a better you. Instead of ragging on yourself about what you messed up on, congratulate your...

Today I was reading this special edition magazine by Time. I found a lot of it very interesting and I am going to reread it in a couple of days and see if it still strikes me as good advice. I have also been reading several yoga magazines and other health related magazines lately to try and find ways to help change my life for the better. This one on mindfulness hit a couple of chords I liked. They talked about life changes that were sustainable and have shown in a number of studies to be very helpful to the general health and well being of the study volunteers.  I will do some more research on it as I am finding that, for me, the changes have to be small and make sense in my life or I just won't stick with them. And I must make them a few at a time or they overwhelm me. So I am thinking of picking one change in each area I feel most need it.  like; eat healthy when I am hunger, try to get enough sleep, for me that about 8 hours I think, do some exercise each ...