For so many people, New Year's seems like the ideal time to begin living a healthier life. New Year's Resolutions are made and abandoned a few weeks later. I believe that is because we start at the wrong time of year. It's cold and snowy (at least here in NY it is!) We have much less daylight. Fresh fruits and vegetables are at their highest prices and honestly, their worst flavors! So what is a person to do?
I propose we start again tomorrow on June 1st. We are entering the weeks that have the most daylight. It is certainly easier to get up a bit earlier or move into the evening, when the weather cooperates. Fresh food is tastier and cheaper or you can grow it yourself!
Daydream for a minute. You come home from work with several hours of daylight left. How would you like to spend your time outside? Walking? A bike ride? Play hoops? Play catch? The CDC is pushing in their diabetes prevention programs to avoid using the word exercise. Instead they want to encourage people to do "meaningful movement" for 30 minutes a day. Certainly with all that beautiful weather outside your door, you can find something meaningful to make you move. And if it's raining? How about putting on your favorite tunes and dancing!
Food is so much better in the summer too. Grilling is a healthy way to cook! Try grilling fish, corn on the cob, pineapple, or zucchini. Check out local farmer's markets for the freshest fruits and vegetables. Don't recognize something they carry? Ask the farmer what it is and how to cook it. Wander the produce section of your grocery store looking for the weirdest fruits and vegetables. The biggest stores often have recipe cards right near the produce. And don't forget all the fresh herbs. Those are plants that can sneak some extra vitamins and micro-nutrients into your body besides adding flavor to your foods.
Are you one who really doesn't like to try new foods? How about trying a new variety of your favorite. Tomatoes come large and small, They have orange, yellow, green and purple tomatoes, not just red. Try apples in different flavors. Grapes come in green, red, and purple. Buy a few of each and taste test them. I love mini-peppers and baby cucumbers. Cauliflower is traditionally white, but also comes in yellow and purple. Why should you try your favorite food in a different color? Because the colors are created by different micro-nutrients. By simply eating an unusual colored grape or tomato, you are expanding the kinds of vitamins you are putting in your body.
So, let's start new tomorrow. Move more. Eat differently. Smile more. Let's make the last seven months of 2019 our healthiest time ever. Actually, start today! When I finish publishing this, I think I will go out and do some yard work. A little meaningful movement that will cause me to smile when I am done and for the next few weeks.
Friday, May 31, 2019
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Living Health with an Injury
I have been anxiously awaiting the opening of a new gym in my area. They opened last week but my crazy schedule didn't allow me to go until yesterday. But over the weekend my left foot started to hurt and by yesterday, the pain was immense. I skipped the gym time and took it easy instead. Ibuprofen and rest seemed like the best course of action. Last night, as I was grading 3rd grade state exams, the pain made it hard to concentrate on the students's answers. I decided that if I was still in pain this morning, it was time to visit my favorite orthopedic office's urgent care center.
Since the title of this is Living Healthy with an Injury, I can assume, you know I went to the ortho doc this morning. At age 54, there was definitely arthritis floating around my foot, but also a slight stress fracture. No gym for me for a while! So what does one do to stay healthy when one is injured?
For me, it started with the doctor. A surgical boot for my foot and prescription rub-on pain relief will help with daily activities that I have to do. The extra support the boot provided was amazing! Once my foot got over being poked, prodded and x-rayed, the pain was less in the boot. My foot was stabilized. The rub-on pain meds helped even more. But I still can't hit the treadmill or do squats while my foot is healing. So?
Next I dealt with my diet. I eat pretty well, but the extra night work of grading papers has made eating fast food too easy. In order for my body to heal properly, I need to make every bite truly count. So I spent time today cooking several kinds of healthy foods that I can grab and go easily. Lots of protein, dairy, and veggies were involved since my bones need to heal. My son helped me with things that seemed hard to do while my foot was achy.
Exercise still needs to be some part of my routine, so I grabbed some hand weights and moved them by my chair. It may not be wise to stand and use them, but I can modify some movements to a seated position. I have also checked out chair exercises to do for a few weeks. I may need to be seated more, but I don't have to be still!
Evaluating my schedule came next. I cannot simply go and do all that I might normally do. Resting the injury isn't just a suggestion, it is necessary for quicker healing. Tonight I will take my daughter to the grocery store as I do weekly. But I will sit in the car while she shops for both of us. I don't need to go in and walk on my foot. I might even bring a book in the car and read! Finding time to read is always tough on my schedule.
Finally, I will work to maintain a positive attitude. When we are genuinely happy our brain releases dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine is also the chemical used in your body to reduce pain. So when you doing things that make you happy, you are also lessening the pain your body feels. When your body feels pain, it doesn't heal itself as well. So being happy (genuinely at peace and content) brings an increase in healing.
It is possible to live healthy even with an injury or a chronic illness. You focus on what you can do and find peace and joy in those things. Eat well. Drink lots of water! Don't allow an injury to cripple your healthy living. Use it to improve your overall health instead.
Since the title of this is Living Healthy with an Injury, I can assume, you know I went to the ortho doc this morning. At age 54, there was definitely arthritis floating around my foot, but also a slight stress fracture. No gym for me for a while! So what does one do to stay healthy when one is injured?
For me, it started with the doctor. A surgical boot for my foot and prescription rub-on pain relief will help with daily activities that I have to do. The extra support the boot provided was amazing! Once my foot got over being poked, prodded and x-rayed, the pain was less in the boot. My foot was stabilized. The rub-on pain meds helped even more. But I still can't hit the treadmill or do squats while my foot is healing. So?
Next I dealt with my diet. I eat pretty well, but the extra night work of grading papers has made eating fast food too easy. In order for my body to heal properly, I need to make every bite truly count. So I spent time today cooking several kinds of healthy foods that I can grab and go easily. Lots of protein, dairy, and veggies were involved since my bones need to heal. My son helped me with things that seemed hard to do while my foot was achy.
Exercise still needs to be some part of my routine, so I grabbed some hand weights and moved them by my chair. It may not be wise to stand and use them, but I can modify some movements to a seated position. I have also checked out chair exercises to do for a few weeks. I may need to be seated more, but I don't have to be still!
Evaluating my schedule came next. I cannot simply go and do all that I might normally do. Resting the injury isn't just a suggestion, it is necessary for quicker healing. Tonight I will take my daughter to the grocery store as I do weekly. But I will sit in the car while she shops for both of us. I don't need to go in and walk on my foot. I might even bring a book in the car and read! Finding time to read is always tough on my schedule.
Finally, I will work to maintain a positive attitude. When we are genuinely happy our brain releases dopamine and serotonin. Dopamine is also the chemical used in your body to reduce pain. So when you doing things that make you happy, you are also lessening the pain your body feels. When your body feels pain, it doesn't heal itself as well. So being happy (genuinely at peace and content) brings an increase in healing.
It is possible to live healthy even with an injury or a chronic illness. You focus on what you can do and find peace and joy in those things. Eat well. Drink lots of water! Don't allow an injury to cripple your healthy living. Use it to improve your overall health instead.
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