Exercise and Healthy Eating

I've talked about exercising and eating healthier before. But I want to revisit these 2 topics for the new year. As a matter of fact, everything I have posted and will post these first few days of 2024 are all healthy habits I want to revisit with you. As I mentioned in my first post of this year, "just start somewhere", and make healthy life choices for yourself.

Exercise can be in the form of taking a walk outdoors to a deeper experience of walking in place. My family and I do the walk in place exercises at least 3 times a week. The teachers in the videos I have linked to also include upper body workouts with the walk in place exercises, which really gets the heart pumping and strengthens muscles. If you're unable to walk or have balance issues, you can perhaps try some sitting exercises or use a sit-and-cycle system. I have links to plenty of these activities in my Health Talk posts on this site.

Eating healthier, to me, means eating less of the unhealthy foods and more of the healthy foods. I'm not going to tell you that I have given up my chips and fries altogether. But when I eat them, I put very few on my plate. My family and I have traded much of our unhealthy foods in for more fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, things of that nature. Oatmeal and boiled eggs are 2 healthy breakfast foods that are filling and will get you through a morning without needing to refuel before lunch. You may even be able to eat a later lunch and forego an afternoon snack as well. If you have little to no willpower (me in a nutshell), try leaving most of the junk food at the grocery store. That's what I've done.

image courtesy of Nadine Primeau via Unsplash

I still drink a tiny bit of my favorite soft drink each day - no more than 12 oz., where I used to drink 24 to 36 oz. each day. For 1 meal, I'll drink a glass of tea, because of the health benefits of tea.

So far, my husband and I (in 1 more year) have made it to our 60's without having blood pressure, heart, or artery issues or type 2 diabetes. Also, we don't suffer from depression or weak limbs, which can also occur from unhealthy habits. Arthritis is the only medical issues we have, and even that pain is decreased by these healthy practices. So, we don't need medication for that. And we practice everything I talk about in these posts. So, I know from experience that all of this does work.

I realize it's difficult to start all of this at once. But I have started writing about the easiest and am working up to the harder ones. Trust me, you'll feel better and have more energy. You might even lose some weight. You'll definitely be filled with more joy and boost your self-esteem. Try it. And let me know how it's working out for you. For more fun and healthy facts, don't forget to click on the links in this post.

Have a blessed day,

Patricia

Listen to Exercise and Healthy Eating recording