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Encouragement: Ending April with a Blaze!

4/28/2017

Spring is coming to a an end soon and the summer months will be upon us. Spring was a time of new beginnings, but summer is a time for getting out and doing! Remember to have faith in yourself and your own abilities and to not become stagnate. This summer, look for opportunities to broaden your list of activities and spend more time out doors taking more walks, going swimming, grilling healthy veggies, exploring nature, and all the wonderful things we can do in the summer that we can't do in the cooler and colder months of the year.

Health is the word of the day...stay active to stay healthy. If you sit in front of the TV a lot or you eat a lot of fast unhealthy food, you will feel much older than you are. Over the age of 50 it is more important than ever to get up and move and the eat healthy, but delicious food.
There are so many activities that we can do outside, find something to do. If you have been inactive for a while, you will not want to do it. Your mind will work to keep you on that couch, in that bed or on that chair. You have to change your mindset. Make yourself move that first step, fight the urge to remain sedentary. Get out of the house and enjoy the world around you while increasing your life span...🙂.

Here are a few ideas to inspire you to get active and a few words from some very inspirational over 50 people:

"Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body,
it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity."
- John F. Kennedy,
American President (1917-1963) -

"Take care of your body.
It's the only place you have to live."
- Jim Rohn (79) (Died 2009),
American Motivational Speaker -

"I think fitness is important. I think a healthy lifestyle is important.
I think putting positive energy out there is important
and just staying connected with the people."
- LL Cool J (49), American Rapper, Musician, Actor, Entrepreneur -

"For years, I always thought it was hilarious that I was this fitness guru,
because fitness was just a tool I utilized to help people improve their confidence.
For me, it's never been about fitness.
It's always been about helping to empower people."
- Jillian Michaels (43), Personal Trainer, Public Personality, Entrepreneur -

"It takes about four days of virtuous living to create a little weight loss.
That also happens to be the time required to get used to eating less.
In other words, if you can get past day three of a fitness regimen, things improve."
- Martha Beck (54), American Sociologist, author, life coach, and speaker -

"Time and health are two precious assets that we don't recognize and appreciate
until they have been depleted."
- Denis Waitley (84), American Writer -

"I like exercise. I like a healthy body."
- Erin Gray (67), American Actress -

"15 minutes a day!
Give me just this
and I'll prove I can make you a new man."
- Charles Atlas (80) (Died 1972),
Italian-American bodybuilder -

"A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy
but otherwise healthy adult
than all the medicine and psychology in the world."
- Paul Dudley White (87), (Died 1973) American Cardiologist -

"Find fitness with fun dancing.
It is fun and makes you forget about the dreaded exercise."
- Paula Abdul (54) American Music Artist -

Say goodbye to April with a blaze of heat for the coming summer! Get out and do! Be active while you still can so you can stay active when you get older. It doesn't take much...Charles Atlas says 15 minutes a day...do it!

Do you walk every day for at least 15 minutes? Why not? Enjoy the summer months of warm days and sunshine, get out of the house if for no other reason but to walk. I have made a few friends while walking. Will you start moving today and live a more active summer this year?

XOXO

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Health and Wellness: Blood Pressure - these words raise mine!

4/21/2017

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Hearing the words that your blood pressure is high can make it run even higher. Most of the time immediately following the diagnosis comes the prescription for blood pressure medication. I don't know about you, but I try to avoid taking any medication unless I am thoroughly convinced that I need it.

I was really sick for almost three months beginning in the later part of January of 2016. I went to the doctor three times to get more medicine and check on progress. Everything in my eyes, nose, throat cleared up in a few days, my ears were something else. When I went to the doctor the last time, I was at my wits end with the amount of hearing loss I was still experiencing. I was also irritated that it took two hours past my appointment time to see the doctor. When they checked my blood pressure, it was high. As a result, my doctor wrote me a prescription for blood pressure medication. It was a mild medication, but I really didn't want to take it if my blood pressure was only high occasionally.

I started checking my blood pressure at home and it was sometimes high when I first got up in the morning or if I had been under emotional duress, but my resting blood pressure was in the low to medium range.

So this is what I tried:

I made some lifestyle changes (outlined below) to see if I could bring it down a few points without medications. I gave myself six months and decided that if I couldn't do it, then I would take the medication. I only needed to reduce it by 5 to 10 points.

I researched everything I could find on reducing blood pressure without medications and they all agree on pretty much the same things:

⦁   Exercise - specifically walk everyday for at least 30 minutes
⦁   Eat a healthy diet - fruits, vegetables, fish, poultry, whole grains, low fat
⦁   Supplements may help: CoQ10, Fish Oil, Potassium, and B vitamins
⦁   Quit Smoking (This is easy for me, I have never smoked!)
⦁   No Alcohol (Another easy one for me.)
⦁   Lose weight if you are over your ideal weight (This is a killer for me, working on it though!)
⦁   Reduce or eliminate salt from your diet

All of these will help lower your blood pressure and help with a load of other issues. The one thing on this list that gave me the most trouble (and still does) is the ideal weight. I am working on this, but I struggle with it daily. For the years that I raised my children, I neglected my weight. I have always enjoyed healthy food, but I have learned that I am an emotional eater. Now that I know this, I am trying to get my weight under control using a different mentality. It seems to be working...only time will tell.

In the meantime, I made my blood pressure a priority. They say that by age 90 almost everyone will be on a blood pressure medication and by age 65 about 35% of people will need blood pressure medication.

If you have high blood pressure and it stays high, you need to go on medication and stay on it until your doctor tells you to stop. If your blood pressure is like mine, only slightly high and only under certain conditions, you can go on medications or you can try to lower naturally. This is your personal choice, I can not make this choice for you. I am not recommending that you do one thing or the other, I am only sharing with you what I did.

💚

Here is great blood pressure chart that helps put the numbers in perspective:

Six months later, my blood pressure was down. It is still high sometimes when I go to this one doctor, but that's because I always have to wait for at least an hour or two before I get in and then I sit in the exam room for another extended period of time which means my whole day is taken by one trip to the doctor. This irritates me, so it's no surprise that my blood pressure may rise. But with the changes I made, even this is a minor rise and medication is not needed.

So lowering my weight, exercising more, eating healthy, and avoiding stress have proven to have been successful for me. That doesn't mean it will be for you, but for me, it worked. I may have to take medication in the future, but for now, I am doing good.

Keep your blood pressure under control. It is dangerous to let it stay high for a period of time. Whether you take medications or control it on your own, is your decision. Discuss it with your doctor.

💚

Do you have high blood pressure? Do you take medications? Do you control your blood pressure using the suggestions in the list above? If so, how has that worked for you? Do you believe that high blood pressure is the main contributor to other health issues? Please share your experiences, this may improve someone's life or save it.

XOXO

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Life: Aging or Ageless? Which are you?

4/14/2017

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As we age, we collect a lot of experiences, knowledge and hopefully, wisdom. Our job is to pass on what we have learned to the younger generation. As women, we are specifically told by God to teach the younger women. In some other cultures, elders are held in high regard and sought after for what they know. In a few cultures, it is a privilege to provide care to elders in their failing years. Yes, sometimes even competing for the opportunity to provide that care. In America it seems that growing old has taken on some type of stigma that attaches itself and attempts to make elders feel invisible.

Occasionally, we will read about the eighty-something year old gymnast, the ninety-something year old doctorate graduate, or the eighty-something year old award winning actress. These few are held up as successful aging adults. What about the eighty-something neighbor who is raising her two grandchildren because their parents were killed in a car accident? What about the seventy-something year old that volunteers at the neighborhood elementary school and tutors children having difficulties? What about the seventy-something grandfather who continues to work after retirement to help pay for his grandchild's special medical needs?

Sometimes we hear about these people on the news. Most of the time it is because they are victims of a home invasion, involved in a car crash, or have been raped. Seldom is it for the good they do in the community. I heard a news story where they actually used the following phrase:

An elderly woman, age 54, was found dead in her car in her garage, the apparent victim of asphyxiation.

Seriously, elderly at age 54? Was this a mistake? Surely they didn't mean to call a 54-year old woman "elderly". But wait! This is not the first time I have heard someone in their fifties or early sixties being called elderly. I have noticed over the years several times when the media has referred to people as elderly when they were not even sixty yet.

Personally, I don't consider a person "elderly" until they are in their eighties. You can look around you and see "old" people that are in their twenties. They don't have energy, they are negative and they dress like they don't care. Most "elderly" people can work circles around the young, have positive attitudes, and dress with style. Why?

When I was growing up, folks in their fifties and sixties were raised to work for everything they had. They didn't have computers, they had libraries and parents/grandparents to go to for answers, and having some "luxuries" (dishwashers, riding lawnmowers, etc.) may have been available, but were not financially feasible. You went to the doctor when you were sick. Nearly all meals were prepared at home and going out to eat was for special occasions.

I am not for one minute saying that "the old days" are better than today. I am saying that it was different. My grandmother made quilts for her beds. She made them out of old worn out clothing that she turned into scraps of cloth. Sleeping under one of grandma's quilts was comforting. Today, you can purchase a handmade quilt rather cheaply and they are very pretty. Most of them, however, are made in China or some other country. In fact, we can buy anything from anywhere fairly cheaply today. Things today are easier and yet, we still hear how hard life is.

The point is this, what constitutes "old" when we are talking about people?

Who decides what is "old" or "elderly"? My answer? We do. We are the ones who either think old or elderly, act old or elderly, or dress old or elderly. We are the ones who teach others how to treat us. Decide who you are and live that way. DO NOT ACCEPT THE WORLD'S VIEW OF OLD! Make the most of every day. Yes, we are getting older and yes, our bodies will eventually prevent us from doing some things....but that is not set in stone. Giving up a few things as we get older does not make us old.

"You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old."
- George Burns, Comedian -

You have an assignment - deciding how old you want to be. How old do you feel? Why? Can you change your attitude and feel more youthful? Are you doing everything you can to maintain your health and vitality? Share any ideas on staying young at heart.

XOXO

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Encouragement: The "F" Word - Power in a Word

4/7/2017

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Words are powerful. Words can break a heart, mend a relationship, bring joy to another person, teach, and many other things. One word is the single most important, intangible word and ingredient in everything we say and do. This word is what gives us the courage to try new things, the courage to make changes in our lives or to stay the same, and is responsible for the hope that we need to survive. That word is - Faith.

Without faith, we will fail at everything we do and our words mean nothing. How is that - you may ask, it is because if you don't believe (have faith) in something you will never succeed (for example: writing a book, saying a prayer, starting a business, getting married, having children, everything we do). Either you will never start it or you will quit when it gets hard. We need faith to make things happen. We need faith to fulfill our dreams. We need faith to survive life.

What is "Faith"?
   (Noun)
   1.   Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
   2.   Belief that is not based on proof.
   3.   Belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion.
       (Courtesy of: Dictionary.com)

I want to narrow this discussion down to a specific kind of faith - faith in yourself. Without faith in yourself, you will never move forward. You will stay stuck because you lack the courage to try the thing you want to try. Faith removes the pressure, stress, anxiety, and arrogance of thinking that you produce everything on your own. You can do all things because you are not doing it alone. This is faith...faith in yourself....faith through knowing that God is always with you.

It takes courage to try new things when you are older. We sometimes underestimate our own abilities and skills. This is especially true if you listen to the world around you. The messages that we get are sometimes negative towards our age. If you are a certain age you may or may not know technology. You may want a website but have no idea how to start. The world makes you think this lack of knowledge is a reason to not try, a reason to give up. Don't listen to the world, have faith in yourself. You can learn whatever you need to learn to do whatever it is you want to do.

FACT:
Whether we like it or not, we are 100% responsible for our own results in life. It's not your parents fault, society, your ethnicity, your age, or anything else. Remember your power! It is in your control.

I love Marie Foreleo, Business Coach, (https://www.marieforleo.com/). Here's what Marie has to say about new ideas:

   "The happiest and most successful people always find something new
to learn and a new level of mastery to reach for!"

She also says there are two steps to anything you want:

   1.   Decide what you want
   2.   Eliminate your excuses

We all get the same 24 hours in a day. It's the only level playing field we get. You have control over the elements in those 24 hours, your schedule and what you are willing to do during that time. You can spend it making excuses or you can spend it making things happen.

If you have faith in yourself, you will spend those 24 hours making things happen. You will learn those skills you need or research for the information you need to accomplish what you want to do.

"You are never given a dream
without also being given the power to make it come true."
- Richard Bach -
(born June 23, 1936) is an American writer. Bach is widely known as the author of some hugely popular 1970s best-sellers, including Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970) and Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977).

Finally, I want to leave you with something from God. Remember to have faith - in God, but also in yourself:

"I can do all things
through Christ
who strengthens me."
Philippians 4:13 New King James Version (NKJV)

That should give you the faith you need to go out and conquer whatever you have in your heart to do.

You got this!
You can do this!
Have faith in yourself!

Do you have faith in yourself? Do you have faith enough to go after what you want in life? Do you believe that you are never too old to learn something new? If you believe in God, remember that you are never alone in your ventures. Would you please share something you did that required a lot of faith in yourself to accomplish?

XOXO

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Encouragement: Ending April with a Blaze!

Health and Wellness: Blood Pressure - these words raise mine!

Life: Aging or Ageless? Which are you?

Encouragement: The "F" Word - Power in a Word

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Encouragement: Ending April with a Blaze!

Health and Wellness: Blood Pressure - these words raise mine!

Life: Aging or Ageless? Which are you?

Encouragement: The "F" Word - Power in a Word

My mission​

Archives

Categories

About

Blog

Contact

My mission