Recycle - Trade - Get Free Stuff

Here's a great way to help your budget, clean out your house and simplify your life, while helping the environment and reducing unnecessary consumerism. That's a pretty tall order, but here's a way to do all that, and it is FREE. First, just take a good look around at all the "stuff'" you've accumulated. How much of it is just taking up space and collecting dust? What is still useful, but no longer being used? I have kitchen appliances we haven't used in years, just for example. Now what if someone else in your area needs something but just can't afford it. Maybe a single parent, a recent grad, an young person setting their first apartment, or someone who just bought their first house. There are so many things they need, and you might just have something you no longer use. So you go online to this site and post an OFFER. Every member can read the description of your item as well as where and when it can be picked up. You get e-mails. You contact the first one and make arrangements. If that doesn't work out, you contact the next one.

Second scenario: You need something. In my case, we needed a sewing machine. We gave ours to our daughter. Now we want to make some simple covers for our porch swing cushions, so I posted a WANTED notice. The next day we went about 7 miles and picked up a perfectly good sewing machine...FREE. All we needed to buy was some bobbins. How can you beat that?

Sound interesting? Then join our Freecycle Network! Just type those two words into your search engine, go to the website, type in your country and city, and you will see your closest group. I even found one in Victor Harbor, Australia, where I have some friends. Ours is in a suburb of Atlanta. If there is a group in your area, join. Free to join. Very few rules. And I think you will be surprised at the variety of things listed. Let me know what you think.

It never pays to show off

Capoeira Fighter.wmv2017K Download

Horoscopes and Fortune Tellers

I've always been a bit fascinated by these things. NOT by the horoscopes or the fortune tellers, but by the people who seem to put so much faith in them. Amazing, really. I avoid looking at horoscopes because I don't want to ever get caught up in them, and they can certainly draw you in. Like walking into and spider web. But if you are one who gets caught up in them, consider this: read each of the paragraphs, each of the sentences. Likely just about everything written is in such general terms that it could apply to almost anyone on any given day. But take it a step further. Have someone take the horoscope out of any paper on any day and actually cut out each paragraph individually, but cut OFF the star sign so that they have only little slips of newspaper with the statements. Now, carefully read each one and see if you can pick out which one applies to your sign. The odds are against you. In fact, according to a book titled "Why Do Buses Always Come In Threes - the Mathematics of Everyday Life" a study was done that proved that people cannot pick out the statements that apply to themselves. They cannot match up the statements with the star signs. What happens is that someone reads their sign and believes the parts that MIGHT apply to them, and ignores the ones that don't. Not too scientific is it? Want to really know how your day will turn out? Well, I can't predict the future any better than you can. But I have found that with very few exceptions, my day usually turns out pretty much the way I expect it to, day after day after day. If I get myself in a positive frame of mind and decide to have a good day, I usually do. You can do the same. Why would you rely on someone else to tell you what kind of day you will have?

Peaceful, Relaxing Music

http://goodwatermusic.com/
click on "video"

The Diary

This is dedicated to every woman (or man) who ever attempted to get
into a regular workout routine. A must read!

Dear Diary...
For my fiftieth birthday this year, my husband (the dear)purchased a
week of personal training at the local health club for me. Although I
am still in great shape since playing on my high school softball team,
I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try. I
called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer I'll
call Bruce, who identified himself as a 26 year old aerobics instructor
and model for athletic clothing and swim wear. My husband seemed
pleased with my enthusiasm to get started. The club encouraged me to
keep a diary to chart my progress.

Monday:
Started my day at 6:00 am. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was
well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Bruce waiting
for me. He is something of a Greek God - with blond hair, dancing eyes
and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!! Bruce gave me a tour and showed
me the machines. He took my pulse after five minutes on the treadmill.
He was alarmed that my pulse was so fast, but I attribute it to standing next to him in his Lycra aerobic outfit. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring. Bruce was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!!

Tuesday:
I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door.
Bruce made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air -
then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the
treadmill, but I made the full mile. Bruce's rewarding smile made it
all worthwhile. I feel GREAT!! It's a whole new life for me.

Wednesday:
The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying on the toothbrush on the
counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a
hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot. Bruce was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying. My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Bruce put me on the stair monster. Why would anyone invent
a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Bruce
told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other STUFF too.

Thursday:
Bruce was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his
thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help
being a half an hour late, it took me that long to tie my shoes. Bruce
took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and
hid in the men's room. He sent Lars to find me, then, as punishment,
put me on the rowing machine - which I sank.

Friday:
I hate that JERK Bruce more than any human being has ever hated any
other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic
little cheerleader. If there was a part of my body I could move
without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it. Bruce wanted me to
work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want
dents in the floor, don't hand me the &*@*#$ barbells or anything that
weighs more than a sandwich. (Which I am sure you learned in the
sadist school you attended and graduated magna cum laude from.) The
treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher.
Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

Saturday:
Bruce left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly
voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing him made me
want to smash the machine with my planner. However, I lacked the
strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven
straight hours of the *$@#&& Weather Channel.

Sunday:
I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and
thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my
husband (the MORON) will choose a gift for me that is fun - like a root
canal or a hysterectomy.

Personal safety - PLEASE read!

Important information for females of ALL ages.
When this was sent to me, I was asked to forward it to ladies, but I forwarded it to most everyone in my address book. My men friends have female friends and this information is too important to miss someone. A group of rapists and date rapists in prison were interviewed on what they look for in a potential victim and here are some interesting facts : 1) The first thing men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle. They are most likely to go after a woman with a ponytail, bun, braid or other hairstyle that can easily be grabbed. They are also likely to go after a woman with long hair. Women with short hair are not common targets. 2) The second thing men look for is clothing . They will look for women whose clothing is easy to remove quickly. Many of them carry scissors around specifically to cut clothing. 3) They also look for women on their cell phone, searching through their purse, or doing other activities while walking because they are off-guard and can be easily overpowered. 4) Men are most likely to attack & rape in the early morning, between 5:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
5) The number one place women are abducted from/attacked is grocery store parking lots . Number two: Are office parking lots/garages. Number three: Are public restrooms. 6) The thing about these men is that they are looking to grab a woman and quickly move her to another location where they don't have to worry about getting caught. 7) Only 2% said they carried weapons because rape carries a 3-5 year sentence but rape with a weapon is 15-20 years. 8) If you put up any kind of a fight at all, they get discouraged because it only takes a minute or two for them to realize that going after you isn't worth it because it will be time-consuming.
9) These men said they would not pick on women who have umbrellas , or other similar objects that can be used from a distance, in their hands.
Keys are not a deterrent because you have to get really close to the attacker to use them as a weapon. So, the idea is to convince these guys you're not worth it. 10) Several defense mechanisms he taught us are: If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with you in an elevator or stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question, like what time is it, or make general small talk: 'I can't believe it is so cold out here,' 'we're in for a bad winter.' Now you've seen their face and could identify them in a line-up; you lose appeal as a target. 11) If someone is coming toward you, hold out your hands in front of you and yell STOP or STAY BACK! Most of the rapists this man talked to said they'd leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed that she would not be afraid to fight back. Again, they are looking for an EASY target. 12) If you carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate of it and carries it with him wherever he goes), yell I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY and holding it out will be a deterrent. 13) If someone grabs you , you can't beat them with strength but you can by outsmarting them. If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch the attacker either under the arm (between the elbow and armpit) OR in the upper inner thigh VERY VERY HARD. One woman in a class this guy taught told him she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and was so upset she broke through the skin and tore out muscle strands - the guy needed stitches. Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand it - it hurts . 14) After the initial hit, always GO for the GROIN. I know from a particularly unfortunate experience that if you slap a guy's parts it is extremely painful . You might think that you'll anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more, but the thing these rapists told our instructor is that they want a woman who will not cause a lot of trouble.
Start causing trouble and he's out of there. 15) When the guy puts his hands up to you , grab his first two fingers and bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on them as possible . The instructor did it to me without using much pressure, and I ended up on my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly.
16) Of course the things we always hear still apply. Always be aware of your surroundings, take someone with you if you can and if you see any odd behavior, don't dismiss it, go with your instincts!!! You may feel a little silly at the time, but you'd feel much worse if the guy really was trouble. 1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do! 2. Learned this from a tourist guide in New Orleans If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM Toss it away from you....chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet /purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION! 3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won't see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives. 4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc.) DON'T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you
where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE. a. If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF, repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location. 5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot or parking garage: A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat.
B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.
C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.) 6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!) 7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times. And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, preferably in a zigzag pattern! 8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP! It may get you raped or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well-educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked 'for help' into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim. 9. Another Safety Point: Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her 'Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.'
The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, 'We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.' He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at night. Please pass this on and DO NOT open the door for a crying baby ----This should be taken seriously because the Crying Baby theory was mentioned on America 's Most Wanted this past Saturday when they profiled the serial killer in Louisiana I'd like you to forward this to all the women you know. It may save a life. A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle. I was going to send this to the ladies only, but guys, if you love your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc., you may want to pass it onto them, as well.

Delusions

I believe it was Spinoza who said that the difference between a man going through life and a rock falling down a hill was that the rock didn’t have any delusions about being in control. I’m not much of a philosopher, and I don’t waste a lot of time reading philosophy either. I don’t agree with much of what Spinoza said, but he might have been on to something. I like to think that I am the “master of my fate” and “the captain of my soul”, as the British poet, William Henley wrote in his poem “Invictus”. I make careful plans, I schedule my time, and I keep a calendar. But, to quote yet another philosopher of sorts, the late John Lennon, “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.” It is almost comically predictable that just when I think everything is falling into place, all my plans are working out, and everything will turn out just as I hoped, something happens. Life happens. In fact, I’ve become convinced that it is precisely at those moments when everything seems to be coming off the rails that we prove who and what we really are. Anyone can probably hit a little white ball into a little hole repeatedly with a high degree of success if we remove all the little obstacles and variables. But then, that would not be golf, would it? There is grass growing, wind blowing, birds flying by, people talking, cars on the highway, airplanes overhead. And with all the little details of grip and stance and stroke speed, it is a real challenge. In fact, I suspect that, even with all their skill and experience, most of the top pros would have to admit that there is an element of chance in every long putt. I was watching Andre Agassi play a tennis match on television against a young fellow from Canada. I expected Agassi to win and he did. But he certainly didn’t make every point along the way. No, he gave up many points. And I watched him when that happened. He appeared to consider, maybe only for a second or two, how he had lost the point. Then he seemed to make a tiny shake of his head, clear his mind of it, and get set for the next serve. He rarely lost two points in a row. He seemed to file away data, make an adjustment, and move on. My point in all this is that I believe our lives are a bit like guided missiles. Think about that analogy for a moment. When a so-called guided missile leaves the launching pad, it definitely is not aimed toward its target, is it? No. It is probably pointing straight up. But the guidance system has the necessary data regarding the precise location of the target. As soon as the rocket is launched, the guidance system begins to make a series of course corrections. Those corrections continue throughout the flight until finally the target is hit. You could say that the missile was “off target” through most of its flight. To have success in life we must understand what our target is. We have to have some clear sense of purpose. That’s the reason why setting goals is so important. No ship’s captain would ever leave port without first knowing what his destination is. You might think of the final destination as a long-term goal. Other ports of call along the way would be short term goals. When the ship leaves port, the captain sets course for his first port of call. That course might have to include many changes in direction. So it is in life. We make plans. We think we are in control. And to the extent that we recognize the need for course corrections along the way, perhaps we are in control. But we don’t live in a bubble. Things do happen and we cannot isolate ourselves from them in every case. Sometimes we must stop what we are doing and deal with a problem. Sometimes we must even adjust our goals. I can’t recall who it was right now, but someone once said that life is a series of problems, and living is the process of solving those problems. The trouble-free life just doesn’t exist. As we try to move forward, we meet resistance in the form of obstacles. We can view those obstacles as problems, or we can consider them as opportunities. Many times, it is not the problem itself that cause us the most trouble. It is our attitude toward it that can keep us from dealing with it successfully. Think of it in terms of exercise. It is the resistance that makes us stronger, right?
This might be a good place to admit something to you, and to myself. When I set out to write a new essay, I rarely have a specific goal or purpose in mind. I usually think of, or see, or hear a phrase and I think about what it really means and how it applies to me. This happens just about every time I read the Bible, for example. Once I have this phrase in mind, I just let my subconscious store it for awhile. Sometimes within a few minutes, sometimes within a few hours or days, I’ve put together a series of related ideas and I begin to type. Usually, from start to finish, the actual essay may take twenty or thirty minutes to finish.
Actually, sometimes years later, I see things I’d like to improve on or correct, so perhaps they are never really finished. So, as I type, I’m not really moving toward a specific goal. I’m following a trail to see where it will lead. It’s like a little adventure. My only real goal is to say something you might find interesting or helpful, and to get it all said on one page. I don’t know if you found this essay interesting, but I did manage once again to get it all on one page, so this is a good place to stop.

From The Top Down

It has been said that great companies are built from the bottom up, and destroyed from the top down. Can you see how that applies to so many of the large companies currently, or recently, in the news. Thousands of employees and investors left holding the bag while a very few at the top, (CEO's, COO's, CFO's, etc,) have pocketed huge performance bonuses and salaries and stock incentives. Short term successes line their pockets even as they lead the company down the garden path. Well, I'm not planning to write about that today. I just wanted you to see the parallel between this and your personal wellness after 50. You could say you've built your body from the bottom up, from a single cell to a complex 50-something organism with years and miles of experience, also sometimes referred to as wear and tear. If you were to give your overall wellness a number from 1 to 10, with ten being nearly perfect, what would your number be? What would you like it to be ten or twenty years from now, realistically? I believe that a few points are contributed by your attitude. Your positive approach to life, to dealing with the daily events, breaking big problems down into a bunch of little solutions, has a lot to do with what number you answered with above, in addition to your actual physical health. From the bottom up, you need to keep giving your body the basic materials it needs to maintain itself, heal itself, and continue to thrive. Unfortunately what too often happens from the top down is we tell ourselves little lies. Lies like, "I'll start eating better right after the holidays", or "I'm going to start eating better" or "I'm going to start exercising more next month". From the top down, we sabotage our own future by making excuses for not doing what we should be doing right now.
I hope this doesn't really apply to you, but I will admit that it sometimes applies to me.

Still here!! (also B12)

I took a brief hiatus from this blog as we dealt with a number of other issues over the last month or so. But I'm still here and still doing the weekly radio talk concerning health issues, and I will get back to more regular articles here as well. One of the things we've discussed recently is vitamin B12. I'd like to take a few minutes here to share some of that information with you, because I think it might be a very important matter.

As we age, our ability to absorb B12 from our diet diminishes, but sometime around age 50 there is a significant drop. Now, I haven't found any research yet that absolutely ties these two things together in a cause-and-effect relationship, but those with elevated homocystein levels are almost certain to have very low levels of B12 in their system. Homocystein is a very important marker for cardio problems. Some researchers are indicating that keeping your B12 levels up might help lower homocystein levels, and at least it won't hurt. Now, here's the part I want most to impress upon you. All of the B vitamins, and there are many, are water soluble and must be replaced daily EXCEPT B12. You can store a store year supply of B12 in your liver! So it won't matter if you miss a dose or two. But what you want to keep in mind that taking B12 in combination with other vitamins is a waste of time and money, because they will further inhibit your absorption of B12. So take B12 either 1/2 hour before, or 1 1/2 hours after taking any other vitamins, and take it with food. Forget about the B12 on your multivitamin label. Also, you won't likely get enough B12 from your diet alone, especially after age 50. B12 is important in the formation of DNA as your cells divide.

Reminder: I am not a medical doctor and I do not give medical advice. I'm just passing along some of the interesting things I've read that might be of benefit to you. Check with your health care provider for medical advice.

After 50 Eyes

I recall the eye exam just before I turned 50. I had to admit that a couple of the choices the optometrist showed me were a bit blurred. A series of headaches convinced me to get my eyes checked and I expected I would finally need some help. What bothered me though was when he said "We've got you now!" Perhaps I misunderstood his meaning, but it sounded a bit too triumphant to me. Finally needing to rely on glasses seemed like a lousy milestone, and a loss, at least for me. For the optometrist, I guess I represented job security. In any case, I soon had reading glasses. Because of my work I soon needed bifocals, and for very close work, tri-focals.
Our eyes do tend to deteriorate as we age for a number of reasons. Muscles used to reshape the eye ball don't work as well, circulation is not so good (especially for those who smoke!), and a number of other factors including certain medications, all can contribute to worsening vision. But there are a number things you can do every day, several times a day, that can help slow down the process and help your vision. You may not believe them. I didn't...until I tried them. It won't cost you anything to test these yourself and you might be surprised with the results.

First, know this. In order to see better, you must learn to relax your eyes. Straining to focus makes it worse, not better. Make sure you have enough light to see clearly, especially if you are reading. Sometimes just a brighter reading light can make a remarkeable improvement. Eye strain gradually increases over time, so don't sit and read for long periods. Make it a habit to read no more than a page, maybe even less, then look up and focus on objects across the room, or across the street. Move your eyes around, looking at things both near and far. Don't squint to see something far away. Just keep your eyes relaxed. Next, try "cupping". This can be very refreshing to your eyes late in the day, but it is helpful at any time. Keeping your eyes open and relaxed, cup your hands and place them over your eyes, not placing any pressure on the eyes at all. Keep your cupped hands over your eyes for several minutes, not moving the eye at all. Then slowly move the eyes up and down, left and right, and in a circular motion. The cupped hands provide soothing warmth to the eyes and the darkeness allows the muscles to relax. Then when the eyes are relaxed, gently exercise them with gentle movements. Like any muscle group, the eye muscles need a rest now and then.

One last thing to consider. What happens if you break a bone and have to wear a cast for six weeks? If it is a leg cast, your muscles begin to atrophy and weaken, and it may require some therapy to get the muscle tone and strength back so that you can walk normally. Now, what do you suppose happens to the muscles in your eyes when you wear glasses (think of them as "eye splints")? Do the eyes get stronger? No! They grow progressively weaker. You can slow this process down considerably if you will exercise your eyes as mentioned above, and wear glasses only as needed. When I pick up something to read, I first see if I really need my reading glasses. If I can read whatever the material is without straining and without glasses, I don't wear them.

Now I will admit to you that my optometrist and I do not agree on this theory of mine. But then, he can't explain why my reading glass prescription has remained unchanged now for about eight years. In fact, I keep asking him to take the correction off of the upper (distance) part of my lenses and just give me something for when I read. He convinces me I really need the tiny bit of distance correction, and I go along. He says just wear them all the time and your eyes will get used to them. I say, wear them all the time and my eyes will quit focusing on distant objects without them. I try the new glasses, everything more than about 30 or 40 feet away looks a little blurry, and I take them off. I complain. He says "You are not giving your eyes time to adjust". I say "Baloney". So, my nice new prescription glasses are in a case on my dresser. I wear a pair of $12 drugstore reading glasses on the end of my nose or on top of my head. Same glasses for about 5 years now. I broke the first pair. Same strength, 1.5. For the computer I have a pair of 1.25. The optometrist did convince me to make that change, because the 1.5 glasses give me a headache if I'm on the computer too long.

Before you think that my optometrist just doesn't know how to do his job... he does. He's a board certified eye surgeon and a wonderful eye doctor. The problem isn't him. It's me. But so far, my theory seems to be holding up. Maybe I'm a genetic fluke, or maybe I'm on to something here. In any case, I know that wearing a splint does not strengthen a joint, it protects it. But to strengthen it, you've got to get the splint off and exercise it eventually. I believe the eyes work the same way. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Stay Younger Longer

By now you may have given up on finding the fountain of youth. You may have even resigned yourself to the idea that each year you should look and feel and act a year older. Well, a lot of us aren't buying that one. Just look around you. So long as we continue to inhabit these imperfect bodies in this corrupt old world we will continue to age. But WELLNESS AFTER 50 is one place that you won't find such complacent people, just sitting around listening to their own exhalations while waiting for the other shoe to drop. Much research as well as anecdotal evidence indicates that we can be a lot happier with our lives if we remain "engaged", and take steps to keep ourselves healthier and more fit, both mentally and physically, and even emotionally. So here are just a few more things you might want to consider. For most of them you don't even have to talk to your doctor.

1. Eat a small handful of nuts every day. If you have allergy issues, of course DON"t do this. Otherwise, keep it to a small handful, about the size of your palm, and be sure to have a variety including hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, etc. In fact, you can go look up my article about nuts in the "other" blog, thenew50@blogspot.com

2. Tell them to cut it out. If you live in the same house with a smoker, their habit is carving years from your life expectancy. Smoking is such a foolish way to die. It's not just their habit, it's your life.

3. Get off the couch. Couch potatoes eventually all tend to look like their namesakes, potatoes! You may have also noticed that potatoes, while not terribly fragile, do have a limited shelf life, and often you don't know they've gone bad until they really begin to stink. Get up and go do something...anything!

4. Just write it down. Seems that we adults tend to lose our ability to remember things in the short term long before we forget how to read. Simple? Just write it down. If you are going to the store to pick up a few things for the wife, don't be too proud to make a list. That way you won't have to be embarrassed when you come home without the main thing she sent you out for in the first place. Doing this will help keep you calm while still sailing smoothly.

5. Keep track of who you are, what day it is, where you are, and once in awhile, even give a thought to WHY you are where you are. Couch potatoes, on the other hand, don't have a clue about any of this. Some folks seem to think acting all befuddled is somehow cute as they get older. It isn't. Trust me. Some think it is their right to be helpless and confused. NOPE. So long as you have the ability to be aware and engaged, make the effort. People will actually want to spend some time with you, talking with you, being with you, instead of working around you and pretending you aren't there at all.

6. Speak up! By this I mean don't sit there in pain and fear if something isn't working quite the way it usually does. It might be important! An amazing percentage of the time it is something that can be coaxed back into normal operation, or patched up well enough to be mostly good enough to suffice. The point is, in this life pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. If you can't take yourself to get some medical attention, speak up to someone who can, and should, and probably will. In fact, they are more likely to get a bit peeved if you DON'T speak up. No matter how much we might WISH for someone to read our minds, it just isn't going to happen.

7. Drink up!!! Drink a lot, and drink pretty often. Now I'm talking about water and tea mostly, but slip in a nice glass of some red wine once in awhile as well. If you don't drink now, don't start. But if you do have a drink once in awhile, then a single daily glass of the red stuff can probably do you a lot more good than harm. If you have some condition that rules that out, then don't drink and know that you have my deepest sympathies. Otherwise, start your morning with a glass of water. Have a cup of coffee later or maybe a cup of tea. Any kind will do, but green tea is a winner. Then have another glass of water. Just dont drink anything, especially cold things just before, with, or right after a meal. Want to clog up all your pipes? Pour grease in your drain then run some cold water. Same thing with your body. When you are eating, don't drink. When you are drinking, don't eat. Simple.

8. Well, maybe that's enough to think about for now. If you just do these things every day until you don't even have to think about it, then you might be ready to add a few more. By then you might also see that it is making a difference in the way you feel, and the way you sleep. And maybe a few other things as well. I hope you'll find your way back here to tell us about it. Let's make that number 8. Share an encouraging word or experience. Lots better than whining and complaining.

A Dry Spell

As many of you may know, I live and write in the South. We've been deep in drought, if not a recession, for quite some time now, and I think it might have had an adverse impact on my writing as well. My apologies. I've taken a few weeks to regroup and recharge my batteries.
As you know, I focus the material in this fairly new blog on issues pertaining to the over 50 crowd. Maybe my over 60 fatigue would be a fitting subject for a new post here, but I'm too tired to write it at the moment.

Over these last few weeks I've learned a few things. Among them I've learned that: I get paid the same whether I write every day or not at all - nothing; I get just about the same response from the readers of this blog - again, nothing; and perhaps most important of all, I discovered that I write and post here more for my own enjoyment than for yours. Now those may be things that you will find offensive for me to state. I hope not. No offense is intended. But in view of the very limited readership and even more limited response, I have to ask myself why I am doing this at all. Perhaps it is simply because I enjoy the challenge of putting thoughts into fairly coherent form and I still think that writing is an art form worth preserving. People don't write letters any more. They seem to have accepted a lower form of writing called e-mail, and are content to butcher the language there at will. Acceptable form in an e-mail is not a high hurdle.
In fact, grammer and spelling don't seem to have a function at all in some of the ones I receive. I've taken to overlooking my own typos in outgoing e-mail, and that has begun to bother me a bit. So I am going back to my pre-computer, pre-internet, pre-email attempt to write properly in an effort to preserve a bit of self-respect, if not the art form itself.

I do hope you will read something here from time to time that is useful to you in some way. Encouraging at least. Informative would be a wonderful accomplishment. And if you do, won't you please take a moment or two to comment and contribute some original thoughts as well? I've placed upon myself a vague sort of deadline for how much longer I will continue to write and post here, based very loosely upon your response, or lack thereof. I check my stats from time to time and see the number of visitors slowly grow, and I hope to hear from one or two of you.

Your Life Expectancy?

Here is a link that one of the readers shared with me. Just take some time to explore. It is a real eye-opener!!

http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/

What's Past Is Prolog

With each passing year, we can look back at what we have done to shape our future. We will become whatever we have set ourselves up to become, whether that is active and healthy, or sedentary and unhealthy. Please don't tell yourself the lie that you are too busy to do the things that will keep you active and healthy well into your "golden years". If you are too sedentary now, those years may not be so golden. They may have you functioning like a rusty hinge: not too smoothly, and not without loud groans of protest. So what will you make time for today?

In order to just maintain our present level of mobility, we MUST do what we CAN do. If you can climb a flight of stairs, then by all means you would be well advised to skip the elevator and climb that flight of stairs. If you can walk for 30 or 45 minutes at a fairly brisk pace, then you better make time to walk. You do not need to train for Olympic events, or try to set some age group distance record. Just discipline yourself to stay active now, so that five or ten, or twenty years from now you can still be active.

I have taken time to talk with many people in the course of the last ten years who are now disabled in one way or another. Some are no longer able to work and live on a disability income. Others work part time, or even full time with constant pain because they need the income. It is sad just how many of those people were very inactive for twenty or thirty years before they became disabled, and not a few of them now believe that at least some of their present health issues directly relate to that sedentary lifestyle. Those who were sedentary by choice for most of their adult life are now forced to be sedentary by declining health. It is because of those people that I began this blog and it is because of them that I made a firm commitment to myself to stay as active as possible right now.

Some of the folks I was referring to in the last paragraph became disabled thru some sudden accident or illness over which they had no control at all. But those who were active before then, often were the same ones who worked hardest at achieving whatever recovery was possible, and have again found ways to be active within their current limits. So even they have benefitted from staying in motion. I know this is a misuse of this law of physics, but I think you will agree that it seems to apply: bodies in motion tend to stay in motion. Humans who are active tend to remain active. So, what will you do today in order to have a better tomorrow?

Low fat? High protein? Whats the deal?

There is a surprising shift in the health care community concerning just how we should go about achieving, and maintaining, our healthiest natural weight. We've been told for decades that in order to lose weight, we had to cut way back on the fat in our diet, right? And to gain weight, load up on the complex carbs and protein, right? Well, maybe that just doesn't work for most people.
You see, our body must have sufficient fat in order to metabolize vitamins and minerals from our food intake. It must have fat in order to function. So what happens when we cut way back on our fat intake? the body say "Uh oh, hard times are coming! we're not getting enough fat. I better start storing up as much as I can, just in case." So we reduce our fat intake and GAIN weight. Now, I'm not advocating that anyone should eat a bunch of fat. Moderation is always a safe rule to follow. And we certainly don't want any trans fats in our diet at all. But don't sabotage your weight loss efforts by cutting too much fat from your diet. Monitor your results closely in two or three week intervals. If you've cut back on fat, modified the rest of your diet, and are exercising regularly, at least three times a week of vigorous exercise, and you are GAINING instead of LOSING, maybe you need a bit more fat. (This could be in one of several forms, including things like fatty fish, rich with Omega3 oils) At the same time, make sure you are taking in more protein than usual. I sometimes drink a protein shake in the morning, or eat a bit of leftover chicken or fish instead of a more typical breakfast. My normal routine though is to eat some peanut butter on whole wheat bread using Smart Balance spread in lieu of butter (absolutely NEVER eat margarine! See my article on trans fats - visit http://thenew50.blogspot.com/ and look in the 2007 archive for DIABETES TYPE II.)

In summary, a lot of what we've been told turns out to be bad advice when it comes to weight loss. Keep yourself informed, and don't count on your doctor to know any more than you do when it comes to weight loss. Do your own research before you discuss it with your doctor. Get his opinion first, then see how it fits with what you have learned. Might make for a really worthwhile discussion.

Stress and Strain

I believe that most of the problems each of us face from day to day are problems we create for ourselves. Now that is a pretty shocking statement, but let me explain. Of course I am not referring to the daily "problem" of finding a parking place or a seat on the bus or a table at lunch time, though I could probably even convince you that those are also problems you bring upon yourself. I'm really focusing here on something a bit deeper. Let's say that someone pulls out in front of you in traffic and then they drive like a turtle. You begin to get stressed because you don't really want to drive in the turtle train, and besides you might be late for work. If you are late for work, your boss will be on your case all day because you were late twice last week. Not only that, but if you are late, you will have to park at the far end of the lot and walk about half a mile to get to the building and it looks like rain. And if it rains you are going to get soaked because you have no clue where you left your umbrella. If you get soaked, the client you expect to arrive at 9 am will be paying more attention to your disheveled appearance than your presentation, and you really need this contract because you haven't been doing so well reaching your sales target lately. Taking that three day golfing weekend might not have been such a hot idea, but you really needed the stress relief. Of course, that twinge you got in your back that kept you out two additional days didn't help. Not only that but... well you get the idea. Just go backwards through this whole scenario and you can easily see that it is not that turtle in front of you this morning that is the problem. It is the poor decisions, lack of planning, disorganization, and out of control life that is the problem.

I worked with a young woman a few years ago who found it impossible to get to work on time for our 6am shift. So I adjusted her starting time to 7am to see if that would help her adjust to this new early morning job. She was late for the 7am start three times that week. The following week she was late the first two days for her 8am start time and after that, we had to find a replacement. She was not a bad person. She was productive and pleasant and cooperative. But she managed to be late no matter what her start time was. And every time I discussed this with her she explained how she was just under so much stress. It was not my role to counsel her, but in a friendly way I asked why she was so stressed. Turns out she had just purchased a new travel van, totally tricked out with everything but a hot tub, and had trouble keeping up with the payments, as well as her three children and two dogs. I think the real source of her stress was a long string of bad decisions, but I doubt if she would ever agree.

We have the power to control, prevent or avoid most of the stress that comes at us simply by deciding how we will react to it. Samson and Delilah are an excellent case in point. Delilah kept on asking, begging, nagging for Samson to tell her what she wanted to know. Samson said that she was driving him crazy with her questions. But was she? No, of course not. She was asking, beggin and nagging, but it was Samson who convinced himself that he couldn't stand it. He had the power to ignore her pleadings, to remove himself from her, and there would have been no stress. Why pump all that acid in to your stomach because some turtle gets in front of you? Leave for work 15 minutes earlier, and don't let it bother you at all. YOU have the power. Not that all stress is bad. Resistance makes us stronger. You build literal muscle by lifting weight.
You build endurance by struggling against the hill, or against the wind or the current. You grow stronger emotionally by overcoming difficulties. Welcome the challenges. View them as opportunities for growth. Thrive on that sort of stress. Even positive events in our life produce stress. That is called eustress. The turtle in front of you might cause distress. But that is up to you.

Cholesterol is NOT the enemy!

We've all been running around with these numbers in our brains concerning "good" or "bad" cholesterol, and worried about what was happening to the inside of our arteries. First the confusion was over which is good and which is bad. Then there was a lot of talk about what the ratio between these two numbers should be. We were inundated with pleading public announcements concerning the perils of eating real butter, skin-on chicken, red meat, and lots of other food items. We were encouraged to go on low-fat diets, high-carb diets, cabbage diets, ginger bread diets, beet juice diets, cleansing diets, and on and on and on. We were encouraged to run for our lives, then, sadly, one of the most visible proponents of running died while running. Is it any wonder people are confused?

What concerns me is the tendency we might have to just "tune out" all this noise and do nothing. That would be an unfortunate choice. Cholesterol is something to keep an eye on, low density cholesterol (LDL) is not something you want too much of, the ratio between LDL and HDL may have some value. But really, what's the bottom line? Does anyone really know?

I am going to devote the next few articles on answers to at least some of these issues, to provide the latest, best advice, and to dispel some of the worries. Let me start by saying that moderation in all things is still the absolute best advice to follow concerning anything to do with your present or future wellness. Exercise is definitely good. We were designed for it and thrive because of it. But forget the "no pain, no gain" foolishness. Keep your LDL cholesterol levels in control by whatever means necessary, but don't go overboard on the low fat diets. About 1/3 of the population actually is healthier and feels better with higher levels carbs and fats in their diet. Ask your physician to tell you about simple test that determine what is best for you. Each individual has specific, unique needs. But today I wanted to just touch on what is likely a far more important marker, or indicator, of possible heart disease (CHD). Elevated homocysteine levels consistently and far more reliably predict cardiac problems than HDL and LDL levels. In conjunction with elevated homocysteine levels, those with CHD almost invariably will have reduced vitamin B6 levels in their blood. Everything I've been reading for more than a year now concerning cardiac health points to these two levels as the most significant warning levels for CHD. So next time you visit your doctor for a routine checkup, ask him to run the whole blood panel, and to tell you what he knows about these two substances in the blood, as well as what actions you can take to lower your homocysteine levels. I'll write more on this and other related cardiac health issues in the days ahead. As always, your comments and e-mails are welcome.

Weight Loss Project

Weight loss - DAY 1
First thing this morning I drank a 16 ounce glass of cold water. No food, no coffee, just water. I then waited at least 45 minutes before my next intake. That was a delicious drink called Green Goodness that is produced by Bolthouse Farms. I am not promoting any particular products on this blog, but I will tell you what I like and why... (To read the entire article, please go to http://thenew50.blogspot.com All weight loss articles from this project will be posted there as they are submitted. Thanks!)
Weight loss - with Juice!
I have been asked several times now about safe but lasting weight loss. This seems to be a very common thread that runs through many of the e-mails I receive. The problem for so many of us is that we have become an "instant" society. We want results, and we want them NOW!!! But weight loss generally can only be accomplished in much the same way that weight gain happens - gradually, over time. If you want to risk your long-term health using risky and often totally unproven over the counter weight loss miracle pills, this blog will not be of interest to you. I am interested in staying healthy, and helping others to do the same, not putting our health at risk. But if you are interested in really losing weight at a steady rate, and keeping it off, I will devote articles over the next three to four weeks on proven methods of doing just that. Since I have recently added a few pounds myself, I have decided to make some serious changes including losing a minimum of 25 pounds. I will keep you posted on what I am doing to accomplish this and provide updates at least once each week on how I'm doing. I hope it will inspire others to do the same. Here's a hint on just how I intend to start: juice. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetable juices. So if you have a juicer, get it out from under all the pots and pans and clean it up and let's get started. My first weight loss article will be published on 1/4/08 and I hope you will join us.If you are willing to provide just a first name and your weight loss goal in pounds in the comment area, we'll try to all keep each other motivated and on target to reach our goals. So, until tomorrow...
Posted by Jack at 4:08 PM 0 comments
Labels: goals, Health, juice, weight loss, wellness.
Thursday, January 3, 2008