Becoming a better you

Good day Mars,

Being heart healthy!

     I'm on vacation this week and visited several doctors. While at the cardiologist, he looked over my blood work numbers and was very impressed. My cholesterol was low; he said, "you must eat healthy", I replied, "No, I contribute that number to walking to and from work everyday". Forty minutes and up two hills going, is what this walk entails.

     Let my share with you, I do try to watch my caloric intake but that doesn't mean there necessarily the right foods. I love chips, pizza, fries and cheeseburgers. During work hours I eat very well, but when I get home, sometimes I can defeat the whole purpose of "watching my calories".

     People always say that I look good, I don't need to lose weight, and so on but we are and should be our worst critic. I've maintained an average weight of 185 lbs for the last ten years, but I can afford to lose some excess fat around my mid-section. This is what I hold my self against. I will share this too, If you start to eat right you know, veggies, fruit, lean meats, etc...you must not deviate. This means, as soon as you take a bite of any junk food you will automatically see yourself fall back into your old routine. Craving sweets!

     Also, you can eat what you like but start cutting your portions in half. Instead of having a whole sandwich, start with one (1) slice of bread and pack it with fresh chicken or turkey breast, not cold cuts. Stop buying sweets to store in your house. If you want to have something sweet then go out to the store and buy it. You will find that buying a snack pack of Oreos is only around 230 calories for 6 cookies, as opposed to a family size package with 3 rows of 12 cookies, stored not-so-safely in your cupboard. This type of temptation leads down the path of eating 2 - 3 cookies until an entire row is consumed. Oh, the guilt! You can also settle for the 100 calorie packs, but eat only one bag! 

Research Wii for yourself

     Getting some sort of exercise is key too. Here's a big helper, mothers if you're not the gym going type then please do not go and join one. You can use that same money to purchase a Wii system, about $200, and a Wii Fit Plus game and balance board for another $100, and workout in the privacy of your own home. I have the best time using mine. I sometimes have a girls night and rent the dance videos and we have even more fun while getting in a workout. Besides, most memberships are at the least $350 and up. They also prey on those who know they're not going to consistently get into the gym routine. Like, car dealers and auto repair shops, they see us coming a mile away.

     So, do your best to start now and when you fall short, get back up and try again. Never give up on yourself. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle like anything else in life, takes time and effort. Ask yourself, am I up to change? If the answer is an honest, Yes, then get started now!

Staying healthy,

Jerri of Mars