Monday, January 17, 2011

Making Changes...

The goal of this blog is to educate and inspire others.  I hope to help others learn about what is harmful and what is helpful, what to avoid and what to be sure to include and how to make these changes permanent.




My first piece of advice is this:  Gain knowledge.  This is powerful!!  If you don't really know why you are doing something, you will likely not have the conviction to stick it through.  When I say gain knowledge, I mean really gain knowledge.  Don't just do something because you have heard it is healthy.  Find out why it is healthy.  How does it help you?  What benefits can you expect?  For example, everyone knows organic is better.  But, why?  How does conventional produce affect your health differently than organic produce?  What is the difference between the two?  After discovering how superior organic produce is to conventional and the health risks associated with conventional, it will be harder for you to buy conventional produce.  




Second piece of advice:  Don't bite off more than you can chew.  There is no way you can learn everything about everything at once!  Pick one thing you want to learn more about and focus on that.  Research it.  If you focus on one thing it really takes less time than you would think to begin acquiring a good foundation to begin living healthier.  With the amazing amount of information available within seconds via the internet, you can learn something new everyday!





Third piece of advice:  Be forgiving of yourself.  Nobody is perfect.  I am striving to no longer eat preservatives, dyes, artificial ingredients, canned food (store-bought), and refined sugars.  But I still slip up!  I am, however, learning and overall getting better and healthier.  I have 30 years of bad habits to undo and 30 years of conditioning by the food industry to undo.  That is no small task!


Living healthy in this society is an uphill battle and the absolute hardest part is getting started.  It is possible though!  Don't be afraid and intimidated.  Your first homework assignment:  Follow this blog!  I promise to give you good information that will help you begin to understand how to live a healthy lifestyle.  And when I post about something you want to know more about, research it!  I also welcome others to challenge the information I post.  It will help me to learn more too!  

2 comments:

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  2. This is really great of you to share and inform our fellow men and women of the importance of healthy food and exercise. I am not only saying this because I am your friend, but I too have been studying the importance of this topic. Today,... EVERYBODY complains of having a headache, too much stress, are overly tired and exhausted, and can not function mentally or physically and simply blame it on the busy lifestyle when in fact it is their health style. I thought the same way about how my mental health and physical well being was just too tired to deal with everything in a day. I made some changes a few months back because I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I thought that I needed caffeine in order to function and make it through the day when in fact, caffeine alone brings along even more problems for your already exhausted body because it is an addiction and if you miss out on any intake, you get bad headaches and mood swings. Also, since consuming so much caffeine in a single day to keep you going, by the end of the day, it is no wonder we have sleeping problems, because there is so much caffeine in the body's system. Lack of sleep brings on another whole set of problems for the following day. Caffeine is not the only bad thing most people consume in a day. How about the fatty fast foods and the conveince of unhealthy snacks. It is a wonder that Americans suffer from diabetes, heart disease, and so much more. This can all change by diet and exercise alone. Simply put, I would rather diet and exercise than become an insulin dependent, pill-popping junkie that can bring even more harm to the body. When the body gets proper nutrients and a regular physical activity (I'm not talking about an expensive gym membership here..there are plenty of ways to get the body moving), they body can heal itself of impurities and physical activity can prevent the common cold, even minimize stress, no matter how busy your life may be. Physical activity and proper eating habits can do wonders to the body. Physical activity on a regular basis can prevent colon cancers as well because the digestive system works faster during a physical activity and since the digestive system works faster, the food processes through the body faster and on its way out of the body faster instead of sitting in the colon for prolonged periods of time with toxins and chemicals that cause cancer. When the blood is pumping faster during a physical activity, the blood carries oxygen faster to the vessels and making the body energized. Way better feeling than caffeine could ever bring. Almost nobody regrets a good workout. It is hard to get started, but once it is over, I bet you will not feel like plopping down on the couch, at least not me. I am all pumped up and that is a great time to tackle the messy home.

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