What I've Learned on this Journey: To A Healthier Lifestyle

Make the Best Investment: In Yourself!

Last post mentioned that if we find value in our health, then we tend to invest time and energy in maintaining it. Now we need to consider the financial costs. Another friend asked me, what I now feel is a very important question…almost as important as the salvation question. This friend asked me, “would you prefer to spend money on buying healthier foods and products that aid in a healthy lifestyle (the upfront investment) or would you prefer to spend your money at the doctors and on tons of medications attempting to correct unhealthful lifestyle decisions (the backend investments).” This question is also similar to the one I ask people who forego an Apple for a PC: “Would you like to save a little money now and pay big later over and over again?” Hint: buy an Apple—higher upfront cost, but you are pretty much done until the next (necessary) big thing. LOL

It’s the same with our health decisions: we can buy more processed foods now, because they are cheaper, have much longer shelf life, more convenient overall and satisfies our salt, sugar and fat taste buds. However, buying fresh living foods are usually more costly, have a much shorter shelf life, require more preparation and do not incite the s. s. f. cravings.

Now I am not saying eating healthier is an excuse not to see your doctor for annual checkups, however, making less healthier choices will ensure that you see him or her so regularly that you know everything about their families. My challenge to you is to know less about your doctor’s families and spend that time getting to know your family instead. Spend time encouraging each other to be and make healthy decisions.

REMEMBER:

Whatever I have (a need to maintain a healthier lifestyle), wherever I am (at work, home and no matter where my health starting point is), I can make it through anything (eating healthier and exercising even when I am tired) in the One who makes me who I am (I am a good steward over the temple God has given me). Philippians 4:13 MSG

Best Wishes for a Healthier Path!

Audra ©2012

What I've Learned on this Journey: To A Healthier Lifestyle

Cost vs. Value: What Does Health Cost, What Solutions Do You Value?

A good friend, a marketing specialist recently said to me, “People tend not to value things that do not cost them something. This statement led me to realize that: one people are either afraid of the word “Free” because they believe the costs are much higher than the ones they can see up front and two that until people have to pay for something—good or bad—they do not find value in it.

What does it mean to pay for something? In consumer goods, it means that essentially you trade some monetary value for an item you desire to have in your possession. In general life or for non-tangible things it means you pay in time, energy and sometimes in restitution to either accomplish a goal or to make amends for an oversight.

Breaking it down further to our health it can either mean we find great value in maintaining or forming a healthy lifestyle, which means our costs comprise of our time, energy and investment we put forth to accomplish these goals. Furthermore, it could mean that our oversight in attending to our health means that the restitutions we now must pay realign our values concerning our health (see next post titled Making the Best Investment: In Yourself).

The Thing	Your Cost	Your Value
Free Yoga Class	Time, energy, fuel	Improved health, less time spent on doctor visits, etc.
Free Salvation	Belief	Eternal Peace, much more!
Reading a Book	Time to read	Gained knowledge
Exercising Daily	Time, focused energy	Improved health

So why is it difficult for us to find value in things that are free? Sometimes FREE things bring about GREAT benefits. If you are not finding value in maintaining your health, let me encourage you to find the value now before you have to pay a restitution cost. There are some costs that you alone cannot cover and that is why we all need Free Salvation, because Jesus covered it ALL!

REMEMBER:

Whatever I have (a need to maintain a healthier lifestyle), wherever I am (at work, home and no matter where my health starting point is), I can make it through anything (eating healthier and exercising even when I am tired) in the One who makes me who I am (I am a good steward over the temple God has given me). Philippians 4:13 MSG

Best Wishes for a Healthier Path!

Audra ©2012

What I've Learned on this Journey: To A Healthier Lifestyle

Want To Avoid Dementia & Alzheimer

Remember This Ageless Truth: Exercise & Good Nutrition

Goes A Long Way In Improving and Maintaining Your Health!

Proverbs 17:22 A Cheerful heart is good medicines, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones (KJV). Crushed—a force that destroys or deforms (Webster’s).

That crushing force for so many of us comes in the form of poor health choices. We choose convenience over good nutrition and exercise, until another force demands that we either change or else…

Here are some encouraging benefits that may help us all to stay focus on the goal of improving and maintaining good healthy choices.

Beth Howard (2012) reports that many experts now believe you can prevent or at least delay dementia—even if you have a genetic predisposition. The experts further reveal the Alzheimer’s disease risk factors are obesity, diabetes, smoking and low physical activity, and reducing these factors by 25 percent could prevent up to a half million cases of Alzheimer’s disease in the U.S. according to a recent University of California, San Francisco analysis (Howard, 2012).

Solutions:

1. Get Moving:

Higher exercise levels can reduce dementia risk by 30 to 40 percent.

2. Pump Some Iron:

Resistance and weight training increases cognitive function and increase levels of growth factors in the brain.

3. Seek out New Skills:

Challenge & Learning spurs the growth & connection of new brain cells.

4. Meditation:

Stress impairs memory. Meditation reduces Stress and then your mind is free. (Meditating on God’s Words brings about multiple benefits.)

5. Eat like a Greek:

A heart friendly Mediterranean diet—fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts and beans—reduced Alzheimer’s risk by 34 to 48 percent in studies conducted by Columbia University.

6. Spice It Up:

Herbs & Spices as black pepper, cinnamon, oregano, basil, parsley, ginger and vanilla are high antioxidants, which may help build brainpower.

7. Find Your Purpose:

Discovering your mission in Life (& in the Lord) can help you stay sharp.

8. Get a (Social) Life:

A rich social life protects against dementia by providing emotional and mental stimulation.

9. Reduce Your Risks:

Reduce your health risks, which are associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

10. Check Vitamin Deficiencies:

Older adults do not always get all the nutrients they need due to a decline in digestive acids or medications that interferes with the absorption.

REMEMBER:

Whatever I have (a need to maintain a healthier lifestyle), wherever I am (at work, home and no matter where my health starting point is), I can make it through anything (eating healthier and exercising even when I am tired) in the One who makes me who I am (I am a good steward over the temple God has given me). Philippians 4:13 MSG

Best Wishes for a Healthier Path!

Audra ©2012

Reference:

Howard, B. (2012). Age-proof your brain. AARP The Magazine , 55 (28), 53-56.

What I've Learned on this Journey: To A Healthier Lifestyle

Go Red for Women Day…February 3, 2012

Read Food Labels!

Reading is fundamental to our survival and reading status updates on Facebook and Twitter really does not count for fundamental reading material. It can be entertaining and sometimes aggravating, however, reading food labels may save your health.

Reading food labels is essential. There is much debate and controversy over standardizing food-packaging labeling and about the truth in labeling. A vast amount of products use varying labeling methods and some are quite deceiving as well, i.e. Total Fat 3g per serving: serving size equals ½ teaspoon. Therefore, when you make your purchases based on the non-standard front label, it can be misleading. The whole process becomes confusing and time consuming…but it is so worth the effort and time. The key to reading food labeling involves understanding portion or serving sizes. It also takes basic math skills…so your math teacher was right and you might have been wrong for saying you wouldn’t need math and fractions in everyday life. Take the time to read food labels.*

Go Red for Women Day!

Today is the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Day. It is an observance to bring more awareness about women and heart disease. Heart Disease is the number one killer of women and the signs and symptoms are different from men. http://www.goredforwomen.org/index.aspx

Eating right and exercising regularly are two viable solutions in combating this problem for both women and men. Moreover, the problem is growing in children as well and they too can benefit from eating better and exercising more.

February is a short month, but a very important one. One it is my birthday month (yes shameful personal plug), and more important it is the month we observe Black History and Heart Awareness. For all Americans regardless of ethnicity heart health is important. In African Americans who seem to suffer at a higher per person rate, it is critical. So, please commit to making a positive change in your eating and exercising habits.

*Helpful Links about Fat & Sodium intake:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fat/NU00262

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium/NU00284

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/diet/how-much-fat-per-day/

REMEMBER:

Whatever I have (a need to maintain a healthier lifestyle), wherever I am (at work, home and no matter where my health starting point is), I can make it through anything (eating healthier and exercising even when I am tired) in the One who makes me who I am (I am a good steward over the temple God has given me). Philippians 4:13 MSG

Best Wishes for a Healthier Path!

Audra ©2011

What I've Learned on this Journey: To A Healthier Lifestyle

It is a New Year…2012

…You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Matthew 6:33 MSG

The above verse is God Wisdom and it is advice that I can offer to all who are setting out to make the long, vague lists of New Year’s Resolutions.

In one of my earlier posts about my journey to a healthier me: What I’ve Learned on This Journey, I mentioned how, I first asked God for strength to endeavor in meeting and completing my goals. The result: success!

Everywhere you look and listen, everyone seems to be obsessing about losing weight and getting fit—with good reason too. I, like you, witnessed many health related illnesses and deaths last year, both up close and in the media. A need to be concern, even obsessing should be inevitable. There are many plans, programs and countless fads to entertain your decisions. However, the one thing that many experts agree and studies have shown, is that 4 out of 5 New Year’s Resolutions made fail (Orenstein & Macellin, 2012). A third will not even make it to February. Consequently, the so-called experts’ lack of confidence in your ability to complete your task is not what will keep you from succeeding. The only thing that will really stand in your way is YOU.

SOLUTION: Make a plan not a list. Decide what you would like as the results, and then think about how to reach your goals. Research and consult with someone who has had success in reaching similar goals. Seek God, stay focus and be very determined. Remember that when you set good goals, Satan will try to trip you up at every turn: Using things that seem harmless and even good to prevent you from reaching your goals.

Do not be tempted to say, “I’ll do it tomorrow,” for all you have right now, is now. So, do it TODAY! It will be difficult and you will have to be flexible with your schedule. You will not always be able to strictly stick to your schedule or plan. Again, be flexible and do not beat yourself up over short-term failures. Pick yourself up and start again as many times as it takes your plan to catch on and embed into your daily priorities. Trust me, you will be glad when you reach your goal.

Whatever I have (a need to maintain a healthier lifestyle), wherever I am (at work, home and no matter where my health starting point is), I can make it through anything (eating healthier and exercising even when I am tired) in the One who makes me who I am (I am a good steward over the temple God has given me). Philippians 4:13 MSG

Best Wishes for a Healthier Path!

©2012 Audra L. Gray (Orenstein & Macellin, 2012)

References

Orenstein, B. W., & Macellin, M. M. (2012, January 1). 10 Weight loss resolutions to skip this year. Retrieved from Everyday Health: http://www.everydayhealth.com/weight-pictures/weight-loss-resolutions-to-skip-this-year.aspx?xid=nl_MyCalorieCounterNewsletter_20120101#/slide-1

What I've Learned on this Journey: To A Healthier Lifestyle

I Am Expecting A Miracle—Even If It Is Not In The Form That I Expect!

We Sing: “I’m Looking For a Miracle, I Expect the Impossible”

Well at least we used to sing that song as if we meant it. Now, it is funny, because that song is one that children with child-like faith sing…we clap and praise along with them—but do we really believe the words or think it is just another catchy tune with a nice beat. The faith God says we need is very similar to the faith that children have. However, as we have grown older, we have a tendency to use more self-reliance instead of expecting a miracle, believing in the impossible.

God’s word is a Living Word, which means it is just as relevant today as it has ever been—even to Mary & Joseph, the Woman with the issue of Blood and Jarius’s daughter. Then, what is the problem, why do adults not look for miracles these days, expecting the impossible?

I do not have that answer, however I suspect that they, like me, are control-freaks. Some adults tend to have a need to control everything and everyone around them, because of their desire to control the outcome, or their belief that they know what is best. We have limited thinking and are unable to conceive the impossible in our natural minds. We also tend to have plans that we make without consulting God. Then we manipulate the system–so to speak–to fit what we want. Unfortunately, we just simply spend a lot of time wrestling against our own wills instead of submitting to God’s Will.

What impossible thing will you believe God for today?

Think Big!

Matthew 17 (KJV)

And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Merry Christmas!

What I've Learned on this Journey: To A Healthier Lifestyle

Never a Dull Moment!

I have returned to blogging about my Journey to a Healthier Me.

As I approach the one-year mark of my initial decision to finally do something, I would like to reflect as well as give an update on my progress.

First and foremost, Thanks unto God for all He has enabled me to accomplished. Without Him, I would not have made it on my overall Journey thus far.

Getting from busting out of a 16 (because I refused to go up to size 18) down to a size 10 has taken some discipline.

Truth: Along this yearlong journey I have maintained a steady level of commitment to my new lifestyle of eating and exercising. Nevertheless, even I stumbled a little a few weeks before Thanksgiving and of course Thanksgiving Day!

Facts: While studying and preparing to complete the course work for my MBA, I really had to ‘buckle-down’ and remain glued to my computer. Consequently, that extra time at my desk subtracted time away from my yoga mat. Additionally, I sought out comfort foods as well, i.e. pastas and breads. This was a BAD combination, but to top it all off, the heaviness of the Thanksgiving meal really made the scales move (in the wrong direction).

Lesson: The lesson of course is that pursuing a healthier eating and exercise life-style is high maintenance and needs the same kind of focused attention just like our relationships i.e. spiritual or romantic. When we care about something or someone we must put forth focused attention to assure that we maintain a certain level of commitment to satisfy the established requirements.

Renewed Goal: Remain Focused! Simple as that…I will admit that it can be hard to muster up the strength and wherewithal to do a cardio and/or yoga workout everyday…And yes it is much easier to go through someone’s drive-thru than it is to go home and prepare a healthy meal—Notice I did not say cook: not all of us are super chefs, but the least of us can put together healthy meals. However, most times the “Road Less Traveled” is the best path for many aspects of our lives including diet and exercise.

I (You) Can Do All Things through Christ, which strengtheneth me (you). Philippians 4:13 KJV

Whatever I have (a need to maintain a healthier lifestyle), wherever I am (at work, home and no matter where my health starting point is), I can make it through anything (eating healthier and exercising even when I am tired) in the One who makes me who I am (I am a good steward over the temple God has given me). Philippians 4:13 MSG

Best Wishes for a Healthier Path!

Audra ©2011