Choose Your Life

So you're a diabetic. Here's a high five for all the diabetics who have chosen to reverse the path they were on and now follow a whole foods plant- based lifestyle. This post is not about you.

This is for the diabetic who eats mindlessly whatever they want and then pops a pill to assuage their sins and thinks everything is fine. There are plenty of you out there. Be honest. Is this you?

This is for the diabetic who eats mindlessly and holds up their "normal" a1c and says "see it's ok". They believe this because big pharma has taught them that.

That diabetic is playing a dangerous game. It is a game they will ultimately lose.

A "normal" a1c with the aid of medication is not a normal a1c. Big pharma wants you to think it is. That kind of thinking sells more drugs.

You have a choice. You can continue to eat whatever you want, be overweight and depend on a drug. Or you can take charge of your life and work with a dietitian or nutritionist and your doctor and reverse the path you are on.

It's possible, but big pharma will never tell you that. They would rather you treat symptoms than go after the cause.

Please. Please. Choose a better path. Read the articles below:

https://bit.ly/2wGPmFg

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3168743/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/30597609/

Be Like Buddy

I have often thought we should be more like a cat or dog. They ask unashamedly for what they want. A pat pat. A belly rub. Food. But at the same time they have a quiet, dignified independence about them.

My cat Buddy is the epitome of independence. He accepts affection when he feels like it. Yet expects you to give it upon demand. Never takes no for an answer.

How often in life, unlike Buddy, do we give up when faced with a no? Shouldn't we ask for what we want? Strive to be independently who we are? Live life on our terms? Perhaps we should be more like Buddy.

Words Matter

Well my phone died and with it all my notes for possible blog posts. There were some good thoughts in there. I will be taking some time to remember it all.

Meanwhile, let's talk words. They matter. I would suggest we kick the word "diet" out of the vocabulary. Replace diet with nutrition. Nutrition is a much more holistic word. There's a mind change which comes with thinking nutritionally. Mind matters as much as nutrition does in health and in weightloss. If before you eat you ask,"Is this nutritionally good for me?" There will be times you will decide for a better choice.

We eat for one of two reasons.
1. To support our health and wellness.
2. To mindlessly gratify our emotions.

Which is the better choice?


We live in a culture of convenience.  Convenience is killing us. We don't stop to think before we grab something to eat. Our ancestors ate to live. We live to eat.

So think nutrition when eating. It will be the start of many healthful changes in your life. Healthful change breeds more healthful change.  When you feel better you do better. But you have to make the decision to do better. You got this!

Yummy

One of the biggest obstacles to eating better is not having a repertoire of recipes. Oh my. What to cook? I'm going to help you with what to cook. 

So once a week I will give you something to build your repertoire of healthy recipes. 

Here's the first:

When you roast veggies this is a great sprinkle.

In a salt shaker put equal amounts of Turmeric, Ground black pepper (go easier on that), Garlic powder and (opt. ground ginger).

This is from Rachel Bellers book, Eat to Lose Eat to Win and it is yummy! By the way its a great book too. 

Roasted vegies are a great snack. I especially love brussels sprouts. Cut them in half, sprinkle with olive oil broil... Keep an eye on them. Doesn't take long. They will be crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and a terrific healthy snack.

Another healthy sprinkle I enjoy is simply nutritional yeast. Find it in the herbs aisle. Great on vegies. Wonderful on popcorn. Its tastes kind of cheesy. You will thank me.  

Enjoy!

Hello World

I've been away from my blog for a long time. My life took a left turn into disability and it's taken me a while to put myself back on track.  I have thought about my blog a lot and have found myself more than once in a bookstore looking at all the health books asking myself "what can I add to all that?" For a long time I couldn't answer that. Maybe i can now.

The last time I stood looking at health books in a store i thought:

Maybe YOU aren't going to read all those books. I read lots of them.

Maybe YOU don't read health magazines. I read a bunch.

Maybe YOU still eat mindlessly. Our culture of convenience promotes mindless eating. Maybe you still think the doctor knows best and don't bother to look farther.

Maybe YOU have become your disease and you can't imagine a healthy future. It's an easy trap to fall in to.

Maybe I can be the voice in the wilderness of healthcare that can lead you to better self-care.

I was in healthcare for 34 yrs and observed the same thing over and over. It is what prompted me to go for a Masters in Holistic Nutrition.

Re-admissions for the same problem.

Over and over. Especially egregious are the readmissions for heart bypass. Not just once but 2 and 3 times.

Why so many readmissions?

People commonly do not change the things in their life which promote their health problems. Diet and exercise. 

Lack of nutrition and a sedentary life. 

Killers.

 Hospitals are full of patients with lifestyle diseases. Diabetes and heart disease do not have to be a life sentence. Don't believe me? Read Dr Joel Furhman and Dr Dean Ornish. Look up Dr Ornish's Ted talk "genes are not your fate" on Youtube.

You can not go to the doctor and expect to be fixed like when you take your car to a mechanic. YOU have to be proactive in your healthcare.

I have been where you are. I'm still getting better. It's a process. I dont know how much better I can get healthwise but I've made sweeping changes in my life. Changes you probably need to make too. If thru this blog I help even just one person then what I have been through will have been worth it and my time will have been spent well.

And this is why I am back with this blog. I hope you will follow along, join me on my journey and let me know how you are doing.

Be A Brat

This is Brandi or as I affectionately call her, Brandi Brat. Don't let the cute picture fool you. She is a love-bug but she's also a Brat with a capital B. 

She just turned a year old. What a year it has been! Never a dull moment with the Brat! She's always into something or aggravating one of the other furkids. There was a point I thought she'd think her name was NO NO.

What I love about her is that she's such a brat. Her mischieviousness is positively inspirational!  What a teacher she is!

She has taught me "no" means I'll just have to find another way to do it. There MUST be another way to do it. 

No means set your eyes on a goal and go for it.  Don't be deterred. She is absolutely fearless in her dedication to doing or getting what she wants. Even to the point of flying off the BACK of the recliner and going splat on the hard tile floor. (Almost gave me a heart attack.)

Fear is not in her vocabulary. Though I doubt she'll ever jump off the back of the recliner again.

We should all be as fearless as Brandi.

How many time in life are we confronted with obstacles to our goals and we let fear stop us?

How many of the fears which we have  worried about ever really came to pass?

We waste a lot of time fearing things.. I wonder how much joy we miss out on while we are fearing things which never come to pass.

Let's stop that.

Be fearless. Be a Brat.  (But please don't jump off high places without a parachute.)

The Magical Rose Garden

An amazing thing happened after I retired. I was sitting in my recliner and  realized I wasn't in a hurry. In fact, I hadn't been in a hurry for months. Nor had I felt stressed in a long time. Not being in a hurry is a delicious peaceful feeling. I thought back to all the times I was in a hurry. What a waste of time that was! What did that get me but a lot of stress? How many happy things did I miss while I was stressing being in a hurry? How many times had I delayed fun things because of current "busyness"? Most of us do that.

"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon --- instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today." - Dale Carnegie

We take so much for granted in our lives. We miss those roses Dale Carnegie talks about. So many glimpses of sunlight in our lives we entirely miss. We get stuck in the busywork of life. We get stuck in our perceived problems and job stress and a million other things. We forget to live. 

Have you ever said it?

IF I had more time...
IF I had more money...
IF I had a bigger house..
IF I had a nicer car...
IF I had a better job...
IF only I___________.

If only this I'll do that. If never comes. All there is, is now. Are you living in the "now"? or in the past? or in the future if? Time is unforgiving. It marches on.  If there's something you want to do or some place you want to see make a plan right NOW to do so. Don't limit yourself with "ifs".  Work your plan and see and do the things you want to. Live every moment of your life. 

As Ralph Waldo Emerson reminded us, " We are always getting ready but never living."

As 2015 starts, resolve to slow down and enjoy each day to the fullest. Be present. Live now. Schedule fun! Whatever it is you enjoy; a concert, movie, sports game, learn a new language or lunch with a friend. Maybe just time set aside to enjoy a good book and a cup of tea. My mother used to tell me to pay myself first. She was talking about money. I'm suggesting you pay yourself first but I'm not talking about money. I'm talking about scheduling  time to live. When you schedule all the things you think you have to do; first schedule time for living.

                       "The key to enjoying the moment is to always carry a list of
                         "Things I Gotta Do That Can Wait". - Robert Brault, rbrault.BlogSpot.com