Tag: health

Seven Decades

by Lynn, posted in Articles

I’ve lived through 7 decades. During those years I’ve witnessed history, learned, and relearned. Ive been incredibly thin, and very overweight. I’ve ran with the trends, only to settle with different.

I’ve spent most of my life battling illnesses and myself. I’ve suffered immeasurable losses, and been blessed with abundant blessings. I’ve lived in the city, and lived in the hollers of Tennessee. I’ve wiped more bottoms than I care to remember, and wiped away many tears. What I know is this.

Life really is just a matter of perception. There isn’t a right or wrong. There are values, manners, and morals that serve as guidelines for choices. It doesn’t matter who is pro choice, or prolife. The choice is yours, based on your own perceptions, formed by your personal guidelines.

It’s ok to not have kids, it’s ok to have a bunch of kids. The choice is yours and so is the responsibility.

You will not be any happier thin if you don’t find inner peace overweight. When you figure it out, acceptance will follow.

Stop shouting, shaming, bullying. I don’t want to know who you are sleeping with, my perception of you will be based on who you are as a human, not who you sleep with.

The generations now are completely missing the mark on marriage, family, and the entire institution of love. A family is your circle of love. It doesn’t matter who is in your circle. Marriage is a commitment, there will be days that will be extremely difficult, there will be other days that make you forget about the difficult ones. Stop being afraid of commitment.

Being in nature is the most important. walking barefoot, learning about all the things, and just being quiet is so vital to our health. You don’t need to run, hike, swim etc you just need to sit some where, be quiet, and wiggle your toes on the earth.

Lastly, what I know is this, life is incredibly short. We are here for a purpose. Maybe that purpose is the raise children, maybe it’s to discover a cure. It doesn’t matter, you will know.

Everything I know about weight loss and health Part 3

by Lynn, posted in Articles

If you haven’t read part 1 and 2 you should read those first.

One of, if not the biggest obstacle in becoming healthy and remaining in a place of good health is in your head. Literally. What you feed your brain is as important as what you feed the rest of you.

It isn’t just your thoughts. It’s your surroundings, people in your life, your career. What we say, do, encounter on a daily basis become noted in your brain. The result can be stress, depression, anxiety, brain fog etc.

So let’s begin with the basics.

Your home. Having a clutter free clean space is hugely beneficial. I can’t say that loud enough. I know it can seem daunting but really it’s easier than you think. There are a ton of blogs on this subject but I’ll add that I started with my walls. I removed everything, even curtains in a few rooms, painted the walls white and did not rehang anything.

Having open windows allows more of nature to come in. Then I decorated with plants. Research the topic.

Sleep is so very important. I use to be on the go early and late. I fueled with constant caffeine. It showed! It’s really important to get up at the same time every morning. So I adjusted my bedtime. At 9 I’m in bed. Period. Even if I can’t sleep yet. I meditate, read, unplug.

Reading is good for your brain. Feed it well.

Having a schedule keeps you on track and your body will learn when to expect sleep, fuel, movement. It will also help to keep your stress levels in check because you will find it easier to schedule in the important stuff like moving your body, family time, journaling, etc. I recommend a paper planner. Writing it is more powerful.

Stress promotes weight gain.

Slow down, unplug, move your body.

If you’ve made it this far thank you for reading. I hope that this will help you in your journey.

Everything that I know about weight loss PT 2

by Lynn, posted in Articles

Welcome to part 2. If you haven’t read part 1 you might want to begin there.

Everyone has cravings. Some of us are stress or emotional eaters. Sometimes we are bored, or sometimes we are tired.

Planning for possible slips helps a lot.

If you work long hours or find yourself too tired to think about dinners, then meal prepping may work to combat this and it’s super easy if you are eating lean and green dinners.

If you find the cravings do you in then the following items are fantastic to have on hand, along with a well stocked pantry full of the right foods and zero wrong foods. For that reason I haven’t bought Oreos in 15 years.

Here are my go to items

Smuckers sugar free caramel syrup to go on apples

Smuckers sugar free chocolate syrup to go on strawberries or bananas.

Sugar free chocolate chips

Whole grain gold fish

Frozen Greek yogurt pops

Sugar free popsicles

Real popcorn

Plenty of fruit

Sugar free brownie mix

Sugar free pudding

Sugar free jello

Fat free whipped topping

The rest of my kitchen is stocked with whole grains, meat, eggs, veggies. I use canned black beans, and white northern beans, canned tomatoes, and no sugar added fruit.

There is only one bad thing in my kitchen. Splenda. I’m trying haha.

A word to those of you who really don’t care for veggies or meat. Me either! I eat chicken or fish. I pair them with a salad and fruit on the side. Having fruit for dinner helps kill those sneaky sweet cravings and they are nutritious.

Moving your body and strength training are both very important for good health. While they won’t help a ton with weight loss there are other factors that can help with long term success. Strong muscles burn more calories. A body in motion is like a well oiled machine. It pumps blood to all the right places, reduces stress, and it is after all what our bodies are meant to do, move!

So if you are not into “exercise” That’s ok, just move your body. I love using a fitbit to keep me on track.

Part 3 up next