You ar never to old to compete

I recently came across information on the 2009 Summer National Senior Games I mention this because I am planning to compete in these games in another 22 years. I am planning this very long term goal as a way to keep myself motivated to exercise every day and to make good food choices. I want to be strong enough at 50, 60, and 70+ years to compete in these games, I know I will not be able to do that unless I keep active now.
My vision of the future includes my children getting mad at me because I am what they will consider "too old and wrinkly to be running around in running shorts." Ha! I know already that I will show them.
I wish this for everyone, I would like for everyone to think about their vision for the future and the decisions that will need to be made as they age. I hope that no one ever has to make the decision to live in a nusing home or even worse have that decision made for them. So focus on your future and mabye you and I will be competing in the 2030 senior games.
If you are 50 years of age or older you can compete in the 2009 Summer National Senior Games now. This is a fantastic opportunity to start living a healthy lifestyle so you can train to compete in these games. There are 18 medal sports and 7 demonstration sports so go ahead and Go for the GOLD!

Zumba

“What a fun workout, too bad it’s over,” that was my exact thought as I left my new favorite group exercise class, Zumba. It incorporates all types of Latin dance in a high energy 50 minute class.

If you have a class like this in your area TAKE IT! This Zumba class ranged in age from 20’s to 70’s and from coordinated (70 year old grandmas) to uncoordinated (myself). No matter their age or coordination everyone in this class had fun! We all were sweating after shimming, spinning, and stepping for the duration of the class and I had so much energy afterward that I decided to continue my workout and run on the treadmill for 30 minutes.

I cannot emphasize this enough if you are able take a Latin dance class do it! You will walk out on a energy filled Latin inspired high or your money back (-kidding).

Has anyone ever taken a Zumba class anywhere else? How was it?

The yoga supergran at age 83

I find this woman to be inspiring. I want to have the strength to do the peacock pose at age 83. (An article on her here). Unfortunately I have a long way to go, I do not have the strength to do this pose now.

I try to visualize myself being active at 80 years old and I know that I will not be active at 80 unless I am active now. I use the visualization of myself at 80 as motivation to get myself moving every day!

Does anyone have a visualization exercise that they do in order to become motivated?

I have read that visualization is a very powerful tool used by top athletes to improve their performance. It can also be used in business and as a way to control pain. If you would like to learn how to create your own visualizations visit:
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Use-Visualization-to-Attain-Your-Goals&id=260058

Please note:
I want to thank fitness for mommies blog for the inspiration for this post.

Why should I change?

Imagine yourself 10, 20, 30, 40 or more years from now. What are you doing? What are your hobbies? Are you retired? What do you do for fun?

Now picture yourself confined to a wheelchair?

Can you still do all of the things you pictured yourself doing?

Now picture yourself in the room of a nursing home.

Not a pretty picture is it?

The last years of your life can be as fun and active as you want them to be, you do not have to be confined to a wheelchair or trapped in a lonely nursing home. The choice to live a life that will enable you to stay active in your later years is yours. The hard part is that you must make healthy lifestyle choices now if you want to continue to be free to make your own choices later on.

I have worked in nursing homes, you do not get the freedom of choice there. There are no trips to the mall, no computers, no restaurants, and no time spent outdoors.

Everyone can change and everyone can improve their health little by little, day by day, I do not want to see anyone have to live in a nursing home and that is why I am here. Make a comment if you have questions and visit here for encouragement when you need it. I am continuing on my own journey toward a healthier lifestyle and would like to hear comments as you follow along.

Hula Hoop for Health

A friend at work gave me this idea- Hula hoop while at home watching TV, It is great for the abdominals, gets the heart rate up, and best of all it is fun! (Try it with your kids!)

If it has been a while and you forgot how to hula here is a link with directions:

http://www.hooping.org/archives/000061.html

Happy Hulaing!

Breastfeeding Reduces Post Partum Weight Retention

As a nurse, I am huge proponent for breastfeeding and I came across this article in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (December, 2008).

Breast feeding reduces postpartum weight retention in all categories of pregnancy body mass index (BMI). Weight retention was eliminated by 6 months postpartum.

Horray! A simple and effective way to loose weight after pregnancy, not to mention the other benefits of breast feeding including; increased immunity for baby, decrease cost for parents, decreased environmental impact, and bonding between mother and baby.

For more information see the website http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/

Why the triangle?

Change

I want to come back to the triangle I used in the prior post. The points on the triangle represent the 3 components of a healthy lifestyle. The triangle is also the medical professions symbol for the word change.

Why do I mention this?

Because in order to live a healthy lifestyle there is often a part of ourselves or our routine that we must change. This is important because the change cannot happen all at once if we want to incorporate a healthy lifestyle into our daily routine. In nature change happens slowly, the seasons change from one to the next over the course of months, trees grow over a period of years, and animals evolve slowly over millions of years.
I do not want anyone to decide overnight that they are going to workout 7 days a week and loose 25 lbs in a month and eat only vegetables. That is ridiculous and guaranteed to fail.
If you want to live a healthy lifestyle you must slowly make it a part of your routine.

Remember slow and steady wins the race.

If you have a desire to live a healthy lifestyle set realistic goals, " I will eat a apple with my sandwich for lunch today, I will do 10 minutes of yoga before work every day , I will eat one less cookie today". These small changes will add up to a healthier lifestyle but it takes time.

Set realistic goals + Keep it positive + Keep it simple = Change

More to come stay tuned...

The 3 components of a healthy lifestyle

Exercise

Diet

Psychosocial

These are the 3 components of a healthy lifestyle; exercise, diet, and psychosocial. I like to picture each of these components as the points of a triangle with exercise on top and diet and psychosocial at the bottom points.I picture exercise as the top point of the triangle because it is the most important of the 3 components of a healthy lifestyle. This is because when I observe my most healthy patients (regardless of age) exercise is always a large part of their lifestyle. The diet and the psychosocial aspects of my healthy patients can fluctuate and differ but exercise is consistently a key part of all of my very healthy patients lifestyles.

Each of these three components can vary and be tailored specifically to the individual but all of the components are absolutely necessary for a healthy lifestyle. For example, johnny patient may exercise 8 hours every day and eat a perfectly balanced 3 square meals a day but he is a social outcast who lives in a underground bunker. Johnny patient may have the body of a god but the mental capacities of Mr. Potato Head. His lack of the psychosocial component makes him mentally very unhealthy.

I recognize that there are other aspects of a healthy lifestyle that do not fit into one of these three categories, ie: brushing your teeth, but I would like to simplify this blog as much as possible to make it easy for people to understand and implement. I will continue to address each of the three components as this blog continues.

Why am I starting this blog?

Since I have been working as a nurse I have noticed that certain people are able to remain healthy and active well into their 60's, 70's, 80's, and beyond. These individuals are usually on very little to no prescription medication and their health histories consist of only a few items. Conversely, I have encountered young patients in their 30'S, 40'S, and 50's who take multiple medications every day, have numerous allergies, and have health histories longer than this post.
I have always been fascinated by the 70, 80, and 90+ year olds who are healthy and active. I want to be just like them as I continue to mature and I wonder, what do they do that the 30+ year olds who are chronically plagued by illness do not?
I have spent my career observing my patients and asking about their lifestyles and habits. I have noticed that the healthiest patients (regardless of age) have 3 key components of their lifestyle that help them remain healthy and active well into their later years.
These 3 components will be discussed in later blogs but for now I want to conclude by dedicating this blog to providing people of all ages the necessary information to be healthy and active for their entire lives.