It Begins

We talk a lot about personal choices because choices are constantly guiding your health and wellness. Look at any specific day and all of the choices that you made in that day. See them like a flow chart. If you decide to have a healthy breakfast, how did that affect you? If you decided to scarf down doughnuts and coffee at the office instead, how did that affect you? It’s necessary to look at both the short term and the long term effects. The doughnuts will give you an immediate sugar and serotonin rush and drop you like a rock in just a little while. The sugar will keep you addicted  and odds are,  you will repeat a similar behavior at lunch and throughout the day. Since we tend to be creatures of habit, you may get up the next day and do this again. The long term ramifications of this one decision are staggering. Not only are you eating unhealthy foods, you are robbing yourself of good nutrition so you will suffer the consequences of the bad nutrition and the lack of essential nutrients that your body needs to maintain optimum health.

Are They Worth It?

Some habits are so bad that it should not even be necessary to being them up but unfortunately, it is. Do you smoke or use alcohol? Smoking destroys Vitamin C in your body and this can lead to multiple health problems. Collagen repairs your skin and is responsible for giving you a smooth, youthful complexion. Vitamin C regulates collagen production. Are you willing to age early and poorly for that cigarette that will most likely ultimately give you heart disease and/or cancer? Toss the cigarettes and all other forms of tobacco. There is absolutely nothing good about it. Alcohol is high in calories and is usually mixed with high calorie mixers. While beer is not mixed, most people will have more than one and the calorie count rises fast. Too many calories means too much body fat. If you are prone to drink too much then you must also consider the possibility of cirrhosis or other liver problems. With an increasing alcohol habit comes the possibility of damaged relationships and even an increase in accidents that may be fatal. Is that beer worth the complications that may accompany that decision?

Be Accountable

Are you aware of what you eat? In order for us to truly be responsible for our nutrition, we must keep a food diary of some type. The idea is to always read nutrition labels and choose your food wisely. A food diary will accomplish that for you. Keep track of your calories, carbs and protein. There’s several articles here on the blog to help you make wise food choices. Go to the “Menu” and look under the “Health” tab for articles about diabetes, cancer, heart health and stress. Look at the “Nutrition” tab for information on Intermittent Fasting and Product Reviews of foods that are marketed as healthy options or foods that we simply believe need to be discussed. There are all kinds of recipes on the “Recipes” tab including sugar free desserts. Take advantage of this free resource. Soon we will have a calorie chart that you can also use to help guide your food choices. If you have never downloaded your free calorie allowance from our Calorie Counter Pro, do that now. Aim to lose one pound per week. That’s a comfortable and healthy rate of loss. You will find all of these free resources on the Home Page Menu.

You Burned HOW MANY Calories?!?

How active are you? A common mistake that many people make is to over-estimate their level of activity. David has written extensively about this. We have both known people who routinely wildly over-estimated the calories that they thought they burned exercising. If you walk for thirty minutes that does not give you the calories to eat a large pizza and a six-pack and a tray of brownies. Exercise is intended to enhance weight loss and strengthen you and give you a healthy heart. You may get stronger eating everything that doesn’t eat you first but you will not increase your heart health or lose fat. Eat wisely and work out, with  your doctor’s permission, to lose those stubborn pounds. Exercising to be able to eat more will do little for you in the long run. It may make your problem worse if you use those calories to eat junk foods that damage your health. Swimming all afternoon just so that you can sit in front of the T.V. and scarf down hot dogs and potato chips is probably doing more harm than good.

You Are Important!

Are you taking responsibility for your emotional health? Do you allow yourself to be a doormat for abusive people in your life? Are you content with your life on a daily basis? Our psychological well-being is strongly linked to our overall health and well-being. We teach to “make your world small” by limiting the people who have access to you. This will automatically reduce your level of stress. Stress is related to almost every major illness. It can exacerbate many of them and make them worse if they are already present when the stress begins. You know how certain people and events affect you. If you make the decision to allow negative, destructive people in your life, you will suffer the ill effects of their behavior. Take control of your periphery.

Get Informed

Are you informed on the topics of heart disease, cancer and diabetes? If you are not informed concerning these major killers then how can you try to avoid them? Make the decision to educate yourself. We have many well-researched articles on these topics. Read, ask questions and become pro-active concerning your health. Just because others in your family have certain health challenges that does not necessarily mean that you will. If you believe that you are at greater risk for specific ailments and diseases then fight against it with everything in you. Make the decision that you will not be a victim of poor health choices.

The Truth

We know if we are living responsibly. If there is information that you don’t have, get busy and learn about your body. Quite often we try to shirk our responsibility to ourselves by pleading ignorance. In this enlightened age where all of the wisdom of the Universe is as close as a click, there is no excuse to be ignorant of your personal responsibility to your self and to those whose lives you touch. Always remember, poor health choices hurt you and them and wise choices help you all. So tell me, if you write the story of your life, and most of the time we either write the whole thing or at least the rough draft, then what will you write? Will it be a Triumph or a Tragedy? The choice is yours.