Live Long Naturally

How I would love pizza more often, but looking and especially feeling less than I am capable of just isn’t worth it, at least NOT on a daily basis. A single binging frenzy can puff me up from head to toe and everything in between. If I ate whatever I wanted when I wanted, I would no doubt be fat!

Challenge yourself to eat better for a week – experience and appreciate how it will make you look and feel. Your body will respond surprisingly well to a healthy diet and lifestyle. Once you attain your optimal health and weight, your body will speak volumes if and when you do eat poorly. These signs, along with the overall fat and cellulite, are built in gauges telling you your body is in dire need of cleansing.

Disappearing eyelids, an overnight growth of jowls and the belly growing bigger than the bottom are a small price to pay compared to the damage being done to our long-term health.

A mirror doesn’t lie… let it be one of your guides, gauges and scream for help in looking and feeling your absolute best!

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Women aren’t the only ones looking pregnant these days.

My fellow Baby Boomers may remember an old phrase (and its origin) to describe that spare tire look around the waist. It comes from a Dunlop Tire Company commercial in which vehicle tires placed around a “Dunlop Man” – giving him what looked like rolls of fat around his waist. We didn’t want to be known for having our belly “done lap” below our belt.

In more recent times there is a new name: “Muffin Top.” Here in Los Angeles, there is actually a radio commercial advertising a discount for a cosmetic procedure designed to eliminate the “Muffin Top.” Like celebrity couples get nicknames, abnormally growing body parts get them too. “Love Handles” is another name.” Since when has the Dunlop or Muffin Top look become a thing of beauty?

Children or no children (and obviously men can’t have any, well, one transgender man did), having a tummy pouch or a drooping belly is neither healthy nor attractive. This especially applies to women who have had children and use that as an excuse for not losing weight. The only normal baby fat is the fat YOU had as a baby.

Let the signs and symptoms appearing IN and ON your body be your built in gauge to getting in shape, and more importantly… staying healthy. Having a belly bigger than your bottom is just one of the many gauges.

“Muffin-top” is a generally pejorative slang term used to describe the phenomenon of overhanging flesh when it spills over the waistline of pants or skirt in a manner that resembles the top of a muffin spilling over its paper casing. Wikipedia.org

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We mustn’t ignore or mask our negative emotions, but instead learn from them. What are they telling us? How can we use them to move us closer to what we want?

Far too many people make the mistake of masking, ignoring, or numbing themselves to what their negative emotions are trying to call forth. Are we not taking care of ourselves… not giving our heart what it truly desires? Aren’t you worth knowing what your purpose is?

We can choose to see the glass half full or half empty. Use our circumstances to become powerful or pitiful. I for one do not care to be around those who enjoy a pity party more often than not. We become like the people we hang out with.

A few emotions to ponder…

ANGER – what are we withholding from ourselves? What are we depriving ourselves of?

ENVY – a signal that we desire the “thing” we are envious of…

SADNESS - quite often a voice of loss

DEPRESSION - a signal we are suppressing our desires, our wants,  and our life force.

DISCOURAGEMENT - our hopes unfulfilled

FRUSTRATION - energy that is lying dormant or misguided

CONFUSION – a sign we are in the process of learning something

Ahhh… we do not grow in our comfort zone – isn’t it time you Live Long Naturally and On Purpose?

All emotions serve to teach us powerful lessons, if we will only listen. Carolyn McCormick

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Homocysteine is a type of protein that is found in our blood and used as a marker for cardiovascular disease, cancer, stoke, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and other degenerative diseases.

Without proper nourishment, homocysteine can build up in our blood causing various life threatening problems, many of which those age 50 are at higher risk of. With optimal nutrition, our body can naturally turn this protein into glutathione, one of the most important antioxidants and S-adenosylmethionine, a nutrient for the brain and blood. A buildup of homocysteine in the blood also increases the risk of plaque leading to athersclerosis, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. However, it can be metabolized with B6, B12, and folate and the following dietary recommendations:

• Eat less fatty meat (4 servings or less) and more fish (3 or more times a week) and vegetable protein (5 or more times week).

• Eat a combination of 5 or more servings of fruits or vegetables a day.

• Eat a clove of garlic or take a garlic supplement daily.

• Do not add salt to food, if desired use Solo salt, which has less sodium and more potassium and magnesium than regular salt.

• Have no more than one cup of coffee or two cups of tea daily; drink herbals teas or grain coffees instead.

• Mayo Clinic suggests a diet that includes green leafy vegetables and fortified grain products. They state supplements may help as well.

A high-strength multivitamin and mineral supplement that provides the following homocysteine lowering nutrients, vitamins B2, B6, and B12, folic acid, trimethylglycine, and zinc. Vitamins A, D, E, and 1 gram of C are recommended as well.

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We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing!” Benjamin Franklin

What does exercise mean to you? What if we could skip, jump on a trampoline, play with a hula-hoop, and act like a kid for a day? Not only do these childhood activities bring back the child in us – they are cost effective, increase our circulation, improve our mood, keep us healthy, and in some cases… can give us six pack abs. Plus, chances of getting hurt are slim to none.

Are you young at heart? You may want to try skipping and do it like nobody’s watching. As an adult… even more fun than skipping is teaching a child how. Two weeks ago I tried teaching their 3-year-old sister to skip – in her mind she was skipping through Disneyland. It was adorable, even though it did look a lot like the gallop of a pony.

Why do 100 neck and back breaking crunches or an “ab” machine? With just 5 minutes a day you can whittle your waist and begin to see signs of a “six pack” with a hula-hoop. Results will vary.

Are you often tired and/or get colds and flu often, you may opt for the trampoline. It is a low impact exercise that will help get you in shape and help boost your immune system by getting your lymph fluid moving. With flu season right around the corner, now is the time to prevent it, rather than be one of the many spreading it.

Back in the 60’s, as some of you may remember, that’s all we did. All our activities were outdoors… Bigger is not better, yet technology has filled the homes of many as the new way to play.

A gym membership… $100’s,
A computer, DVD, or Nintendo Wii… $1000’s
Teaching a child how to skip… priceless

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