NUTRITION AND Health: Four Ways to better well-being
We all would like to live a great life but sometimes it’s tougher than others due to our circumstances. Sometimes we are just trying to get by; get through the day.
There are a few things that can help us have a better life– even when things aren’t going the way we want and they are al related to our health and well-being
Don’t expect to snap your fingers and you will be instantly happy forever. It’s sometimes we have to work at it every day– but it’s worth it. You may be stressed out over something you can’t control. So you can’t control it– but you CAN control how you look at it and the way you try to live each day.
Here are four simple things that can help us as we make our way through life every day: 1) be careful, 2) be healthy, 3) be nice; and every day you make it through, be thankful. With Thanksgiving a week away that is one we should be focussing on, but our nutrition and eating habits as well as our overall general health play a big part in how we view each day.
Be Careful
Did your parents tell you “nothing good ever happens after midnight?” That was their way of helping you to learn to be careful. Generally the later in the night or the wee hours of the morning, people who are out have either been at a party or a bar, or tired due to work. There are crime statistics to back up your parents’ advice.
There are so many ways to be careful. Try to avoid accidents. Be sure your shoes are tied, wipe up spills, use a flashlight when you walk your dog at night. Watch your children when there is any water around. Just watch your children. As you get older, pay attention to where you walk. Look to see if it’s wet or something is there you could slip or trip on.
Set your cell phone under your leg while driving. When you set it in your lap you are tempted to look down– “just this once.” Everyone knows they should not text and drive, but maybe it would help if I told you I personally know someone who lost a loved one due to the driver checking his phone. Don’t do it. Please don’t text and drive. That is a huge way to be careful.
Be Healthy
Just simple things can help you live longer. We know many of them, but what will it take before we actually take steps to be more healthy? Will it take us getting high blood pressure before we stop putting too much salt on our food? Will it take a serious health scare before we get our weight under control?
I am not an advocate for diets– though I have struggled with my weight throughout my adult life. I am sure many of you reading this have gone on diet after diet in an attempt to lose weight. But what do we do once we lose weight? We go back to the habits we had before and guess what– it slowly creeps back.
I finally decided I’d had enough and I made a lifestyle change and I make a conscious effort to eat healthy and exercise. I do exercises and yoga that make me feel good and I don’t put the pressure on myself to look perfect. I’m a little lumpy but I feel great most of the time and that is what is most important.
You can do that too. You don’t have to feel depressed if you think you are overweight. Just start eating healthy. Don’t look on yourself as being “overweight.” Who is to say you are overweight– in some cultures it is not a negative. The point is we have to do what we can to make ourselves healthy and feeling happy and good about ourselves.
There is a sense of pride one has when we set a goal and accomplish it. I will start walking every day until I can make it around the block twice. Goals don’t have to be huge and unattainable. They have to be something you will keep doing. I’m not going to continue going to the gym for years so there’s no need for me to join a gym. Now I might walk on a treadmill in my house every day. If we make goals we can keep we won’t get disappointed in ourselves– we will be proud of ourselves.
Find what works for you that you can live with— for the rest of your life. Don’t do any more crash diets. You are worth a little planning. Are you eating “low carbs” but worry about Thanksgiving with all the breads and stuffing and desserts? If you plan ahead you can make your own stuffing with low-carb bread and seek out the foods that you can still eat and not feel bad. Or you can just take one helping of everything and accept it as a “cheat day” and then get right back at it. You can live a healthy life– if you want to.
Be Nice
How does being nice help you live a longer life you may wonder? People who are nice get smiles from people and we all know smiling is good for us. People who are nice have more friends. When you are nice to others, they are nice back to you and it’s a big circle.
And if you make it to the next day, be Thankful
Each day we have on this earth is a day to be thankful for.
In the midst life we often find ourselves in a situation where we are taking care of others but not ourselves. Isn’t it crazy that a parent will worry over whether their child eats enough or eats healthy food, but they will think nothing of skipping meals or grabbing unhealthy food on the run. If the parent gets sick, who will take care of the child?
The same thing goes for the “sandwich generation.” If your parents are depending on you to take care of them, you should make it a point to be healthy because they need you.
During times like this it’s important to figure out what foods help you feel the best. The food in the vending machine down the hall probably isn’t the best. Think ahead and if you know you will be spending a long day at the hospital, in a clinic, or sitting by someone’s bedside, pack some fruit, a protein bar, nuts, or whatever it is that will keep you going and keep you feeling good.
It is not for me to guide you in your nutrition or tell you what you should and should not eat. Everyone has a food regimen that is best for them—and we usually know what that is. I remember my sister Nancy would say “I need to get off white flour and sugar, I’ve been feeling sluggish.” For her that was something she felt kept her from being at her best so she avoided it, and she recognized what was wrong when she started feeling out of sorts.
I’ve personally found out that those two things aren’t so good for me either, so I avoid them and generally feel better when I do.
You can figure out what works for you, but just remember you are precious and you need to take care of yourself.
Bible Verse
“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” — 3 John: 1:2
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One Last Thought
I had an incredible thing happen this week. I took a look at a Christmas Blog I wrote years ago. If you like Christmas as much as I do you might want to check it out because there are all sorts of things like inspiration, traditions, recipes.
One of the things that amazed me about doing that blog was the people who subscribed to it. One person is very famous and well-respected. He is at the top of his game you could say and I never dreamed he would read a blog from little ole me. It goes to show that no matter who we are, if we are Christians we pray to the same God and we should all be humbled enough to continue learning and taking time out for God.
I actually started the blog in 2013 but I updated it in 2016– my last year of doing it. What is incredible is what it said.– and it could all be true today. I wrote it because there was so much negativity due to a “presidential election!” I was trying to spread joy. As I said, let’s spread more NATIVITY and less NEGATIVITY.
From “Sally’s Christmas Blog” — 2016 (The year of the election of President Trump)
Here are a few things I plan to do this holiday season: (2016)
I am not going to participate in all the negativity. We have a new president and I choose to support him and see what he has in store for us, just as I supported every president elected in my lifetime. Some have disappointed me, but I’ve always given them a chance and will continue to have respect for the office of the President. I am not going to let other people’s rantings steal my joy.
I am going to look for the good in people. I’ll do the best I can to give happiness to others. If I am taken wrong, misunderstood or even disliked, I will still continue to be me. If we lose who we are, we have nothing.
I will listen more to what people say. There is too much judging in this world.
A memorable line from “Grease” for me– Danny Zuko said: “Everybody has to dump on somebody! My pa gets dumped on at work, he dumps on my mother. The spics dump on us so we have to dump on the spics. Everybody’s dumping on everybody.”
And this is so true today. Why you gotta dump on people? This year I will try to understand people and not judge them.
I plan to chisel out little bits of time and make them count
MORE ABOUT SALLY’S CHRISTMAS BLOG IN AFUTURE POST. CLICK HERE TO SEE IT.
Sally Tippett Rains is a motivational speaker, inspirational writer and author of 13 books, including Choose Happy; Find Contentment in Any Situation. She is the volunteer Executive Director of Rainbows for Kids and content manager for STLSportsPage.com.
Fifteen Keys to a Happy Life
F orward- Keep moving forward
I nitiative- Take the initiative and start things.
N ow- Do it now, live in the now
D etermination- Stay determined to making it
C ommunity –Accept the help of others
O ptimism- Don’t give up on yourself or others
N ew Ideas- Maybe it’s the time to try new ideas
T enacity- Stay in the game, you can do it
E nergy – Do what you need to do to have energy.
N ormalcy – Embrace your “new normal”
T rust – Trust yourself and others.
M indfulness –Don’t worry about the future.
E ncouragement Encourage yourself and others.
N utrition and Health – Take care of yourself.
T ranquility – Learn to just be at peace.