Archive for December, 2009

Today is Wed Dec. 9th, 2009 and I felt compelled to write this post today.  Don’t know why other than I feel excited about the future.

You see I have this blog about cholesterol lowering, I work several days a week with people who have had heart attacks, strokes, TIA’s, etc., etc. and yet as they say at those  AA meetings “I FELL OFF THE WAGON”.  I have let myself gain weight, get physically out of shape, become de-conditioned and worst of all I have not maintained the healthy diet I was following consistently for some time now.  But here’s the thing I didn’t do all those things intentionally in fact I fell off the wagon because I have spend a massive amount of time online researching, testing and building my collection of web sites.

I know it isn’t a good excuse but it’s the truth, what prompted me to write this post is that over the past weekend I wrote out my goals for 2010 and made some new commitments to myself to improve my health again.  As a kid I jogged often, exercised, played all kinds of sports basically I was active just about everyday doing something.  Then I got married and started raising a family and slowly I stopped doing the things I enjoyed physically.

No I haven’t stopped completely but I’m definitely not any where close to what I use to do in times past.  But here is what has me feeling pretty good,I have achieved several goals over the years once I put pen to paper as I did this past weekend.  Doing so actually has me excited and looking forward not only to 2010 but beyond.  Why?  Because I have decided I want to live a healthier live again, you know the life many of us lived as a kid.

I’m not talking about just losing weight, exercising etc.  no I want to go back to consistently eating all of the fruits and vegetables and other foods I use to eat all of the time.  Like pickles out of the barrel, fresh peanuts, tomatoes straight off the vine, cucumbers and everything else we grew with on my Grandfathers farm or picked up from the outdoor markets.  Seems like I let living my sometimes fast pace life take me away from the foods I like and the things I liked to do that were actually healthy for me.

I’ve  been making this change for several months now but I didn’t commit to it as a life changing GOAL until I put it on paper and then surprisingly I found myself without warning excited about my new goal.  Why I don’t know, I know I miss the way I felt after eating a healthy meal or snack.  I miss how I feel after exercising you know the increased energy, etc., I was slimmer, I didn’t have craving for certain fruits or veggies as I have been prone to do this year more than any time in the past.

I know my excitement may seem silly to some but to me it almost feels like my decision to really do what I have laid out in front of me is like a second chance at extending my life.  I knew before about the dangers of unhealthy eating, low exercise levels etc. but, I let my busy schedule interfere with common sense.  But not any longer, creating my cholesterol recipe cookbook, my other web sites this year and even my own commitment to going back to eating how I grew up with as a kid is my way of not only helping to improve my health.  But the health of any one else who cares to follow along with this blog.

I make no promises of any kind to any one but to myself, I enjoy sharing with and helping other people but if I am not an example myself I am a fraud.  I don’t like telling people things that I have not done.  I like to eat, I like to try new foods and I am interested in regaining my muscular teenage body so why not do it the right way as I did before when I was broke with only the wisdom and advise of the older folks around me.

As many people say life is short, I can tell you because of the line of work I do it is really too short for some people and that’s unfortunate.  But for the rest of us we can do something today and make life last longer and that’s my goal, extend my life through proper diet, exercise and to have fun again.  Thanks for taking time to read this and I hope  some of you who read this decide to improve your health as well and share your successes because I always like meeting sincere, fun and interesting people.

Later,

PM

Did you know most people will spend more time planning their vacations, what college their kids will attend and who they will go on a date with then they do planning a healthy meal.  Having a cholesterol diet plan is extremely important part of your goal to lower your cholesterol. As you know already in order to achieve any worth while goal in life we all need a plan.  It is no different if you are trying to improve your heart health.  You need a cholesterol diet plan to ensure you can actually achieve that new lower cholesterol goal you set for yourself. Creating a cholesterol diet plan involves a few basic steps anyone can follow.  These steps assume you know your cholesterol levels are high.

Tip number one:  Identify your current eating habits.

Tip number two:  Identify what cholesterol is & why too much cholesterol is dangerous for you.  Take some time to learn as much as you can about cholesterol and heart disease.

Tip number three:  Be realistic do not start making changes in your life you can not sustain.  Start off making a few basic changes with a time table that gradually introduces new changes into your current lifestyle.

Tip number four: Document your progress. With your busy schedule do not try to memorize what you did last week, document it.  This way you will have a record of what you have done, what has helped for you and what has not been helpful.  You can use photos, a journal, blog, etc to document your progress.

Tip number five: Share your plan, tell your family and friends about your cholesterol diet plan. Solicit help from those closest to you whose opinion and advice you respect. 

Their help and support may surprise and comfort you. Tip number six:  You need to start exercising to help your heart, lower your heart attack risk and to improve your overall health. One last thing, remember that it is OK if you have to change your plan from time to time.  Plans are modified all the time you may have changes at work, family issues to deal with etc. 

The point is to get back on track ASAP and to stick with your cholesterol diet plan. Your health, overall well being and happiness will be greatly improved when you achieve your cholesterol lowering goal.