Healthy Living: Finding Your Inner Fish

Sometimes it's not enough to just eat as healthily as you can to enjoy healthy living.  In order to stimulate your body to burn fat and and work your heart you need to get moving to help get your muscles working, your heart, pumping, and your circulation circulating.  All good things.  Problem is, as we age, we develop limitations that inhibit our ability to play some sports or engage in some activities; our joints complain, our spinal discs enflame or bulge, or our muscles tear and strain.  And sometimes that happens when we're not that old - it just happens.

The key is to find an activity that will aid our pursuit of healthy living without pushing our bodies over the edge, and still provide the exercise we need to keep in shape and eating the foods we want to enjoy without worrying about weight gain.  I have an exercise that works for me and I suggest that you try -swimming.  

The arguments for swimming are many; it's a great workout for your heart and lungs, it exercises almost all of your muscles - at once - and the weightlessness of water puts little, if any, strain on your joints.  No wonder many cardiologists and orthopaedic surgeons laud the benefits of swimming for exercise.  In my case, after open heart surgery, back surgery, and a knee replacement, my doctors were all in agreement that if you could only pursue one sport, swimming would be the best.  

I know, you're probably saying:  

1. I've tried swimming and I just don't like it.
2. I sink like a stone.
3. I tend to eat the water.
4. I can't swim more than one lap without feeling like throwing up.  
5. It's boring, just going back and forth.

When I started swimming 15 years ago after back surgery, I swam up and back once and felt like throwing up.  No kidding- it was awful.  Because I knew that it was good for my back and my overall health, I persevered.  Next day I swam three laps and felt like throwing up.  Improvement?  Eventually I was able to swim 10 laps, then 20, and today I regularly swim 40 to 55 lengths a day without breathing hard.  It took time, but the payoff has been worth it.  I encourage you to try swimming and persevere as I did.  Not sure I can solve the boring complaint (as in #5 above) but I can say that I do some of my most productive thinking and problem solving in the quiet and serenity of the pool.   

At the end of the day swimming may not be for everyone, but it sure merits a real college try.  See if you can't push through the difficult early stage.  Once you are able to swim freely and effortlessly for a half hour or more, you will experience the great healthy feelings that swimming imparts.  Hang in there, the pay-off is worth it!

Make swimming a part of your weekly workout.  You will find that it's benefits will help you attain the best of healthy living.  Stay wet my friends.  

Healthy Living: Politics...Obamacare...Making a Sow's Ear Out of a Silk Purse

Well folks, it's that time once again.  It's the political corner where we catch up on the latest politics that affect your quest for healthy living.  It's pretty much general consensus by now that the Affordable Care Act is not rolling out well and has many hurdles facing those that have the fortitude to run the sign-up gauntlet.  Many millions are in danger of losing their current coverage while many fewer are getting health care coverage for the first time.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of those signing up are signing up for medicaid, putting ever more strain on an already-overburdened program.

A recent Harvard Poll showed that young people between the ages of 18 and 29 are beginning to turn on the president and his broken promises.  They see their generation as the prime financial supporters of a health care that is out of control and want to see it changed.  Interestingly, a Pew Poll found that 52% of 18 to 25 year olds were in favor of recalling the president for his lies to them on Obamacare.

Ok, not a great situation for the president and his party, but one of his and their own making.  They will try hard to shift blame to the Republicans, but with a clear lie on the books now, that will be a difficult case to make....people know the source of the lies.....president Obama.

That the president and the Democrats actually think that people are so stupid as to buy their lies and factual distortions is incredible.  All Americans should be insulted to think that they are considered not bright enough to know what is good for them....especially when it comes to health care.  What business does the federal government have inserting themselves between the individual and his doctor?  If this administration can't put together a simple sign-up health care site, imagine what chaos they will be bringing to a health care exchange near you once the program has begun.  We have only seen the calm before the storm.

We are now within three and a half weeks of the end of the year.  Based on the multitude of problems the A.C.A. website has had since October 1, the chances of a miracle turn-around before the end of the year are close to none.  Then what will happen?  Stay tuned for things to get worse...much worse, in the new year.

Back to healthy living, healthy eating, and sleep apnea treatments next post.  Meanwhile, stay healthy my friends.

Healthy Living: Giving Thanks at Thanksgiving...With No Guilt

'Tis the season to eat big.  After all it's Thanksgiving and that's a green light to eat like it's 1999.  Let's pig out on mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, yams, sweet potatoes, and the ubiquitous stuffing.  All the ingredients that tickle your taste and have you seeing Pilgrims yucking it up with Indians after your meal. (should have laid off the wine a bit).  

So, should we feel good about Thanksgiving but have waves of guilt for how much we ate and how full of fat our meal was?  Of course not.  I would suggest that Thanksgiving dinner should be balanced by loading up on the things that are good for us...turkey, beans, corn....and lighten up on the potatoes, stuffing, and pies.  I think it's important to eat the whole meal, but parts of it can be taken in moderation.  Oh no, there's the M word.  

I must confess that I grew up saying that anything worth doing was worth overdoing, and the same went for good food.  In my later years, I've developed an appreciation for the benefits of moderating the high calorie stuff while still allowing myself to enjoy it.  Can't we enjoy food and still maintain healthy eating?

Surely, there are ways we can prepare traditional Thanksgiving foods with low-fat margarines and oils, and cut sugar from pies and desserts without compromising taste.  There are scads of recipes for Thanksgiving dishes that cut the fat and sugar that can be easily found on the internet.  It's a beginning.

So eat your Thanksgiving meal as part of your plan for healthy living and don't apologize.  After all, it's only one day a year and should be celebrated as a special day with once-a-year foods you love and look forward to.  After dinner, why not get out and take a walk.  Get your blood pumping and burn some of that wonderful meal off.  You'll be ready for more before you know it.  

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, remembering what makes this country great and give thanks we can live here.   Meanwhile, enjoy your journey to healthy living and healthy eating.  I'll see you along the way.      

Healthy Living: Politics - Obamacare, Playing Small Ball

Ok folks, once again it's time for the political corner of the Healthy Living blog.  Rest your questions for healthy living and sleeping for a moment and let's get caught up on what's been going on with political doings that WILL affect your quest for healthy living.

Maybe it's just me.  Didn't the A.C.A. launch on October 1 and get off to a disastrous start?  Isn't December 1 just around the corner and things have gotten worse and worse since the beginning of October?  I heard this morning that zero....zero people...have signed up for Obamacare in the state of Oregon....can't be a good thing.  And Oregon, like Washington state is a hotbed of Democratic liberalism.

Where is the president as his signature legislation is tanking.  He's off once again in California giving speeches and raising money...the two things he seems capable of doing.  I listened to his speeches last night and once again he's blaming Republicans for all of the A.C.A.'s problems...small ball.  At what point does this president begin to take responsibility for anything?  I know, I know, he seemed to say he was sorry for Obamacare, but what he said was that he was sorry that so many people were having problems with the roll-out, not that he was sorry for lying to the nation.  Don't hold your breath waiting for a true apology; his arrogance and the notion that he is the smartest guy in the country will never allow him to say it.

In the end his intractability and arrogance will be his undoing.  He will continue to push for the enaction of his socialist agenda regardless of the impact it is having on the average "middle American".  So much for caring about the middle class.  In fact, Obamacare will impact the middle class harder than any other section of the American people as up to 100 million Americans are reported to be in jeopardy of losing their current health care policies.  Obama's unwillingness to amend Obamacare to lessen the impact on the middle class tells you everything you need to know about his priorities and his intentions.  He will forward his wealth distribution agenda at any and all costs.  Watch what he does, not what he says.

Now we are hearing reports that the Senate's recent change in Senate rules, thwarting the Republicans' ability to use the filibuster as a means of slowing down judicial and executive branch appointments, will allow Obama to load the Washington D.C. district court of appeals with activist judicial appointments.  This may pose a clear and present danger to your health as he may load the IPAD (aka "death panel") such that healthcare could be rationed.

See a trend here?  Let me give you a hint.  Your freedoms are being threatened.  If we as a nation continue to allow the erosion of our freedoms by this administration, we will only have ourselves to blame.  And when we wake up, it may be too late.

I am seeing some signs that some people are waking up, but it's going to take a lot more of us.  Maybe when your healthcare is taken away and you are forced to pay twice as much for less coverage with things you don't need, you'll do something.  Let's hope so.

Back to healthy living, healthy eatng and more on sleep apnea next post.  Meanwhile, stay free my friends.  

Healthy Living: Healthy Eating - 5 Steps On The Road To Morocco.

Every once and a while you just want to make a meal that's easy, quick, and low in fat and cholesterol.  Here's a tip for making a chicken-based meal that is consistent with a diet based on healthy eating, and will let you spice up your palate on the way.

To make a Moroccan style chicken dish quickly, follow these 5 easy steps: 

1. Start with several frozen grilled chicken breast chunks (I like Tyson brand).  They're fully cooked and frozen.  Microwave for 1 to 2 and a half minutes (depending on number of pieces)  
2. Take one package of Moroccan style Chicken With Chickpeas soup (I use Campell's in the bag).  
3. Heat the soup in the microwave and pour over warmed grilled chicken chunks.
4. You can heat up some white or brown rice and put chicken and soup mixture over the rice.  
5. Add some Moroccan hot olive mixture on the side for added olive oil health goodness. 

The key to heart health is that the chicken chunks are 98% fat free and the soup contains only 1.5 grams of fat.  The taste is great and you can leave the guilt behind.  

If you have recipes for fat-free heart health, let me know.  Best of luck on your road to Morocco, or to healthy living, or to healthy eating, or to wherever.  Stay hungry my friends.  

Healthy Living: Political Nuclear Option Promising The Winter of Our Discontent.

Readers of Healthy Living Tips and Secrets know that it's no secret that I delve into politics from time to time.  I don't know if the current political climate affects your health, but it sure does mine.  Now, just when you think it's safe to go about living your life, the Democratic party comes along and drops the political nuclear bomb that no party has ever risked enacting before....neither Republican nor Democratic.

What the Democrats have done is to change the Senate rules for the confirmation of most executive branch and judicial appointments (however, it does not pertain to Supreme Court judge nominees).  With a vote of 52 to 48 they revised the Senate rules on appointments changing from 60 votes needed to a simple majority of 51.  It is interesting to note that three senators; Levin of Michigan, Pryor of Arkansas, and Manchin of West Virginia voted with all Republicans against the new rule.  Nonetheless, the rule has been changed.  Why now?

There may be multiple explanations for this risky, and some say reckless, move by the Dems.  Here are some that seem clear to me:

• It was enacted in part to move the conversation away from the very damning and embarrassing roll-out of Obamacare.  However, this seems unlikely to have little long-lasting effect as more and more Americans are personally impacted by Obamacare every day.
• Dems want to ram through as many judicial appointments as possible before the 2014 mid-term elections as the negative effects of Obamacare appear to be shifting toward a possible Republican take-over of the Senate
• Dems want to load critical courts with as many of their nominees as possible in order to forward their agenda judicially rather than through the more difficult legislative route.  

What the Democrats seem to be missing is the boomerang effect of this change.  What goes around will surely come around.  In their desperation to force through their social agenda, they are losing sight of the devestating cumulative effect the A.C.A. is having on the majority of working Americans from all backgrounds and all parties.  If they seek to isolate themselves from what is affecting the lives of normal citizens, their pocketbooks, their families' needs, and the effect that will have on how they vote, they are doing a good job.  They can blame the disenfranchisement of voters with their agenda all they want, but they will pay the price in the end.  And that price may come due soon. 

I will get back to healthy living and healthy eating tips and secrets in my next blog.  Meanwhile, if you have any thoughts you would like to share on this topic, please drop a comment.

Healthy Living: Healthy Eating - Sherbet...Great Low-Fat Dessert

In our quest for healthy eating we look for ways that we can minimize or limit our daily fat intake.  A little bit of fat is ok.  In fact, we need a certain amount of daily fat to maintain healthy nutrition, however, that fat can mount up quickly as it seems that anything that tastes good has lots of fat content.  The challenge is to get the taste we want in the foods we desire without loading up on fat...especially saturated fats.  

That challenge is most clearly put to the test at dinner time when it's time for dessert.  Sure, you can skip dessert, I do it often.  But sometimes (if you have a real sweet tooth) there is no substitute for something sweet at the end of a good meal.  Ice cream is the great American dessert standard, and there certainly are low-fat ice creams on the market, but...have you tried them?  They may be low in fat, but more times than not, they are low in taste as well.  It's just hard to take the fat out of a dessert and keep the rich, smooth flavor.  Next time the dessert spirit moves you, try sherbet.  

Sherbet has low amounts of fat (usually 1 to 3%) yet it maintains a rich flavor and satisfies the need for a sweet dessert.  For those of us that have had heart disease, this provides a wonderful way for us to maintain healthy eating habits without the guilt that we are consuming too much fat. 

Here's a tip for a great sherbet pick-me-up.  Start with your favorite flavor of sherbet.  Put a couple of scoops in a blender.  Add a half cup of fruit, adjusting portions to taste.  I like strawberry banana.  Add a small amount of crushed ice (you can add a protein powder if desired) and blend.  You'll have a great tasting drink that goes well at any time of the day.  

If you have desserts that are low in fat but taste great, let me know.  Meanwhile, I'll keep searching for other tips and secrets to share for healthy living and healthy eating.