Racing toward my goal weight.

WOW! The first time EVER that my New Year’s Eve didn’t bring a longing to lose weight. I am now 10 pounds from goal and have absolutely NO doubts that I can get that done. As I’ve lost 90 already!

But, weight loss is the number one goal for the New Year. Are you one of those?

I have many friends that give me credit for “all my hard work” but I have to say that it hasn’t really felt like hard work! I think transition and maintainence will be harder work but after this holiday season, my first on program, I know I can do that too. See I managed to keep losing from Thanksgiving right through Christmas! Yes I chose a couple of indulgences. But I chose them carefully and only had a taste. (Passed up some Christmas cookies at a party because, while they were home made, they just didn’t appeal. But I did have one of my own that I had made for my husband when we got home.)

My tools for a successful party?

1. Mama always said , “Honey, never talk with your mouth full.” so I visited more than I ate at parties
2. I take a zip lock with zucchini slices. That way I can choose a little dip if not too off program, and use the zucchini for veggie. OR I went to one party that had plenty of lean choice meat but no veggie. So I was golden.
3. Take a chocolate mint crunch bar along, I love these and if I start wanting something sweet, there it is.
4. The dreaded toast? Well, I drink mostly water so a Fresca diet soda is a special favorite of mine, white in color and a special treat since I don’t drink them all the time. So I had one hostess simply put my Fresca in a Champaigne flute and voila! I was part of the toast!
5. Finally, one conversation I had was about what did I do if I really had to eat something to be polite? My answer, I politely acknowledge that the food item is special to that person and why and try to help them understand why I’m not eating like that anymore. Bottom line, I just lost 90# of “polite” I’m never going to be that polite again!

So as I race toward my goal weight, I am relieved that never again will I have to make weight loss a New Year’s goal! 2010 saw my addition as Health Coach with TSFL so this year my new lifetime goal is to help 1000 people attain Optimum Health.

Please let me know if someone you know could benefit from a Health Coach. The coaching is free when you sign up for the Take Shape for Life plan.
I can be reached at HealthWays1@yahoo.com

What will you do with 2011 and beyond?

“Yes” you say, “I’m dedicated to sofa and channel surfing. Oh since you’re up would you bring me another beer and the chips?”  You think , “I really don’t need to work out I go to work every day, I do take the stairs down, when the elevator runs slow. I walk to and from the break room which, by the way, is all the way across the office from my desk, to get coffee 5-6 times a day at least! And my parking spot, wellll, that is on the 5th from the last row. So yeah, I get plenty of exercise!”

She, drags  herself out of bed at 6 am, does some push-ups then a quick sprint, then some squats, more push-ups, leg lifts, then an endurance walk for a few rounds ……

She is 82, living in an assisted living facility. It takes her a couple of tries to “push-up” off the edge of the bed and reach for her walker. It’s morning so the sprint to the bathroom is a must!  More “push-ups” as she challenges her not so strong anymore arms to lift her body weight onto the walker to give that new hip a much needed break. “Leg lifts” to get back into bed for just a little longer then off to therapy where she is thrilled to be able to tolerate 3 times around the nursing station before sitting for a rest! …..

Seems we are ALL athletes in the ultimate endurance game of life. As we get older, more financially set, we let devices do our work for us. Elevators carry us up and down stairs, valets get great exercise running back and forth for our cars at the front door of  our favorite restaurant where someone else prepares our meal and does the dishes too… and the list goes on.

To finish the game  in a strong position, we have to start to take back our vigor!  Sometimes , in that game of life we draw the “wrong card” and have to play it anyway. The card that says “you broke a hip” or “you had a stroke” or “you were in a car accident” then the card reads, “go to the hospital, go directly to the hospital, and skip 2 turns while you learn to live again in a different way.”

At this point, some of those tools I mentioned earlier are absolutely necessary to learn to use if you want to get back into the game. www.FunctionalFlowers.com has just the tools needed to get back into the game of life and finish strong. This online store is paired with a gift registry to help folks that need these tools tell friends and family what would really help. Who do you know that could use something like www.FunctionalFlowers.com?

…….She was almost 50 and a committed computer potato!  A half marathon was definitely nowhere near her bucket list, but ………..(more in the next posting)

This article on NPR the other morning got me thinking about the tools we use for living.

When most of us think of tools something like this comes to mind.

Regular tools

But what about the other tools that have been invented to help make life much easier?

Gardening Tools

Relaxation Tools

Tools for dressing yourself again after illness or injury

And the list could go on and on. Bottom line, what ever job you need to do, there are tools to help!

While using tools is uniquely human, choice of tool and when to use a tool vs using our own body is also uniquely human.

Many modern conveniences are fun toys  but also limit the movements we must make within a day as we move through life. Take the remote control for example, no one has to walk across the room to change the channel anymore. I’m not even sure you can change the channel on the TV can you? And there are remote control devices for absolutely EVERYTHING now. (That’s why you might want to consider the headband shown above) .We have tools for cooking food so we don’t have to chop wood, haul it home and build a fire every morning to cook the food for the day. We have cars to carry us all over town to shop and run errands and sometimes complain about being in the car all day, when our ancestors had to walk everywhere they went. So while tools are a blessing for sure (I personally would not have survived for long in pioneer times) it has also lead us to becoming less physically fit and more mentally overwhelmed. We can now do everything from the comfort of our recliner in front of the TV. In fact just last night I sat with my Droid X in my recliner under the guise of spending time with my husband watching TV but really checking email, doing research for this article, reading my bible and checking my to do list for tomorrow. No wonder we don’t sleep well, our bodies are well rested but we have a hard time turning off our minds.

So how do we create balance so that our wonderful 21st century tools benefit us rather than harm us?  Start to use that uniquely human ability to make better choices every day.

The great upside of this double edged sword of tools to make everything easier, when a body changes is response to illness or injury, tools are available to keep you moving forward and participating in life instead of retreating. Consider these tools of Ability vs Inability.  www.FunctionalFlowers.com is an online store filled with just such tools. Be sure to check it out. You may find something you could use yourself no matter what the level of your health  OR you may know someone that needs some tools of ability.

This post comes from a daily motivational newsletter I receive. But this was too good not to share.

What He Valued Most
A young man learns what’s most important in life from the guy next door. It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

“Jack, did you hear me?”
“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.

“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it,” Mom told him.

“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.

“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said.

“He’s the one who taught me carpentry,” he said. “I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important…Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral,” Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time. Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture….Jack stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.

“The box is gone,” he said.

“What box? ” Mom asked.

“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was ‘the thing I value most,’” Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said. “I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom.”

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. “Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days,” the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention.

“Mr. Harold Belser” it read.

Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside.

“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover.

Inside he found these words engraved: “Jack, Thanks for your time! Harold Belser.”

“The thing he valued most…was…my time.”

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” Janet, his assistant asked.

“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said.

“Oh, by the way, Janet…thanks for your time!”

Now, wipe your eyes, hug someone you love and tell them so. Go to your calendar and make time for those that matter most!  This is part of what we need for a healthy and well balanced life! Pass it on!

One thing I know for sure, it does not matter what your level of health, just a 10% improvement in your weight, for example, produces a 50% reduction in many life threatening diseases. So it is definitely worth while to start where ever you are.

Some of what I have learned on this journey is that when I am focused on what I want vs what I don’t want I move forward with lightening speed. I think we would all agree that the big goal is “Optimal Health”.
Part of that is learning to thrive not simply to survive!

I once had a doctor tell me “Sometimes I think people should get a mild chronic disease to force them to take care of themselves.” I understand what he is talking about. I remember actually cherishing my recovery time following a surgery for the time off with the only focus of that time on ME! It’s really sad we have to have surgery or wait until we get sick to actually take time for ourselves!

I have just returned from a conference on Health and Wellness and have so much I want to share. So stay tuned for more in the days to come.

But, what about people who are challenged to care for themselves each and every day?  Did you know there are tools available to help someone be able to say button their own clothing? Being able to manage clothing may be key to someone having the freedom to go to the bathroom alone. Is there any one among you that really wants company in the bathroom?  Or maybe someone simply needs a tool to extend their reach like the Freedom Wand (will add picture here) a tool that can hold a variety of items AND extend someone’s reach. Or, maybe they need something solid to hold on to to prevent falls in the bathroom. (insert picture of suction cup grab bar) These suction cup grab bars are sturdy and can go in many places without complex installation.

Functional Flowers Founder, Barbara Ingram-Rice, is available to show you these tools and more and help you set up a gift registry in the South West Florida areas. To schedule a presentation to your group contact Barbara at Barbara@functionalflowers.com

You may have heard news stories about “Assistive Technology” and wondered what that was. Well, assistive technology is not just computers but any tool to “assist” someone in getting a job done. So if someone is, say, recovering from a stroke, they may need to learn to dress again, prepare a simple meal or take a shower. Assistive technology can help with all of that and more.

Plan to come back often to see educational videos, guest videos and articles on the latest Assistive Technology.