Physical Health Sparks
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While our health is one of, if not the most valuable asset we have, it is often something we take for granted until we lose some aspect of it. In our own life journey, we have had four areas of physical health brought to our attention: |
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At times, it has been a catastrophic health event in our family that grabbed our attention, other times something as simple as a challenge has spurred us into new discoveries. In these sparks you will find some of the things that have helped us not only maintain, but also improve our physical health. |
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Asthma, eczema, and chronic headaches are just a few symptoms that may point to a less than desirable home environment. I never paid much attention to what was in our home because I didn't have these symptoms. Patience, on the other hand, suffered from all of these. |
| We learned that the products we used in our home everyday contained many harsh and harmful ingredients like formaldehyde. This is a problem because our skin is the largest organ in our body and works like a sponge to absorb everything it touches. So when doing normal everyday activities like taking a shower, using lotion, or cleaning house, our skin is soaking in those harmful chemicals, putting our physical health at risk. |
| Another factor that affects our physical health is the air we breathe. We learned that the air inside our homes is several times more polluted than the outdoor air. Think about this, when you walk down the cleaning product aisle at the store, you can smell the products without opening them. This is outgassing and it happens in your home too. Those harsh chemicals are getting into the air and into your lungs with each breath. |  |
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There are reasons many household products carry warnings that include: "caution eye irritant," "wear gloves," "use only in well-ventilated area," etc... In short, these products are not healthy for us. |
| When Patience found a way to improve our home environment, where we spend the greatest portion of our time, she jumped on it. As she began changing our household products and making our home environment healthier, even I began to notice the difference. |  |
| The products we each choose to use inside our homes, also affects the world in which we live. We want to be responsible stewards of our bodies, our home and our planet, so we are excited to share the following sparks with you. |
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"Labor to keep alive in your |
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The Melaleuca Wellness Guide by R. M. Barry This book has been a big help in creating a better home environment for our family. Whether we are cleaning carpets, getting rid of ants or treating a burn, this resource points us to safe and effective products that get the job done. The 20+ chapters include sections on Healthy Body, Healthy Home, |
| Healthy Animals and Healthy Garden. This is a must-have for anyone wanting to improve their home environment. ~ Patience |
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| The Messies Manual by Sandra Felton I first read this book in 1997 and I knew that it changed my life, I just didn't realize how big an impact it had made until I recently re-read my copy. It was very encouraging to see that after 12 years, the processes I had implemented |
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| because of this book were still in place and helping our home to run more smoothly and with less stress. Sandra offers "a complete guide to bringing order and beauty to your home." While I did not use all of her ideas and I adapted some of them to fit my situation, I followed the majority of her advice and have had long-lasting results and an improved home environment. If you currently live in piles, cannot find the items you need and struggle to keep your home clean, this book is for you! ~ Patience |
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I don’t know anybody who starts out their day thinking, “Wow, I wonder just how unhealthy I can eat today!”Yet if we were to take a moment at the end of the day to asses the nutritional value of the foods eaten, we would find most people saying, “Wow, I didn’t eat very healthy today!” |
| The health value of the foods we eat is demanding much more of our attention. Many restaurants, including fast food places, are now offering “Healthy Choices” menus or alternatives. Labeling on items we purchase at our local grocery stores tout “Low this or that”, or “A good source of |  |
| one thing or another”. While some of these labels seem to be little more than advertising gimmicks, as in the case of a package of candy that consists primarily of sugar being labeled “Fat Free”, checking labels for dietary content is important. But then who has time to read the label of every item we place in our shopping cart? And who among us adds up all those percentages of daily requirements to make sure that we have included 100% of everything in our meals for the day? |
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Remember the food pyramid? Even that has changed, and not everyone agrees on how much of which foods should be included in the pyramid and in an individual’s diet. Of course the word individual should indicate to us that, as individuals, the dietary needs of each person will differ to |
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| two or more cups of fruits and vegetables in a day, about half of their recommendation. If you have any doubt as to the differing views on nutrition just take a trip down to your local library and take a gander at how many different resources are available on the subject. |  |
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Beyond all of this lies the simple fact that foods do not contain the same nutrient levels that they once did. Two primary reasons for this are: 1) The nutrients in the soils have been depleted through decades, in some cases a century or more, of constant |
| production, resulting in foods that have a diminished nutritional value. This is true for foods that are raised by both “organic” and “non-organic” growing methods. 2) Many nutrients leech out of foods during processing. Processed foods are convenient and demand much less prep time in our busy schedules, |
| but the result is foods that fall short of delivering the nutritional values needed by our bodies. Of course many foods have been “fortified” with some of these vitamins and minerals, but just how usable to our bodies are these additions? |  |
| For many Americans, sound nutrition has become something that we know about but to which we give little of our attention. For some it would seem that familiarity has lessened the importance of proper nutrition. For others, like myself at times, conflicting information has caused them to “throw the baby out with the bathwater”. For many others, established eating habits and convenience outweigh the import of making healthy eating choices. All of these things working together seem to deter many people from taking steps to making healthier, more nutritious choices in their lives. |
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Developing a more nutritious diet and lifestyle is not something that happened overnight for our family. Rather, it has been a series of steps that has led us to the point we are now, and we recognize that there are more steps yet that we will take as we continue to learn and grow. |
| While we are not physicians and are not into diagnosing conditions nor prescribing remedies, the sparks that follow reflect some of the things that we have learned and experienced and we hope that they will benefit you in your own search for sound nutrition. |
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Vitamin and Mineral Supplements |
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We've learned that nutritional supplements are a crucial piece in the daily physical health puzzle for both the young and those of us who are not so young. Good quality vitamin and mineral supplements that provide readily digestible nutrients can actually help you feel better and achieve a higher energy level. |
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| Additional Supplements In addition to vitamins and minerals, there are also natural alternatives to address health concerns such as lowering cholesterol and high blood pressure, overall cardio-vascular health, joint pain, vision and many |
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| others. Why damage your liver and kidneys with harsh prescription drugs when there are other choices? Since I'm one of those people who generally doesn't see a doctor unless something is broken or hurts so bad I think it's broken, I can't give you any substantiated results, but through self-monitoring, I have seen a reduction in blood pressure. Patience, who has had some blood work done over the past few years, has seen improvements in triglyceride and cholesterol levels, as well as improvement in blood pressure. ~ Kevin |
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The Food Pyramid The Food Pyramid has been a long established visual aid to developing a diet consisting of the proper proportions of the various food groups. As mentioned earlier, there are differing views regarding the Food Pyramid, and while there are more variations than we list here, we have included |
| these two as a starting point. What you do with the information contained on these sites and where you take it from there is up to you! USDA |
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Meal Menus
One of the things that we discovered affected our eating choices was our habit of deciding what to have for a meal on the spur of the moment, in essence, eating whatever we had available or could get our hands on quickly. As we began to address our eating choices we started developing 
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weekly meal menus, allowing us to better balance our meals on a daily and weekly basis. Alternating the various protein sources in our weekly menus; whether red meat, poultry, fish or vegetable proteins, and multiple fruit and vegetable choices with grains and carbohydrates such as pasta, bread or rice keeps things from getting monotonous and keeps us on track. Another bonus is that it cuts down on trips to the store and the purchase of impulse items, many of which wouldn’t fit anywhere in a “healthy” food plan! |
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Balance |
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quantities of foods we eat. Tracking these various areas can be difficult, not to mention tedious. A link to a tool we used to help us in our own experience is included here. Contact us for more information on how this tool can help you in achieving balance in your own quest for sound nutrition and a healthier diet. |
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Fiber |
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essential to good health. The bottom line is that fiber cleans a lot of unhealthy stuff out of our digestive system, especially things like fats and cholesterol which affect our cardio health. Fiber is one area in which our own diet was deficient and we weren’t getting anywhere near the recommended amounts of fiber through the foods we were eating. We also learned that not all fiber is created equal and that as a supplement, fiber products that utilize psyllium husk were the most effective. |
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Walk through the check-out line in your local grocery store and you can find a new diet on the cover of a magazine just about every week. That is because diets don't work! Weight management, or weight loss, is about far more than going on a diet. |
| Diets are temporary, achieving temporary results and many people not only eventually find themselves right back where they started, but also often in worse shape than when they first started a diet. |  |
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Miracle pills aren't the answer either. Fad diets and miracle pills are simple bandages on something that is broken and needs to be fixed, not bandaged. Diets and pills address the symptom, not the problem. |
| Many people swear by low-fat or low-carb diets. There are also those who promote vegan diets. While all of these bear some merit, the key to permanent weight management is a healthy, dare I say diet, containing the proper balance of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, fiber, and nutritional supplements. |  |
| Carbs and fats are not evil, in fact, our bodies need both to function properly. Weight and health problems occur when we "overdose" on one or the other, or both. Permanent, on-going weight management is possible. However, it requires a mindset and lifestyle change. We must change the way we think about eating if we desire to change the results we get from eating. |
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Increased activity levels are another vital part of weight management. This area is of such value to us that we have made it a spark in and of itself. |
| I lost 50 pounds in roughly a year and a half and have kept it off for 6 months as of the date of this posting. Notice I did not say that I lost that weight in a week and a half or a month and a half. I didn't go on a diet! I changed the way I lived! By the way, Patience lost 20 pounds as well. The key here is we did it together, actually, we did it as a family. Check out these sparks for some ideas on how you can get started. |
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"Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement. " |
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Soft Drinks |
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with a Pepsi temptation that I can’t resist is to mix half diet and half regular Pepsi. It isn’t a perfect solution but it does result in half the calories. |
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Moderation |
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Moderating your serving sizes is a much more common sense approach to dieting, and a lot healthier in the long run. Packaged foods have serving sizes stated on their labeling. Recipes will usually state how many servings they will make. If a recipe says it will make 6-8 servings, divide it into eight parts and eat the smaller serving size, if you want to |
| go all-out, try dividing it into 10 or 12 servings. You might be surprised how many servings of potato chips you can eat in one sitting. Many people can reduce their caloric intake by simply sticking to the recommended serving size, and you won’t starve either. In addition, it is much easier to follow through with this method of “dieting”. ~ Kevin |
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Varied Menus |
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calorie meal can be offset by having a smaller serving size. In the Recipe Sparks area you can find some of our favorite recipes. Many of these are not what would be considered low fat or low calorie, moderation is the key. |
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Free Days |
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craving for. Once again moderation is the key, there is a big difference in eating one Krispy Kreme and eating a whole stinking box! |
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It is no secret that a system of accountability is one of the most significant things that will vastly improve the success level of any new program or activity. We have found this to be the case in our own
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experience. An accountability partner who will cheer us on and celebrate with us, or hold us accountable when we fall short or make a detrimental choice, is instrumental in being able to stay consistent. An accountability system that we use can be found here. In addition to the benefits already mentioned above, it contains a significant library of resources and training that has been extremely helpful in our quest for better physical health. It is like having a personal trainer available 24/7. Follow this link and click on the take a tour button, then contact us for more information on how you can take advantage this exceptional accountability system.
~ Kevin |
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A good dose of activity is essential to our physical health. Our muscles atrophy when not put to use, and many jobs these days to not require a significant amount of physical effort. |
| For many people, the word "exercise" conjures up images of sweaty gyms and expensive health club memberships. A health club membership can be an okay thing, if you actually use it. |  |
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However, as we have pursued a healthier way of living, we have found that increased activity levels do not have to be either difficult or expensive, though there will probably be at least a little sweat involved. |
| Some of the benefits of increased activity levels are: an increased metabolism (good for weight management), strengthened cardio system lowering heart rate and blood pressure, better sleep, and it can just plain help you feel better. |  |
| Here are some sparks to jump start you on a path to increasing your activity level and physical health. |
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Enthusiasm is that kindling spark which marks the difference between the leaders in every activity and the laggards who put in just enough to "get by." |
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DBS Throughout much of my adult life I have wanted to become more physically fit. Yet each time I would make a new commitment to begin some sort of exercise program I would end up not following through and give up, sometimes after a couple of weeks, sometimes after only a couple of days or even |
| hours! Disillusionment and disappointment were my two biggest enemies. In the fall of 2006, at the age of 46, I once again made a decision to pursue a better level of physical fitness, and I am happy to say that I have stayed with it since that time. Here are some of the things that I have learned, both from my past failures and my current success. |  |
There is one thing I would like to clarify, I do not go to the gym everyday, I am not a marathon runner, I am not one of the “ultra-fit”, I am simply an average person who has made a commitment to pursue a level of better physical health. Many of my past failures in the physical fitness realm fall into what I would call the DBS, or Don’t Be Stupid, category. If you decide that you want to take up running set a reasonable goal; if the farthest you have run in the past ten years is from the couch to the fridge during the commercial breaks of a movie or the Super Bowl, you are not going to go out and run a 5K tomorrow, DBS! As realistic as I thought some of my first goals were, I found that I had to adjust them the first time out. I was in worse shape than I thought! |
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Find something that you enjoy doing. If you don’t enjoy running don’t choose running as your primary mode of exercise. DBS, if you don’t enjoy doing it you are not going to stick with it. Search out multiple modes of activity. Many activities are seasonal, it is tough to go snow skiing in July and there are relatively few places where |
| you can go golfing in the middle of January. It is much easier to stay active year around if you can find an interest in a variety of activities that will fill off-season times.
Don’t set yourself up for failure. While there are some people who are able to run or workout every day, the average person won’t. Schedule conflicts and the ordinary happenings of life can interfere with our activity plans. The guilt of missing even a day or two can drive some people to give up. If you can only make it out running once this week instead of three times or five times, or whatever your goal is, concentrate on the one time you did make it out rather than the times you didn’t. ~ Kevin |
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Home gyms are great, I’m glad we have one, but one of the traps people can fall into is “If I had one I would use it”. Unfortunately this is not necessarily the case. I have talked to many people whose primary use of a home gym is a rather expensive clothes rack, in fact I traded some work for one of those clothes racks one time. 
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This is one of those DBS categories. If you have not used a gym in the past you probably aren’t going to use one just because you bought it. On the other hand, if you think you would like to try a home gym yourself, you can often find one that someone is tired of dusting or vacuuming around at a considerable savings on a garage sale or in the classified ads. ~ Kevin |
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Walking
Walking is probably the most common form of exercise that people are participating in today. A pleasant evening in our neighborhood will find many people out for a walk, some walking briskly, others simply talking a leisurely stroll. An evening walk may be one of the most beneficial things you can do, especially if you are just beginning to get more active.
| Since our metabolism is not static but cycles with our food intake and activity, one of the benefits of taking a walk after an evening meal is that it stimulates your metabolism, a good thing considering the meal you just ate, and can actually aid you in a more restful sleep as your metabolism winds down as the evening goes on. ~ Kevin |
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| Running Running is an activity that I enjoy, though the word “run” is relative. There are many avid runners who would run circles around me! I have come across some people who have expressed the desire to do some running but they feel they could never do it, they “can’t even run around the block” to put it in their own words. |
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When I took up running in 2006 I was in the same boat they are. My first goal was to run a half a mile. I didn’t even come close, by the time I had run the distance between two power line poles I was done! So I walked to the next pole, then ran to the next and walked to the next, and so on. I did this about twice a week for a while until I was running |
| the distance of two poles and walking one. I gradually increased the running distance while decreasing the walking distance. The point is, if you truly want to take up running the only thing standing in your way is the first step. Set realistic goals and DBS, if you need to change the goal, change it! ~ Kevin |
| First, before I start rambling on, hear this: I am in the military. Air Force, yes, but still military. We are required to pass a PT test once every six months. The biggest part of that test is a 1.5 mile run. The fastest I had ever run 1.5mi before January '10 was 11:50. I could not run 3.5 miles without needing to stop for a walk break. Then a close friend recommended a book to me. Born to Run, by Chris McDougall. This was a Saturday night, I was complaining |  |
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To quote Mr. McDougall, "The key secret hit me like a thunderbolt. It was so simple, yet such a jolt. It was this: everything I’d been taught about running was wrong. We treat running in the modern world the same way we treat childbirth—it’s going to hurt, and requires special exercises and equipment, and the best you can hope for is to get it over with quickly with minimal damage." |
| Sound accurate? Well, I lay no claim to any expertise here, I can only pass on what I have learned, but I have learned, and that is key. So how does the slow, out-of-shape kid go from running 3 miles with a bad knee, no breath, and a serious posture problem, to running 9 miles in the morning, and again at night, with no pain, a straight back, and not even breathing hard at the end of it just one week later? Beats me. I just read a book. My personal, non-professional opinion (it has much research behind it though) is simply this- Nike messed up. When Nike started selling running shoes, running-related injury rates went up. Why? Your foot has one of the highest concentrations of nerve endings in your body. It was made to 'auto-correct' your gait, your step. So, when running shoes took hold, your feet became nothing more than lumps of flesh to pound into the ground. The foot needs a stable surface underneath it. So, the softer your shoe, the harder you tend to stick your foot into the ground. Padded, raised heels tend to make you strike the ground heel first. This, along with hitting harder, puts more stress than necessary on your knees, legs, and feet. The solution? Either concentrate on forcing yourself into good form in your big, added running shoes, or take them off, and, wow, can you believe it? Your feet will naturally correct your running. I accept no responsibility for any sudden, noticeable increases in your love of running, dislike of shoes, tendency to eat better, and anything "bad" that may happen to you as a direct, or indirect, result of my suggestions. (hehehe) ~ Alex |
| Born to Run by Christopher McDougall A note about this book. Some who read this book may be offended by some of the language or thoughts expressed by the author. That being said, I have to say that this book is one that can make an immediate and profound impact for those of you who run, whether as an ardent enthusiast or as a "fair weather" |
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| runner. Alex has written a review which follows, so I won't elaborate much more, but wanted to share a little of my own experience. First of all, as I began reading the first few chapters I thought, "This story is a great setup for when he gets down to the 'this is how you do it' part." I discovered that there is no "this is how you do it" part, but the story itself contains the technique and insights that make the difference. Everyone who reads this book will find something unique, depending on their own running experience and perspective. I am not an avid runner by any means, but after reading this book I went for a run for the first time in a couple of months and shaved about a minute and a half off of my typical 5K time (I'm not going to tell you what that was since all of you real runners would have a belly ache from laughing so hard) and when I went for a run the following week, I cut another minute and a half off. I'm still slow, but I'm three minutes faster than I was and although I do not run as consistantly now as I did a year ago, I hit a target that I had been trying to reach for the past couple of years. Read at your own risk! |
Born to Run, by Chris McDougall, reads much like an action book, rather than your typical exercise book, while still providing an awesome amount of information on running. The inspiration for the book came from a simple question that I myself have asked many times- "Why does my foot hurt?" For myself, after having 3 different doctors tell me that the only solution was either surgery or stop running, I found this book to be somewhat of a career saver. Non-military readers most likely won't have a reason that drastic, maybe you want to enjoy running, maybe you already enjoy running, but you've got tendonitis in your knee- whatever the case, if this book doesn't help, I will sit down and eat the shift knob out of my last car. This book provides tips on form, eating, and, though you may not believe it, mindset. Attitude has a lot to do with your enjoyment of running. If you think of it as punishment for eating, it's going to feel like punishment. This appears to be a book about running on the outside, and it is. But if you take everything this book says to heart, you'll experience more than just better running. You will feel less stressed, more relaxed, less worried; you will be healthier and you will probably start eating better. This is not a book that gives you exact, no cuts allowed, instructions- rather, it is more of an encouragement with a truckload of tips thrown in. Don't let your mind stop you from reading this book. You may think you can't be "Born to Run," that you're too big, too heavy, too out of shape, and if you do, you need this book the most. This book is not simply about running- it's about a way of life. ~ Alex |
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It is no secret that a system of accountability is one of the most significant things that will vastly improve the success level of any new program or activity. We have found this to be the case in our own
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experience. An accountability partner who will cheer us on and celebrate with us, or hold us accountable when we fall short or make a detrimental choice, is instrumental in being able to stay consistent. An accountability system that we use can be found here. In addition to the benefits already mentioned above, it contains a significant library of resources and training that has been extremely helpful in our quest for better physical health. It is like having a personal trainer available 24/7. Follow this link and click on the take a tour button, then contact us for more information on how you can take advantage this exceptional accountability system.
~ Kevin |
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