Healthy Happy Saturday!

Happy Saturday!  We slept in as we were up several times with Selah.  She is doing fine, still not quite herself.  Thankfully she is on her monthly Tobymincin medication for her lungs/trach  so if anything is trying to grow this will stop it.  Thank you for your prayers for her. 

We are planning on taking the kids out to eat and then go to the Hillsborough River State Park.  We love the park and the walking trail. 

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In this blog I wanted to talk about HEALTH!

Being almost 50 and Jon turning 50 this year makes us think about our health.  Jon has always been a rather healthy eater and exercising nut:)  Me?  It took a bit longer to get there!  I always say if I hadn't married Jon I'd be 500 pounds cause I LOVE fried food!  I'm not a big sweet eater but give me some fried food and I'm HAPPY!   But right before Jon and I married, his dad had to have open heart surgery and the surgeon really talked seriously to Jon and his brothers about their risks.  Jon took it "to heart"  So we have always had healthier eating habits at home.  Now I was always one to go and get some fried chicken every now and then but we didn't eat like that at home. 

When Sam was born and we learned he had a chromosomal  deletion and that it included a tumor inhibitor....  (meaning he has ONE tumor inhibitor that fights cancer but not the normal two)  we got very serious about cutting out preservatives.  We absolutely do not eat anything with Nitrides in it.  We still eat hotdogs, pizza, bacon, lunch meat  (not too much) but we buy the kind without preservatives.  Nitrides have been linked to cancer in many studies. 

We also buy organic...grass fed beef, no antibiotic chicken, free range eggs, milk and butter.  Yes it costs more BUT in the long run...you pay NOW or you pay LATER.

We made a lot of these changes over time and as we learned more and more about healthy eating.

Recently we have made a big change.....NO package foods whatsoever....   Everything is either from scratch or it not used.  There are a few package foods we can use but very few!

Our other big change is NO vegetable oils or margarine.... you can read this article....
http://authoritynutrition.com/are-vegetable-and-seed-oils-bad/

So what do we use?  We use Expeller Pressed oils, you can actually buy them at some food stores or any of the more health food stores like Whole Foods, Trader Jacks's etc....  I actually found some at Publix.  It's vegetable oil that has been extracted more healthier.....

We use REAL butter now too...and lots of Olive Oil!

You have to read ingredients of things like chips, boxed foods (even health foods) to ensure the Oils used are Expeller Pressed.  We buy some Frito Lay chips that are expeller pressed and sometimes I can even get them on sale!

You even have to pay attention to breads.  I have only found ONE bread...It's the Healthful Arnold Bread...  that doesn't have vegetable oils in it!   Thanks to Publix's buy one get one sales....I buy them and freeze them!   And I've started making our own bread....at least I know what is in it.

You have to watch things like salad dressings, mayo, etc....it ALL has the vegetable oils in it! 

When I go shopping, I read labels and if something has 20 different ingredients in it, I do not buy it! Or if I can't pronounce any of the ingredients...I do NOT buy it!

 So we really watch our diet.....but we do go out and eat.  This week I've gone out several times as my friend is here but usually we try and just eat out once a week, but sometimes we fail!   When we do eat out, we try to be health conscious in our choices.

We exercise daily!!!!

I get up and go to yoga and water aerobics at the Y.  Jon either goes for a long bike ride on one of the trails around here after work or he goes to the gym and works out with Steve.  Most weekends find them kayaking on Sunday afternoons after church.  Sometimes I walk a lot too. 


In America we die from our diet and lack of exercise.  So many folks our age are starting to have heart issues and diabetics and high blood pressure.  I've seen older folks who are so unhealthy, they are in wheelchairs with oxygen.....and I see healthy older adults who can kick my butt daily at the Y!  I want to be one of the healthy ones IF I have anything to do with it!  Of course illness and accidents can strike but MOST of the major health issues are because of lifestyle choices!!! 

My family (grandma, great aunts and uncles) all lived into their late 70's and early 90's.  My uncles all died in their late 70's and early 80's  most from lung cancer.....they all smoked all their lives....:(  BUT no heart disease....my grandmother did have to have a pace maker around 90 but hey....she was still doing a garden then!

They ate REAL food and they exercised, out on the farm.  Even in their 70's and 80's they did gardens and got out and MOVED!  No cancers other than lung.....no heart attacks....just old age, finally got them....  They ate their own meat, vegetables and eggs no preservatives there!

I want to be like my granny, driving and doing a garden at 90 years old.....

The good news is YOU can change....I have a friend who had diabetics and she lost weight, by watching her diet and exercising and she was able to go off the medicine!!!!  It can be done!   You can reverse disease if you put forth an effort and you can prevent it in the first place also! 

We want our kids to be healthy.  The past year, it was hard to eat right or exercise but being home, we have been able to get back on track. 

So I don't think of myself as a total health nut, I'm not into counting calories, carbs or fats...too confusing....but I try to eat right and exercise.  I'm not a size 2 LOL  You see my pictures but ..... I'm happy where I am.    I encourage you to do the same.  You will NOT regret it!  (well you might regret it when you are in the middle of a lunge or a run....LOL but in the long run....you will be happy!)