This is part of a series I’m writing called Motivated Mondays.  In order to be able to provide service to others including animals, we need to feel good about our bodies and keep them healthy.

Who says exercise needs to be complicated.  There are many great outdoor and indoor activities you can do by yourself or with others.  Dancing is one of the best ways to keep in shape.  If you are single, you might want to look for a line dance group in your area.  Walking or hiking with friends is another way to keep fit.   If the gym has lost it’s thrill maybe it is time to incorporate some natural outdoor activities.  What did you enjoy doing as a kid?  Should you learn to climb rocks, row a boat, or take a group of kids (any age) to the paint ball park?  With so many options, exercise never needs to be boring.

This is part of a series I’m writing called Motivated Mondays.  In order to be able to provide service to others including animals, we need to feel good about our bodies and keep them healthy.

One of the best ways to maintain an exercise routine is to join a group.  There are so many exercise classes to choose from–water aerobics, high and low impact aerobics, step classes, spinning classes, walking groups, weight lifting classes, yoga and many more.

I find it helpful to participate in classes where people grunt and laugh together.  The time seems to fly by and it’s a great way to make friends who support your healthy lifestyle.

This is part of a series I’m writing called Motivated Mondays.  In order to be able to provide service to others including animals, we need to feel good about our bodies and keep them healthy.

Ok, I admit it….sometimes I let myself go.  I’ve always had a tendency to be heavy but somewhere over the last decade I’ve accumulated about 40 extra pounds.  I get so caught up in work and doing what I want that I forget to care for my body.  Also, I hate doctors.  Not personally, it’s just I don’t want a stranger touching my body.  And, being overweight, I didn’t want some stranger…my doctor coming in and telling me I needed to lose weight.  But, I want to take better care of myself as I age. 

So, last month I had the works, meaning a complete physical that included tests for thyroid, diabetes, and cholesterol.  My doctor came in and talked to me before I ever undressed.  She was kind and helpful.  Then she left the room and re-entered it for the exam.  She left again and came back in when I was dressed so we could discuss a minor skin irritation.  Not once did she mention my weight but instead encouraged me to keep up what I have been doing.  Thanks to a mostly vegetarian diet and a highly rambunctious dog, I’m in great health.  So now that I know my heart is healthy and my blood pressure is normal, I joined a gym. 

If it’s been awhile since you have had a physical, make an appointment today. If you have a condition like diabetes or high blood pressure, it is critical that you catch and treat it early.  Also, as you improve your fitness, you may be able to reduce medicines (under doctor supervision).   One of the best ways to monitor your level of fitness is to know where you are at right now. 

This is part of a series I’m writing called Motivated Mondays.  In order to be able to provide service to others including animals, we need to feel good about our bodies and keep them healthy.

Many people say when X then Z.  Such as when I’m through with school, divorced, married, at a new job, then I’ll join a gym, join weight watchers, change my diet, etc.  But the best time to start anything is right now.  Take an honest look at your eating and exercise habits.  Can you really go to the gym 5 times a week?  Can you really prepare all natural meals throughout the week? 

It is always good to set a high standard for yourself, but if you set the bar too high, you may feel constant defeat.  If you are just starting an exercise plan, why not plan to walk 20 minutes three times a week.  Instead of a major change in your diet, why not just eliminate sugar or late night snacks.

Once you experience success with small changes you can raise the bar to a new and higher level.

This is part of a series I’m writing called Motivated Mondays.  In order to be able to provide service to others including animals, we need to feel good about our bodies and keep them healthy.

One of the best books I real last year was called “The Obesity Myth: Why America’s Obession with Weight is Dangerous to Your Health.”  Author Paul Campos discusses the many myths concerning obesity.  Two points that struck me and made me hopeful were the importance of exercise and a new look at what is normal weight.

Much like animals, human beings can have a broad range of healthy weight.  For example, a woman who is 5’8” may be healthy whether she is 130 or 210LB’s.  Her health will be determined by her level of activity and mussle tone.  It is the people at the extreme who are at risk–individuals who are severely underweight and those who are severely overweight. 

According the Campos, the most important indicator of health is remaining active.  If you are not already doing something (like a quick walk) three times a week, figure out when and how you can slide them in your schedule.

This is part of a series I’m writing called Motivated Mondays.  In order to be able to provide service to others including animals, we need to feel good about our bodies and keep them healthy.

Most Americans including myself would agree that Julia Roberts is a beautiful woman.  Just like this “ideal” image, Julia is tall, thin and curvy, and she fits the American ideal of what a healthy woman should look like, but to many other cultures she does not have an ideal physique and in fact may be considered undesirable.  Bombarded by media, we continually see this ideal Hollywood physique.  But do you know only 10% of the population is capable of maintaining that thin appearance.  The rest of us need to understand our ideal may be a woman who is 5’4” and 140LB’s.  Or maybe, if you are tall and muscular like me your ideal may be 5’8” with a weight range of 170-180LB’s. 

Starving yourself to fit a Hollywood image of beauty is harmful to your body and it takes away time that could be better spent enjoying life and being of service to others.  God made you perfect.  Instead of trying to look like someone else, figure out what your personal best is.  No one can top that!   

This is part of a series I’m writing called Motivated Mondays.  In order to be able to provide service to others including animals, we need to feel good about our bodies and keep them healthy.

We all know according to Steven Covey we are supposed to begin with the end in mind.  When it comes to fitness may people select an ideal number they would like to see on the scale.  Personally, I think this practice sets us up for failure and may not be the best way to care for your body.  For example, let’s say you weight 220 right now and you look at a weight chart and determine you should weigh 165LBs.  You begin working out and eating right but become very disappointed when your body stabilizes at 178LBs.  Despite the fact that you look great and you are in better shape than ever, you may be disappointed that you cannot get down to 165.   Unaware that muscle mass weighs more than fat, you begin to starve yourself so you can get to 165.  Whether you make 165 or not, starvation practices deplete muscles including the heart and can cause serious damage to your body.

Why not set kind but challenging goals such as I will eat three moderate and healthy meals with nothing in between and I will work out three times a week.  Then see what your body does.  If you are still not satisfied with the results after three months of serious efforts, see a dietician or work with a trainer.

It’s wonderful to give money to charities.  We all like helping people.  However, when you give money away there are two things to consider; how much of your money will actually be used to help people and will any of your money cause the suffering of others.

Unfortunately, numerous “good” organizations refuse to pay attention to scientific break throughs.  With technical advancements, animal models for research has become one of the least predicatable and remains one of the most expensive forms of research being used.  It also inflicts dreadful suffering on animals as they indure a life of solitary confinment and painful medical experimentation.  Some animals have it worse than others.  For example “Sparky” a primate lived 46 agonizing years in confinment without socialization.  Other animals, the lucky ones only have to live a few months before the disease inflicted on them causes their premature death and or they are euthanized.  

So what you can  you do?  Find out which organizations fund animal model research and do not support them.  There are two ways to do this.  You can routinely check the PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) website, or you can write the organizations and ask them directly.  After that you can send a letter to the board of directors telling them why you do not support their organization.  You can also form protest against fund raisers, and inform friends, family and co-workers.

Today marks the 15^th anniversary of my father’s death.  (Ironically, it’s my mother’s 80^th birthday).  My father was a complex man; brilliant, terrifying, sentimental, cruel, angry, playful and funny.  Plagued by guilt over the death of my infant sister and following the stern and stoic example of fatherhood which surrounded him, he hid his pain by turning to alcohol.  In time it overtook him and he died too young. 

Each year at this time I think of my father.  Throughout his life, he lacked friends.  You see despite his amazing intelligence he never learned how to speak kindly.  He was as hard on other people as he was on himself.  For a long time, I carried my father’s legacy of self-hatred.  I expected great things from myself and I would beat myself up if the measuring stick fell short.  And, I was short with other people as well.

About two years ago, I made a decision to be my own best friend.  It was not a matter of change;   it was simply learning to accept what I most hated in myself.  When I witness my own character defects I just leaned to say; ok, I’m human too.  God, remove this if you can and will, but if not, help me accept myself.  It’s a much easier way to live.

There was one thing that was a constant with my father.  He knew I was afraid of the dark.  When I was very young, my father began turning on the hallway light each night.  It was left on until morning.  No matter how tired, angry or upset my father was, I remembered he would walk to the far end of the hall and turn on the light, even when I no longer needed it.

 In memory of my father today I’m asking you for a few favors:

1.       Be kind to yourself.

2.       Be kind to others.

3.       Keep an eye out for who’s lighting your hallway, no matter what words they use.

This weekend I found a new trail.  It’s one that is rarely used.  In some place, the foliage is so dense that I could not see beyond the immediate brush and trees.  Along my hike, numerous squirrels were busy scampering along the trail picking up acorns and other goodies that had dropped from the trees.

Ironically, earlier in the day I had been concerned with lack.  After paying for my fuel oil tank (Yikes$700) there was not as much in my checking account as I had hoped.  But as I hike along, I was reminded of nature’s abundance.  Whether I need peace, solitude, wood for fire, something to eat or inspiration, I always find it when I take to the woods.