I'm Doing The Happy Dance!

I may have been on a weight loss stand still, but my body is changing for the better! I had an excellent visit with my endonconologist. My labs were practically perfect! Six months ago I was still on diabetic medicine - three months ago I was taken off the med for a trial run. Today I was told that because of my diet/ lifestyle changes I no longer have to take diabetic medication!!! A year ago my cholesterol was 245. Three months ago it was 200. Today... 187!!! And my good cholesterol is raising!

I am just deficient in Calcium and Vitamin D. So I just have to take extra calcium and D.

I have been off of all pain meds, muscle relaxers and sleeping pills for over a year now. Diet, exercise, over the counter pain meds, and herbs are helping me with my pain.

Also, my heart medication is down to half a pill twice a day! The doctor said that more weight loss and they may be gone too!

I still have my chronic illnesses, but they are not as severer as they used to be.

So, I'm not too discouraged that my weight loss is slowing down, because my body has been adjusting to the lifestyle changes.

So I will continue on, the doctor is proud of my progress and weight loss! I am doing the happy dance!!!

Thank you so much for your continued encouragement and prayers.

God bless you.

Great Dining Out Guides

To view other posts click here http://godspeakstoday.blogspot.com/2009/05/fitness-friday-here-comes-sun.html

Whether you are going on vacation like, or just wanting to go out to eat, here are a few sites that might help you decide where to go and what to order.

Want to Watch Calories When Dining Out?Tips for Eating Smart

Watching calories while eating out? The good news is in today's restaurants you have plenty of options! Here are a few tips from the National Restaurant Association on how to make the most of your dining-out experience.By Sheila Weiss, R.D. to continue with this article please click here: http://www.restaurant.org/dineout/nutrition.cfm

****************

http://www.healthydiningfinder.com/learnmore/default.asp

http://www.dwlz.com/restaurants.html

http://www.fastfoodbook.com/

******************

Healthy Fast Food
Guide to Making the Healthiest Fast Food Choices

To continue with this article click here:http://www.helpguide.org/life/fast_food_nutrition.htm

***************************

Nutritional information from popular fast food restaurants
Burger King (PDF)
McDonald’s (PDF) – no specific information
Wendy’s (PDF)
KFC (PDF)
Taco Bell (PDF) – particularly hard to read
Panera (PDF) – 7 pages - hard to read
Chipotle (PDF)
Au Bon Pain
Food With Integrity – More information on how Chipotle is working to improve their food qu

*******************
Fast FoodNutrition Pages
McDonald's
Wendy's
Taco Bell
Subway
Burger King
Pizza Hut
Kentucky Fried Chicken
Arby's
Jack in the Box
Starbucks

********************

More Resources• American Dietetic Association• American Heart Association diet and nutrition information• FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition• Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network• Fruits and Veggies More Matters promoting fruits and vegetables• Healthy Dining Finder• International Food Information Council• Nutrition.gov• Shaping America's Health• USDA and its Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion

Busy Weeks Ahead - But I am Prepared!

Can you believe the month is more than half gone? Soon school will be out for the summer and everyone will take their family vacations and before you know it school will be back in session!

This will be a very busy couple of weeks. This evening my hubby will be announcing each of the 450+ graduates from the high school he teaches. The last day for students is this Thursday, and Friday will be the teacher's final day. Tomorrow, Tuesday we will celebrate our daughter Heather's 33 rd birthday ( a few days early). Yes, I am that old! LOL.. Wednesday Heather will have a medical test done. Thursday and Friday Jim and I will load up our 25 year old motor home travel across country to Pennsylvania to visit my mother and other family members. Please pray for travelling mercies.

We are excited about seeing family, though we are sad that we will not see my step father Chris this side of heaven. We will probably spend a few weeks with my mother and a week with my sister in NC, and then who knows where we will go. We plan on being gone about 8 weeks. We could get homesick and choose to come home early... hummm..... not sure about that one! LOL... I will miss Heather, Travis and Karl too (they will apartment sit for us)! But it will nice for hubby and I to get away by ourselves (along with our two dogs and one cat). Yes, we will travel across country with 3 animals!

I am not sure how much time I will have to visit with everyone since we do not know if we will have Internet connection everywhere we go. I will try to post and keep everyone updated on our whereabouts. Maybe something like "Where in the country is Michele & Jim"! LOL I might even journal about the difficulties or maybe not, of making healthy choices while on the road and visiting family. Pray for me, as I am adamant on sticking with my lifestyle changes. I like that better than DIET! That's what it really is: Lifestyle Change!

Besides making of list of things to pack and take along with us, I been busy with a few other things that I think would be helpful as one prepares to go on vacation.

1) I am looking up restaurant and fast food nutritional healthy choices. We'll see if restaurants are really concerned about America's health! This will help Jim and I as we travel so we know where we can stop and eat if I don't feel like cooking after a long day's trip.

2) I also contacted my Health insurance company requesting an in-network pharmacy that I can use to get my refills. Now I have the name and address of the pharmacy I will use.

3) I also asked the insurance company for an in-network hospital and general physician just in case one of us gets ill. Also the insurance gave us the website to view other doctors etc for other states that would be considered in-network. So now we have a list of hospitals and doctors we can use and only pay our regular co-pay amount. Hopefully we will not need to use this list, but just in case we have it handy.

4) I made an updated list of all medications and over the counter meds and vitamins. I also updated my family history and doctor list. This way I have them handy in my purse in case of emergency.

5) We updated our contact lists and have those as well.

6) We backed up our home computer and will take the "drives" with our laptops. This way we will have all pertinent information handy.

I hope some of the things I listed were helpful. I just thought I would share some things that most people don't think about when they leave on vacation.

If you have some neat ideas or suggestions for regarding preparations and travel please share them with us. I would love to know if I am missing something important!

Blessings !

Is It Stess?

It has been a difficult couple of weeks for several reasons. Maybe it's the stress of my step father's death a week ago and I am concerned for my 86 year old mother's well being. Maybe it's because I have less than 10 days to get everything ready to leave for 6 weeks or more to travel back east with hubby and animals to visit mom and family. Maybe it's the financial needs or employment concerns regarding my hubby. Maybe it's also knowing that when we return we will most likely be moving again to a less expensive apartment to help with our financial needs. And maybe it's that my fibromyalgia has been in a flare again. Well... whatever it may be, there is added stress, and with that stress I have been in a weight loss stand still for four weeks. Well I can now say that the scales have moved! But the wrong direction!!! Hummm is it the edema that has built up this past week or is it the extra calories I took in this week? Maybe both! Either way, I will not get discouraged. I will persevere! I know I can do this! I BEElieve I Can!!

Pray for me as I get back on track with my weight loss program.

Welcome - Introduction to a Healthier Me!

Welcome to my new blog for a healthier me! This website will mostly be used for health related issues, especially concerning my journey to a healthier me. Please be patient, my blog is a work in progress - just like me!

I will share my thoughts and challenges as I focus on changing my eating habits, activity level, and become an all around healthier person, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Why should I care about being healthy? I Corinthians 6:19-20
“Or don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you much honor God with your body.” (NLT)

What is God's desire for us? 3 John 2, NIV. "I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you."

Below is a list of areas the Lord wants me to diligently work on:

1) To enjoy a healthy life I must have balance in my days and also rest - "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work." Exodus 20:8-10, NLT

2) Better attitude -“A cheerful heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit makes one sick." Proverbs 17:22, TLB

3) Trust God completely for everything and better prayer life & quiet time - Philippians 4:6-7, TLB. "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don't forget to thank Him for his answers. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus."

4) Eat Healthy - Fruits, grains, nuts, and legumes. Genesis 1:29 NIV. "Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food." Immediately after the flood, when little if any vegetation remained the Lord added - Genesis 9:2-4, TLB. "All wild animals and birds and fish will be afraid of you, God told him; 'for I have placed them in your power, and they are yours to use for food, in addition to grain and vegetables. But never eat animals unless their life-blood has been drained off."

5) Exercise self-control in our dietary habits & exercise so body is fit as His temple -I Corinthians 10:31, “Whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, you must do all for the glory of God. “

6) Challenge myself to learn something new or go outside of my “comfort zone” – To be open to God’s leading as well. – “... may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;” Colossians 1:9 - 11

I will share my journey, heart, challenges, discouragement, and encouragement. I pray that you will hold me accountable as well as encourage and pray for me along my journey to a Healthier ME!

God Bless You! To return to my main blog, Beelieve You Can! Michele's Morsels please click here

Health Trackers

Health Trackers is an easy-to-use tool can help you reach any health goal you set your mind to. Log and track your daily health habits and get personalized, in-depth analysis of all of your health weight loss and fitness goals.

With My Health Trackers, you can:
Create a personal food journal to track calories, fat, protein, fiber, vitamins, and more
Log your workouts and daily activities to see how many calories you burned
Enter your weight loss goal and track your progress daily
Watch your waist, hip, and thigh measurements change as you lose weight
Get detailed nutritional information on thousands of foods
Track your mood, stress, and energy levels
Monitor your heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and more
Track whatever YOU want, such as sleep, caffeine intake, and headachesBegin your transformation to a healthier life now

To read more on Health Tracker or Start Your Own, go here:http://www.prevention.com/cda/healthtracker.do?&fdpath=oi%2FFitDay%2FHome.html%3F_a_Date%3D1242086400.%26_a_rdata%3DFitWrapper%26_a_rurl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.prevention.com%253A80%252Fcda%252Fhealthtracker.do%253F&rdata=FitWrapper&rpagename=Home&rpagecategory=Home

Fibromyalgia Awareness Day - May 12th

Symptoms

The primary symptoms of fibromyalgia include widespread musculoskeletal pain, severe fatigue, and disturbed sleep. Fibromyalgia means pain in the muscles, ligaments, and tendons – the soft fibrous tissues in the body.

Most patients with fibromyalgia say that they ache all over. Their muscles may feel like they were pulled or overworked. Sometimes fibromyalgia symptoms include muscle twitches and burning sensations. More women than men are afflicted with fibromyalgia, and it shows up in people of all ages. A conservative estimate of its prevalence is 2% of the general population, but it may be as high as 3-5%.

To help your family and friends relate to your fibromyalgia symptoms, have them think back to the last time they had a bad flu. Every muscle in their body shouted out in pain. In addition, they felt devoid of energy as though someone had unplugged their power supply. While the severity of symptoms fluctuates from person to person, fibromyalgia may resemble a post-viral state. This similarity is the reason experts believe that fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) may actually be the same condition. Gulf War syndrome also overlaps with FMS/CFS.

Common symptoms of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome:

To continue with this article please click here

Workout for Weight Loss Plateau

Workout for Weight Loss Plateau
Start Your Fat-Burning Engines

Our expert helps five frustrated women beat a plateau and slim down for good

By Ann Hettinger , Ann Hettinger a freelance health writer and adjunct professor of magazine journalism at Syracuse University.

The facts are simple: To look fit and firm at any age, you have to strength-train, says Wayne Westcott, PhD, senior fitness research director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, MA. Women lose about 1/2 pound of muscle a year, beginning as early as in their 20s. But that's not inevitable. According to two studies Westcott conducted over 15 years of more than 2,800 women and men, on average, you can gain 3 pounds of muscle, lose 2 inches around your waist, and drop 4 pounds of fat- -without dieting--in 10 weeks by strength-training at least twice a week. Plus, new muscle revs metabolism. "A 3-pound muscle gain increases metabolism by about 7%, which translates to burning roughly 100 more calories a day," explains Westcott. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn.
To continue with the article go here: http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/start-your-fat-burning-engines/b3e9adab7684b110VgnVCM20000012281eac____/fitness/body.by.design/strength.weight.training/0/0/1

Exercise As Part of a Chronic Fatigue Syndrom & Fibromyalgia Treatment Regimen

Feeling Better vs. Feeling Worse
By Adrienne Dellwo, About.com
Updated: January 19, 2009

When you have fibromyalgia (FMS) or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS), it's common for well-meaning people to tell you something like, "If you'd just exercise more, you'd feel better."

Certainly, exercise is important to anyone who wants to be healthy, but it poses special problems for anyone with these conditions. Even moderate exertion can make you feel worse, so it can be very tempting to give up exercise altogether.

The irony here is that even though exercise can make you feel worse short term, the lack of it can make your symptoms more severe long term, as well as inviting more health problems. The key is moderation and pacing. Numerous studies demonstrate that even small amounts of exercise, as little as 6 minutes per day, can lessen pain and fatigue.
To continue with this article please go to http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/treatingfmscfs/a/exercise.htm

Fitness Friday 2

Your assignment this week is twofold. Ready?

Part 1: Tell us how you sneak exercise in when you can't "get to the gym" or "the treadmill is broken" or whatever. What do you do at work/around the house/etc. to move more?

Unfortunately living in the city of Phoenix, AZ we have quite a few "bad ozone" days when they urge people with asthma to stay inside. So on the days I cannot get out to walk or swim I try to walk around in our little apartment, or walk in place while watching TV.

Part 2: Let us know how your week went. Let us know your goals for next week. Not your long-term goals, just your goals for next week.:

This week has been very stressful due to my step father passing away. So I did not loose any weight. But I did not gain either... yeah!

My goal for next week... walk or swim at least 5 days next week. Loose 2 lbs. Get back to writing my food journal and log everything.

Want to share with us too? go to Family Revised blog by clicking here

The Healthiest Walking Workout

Flatten abs, rev energy, and stabilize blood sugar with our easy, exclusive routine
By Camille Noe Pagan , Camille Noe Pagan is a New York-based freelance writer.

There's no question that walking is great for everyone: It dramatically boosts energy levels, fights fat, and protects your heart. But if you have high blood sugar, or if you have been diagnosed with prediabetes or diabetes, walking can be a lifesaver.

"Walking is one of the best types of 'medicine' we have to help prevent diabetes, or reduce its severity and potential complications--such as heart attack and stroke--if you already have it," says JoAnn Manson, MD, DrPH, chief of the division of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Women who did at least 30 minutes daily of moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking, slashed their risk of diabetes by 30%, found the Harvard Nurses' Health Study.
To continue with this great walking workout article please click here:

http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/the-healthiest-walking-workout/f19bf7d959a30210VgnVCM10000013281eac____/fitness/walking/walking.programs?cm_mmc=Walk%20Off%20Weight-_-5062009-_-Fitness-_-The%20Healthiest%20Walking%20Workout&print=true&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.prevention.com%2Fcda%2Farticle%2Fthe-healthiest-walking-workout%2Ff19bf7d959a30210VgnVCM10000013281eac____%2Ffitness%2Fwalking%2Fwalking.programs%3Fcm_mmc%3DWalk%2520Off%2520Weight-_-5062009-_-Fitness-_-The%2520Healthiest%2520Walking%2520Workout


Hop over to Sandy at God Speaks for Fitness Friday Gal, and Debbie at Heart Choices to read about the importance of stretching; and Sarah at All Pain No Gain is writing a great post on working out from home and also wrapping up her 12-week accountability group. You need to check out her story and her photos! So inspiring.

To return to my main blog, Beelieve You Can! Michele's Morsels please click here.