“A Little Progress Each Day Adds up to Big Results”
“Too much of anything will work against you. Limit your intake, spending and commitments. Change begins with you; focus on being your best instead of trying to change everyone around you.” This was my horoscope on July 20, 2021 in the Las Vegas Review Journal. It also happens to be part of my philosophy of life.
As a fairly recent retiree, a major goal of mine is to live as long as possible while remaining as healthy as possible. Truly, good health cannot be underestimated. Many health issues are beyond our control and certainly DNA can influence our health. Some people choose to have genetic testing to determine if they have a predisposition to certain issues. Those of us who do genealogical research may discover patterns of health afflictions. (Many of my ancestors have suffered with heart disease so I feel that it is important to take a proactive approach to my health.) “We can’t change our DNA but we can change how it functions.” https://www.lakewayspinecenter.com/genes-vs-lifestyle/
While I have regular check-ups in the hope of catching any major issues as soon as possible, I focus on lifestyle choices. I am a firm believer in moderation and balance. Denial and fear are not good options to health and happiness.
The basics certainly apply:
- Exercise – I would say that my exercise style is “lazily active.” Strenuous exercise and participation in sports is just not my thing so I focus on movement. Years ago I read an article that stated that “sitting is the new smoking” and I took that to heart. I wear my Fitbit and aim for 11,000 steps a day and receive a notification if I have been sitting too long and haven’t gotten at least 250 steps that hour. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, moving more can literally save your life. “For adults ages 25-29, around 10% of deaths can be contributed to getting less than 150 minutes of activity a week; for adults age 70 and older, it’s 9%.” In a different study, AARP reported that “older women who averaged 4,400 steps per day compared with just 2,700 steps were 41% less likely to die during a follow-up of 4.3 years.”
- Sleep – ideally, most people should get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep every night (I generally get between 6 and 8 hours a night). Establishing a sleep routine is helpful. According to www.verywellhealth.com, quality sleep “keeps your heart healthy, regulates blood sugar, reduces inflammation, improves memory, helps the body repair itself, and reduces stress.”
- And speaking of stress…according to AARP, “Chronic stress is also a well-established contributor to deaths related to immune system suppression, diabetes, arterial plaque buildup (atherosclerosis), psychiatric illness, and possibly cancer.” It really is important to take time to relax and be calm.
- Diet – being selective in your food choices is essential to living a healthy life. Balance and moderation are key ingredients to a healthy eating plan. If I eat well the majority of the time, the occasional splurge can be very satisfying. I’ve discovered that I do better if I limit sugar, limit salt, and limit processed foods. Recently I’ve read several articles that discuss how eating walnuts daily can help decrease inflammation in the body so I usually have a 1/4 cup of walnuts for breakfast. For the most part, Gary and I follow a modified Mediterranean Diet. According to www.everydayhealth.com, a Mediterranean diet “reduces risk for heart disease and stroke; may prevent cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s; may stave off and manage Type 2 Diabetes; may help prevent certain cancers; may help ease depression; and may help with weight loss and maintenance.”
One of our very favorite meals is what we call Mediterranean Supreme. Most weeks, Gary makes up a big batch (it does require lots of chopping) and we eat it for our main meal for two days. (When possible, we eat our main meal at lunch and have a light dinner or evening snack.) It also works well as a side dish.
Ingredients:
- 2 cans garbanzo beans – drained and rinsed
- 4 cucumbers, seeded and diced
- 1 bunch red radishes – diced
- 4 celery stalks – diced
- 1 small red onion, diced
- cherry tomatoes – sliced in half
- 1 jar sliced Kalamata olives, drained
- lemon – zested and juiced
- olive oil
- Feta cheese
- Pepper to taste (fresh cracked is always best)
Directions:
- Drain beans and olives, place in large bowl.
- Add rest of vegetables, lemon zest and juice.
- Before serving, add the Feta cheese, olive oil, pepper and toss.
The nice thing about this recipe is that you can adapt it as you wish; add more or different vegetables or more beans. We often substitute green onions for the red onion. We’ve added green and red bell peppers or chopped zucchini. We’ve also added artichoke hearts. Once, we had a few extra anchovy stuffed olives so we threw those in. We like the Baklouti Green Chile Pepper oil from our local Olive Oil store so we usually drizzle that over the salad along with a very flavorful extra virgin oil.
