Exercise For The Workaholic

Are you always at work?

Can't exercise, can you?  Can't seem to ever drag yourself out from that chair behind a desk. Then by the time you do get out of that office, pure fatigue and exhaustion is all you feel so who in their right mind wants to do exercise?

Reality Check Time

Now stop and think about your entire day. What exactly did you really do?

• answered phone calls
• made phone calls
• shuffled paper
• attend meetings
• plan or execute presentations
• visit the lunch room, water cooler or rest rooms

See my point. What exactly did you really do? Nothing strenuous, was it? It's all just mental pressure and fatigue. Your body is craving some release from the stress.

How To Stay Fit While You Sit

Would you like to go home everyday feeling a little more in-tune with your surroundings? Here is a few simple movements you can add to each day which will actually let you leave the job feeling a little more relaxed, less stressed out, none of those tension headaches and wound up tense muscles in your back, neck and shoulders.

Repeat each exercise for about 3-5 minutes as you fit a few repetitions into your daily schedule each day!

1. Find some tunes, whether they are from the PA system, a radio or just in your own head. Sit on the front edge of your chair and start swinging your legs, one at a time back and forth, right and left and touching your toes to the floor on each pass. Add some arm movements to coordinate with your legs and use the beat of the music to keep your little "dance" going for a few minutes to lighten and lessen the mood of the moment. This one is especially easy if you happen to have a swivel chair.
2. Do the "Clapper". Hold up your left leg directly in front parallel to the floor as you raise your arms to shoulder height and clap those hands. Return the leg to the floor and repeat with the right leg and clap. Continue with this adding a little speed until you get nice smooth even movements.
3. Sit on the front edge of your chair again and with knees bent, toes on the floor  and start rhythmically opening and closing your legs. As you open your legs use your right hand and touch your left knee. On the next pass, use your left hand and touch your right knee. Keep alternating back and forth.

So, yes these may make you look a little silly and may sound a lot sillier but the advantages to your health and wellness by the end of each day is worth its weight in gold, so just relax and enjoy yourself for those few silly moments each day!

Finally We Get Safer Automotive Products

Anyone who has pets, especially when they are considered members of the family, are aware of the dangers of leaving pools or containers of automotive engine coolants and antifreeze out in the open. A leaky, faulty continuous drip from a car can spell trouble, even death to any animal looking for a convenient source of water when thirsty.

Up to now, the sweet-smelling odor and flavor of these two products was an immediate enticement to any animal because, to an animal, their smell and flavor was an instant treat.

But finally, after years and years of pressure, the manufacturers have agreed to place a bitterant agent inside their formula before packaging to dissuade any animal from trying to take a drink. This is in hopes of trying to prevent many of the close to one million deaths each year which has been attributed to automotive agents being ingested by pets, animals and even some children.

Thank you from all of us. This one simple change in a formula can hopefully help prevent a senseless tragedy from ever occurring even one more time.

** Information and action was acquired predominantly through combined efforts of the Consumer Specialty Products Association and the Humane Society Legislative Fund. Currently 17 states in the USA have passed a law requiring this bitterant to be mandatory before the product hits the store shelves. Hopefully, with time and attention, the rest of the country will realize its importance and follow through also and require this action to be taken.

Diabetes And Fresh Fruits

I'm a type 2 diabetic.

Quite a few people in my lifetime have told me it's all my own fault. If I would have ate differently, stop being so lazy (they put it nicer but it means the same thing), controlled my weight, exercised more often... on and on. We've all heard the same comments.

Now I'm not going to say this is true for everyone of us, but with me, my feelings do get hurt easily. Especially when someone who doesn't even know me makes blanket statements like the above which just flat out is not true.

 I'm constantly in motion. I enjoy working. I'm an avid outdoors-person (mainly with the dog, the garden and flower beds or just the landscaping). I'm great at DIY projects. I've built my own garage (with help from my husband), stripped off and re-roofed my house by myself when I was laid off from my job, stoned my sun porch (during the same lay-off), added insulation, new drywall, wallpaper, paint and all the trimmings to my kitchen and dining room plus all kinds of projects just because I think it will look nice when I'm finished. So, keeping myself busy is just, well a hobby of mine.

So, all I'm saying is lazy, no way!

 Exercise, well you've already figured out I can't do all my little projects sitting in the recliner in front of my TV or something.

But through all the years - I'm a diabetic anyway. So I have spent a lot of time and energy trying to find out why and what I can do about it. And one of the first very important things I have researched is fresh fruit because I just flat out love it. But as with most diabetics, we all assume we can't have it. After all, everyone says it's so high in natural sugars.

To me, that is a reason to become depressed.

The Truth About Fresh Fruit

Fresh fruit, all that sugar really isn't as bad for you as you believe. Why? There is actually several reasons fresh fruit is a boost to a diabetic's general health. Some of the ways it can help us:

• the natural sugars in fresh fruit is actually counter-balanced by the fiber which is inherent in the fruit itself. This is not true with processed fruits (forget the cans, boxes of juices and bagged varieties. Processing eliminates much of the fiber in fruits). So yes they are higher in sugars, but the fiber actually helps to stabilize your blood sugars thus reducing a high spike as long as you control your portions sizes.
• fresh fruits are an important addition to aid in reducing inflammation in your body. Fruits are high in flavonoids and carotenoids which are both antioxidants. Most type 2 diabetics are always fighting inflammation within the body, one of the reasons we have so many problems with maintaining normal sugar levels.
• fresh fruits actually help you control your desire for sweet foods. Total elimination of everything sweet in your diet leads to cravings. Allowing yourself an occasional serving of fresh fruit gives your body this sought after taste and flavor.

So, yes you are going to have to check with your doctor or dietitian but the normal recommendation by many physicians is an average of 2-3 servings of fresh fruit per day (remember, control those portions). Some of the most healthiest choices include the following:

• the berry families (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries)
• peaches and nectarines
• citrus fruits like pink grapefruit, lemons, limes and an orange
• cherries, apples, pears and plums

Each of these above are much lower on the glycemic scale than the tropical varieties which also is a huge aid in your desire to control those numbers on the meter.

The Family Tree

The last couple of weeks I have been thinking about something that never really seemed to matter to me before. I guess somewhere in the back of my mind it just seemed like, "Oh someday I'll take the time and figure some of it out."

You see, I'm from one of those displaced families. By that I mean, my family unit itself, we happened to move away from the area that the majority of my relatives all lived in when I was very young. My younger brother and myself, we were both much to young for any of those people to be memorable to us. So I have grown up my whole life never really knowing any of my relatives. Some of them, I might know a name, but I could cross by them on a street and have no idea I'm related to them.

So, now I'm reaching that age in my life when I have been helping my mother to be sure her final affairs are all in order. And doing this, we have come across many names, pictures, documents etc. which all of them I can't seem to relate to in any way. It's as if they are all perfect strangers (which to be honest they are).

So yesterday I read something which made me think that's an excellent idea for many families to help them feel more connected to their family if they also are "transplants" away from the main family unit. It's so simple but so very effective at giving every child a feeling of having roots. And doing it on Christmas morning helps the kids learn more about themselves, their siblings, parents, grandparents etc.. Therefore, we all learn we do have roots.

This year, and every year, attach a tag to the outside of every Christmas gift under the tree. It's just a simple little question about another family member, or a cherished childhood memory you have for one of your own children. Then let everyone take their turn guessing the answer. Everyone this way learns interesting little facts about their own parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins etc..

Many of these memories are going to be the ones you cherish as you yourself grow older and start realizing you missed out on all the inter-relationships from having an extended family.