Three essentials for healthy living

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How is it going? So, are you smiling at and chatting up folks all over town?

Don’t you feel better? Just think of the joy you’re sharing with all those people. It’s a start to improving your own joy and outlook so you can have a more fun-filled and productive life.

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Three essentials for healthy living Back to video

I am pretty good at this part. Morgan was always horrified and said people would think I am crazy. My friends sometimes laugh at me for chatting up strangers but I must say they are getting pretty good at it, too. I know in this day and age, people are not used to overt attention from strangers but I have never been snubbed by anyone at the grocery store, doctor’s office, on the street or anywhere else, so I think most enjoy it as much as I do.

We also have to improve our physical health and wellbeing. We have to keep our bodies as active as our minds and that means our muscles, heart, lungs, joints and pretty much everything that makes us function. We need to maintain as much strength, stamina and endurance as we can. We don’t want to end up like a rusty old hinge that can’t move do we? So we need to regularly work all moving parts so they don’t seize up. We also need to keep our heart beating at strength and our lungs working to capacity.

Not all of us like to get all sweaty and wear tight clothes, so going to the gym is out. Some of us don’t like walking the streets, around the mall or on a track. Not everyone loves to ride a bike, lift weights, swim, do jumping jacks or karate kicks. So we need to find other ways to accomplish the needed movement to keep us in good shape.

I am not as good at this part as I should be. I don’t like to do any of those things I just mentioned. Personally, I love to dance. I do so whether there is music playing or not. They play some good tunes in most stores and I have been known to bust a move while pushing the cart up and down the aisles. I dance at home all the time and I call it exercise. Most days I also try to do a more robust 20 minutes or so cardio routine to get the old heart pumping. I cut grass and shovel light snow (Marty, God bless him, does the hard parts) and I call it exercise even though I may not always be able do it all in one go.

My philosophy is to just keep moving. While you are at the store, walk up and down every aisle. You might find something you forgot you needed, meet a lot more people you can smile at, and as an extra bonus you get in a lot more steps.

A good full-bodied stretch before you even get out of bed gets the day started and a good stretch several times during the day will loosens up tired muscles. Find something you love and do that.

One thing we have to be very conscious of is our stride. A very knowledgeable physio therapist once told me as we age and feel less secure we shorten our stride. He said before you know it you are shuffling like an old person. It is not a good thing so be aware of your steps and make sure to always take full strides to keep hips and stability on point.

To me the three essentials for healthy living are attitude, movement and nutrition. Don’t worry, next week I am not going to tell you what to eat. I am not at all good at that part. I like a farmer’s diet – meat, potatoes and gravy, vegetables, bread and butter, hardy homemade soup and I throw in a pizza once in a while. I eat very little sweets but drink too much pop. I believe in moderation so I try to eat a varied diet of everything I love, but downsize portions – most of the time.

Two out of three isn’t too bad, is it?

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