Exercise

My search for a healthy lifestyle has lead me to exercise. I'm having difficulty with it, as I assume most parents with children do. I have a hard time wanting to spend more then a half hour doing anything because after that point (well actually about fifteen minutes) Kaile and Cope start to get antsy and "bored" so they will start talking, screaming, and singing loudly; non-stop to the point they can no longer be ignored. I know they have figured this out and that is why they do it, but it is hard to ignore. That means that I have about that long for exercise and that is it. Most work-outs take at least an hour. After checking out pinterest I found several routines that had lists of exercises to do. The ones that start with jumping jacks and have about 20 different exercises on them. The whole routine takes over an hour. I realized though that I don't have to do them all at the same time. 50 jumping jacks don't take long and if I took one of those lists and addapted it to me, then I could do the whole list throughout the day and get in more exercise then I am now. In the long run I will need to up the amount I do slightly in order to compensate for the fact that I'm not doing them all together, but for now it is a start.

Here is my list. I'll edit, add to, and rearrange as I go along.

1. Ride Bike (I go around our block twice and then up to the mail box and back before my kids wake up in the morning) 15 min.
2. Jumping jacks 50
3. Russian Twists 50
4. 10 standing push-ups (Will do these against the counter between doing dishes and hitting the next chore.)
5. 40 crunches
6. 20 lunges (Do this while cleaning. I walk from one room to the next cleaning. Now I'll just lunge.)
7. 5 minute wall sit (Can do this while folding laundry.)

I'll try it today and see how it goes! Wish me luck!

Nutrition

There are many people in my life that are interested in nutrition. I've heard about every angle of "miracle" solutions out there. Although I do believe there is truth to each on of them, I think that really there is no "miracle" solution available. The only way to stay healthy is to learn good eating habits, good exercise habits, good sleeping habits, etc. Only all those together will truly keep someone fit. I am not fit. I want to be, so here is my attempt at conglomerating all the good advice I've heard. The very first one is to follow the Word of Wisdom.

"That inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good, neither meet in the sight of your Father. And, again, strong drinks are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies. Tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill. And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly."

That means no alcohol or anything proven to be addicting or to cause harm to the body. Soda can be included in that. I do pretty good. I'm a social drinker when it comes to Soda.
Following the Word of Wisdom also states:

"And again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man— Every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof. Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly."

Basically eat fruit, grain, vegetables. Eat meat, but not too much. I've decided that the main cause of Obesity today is social eating, which leads to aweful portion sizes, and incorrect servings. If we eat the correct amount of grains, vegetables, and fruits, we won't be as hungry when the meat comes around and we'll only eat a little. I know I've been doing terrible about that, so I got on www.choosemyplate.gov.  Go down the left column "Popular Topics," and click on "SuperTracker." It helps you track exactly what you eat, gives you five goals to try and hit, and then shows you if you hit them or if you fell short. I am going to use it for the next two weeks. I will then use that to help me do my grocery shopping more appropriately. Hopefully next month when I do it again we will be eating the portion sizes and correct servings of each food group, or will at least hit one of my five goals. (I've started using this site and already found out that even though my calories match up with what I should be eating, my diet is full of empty calories and sodium. I don't have nearly enough vitamins in my diet.)

The scriptures give us more advice on health as well:

 "Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated."

And the final advice which is not from scriptures is:

*Use salt that still has mineral traces. It is better for you for two reasons

1) not only will you consume less salt, but

2) you will also get some of the minerals that may be lacking in your diet.

*Drink lots of water. The more water you drink the easier it is for your body to get rid of waste and fat.

*Don't stress. Foot zoning, massage therapy, and other forms of stress relievers should be routine in a persons life so that stress will be reduced. Reducing stress helps the body function better. Find what is a stress reducer for you and implement it in your schedule.

Good health isn't easy. There isn't some "miracle" fix. It is implementing all of the fixes together that truly aid in a long healthy life.