Are we ready for a great new year? Yes!

I don't know if you all are into New Year's Resolutions... but if you are... this has gotta be the place. :)

I am looking forward to a beautiful new year.. full of hope and promise, friends and family.. and I pray for good health for you all!

I don't really have any resolutions. But, I always seem to have ongoing ones... things I am working on, ebbs and flows... and I am so happy I got serious about stepping up my exercise and eating habits last July. I can see and feel the difference and hope to keep going this year. It most definietly is 3 steps forward, 2 steps back, but as Leonie gave herself the gift of a workout yesterday, that is how I view it... it is gift to myself. :)

I thought I might invite friends on my local lists to join us here, too- please invite anyone you think might want to journey with us. All levels, all goals, all toward better mind-body-spirit health.

Does anyone have any resolutions or plans for 2008? Anything we can help with?

Love to all,
Cindy

Guess What's Coming for Dinner?

Wow the squash came out BIG!! lol

We are joining my family at my parents' for Thanksgiving. My mom orders this fantastic smoked turkey. She is making mashed potatos, gravy and rolls. Sil is brining the famous brocolli cheese/cream of mushroom soup cassarole the boys never get at home.

I am to bring the cranberry sauce, pies and a vegatable dish... and I am making something healthy! I have been on a big butternut squash kick lately (you won't believe the vitamin A!) and found this recipe. I will let you know how it comes out...



VAL'S BAKED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH
APPLES

1 1/2 lbs. butternut squash
1/4 c. melted butter
1 tbsp. flour
4 apples
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. mace

Cut squash in 1/2 inch slices and peel. Peel and core apples and slice as for pie. Arrange squash in ungreased baking dish. Top with apples. Then add the brown sugar, flour, and mace which you have mixed together and the melted butter on top. Cover bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. This recipes fills a 2 quart casserole dish. Serves 8.

The value of exercise

I found this quote to be very encouraging - I love my workouts and believe that fitness is more important than a number on a scale ( most of the time!). How I feel is so much better after regular workouts...

I hope this encourages you also, to continue or to re-start your workout routines. :-)

"..exercise is so vitally important because of its mental, not physical, benefit. There are obviously tons of physical benefits, but the most important mental benefit is that exercise keeps your mind toned. When you work out, you are reminding yourself that health and fitness are strong values that you are choosing to live by. Because exercise is immediately rewarding, owing to the feel-good hormones that are stimulated, you receive a reward for doing something good for yourelf. According to bariatric expert D. J. Shah, during or after exercise or bodies secrete good hormones as well as glucagons. These all have beneficial effects on the body's metabolism. Additionally, the hormone level of cortisol goes down, which benefits the body for weight loss. Thus, exercise keeps you in the mindset of health." from "Joining the Thin Club" by Judith Lederman

Some interesting articles on health and fitness...

...from the Weight Watchers Australia site.

Oh, and on Sunday I did a Basic Taebo Live Workout ( 30 minutes) with son Jonathon and his friend Meg.

A cool song on this - Shake Your Booty!! Is it KC and the Sunshine Band??

Anyway, I kicked butts - in a nice way, of course. Jonathon and Meg might be younger than me but I wasn't the one who was dead after the workout! lol!

Wishes for a Speedy Recovery to Leonie

Everyone at Lean But Not Mean wishes Leonie a very speedy recovery after her surgery!

I think this is an important part of health, fitness and life... to take the ups and downs and keep ourselves focused on health.. take it slow, ease back into motion and movement. And I know Leonie will be great at this!

I know for me, Leonie, I would have to deal with frustration of wanting it 'now'- but it will come and I know you will be back on your old schedule soon.

It is like Flylady lectures me, (and she does lecture)-- 'BabySteps!' or we will crash and burn.

Visit Leonie's link here

Welcome home Leonie! What are your instructions from the doctor about exercise? And how are you feeling?

Hugs,
Cindy

Vitamin D..

..from my weekly Kathy Smith fitness email. :-)


Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin
Have you noticed that Vitamin D is getting a lot of attention lately? According to recent reports it may help protect us from certain kinds of cancers (such as breast cancer and prostate cancer). It can also help us to build and maintain strong bones and muscles plus a lot of other health benefits. It’s no wonder that I am getting a lot of questions about this hot “new” supplement.
I once gave a speed walking workshop to a group of women in their mid-forties who were training for a 5K. One of the women walked regularly for exercise and she always made sure she was covered in sunscreen and clothing. She avoided the sun at all costs, because she was worried about skin cancer. She kept getting colds and having aches and pains. When I suggested she check with her doctor, she found out something really surprising. She had a severe vitamin D deficiency. She got a prescription for getting her vitamin D from natural sunlight.
She started walking early in the morning or later in the afternoon or early evening, when there was low sunlight, and she didn’t put sunscreen on her hands or face for her 45-minute walks. She wore sunscreen for the rest of her day.
Within two months, her vitamin D had increased to a healthy level and her mood and immune system improved dramatically. Within six months her bone density had also improved and her aches and pains had gone away. When we don’t get enough vitamin D, our bones get weakened and so do the muscles that support them. She also discovered that she had lost her tendency to catch colds.
But here’s something I bet you didn’t know, Vitamin D isn’t really a vitamin. It’s a hormone. That’s right. What’s the difference? Vitamin D is manufactured in the body and that makes it a hormone. Vitamins by definition are not manufactured in the body and must be obtained from food. When I tell my friends this they always ask the same logical question. Why all this discussion? Why not just let my body make the vitamin D it needs?
The answer is pretty surprising. Did you know that vitamin D, like so many other hormones in the body, is manufactured from cholesterol. When your skin is exposed to sunshine, the cholesterol in your skin is converted to vitamin D.
But here’s the dilemma. Just about every person in America believes – incorrectly I might add – that cholesterol is a toxic substance that causes heart attacks. And so millions of us are taking a medication to block our body’s ability to synthesize cholesterol. The odds are pretty good that, as a result, we don’t have enough vitamin D.
Millions of us also believe that sunshine is bad thing that causes skin cancer, so we make sure that we cover ourselves with strong sunblock. As a result, sunlight never touches our skin, and you guessed it, we don’t convert cholesterol into vitamin D.
So what can we do? If you expose your face and hands to sunlight without sunscreen for about twenty minutes three to five times per week for four to five months per year, you probably will get enough UVB rays to keep your bone mass intact, because your body has the ability to stockpile vitamin D for use during low-sunlight times. Mother Nature is amazing. Early morning or late afternoon sun exposure is the safest.
I love taking an early morning walk at least four mornings per week, or I try for the late afternoon or early evening when there is still some sunlight and the risk of over exposure is very small. I always wear sunscreen when I’m not getting my natural dose of vitamin D. Another easy way to get some vitamin D time is rolling down the window in your car as you drive, or even opening the windows in your home.
When you can’t get enough sunlight, if you’re under sixty-five, you should take 400-800 IU per day. People over sixty-five should take 800-1,200 IU per day unless they have a known sensitivity to it. Remember that many very common drugs actually increase sun sensitivity and will therefore increase your chances for getting a sunburn if you stay out too long. It’s always best to check with your pharmacist.
Good food sources of vitamin D are liver, cod liver oil, and egg yolks.