Tag: healthy lifestyle

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Be Careful About What You Say

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. In a previous post, I wrote that people with diabetes are 2 to 3 times more likely to suffer from depression than people without diabetes, and only 25% – 50% of those ever get diagnosed and treated.

The other bad thing about diabetes is that it can make your mental health problems worse and if your mental health problems are not treated they can make your diabetes worse. But the good news is, You Are Not Alone. There’s help for you and the millions of others who need it.

The words we say to ourselves and the words others say to us can have a negative effect on the way we feel about ourselves and consequently on our mental health. Diabetes does not define who you are. Depression or any other mental illness does not define who you are. Sure, you can make healthy lifestyle changes to better manage your diabetes, but having diabetes or mental health does not mean you’re a bad person.

However, saying negative words to yourself can make you feel guilty and beyond help. Do you say things like “I’ll never lose weight. I inherited fat genes.”

Or, “I’ll never be able to control this diabetes.”

Or, “What good would it do to talk to someone?”

If you say things like that you are closing your mind to the healing process. You are training your body to resist change. You may have inherited diabetes or obesity, but making the necessary lifestyle changes can help you overcome those challenges.

Talking to people who are sympathetic and knowledgeable can be the first step in helping you cope with diabetes and/or mental health problems. Focusing on the negative things in your life — your weight, your lack of energy, isolation —or any other limiting factors can cause you to become depressed, as can the words you say to yourself.

Make an effort today to begin speaking the changes you would like to see in your life.

“I can lose weight despite the genes I inherited.”

“With the right help, I can control my illness.”

“It won’t help to keep my feelings bottled up inside.”

Your words have power. They can enact a positive or a negative transformation in your life. Be careful about what you say.

The US is facing a serious mental health crisis, this is why the National Alliance on Mental Illness joins the national movement every year to bring greater awareness to mental health and to help fight the stigma that goes with it. The theme for this year’s campaign is More Than Enough.

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A diagnosis of type 2 diabetes can send your life into a tailspin. It can leave you feeling alone and overwhelmed, but it doesn’t have to. Join my type 2 diabetes network group and get the help and support you need.

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7 Ways To Cope With Stress

April is Stress Awareness Month. In our modern-day society, stress has become a much-overused word. Other synonyms you might use are overwhelmed, burnout, and pressure. These words adequately describe the way a person feels when under stress.

What is stress?

However, the scientific meaning of stress is the way the body responds to physical, emotional or mental pressure, commonly called the fight or flight response. During stress your body undergoes chemical changes that can raise your blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels.

Stress and diabetes

People with type 2 diabetes are prone to stress because of the difficulties associated with managing diabetes. Also, when you are under stress, your blood sugar levels rise. Let’s say you are walking along the street and see a speeding car coming straight at you, you experience a rush of adrenaline. Your heart pounds, your breathing becomes shallow, and your saliva may even dry up. This rush of adrenaline causes your blood glucose levels to rise as the body prepares to give you enough energy for fight or flight. At the same time, your insulin level drops, growth hormone and cortisol levels rise, making your body less sensitive to insulin.

Emotional stress may come about when you are overwhelmed either with demands placed on your time at work or at home. Conflict, financial pressures, and health issues can all bring about stress.

Use the infographic below to help increase your stress awareness and learn some techniques that will help you cope with stress.

A diagnosis of type 2 diabetes can send your life into a tailspin. It can leave you feeling alone and overwhelmed, but it doesn’t have to. Join my type 2 diabetes network group and get the help and support you need.

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The Ameo Life Promise: Product Review

Do you often wish your supplements were made from natural ingredients, free of chemicals and other harmful substances and that they produce the results they claim to give? If you want products that are gluten friendly, vegan friendly, GMO free, GMP certified and live up to their promise then look to the Ameo Life Promise, a company whose products are independently tested and manufactured in the USA to the highest possible standards.

Ameo Life offers a wide range of products from vitamins and supplements, probiotics, pH balanced gels, soaps, lozenges, and more. I received some of these products in exchange for a review and while I haven’t had them long enough to give a positive review of the multivitamins, I can tell you that they are chelated, meaning they combine 18 vitamins and minerals and are easily absorbed into the body and contain methylated folate, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Alpha Lipoic acid.

Some of the benefits of these multivitamins are:

  • Increase energy and stamina
  • Easy to swallow vegetarian capsule
  • Iron-free for gentle digestion
  • Boost nutrient levels

One product that I tried and absolutely love is the Silver Infused Gel with Aloe. This gel contains antioxidants, enzymes, Vitamins A and C and is infused with Aloe. You don’t need a lot of this gel to get that smooth, clean feel when you use it. This Silver Infused gel is designed to rejuvenate and nourish your skin.

Another product I was very pleased with is Ameo’s Charcoal Tea Tree Soap. This soap, which contains essential oil of bergmot and orange, is formulated for all skin types and naturally cleanses the skin. It is also toxin and paraben free. Since I have oily skin, I found this soap left my skin feeling clean and smooth without that harsh, dry feeling other soaps leave. I also love the charcoal smell.

The pH Balanced Alkaline Structured Silver Solution supplement is another product that has garnered a lot of positive reviews . I haven’t used it long enough to form an opinion, however the fact that it’s light, colorless and has no taste encouraged me to try it in the hope that it will help with my digestive problems. This product is designed to cleanse the gut naturally, get rid of bad bacteria, yeast and mold, and support your immune system.

Ameo Life products are all third-party independently tested for quality and efficacy. They are made from natural, organic ingredients and are safe and effective. From my experience with using these products and the rave reviews posted by other customers, I am pleased to recommend them to you.

And now you can win 4 full-sized Ameo Life products when you enter this giveaway:  https://www.blessedfreebies.com/ameo-life-giveaway.html

To purchase go to https://bit.ly/3zWgn8Z

A diagnosis of type 2 diabetes can send your life into a tailspin. It can leave you feeling alone and overwhelmed, but it doesn’t have to. Join my type 2 diabetes network group and get the help and support you need.

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How To Stay On Track For the Holidays

Complete this sentence: You know the holidays are here when …

You might give any of these as an answer:

There are not enough hours in your day

You have to put off exercising because of any number of reasons

You are attending too many parties and eating too much of what you should not be eating.

And on and on.

All of those answers may be true, yet you feel guilty because once the holidays are over, you are back to where you started. Well, I have some solutions for you:

  1. Eat. Yes, eat before you head out to one of those after-work parties. If you have been in the habit of having a healthy lunch, you won’t be that hungry by the time you get to the party and you will be less likely to eat the things you should not be eating.
  2. Go for 10. Use the rule of 10, which simply means exercise for 10 minutes instead of 30. Studies have shown that exercising consistently for 10 minutes each day can produce good results.  Or, you can always divide up your exercise routine into 10-minute blocks: 10 minutes before you leave for work, 10 minutes at lunch time and 10 minutes in the evening, if you have the time.
  3. Avoid stress. The holidays can be enjoyable but they can also be stressful. Trying to do too much to find the perfect gifts, cook enough food for a football team, and at the same time being the perfect hostess can leave you feeling like a wrung-out dish cloth. Don’t do it! Christmas is a time to be enjoyed; a time to reflect on the reason for the season, which is Jesus Christ. He doesn’t want you to wear yourself out. He only wants you to honor Him.

To help you with your 10-minute routine, here are some simple tools you can use. They don’t cost a lot and you can even take them to work with you.

Exercise Ball

This is great for working your entire body – abs, back, upper and lower body, or use it in place of your chair for greater stability.

Exercise Bands

I like these because they come with an instruction booklet, a bag to carry them in and workout videos.

Don’t let the holidays catch you napping. Continue your fitness routine with little effort, and feel proud of yourself in the New Year.

Another way you can feel proud of yourself in the New Year is to get started on my Diabetes Awareness challenge now. When you sign up, you will receive an informative and helpful article each day Monday to Friday, discussing some of the topics you have in your mind about diabetes. Topics such as, 

  • I have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, what should I do now?
  • Can I control my diabetes without medication?
  • Important facts you need to know about diabetes, 
  • and much more. 

Don’t let 2022 catch you napping. Get on track now and it will be easier to stay on track when the holidays are over. Just sign up here.

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Mid-week Study: Exercising Outdoors Can Save Your Life

In South Florida where I live, summer is a great time for exercising outdoors, especially during the early hours of the morning. The air is crisp and just warm enough to make you break out a sweat. It’s a great time to walk your dog, ride your bike or just take a brisk walk or jog.

For those of you who live in places with air pollution, you may be tempted to forego your exercise because of the air quality, but according to this study, “the benefits of regular outdoor exercise in areas with air pollution outweigh the risks.” In fact the study goes so far as to say that habitual exercise can save your life.

Researcher Dr. Xiang Qian Lao, from the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at Chinese University of Hong Kong claims, “Habitual exercise reduces the risk of death regardless of exposure to air pollution, and air pollution generally increases the risk of death regardless of habitual exercise.”

While the study concluded that less exposure to air pollution was better, it also reiterated that compared to inactivity, a higher amount of regular exercise was beneficial, even in polluted areas. This study was done on 384,000 adults in Taiwan. Smaller studies conducted in the United States, Denmark and Hong Kong also found that regular exercise, even in polluted areas, is beneficial.

If you have been putting off exercising outdoors because you live in an area with air pollution, the results of these studies should set your mind at ease. Habitual exercise reduces the risk of death regardless of exposure to air pollution. So, put on your walking shoes, your sunglasses, and sunscreen and head for the great outdoors.

The shoes shown below are made for walking, standing, nursing, working out etc. They are lightweight and comfortable. The links are affiliate links, meaning If you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a commission. It does not cost you anything more.

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Why New Years Resolutions Fail

Can you believe it’s March already? Seems like yesterday we were kicking 2020 “badbye” and here we are in the third month of the year. From the heading you can guess what I’m going to say next. How are you doing with your New Year’s resolution? If you’re like most people, chances are you’re not doing so well.

We start out January with great intentions. We resolve to lose weight, eat healthy, exercise more, gain control over our finances or to generally have a more positive outlook. Some of us have no problem keeping our resolutions.

But for many of us, shortly after the New Year, a week or two or even a month in, we begin to slide back into our old ways, and by March we have completely given up on our resolutions.

Why do so many people have problems following through?

Researchers give several reasons for this. Among them are :

  • Willingness to change a bad habit
  • Setting unrealistic goals
  • Lack of support or accountability

Now you know some of the reasons you fail in keeping your New Year’s resolutions, it’s time to do something about it. Get back on track.

Do you suffer from type 2 diabetes? Would you like to know how to control or even reverse your diabetes through proper diet and exercise? Then fill out the form below for a free discovery session. Contact me.

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Supplements To Help Lower Your Diabetes

November is American Diabetes Month – a time to stop procrastinating and move forward. Type 2 diabetes can be controlled through lifestyle changes such as proper diet, exercise, and medication. Some supplements can help lower blood glucose in people with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes when glucose levels rise higher than normal.

  • According to Consumer Lab.com, Cinnamon supplements may modestly improve blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, but only certain varieties have been found to have that effect.
  • Magnesium supplements have been shown to increase insulin sensitivity in people with type 2 diabetes, and may lower blood sugar levels in people with prediabetes or metabolic syndrome.
  • Curcumin (from turmeric) may improve blood sugar levels. One study found that curcumin dramatically lowers the risk of prediabetes in slightly overweight middle-aged men and women with higher than normal glucose levels.
  • Apple cider vinegar may reduce the rise in blood sugar that occurs after eating. If taken in pill or tablet form, it does not have the same effect.
  • Vitamin D may reduce the risk of insulin resistance in people who are obese.
  • Extra virgin olive oil when taken with a meal has been shown to reduce blood sugar spike after a meal compared to the same meal consumed with corn oil.
  • Dietary fiber from cereal and grains is associated with reduced risk of diabetes and can lower fasting glucose levels and HbA1c in people with type 2 diabetes.
  • Drinking whey protein before a high glycemic meal may also help to control glucose levels in people with well-controlled type 2 diabetes.

Taking supplements may help you control diabetes or prediabetes, however, due to the serious nature of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), you should consult your doctor before using any of them. Keep healthy and stay safe!

Do you suffer from type 2 diabetes? Would you like to know how to control or even reverse your diabetes through proper diet and exercise? Then fill out the form below for a free discovery session. Contact me.

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Do You Want To Get Well?

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda[a] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. [4] [b] 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5: 1- 6)

Courtesy morgue file

This story in the book of John always makes me wonder exactly what Jesus meant when he asked the man, “Do you want to get well? The passage begins by letting us know that this pool was the place where disabled people hung out in hopes of being healed. So for Jesus to ask the man if he wanted to get well seemed like a hypothetical question.

If you have been struggling with some kind of disability or illness – such as type 2 diabetes – and I asked you if you wanted to get well, what would you say? I’m almost sure you would say, “Of course.” However, you may not stop there. You might go on to say, like the man in the scripture above, “I have no one to help me get better. I have been struggling with this for years. I have to live on medication.” Or, you might say, “My mother was a diabetic, my sister is a diabetic, my brother is a diabetic, I guess I can’t help being a diabetic.”

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Jesus listened to the man’s excuses then said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”

I know there are some people who have been sick for a long time. Doctors may have even told them they will never get well. As an occupational therapist, my job was to help my patients regain their prior level of functioning. If they were independent before their injury, then I had to do my best to restore them to independence. However, if someone came to me who needed assistance for years to shower herself, then I couldn’t hope to get her to function independently.

The man in the Bible story had been disabled for thirty-eight years! That’s a very long time. He’d given up hope. He’d no doubt learned to accept his fate and had decided he would just lie there and watch others get their healing. But Jesus was having none of that. We know the end of the story. Jesus commanded the man to get up and walk, and he did.

Well, you might say, “That’s just a Bible story. Jesus won’t come and heal me.” Maybe He won’t come physically and heal you, but He might require you to do certain things that will bring about your healing. First, you can pray. Amazing things happen when you pray. Through prayer you receive insight, knowledge, and wisdom about your condition and the steps you must take in order to be healed. Maybe God will show you that you need to change the way you eat, how you can become more active, quit smoking or make some simple lifestyle changes.

Notice, Jesus didn’t say to the man, “Wait a little longer. Someone will come along.” Or, “Call a little louder and someone will hear you.” All He said was, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Why? Because it was crucial for the man to seize the moment. It was time to stop waiting and take action. This man waited thirty-eight years! Think of what he could have accomplished during that time. You could be losing precious time if your illness is keeping you from being all you can be. So, why not start now? Why not get up, take your bed and walk to your recovery? Don’t wait a second longer.

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When Everything Seems Too Hard

The gateway to the gospel near Joppa

Have you ever wakened in the morning, looked at the clock, groaned and covered your head, wishing you didn’t have to get up? I daresay it happens to many of us–especially if it’s Monday morning. Yep, like this morning. I’m not making fun of your struggle, but sometimes life seems just too hard.

It was hard

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you would know I just returned from a trip to Israel. And while it was a bucket-list trip for me, it was hard. Someone calculated on his smart watch that we had walked 28 miles in 10 days! And the watch didn’t say anything about how many hills we climbed, and how hot the weather was. In one place, the mercury reached 100 degrees. Yes, it was hard!

What kept me going

But what kept us, kept me going, was a sense of purpose. Visiting Israel, walking in the footsteps of Jesus, was a bucket-list accomplishment for me. That is what made me get out of my bed at 5. 30 every morning, get dressed and board the bus. Would I do it again? You bet I would!

The apostle Paul’s difficulties

The apostle Paul, speaking of all the difficulties he and his companions endured while they were in Asia, said, “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1: 8 – 9). 

Rely on God

If trying to achieve your goals seems difficult right now, here’s what you need to do: Rely on God. If you read the New Testament, you would see Paul’s recounting of the hardships he endured –beaten, stoned, left for dead, imprisoned, shipwrecked, bitten by a snake– the list goes on and on. But all of these things happened that they might learn to rely on God and not on themselves. Trying to lose weight? Get rid of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, whatever? Medicines may help, but you must also trust God. He made you, He knows your body and He wants to help you.

Keep your purpose in mind

Paul and his companions had a purpose–to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. They were not just going for a visit. In the same way you must keep your purpose in mind. Write your goals down and look at them every chance you get. Pray about them and watch God bring them to pass.

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One Small Step

Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” If you were not born yet when Neil Armstrong uttered those oh-so-famous words, you have probably heard them again and again. That one small step -landing on the moon – paved the way for so many great things to be accomplished. If ever there was cause to be afraid of the unknown, that moment was it. But Neil Armstrong took that one small step and the rest, as we say, is history.

Speaking of the mission in Houston in 1962, President John F. Kennedy said, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” Starting an exercise program is not as hard as landing on the moon, at least it shouldn’t be, but it requires effort, determination and consistency. So, what one small step can you take today? Will you start a new exercise routine, a new diet plan, join a class? What will you do today? Don’t let fear hold you back. Take that one small step.

When you fill in the form below, I will send you a short ebook showing you how you can prioritize your life so you can make time for things that matter. Your name will be added to my mailing list so you can keep up to date on all my offers.