Did you know that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a person with a Service Dog CANNOT be told to be in a separate area?
I just file a second complaint against a person who has already harassed me about the presence of my Service Dog. Today, she wanted me to be at the far end of the room. That's "separate but equal," which would have actually put me OUT of feeling like a participant in the class.
If a person has a Service Animal and goes to a restaurant, they cannot be told they must sit in a certain area. Any place in the restaurant is open to the disabled person as long as it does not interfere with the essential services of the place of public accommodation.
If you are trying on clothing, the Service Animal CAN go with you into the fitting room.
One of the purposes of the Americans with Disabilities Act is to enable persons with disabilities to participate within our general society to the best of their ability. That is the spirit of the law.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Friday, July 24, 2015
Healthy Choices
I'm attending a seminar tonight and tomorrow on healthy eating choices which will, of course, be centered on plant-based consumption.
Eating a plant-based diet for life has always been a healthy option, but in these days of factory farming which hormones and antibiotics are fed to animals meant for human consumption and the methods are cruel (including the slaughter process), it's time for people to take time to think about what exactly they are consuming! Also, as Frances Moore Lappe' told us in the 1960s in DIET FOR A SMALL PLANET, a meat-based food chain is highly inefficient. Why raise food to feed to animals so we can eat the animals? (And certainly, why raise food so we can feed fur-bearing animals so we can butcher them for their pelts? Talk about selfish!)
Western societies need to stop raising animals for consumption. It's just that simple. Factory farms are serious environmental hazards too. And pigs, for instance, are highly intelligent. When you eat pork products, you are essentially eating a third grade child. Animals have thoughts and emotions, they even dream. Chickens learn their names and other words. If you have access to free range, cruelty free chickens who are allowed to live into old age, by all means, eat eggs. But if you know anything about commercial egg production, you'd know that eating those eggs is not only cruel, it's a threat to one's general health.
It is important to use good sense when making choices in a plant-based diet. Don't load up on bread products made with "white enriched flour." That stuff is pure garbage. Go for whole grains. Look up the protein and fiber contents on the grains you consume. Amaranth tastes better than quinoa, I think, and it has 12 to 14 % protein! It has a rich, nutty flavor. Pinterest has many amaranth recipes.
A piece of whole grain bread with peanut butter is a far better choice than a doughnut. Will eating that doughnut actually make you happy? It might taste good for the moment, but think about how you feel with you pass up those doughnuts time and again, then you get on the scale and see the results of your effort. THAT will make you happy! How about running into a friend who tells you, "You look so healthy!" THAT will make you happy! How about going to the doctor and being told, "Your A1c is 5.5 once again, so I can take you off your diabetes medication." THAT WILL MAKE YOU REALLY HAPPY!
If you use an app like My Fitness Pal, you can not only record everything you eat and check your nutrition by the day and by the week, you can check the nutrient content and calories on a food BEFORE you eat it. That can be a huge help in making healthy choices. This is a great help in kicking sugar addiction.
Also, I find it a great help to keep apples, walnuts and protein shakes with me in my tote bag. If I get very hungry when I am out and about, I have healthy choices with me. This keeps me from being in the position of buying over-priced food that isn't even healthy! I started carrying my snacks whenever I leave the house last summer, and it has really paid off -- 45 lbs later!
Today is Friday, and it's going to be HOT today, tomorrow and Sunday. Remember to stay hydrated. Drink water the first thing in the morning to get your metabolism going, and keep drinking water all day long. Toss some lemon and cucumber slices or smush up some berries in your water if you want some flavor. The important thing is to STAY HYDRATED. 85 % of American are walking around in some state of dehydration. This puts a dreadful strain on your kidneys and liver and it slows your metabolism and even your cognitive processes. Older people showing signs of dementia are at times merely suffering from dehydration! So keep drinking water all day long, especially a few minutes before each meal or snack.
Have a great weekend, y'all!
Eating a plant-based diet for life has always been a healthy option, but in these days of factory farming which hormones and antibiotics are fed to animals meant for human consumption and the methods are cruel (including the slaughter process), it's time for people to take time to think about what exactly they are consuming! Also, as Frances Moore Lappe' told us in the 1960s in DIET FOR A SMALL PLANET, a meat-based food chain is highly inefficient. Why raise food to feed to animals so we can eat the animals? (And certainly, why raise food so we can feed fur-bearing animals so we can butcher them for their pelts? Talk about selfish!)
Western societies need to stop raising animals for consumption. It's just that simple. Factory farms are serious environmental hazards too. And pigs, for instance, are highly intelligent. When you eat pork products, you are essentially eating a third grade child. Animals have thoughts and emotions, they even dream. Chickens learn their names and other words. If you have access to free range, cruelty free chickens who are allowed to live into old age, by all means, eat eggs. But if you know anything about commercial egg production, you'd know that eating those eggs is not only cruel, it's a threat to one's general health.
It is important to use good sense when making choices in a plant-based diet. Don't load up on bread products made with "white enriched flour." That stuff is pure garbage. Go for whole grains. Look up the protein and fiber contents on the grains you consume. Amaranth tastes better than quinoa, I think, and it has 12 to 14 % protein! It has a rich, nutty flavor. Pinterest has many amaranth recipes.
A piece of whole grain bread with peanut butter is a far better choice than a doughnut. Will eating that doughnut actually make you happy? It might taste good for the moment, but think about how you feel with you pass up those doughnuts time and again, then you get on the scale and see the results of your effort. THAT will make you happy! How about running into a friend who tells you, "You look so healthy!" THAT will make you happy! How about going to the doctor and being told, "Your A1c is 5.5 once again, so I can take you off your diabetes medication." THAT WILL MAKE YOU REALLY HAPPY!
If you use an app like My Fitness Pal, you can not only record everything you eat and check your nutrition by the day and by the week, you can check the nutrient content and calories on a food BEFORE you eat it. That can be a huge help in making healthy choices. This is a great help in kicking sugar addiction.
Also, I find it a great help to keep apples, walnuts and protein shakes with me in my tote bag. If I get very hungry when I am out and about, I have healthy choices with me. This keeps me from being in the position of buying over-priced food that isn't even healthy! I started carrying my snacks whenever I leave the house last summer, and it has really paid off -- 45 lbs later!
Today is Friday, and it's going to be HOT today, tomorrow and Sunday. Remember to stay hydrated. Drink water the first thing in the morning to get your metabolism going, and keep drinking water all day long. Toss some lemon and cucumber slices or smush up some berries in your water if you want some flavor. The important thing is to STAY HYDRATED. 85 % of American are walking around in some state of dehydration. This puts a dreadful strain on your kidneys and liver and it slows your metabolism and even your cognitive processes. Older people showing signs of dementia are at times merely suffering from dehydration! So keep drinking water all day long, especially a few minutes before each meal or snack.
Have a great weekend, y'all!
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Being Consistent!
Consistency in both healthy food choices and regular exercise is THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENT of weight loss and preventing re-gaining lost weight. The National Weight Loss Registry studies successful stories of people who have lost weight and kept it off, and being consistent is the most important thing you can do.
Also, remember that your wellness is a continual journey. Strive for progress; don't worry about perfection.
Also, remember that your wellness is a continual journey. Strive for progress; don't worry about perfection.
Friday, July 17, 2015
Emotional Eating
Well, bummers. According to my weight management doctor's scale, I have only lost 2 pounds in the last month. Oddly enough I have lost centimeters on neck, waist and hips according to my measurements in my monthly visit.
Dr. Rose said not to panic. Our bodies rebel as we try to find a lower, healthier set point weight. All those crazy hormones that are involved in digestion and metabolizing our intake get out of whack as we lose weight. She told me to keep doing all the things I have been doing.
The biggest change in the last year has been surrendering the lifelong habit of EMOTIONAL EATING. I never had to quit smoking, but I suspect it's a similar process. Behaviorists tell us it takes 6 weeks to break a mammalian habit. Whew. For overcoming 60 years worth of habit of emotional eating, 6 weeks was a mere drop in the bucket. I was 11 months into this when I had a very stressful experience. THIS TIME though, I recognized the motivation, and I said, I'm NOT going to do that. Eating solves nothing. Even though I had no junk food in the house, pigging out on healthy food is still pigging out! Consuming more food than what we need causes weight gain.
What did I do instead? I had printed out some of those adult coloring pages -- very detailed florals and mandalas. The colored pencils went to work. Yes, it was a great way to de-stress, and it took my mind off of food.
Now that I clearly recognize the impulse when it hits, I have a list of alternative activities. The dogs always enjoy a long walk, I'm still editing my young adult historical novel so that I can e-publish it, books are always around for reading, and yes, pulling out my colored pencils and coloring sheets is still a strategy.
Have a great weekend, get some exercise, and eat healthy food!
Dr. Rose said not to panic. Our bodies rebel as we try to find a lower, healthier set point weight. All those crazy hormones that are involved in digestion and metabolizing our intake get out of whack as we lose weight. She told me to keep doing all the things I have been doing.
The biggest change in the last year has been surrendering the lifelong habit of EMOTIONAL EATING. I never had to quit smoking, but I suspect it's a similar process. Behaviorists tell us it takes 6 weeks to break a mammalian habit. Whew. For overcoming 60 years worth of habit of emotional eating, 6 weeks was a mere drop in the bucket. I was 11 months into this when I had a very stressful experience. THIS TIME though, I recognized the motivation, and I said, I'm NOT going to do that. Eating solves nothing. Even though I had no junk food in the house, pigging out on healthy food is still pigging out! Consuming more food than what we need causes weight gain.
What did I do instead? I had printed out some of those adult coloring pages -- very detailed florals and mandalas. The colored pencils went to work. Yes, it was a great way to de-stress, and it took my mind off of food.
Now that I clearly recognize the impulse when it hits, I have a list of alternative activities. The dogs always enjoy a long walk, I'm still editing my young adult historical novel so that I can e-publish it, books are always around for reading, and yes, pulling out my colored pencils and coloring sheets is still a strategy.
Have a great weekend, get some exercise, and eat healthy food!
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
You CAN do this!!!
Today's nutrition class (a big THANK YOU to the undergraduate and graduate students in the University of Kentucky Human Nutrition program) was on leafy green vegetables and berries.
Apparently new research indicates that for those taking blood thinning medication, you CAN have leafy green vegetables that are high in Vitamin K IF you eat a CONSISTENT AMOUNT daily. In this way your medication can be adjusted to compensate for the ingestion of Vitamin K. This means DAILY ingestion of these vegetables, not occasional. If you take blood thinning medications and you want to put these vegetables back in your diet, TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR. (Personally, I would go bonkers without my greens and broccoli!)
We had a berry salsa to try as well. I'm a berry freak -- any kind of berries. In June when the blueberries were coming in and were very affordable, I stashed some in my freezer. Now, for dessert, I add them to my Fage 0% Fat Greek Yogurt with one packet of stevia. Good stuff! Terribly healthy as well.
Between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015, I lost 42 lbs., and I am still losing. I'm not losing weight just for the sake of losing. I am on a mission to improve my health. Making sensible, healthy choices for food and daily exercises are two key ingredients in this pursuit. Will eating that doughnut make you happy, I mean REALLY happy? Probably not. But will feeling healthier and dropping a few pounds make you feel happy? For most Americans, you bet it would.
Body, mind and spirit all work together, like a three-legged stool. Remove one leg, and that stool will fall over. Find the ways that make YOUR body, mind and spirit as healthy as they possibly. Even with chronic, serious health concerns, you CAN pursue health to the best of your ability.
There is no excuse for not trying to find what works for YOU. If you have problems getting physical exercise, have your doctor refer you for a physical therapy consultation to find appropriate exercises. County health departments often have nutritionists or diabetes educators who can help you learn to make better food choices, but it's up to YOU to give up the junk, the sugar, the additives. Take time for silence every day. Find ways to be in nature. Discover your bliss.
YOU CAN DO THIS!
Apparently new research indicates that for those taking blood thinning medication, you CAN have leafy green vegetables that are high in Vitamin K IF you eat a CONSISTENT AMOUNT daily. In this way your medication can be adjusted to compensate for the ingestion of Vitamin K. This means DAILY ingestion of these vegetables, not occasional. If you take blood thinning medications and you want to put these vegetables back in your diet, TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR. (Personally, I would go bonkers without my greens and broccoli!)
We had a berry salsa to try as well. I'm a berry freak -- any kind of berries. In June when the blueberries were coming in and were very affordable, I stashed some in my freezer. Now, for dessert, I add them to my Fage 0% Fat Greek Yogurt with one packet of stevia. Good stuff! Terribly healthy as well.
Between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015, I lost 42 lbs., and I am still losing. I'm not losing weight just for the sake of losing. I am on a mission to improve my health. Making sensible, healthy choices for food and daily exercises are two key ingredients in this pursuit. Will eating that doughnut make you happy, I mean REALLY happy? Probably not. But will feeling healthier and dropping a few pounds make you feel happy? For most Americans, you bet it would.
Body, mind and spirit all work together, like a three-legged stool. Remove one leg, and that stool will fall over. Find the ways that make YOUR body, mind and spirit as healthy as they possibly. Even with chronic, serious health concerns, you CAN pursue health to the best of your ability.
There is no excuse for not trying to find what works for YOU. If you have problems getting physical exercise, have your doctor refer you for a physical therapy consultation to find appropriate exercises. County health departments often have nutritionists or diabetes educators who can help you learn to make better food choices, but it's up to YOU to give up the junk, the sugar, the additives. Take time for silence every day. Find ways to be in nature. Discover your bliss.
YOU CAN DO THIS!
Monday, July 6, 2015
Having survived the "war zone" of the July 4 celebrants, I stayed home all day yesterday. The dogs got multiple walks, which they enjoyed. It was a day to chill out an recharge my inner battery. We all need that "down time" occasionally. Listen to your body, mind and soul. If you are feeling wrung out, take time for yourself, by yourself. And don't forget to BREATHE.
Stand or sit tall, and slowly inhale through your nose. Hold it for a few seconds, and then exhale through your mouth, taking more time to exhale than you did to inhale. Hold again, and repeat. This is cleansing breathing.
Do this three times a day, ten breaths for each session. You won't believe the difference it will make. If you are feeling anxious in traffic, do your breathing. Waiting for a doctor's appointment? Do your breathing.
If you are having problems with chronic pain, imagine exhaling pain on every exhale. Trust me, it helps!
Now, dive into the week, and don't forget to BREATHE!
Stand or sit tall, and slowly inhale through your nose. Hold it for a few seconds, and then exhale through your mouth, taking more time to exhale than you did to inhale. Hold again, and repeat. This is cleansing breathing.
Do this three times a day, ten breaths for each session. You won't believe the difference it will make. If you are feeling anxious in traffic, do your breathing. Waiting for a doctor's appointment? Do your breathing.
If you are having problems with chronic pain, imagine exhaling pain on every exhale. Trust me, it helps!
Now, dive into the week, and don't forget to BREATHE!
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