Being Healthy

In the last several months I've developed a greater awareness of and interest in healthy living. I have several friends who have had to change their lives and their menus because of various medical circumstances and I've learned from their research, observations and tasty creations. As a result, I've done some of my own research and made some of my own changes. I'm paying more attention to what I eat and where it comes from. I'm becoming more willing to pay a little more money for healthier food items. I'm actually, for the first time in my life, going out of my way to avoid excessive amounts of sugar and preservatives and choosing healthier snacks. While I can thank all of my self-disciplined and principled friends, the person who tipped the balance for me into changing my dietary ways is Jamie Oliver. He has a TV show called "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" and I admire and respect him for doing what he does. I'm grateful that he, a Brit, has come to America to help us change the status quo when it comes to food. I've still got a TON to learn about how to make healthier food choices, but I'm on the right track. You can visit his website here. I've also added a link to his website on the "Other Good Blogs" section on the right side of this blog. (I've also got links to some great food blogs there too)

Cosmetics is another area where I'm making changes. A few months ago I stumbled across a website called "Nature's Knockout." It's a site/company run by a mother-daughter styling team. They work on movies and photo shoots and such. They do a great job in educating their readers about the harmful chemicals that are in most of our cosmetics. Things like cleansers, moisturizers, anti-perspirants, lotions, sunscreens, makeup, shampoos and hair styling products have toxic ingredients that have been linked to certain cancers, reproductive problems, liver problems and a load of other things. I've been happy to find that Walmart has a growing selection of natural cosmetic products that don't cost any more than what I'd been using for years. You can visit their website here. I've also added a "Nature's Knockout" button on the right side of this blog. (They also have some great hair style and makeup tutorial videos)

I've been exercising more too. Have y'all tried Zumba? It is the FUNNEST non-sport exercise ever invented! I love it! I tried spinning for a while and treadmills and elliptical machines, but I hate feeling like I'm exercising. Zumba is basically dancing which doesn't feel like exercise to me. I work way harder and push myself way more than I do in any other gym activity I've tried. The base gym offers a twice-weekly class. I can't wait for my job to be over at the end of the month so that I can go to both classes every week. When I can't go I get really sad and try to do my own Zumba at home.

Yesterday I went to the dentist. I don't like the dentist. In fact, I don't like the dentist so much that I brought a beanie baby with me as a security bean bag/stress ball. Anyhoo, apparently I have very clean teeth, no cavities, and a receding gum line. Yup. A receding gum line. Maybe this is common knowledge to y'all, but I didn't know that could happen. I asked the hygienist about my sensitive teeth and she said that I'm probably brushing my teeth too hard and/or too long and am wearing away my gums which is exposing tiny nerve endings which is causing my teeth to be so sensitive. Well, they won't grow back, but I've switched to an extra soft toothbrush, am careful to not brush too hard or too long and will now be using a toothpaste for sensitive teeth. Old habits die hard, so this will take some work. I made myself a little reminder sign and attached it to my mirror.

So, I'm getting healthy. I feel GREAT! I'm confident in my decision to change some things and I feel better than I've felt in a long time! Have a great day and be sure not to brush your teeth too hard. :-)