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  • Changed

    Changed

    I sat in a seminar ten years ago and listened to a man, in his seventies, lecturing a bunch of men about change. He said, “When you’re done changing, you’re done.” That sentence has always stuck with me. It sums up our need for continual growth quite nicely.

    I’ve been blessed to experience much change in the last year of my life. I located a picture from a vacation in 2012 and one from 2013. Sixty pounds later, I felt the need to share them here. This was not accomplished by following any doctor’s advice. It was not done by eating a diet that complied with the USDA, AHA or any other organization’s recommendations. It came about by sensible eating, some exercise, and self-discipline.

    before_after(1)

    Thank God for giving me the vision to make this change. I couldn’t have managed it without the support of my family, especially my loving wife. I must thank Market Street United supermarkets as well. Their excellent offerings for healthy foods make eating right easy and affordable. Giant bicycles certainly deserves mention here as well. Quality equipment is just as important when exercising as it is when editing video, driving, or any other thing we do.

    More importantly, never be afraid of change. Instead, be afraid of not changing. Be afraid of being done.

    This article was first published on November 18, 2013 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • “Trust Us”

    So the American Heart Association recommends that the number of Americans taking statins roughly double. The number needs to move from 15% to about a third of all American adults. The below excerpt is interesting in light of the recommendation.

    Roughly half the cholesterol panel members have financial ties to makers of heart drugs, but panel leaders said no one with industry connections could vote on the recommendations.

    “It is practically impossible to find a large group of outside experts in the field who have no relationships to industry,” said Dr. George Mensah of the heart institute. He called the guidelines “a very important step forward” based on solid evidence, and said the public should trust them.

    News from The Associated Press

    Heart.org provides a list of the groups that should take statins now:

    • People without cardiovascular disease who are 40 to 75 years old and have a 7.5 percent or higher risk for heart attack or stroke within 10 years.
    • People with a history of heart attack, stroke, stable or unstable angina, peripheral artery disease, transient ischemic attack, or coronary or other arterial revascularization.
    • People 21 and older who have a very high level of bad cholesterol (190 mg/dL or higher).
    • People with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes who are 40 to 75 years old

    This article was first published on November 13, 2013 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Pat Robertson vs. God on Low-Carb Diets

    “What happens is you build up the clinkers. You get swollen joints, you get gout.”

    “Sooner or later, it violates the principles that God set down.”

    The video with those quotes from Pat Robertson was jumped on with lightning speed all over the net. Unfortunately, it was jumped on most quickly by secular sources while it seems religious leaders have been silent or reserved.

    I’m no religious leader but I felt it necessary to respond to Mr. Robertson’s comments on low-carb diets. First, as a Christian, one of the most significant aspects of Christ to me was that He seemed to have His biggest issues with organized religion and its leaders. Christ asked those leaders how they could speak of anything good when they were the “offspring of vipers.” Now, I’m not able to see the heart of men, including that of Pat Robertson. I am however, able to apply the common sense that God gave all of us to determine right from wrong. As a religious leader he is obligated to speak the truth and is held to a higher standard.

    In light of that, I must point out that the Bible is replete with information on diet and health. One of the earliest ones goes all the way back to Noah.

    Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.
    ~Genesis 9:3

    Common sense won’t allow the reconciliation of the statement that low-carb “violates the principles that God set down” and the verse quoted above. In fact, that verse alone seems to call on mankind to eat naturally. A way of eating that involves meats (if it moves) and vegetables. Principles found in low carb diets, paleo diets, and any other “diet” that brings you back into a healthy state. What it doesn’t support is a diet full of lab grown low carb foods and diets foods that infuse our bodies with GMO bacterial waste which has been benzylated, hydrolysed, methylated, and then debenzylated (from the aspartame patent).

    This article was first published on October 21, 2013 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Rest and Relaxation

    This site is about being healthy, not just eating healthy. Sometimes that involves the pushing aside of normal routine. As I sit 650 miles from MarketStreet and the wonderful healthy groceries that played a key role in my loss of 50+ pounds, I realize that the carbs I am consuming in the form of chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallow with my family are worth it. They bring their own challenges and extra work later but the joy on a child’s face is good for the soul.

    God’s creation is a wonderful place to spend time and unwind. Get out in the green. Make a break from routine. Relax.

    This article was first published on October 13, 2013 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Sweet Potato Hash

    Took a peek in the fridge this morning and did a quick search for sweet potato egg recipes. Came across this one for Sweet Potato Hash from nomnompaleo.  I really wanted to put up a pic of it, but it smelled and looked so good I gave in and couldn’t wait. If you need another way to do something great with the wonderful sweet potato, go check it out.

    This article was first published on October 9, 2013 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Don’t Worry

    Something food free and personal today.

    Almost two years ago to this date you could have found me on the floor at the back of the house in an extreme amount of pain. I hadn’t slept for three days and I was convinced the word tumor would come out of my physician’s mouth the next morning. Without going too deeply into the details suffice it to say it was a TMJ Disorder. It took minor surgery and months of rehab to fix.

    Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:34

    What happened to me was that clenching my mouth at night due to stress was causing a very slight misalignment of my jaw. That in turn led to tremendous pain that I could not get rid of. I was stressed over things I had no real control over.

    Stress can cause our bodies all sorts of nasty problems. Heart attacks, memory loss, and digestive disorders just to name a few. The irritability that goes with it can damage relationships when left unchecked. I wanted nothing to do with anyone, including those closest to me, when I was in pain. If you’re stressed, try to focus on healthy, positive thoughts and heed the words of Christ above.

    Have a great day!

    This article was first published on October 7, 2013 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Better than Meds

    I often tell people that even during my sedentary years my wonderful wife insisted on making me eat well. I thank her regularly for that, as many of my peers are on multiple prescriptions at this stage. I attribute the fact that I am not to her efforts. It seems however, healthy lifestyle can benefit more than physical ailments. Dr. Mercola has an excellent article on the effects of exercise on mood disorders.

    Some psychologists swear by exercise as a primary form of treatment for depression, anxiety and other mood disorders. Research has shown again and again that patients who follow regular exercise regimens see improvement in their mood — improvements comparable to that of those treated with medication.

    … try viewing exercise as a daily tool to immediately enhance your frame of mind, reduce stress and feel happier. Exercise Can Be a Key Anti-Anxiety Treatment

    The psalmist wrote that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” It’s a testament to the way we are made that exercising can have beneficial effects on our whole being, not just our bodies. Go run. Go ride. Go climb. Exerting yourself helps bring everything back into focus.

    This article was first published on October 3, 2013 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Big Breakfast May Be Best for Diabetes Patients

    Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You’ve heard it before. You’ve probably heard all your life how your mental performance is best when you eat breakfast. It boosts more than mental performance. A new study indicates is also a big boost to the health of some people suffering from diabetes.

    About one-third of the people eating a big breakfast ended up cutting back on  the daily diabetic medication they needed to take. By comparison, about 17  percent of the small breakfast group had to increase their medication  prescriptions during the course of the trial.
    Breakfast May Be Best for Diabetes Patients

    This article was first published on October 3, 2013 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Should you double up on protein to lose weight?

    It was a small study but hopefully it will be followed up on by a more extensive study.

     However, the people who doubled up on protein lost the most fat; it amounted to about 70 percent of their total weight loss.Should you double up on protein to lose weight? – Weight Loss – MSN Healthy Living

    This article was first published on September 30, 2013 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.

  • Original Sin

    Original Sin

    she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. Gen. 3:6 KJV

    Sin was introduced when Eve, after listening to the serpent, decided to violate God’s command. I find it interesting that the original sin was followed immediately by the outward manifestation of that sin. Eating. We’ve been destroying ourselves with the act of eating since shortly after our creation.

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    Can’t believe that it just occurred to me.

    This article was first published on September 29, 2013 and was recovered using AI and web.archive.org.