Staying Healthy

Staying healthy is a goal but it's an up and down road to get there. I've actually done better with this than I thought I would. One reason is that I definitely have more energy. I have my weaknesses though. Mike Sell's potato chips are my biggest.
I have tried different exercise programs with walking but my favorite are definitely my Leslie Sansone DVD's. She uses weights and stretching as well as walking and I think that's helped change my metabolism.
I watched a show on Oprah today on ten things you need to do for a healthy lifestyle.
Some of them are common sense...some are a change in thinking. Some of them are things we know we need to do but we put off doing.

1. Schedule a checkup

2. Know the 5 ingredients in food to avoid
a High fructose corn syrup
b Sugar
c "Enriched" flour items
d Trans fats
e Saturated fats

3. Add Healthy foods
Antioxidants...5-7 fistfuls..tomatoes,blueberries,broccoli,kidney beans,artichokes
Omega 3..3gm daily...fish
Fiber 25 gm daily
Olive oil 1 Tbsp daily

4. Take a multivitamin daily

5. Know your numbers
a waist size..should be less than 1/2 your height
b cholesterol... HDL ..above 40 LDL...less than 100
c pulse..as close to 60 as possible
d blood sugar..80 to 120
e Vitamin D ..commonly low with certain diseases..need 15 min sunlight daily
f C Reactive Protein..increase numbers increase chance of strokes,heart disease
g TSH..thyroid disease

6. Find a health advocate...someone who will ask questions...help you get the answers

7. Organize your health info..know your history,meds,

8. Medical tests
Yearly...physical
20...men..testicular exam Women...yearly pap and pelvic
40...women..mammogram yrly men..prostate exam
50... echo cardiogram,stress test, and colonoscopy
60...hearing test..bone density

9. Exercise..10,000 steps a day 30 min = 3,000 steps
Get your heart rate up...Flexibility 5 min/day..strength..30 min/week

10. Get 7-8 hours of sleep a night..not doing this can cancel out the healthy things you do. Decreased sleep = craving carbs. Don't drink caffeine 4 hrs before bed
You should have a dark,cool room ..no TV