100-Mile Journey-- Day 7-- A Great Day to Celebrate!

 

100-Mile Journey Achieved! (photo by LivligaHome).

Day 7 of My 100-Mile Journey had me giddy with anticipation. With only 4 miles to go I knew I would make my goal but I still didn't know how many miles total I would achieve. Now I do. Drum roll please...today we covered 13.5 miles. In seven days, for our 100-Mile Journey,  we have covered 109.5 miles. Nearly 110 miles in one week! Woohoo!

How I feel: I feel great. There is a big smile on my face. I did it! In celebration and gratitude I am fixing my husband linguine with clam sauce tonight. Wine will be served. There is nothing like a sense of accomplishment and taking a moment to celebrate it.

What I saw on the seventh day of our ride: There are lots of bridges in our town. Many traverse the ditches we ride along side. They come in all shapes, widths, lengths and designs. Some go straight across their expanse, fewer have an arc. People fish off them. Dogs sometimes pee off them. Birds often land on their rails. Mainly people walk across them or cycle from one side to the other. Bridges solve an important problem. Without them our lives would not be as easy...or lovely. Yep, it is a good thing we have multiple bridges in our lives...allowing us to pass from one side to another. My journey has been one such bridge. 

What I have learned: Take time to celebrate and acknowledge your accomplishment. Tonight we will have a celebratory dinner. Next I plan on a luxurious massage. Great ways to reinforce it was not only possible but well worth the hard work and perseverance. This will be a time I will long remember.

What I will do:  I look forward to writing our check to Action for Healthy Kids. It is a donation I am very proud of, to say the least. It is sent with a new found joy. I know it will be appreciated and well used. The perfect birthday gift to myself!

100-Mile Journey Day 7 Mileage Snap Shot--Blasted Through the 100 Mile Goal!

It is indeed a great day to celebrate! Live Vibrant!

#100MileJourney
#Cycling
#Gratitude
#MyHusbandRocks
#HealthyLiving
#FeelingGood
#Celebrate
#PayItForward
#ActionForHealthyKids
#Livliga
#LiveVibrant

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100-Mile Journey-- Day 6-- Unplugged

100-Mile Journey-- Day 6-- Unplugged (photo by LivligaHome).

Day 6 of My 100-Mile Journey was a day I focused on being unplugged. I realized as I was wheeling along that these six days were the first where I had started the day without electronics plugged into my head. When I work out at the YMCA every morning during the week I always have music or news on and my headphones in. It is very quiet without them. The total miles we covered today were 13.3. In six days we have covered 96 miles. Only 4 more miles to go before I reach my goal!

How I feel: I feel unplugged from the intensity of news sharing and communication. It is very quiet inside my head. When you ride for 12 or more miles you have a bit of time to look around...and think. How often do you just observe the world? I know I don't often enough. Without being plugged in my senses are heightened from what I hear, to what I see and certainly what I feel. There is also a clarity of thought. You can work out a lot of ideas in your mind on a ride. I am definitely liking this.

What I saw on the sixth day of our ride: Domestic animals of all kinds are up early, before us, every morning in this neck of the world. There are many dog walkers out and about in the morning. What amazes me is how many dogs are hanging out in their back yards lounging in the sun, sitting on tables, running the length of the fence or plopping there paws over the fence to check us out. I think there are just about as many dogs as people around here. Then there are the cats on the prowl. I think they think if they don't look at me as I go by that I can't see them. Not so.

What I have learned: Stretch yourself. In all ways. I have noticed as my muscles have worked out more, I need to stretch more. Especially my quads. It helps me warm up before I ride. It also helps my stiffness after the ride if I stretch. Bad form to look like a not-so-little-old-lady after having fun being a "jock". And then there is stretching yourself metaphorically. If I had not taken on this challenge to ride 100 miles, I don't think I would have ever believed I could. Taking the chance and stretching myself beyond the usual has shown me I have a greater capacity than I ever thought possible. Pretty cool feeling.

What I will do:  I have 3 kids. They are grown now but when they were in primary and elementary school they went to public school. We knew of many children who came to school hungry. Often the only meal they got was the lunch served at school. Those lunches were not the most nutritional or balanced. Money was always tight for the schools too. That is why I believe so strongly in supporting organizations working to make schools a healthier place for kids to be. To put our money where our mouth is my husband and I are going to give our pay-it -forward donation to Action for Healthy Kids. This is an organization that fights childhood obesity, undernourishment and physical inactivity by helping schools become healthier places so kids can live healthier lives.

100-Mile Journey Day 6 Mileage Snap Shot

Looking Forward to Day 7. Only one more day of my 100-Mile Journey!

Live Vibrant!


#100MileJourney
#Cycling
#Gratitude
#Unplugged
#MyHusbandRocks
#HealthyLiving
#FeelingGood
#PayItForward
#ActionForHealthyKids
#Livliga
#LiveVibrant

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100-Mile Journey-- Day 5-- Hump Day

100-Mile Journey--Day5-- Hump Day (photo by LivligaHome).

Day 5 of My 100-Mile Journey has turned out to be my hump day. Good news is my speed has continued to improve so that I am now up to an average of 10.1. The total miles we covered today was 13.1. In five days we have covered 82.7 miles. Less than 20 miles to go to achieve my 100-Mile Journey challenge!

How I feel: I am feeling the push in my body. My "bum" knee has decided to swell and I am now taking ibuprofen.  Ah, the reality of age. It is a mere reality, not an excuse to stop.

What I saw on the fifth day of our ride: I love looking around when we ride. Each day I see something new. Today I was taken by all the beautiful flowers growing along the paths we take. We benefit visually from the love people put into their yards and gardens. As you can see from today's photo, there is a stunning stand of cosmos along where we ride. Their bright colors seem to be cheering me on.

What I have learned: It is important to pamper yourself. I recommend a long soak in a hot bath with bath salts. It feels oh so good and helps ease the soreness from any possible aches and pains. Today my knee is particularly grateful for a long, hot soak.

What I will do:  When I was the executive director of the American Heart Association in Denver I saw how important it is to provide healthy food to our kids in school. Somehow and for a long time we were feeding our kids the worst kids of foods and taking away their exercise. Not a good formula for ensuring our children grow up healthy. That is why I continue to support programs that improve children's lives, especially in our schools. We are going to give our 100-Mile Journey donation to Action for Healthy Kids. An organization that fights childhood obesity, undernourishment and physical inactivity by helping schools become healthier places so kids can live healthier lives.

100-Mile Journey Day 5 Mileage Snap Shot

Looking forward to Day 6! Only 2 more days of my 100-Mile Journey left!


Live Vibrant!


#100MileJourney
#Cycling
#HumpDay
#MyHusbandRocks
#HealthyLiving
#FeelingGood
#PayItForward
#ActionForHealthyKids
#Livliga
#LiveVibrant

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100-Mile Journey-- Day 4-- Gratitude

100-Mile Journey-- Day 4-- Gratitude in a Place Called Prairie Village (photo by LivligaHome)

Day 4 of My 100-Mile Journey was a day where I saw my speed improve significantly. I have gone from a low average speed of 6.1, which was on my second day, to a high of 9.8 today. Loving it. The total miles we covered today were 13. In four days we have covered 69.6 miles. Almost 70 miles in 4 days!

How I feel:  I feel tremendous gratitude. My husband is a rock and a great trooper. When I proposed this idea to him to do this 100-Mile Journey he was all for it. He has joyfully planned our routes (he is the cyclist who knows the trails around here). He has taught me how to use MapMyTracks. He was even willing to get up after a night in the ER with our son who, ironically, crashed off his bike (thankfully, he is fine!) to make sure I could achieve the daily mileage goal. And if that wasn't enough, he had to battle his gears breaking down in the midst of our ride today. He got his bike to work okay and we were able, yet again, to complete our daily ride. How awesome is that!?!

What I saw on the fourth day of our ride: We live in a town where the trains pass through and go along the roadways. About midway through our ride today we first heard and then saw a train moving a long the tracks right beside the path we were on. It was an impressive train with many cars lumbering along, breaks screeching and cars straining as it winded its way around the curve in the track. It reminded me of one of my favorite books when I was little, The Little Engine That Could. Remember it? There seems to be an apt analogy here as I huff and puff my way towards 100 miles...'I think I can, I think I can...'

What I have learned: Don't forget the sunscreen. I have been good about putting sunscreen on my face but didn't think I would need it on my arms and legs. Oops. When you cover these many miles each day you end up in the sun a lot. I have managed to sunburn the tops of my legs and arms. I have also developed a nice "cyclist tan". My badge of honor.

What I will do:  It is exciting to realize that by covering almost 70 miles these past 4 days, my husband and I have accumulated $140 between us to donate to Action for Healthy Kids. It makes me feel proud to do something good for myself and be able to pay it forward to help our children live healthier lives. And we aren't done yet!

100-Mile Journey Day 5 Mileage Snap Shot

Looking forward to Day 5! Live Vibrant!

#100MileJourney
#Cycling
#Gratitude
#MyHusbandRocks
#HealthyLiving
#FeelingGood
#PayItForward
#ActionForHealthyKids
#Livliga
#LiveVibrant

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100-Mile Journey-- Day 3-- Another Beautiful Ride

 

100-Mile Journey-- Day 3-- Another Beautiful Ride (photo by LivligaHome).

Day 3 of My 100-Mile Journey was easy. Now that we are in the work week we have cut back our miles to around 12 each day. The total miles we covered today was 12.9. In three days we have covered 56.6 miles. We are already over the halfway mark in just three days!

How I feel: We started early this morning so it was cold outside. It helped me keep my speed up. I particularly enjoyed the path we chose. Another beautiful ride.

What I saw on the third day ride: Today we saw the sunrise. It was glorious. There were may clouds in the sky so the glow spread across the sky in all hues of soft peach to salmon-red. What a way to start the day.

What I have learned: Pump up your tires.You would think I would have thought of this before but it took 43.7 miles before I realized my tires were low. My husband kindly pumped up our tires before we started out this morning and it made a huge difference. I was actually able to keep a faster pace.

100-Mile Journey Snap Shot of Day 3 (photo by LivligaHome).

What I will do: With the joy I am receiving from my 100-Mile Journey I want to pay it forward. Since it is at the beginning of school and I think it is important to support healthy kids in school, I commit to giving $1 dollar per mile for each mile my husband and I ride. We are going to give our donation to Action for Healthy Kids. This is an organization that fights childhood obesity, undernourishment and physical inactivity by helping schools become healthier places so kids can live healthier lives. I encourage to join me in paying it forward.

Looking Forward to Day 4! Live Vibrant!

#100MileJourney
#Cycling
#HealthyLiving
#FeelingGood
#PayItForward
#ActionForHealthyKids
#Livliga
#LiveVibrant

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100-Mile Journey-- Day 2 -- Paying It Forward

100-Mile Journey-- Day 2 -- Paying It Forward (photo by LivligaHome)

We made it through day 2 of My 100-Mile Journey. In two days we have covered 43.7 miles. Not bad for a woman who will be 58 at the end of the week.

How I feel: It is amazing how much energy I still have! There are a few aches but nothing major. I think my joy in accomplishing 43.7 miles overrides any of the aches and pains.

What I saw on the second day ride: It is amazing the amount of wildlife that exists within our city. We have lots of trails a long the water ditches throughout our town. It is here you can see heron, sparrows, snakes and even raccoons. Today we saw a huge turtle!  He looked like he was on a mission scuttling across the path trying to get ahead of us. A rare sight in Colorado.

100-Mile Journey-- Day 2 -- Turtle skuttling in front of us (photo by LivligaHome)

What I have learned: Eat a banana. With my increased exercise my muscles have decided to contract into "charlie horses". Lovely. I was in the midst of dinner when a muscle decided to lock up. I ate a banana and it seemed to help. I ate another one this morning and so far no charlie horses.

What I want to do: I have been inspired by the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. With the joy I am receiving from my 100-Mile Journey I want to pay it forward. Since it is at the beginning of school and I think it is important to support healthy kids in school, I commit to giving $1 dollar per mile for each mile my husband and I ride. We are going to give our donation to Action for Healthy Kids. This is an organization that fights childhood obesity, undernourishment and physical inactivity by helping schools become healthier places so kids can live healthier lives. I encourage to find out more about this great organization.

Looking Forward to Day 3! Live Vibrant!

100-Mile Journey Day 2 Snap Shot

#100MileJourney
#Cycling
#HealthyLiving
#FeelingGood
#PayItForward
#ActionForHealthyKids
#Livliga
#LiveVibrant

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Instead of the 100-Foot Journey– I Took on the 100-Mile Journey

This week I am changing things up with my blog. I have taken on a 100-Mile Journey where I have set the goal of cycling 100 miles in one week. Each day I plan on sharing more of the story. Below are my first thoughts on the importance of taking on challenges.

My 100-Mile Journey started by cycling around Golden Pond (photo by LivligaHome).

In our world we have the phrase “Go big or go home”.  I have taken this to heart when it comes to celebrating my birthdays. Birthdays are always a milestone. The older we get it seems the more we dread them. That is why, many years ago, for my 30th birthday, in fact, I decided I wanted to change it up and start conquering mountains and taking on new challenges when my annual natal day came around. For my 30th I climbed a mountain, Teddy’s Teeth. I will always remember my 30^th because of it. To read the entire article click here...

The first day of my 100-mile journey I did 22.1 miles (photo by LivligaHome).

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Great Healthy Living Quote # 109-- Motivaton Recommended Daily

Great Healthy Living Quote # 109-- Motivaton Recommended Daily

 

 

How can you motivate daily?

#MotivationMonday
#Inspiration
#DoItDaily
#MotivateDaily
#LiveVibrant
#Livliga

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#TooFatToRun: New Runner's 6 Tips for Success

#TooFatToRun: New Runner's Tip #6: Track Your Progress

 As I wrote in a previous blog, my new hero is Julie Creffield who started the #ToFatToRun movement. It all started because she liked to run but felt ostracized and criticized by others when she ran. She decided to confront the bias and keep on running. This inspired me to see if I could run. I started out with intervals on the treadmill at our local YMCA. That went well enough so I thought I should try and see how long I could run without going back to a walk. I made it to 25 minutes and repeated that a few of times. Then I thought I would try a "real run" outdoors starting from my front door.

The route I picked was one I have done with my dogs. I didn't want to get lost my first time out. I did it! I ran for 27 minutes for a distance of 2.58 miles. As you can see by my face I was thrilled I completed my first run. I really could do it!

Since I want to support others in taking Julie's challenge to run-- no matter how big we are or old we are-- I thought I would share some tips that have helped me get started and to keep running.

New Runner's Tip #1: Invest in a good pair of running shoes

#TooFatToRun: New Runner's 6 Tips for Success:

1. Invest in a good pair of running shoes. Don't skimp on quality because good shoes make all the difference on how your body feels at the end of a run.

2. Wear clothes that are comfortable and, if you are big like me, think about shorts that go down your thigh and won't hitch up as you run...that will keep you from getting chafed as you run.

3. Get ready to run by working out and building up endurance. Weight training and core body work outs have really helped me with my capacity for running and increasing the amount of time I can run. Also, learning to run by doing intervals of walking and running on a treadmill allowed me to see I could do it and increase the amount of time I can run.

4. Listen to peppy music. I find music that is upbeat and energetic helps me keep going and keep the pace up. I use iTunes Radio and listen to the Fitness Beat station, as an example.

5. Pick running routes in an area that is known to you and that provide attractive visuals. Sometimes in a run you need distractions to keep going and transcend your tiredness. I find having interesting or beautiful things to look at helps. 

6. Track your progress. I use fitbit. It has been the best investment. I hook it to my bra every morning. For running it really allows me to track my distance and time. These are key stats for me to follow so I can continue to challenge myself and improve. It is also a visual way to celebrate each run and my commitment to keep on doing it.

So this #57YearOld #FatLady is learning to run and enjoying it. It may not be pretty to watch and it may not be at a win-the-race pace but I am out there living a healthy lifestyle and making progress. Hope you take the challenge too and learn you are NOT #TooFatToRun.

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Great Healthy Living Quote #108-- Never Give Up

Sometimes the only thing to do is just keep going and NEVER give up!

#MotivationMonday
#Inspiration
#GetBackUp
#NeverGiveUp
#RegainYourBalance
#JustKeepGoing
#LiveVibrant
#Livliga

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Reflections on the YouTube Video: Rewind the Future—Stop the Cycle

Rewind the Future--Stop the Cycle

There has been much conversation in recent days about a YouTube video that has resurfaced: Rewind the Future—Stop the Cycle. It is pretty graphic. It shows all the ways we over feed ourselves with super-sized portions of food that is less than healthy for us. The video starts with a morbidly obese man on a gurney in the ER (we presume he is suffering from a heart attack). The video shows images of all the overeating and all the unhealthy choices that led up to the ER scene.

There is an obesity epidemic. Frightening statistics are thrown at us every day: 73 % of Americans are either over weight or obese; childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years; and, it is now estimated that 1 out of every 3 people will have diabetes by 2050. These are the facts. It is easy for us to see with our own eyes when we look around us.

What has gotten people riled is that the video shows scenes with a mother over time encouraging unhealthy eating, starting with her feeding her baby French fries to keep him quiet. What mother hasn’t made choices like that? We are hardly perfect and we have a super-sized food culture that actually sets us up for failure. Moms are not the root of the problem but we can be a significant part of the solution.

No mom wakes up everyday and says “how can I kill my kid with food today?” In fact, this is the furthest from our mind. Our dream is to have our children grow up healthy and happy. The reality is we have not understood the consequences of the food we have served our children. It is all too easy to make unhealthy food choices because of the fast food world we live in. Portions are huge. Readily accessible, affordable food is packed full of calories and harmful ingredients we don’t need. And if that wasn’t bad enough, our culture and family traditions have us thinking it is a good idea to over feed our kids because food is the manifestation of our love.

Because we love our children, we have to lead the fight to change ourselves and our culture when it comes to our food habits. We have to because our current ways are killing us and our kids. It starts with us. Parents have an incredible influence on our kids. By learning about healthier foods and healthier lifestyle habits we can begin to make the change and bring everyone along with us.

There are more and more resources available to learn what is healthy and ways to make it easier to implement those changes in our households. There are programs to take advantage of through our employers and through our health insurance that are free. To find out the basics about healthy eating you can go to myplate.gov. There are many websites that offer healthy recipes like myrecipe.com and cookinglight.com. Then there are great resources for revving up your physical activity and exercise like myfitnesspal.com or you can just search on YouTube for great exercise videos—all for free. For kid specific information checkout kids eat right.

For fun tools to engage your kids think about books you can read together like Sammie and Sax in the Land of Quinoa: the Search for a Balanced Meal or give them their own right-sized dishware to support healthy eating. There are even healthy and kid-friendly recipes you can find and have your children participate in the preparation of the meal. Research shows the best way to get kids to try new foods and healthy foods is to have them help prepare them.

Rewind the Future—Stop the Cycle may be an exaggeration and unfair assessment of a mother’s role in her child’s obesity but it is most certainly a wake up call for all of us. We do have the ability to make a healthier world for our children and it starts in our own kitchen. Let’s stand up to the challenge.

#obesity

#prevention

#rewindthefuture

#momsuniteforhealth

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No Cook Meal-- Healthy Gazpacho

No Cook Meal-- Healthy Gazpacho (photo by LivligaHome)

When it is hot outside it is nice to think of cool meals, especially those that require no cooking. An easy meal for a refreshing lunch or dinner is a no cook gazpacho. It is super easy to make and can be made from fresh ingredients or can incorporate canned ingredients, depending on the time of year, or your willingness to chop tomatoes. 

The traditional base of a gazpacho is tomato. Its origins are thought to be from Andalusia, a region of Spain.  Historic conjecture has it that the soup as we know it today was developed after Columbus returned to Spain from his voyages with peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes.

The health benefits of gazpacho are numerous. According to an article written by Dr. Andrew Weil, this cold soup is great for your heart. The antioxidants fight heart disease and reduce blood pressure, if eaten regularly, by as much as 27 percent. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research all the ingredients combined in gazpacho make for a powerful, cancer fighting, concoction worthy of regular consumption, any time of year.
 
No Cook Healthy Gazpacho
 
Ingredients

• ½ sweet onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 yellow pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 7 cups tomato (or 1- 28 ounce can diced tomato)
• 3 cucumbers, peeled and seeded
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne
• ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Toppings

• 8 ounces cooked chicken or crabmeat (for non-vegetarian version)
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
• Remaining cucumber, finely chopped
• ¼ cup Greek yogurt

Directions

1. Cut prepared cucumber lengthwise and then into quarters. Place all but two quarters into the well of a food processor. Add all other ingredients. Process until ingredients are well blended and finely chopped.
2. Chill for at least ½ hour. Divide soup into four servings. Top each serving of soup with ¼ of each topping. Serve with grilled garlic bread or baked sweet potato fries.

Serves: 4. Serving size: 1½ cup. Calories: 277 (with toppings/crabmeat). Fat 12.5g (Saturated Fat 1.9g); Sodium  507mg; Protein 10.4g; Carbohydrate 36.3g; Fiber 6.3g; Sugars 17.5g.

Re-posted from Sheila's Blog on TheEpochTimes.com.

 

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Great Healthy Living Quote #106-- Empower Yourself

Great Healthy Living Quote #106-- Empower Yourself

First and Foremost to Become #Yourself you have to focus on #Yourself.

#MotivationMonday
#Inspiration
#EmpowerYourself
#ValueYourself
#BeYourself
#Yourself
#LiveVibrant
#Livliga

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Roasted Turkey, Dried Cherries and Barley Salad

Roasted Turkey, Dried Cherries and Barley Salad (photo by LivligaHome)

Roasted Turkey, Dried Cherries and Barley Summer Salad is a great way to use leftover turkey, not spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and provides a healthy meal for dinner and/or lunch. In a previous blog I talked about how to spit and roast a turkey on your grill. This recipe is a great way to use some of the turkey leftovers in a fresh and interesting way.

Many salads, like the Roasted Turkey, Dried Cherries and Barley Summer Salad, can be made ahead of time, even the day before, or in the morning so that at the end of the day when we are tired and not so motivated to cook, especially during the summer, we have something ready to go. Making salads earlier in the day also avoids adding heat at the hottest time of the day.

Roasted Turkey, Dried Cherries and Barley Salad

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked pearled barley

3 cups water

12 ounces roasted turkey breast, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

¼ cup walnuts, chopped

⅓ cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

¾ cup dried cherries

⅓ cup nonfat Greek yogurt

¼ cup nonfat mayonnaise

Pinch of sea salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. Rinse pearled barley and place it in a medium saucepan. Add the water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 1 hour or until all water is absorbed. Once cooked place in a mixing bowl and flake the barley with a fork until fluffy.

2. Add all other ingredients. Mix well.

Serves: 5. Serving size: 1½ cups.

Enjoy! And Live Vibrant!

Bon Appétit! (photo by LivligaHome).

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Eating the Awesome Artichoke—Hot or Cold

Eating the Awesome Artichoke—Hot or Cold (photo by LivligaHome).

Artichokes, once upon a time, were only available in the springtime. Now you can find artichokes available in your local grocery store year-round. Artichokes are really good for us to eat, low in calories, are easy to prepare, great hot or cold and are incredibly satisfying to eat…hence, I call them the “Awesome Artichoke.” Click here to read the entire article...

Re-posted from Sheila's Blog on TheEpochTimes.com.

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Great Healthy Living Quote #106-- What You Allow Will Continue

Great Healthy Living Quote #106-- What You Allow Will Continue

Can't stand it any more? What are you ready to change?

#MotivationMonday
#Inspiration
#Change
#NoMore
#LiveVibrant
#Livliga

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#TooFatToRun?...Its Time to Join the Movement!

#TooFatToRun?...Its Time to Join the Movement!

There is a new heroine in the world: Julie Creffield. She is singularly responsible for creating the #TooFatToRun? movement. It is all because she started to participate in organized runs but soon found that people had expectations about who should run. It seems that if you are overweight you don’t fit the profile. It is amazing to me that people who are working hard to be healthy are experiencing prejudice and negative behavior from others. I know it is true, I have experienced it myself.

There is a distinct line between encouraging awareness and action in others to embrace and live a healthier life and the very uncool, even harmful behavior exhibited by thoughtless people who verbally abuse or not so subtlety shun people who are over weight. With the growing movement for all of us to live healthier lives it is exciting to see so many people engaging in improving and fostering their own good health. The challenge is that there are small-minded people out there who think that because of the push towards health they have the right to publically harass, humiliate or ridicule individuals who are overweight or obese. This is very uncool and unacceptable. In my opinion we should push back hard on this behavior and role model healthy, positive and encouraging behavior.

This is exactly what Julie Creffield (a.k.a. @FattyMustRun) is doing. Julie is my new idol. She is doing something she enjoys and persevering while bringing attention to the underlying prejudice that exists out in the world towards fat people who participate in organized activities and sports. And the even better news is she is getting others involved. I would even bet there are those “taking up the sword” and getting active just so they can be part of the movement.

Julie has galvanized people to get up and run. By positive example people all over the world are showing us there is no such thing as #TooFatToRun?...No way! The movement and its followers have adopted a positive attitude and are leading by example. These are the people I want my children to look up to, cheer on, and run beside. I can’t wait to order my Too Fat To Run? t-shirt, wear it with pride, and help call attention to an unhealthy prejudice that needs to be excised so we can all get on with embracing a healthier lifestyle. Let’s all—Live Vibrant!

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