I learned a great deal during my 10+ years in 4-H. Not only does the pledge still mean a lot to me—"I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country and my world"—but the skills I developed continue to guide how I approach everything in life, including how I evaluate Disney Vacation Club properties.
Thinking clearly has always been my greatest strength. I try to set emotions aside and look at the logic of situations. I'm fiercely loyal—loyal to my family and those who have earned my trust. There is a flip side to loyalty; those who lose my respect are "done" for me. I avoid them and cut them out of my life, falling back on my logic. Why surround yourself with people who make you sad?
I am a truly "hands-on" person. I enjoy growing my own food, sewing my own clothes, and working hard to provide a greater service to our world. With that, I strive to live a cleaner life. I don't drink, smoke, and I try to avoid eating animals. I do this primarily for health reasons, but I also strive to maintain a smaller environmental footprint. I have downsized our housing.
4-H taught me so many valuable skills.
Leadership developed through my 4-H experience, where I worked my way up through every office, culminating in my role as club president during my junior year of high school. Accounting skills were developed as we had to prepare profit/loss statements for each project—buy a lamb for $20, pay $10 for feed, and sell it for $100, earning a $70 profit. Public speaking improved when we had to give demonstrations, such as teaching an audience how to decorate a cake. I even made my own 5-tier wedding cake!
However, one of the most valuable skills I acquired was the ability to judge. 4-H judging contests provide youth with hands-on learning experiences that enhance their knowledge while developing critical life skills:
Critical thinking - to analyze and evaluate different aspects,
Decision-making - to make informed choices based on evaluation and standards,
Communication - to explain reasoning and improve public speaking skills.
The contest format was simple: four pigs presented, or four heads of lettuce. Each had a number, and we had to rank them and explain why to the judge. Here's an example: I ranked lamb number 3 as the best because it had a straight back, full hindquarters, and alert eyes. Number 4 was next, but didn't seem as healthy as number 3. Number 1's back was dipped and lacked development in chest and hindquarters. Number 2 was last—it seemed sick, thin, and its wool was matted. Thus, I ranked them 3, 4, 1, 2.
4-H members start learning analytical evaluation at an early age. While "judgmental" often carries negative connotations—describing someone who forms harsh, critical opinions without being open-minded—what I learned was different. I developed the ability to be analytical, making informed judgments and rankings based on clear criteria and logical evaluation.
Applying These Skills to Disney Vacation Club
This analytical approach now guides my evaluation of Disney Vacation Club properties. Just like those 4-H judging contests, I evaluate each resort through multiple lenses: location, convenience, room layouts, amenities, transportation options, dining choices, and overall value proposition. I consider both the pros and cons of DVC ownership, helping others make informed decisions about this significant investment.
In my DVC playlist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXGM_RRzOZ4&list=PLx_8Ja4anZU4oHlsC6u_9OQk-wMbfxf2d - I break down each DVC property with the same methodical approach I learned in 4-H. I don't let Disney magic cloud my judgment—instead, I evaluate each resort's strengths and weaknesses objectively. Whether it's the convenience of staying at Bay Lake Tower with easy monorail access to Magic Kingdom or the potential drawbacks of a resort's distance from the parks, I aim to provide you with a clear and logical analysis.
My DVC Resort Judging Journey Continues as I've been systematically visiting all the DVC resorts to provide firsthand insights. My next stop is Disney's Beach Club Villas in September, and I'm excited to experience this Epcot-area resort firsthand. From the famous Stormalong Bay pool complex to the easy walk to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios, Beach Club has always intrigued me, but I want to see for myself how it measures up against my analytical criteria.
The same skills that helped me rank livestock at county fairs now help me rank Disney resorts. It's about looking beyond the surface magic to understand what really matters: practical considerations, value for your vacation dollar, and which resort truly fits your family's needs.
Ready to Learn More?
If you're considering Disney Vacation Club or just want to see how these properties really stack up, check out myDVC playlist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXGM_RRzOZ4&list=PLx_8Ja4anZU4oHlsC6u_9OQk-wMbfxf2d
I apply the same analytical approach to each property that 4-H taught me decades ago—because whether you're judging pigs or Disney resorts, clear thinking and honest evaluation never go out of style.
Stay tuned for my Beach Club review coming this fall!
This month, Keith is only a few pounds away from reaching
his goal of losing 100 pounds. He didn’t
do it quickly; it has been a slow process of changing his lifestyle instead of
dieting. He has struggled with his
weight since he as a child. After years
of stress, travel, eating double bacon cheeseburgers, and Big Gulp Dr. Peppers,
he truly packed on some serious weight.
Keith at BMI 24.5 (above and normal) instead of 39.4 - (below and obese and close to morbidly obese at 40.0)
A few years ago, he got his wake-up call; first with heart
attack and triple bypass heart surgery, and then three years later he had a hemorrhagic stroke. He has always had high
cholesterol and blood pressure but today, they are both normal without the
medications he took for years and years.
I didn’t need a wake-up call after packing on an extra 40 pounds after I
turned fifty. I took one look at that
huge scar running down his chest and the pain that he was going through after
open heart surgery and decided; it is time for a change.
You might have noticed the subtitle – 30 Months to a New You
and think – 30 months? Are you
serious? Most of us want a 30-day quick weight
loss diet. Let’s talk about fat cells
and water first. With most quick loss diets you end up losing water; not fat.
We are born with about the same amount of fat cells as we have
today. The problem is that those cells
have fat in them and some water. If you eat a lot of
salty foods; your body has a lot of water.
No problem with that (other than salt is bad for you!) What you want is for those evil fat cells to “give
up” that fat it is holding onto. It is a
slow process to start burning fat, but it will happen and you have the perfect
tool to do this; your extra weight. That
is why Keith always loses faster than I do and more – he has more extra
weight. So, for once you’re going to use
that to your advantage. If you are willing to commit 30 months to this plan;
you should be 30 pounds lighter or more (without those daily fluctuations of
water) in 2 and half years. You might
think, “I can’t wait this long!” But for
most of us, we spent 30 years piling this on - so what is 30 months to slowly and permanently
take it off? Keto and other diets can starve your body of energy to do this and make you weak - so try not dieting for once. Don't try to live off of a 1200 a day no carb diet when you have a body demanding 2000 calories to function. You'll get weak and sick. Use that weight to your advantage to reshape your body into more muscle and less fat. At first you might even gain weight, but the long term goal is to make yourself into a lean, mean, fighting machine!
Remember when you were young and didn’t worry about your
weight? The reason why is that you had a
high metabolism and a high percentage of muscle.
Just walking around burned more calories with your young firm and trim body. That is your goal; to convert the fat filled
body that you have today into a lean, firm muscular body with great core strength that burns calories
better so that you can eat freely without gaining weight for the next 30 years. You will have better balance and prevent falls that might break your hip. You'll be healthier, stronger and have less inflammation. You'll be less susceptible to catching colds and the flu. If you have leg, shoulder, and knee problems like me - they will all get better. But don't overdo it - start slowly so that you don't cause an injury. I went overboard and decided to run a Disney 5K and ended up injuring my hip joint. It took months to heal and in the meantime I had to alter my daily routine. So be careful and this blog is not intended to provide any medical advice; rather it is a blog of what worked for us.
Here
are your steps;
Step 1 – Become vegan. Okay, this might be a tough one that will
make you stop right here. But converting
to a plant-based lifestyle is easier today than ever. If you want to be fully convinced read The
China Study and its analysis of the cancer risk of meat. I will admit we are not 100% vegan, but
close. Today’s plant-based food it tasty
and easy. Look for the brand, Gardein in the frozen grocery section. But a word of warning; vegan food does not have fewer
calories than lean meat, but here is the real reason why we follow a
plant-based diet; it doesn’t taste as good as real beef, chicken, turkey and
pork. I love KFC chicken and can eat
a whole bucket! Would I eat a bucket of Gardein’s chicken patties? No Way!
So being vegan means you’ll end up eating less and reducing inflammation. Aim for high protein and high fiber choices to make you strong.
Step 2 – Start Walking. For Keith, he started walking. Being vegan and walking is how he lost the
first 50 pounds. But he still had a
heart attack and stroke. I think walking
and being a little bit lighter saved his life. If these
life-ending events had happened before he lost that first 50 pounds, I’d be a
widow today. His type of stroke has an 80% death rate. He is part of the lucky 20% - or was it luck? It isn’t easy walking in the Florida heat, so
we eventually got treadmill desks so both of us could walk and work, Internet
browse, do email, etc. at the same time. Our brand of treadmill is LifeSpan and
Amazon has lots of desks designed to go up and down above a treadmill. For me, I lost my first 20 pounds this way,
but we were stuck. Still overweight but
no longer obese.
Step 3 – Add Yoga for Strength and Brush your Teeth. Walking can be a good aerobic exercise and
even build some muscles; but they are the same muscles. With all that extra weight, you have the
perfect body to build strength if you’re careful. I became a certified yoga instructor and
added some of those poses to my daily routine. Hopefully
in this blog I’ll start sharing my daily yoga routine that I do it all
day. Maybe even some videos! I do many of of my daily yoga poses while watching TV, so not very spiritual. If you want to get started, here is
your first lesson; stand on one leg while you brush your teeth. I have a Sonicare toothbrush that goes for 2
minutes with a little beep every 30 seconds.
Each 30 seconds I stand on one leg, then change to the other; keeping a
hand close to the counter to steady myself. Building this leg and core strength will help
you later with the Warrior pose.
Step 4 – Eat good oils to reduce body fat and inflammation.
We started replacing our oils and butter with the good oils; coconut, avocado,
and olive oil. The other "bad 8" oils cause
inflammation and increase your belly fat and make stress worse. It is hard to switch to these since food
companies often label something as olive oil butter or avocado chips, but if
you read the ingredients, they normally start with one of the 8 bad oils; Soybean,
Corn, Cottonseed, Canola, Rapeseed, Sunflower, Sesame and Grapeseed oil. These oils make you fat, cause inflammation, and increase the fat in your fat cells. The good oils "trick" your fat cells to not hoard the fat.
Step 5 – Get a Personal Trainer and Stand Up. This is something that I did that Keith did
not. I found that the treadmill and yoga
alone wasn’t doing enough to get me in shape.
The personal trainer set up a series of weight and strength training
that I follow every day while I watch TV. I use exercise bands and 10 pound weights. Covid hit and I didn’t get to go back to the trainer; but I still follow that
routine she made for me. If you want to get started,
here is your first exercise. Ever hour
stand up and sit down 12 times. My iWatch reminds me to do this every hour and by
doing this (it is harder than you think) you start building other muscles that
walking doesn’t get for you. It also increases your metabolism. I will add
more ideas in next months blog and there are some others in my older blogs.
Step 6 – Drink water.
I drink 12 cups a day. If you
study the body here is a simple lesson on how it works; food goes from your
stomach to your intestines. While it is in
your intestines; your body releases hormones that converts food to nutrients. It uses the carbs to create energy to
fuel your day, protein to make you strong and it stores that extra fat in your
belly where your anxious fat cells are waiting for it. This is one problem with
being overweight; your body is not only waiting for that food – it is demanding
it to maintain that extra weight. It not
only wants that food – it needs it. So,
the goal is to send that all that massive food you ate quickly through the
intestines before it gets processed too much.
Sure, you could take laxatives; but that will make you look old and
dehydrated. It is also very dangerous.
Instead flood your system with water; and some good belly fat oil like avocado,
olive, and coconut to keep things lubricated and moving. If you switch to vegan, you’ll be getting
more fiber and things will go easier and give fat less time to get out and over
to your fat cells for storage. I don't like drinking water, so I brew one bag of decaf green tea and one bag of caffeine free apple cinnamon spice tea. I add 6 drops of stevia and then put into 6 Rubbermaid plastic16oz containers and add water. I drink them until they are gone daily and make 6 more the next day.
Step 7 - ELF – Eat less food and Intermittent Fasting. We often go “off the plan.” I did that for Christmas and cooked a lobster pie
from Harry and David. This must be one
of the worse things in the world you can eat other than tablespoons of
butter! It has high calories and fat
(saturated) – but it tastes so good. But
in the end, “nothing tastes as good as feeling good feels.” But I wanted it and it was amazing! I only had one serving and then threw the
rest away. ELF – Eat less food. Keith was able to resist it. I didn’t feel guilty, but I made up for it by
eating Cheerios for dinner that night. It is VERY
hard to throw away food! I was raised by
two depression era parents that did the whole “children starving in China”
and “finish your dinner” routine. I’m
trained to save and hoard food. But now
I merely bury it in my sandy Florida soil to slowly transform my body and
backyard into a better place. I am experimenting
with growing Gynura procumbens or Longevity Spinach which Keith chews 3 leaves
a day and then drinks a cup of warm water to curb his appetite. I eat 3 in the morning, just for health
reasons. I also used intermittent
fasting to lose weight. I stopped eating
at 4pm and didn’t eat again until 9AM for my 30 months.
Keith didn’t do this but I did and it worked for me. Everyone is different and part of this 30-month
plan is experimenting on what works for you. Some or all of these steps might
work for you.
Step 8 – Go Slow. Keith and I have been losing weight
for 2+ years. Our goal was 1
pound a month. Yes, that is all we aimed for. It is obtainable, easy to reach,
and works. The science of it all is; to
lose 1 pound; you need to reduce your calories by 3500 a month. That works out to just a little more than 100
per day. Look at a daily food log (try
to do one for a week) and see how you can reduce your intake today by 100
calories. Eat less, substitute vegan for
something else, eat only one bacon cheeseburger instead of 2, drink one less
soda. Start with the French fries – get
the apple slices instead. It isn’t hard. Giving
up my end of the day treat did it for me.
We had little 100 calories low fat snack packs and I didn’t eat one and
stopped ordering them. It really helps
not to have this stuff in the house; so we don’t order it – or do what
Keith does- he has me hide it and asks for it only when he really “needs it.” We put our start weight (minus 1) on the top
of the calendar in the bathroom and weigh ourselves each day; looking to hit
our goal. We might only hit it once, but
that is enough. The next month it is
that weight minus 1. Somehow it works. Yes, our weight goes up and down with water
gain/loss and whether or not we got a good poop that day, but over all we’re 1 pound
lighter each month. I’m currently done;
which means I’ve achieved my goal weight, have a lean strong body and burn calories
all day long. So, I eat according to the
“plan” and plenty of good food during the week and get down to 133.
On the weekend, I go crazy and snack and eat shrimp, pizza, steak or
whatever bad stuff I crave and normally end up at 135.
Then I spend the next week back on the plan and back to 133. I'm not dieting, I always eat a lot of food - it is merely either good food; thinking of the food as making me strong - or bad food that is the treats I crave. I found my set point is 135 pounds for
someone who is 5’6” (I shrunk an inch) and my built, but when you get to your set point, you’ll
know and you might like my little fun “maintenance plan.” I treadmill, yoga, and weight train every day –
regardless of weekend or not.
Step 9 – Eliminate Stress. This was hard; both of had high-stress jobs
that meant lots of travel. When you
travel do you tend to hoard food like me?
I would even save and eat the peanuts and pretzels from the plane
because I didn’t know when I would get my next meal. Then when I did get to eat; there was an
attitude of “I deserve this” because I was so far from home and lonely – or I
was eating and drinking* with clients and who can turn down lobster and steak, followed by
chocolate mousse? There were also all
the employee birthday cakes, free cookies at the hotel, and free breakfast
buffet. We stopped traveling except maybe one vacation a year. It was hard, but traveling causes stress and
overeating. Now we are able to work out of our
home and we added twice daily mediation. I
stopped talking on the phone because it was difficult to hear and went to
“email only” with my clients. I sold our
company and started a retirement plan. I
won’t get into the science; but if you experience stress, the elevated cortisol
levels caused by your belly fat and stress promotes overeating and weight gain - along with belly fat storage. You are probably reading this because you are
my friend and most of my friends are either retired or considering it soon. If you're already retired and experience stress from certain people or events; why are you around them or doing that? Rethink your life until you are better. If you are obese, you're very sick and in danger. Time to get you well again. Feel free to email me when you start and your monthly progress at the end of the month. I save my emails forever, so I'll give you little mile marker congratulations and promise to NEVER share your personal info like I did with poor Keith. I plan to use this blog for the next 30 months to guide readers along, so ask me to email you when I have done a new blog.
Step 10 –Sleep More and add Mediation to your Day. This is also hard if you’re still pulling
down a 9-5 job, but we faithfully meditate each day at 10am and 2pm. Since we’re not very deep or spiritual folks,
it might be more like a “senior nap.” I
do lots of yoga deep breathing during that time and often fall asleep (Keith
always does.) I also sleep like a
farmer; I go to bed at sundown. That
means heading to bed at about 7pm and I’m fast asleep by 8pm. If I stay up late, I'll snack, so easier to go to bed. This means that I get to wake up every morning
naturally at 3:30 - 4AM. No alarm clock
jarring me awake! I go to the bathroom,
then back to bed for some wake-up yoga in bed (quietly not to disturb Keith who
sleeps from 11pm to 7AM.) Again, this
might not work for you, but it is 6AM now and I’ve already done a 5K (3.1
miles) on the treadmill while writing this blog and Internet surfing. I remember when it was hard to do the treadmill
at this speed for more than 15
minutes. When was that? About 30 months ago….
My brother, Stan was a drug dealer. In high school he was more of a distributor; a good source for weed and speed. I was a customer for weed twice, and unfortunately got some speed as a graduation gift from him to help Laura and me stay awake grad night. It made us both very sick and when I finally went to sleep, I slept most of the next day.
Stan later moved up a step and created a crack/meth lab. My dad eventually got Stan into treatment and disassembled the lab, but the damage to Stan’s health was already done. Stan died of nasal cancer at 62. It is a rare cancer, but some studies show that it can be caused by snorting drugs. The nose was not designed to snort powder.
I inherited two autoimmune diseases; from my dad's side arthritis, and from my mom's side psoriasis. Treatment for these over the years included lots of drugs including tranquillizers, steroids, and photochemotherapy drugs. I also took dozens of supplements to try and get healthy.
Today I only take 2 pills a day; a low dose aspirin in the morning to keep my blood thin to avoid strokes and at night melatonin, a hormone that decreases as we age. Instead of taking dozens of supplements, I decided to get healthy through diet and exercise instead. As a science buff, I do a lot of research on how to get the nutrients I need through food and grow a lot of that in my own organic garden. My latest additions are longevity spinach and Okinawa spinach, a cousin of longevity spinach. The name “Longevity” refers to its health benefits in lowering blood sugar, inflammation, and cholesterol.
In my 40s and 50s, I had packed on an extra 50 pounds from my lean high school weight. I was always slightly underweight growing up, so this was a puzzlement for me to be gaining weight. I first tried various diets; settling on vegan/pescatarian diet to try and avoid the cancer cursing our family. I bought a treadmill desk to try and walk off the pounds, and of course all those supplements. Then I started looking at the science of weight gain and weight loss. The weight gain was simple. I was under a lot of stress and the drug cortisol caused my body to start holding onto my fat. Cortisol in nature is essential for my body's fight or flight response; however, it caused fat storage in my abdomen. This belly fat accumulated and caused far more health issues including my weight gain and inflammation to trigger my autoimmune diseases.
I found four things to lower my belly fat; eating good fats, intermittent fasting, adjusting my metabolism and core strength training. I've gotten 40 of those extra 50 pounds gone; but it did take a few years. I started first with my core strength training since that is best when you have all the extra weight. You might think that "I'll diet and lose some weight so that exercise will be easier" but actually this extra weight is like carrying around free dumbbells all day. Everything you do will be more effective in this phase. I worked with a physical trainer and have a daily routine of planks, chairs, tippy toes, etc. I combined this with yoga for a great core training routine. I've lost 6 inches in my belly and become rather strong. It is great in my gardening to be able to dig and pick up things without getting a sore back. I like being strong. I've already covered in another post the good fats and I'll discuss the metabolism in my next blog. In the meantime, focus on using your extra weight to your advantage!
As I started to "age gracefully," I found myself overweight after struggling to lose even a few pounds. My metabolism had really slowed down when I turned 40. I started worrying when I hit 179 pounds at 45 years old compared to the 129 I had weighed in high school. These extra fifty pounds took a toll on my health; my arthritis and psoriasis were terrible. I was living in dark, damp and dreary Eugene, Oregon. I was under so much stress from my work and other family issues. Food was my only comfort in those tough times. Eventually, I got out of that stressful situation and moved to Florida and by the time I was 60, we had switched to a mostly vegan diet and gotten my weight down into the 160s. But I just couldn’t get rid of those last 30 pounds. I was rather “healthy” with my vegan lifestyle, AND I spent most of my day on a treadmill computer desk or walking out in the sun. How could I not be shedding those last 30 pounds? I found out that my real problem was inflammation, which is what most of us suffer from. It was caused by my genes, diet, and stress. This is the story of my journey.
I inherited psoriasis from my grandpa, and it started when I was seventeen. Boyfriend troubles caused stress in my life, and I started drinking. I remember my grandpa sitting in his chair, scratching. Psoriasis tends to appear on the outside of elbows and knees, the scalp, the lower back, the face, palms and feet. For me, it was almost everywhere! From my dad, I inherited arthritis in my neck, aggravated by my job as a computer programmer and moving that mouse back and forth, clicking and clicking.
The good news is that today, both my arthritis and psoriasis are completely gone – not one spot on me and a free-moving neck! I remember having psoriasis so bad that I couldn’t sleep at night (itching so much that I would have to wear socks on my hands), and once it was covering so much of my body that my dermatologist said I would need to be hospitalized to avoid infection. But today, I am sore-free, with no itching. I wish I had figured out the cure when I was younger, but some of the cure wasn’t possible. I worked in high-stress jobs and later traveled so much that I couldn’t control what I ate. But today, I have already lost 20 of those 30 pounds, and it is coming off without dieting.
Now, this is a lot to do, so I have tried to list it in the order of easiest to most complicated. The thing you are fighting is inflammation. Inflammation is causing you to put on weight, and more importantly, it can cause you to catch COVID-19 more easier and increase your chance of death. Inflammation is your new enemy; weight gain and other ailments, food sensitivity, etc., are merely by-products. Ready to begin? Try this for just the next month and see if it makes a difference. You need to do this for a least a month to cure yourself.
1. The outside you – Organic Coconut oil and NO CHEMICALS. Buy the big tub of coconut oil at Costco or Walmart. It has a natural SPF of 4-5, so lather it on before you go into the sun or outside. Yup, it is messy when it is hot and totally liquid or cold and hard to spread, but I put it on over the area that has wood floors and then rub it into the floor! I have it in smaller plastic containers all around the house. I rub it on after showers and into my hair too. That is the ONLY thing that goes on my skin. Everything else has chemicals that cause inflammation. Sunscreen is bad, bug spray is bad, hairspray is bad, most hand lotion is bad, anti-aging creams are bad, and even the prescriptions that I had paid hundreds for over the years caused inflammation. They are all gon,e and no chemicals touch my skin, nor do I ingest them. More on that later. I also use a more natural detergent and products that we get on Amazon; Grab Green Natural 3 in 1 Laundry Detergent Pods, Free & Clear/Unscented, 60 Loads, Fragrance-Free, Organic Enzyme-Powered, Plant & Mineral-Based. We don’t use fabric sheets; instead I use little wool dryer balls, Smart Sheep 6-Pack XL Premium 100% Wool Dryer Balls. Bounce fabric sheets are filled with chemicals that get on your sheets, towels and clothes then irritate your skin.
No Soap or Shampoo. I use PURA D’OR Scalp Therapy Shampoo – Hydrates & Nourishes Scalp – Scalp Care Shampoo For Itchy Flaky Scalp w/ Tea Tree, Peppermint, Patchouli, Cedarwood. It is my body wash, shampoo and conditioner. I don’t color my hair anymore – that is a big inflammation that spreads through your body and causes cancer. Instead, I use Light Mountain henna hair color, which is time-consuming and messy but has no chemicals. I make my own deodorant and air freshener. Buy a set of plastic spray bottles and essential oils. There are lots of recipes online,e but deodorants, bug sprays and air fresheners go right into you fast and cause inflammation. Yes, don’t have to avoid going outside which you love – that is actually great therapy. We spend 15-20 minutes each day in the sun to get the Vitamin D that we both need, so make sure you do that every day; the earlier, the better. We go out at 9:30AM while it is still cool in Florida and my coconut oil protects me. I am starting to make my own makeup powders, more info on that later.
2. The inside you – Good oils – Coconut oil, Avocado Oil and Olive Oil. Salmon. Now, we need to fix what is going inside you that is causing inflammation. I eliminated two things; bad oils and sugar. I don’t drink, but if you do, the alcohol has to go for now. You might want to consider replacing it with medical marijuana (the kids have this right) – but make sure you don’t smoke it. Any smoke (like your barbeque) causes inflammation. You might want to try CBD gummies first to calm yourself instead. Giving up alcohol wasn’t hard for us; we did that in our 20s but if it is part of your lifestyle and culture, a little tough. If you do get medical marijuana, you can have that when you go out and have a few gummies and soda water with a lemon and still have a nice buzz. Giving up sugar was VERY hard, but I have replaced it with stevia. That is the only artificial sweetener that is okay. The rest are very, very bad, so no more diet sodas unless they are made with stevia. I drink Zevia Root Beer which I order from Amazon or often find it at the grocery store or Target. Removing bad oils is also hard. Most products have bad oil. Even “olive oil butter” or “olive oil chips” are really made with sunflower oil (bad) and have a little olive oil added. I have an air fryer, buy corn tortillas and make my own chips. I eat my own guacamole that I make. I make my own butter spread (start saving all plastic containers.) No animal products except salmon. Yup, becoming vegan was a little too hard, especially when you go out, but everyone always has salmon on the menu. Try to only eat cold water-caught salmon – farmed salmon has chemicals. I buy it canned and make a sort of tuna salad every other day and on the other days, I eat a tofu burrito with lots of guacamole. The goal is to get the good oils in you and the bad oils out. I gained a little weight at first due to #3 next and all the good oil, but yup, I have now lost 20 pounds (although I might say 30 since I lost the first 10 from becoming vegan before 60 and stopping the cheese and Red Vine addiction that I had!) The hateful eight industrial seed oils are Canola, Corn, Cottonseed Soy, Sunflower, Safflower, Grapeseed, and Rice bran. Look at the ingredients of your “healthy foods.” They most likely have these and they are causing inflammation and belly fat.
3. The Mental You. Exercise is the cure. I wish everyone could get rid of the stress in your life. I live a truly stress-free life. We sold our software company, and I’m in year 2 of a 5-year retirement plan. We didn’t make a ton of money, but we now have a monthly income and a reduced lifestyle that requires less income. I have no real human contact with clients anymore (part of the agreement) – that was a real stress builder. If you are a high-stress job and probably can’t retire – your goal is to fix this. Consider downsizing your lifestyle to live with less (what you need instead of what you want) and retire. Use a treadmill desk. Start doing Yoga. When the TV is on, I am normally exercising. It is hard because towards the end of the day when we sit down to watch TV, I can be exhausted, but it is just for a month to see what a difference it makes. I went to a personal trainer and got this routine. Right now, your body is mostly fat. It is merely a part of aging. After 30, we lose our muscles and convert them to fat to prepare us for the “winter” of our lives. This fat, especially belly fat, means elevated cortisol hormone, which means elevated blood sugar, which then raises insulin – the fat storage hormone. So even if you’re still eating the same, your body will hold onto more fat – especially at your waistline. So, getting rid of sugar (alcohol) and exercising are cortisol (the stress hormone) fighters. Every time you are angry, take a walk (if it is hot, jog around in a pool or the kitchen) or start exercising. It works! It gets you away from the stress and has the added benefit of your long-term plan to convert yourself into a lean, mean, fighting machine! Here is the exercise plan designed by personal training before they shut down. The goal is to convert fat to muscle so your body burns more calories per day and then you can either eat more (which I like) or lose weight (almost done with that.) Do not diet – under any circumstances. You need to instead convert fat to muscle and slowly burn the weight off. A 3″ square of muscle weighs more than fat, so you can gain weight at first, but then after 30 days, you normally turn the corner and start losing about 1-2 pounds a month. It is a VERY slow process of weight loss, but it has worked for m,e and I have very little belly fat left and 30 pounds lighter! I massaged my belly every night to make sure my skin tightened back up. I eat a lot – a whole lot. I often go off the “vegan” plan and have a cupcake, fish and chips, steak or fried chicken, but that is now rare, but I do not diet. This Sunday, I will have a pepperoni pizza! But now I really, really enjoy it rather than it being just dinner. When a friend makes something special – it is double special for me to eat!
Exercise plan
A. On the couch or chair, sit down and stand up. It is harder than you think. Don’t use your arms. Start with 12 reps and increase to 20. Then do it many times a day.
B. Using 10-pound barbells, I do 3 different arm strengthening routines; 12 reps each, then increase to 20.
C. I lay flat ahhh….resting, and then doing toe touches where I lift my toe up and then touch it down; 20 for each leg/toe and then 20 together.
D. 20-pointer dogs. Yoga Balance Table, then bring your right hand to touch your left knee. Reverse.
Yoga Balance Table
E. 5 minutes of stepper. Sunny Health & Fitness Mini Stepper with Resistance Bands – from Amazon
F. I also garden for 1 hour and do an 1 or 2 hour on the treadmill, but you might not have room or finances for the treadmill right now. If you can find a corner in the front room for these – the stepper and treadmill, great. We use a treadmill desk, so it’s easier. I have been on the treadmill while writing this, checking Facebook and handling my email, so I’m almost at my 1 hour, and it is almost breakfast time, then gardening. Ah… the life of the semi-retired.
G. WiiFit – I do the yoga and balance game and now I am adding more real yoga into my life. Just starting this, so more info later.
This is a lot to do, but it works. It also helps that it is hot and humid in Florida. Our house is pretty humid; we keep it hotter than most, 80 degrees in the summer since it is 90-100 outside. Running the air and heat dries out the house and you. Our indoor humidity is between 45-50%. You might not be able to do this, but it works for us. I am now allergy, psoriasis and arthritis free and lighter. All were caused by inflammation. We meditate twice a day for 20 minutes (you might call them senior naps), and that is a great time to chat. You and your spouse or significant other might try this; going into the bedroom, shutting the door and meditating for 20 minutes. Sometimes, we just talk, but being in that cool, dark room together and away from the noise can be helpful. We do it at 10AM and 2pm every day. You might just start at 10AM on Sunday. This means de-scheduling your life. Start saying “no” to events. Covid 19 has taught us that lesson; we no longer need to fill our weekends with travel, eating out, and attending events, so try to continue this when things start opening up. Hard when you have family still, but we moved away from all that. When you are at a restaurant, mall, lake or park with friends and family, ask yourself this, “would I rather be home in my dark bedroom, having a nap – or even in my own chair by the TV or pool floating around peacefully or be here – trying to look pretty and be witty?”
