It's Never to late to change what is and make it better!

People say to me all the time, things like “You’re almost 65? I would have thought you were in your early fifties at the most!” Then they go on to say, “Well, so you’re almost 65, so you’re probably thinking about retiring, right?” I say to them, “Why ever would I want to ‘retire’ from the thing that gives me the most joy in my life, (second only to my family, of course)?”

There are two key ingredients that (to me) epitomize LIFE, and they are:
1. First and foremost, to be Healthy.

Miriam Dictionary has this to say:
1 a: the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit; especially : freedom from physical disease or pain b: the general condition of the body 2 a: flourishing condition : well-being b: general condition or state 3

2. To have Passion for the thing that you do, so much so, that it truly brings you Joy each and every day!

Miriam Dictionary defines Passion as: (I chose not to copy the first definition as that had to do with the Passion of Christ.)
an (1): emotion, love (2): a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept (3): sexual desire (4): an object of desire or deep interest.

Helping others improve their health is my Reason for what I do, but it’s different from my Why. My Why for what I do, has to do with the real Joy (doing it), brings to me!

When I meet with someone, and hear them tell me that they don’t have enough energy to get through their day half the time, much less enough to go home and prepare a home cooked meal for their family, my joy begins to bubble up, because I know that I can show them how they can not only have more energy to do the things they need to do, but enough left over to do the things they want to do. I simply need to help them discover the How, and of course, it will be different for everyone.

I can also help them discover how easily they might prepare whole food meals that they and their families will love! If they are dissatisfied enough with the way things are now, then they’ll listen and make the changes they need to make. Not only will they become healthier with every passing day, but they will perhaps, in time, rediscover their own personal ‘passion’ in life…their own Why for what it is they do. And yes, they may also come to understand that the life they are currently living is not the life they envisioned for themselves when they began. This kind of thinking may give them the courage to change their minds, and re-embrace their Dreams!

Life, to me, is not LIFE without those two key ingredients, it’s simply an existence.

It is the same as the difference between surviving and THRIVING! The bodies we live in, that miracle of miracles, was designed to be able to stay alive on dirt and water….for quite some time, actually, but that is surviving, not Thriving! We are living bodies that require life-giving, living foods in order to Thrive.

Why not make a commitment today to begin to live the life you dream of? Begin it by taking one small step toward better health today and then another, and another, until you are living a life that embraces a Diet of Excellence and an Optimal Lifestyle.

We all have choices in life and we make them based upon so many different reasons, many of which are not really our own, i.e. we’re trying to please someone else, we get caught up in the status quo (inundated with ads to consume everything), and go with the flow, we become weighted down with stress, (not enough time, energy, money fill in the blank _______), so that over time, we lose sight of the fact that we were once happy, and full of vim and vigor, full of the simple Joy that real Living gives to us.

So today, I challenge you to CHANGE your mind; make yourself your highest priority. Figure out what it is that you need to do to begin your walk toward better health, and begin today with taking that one small step. For you it may mean buying a book, like If It’s Not Food, Don’t Eat It, by Kelly Hayford, (and then reading it of course). Or it may mean that you join a health club, and begin doing an exercise program. It could mean that you pick up the phone and call a Health Coach like myself, and begin learning how to incorporate a more healthy lifestyle into your own daily life. Whatever it means to you, where you are today, do it! I already know you’re worth it; I want you to know it too!

Plan to Live your life LONG, and die SHORT, not the other way around, (that’s the current status quo)… you can do it… begin it now!

Remember, it’s never too late to change what is and make it better!

Until next time, Be Good To Yourself,
Joi XO

Health Tips – Issue 8

When Food is not Food:

Acclaimed author and journalist Michael Pollan argues that what most Americans are consuming today is not food but “edible food-like substances.” His latest book is called In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto.

In an interview, Pollan discusses nutrition, food science and the current American diet. According to Pollan: “We’ve known this for a hundred years, that if you eat this Western diet ... lots of processed food, lots of refined grain and pure sugar, lots of red meat and processed meats, very little whole grains, very little fresh fruits and vegetables ... about 80 percent of heart disease, at least as much Type II diabetes, 33 to 40 percent of cancers all come out of eating that way, and we know this.”
Joi says: If we want health, real HEALTH, the only way to get it is by returning to the basics, in other words, by eating closer to nature.
Knowing this, why do we not all act on what we know?
For one thing, there’s a lot of confusing information out there.
So many ads, so many articles, and commercials focusing on individual nutrients, i.e. vitamin C, E, folic acid, omega 3, etc, that many of us forget these are only a part of the picture, the whole picture, (read HEALTH, here) lies in eating the whole foods these “pieces” of health are found in. In other words, eat the whole orange, not a capsule of vitamin C; eat walnuts, or flax to get your Omega 3 oil, don’t get it in a capsule.
We have forgotten that there are so many other benefits from eating the whole food. Each whole food is full of thousands of health promoting, disease fighting components, put there (I believe), by our Creator who knew what our needs were, and provided us an easy source to get them.
We’re all in a hurry today, we want instant gratification, and fast food has become the national norm, where we run through a drive through, or at best get home and ‘prepare’ dinner by throwing something ‘prepared’ by some manufacturer into the microwave. These foods are the main reason why our nation is in the mist of a major Health Crisis. The very foods we eat on a daily basis are bankrupting our health.
At some point many people suddenly become aware, at the very least, of the weight they have gained, although most do not recognize that it’s the foods they eat every day that is the cause. Many will focus on the soda, or the candy bars, and not understand that it’s really ALL of the foods they eat that has caused the weight gain. So what do most of us do next? We get on some unhealthy “Lose thirty pounds in thirty days” DIET, (pay attention to the first three letters in that word!). What happens when we do that?
At first we lose some essential ‘water’ (convincing ourselves that it’s fat), and then we find ourselves on a ‘plateau’, as our body goes into ‘starvation mode” believing we are trying to kill it, so it (the body) slows down some systems, metabolism being one of the first, and even stops others in order to conserve energy, (fuel) that is necessary for the systems that we cannot do without, i.e. brain function, respiration, and heart beat.
What’s next? Well, eventually we give it all up and go back to the same old, same old, re-gaining not just the ‘weight’ we lost, but a few more pounds as well, since now our metabolism is functioning at ‘starvation’ level.
What can we do, what should we do to regain, build and maintain our health, and I’m talking about Health, not just for the short term, but Health for the long term?
Here it is, plain and simple: The fastest way to optimal health is through choosing a diet of whole foods, and embracing a healthy lifestyle
The best way to recapture your health, and yes, your naturally healthy body weight is included in this, is by focusing on WHOLE foods, foods that have not been processed in any way that alters them from their original state. The very best food of course, is food that has been raised or grown as nature intended; no chemicals, (fertilizer or otherwise), no additives, no pesticides, no antibiotics.
Here’s something to think about: If you make the changes you need to make, beginning where you are of course, and building on that beginning foundation, until you are doing what you need to do to promote your health…can you envision your life as you will live it, how you will feel, how you will look, in five years?…in ten?....how about twenty?
And if you do nothing, maintain the status quo? Where will you be, how will you feel, what will you look like in five years…ten…or twenty?
REMEMBER: Whole foods give you much more than just the sum of their individual nutrients. Every fruit, every vegetable, all the grains, etc., all have thousands of plant chemicals that work together synergistically, (when eaten in their natural state), building optimum health NOW and FOR YOUR FUTURE.
Be good to yourself, you’re worth it! Joi XO
For more information go to: www.JoiLin4Health.com
Contact me at: JoiLin@JoiLin4Health.com