This day was already 30 years ago…30 years! My how time flies! Our 30th Anniversary will be coming up on Tuesday, October 6. Many things have gone on since we said “I do”! It has been a great adventure. We have stayed active from day 1, and have also instilled that in our kids. Teach them to do what you do, not just what you say! Our kids traveled with us many times, and were there to cheer me on for my marathons. Sarah stuck to the Half Marathons then. I was the only crazy one at that time!
Here we are at one of Grandma’s marathon events. Sarah had these shirts printed up for the kids as a surprise to me during the race. Boy, was it a surprise!
They would be yelling and cheering for me when they saw me coming. Then, to my complete shock, they turned around!
I about lost it right there! These pictures of my kids are still some of my favorites ones, EVER! This was huge for getting me fired up to keep going! It was one of the greatest presents I have ever gotten! And, it was all Sarah’s idea!
Almost 30 years have gone by, and this was us at the end of August out on the Mickelson trail biking! Still active and moving. That is what we do! It is was we tell our patients to do everyday! It has kept us together, and happy, all of this time.
This was us the same week going out hiking in the hills. We love being outside, and being active. We get to see so much more of things that we would have missed if we were not active. These are our best vacations! We have tried to instill that in our kids as well from the day they were born. I honestly think we did pretty well on this. They have grown up significantly since those early years.
This was last year at Molly’s wedding. My, how things change over the years…for the better!!! Hopefully they keep going at it too like we did. When we start having grandkids, I guarantee they will be active with us! This next picture a good friend of ours, Cory Ann, took this picture of us at Brookings 2 years ago. I think it pretty much sums up how we have lived our life, and how we have fun with it.
Running! Together! Forever! It has been a great 30 years Sarah. Let’s work on the next 30! I had a couple that I took care of as patients, and a few years ago they celebrated their 80th Anniversary! He would just smile, and sing, and say it was “total bliss”, and she would just shake her head and say, “Lot of work…lot of work!”. Ha! There is no question it takes work…from both. There are differences some days, but seldom. I love running, biking, walking, hiking…and being with you Sarah! Let’s hope there are many more adventures, and years left! I love you! Keep moving everybody!
Did you know that September is Cholesterol Education Month? Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in your body and many foods. Your body needs cholesterol to function normally and makes all that you need. However, too much cholesterol is not good for us and can build up in our arteries. After a while, these deposits narrow our arteries, putting us at risk for heart disease or a stroke. Regularly checking your cholesterol values during your doctor’s visits are important….and taking proper steps to make improvements if levels are off are key to wellness and improved health.
Nutritionally, there are ways for us to lower our cholesterol. By following a heart healthy diet we can reduce unhealthy blood cholesterol levels and lower our risk for heart disease.
Eat a balanced diet with whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and lean protein sources.
Consume foods rich in soluble fiber.
Achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
Participate in physical activity and exercise.
Choose heart-healthy unsaturated fats.
Limit saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol intake.
Limit refined carbohydrates especially sugar, sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages.
Limit alcoholic beverages and avoid tobacco products.
If you want to learn more and/or need individual help, be sure to contact me for more support!
With all of life’s stresses going on right now, we need to make our health an even higher priority. A great way to relieve some of that stress is to do some resistance training, or weight workouts. It is a great way to exercise, and blow off steam at the same time. A corner of my garage is now converted into my own gym: The Reiflex Center!
I have had this now for several years, and have gradually increased the amount of the equipment we use in it. It is very convenient, and I have a heater for the Winter, and I can go out and workout anytime I want, any day I want. I can jump rope, do pullups, sit ups, and several other pieces of equipment that I can be creative on what I do. I mix it up and have a variety of different activities, and go out for 20-30 minutes, 3 days a week, and usually with Sarah. It is always easier to workout when you have a partner to push you as well.
Sarah and I don’t just tell everybody they need to exercise more, we do it as well. Get going with some music blaring, and burn off those frustrations. It sets the tone for the day as we are usually out there by 6 AM when we do start. We feel fired up for the day, and ready to take it on. We definitely love to run, and this helps increase both our strength, and our endurance, helping even that much more with our running. We all need to do resistance training of some sort 2-3 times a week. Create your own space, or go to a gym/wellness center. Whatever works for you, just get out there and do it. Right now is an even more important time to do this with all of the stress of 2020 going on. Take care of yourself in the process! Keep moving everybody!
Meal planning is a great tool for healthy eating. I find that when I don’t have a plan for our week’s meals, we tend to eat more junk and fast/convenience type of foods. Having a plan will help you not only control your food budget, but also help you eat healthier! Here are some basic tips to get you started:
*Keep it simple: plan your meals with foods you can afford, foods that are available in our grocery stores, foods you enjoy eating, and foods that are convenient for you. Make a list of those foods, check the ads for sales, look at ways you can batch cook or combine ingredients for various dishes.
*Start small: choose a single meal to plan first and then go from there. Break it down day by day. I like to have several meal options for 3-5 days/week. I can decide what I want that day, but have things prepped for various options. I also allow 1-2 days of eating out/take out. You can figure that into your plan! There is no right or wrong way of planning. You can have an exact plan for each meal/day or you can have the options and then decide from there (more of a relaxed approach). I also start planning with my protein, then add in my starch, then my fruit and veggie to complete the plate….paired with a glass of milk or yogurt tub.
*Make it a habit: maintaining good health is all about habits you can stick with! If this is too dreadful of a thing, you won’t stick with it so be flexible, be realistic, and make it work for you and your family!
*Breakfast Ideas: grab and go options are great if you are on the run. String cheese and wheat thins, Greek yogurt and banana, peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread.
*Lunch: leftovers are a great option. Make extra the night before so you have leftovers to enjoy. Be sure to include your produce!
*Supper: batch cook some options such as pork loin, taco meat, shredded chicken, bbq meat, chili, etc. These options can be incorporated into several different meals or eaten for leftovers. You can also keep things simple such as eggs and toast, salad with the fixings, stir fry, etc.
Meal planning is a great tool to help you make healthy choices….if you haven’t tried it, I encourage you to consider it!
You have heard a lot the last 6 months about washing your hands and proper hygiene. Proper hand washing is not only important to prevent the spread of disease, but also important for food safety and consumption. This is nothing new, but the COVID19 pandemic as put a fresh emphasis on it! Are you washing your hands appropriately and effectively? Are you washing them during recommended times (not just after going to the bathroom)? Check out these tips below to help you stay healthy and well!
•Wet hands with running water and apply soap. Wash both sides of hands up to wrists, in between fingers, and in nails.
•Wash hands for at least 20 seconds— about the time it takes to sing two choruses of “Happy Birthday.”
•Dry hands with disposable paper towels, clean cloth towels or air dry.
When to wash hands:
•Before handling, preparing or eating food.
•Before feeding others.
•Prepare or handle raw foods such as poultry or other meats and seafood
•Switch food preparation tasks, such as working with raw meat then cutting vegetables
•Handle egg products
•After using the restroom
•After handling garbage or dirty dishes
Other situations that indicate hands should be washed include: •Changing a diaper •Coughing or sneezing •Smoking •Touching animals or other people •Touching your hair or body or any open cuts or sores •Using the phone •Handling dirty laundry
The continued debate about wearing masks during this COVID pandemic is getting extreme, from all directions. At the clinic, we wear a mask all day. I have patients complaining that they won’t come into the clinic if they see us all wearing a mask, and other patients who refuse to come into the clinic if we don’t mandate that everybody coming in wears one. We are in a no win situation. We continue to screen everybody at the door, with questions, and a temperature, if they have anything that my be suggestive of COVID, they are handed a mask, if they are not already wearing one, and triaged and taken to a room quicker.
I hear all of the time that masks really don’t work, so why wear them. You still have to continue to wash your hands, try to stay 6 feet apart, if possible, avoid crowded areas, and it is recommended to wear a mask. Many different researchers emphasize there are two main reasons for wearing a mask. There is some evidence of protection for the wearer, but the stronger evidence is that masks protect others from catching an infection from the person wearing the mask. How much protection a mask provides, both to the wearers, and to the people around them, depends on the mask, and whether you are wearing it properly. It needs to cover your nose and your mouth. N95 masks are designed to fit tightly around the nose and mouth so that the air you breathe has to go through the mask. They block at least 95% of small airborne particles, and are designed to protect both the wearer, and other people. They are in short supply and are reserved for those in healthcare. Surgical masks are designed to protect people from the wearer, and have been found to block up to 70% of respiratory droplet size particles. As for cloth masks, the protection depends on what they are made of, and how well they fit. But having the right combination can create a cloth mask that offers protection to the wearer in the 30-50% range, or more. That’s far from full protection, but combined with social distancing and hand washing, it’s certainly better than nothing.
And yet, everyday, people complain about it. This goes both ways, for those who refuse to wear them, and those that think everybody should have one on at all times, whether they are around somebody else or not. If you are outside, and maintaining social distancing, you do not have to wear one.
Last weekend, a bunch of us from our Watertown Area Running Club when to Brookings to either do the Marathon, or the Marathon Relay. Mask were required for the event. They were trying to make it as safe for everybody involved as possible, for not only the runners, but the people managing the event, and all of the volunteers.
When the race was started, everybody had to begin wearing a mask. Once you were spaced out more, you could remove them. We were far enough apart from each other, and we were outside. It was not difficult at all, and I heard nobody complaining about it!
The week before, we had all gone out to Caribou for coffee afterwards. Mask were required to be there. All of us had them on. If it meant we were going to be able to get coffee, and relax a little bit, so be it. And be as safe as we could at the same time!
I am sure somebody will have some negative comments if they read this far into today’s post. One thing I have found is that this virus had tended to show a lack of kindness in people as well. Kindness is not doing something for someone else because they can’t, but doing something for someone else because you can. Wearing a mask shows that you actually care about the people around you. In a world full of people right now who couldn’t care less, be someone who couldn’t care more. Kindness is contagious too. Why don’t we try passing this on to everybody for a change?
Instead of complaining about it, why don’t you have fun with it? Be creative on the designs. Be funny. We are all in this together whether we want to be or not. We may only know our own situations, but somebody else’s situation may be even worse. Think about it? What can you do to make it better? Or is it just easier to keep complaining and taking it out on someone else? Care about somebody else! Kindness–let’s make this become the next pandemic! Keep moving everybody, and be safe!
