When I was a kid, we didn’t eat dinner. Nope! We ate supper which typically consisted of meat, potato in some form and vegetables or a salad. We ate whole wheat bread frequently, pasta once per week and rice occasionally. Mother Fran was a bit of a health nut so milk was served as the beverage, fruit as the dessert. She cooked with lard, butter and oil. Most vegetables were straight from the garden and sometimes the freezer.
We rarely had chips, soda or other types of junk food. I’m pretty sure she had never heard of a Ring Ding, Twinkie or Fluff. We did enjoy the occasional brownie, ice cream and homemade cake. Mother Fran was ahead of her time when it came to cooking healthy meals for her family. Our diet had plenty of protein, healthy fats and some carbohydrates.
Do you ever find yourself happily going about your life, tending to what needs to get done, checking things off of your to do list and than BAM? BAM, something happens that rocks your world. Something pulls your kayak way off course and you find yourself drifting aimlessly or furiously fighting the waves but not getting anywhere.
A few weeks ago, my brother (Number 9) called me to process the fact that a good friend of his had a massive heart attack and was in the hospital. His friend is in his mid 50’s and I’m sure he was not expecting something so big to rock his world. Today I learned about a friend in his early 60’s who just underwent a partial amputation of his foot due to diabetic complications. Undergoing surgery like that will totally knock anyone off course.
I have been eating pretty healthy for a while now and have hit a 40 day streak tracking my food intake on My Fitness Pal. I was reviewing my data today and realized I eat about the same amount of calories in snacks as I do for each meal! I wasn’t sure if I should be horrified but decided to just take it in stride. My overall caloric intake is fine and I am happy thrilled with my current weight! I have been using the My Fitness Pal App on and off for a few years but have never been so consistent with it. In addition to getting a glimpse at my calories, protein, carbohydrate, fat, fiber and sugar intake, I find it helps me to see how the food I eat affects my body. There is a section at the end of each day for notes and I use that to jot down any symptoms I feel during the day; allowing me to recognize patterns of eating and how I feel.
Eating healthy takes a bit of planning but it can be fun and oh so good for you. When I work less than 6 hours at the Nursing Home, I don’t bring lunch but I always bring a couple of snacks. In the refrigerator at work, they put in leftover employee lunches all individually wrapped and free for the taking. It isn’t usually good or food I would typically eat. When I forget to bring my snacks, I start foraging for something to eat and end up wolfing down something I would not have even considered putting in my mouth if I had just brought something decent from home!
On April 19 2014 I moved back to the Finger Lakes after 25 years in Massachusetts. Trust me, 25 years is a long time. Long enough to live in at least 12 different houses with many different roommates. Long enough to have a 20 year career and supervise too many people to count. Long enough to fall in and out of love a few times. Long enough to make wonderful friends that will last a lifetime, despite living 350 miles away.
Living closer to family and the lake is what drew me back to the Finger Lakes five years ago. I can’t believe it has been five years already! Five years is a long time too. Long enough to have a couple of jobs, move in with my honey, start my yard-work side-gig. Five years is long enough to have put down new roots and make more friends.
When I was younger, I looked at health as the composite of two things. Eating a healthy diet and getting plenty of exercise. If you did these two things, you would be healthy. Mother Fran and Papa Jack took care of the healthy diet for everyone in my household so all I had to do was get plenty of exercise. Wait, they helped ensure that as well. My parents were always kicking us out of the house to go and play, go weed the garden, go shovel the dirt around the pond. Plus my siblings and I loved to shoot hoops, ride bikes, climb trees and play catch. Getting exercise as a kid growing up in the 1970’s and 1980’s was easy.
Now that I have Embraced the Gray, I know that living a healthy lifestyle is about so much more than food and movement. These two things are absolutely critical but they are only two pieces of a larger puzzle. I have done a ton of reading on this topic and listened to many podcasts and audiobooks that it is time I summarize for myself (and for anyone else interested) what a more complete health puzzle looks like. This is important to me because energizing others to choose health is part of how I live my life strategically!
I spent one day recently engaged in completing some Strategic Planning exercises to help me clarify how I will use my Health Coach Certification. The exercises I completed were helpful and fun and by the end of the day I had written a mission statement and a list of actionable steps to get me moving in the right direction.
Mission Statement: “To energize adults living with chronic disease to maximize their health, wealth, and happiness by adopting new habits, embracing positive attitudes, removing barriers, and focusing on what brings them joy“.
Lake Girl@mylittlebluekayak.com
What new habit are you thinking about embracing? Let me know in the comment section below!
Quite a while ago, I made a shocking confession here at My Little Blue Kayak. I confessed to the world that I was having a love affair with someone incredibly important to me. She was laid back, easy-going and nice to look at; I am talking about my crock pot of course. I had started using it several times per month and really enjoyed coming home to a piping hot dinner that smelled awesome. Well, I have had my slow cooker for probably 20 years and she still works great. But it is time for a new confession; I haven’t used it in forever.
I have given my heart to another and don’t anticipate needing my crock pot, well ever. In October, we went on vacation with Number 9 and his wife and they brought their Instant Pot. When Mother Fran and Number 7 returned to Florida, I borrowed their Instant Pot from the cottage and began experimenting. In December my honey and I took the plunge and bought our own Instant Pot and I fell in love! I have officially joined the Instant Pot Fan Club. This pot has a bunch of different setting including saute, pressure cook, steam and can even make yogurt. Oh, it also has a slow cook function so goodbye crock pot!
If you read this blog at all, you have a pretty good idea that my Mom is super important to me. I affectionately call her Mother Fran and have learned so much from her as it relates to health, wealth and happiness. She is 91 years young and still enjoys playing bridge, cards, doing puzzles and reading on her kindle. Playing Canasta is her favorite past time and she is always ready for a match. I have inherited her love of games!
Mom has always been ahead of her time when it came to healthy eating. She only allowed the healthiest breakfast cereals in the house. I remember Product 19, Shredded Wheat (plain), and Grape Nuts. I used to try to sneak sugar into my cereal bowl to give it some taste! I don’t recall her cooking breakfast but Papa Jack would routinely cook eggs, pancakes, and French toast. Two vegetables were always on the dinner menu and fruit was always in the fridge when we were hungry. We had huge gardens and Mom used to send me out to pick the veggies right before dinner. I have inherited her interest in nutrition and healthy eating.
I remember she had a subscription to Prevention Magazine, always took vitamin supplements and tried to pass carob powder off as chocolate. We only ate whole grains, rarely had soda and the only time we had candy was on Halloween. I remember her swallowing a tablespoon of olive oil in the morning because she knew it was good for her.
Through her 80’s she used her arm weights, ankle weights and did seated yoga. She used to engage in exercise every day but over the last few years, her love of games has gotten in the way. Now, Child #7 makes her stretch her neck and do shoulder shrugs in between rounds of Canasta! She also used to listen to relaxation tapes daily and take long afternoon naps. I am kind of a nap failure but I do love my daily quiet time. Guess I inherited a need to take time to myself every day in order to recharge my batteries.
I have learned a lot about optimizing health from my Health Coach Training, reading a ton of books, listening to podcasts and modifying my own diet. I focus on making one good decision after another to reach my health goals. Recently, I have begun to track healthy habits in an App on my cell phone which has really helped me stay on top of my game! I have definitely inherited Mother Fran’s interest in living a healthy lifestyle.
Mother Fran is wonderful but she is not known for her patience. If she wants you to do something, she wants it NOW. I remember several years ago, I was resting on the deck after driving 6.5 hours to visit her. She asked if during my visit I could move a bunch of rocks that had fallen off a rock wall. I said sure and closed my eyes. About 30 minutes later, I see her carrying a large rock out of the corner of my eye. When I asked her why she was moving it, she said well you weren’t getting around to it! I am afraid I have inherited her lack of patience too!
As my honey and I gear up for a long visit with Mother Fran and Child #7, I look forward to sharing some of my favorite meals and newfound healthy living knowledge with her. I want to get her talking about her own interest in health living to see what she can teach me as well. I am 100% positive we will play hours upon hours of Canasta. We will hit the beach and some favorite restaurants. Who knows, maybe can brainstorm ways to improve our patience too!
I wonder what else I have inherited from Mother Fran???
Lake Girl!
Check out these articles to see how Mother Fran can influence you to choose health too!
Good health is incredibly important to me and it is my dream for all of us to grow old gracefully and with boundless energy. The way I see it, the daily decisions we make now will help to determine how healthy we will be as we age. In addition to writing about my own health journey, here at My Little Blue Kayak, I work as a health care professional, read books, blogs and listen to a variety of relevant podcasts. Last year, I became certified as a Health Coach through the National Society of Health Coaches and am exploring the possibilities of how I will use this certification to support others to improve their health thru lifestyle changes.
I work with a lot of people who suffer from one or more chronic diseases and by the time I meet them, their health is a major issue and will likely get worse, if they do not make lifestyle changes. It is not just my patients though, that live with chronic illness. I have family members and close friends that I love who deal with the pressures of obesity, diabetes, arthritis, heart disease and stroke. I am willing to bet that you know and love people who also live with a chronic illness. What are they one step away from?
The other morning, I was heading out to walk the dog and stopped to check out the handy, dandy weather app on my iPhone. It had one of those red banners across the top warning me of icy conditions. Score 1 for being prepared. Instead of my hiking boots, I pulled on my winter boots for improved traction, leashed up the pup and headed out the front door. I stepped off the porch, onto the first step and proceeded to slide, feet first down the 4 steps onto the cement landing.
I laid on the ground for a minute cursing and trying to move all of my limbs to see what was hurt. My left wrist and shoulder seemed to haven taken the brunt of the fall and both felt sore. Other than that and my tuckus being wet from laying on the ground I seemed to be fine. My honey heard the fall and opened the door to check on me (I figured she really heard me cursing)! I got up and proceeded to take the poor dog for her walk. Everything was slippery and it was one of those really short walks where my sole focus was not to fall again.
