What I Have Learned About Health from my Mother

Many of you may not be aware why I am not as active as I normally am on my blog- and to all my readers- I am sorry. My mother recently had to have a back infusion where they implanted metal rods into her spinal column and replaced 5 discs ( This happened on Tuesday). There is also a bone graft that has to happen at the same time. Since the surgery we thought she was improving and was to be discharged however right now she is still inpatient. SO we are still up and down at the hospital and trying to keep in touch (She is a little over an hour away from me). But while I have been thinking of her this morning as I am getting ready to head back to the hospital- I remember as a child...My mother was over 230 pounds in her early thirties and she was so miserable. She loved us girls so much and wanted to "be more" for us. I remember her saying those things. To be honest I did not understand until I became a mom and felt I could not "be more" for my kids. My mother decided she was only 5'1" and she needed to do something about it. In the 1980's some of you may remember a program called the "diet center". You don't hear about those much any more. But what they did was different- it was not prepackaged food or just a ton of pills you took- although I strongly remember her taking her water pills and taking her vinegar pills. She did this and followed a regimen of exercise. They recommended riding bikes and running. My mother was not a bout to run, although she loved riding those bikes on my grandparents farm. I remember my sisters and I playing in the road while my mom and grandmother and grandfather rode thier bikes. And in time she got down to about 125 pounds- and for her that was way too skinny even at 34 years old. Over time she has fought off and on with her weight but the things she has taught me are EAT healthy, supplements are good but vitamins and minerals are in the natural stuff. EXERCISE - they say now a days that you can exercise 30 minutes a day and be done--- UNTIL RECENTLY I DID NOT KNOW THAT IT HAD TO BE HIGH PACED OVER THE TOP GO TIL YOU DROP TYPE EXERCISE... It needs to be high intensity cardio for 30 full minutes to get the best fat burning results ( you can look that up on web md or livestrong if you like). THe toning exercises are PERFECT for after you finish the cardio part. My mom used to take us on long walks and while in highschool we had to run alot and we danced all the time. She taught us how to muti task and stay busy- although for a long time I DIDN'T want to- I wanted to stay at home and relax on the couch and do my little piddly cleaning and nothing more! My outlook on life has changed. And although there are some issues with her surgery after the fact- SHE HAS NO ISSUES WITH HER HEART, SHE HAS NO ISSUES WITH HER BLOOD, NO ISSUES WITH SUGAR, NO ISSUES WITH ANYTHING. How many 55-65 year olds can say that now? And although she is in pain ( we are checking to see if a nerve was pinched or something during the procedure now just waiting on results) I know she is healthy and happy. She has worked her adult life to stay in shape and keep looking and feeling good- not so much for being skinny and saying it, but so glad she is where she is today with her health because if not we could have many more complications. I also want to say that before the procedure and in the past year she has been taking ACE off and on to lose a little here and there as we all know the WEIGHT CAN COME BACK when we go off our healthy kicks for short stints. But I am very proud of her and SO GLAD she set a good example of how to do things right- she also showed me at a young age it helps to have some one support you in your weight loss. Many parents do not do that kind of thing now, just thankful mine has and still does. ****DONT FORGET ABOUT THE CANDLE GIVE AWAY! *****