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Health & Fitness

Living Well

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well" -Virginia Woolf, British author, 1882-1941

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well"

-Virginia Woolf, British author, 1882-1941

I love this quote for so many reasons.  It speaks to enjoying life, eating healthily and living well.  It all goes in concert- if you diet is poor or too restrictive, your energy level suffers.  If you skip meals or eat imbalanced meals, your mental skills decrease.  It has all been proven through research, but Virginia stated this so clearly at least 60 years ago.  Eating has become so bland- plates look like a mush of brown.  Try spicing your plate up by adding a lot of color- red, dark green, yellow, orange, the more the marrier!  Make three fourths of your plate fruits and vegetables and a small portion of meat and a pasta or starch.  You will feel fuller and a more varied diet is always more satisfying.  Stop obsessing and start looking at food as a partner to optimal health through satisfaction and enjoyment.  change your mindset to start enjoying food again.  Yes, you can have that glass of red wine too!  Just one and not seven days a week.

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Now lets discuss exercise and apply the same concepts- vary your routine for more enjoyment and better results, stop with the all-or-none obsessiveness about killer workouts and maximal efforts.  It doesn't have to be painful to benefit.  Remember high-impact step aerobics of the 70s and 80s?  Everyone thought it was the best, but the result was so many damaged knees it is unbelievable.  Be sensible, find ways to enjoy exercise and realize you have one body for your entire life- don't wreak it just to burn a few extra calories.

Why does history repeat itself so often and why don't we apply what we have learned?  Think about it!

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