Okay, so let’s go for a walk. Oh, wait a minute, how far should we walk and BTW just exactly how much should we actually be exercising? Well, as you may have guessed, this is not set in stone no matter what the 10,000 steps a day people say to you.

My doctor tells me that this, like the 8 glasses a day of water, is a myth based on absolutely nothing. In fact, I recently read in Prevention Magazine that for people over 60, the recommended step amount is 3,600 and even that should be individually evaluated.

I walk 5,000 per day and my Fitbit records active minutes and I try to do 20 per day. Walking the dog or running the vacuum are my go to events.

The one bit of nutritional advice that seems to be pretty universal is the 5 servings per day of fruits and veggies. A serving is 1/2 cup and actually this is pretty easy to do. Give it a try for good health instead of taking a pill!

All right, so this is not exactly a new word, but the idea and the results were a lesson learned for the good!

My new word for the day today is MAGNESIUM and I will be featuring it in my upcoming article for PINK next month. I have had quite a health awakening and I would like to share.

Recently, I went to my DR. for muscle cramps/spasms, that had become quite severe. Right away she recommended magnesium and I picked it up right away. 250 mg. (OTC)which is 60% or my daily need. I figured that was the correct dose based on the foods I eat.

Well, to make a long and happy story short and still happy, it worked. Not only are my muscle cramps and spasms gone, but I am sleeping better and I feel tons better mentally. I am not one to be down hearted usually, but now I must honestly tell you that even my outlook on life has perked up a lot.

I would never have imagined!!

Drink lots of liquid to keep hydrated, but of course we know now that it does not have to be 8 glasses of water. Lemonade and fruit juices are great. Most sports drinks are good and some of them are even great. Hydrating foods like melon and vegetables are fabulous. Those are the YES group. How about the NO group? Anything with caffine or alcohol are big no no drinks for hydrating purposes. They are just the opposite. They will dehydrate your body very quickly and not in a good way. Drink lots of liquid and eat watery foods, and enjoy summer!

The healthy eating plan known as NOOM categorizes foods as either RED, GREEN, or YELLOW. One is given varied amounts in each category depending on things like fiber, calories, fat, protein, etc. Green foods are almost unlimited, Yellow foods are allowed generously, and obviously the Red category is severely limited.

This is by no means a commercial for NOOM or any other plan for that matter, but I will say that if you can get a hold of one of their food charts, it will be of great interest. I think they have really nailed it when it comes to a healthy eating set up. I have successfully done NOOM and it worked for me to loose the weight I needed to loose, but on an ongoing basis it was too complicated. It was really good to know and make a habit though of keeping track of types of food eaten rather than calories or some other type of measurement.

This picture is blurry for a very good reason. I just finished reading an article in the July issue of Prevention magazine about all of the recent crazy Detox stuff that is going around. Supposedly, you can Detox any organ of your body, your whole body, cleanse your vagina, give your liver a good bath and on and on. Well, according to Prevention, which I have subscribed to and really loved for years, NO DETOX actually works. The best way to cleanse your body? Okay, you guessed it ahead of me: Your body actually has many tools to clean itself and your only job is to keep your organs and systems in good order and the way you do it is the same way we have all been told to keep ourselves healthy for a long time now. Eat fruits and veg, watch fats, watch sugar, eat fish and lean meats and I could go on and on. In fact, you could probably write this too.

PS-Did I mention to walk every day and keep a healthy weight? No? Well, you already knew that, right?

Many Magazines and many suggestions!

I subscribe to many magazines and I write three articles a month for several publications. I love magazines, but I especially LOVE magazines with recipes and big pictures of the way food is supposed to look when you are finished. Sorry-No picture/no preparation from my kitchen. Perhaps I have a limited imagination, but I simply am not inspired if I cannot visualize the finished product. Most magazines that feature healthy recipes have very specific instructions and yes, pictures. Particularly good in this regard are the many Weight Watchers magazines and cookbooks. do try one of these out to see what you think.