Panda Ramblings

[windwalker]

Our ecconomy is not the best right now and a lot of us are seeing an increase in the price of everything and a decrease in our incomes because of slow business. Not the best of times but it can be a good time to look at another aspect of living a healthy lifestyle.

A long walk/run/bike with your spouse or a good friend is quality time at it's best and guess what it's free. Being out on a beautiful day with someone special, or even with your own thoughts can be a time you remember much longer than a day at home on the couch or a trip to a movie. We get more mentally and physicly out of doing something that gets us out in the sun and gets our heart rate up. The canned entertainment of a movie or TV show doesn't do much for the intellect.

Eating, as we say in the south, a little closer to the earth is a good way to save money and to get more out of our food. Instead of eating so much processed food, we can buy fresh at the farmer's markets and make our own healthier meals. One of my favorites is a diced fresh tomato and cucumber salad. It's super low in calories, high in nutrition and very inexpensive. Add a piece of steamed fish or a baked/grilled chicken breast and you have a very healthy high energy meal.

Weekend trips to local races can be a wonderfull and very inexpencive mini vacation. I love the whole race environment. Every race from the monster marathons with thousands of athletes to the local 5Ks with a few hundred racers each has it's own magic. You will remember everyone of them to, and of course you get to take home a shirt and a piece of bling. Most race fees are about the price of going to a movie and provide a lot more entertainment and memories.

Another plus of the healthy lifestyle is that your medical bills are a lot less. You can go broke with the uncovered tests and co pays these days. Even your life insurance is cheaper if you don't smoke. Not missing work because you are healthier is also a big plus. Most have gone to a PTO, paid time off system so if you use your days for sickness you lose your vacation days.

The last thing I want to point out is that every time you exercise you are investing in your future. It's like putting money into your longivity bank. You may not live longer, although all the studies done point to a healthier lifestyle giving you more years, but you will live better quality years as you age. So the money you save on medical bills can go to having more fun in your retirement also.

Thanks for reading.

Thrifty Panda

 

[IlliniMouse]

Thanks for posting that, Panda. Lots of good points, and the motivation I needed this morning.

 

[windwalker]

Thanks for posting that, Panda. Lots of good points, and the motivation I needed this morning.

You are very welcome, have an awesome day.

Happy Panda

 

[bubba73]

Panda,

As always, I love reading your ramblings. I have a tendency to ramble sometimes as well so in that sense, I feel like we have a lot in common. We also share a lot of the same view points on the benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle. I am currently looking at having a getaway with my DW where we will be up in the Mountians. If this comes about, we will drive up there and then walk everywhere else. Lots of good quality time and exercise. (I have a goal of getting her prepped and ready to do the Princess 5k in March. She acts like she can't do it but I want to show her she can. Plus, it is on her birthday!!!)

Great observations! Keep them coming!
Bryan

 

[windwalker]

Panda,

As always, I love reading your ramblings. I have a tendency to ramble sometimes as well so in that sense, I feel like we have a lot in common. We also share a lot of the same view points on the benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle. I am currently looking at having a getaway with my DW where we will be up in the Mountians. If this comes about, we will drive up there and then walk everywhere else. Lots of good quality time and exercise. (I have a goal of getting her prepped and ready to do the Princess 5k in March. She acts like she can't do it but I want to show her she can. Plus, it is on her birthday!!!)

Great observations! Keep them coming!
Bryan

The second week of December we go to Gatlinburg to celabrate our anniversary and do our final LSD before the January Disney Marathon. We spend 3 days eating and walking in the hills. Usually a 5 a 10 and a 20 miler.

Walking Panda

 

[dare2dream]

At a wellness lecture I attended recently the Doctor instructed us to eat only things our grandmothers would recognize. The basic staples, lean meats, and lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Processed stuff is not good for us.

I have been taking this to heart lately and have been trying to do a lot of my own baking. DH is in charge of the bread machine. No high fructose corn syrup in our bread now. I have been also baking cookies and DH says they taste better than the store bought stuff. (A girl needs a treat every once in a while). My cookies have all those natural grandma ingredients.

As we have been trying to eat healthier I have been doing most of my shopping on the perimeter of the store where the healthy natural stuff is kept.

I really feel HFCS and processed food is what is causing the rising obesity epidemic in the US. I am trying to eat healthier and I know it is making a difference in my life. The scale says so and my health says so.

Funny note. We have a healthy friend that visited an emergency for stomach pain recently. He is 65. A standard question is 'list the medications you take on a regular basis'. He replies nothing. The interviewer was shocked and rephrased and reasked the question several times. Each new person he encountered asked the same question. They just could not believe that he was not taking ANY prescription medication at all.

Isn't it sad that this is what America has come to. We are becoming a society of pill poppers. They have pills for almost every ailment and people are taking them as a first and only resort instead of working and making lifestyle changes. The number of pharmacies in our town has increased substantially over the past few years. I can not get over the ones that have a competitor right across the street. They all remain thriving and open to supply the fix needed in town.

The emergency room never diagnosed our friends problem. He visited countless doctors and suffered in pain for several months. Then as suddenly as the pain started it all went away. He is still not on any medication. He still works full time in a manual labor blue collar job and works harder than the younger guys.

Have a healthy day!

 

[TammyNC]

Great thoughts, enjoyed reading the thread.

dare2dream-glad your friend is doing fine now. It is amazing that everyone expects us all to be on loads of meds.

 

[perfectmatch300]

Thanks, Rambling Panda! You always have such good things to say.

 

[mkymsehi]

Confucious Panda,

The money I save on medical bills, goes to Disney.

 

[MelanieC]

So true everyone.

Brenda- I think it's amazing the amount of pills everyone is on. I vow not to be on pills unless it's the only option. A good book to read is Ultra Prevention by Mark Heiman. Really makes you understand that eating healthy is the way to keep the pills away. Pills only give you side effects that require you to take other pills. All they do is mask your original problem and they don't fix and get to the reason your feeling this way in the first place.

I'd rather figure out what the problem is and take care of that through food and exercise anyday.

 

[windwalker]

Confucious Panda,

The money I save on medical bills, goes to Disney.

Ya think!

I spend more on Disney trips than I should but a couple of days just isn't enough when you are hanging with old, new and future friends.

Social Panda