Health

December 2014 – Cathy and I have launched a new web site: HealthSimply.org to bring together our combined content on health.

See also the following pages: Exercise  – Eating out

Ten years ago (2003), Cathy made some lasting changes in her habits resulting in much improved health including the a permanent lose of about 35 pounds.  While I went up and down for several years, in early 2010, I made some of my own changes, which has allowed me to also improve my health. The heart of my progress has come from educating myself, finding an exercise program that worked for me, and improving the quantity/quality of what I ate. The purposes of these pages is to share some of what we have learned and what works for us.

I am hoping to significantly update these pages over the coming year (2014) and likely will do it on a new site linked to this page. For now, here are a few key ideas and resources.

Exercise – While not the means of weigh loss, it is essential to good health for all of that do not have active occupations. Two books I would highly recommend to help you understand the value of exercise, which keeps me motivated, and how to best invest your limited time and energy.

  1. The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can: Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer by Gretchen Reynolds
  2. Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John J. Ratey.

See my exercise page for a fuller listing exercise videos that each of us have used at various stages of our fitness journey and would recommend. For the most part, we do them in the morning at home. While I have progressed to my “man” workouts, I started with the simple programs below and others on my exercise page, as they are broken into 10-15 minute segments that allows one to make progress with 30 minutes a day.

  • 15-Minute Workouts For Dummies (a good starting point)
  • The Firm – Slim with the Gym
  • The Belly Off Workout from Men’s Health (more challenging)

Eating  – Eating is essential for life. But much of what America calls “good,” may taste good, but is anything but healthy. Cathy and I have found that good eating does not have to be boring, depriving or even particularly difficult. Our favorite healthy recipes are on our web site at:  recipes.  See also the web sites of Eating Well Magazine and Cooking Light Magazine. Both offer great recipes (and cookbooks).

  • Still to come: a quick start guide on eating better and how I learned portion control.

Educating yourself – there is a reason that we live in a day of unprecedented bad health. Below are books that have helped me understand and find the path out (see the Week 6 posting below for more information, unless noted otherwise):

Recommended web resources

Listing of posts in my original series: