Unlock the Secret to The Art of Flirting by Karen Wilson

March 21, 2018embracingaging51 3 Comments

Meeting new people

Unlocking the secret to the art of flirting isn’t as difficult as you may think. It is my intention to help Adults, who are single after divorce or death of a spouse. They may find themselves wondering, “How can I get out there and meet someone new?” Some people are just naturally social creatures. Flirting seems easy for these people. Have you ever heard the expression, “They’ve never met a stranger”?

Others are not as socially adept. Introverts, Extroverts, and folks who fall somewhere in the middle can learn the art of flirting. It’s not about having the perfect pick up line or knowing where the perfect place is to go to meet people.

I think we sometimes make things harder than they have to be in life. Sometimes answers to questions have been right in front of us all along the way.

Embracing love

Conversation Starters

It’s more about being open to meeting new people. I could make you suffer and wait until the end of this post, but I’ll go ahead and share the secret. Flirting is nothing more than being friendly, you don’t need cheesy pickup lines or silly tactics to try to get someone’s attention.

Just say “Hello. My name is… “You are?” And you are off and running. Chances are there’s something about the situation you’re both in that will allow you to make small talk.

I am a member of my local YMCA I meet new people there nearly every day. My friends and I have a shared interest in fitness and we exchange ideas about what works for us at the gym. We share information about classes we like, the equipment we use, and things we love and hate about working out.

Here are some more ideas to get the conversation going:

What do you do?
How long have you been doing that?
What led you to this line of work?
Tell me about your hobbies
What’s your favorite food
Do you like to cook
Don’t forget to smile

These are a few questions to get you going. An essential part of the conversation is about showing genuine interest, and when they realize you are both engaged in the discussion, the conversation will bloom and come to life.

Key, heart, rose on a bed of straw. EmbracingAging.us

Unlock the secret to the art of flirting

Opportunity awaits

Meeting new people is about the opportunity. You have the most opportunities when you open yourself up to try new experiences:

Meeting someone through friends and family is one way to find friendship or begin dating.
Another great way to meet new people is to become a volunteer for a charity or organization you have a heart for helping.
If you enjoy learning new things, there are classes at your local college and vocational school where you’ll likely meet someone with very similar interests. Photography, painting and culinary classes come to mind.
Opt for dance classes, ballroom, square dancing, hip-hop or line dancing to hear your favorite music and learn new dance steps.
Golf courses are another popular place. Not only is golfing great exercise, it’s a lovely place to meet people.
Ladies, If your interested in any kind of sport, basketball, baseball, or football, then going to the game may be just the place to meet the guy that could take your game to the next level.
Gentlemen, if you enjoy gardening, you might find a local garden club to explore a potential new interest all while learning great tips to improve your gardening skills.

Being friendly is the secret. Say, “hi, how are you. You look well today.” You can tell if someone seems nice and would like to get to know them better.

Please feel free to join this discussion. You might be able to help someone find love or friendship.

Thank you for stopping by,

I’m Karen with Embracing Aging

Reminding you to Embrace Your Age

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Habitually Overeating Accelerates Aging

March 17, 2018embracingaging51 Leave a comment

Habitually Overeating Accelerates Aging

I was guilty of habitually overeating and needless to say weighing 380 lbs made me feel very old. Testifying to this fact, my age at the time of my weighing 380 lbs. was only 41. I felt like 81. Needless to say, my mobility was terrible. So much so, that I had to have assistance with all kinds of regular everyday activities. Such as, taking the elevator when possible, getting my husbands help in and out of the car, limited to taking only showers because at 380 lbs. I simply did not fit in the bathtub.

Moving on, I had a terrible attitude towards food which was waste not, want not. This is fine in other areas of life, but when it comes to eating habits, this rule can and should be thrown out the proverbial window. At the time, I had a clean my plate mentality so, when it came to eating out especially at buffet-style restaurants As is typical of most overweight Americans, I thought it necessary to get my money’s worth of food.

Habitually overeating and diabetes

Habitually Overeating, sharps container, EmbracingAging.us

Habitually Overeating Accelerates Aging

I fully realize there are two types of diabetes. Now, type 2 is the one I want to discuss in this blog post. Just now, I literally had to sit here and contemplate the ramifications of poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. Therefore, if someone who has type 2 diabetes isn’t careful about their food choices, as I’m sure you are well aware, the complications of this disease are deadly.

Now, on to a more positive discussion about this topic. I would like to take a minute to share how I now look at the buffet spread when I go out to eat with my family. Moreover, the choices of healthy options are fabulous and delicious.

Certainly, the buffet is the perfect opportunity to practice an eating clean mindset. (read more here) When I’m looking the situation over, just know that I don’t feel at all deprived when we go there because I’m evaluating my best options. Here are some healthy recommendations for eating at the buffet.

First, choose these meet options:

Fish
Shellfish
Skinless Chicken
Skinless Turkey
Beans peas, and lentils as meat substitutes
Lean beef- round, sirloin, chuck and loin. Avoid “prime”

Resist battered, and fried meat like fried chicken, fish. Pass on red meat labeled “prime” like prime rib.

Next, choose these vegetable options:

All fresh vegetables on the salad bar are a good bet
beans, peas seeds, sprouts

also choose hot vegetable such as:

Asparagus
beans- like; kidney and pinto
beets
broccoli
Brussels sprouts
cabbage
carrots
cauliflower
green beans
onions
peppers
kale, mustard greens, spinach, and turnip greens
squash- butternut, yellow and zucchini

Avoid fried vegetables and starchy vegetables like potatoes and corn

When you choose fresh fruit, you can’t go wrong

Fresh fruit on the salad bar and dessert bar
craisins (dried cranberries) and raisins

Avoid fruit in heavy syrup or sauces like peaches

Use visualization

Using the technique of visualization will help establish a good mindset for better eating habits. When we visit a restaurant, especially buffets I imagine vividly, walking into the restaurant and right from the start ordering a water, unsweetened tea, coffee, or diet soda. Furthermore, I’m not a fan of any soda, however, diet soda is far better than a regular soda in terms of calories. Emphasising how this helps me, visualization really locks in my self-control and enables me to be smart about my food choices.

Next, if you will imagine taking your plate to the buffet knowing in advance that you will start with a fresh salad and of course you are wise about the dressing for your salad. Sidebar about the salad bar, when it comes to salad dressing, my favorite hack is to put my dressing on the side and dip the tines of my fork. There’s good flavor and a lot fewer calories are consumed.

Moving on through our visualization technique, Imagine choosing better meat, and vegetables. Let me say, I love this part of my meal because I eat the healthy choices that I don’t often buy at the store usually due to cost. Such as shrimp, salmon, or asparagus. This is the best way to take advantage of the buffet.

Outsmart the restaurant industry

Interestingly, the buffet is laid out in such a way that the cheapest foods are the most accessible. Usually, the foods furthest away from you are the more expensive. This signifies, the further you have to walk or reach to get what you want, is what cost them the most to put on the buffet spread. So when you are strategic about your choices, you don’t maximize your “bottom line” while maximizing their bottom line.

Alright, we’re doing great. Now I’ve deliberately left out something that many people find irresistible, bread, or rolls. This one is kind of a no-brainer. Which is to say, the more bread I eat, the more I resemble a popped can of biscuits. That’s all I really have to say about that.

Finally, be smart about dessert choices

Undeniably, the hardest part of managing willpower is finishing up our healthy meal with dessert. Without further ado, here are some suggestions to get you through the process.

Look for no sugar added pies,( blueberry) and cakes (pistachio)
Also, look for sugarfree puddings and jellos.
If you’re eating out with your plus one, share a dessert and split the calories.
Add a coffee to fill out your dessert portion of dinner.
Opt for fresh fruit from the salad bar.

Eat until you’re satisfied, not stuffed

Consequently, the feeling of “I’m so full I can’t move” is not a very comfortable feeling at all. Which is exactly why I lost control and found my weight at it’s highest 380lbs. Furthermore, I tell a bit of my story in this post titled It’s not a Destination, It’s a Journey. Making better choices will allow you to feel great physically and mentally and you’ll be satisfied, without feeling stuffed to the gills. Finally, you will have walked out of this restaurant knowing they didn’t see you coming and more importantly, you were not manipulated by the layout of the buffet.

Finally, this post may contain affiliate links. This means if you click on and happen purchase one of the products links, I”ll receive some compensation which will support my addiction to all things coffee.

If you enjoyed this discussion and have ideas you’d like to share, feel free to leave your comments and share this post with friends.

I’m Karen with EmbracingAging.us

Reminding you to embrace your age

“We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.”

What Clean Eating Means: Here Are Some Ideas to Get You Started

March 14, 2018embracingaging51 Leave a comment

What Clean Eating Means

So, what does it mean when someone says they are “clean eating?” Honestly, it’s different for everyone. What’s normal for one, may not be for another. What’s healthy for one may be a disaster for another. These are some diets or styles of eating that are often considered clean eating styles.

Clean eating can include fresh fruit for quick energy

Some fruits and vegetables aren’t compatible with some medications.

The following is a list of clean eating styles

Soy-free
Gluten free
Low Carb
Dairy-free
Vegetarian
Ketogenic
Vegan
Paleo

Then there are the foods you may NOT have due to religious views, allergies, or diet restrictions

sweeteners
sugar
pork
red meat
processed foods
shellfish

I’m sure you get the idea. There may be a combination of diet restrictions that constitutes clean eating for different people for different reasons. Someone with type two diabetes is going to eat very differently than someone who is not diabetic.

Food and drug interactions

Let’s not forget how medications can also play a very prominent role in clean eating. Someone on blood thinners is not going to be eating food that promotes clotting (foods high in vitamin k)
Grapefruit is very problematic for all different kinds of medications, always check with your pharmacist or doctor to see if there are any foods that would be best avoided when beginning a new medication.

About the time I turned 47, I learned that I have a sensitivity to dairy and gluten. Could I say I was very strict about avoiding these foods? Perfect, I’m not. PCOS (Polycystic ovarian syndrome) is a condition that improves when avoiding dairy and simple carbs. (I wish I could say there was a cure but there isn’t one) This is just a sample of how eating clean for me is probably different for you.

Fitness styles affect the type of foods you may need

Furthermore, there is so much to consider for different body types and styles of fitness that the science that goes into figuring out what each individual needs on their journey is enough to make one’s head spin.

Different types of athletes will eat different ways according to their protein, calorie and fat demands. A bodybuilder isn’t going to eat the same way as a lean cyclist. A long distance runner may not eat the same way as a female who goes to the gym 4-5 days a week trying to obtain an hourglass figure.

Wheat field, trees, and blue sky. EmbracingAging.us

Pay attention to how you feel after eating gluten. Headaches, joint pain, and gastric upset can be caused by gluten consumption.

Next time, if you hear the phrase “clean eating”, just know that you have to determine what’s going to work best for your body’s chemistry. You have to accommodate your body’s demands. Taking into consideration:

Style of fitness
Desired outcome
Food allergies and sensitivities
Medical conditions
Medications

Wooden bowl and spoon with Kidney beans. EmbracingAging.us

Beans are a super food and can add years to your life.

You Have to Practice Clean Eating According to Your Bodies Specific Needs.

So if I handed you a child size shoe, and I said, “Here, this is a lovely shoe. It’s brand new in this lovely shade of blue. Wear this shoe and you’ll love it.” If you are a 6’2″ tall man with a size 11 foot, that lovely child size shoe in blue, no matter how perfect it is, will not work for you. Everyone has to define for themselves what clean eating means for them.

Basket of fresh vegetables. EmbracingAging.us

Eating food that’s fresh, vibrant and alive can make you feel the same way.

What does clean eating mean to you? I would love to know your thoughts on this fascinating subject. Feel free to share this article if I was able to give you food for thought. (pun intended)

Finally, you should know that this post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on or purchase one of the products links I”ll receive some compensation which will support my addiction to all things coffee.

I’m Karen with Embracing Aging

Reminding you to Embrace Your Age

live longer
be stronger
get freebies and articles via e-mail

“We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Lifestyle Promotes Longevity

February 6, 2018embracingaging51 Leave a comment

Lifestyle Promotes Longevity

In this post, I will explain to you how a less convenient lifestyle promotes longevity. Americans love their convenient lifestyle. For example, driving to the corner market for milk and eggs, tossing a healthy frozen entree into the microwave for lunch, or hiring the local teenager to mow the yard and finally, drive through coffee. We are used to having so much at our convenience that it’s just expected. In this post, I will explain to you how a less convenient lifestyle equals longevity.

The top four regions in the world where people live to be 100 or older are

Okinawa 800 miles south of Tokyo,
Sardinia in the highlands of Greece
Nicoya, Costa Rica on the peninsula
Loma Linda, California most notably the Seventh-day Adventist.

By longevity, I mean a life worth living. Where folks age in a way that allows them to keep their independence. The kind of independence everyone hopes for when and if we make it into our 90s. For example:

staying in your own home
living without the need for glasses, canes, or hearing aids
able to cook your own meals
able to enjoy great-grandchildren

To learn some of the amazing secrets of healthy longevity and what it takes to live a life where you can have both quality and quantity of years. Read on, while I share interesting facts of this lifestyle that promotes longevity.

What These Amazing Places Have in Common

They Move Naturally

First, their way of life is their way of exercise. They do not set out to formally perform an exercise regime. In other words, When the men of Sardinia, Italy need firewood, (Sardinia has the largest population of men who live to be 100 years old.) they do not break out a chainsaw and cut down a tree. They break out a hatchet and cut firewood old school style. Next, they ride bikes at the age of 102! Also in Sardinia, housing is built vertically so they are regularly taking the stairs. These folks definately live a lifestyle that promotes longevity.

man resting from biking in the park EmbracingAging.us

Maintaining good health allows for quality living in our 70s, 80s, and beyond.

Should one of the women in Okinawa decide that they like to bake a cake, they don’t run to the cupboard and break out a blender, they mix the batter by hand. Should the family decide to put in a garden and most do, they don’t go out and buy or rent a tiller, they use their sweat equity. This is one of several ways that physical exercise is built into their daily living routines. This lifestyle promotes longevity and is something I admire and aspire to do more of every day.

Family and Society

In each one of these 4 places, community and respect for the elderly are a priority. Here in the U.S. at any local coffee shop or bar, you might see a poster of the latest famous model or musician ranging in age from 25 -30. However, in Sardinia, you’re more likely to see posters of the oldest centenarians. Also, family dwellings consist of children, parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. You should know, these family arrangements benefit the oldest and the youngest of the home the most.

Grandmother and granddaughter EmbracingAging.us

Grandmother enjoys holding newborn granddaughter

Centenarians know that their tribe is very important. My favorite is the Okinawan tradition of the Moai. When you are born, your moai is already established. These are the people you will travel with throughout life. If your house burns down, they’ve got your back. Should you need someone to watch your children for you because you are in the hospital for a week, they are there for you. It is an unwavering loyalty practiced by all members of the moai.

Plant-based Diet

Costa Rica has available very hard water higher in calcium. According to scientists, this seems to explain why they have fewer bone breaks and hip injuries.

All of the regions mentioned above practice home gardening. Furthermore, gardening is a fundamental way of life and a perfect way to get plenty of physical exercises.

Personally, when I started blogging and this notion is really ironic, I began to think that I might not have time this year to put in a garden. I’m seeing the error of my ways. I will be gardening this year AND I will not use a tiller or other power tools to manage it. Gardening by hand gives us the gift of good healthy food not exposed to gas fumes from tillers, weedeaters or mowers.

The garden is an opportunity for me to teach my family about the importance of nutrition, and how it benefits us physically. If you’ve ever established a garden, then you know it’s also a great workout. Interestingly, they do not seek to eat foods that aren’t in season. To them, this is simply common sense. They simply do not eat tomatoes in December.

Spiritual Connection

In and around Loma Linda California, the Seventh Day Adventists are on the longevity list. Most notably, they practice a vegan diet, free of meat, milk, and eggs. Meals consist of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans and tofu fixed in a variety of ways. Seventh-Day Adventists take their diet from the first book in the bible, Genisis.

Most importantly, the 24 hour period from Friday evening to Saturday evening is considered holy. Time spent during this period is with church and family. They also take nature walks together inside this 24-hour window as part of their time to reflect, pray and spend time with other like-minded friends and family. They count on this time each week knowing that it sustains them and refreshes them for the upcoming week.

Ikigai (eekeeguy) Okinawan for Reason for Living

Volunteer, contribute, give, donate word sign Embracingaging.us

Volunteer, Contribute and Give

All of the Centenarians will advise those of us in pursuit of longevity will tell us that having a purpose for living and greeting the sun each morning is essential to happiness. Consequently, It makes getting up every day worthwhile and fulfilling. Consider volunteering at your local food bank, caring for other members of your family, or foster stray animals until you can find them loving homes, these are the kinds of things that bring “joy de vive” to your heart. At the end of the day, you can feel good about giving back something of yourself to your community. This giving is receiving goodness from and for your heart and soul.

What’s the takeaway lesson here? Using Sardinia, Greece as the poster child for what to do and what not to do:

Lifestyle promotes longevity recommendations:

Plant a garden for the food and the exercise.
Walk or ride a bike as much as you can
Avoid donut shops and burger joints so you won’t need a gym (there aren’t any donut shops burger joints or gyms in Sardinia)
Develop grit, don’t let a convenient lifestyle make you soft.
The number one top of the list longevity food to eat more of every day is beans. All kinds of beans are game.

Blue Zones

Dan Buettner, the author of Blue Zones, has traveled to all these places and researched in great detail the who, how and why of longevity. Also in his book, he goes more in depth on how the less convenient lifestyle promotes longevity as well as the best foods you can eat for a long life.

Finally, this post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on or purchase one of the products links I”ll receive some compensation which will support my addiction to all things coffee.

If you enjoyed this discussion and have ideas you’d like to share, feel free to leave your comments and share this post with friends.

I’m Karen with EmbracingAging.us

Reminding you to embrace your age

Fairy-tale World Weight Loss vs. Real World Weight Loss

January 1, 2018embracingaging51 Leave a comment

Fairy-tale world weight loss vs. Real world weight loss

In fairy-tale world weight loss, we would all like to get on the scale every morning and see it go down even if it’s only by a tenth of a pound. Everyone is setting their new years’ goals, figuring out hopes dreams and ambitions. Usually at the top of the list is weight loss. However, in the real world, you most definitely will have your ups and downs.

Yo-yo diet? No. Not at all. It’s a naturally occurring process of weight loss that is not a steady decline, but rather an ebb and flow of your body’s work to lose fat, manage fluids, retain muscle tone and balance hormones. There’s an awful lot going on in our bodies. Remembering this solid truth will keep you from losing your everloving mind 😵 as you go through the process of losing weight.

Graph image of Fairy-tale world weight loss from EmbracingAging.us

Fairy-tale world weight loss vs. Real world weight loss

Fluctuating weight doesn’t have to drive you crazy

Fluctuating weight becomes more erratic as we age. Our metabolism slows down and the motivation for exercise wanes. Moving our becomes challenging due to arthritis, excess weight and other concerns. Naturally, this wreaks havoc on our effort and motivation to stick to a weight loss plan.

Positive self-talk

When you step on the scale, are you holding your breath thinking to yourself, “If I haven’t lost at least 3 lbs. I’m gonna be so frustrated.” Or do you look in the mirror and think if I just walked further, or ran longer.

Well hold up just a minute here and let me ask you this: Would you talk to your best friend or your loved ones the way you are talking to yourself?

I seriously doubt it. You would probably try to say something more encouraging like, “It’s alright, today is a new day.” Or “Don’t give up, your hard work will pay off soon.”

This is HUGE!

One of the most powerful tools you have is how you perceive your personal progress. This is huge so pay close attention. We all have the hormone called cortisol. It’s our stress hormone that slows weight loss when it’s too high. Think belly fat. When we use negative self-talk and when we are excessively critical of ourselves what do you think that does to our cortisol levels? If you guessed raised them, then you scored bonus points. So it’s important to say to yourself, “Yesterday’s walk was good, I’m looking forward to today’s walk.” instead of, ” I only walked ten minutes yesterday.”

Weight loss is as much a mental discipline as it is physical. You can make things better by changing your mind’s way of perceiving your efforts. Any effort you make is progress, any step you take forward on your journey is an accomplishment. When your mind realizes how important positivity is your stress level lowers and weight loss doesn’t have to be a hard as some would have you believe. If you are saying, “I have been on this plateau for weeks and I might not ever get off this plateau”. Your body here’s this conversation and believes this is true.

This brings us to progress reports

If you’re weighing every day because you can’t help yourself, then you will need to be extra patient.

Furthermore, go ahead and create a record/chart so you can see the natural ups and downs of your progress. Staying out of fairytale weight loss world is important when trying reach those goals.

Charting your progress will keep you in tune with what is working and what is holding you back. Remember to jot a note to yourself nudging you forward with gentle encouragement. “You got this.”

Baby steps lead to feet and feet lead to yards and yards lead to miles. So, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and move forward. Celebrate every single time you make a move forward toward your goals.

If you enjoyed this discussion and have ideas you’d like to share, feel free to leave your comments and share this post with friends.

I’m Karen with EmbracingAging.us

Reminding you to embrace your age

Unexpected Health Challenges & Mild Dehydration

December 16, 2017embracingaging51 Leave a comment

Mild dehydration is subtly sabotaging your health.

Mild dehydration was sabotaging my health. I found myself back in the doctors’ office again this week because of a UTI that I could not get ahead of on my own. Taking 2,000 mg of vitamin C before bed usually does the trick. However, I was out of 1000 mg caplets. Hubs went to the store and picked up some BUT it was the 500 mg chewable because the pharmacy was out of the 1000 mg. caplets that work best for me. These didn’t help me. Because of a lapse of time, they were not getting the job done. The infection spread first to my bladder then into my kidneys. Misery set in.

Meanwhile being stubborn and hardheaded, I continued trying to beat it on my own. A week of very little progress went by. When I returned to the gym on the following Monday morning I just didn’t have the energy, or the motivation to do my full workout. Calling the Dr. was moved to the top of my list of things to do for the day, he got me right in that afternoon and in no time at all I had a filled prescription for antibiotics. I detest taking antibiotics for the simple fact antibiotics kill all bacteria both good and bad.

What I learned during the week

Water is your ally, BFF, the most underused tool for optimal health. I was drinking 16oz. water 16oz green tea every day during my morning workout. I was drinking roughly 6-8 oz of water with my lunch and dinner. Finally, at bedtime, I took my evening vitamins and medications with a little bit of water probably 4-6 oz. This doesn’t include the coffee and hot tea I like to drink throughout the day. So I was getting about 46-48 oz of water a day. Seems like that ought to be enough, doesn’t it? I very rarely drink anything other than water, coffee, and tea.

Being stuck on a weight loss plateau is no fun whatsoever. I was being faithful to my workout routine, continuing to keep my food portions small to moderate and closely watching my protein intake. Out of left field, I’m hit with a UTI. Realizing, I needed to immediately step up my water intake, a 16 oz water bottle stayed full and by my side at all times. Then BOOM the following occurred:

The plateau was conquered, I reached a major milestone – 180.4 1bs. lost. My daughter said, “Welcome to “onederland” because I was out of the 200s and into the 100s weighing in at 199.6
Cravings came to an all-time low. I wasn’t wanting chocolate, sugar or carbs.
My bowel movements were better. I was getting plenty of fiber, but plenty of water is what makes fiber work efficiently. In case you didn’t catch that little tidbit of super important info, water is what makes fiber work efficiently!!

Feeding thirst came to a halt

Mild dehydration can cause you to eat when you are thirsty and that causes overeating and snacking and grazing. Next, calories sneak up on you. When you think you’re doing alright but in reality, all you need to do to take control is increase your water game. When I started drinking the minimum required amount of water 64 oz, I literally quenched my hunger and gone was my desire to sometimes feed thirst with food. I essentially uncrossed my wires. Instead of reaching for water, sometimes I reached for food, usually something sweet.

glass of water in sunset Embracingaging.us

Stop mild dehydration by drinking more water. Propper hydration allows you to quench hunger and stop feeding thirst.

Let’s talk about detox

Mild dehydration is subtle enough to slow down your efforts to detox your digestive system.

Detoxing techniques:

Sweating through vigorous exercise
Using a sauna
Dry brushing your skin
Getting better nutrition
Relaxation to aid detox

Just remember, none of these activities will work well for you without optimal water consumption. I don’t think I can stress this enough. For a more detailed discussion about detoxing click here.

You should know that this post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on or purchase one of the products links I’ll receive some compensation which will support my addiction to all things coffee.

I’m Karen with Embracing Aging,

Reminding you to embrace your age.

“We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

In brown print is the first letter of every word in the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence

Sharpen Your Memory

December 6, 2017embracingaging51 Leave a comment

Sharpen Your Memory

Sharpen your memory by using various techniques:

Focus/being present
Memory Palace
Index Cards ( it’s not what you think)
Batching /Chunking
Sensory

Hocus, Pocus, Focus

First, I want to get into some effective techniques for sharpening our memories. Focus and being present. Furthermore, being focused will allow us an easier time remembering why we went in the next room, for example, car keys. (keeping track of my keys was my focus)Now, instead of tossing the keys on the nearest table, counter, or desk, I designated a specific location for my keys to go as soon as I walked into the house. Finally, losing my sanity is another thing I do not want to have to hunt down, so paying a little attention to what we are doing is worthwhile.

Where are my keys?Paying closer attention to this allowed me to stop yelling at my family, “I can’t find my keys!!” Reducing everyone’s stress level significantly. When you walk into the room and you forget why you came in the room. My husband call’s it “hereafter syndrome” “What am I hereafter???”. LOL☺Being fully present in the moment really helps make a difference and we’re better able to remember what we’re doing and why.

Sharpen your memory with the memory palace

This technique is not new, but it is a great one. Essentially you visualize your house and all the rooms in it. Next, you place items in each room that you specifically want to remember. For me, this works well with a grocery list. I can memorize a long list of grocery items by placing them in the rooms of the house. Then I mentally walk through the rooms of my house and I remember the things I needed to pick up from the store.

Memorize paragraphs with this neat technique

I like to use index cards for this technique and different colors of ink in my personal opinion, this technique is great for students and anyone who needs to memorize a script. Let me use the Declaration of Independence as an example of how this method works.

Sharpen your memory. In green print is the first letter of every word in the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence

Sharpen your memory by abbreviating the first letter of each word in the Declaration of Independence shown as an example.

index card showing the first letter of each word in brown on an index card using the Declaration of Independence as an example.

Abbreviate using the first letter of each word in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence in this example.

As you can see above, in green are the first letter of each word in the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. “When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for…etc.”

Next, on the second index card, in brown, is the first letter of each word in the second paragraph. Then as you continue making your index cards, each paragraph on its own card is a different color, blue, red or purple whatever you like. Personally, I plan to use this method to memorize vocabulary words in Spanish. Learning another language is another excellent way to keep your brain exercised and sharp.

Batching or Chunking

Memorizing in batches is a good way to remember lots of information. Phone numbers are memorized in batches. First three numbers and then four.

When I was a kid, my mom taught me the books of the bible. We (my brother and I) learned them in chunks or batches. Four books at a time. Mathew, Mark, Luke, John. Then the next four, Acts, Romans, I and II Corinthians Galatians, and so on. Students can use this technique for memorizing vocabulary or terminology.

Music is an Excellent Tool for a Sharper Memory

Preschoolers learn very quickly and efficiently with music. Sharpen your memory by taking a lesson from them. When I was teaching my granddaughter the days of the week, we sang the days of the week to the Adams Family theme song. Here let me plant this in your head, lol. Days of the week (clap clap) days of the week (clap clap) There’s Sunday and there’s Monday, Tuesday and there’s Wednesday, Thursday, and there’s Friday and then there’s Saturday. Days of the week.( clap.) Now everybody sings along!

When that song comes on the radio and launches you back in time to your high school and college days, that’s another example of how powerful music is to memory. We remember people, places, and events oftentimes because of the music played at those moments. This is known as sensory memory. This brings us to our next tool for a sharper memory.

Sensory memory

There are certain foods that I love that remind me of my childhood, Usually something my mom made that I now cook for my own family. I always use her goulash recipe.
My husbands cologne, I know that fragrance anywhere and it makes me think of him. (Old Spice)
When I hear “The Cars” on the radio, I’m transported back to the eighties.
Purple is the color my daughter and I remember most about the way I dressed her as she was growing up. It was my favorite color, but she avoids it like the plague because she had so many outfits that were purple. Lol

There’s a dark and scary side to sensory memory. It’s PTSD post-traumatic stress disorder and is brought about by a bad experience so ingrained in one’s memory, they are traumatized. Just like with good memories, these traumatic memories will have triggers that cause a scary and fearful reaction in the individual.

On a happier note, childbirth is such an intense experience that mothers can tell their story from start to finish without missing a single detail. Every time I tell my story ( I have three kids that I gave birth to and one I adopted) I relive the experience like it was yesterday.

New York City beams of light where the twin towers where

Breaking news can impact memory

You remember where you were and what you were doing on 9/11.
While I was in my kitchen folding some laundry, watching The Young and the Restless at the time when they broke the news Princess Dianna died.

Interestingly, news events can be permanently stamped into your memory and can make an impact.

Associating memories with sensory experiences will make those newly created memories stickier and allow you to remember important information longer.

In conclusion

That’s all for today. If you found this post helpful please feel free to share and let me know what you think about this subject.

I’m Karen with Embracing Aging,

Reminding you to embrace your age.

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Slow Aging with Natural Remedies

November 21, 2017embracingaging51 Leave a comment

Taking advantage of natural remedies to slow aging is one of many secrets to vitality and longevity.

Foods can help slow aging and

Spaghetti squash with a sprig of mint. Foods that are alive and vibrant slow aging.

Such a versatile vegetable

be either healthy and medicinal or unhealthy and poisonous. Make healthy swaps to feel better and more energetic. Such as:

A baked potato is good, but a baked sweet potato is better.
sour cream is good, but greek yogurt is better.
spaghetti is good, but spaghetti squash is so much better!

Substitutions like these are easy to make and easy on your wallet. When I make better food choices, my cravings are greatly reduced since I’m getting the nutrition that satisfies body, soul, and mind

The spice of life

bowls of spices turmeric, star anise and cinnamon sticks when used in healthy recipes significantly slows aging.

Turmeric can be used in sweet or savory dishes.

Turmeric is an incredible spice, that nearly cures whatever ails you.

This spice is my number one choice for reducing my pain and inflammation. I use it in my coffee almost every morning with cinnamon and black pepper (a dash of black pepper enhances the effectiveness of turmeric by 2000%) along with my cream and sweetener.

Coffee keeps me movin’

The blend of Cinnamon and Turmeric is delightful. I had to take this picture for this post, so I indulged in this very cup of coffee that you see here.😀 The perfect way to “perk up” before my little darlings get home from school. Research that has been done on Turmeric reveals some incredible findings which include certain conditions turmeric helps:

prevent cancer
depression
longevity
cancer patients better tolerate chemotherapy
prevents dementia
protects the heart
balance blood sugar

Fall flavor and healthy food

Here’s a recipe that will give you just what you need to reduce inflammation and slow aging. You can find Tumeric at your preferred grocery store in the aisle where you find spices.

Sweet Potato Hash

1 lb ground turkey, browned

2 large sweet potatoes diced (softened in the microwave for a few minutes makes them easier to chop)

1 sweet onion diced

2 medium apple’s diced

1/4 C brown sugar (or sugar substitute of your choice)

1 and 1/2 Tbs. of chili powder

1 tsp. Tumeric

2 tbs. minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Dice sweet potatoes, onions and apples.

Next, brown ground turkey.

Then mix the last 5 ingredients together in a small bowl. You’ll use these to season the dish as you go.

Finally, add sweet potatoes, onion, and apple to the ground turkey, continuing to use the seasoning as before. When vegetables are tender and all ingredients are well caramelized, serve hot.

We enjoy corn on the cob and fresh green beans with this dish.

Cooking tips:

I plunge the sweet potatoes and apples after chopping them into a bowl of cold water with a splash of lemon juice to keep them fresh while I’m browning the ground turkey.
If you find ground turkey to be dry, a splash of olive oil will add in healthy fat and moisture.
Also, if you substitute sweetener for brown sugar, make sure to follow package directions for cooking with a sugar substitute.

Consult your family physician

Please consult with your doctor or pharmacist to be sure this spice is safe for you to use. I am not a doctor and am only saying that Turmeric has helped me and maybe with the help and advice of your physician it could be something you could try for the sake of good health.

You should know that this post may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on or purchase one of the products links I”ll receive some compensation which will support my addiction to all things coffee.

I’m Karen with Embracing Aging

Reminding you to embrace your age 🤗

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Healing Hip Pain

November 2, 2017embracingaging51 Leave a comment

Healing Hip Pain through conventional medicine and healthy habits

At this moment, I am waiting to hear from my G.P.(general practitioner) He’s going to tell me about my x-rays taken of my hip yesterday at my annual physical. Now allowing my Dr. to help me with a plan of healing my hip pain is out of character for me. I try to avoid the Dr. office at all costs. (punny, I know) I’m pretty sure I already know what he’ll say but I don’t want to assume anything.

There will be advice:

take this for pain
don’t do this
do this instead
you’re not getting any younger (he actually said this to me in the office yesterday)
call me if you have further concerns.

My preference is to go the natural route, using holistic methods of healing:

healthy food
gentle physical therapy
massage
yoga

Too much of a good thing

Truth be told about the situation I got myself in. I love to work out at the gym, it’s my favorite thing to do; plug in my headphones and get swept away by my favorite songs while I do strength training, abs, and cardio in that order.

Currently, I am trying to firm loose skin from losing almost 180 pounds. I raised my single leg press to 130 pounds doing 2 sets of 8-10 reps. Then, I also raised my standard leg press to 350 pounds doing 2 sets of 10-12 reps. Well, my left hip said, “Really??? You sure about this??.

Comming up in three weeks was my annual physical and I thought if it’s not healed by then, I’ll bring it up at my visit. Meanwhile, my hip would loosen up after I would work out. In my down time, sitting too long even for 30 minutes proved to be a problem, causing me to limp and favor my left hip plus it was much more painful and inflamed after sitting.

After my rest days, I felt somewhat better so I’d go workout thinking, “I’ll just work through the pain, it’s not bad, It’s tolerable, it’ll get better”. I was pushing my luck.

Modifying exercise

While I sit at home writing this post as a cautionary tale for you to hopefully learn from my mistake. I am a firm believer that the fountain of youth is found in strength training. As I started to increase my weights, I should have paid closer attention to leg position, proper form is key to avoiding injury or making a condition worse like arthritis.

leg day

Moving forward, I’ll be doing leg day with fewer weights or no weights, but on the upside, I can still work out regularly. Thank the good Lord.

The most important part of healing is having a positive attitude. It is key that if I’m going to get past this speed bump in the road of life, a sense of humor and a lot of patience with myself will help me get through this.

Just now, my G.P. just called me and said what I expected him to say, “Take this oral steroid medication. Lay off the strenuous exercise for 2 weeks. Next, call me. I wanna hear from you and see how you’re healing”. Did I nail it or what? He also said “When patients say “doc it hurts when I do this______”(insert action) doc’s reply, “don’t do that.” In other words, don’t push through pain while at the gym.

Food as medicine

Now I’m carving out a coordinating treatment plan that coincides with my Drs. advice and prescription medication include:

taking into consideration what foods to eat,
the amount of exercise,
rest
meditation/yoga.

In addition to adjustments in my workout routine, I’m choosing these foods to help with healing:

Tumeric- for its incredible anti-inflammatory properties.
Bone Broth- because it contains minerals, collagen, hyaluronic acid it’s essentially liquid gold.
Alkaline foods- to create a more conducive environment within my body for healing bone.
A gluten-free diet- to get a hold of inflammation

Next, the foods I’m limiting listed here because they provoke inflammation:

Sugar
Gluten (always read the label. Gluten is sneaky and hides in unsuspecting places)
Acidic foods
unhealthy oils, (margarine, corn, especially partially hydrogenated oils)

The hardest part of this for me is, I’m not a fan of steroid use. I really thought long and hard if I should take this medication. Realizing an anti-inflammatory diet, a gentler workout routine, and balancing my approach to healing would be smart. Combining the help of the prescription with natural healing will be the key to getting well sooner.

Cleaning up my eating habits

Finally, I realized just how lax I had become with my gluten-free eating habits. Thinking I could pick and choose what foods containing gluten are worth the skin itching, brain fog, and leg aches were self-deception. In conclusion, this hip pain has my full attention and will be my best opportunity to really reflect on my nutritional habits and decide how I can do better.

Please feel free to share your words of wisdom and methods of healing that work well for you.

Thanks for stopping by

I’m Karen with Embracing Aging

Reminding you to embrace your age.

live longer
be stronger
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“We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

It’s Not a Destination, It’s a Journey

October 19, 2017embracingaging51 Leave a comment

Have you ever said to yourself, “When I get ______ (insert condition ), I’ll be…

Happier
Healthier
Smarter
Kinder
Fit

We are all on a journey striving to reach contentment. It’s not unusual to fall into the mindset that,” I’ll be happy when I achieve _____” (billionaire status lol.) Let me be the one to really hammer this home. It’s a journey.

Karen's before weight loss surgery picture. Embracing Aging

This is me at about 380 lbs just about one month before I had weight loss surgery.

Karen and her husband and daughter on the day of her daughter's graduation.

My husband, daughter and I on the day of my daughter’s high school graduation. I was miserable.

Flashback 10 years ago, I weighed 380 pounds. I was well on my way to a myriad of health problems. Health problems that will kill a person. Thus the name Morbid Obesity. I tried all kinds of diets and wasn’t able to get a grip on my eating habits or manage a regular exercise regime.

Throwing up my white flag, weight loss surgery was my best option. After careful consideration, I decided the roux en y gastric by-pass was the way to go. The surgeon creates a new stomach pouch. About the size of an egg. The pouch connected to the middle part of the small intestine bypassing the rest of the stomach and the upper part of the small intestine.

Taking Back My Life

Spending most of my thirties being Morbidly Obese, I needed to add back the quality of life for my remaining years. I wasn’t growing older gracefully and certainly wasn’t embracing my age. Since I made the decision to have this surgery in 2007, I’m not over 400 pounds nor am I 6ft. buried underground. 5 years after wls (weight loss surgery) I stopped losing weight primarily because I didn’t want my skin to get any looser.

Do Whatever It Takes To Stay Motivated On Your Journey

Realizing that I had become complacent, my daughter gave me an opportunity to do better. In 2016 my beautiful adult daughter was working out at the YMCA. I understood the road she was traveling. We went to the gym and I supported her effort to lose weight and get fit.

Ugh. It was awful. But I kept going. What I hated, was the 5 a.m. schedule she had to adhere to because she’s a 3rd-grade teacher and had to commute one hour one way to her job. I was tired! (Imagine how she felt) So I’d go back home and I’d nap while my amazing daughter would go to school and teach, she set the bar high for me.

Soon, I found out that I was wickedly out of shape in spite of losing just over 150 1bs. Over the course of the year, I learned more about nutrition (I had learned a lot through wls), the different kinds of protein, delayed onset muscle soreness aka the D.O.M.S., optimal times to do strength training, and cardio. I was getting quite the education. My daughter may be the teacher, but I was getting schooled!

This journey is an experience of a lifetime

Helping my daughter in her classroom

Embrace Each And Every Success No Matter How Small

Today I’m just 3 weeks shy of my 10 year anniversary of weight loss surgery. I’m Continue reading →