Exercise for Your Health!

                 

This week, my dear mama has prepared a post for us! I can't even describe how proud of my mom I am for the changes she's made in the past year! It's been SUCH a great example to me, and everyone around her that doing what's hard definitely pays off!  She's a living testament that anytime is the right time to take control of your health and create a healthy lifestyle! I'm so proud that I can look at her and say, "if my mom can look and feel that great being 23 years older than me, I still have a lot to look forward to!"

I haven't had as much of a chance as I'd like to find out where her motivation comes from and how her life has changed, so I'm excited to read and share her thoughts!

Hi Everyone, First of all good job on deciding to do this challenge. I am so grateful to Ashley for doing the first challenge, it was a hard time in her life to run the challenge and reap the benefits, but she did it for the rest of us anyway. I am really grateful she and Natalie have chosen to do it again. I have learned alot, but there is a lot more I'm excited to learn. On that note, thanks so much to those of you who have given us some awesome posts and tips to be successful in this challenge. Like LaRae, I am going to talk about exercise. I LOVE her post, it has already motivated me to up my workout and dig a little deeper. Being able to move and manipulate our bodies is a wonderful gift we've been given by our Heavenly Father. We are given bones, joints, muscles, etc. to get up and use, not sit around and abuse. How much good we can do all around us if we take care of this gift, our physical bodies? Exercise has many, many health benefits. This is an article from Harvard School of Public Health that states many of them far better than I can, so I really encourage you to read it. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/staying-active-full-story/ Here are reasons that I personally exercise for health: 1. I don't know my medical history, I am adopted so I don't know what diseases could be lurking around the corner because of my genetics. 2. I have a diseased called diverticulosis, which is not fun when I have a flare up. Since I have been eating right and exercising I haven't had a single flare up. 3. Two years ago, I had a meniscus repair on one of my knees and the doctor told me that I have pre-arthritis in both knees. WebMd has a section in Osteoarthrisis Health Center that states, "every pound of body weight yields five pounds of force on the knee, so even 10 extra pounds can put a considerable load on those joints." Wake-up call to loose weight! 4. I want to be able to enjoy Chase and my grandkids. Chase has an older mom, but I don't want him to think that while he is little, it I'll be evident enough as he gets older. Here is the opportunity to earn an extra point this week in addition to LaRae's. She asked us to give reasons why we exercise. I encourage you to look into your family health history and see if there are are any issues such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc.. and see what the benefits of exercise can do to prevent these issues in your lives. The list can go on and on about the health benefits of exercise, but I want to close this post with a true story about a very dear friend of mine who can't move her body like we can, but is one of my best motivators. My best friend moved away from Eagar when we were sophomores in high school. She and her family were a big reason I stayed active in the church. Shortly after they moved my friend was in a terrible car accident. She became a paraplegic at 16 years old. When my other best friend and I went to see her in the hospital I thought my heart would break, but she was upbeat and laughing and joking while screws drilled into her head kept her stable. Years later she gave birth to twin boys and a little girl several years after that. I got to visit her on a trip to Utah one summer. We walked the track and talked (or I walked and she wheeled herself with special gloves she wore to keep her hands from getting blisters). She had an amazing upper body, she exercised the best she could and she was strong and independent. She still is, although because she can't move like you and me, her organs have taken a toll. Sometimes when I am exercising and don't think I can go another lap, I think of her and tell myself, do this for Jackie, because if she could do it, you know darn well she would. I want to add another chance for one more point to the two you can already get this week. If you wake up and say, I can't do this today (exercise), but you push through and do it anyway, give yourself a well-deserved point! One final though from fitness magazine: "She was unstoppable, not because she did not have failures or doubts, but because she continued on despite them." Have a great rest of your week and keep going strong!!!