Healthy Eating Alone Is Not The AnswerWritten by Sue DeFiore
Along with eating healthier we need to be more active. The two go hand in hand. Healthy eating + physical activity = a healthier mind and body.You will need to be a good role model for your children. Don’t look for closest parking space. Take stairs, rather than elevator or escalator. If your children have bicycles and it is safe, rather than driving them everywhere, tell them to ride their bikes or walk. I can remember walking everywhere as a child. Yes, I agree, it was safer back then, but we still had our share of bad people too. So use your best judgment and encourage your children to walk or ride their bikes. If your children see you walking length of parking lot or taking stairs they will follow your example. In fact, I would go so far as to say if they tell you they want to take escalator or elevator, or ask why you are parking so far away, tell them since you didn’t get to do all of walking you thought you would today and you want to be sure you get it in, you are walking instead of riding, or parking up close. By having an exercise plan yourself and taking care of your body by eating healthy, your children are more likely to follow your example. In process you will also teach them that
| | Second Opinion to Second ChancesWritten by Janet Auty-Carlisle
Second Opinion to Second Chances Janet Auty-Carlisle grew up playing with toys and dolls, just like any other girl. She went to school, got married and started a family. Everything seemed to be going well when unthinkable happened. Janet was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and, with support of a devoted husband, began to deal with doctors and medications and hardship. Although Janet was still able to work at first, things became harder for her as time went on. And as medications began to take their toll, she was forced to resign her position. Before diagnosis Janet ran a company that specialized in corporate relocations, aiding people in their own transitions by helping them get settled into new schools and tapping into local services as they adapted to their new homes. Janet eventually decided to use skills she’d acquired in her relocation firm to help people transition when learning to live with a chronic disease. She formed a local support group which met once a month, organized first annual SuperWalk for Parkinsons' and raised $45000 first year. She began an education campaign at local school board and traveled throughout her community raising public awareness. In addition Janet developed a program called “Bridging Borders”, a weekend-long awareness conference for people with Parkinson's and their care partners, and an empowering program for fund raising called ICAN. (www.icanforpd.ca). After six years of taking medication and being exposed to so many people with Parkinson's, Janet noticed that disease was not progressing. Questioning her specialist Janet was always told "You are in denial. You do have Parkinson's. Deal with it." Not satisfied with this answer Janet met a neurologist at one of her conferences who agreed to provide her with a second opinion. Shockingly, this doctor told her that her symptoms were possibly due to stress and a virus she’d had at time of original diagnosis and not Parkinson’s disease at all! It took Janet a full year to wean herself off powerful drugs she had been taking for wrong disease. The medications had some serious side effects, but she overcame all of this. At 48 years of age, she felt like she’d been given a new life. Janet now lives by motto: “The only constant in life is change.” Janet discovered that her real strength and passion was for coaching, writing and speaking. After coming to terms with her illness, she realized that what she wanted most out of life was to help people learn to live a life of joy and passion. Janet now coaches others as a Lifestyle health and wellness coach. Having experienced similar life situations as her clients provides Janet with ability to relate to her clients on a more intimate level and place of profound understanding. What lessons has Janet learned from her experiences?
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