I just read the FUNNIEST article on slate.com which simply must be shared.  But first, here’s a short blog I wrote last year about my addiction.

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I have an addiction to kale.

Especially kale lightly sauteed with sliced almonds and organic dried cranberries, with just a drop of olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.

I eat it every day.

Sometimes twice a day.

Always with brown rice.

Can one eat too much kale?

Kale has calcium, vitamin D, and lots of other good stuff.  How could anyone eat too much good stuff?

I worry every day that today will be THE day that I grow sick of eating kale.

What would replace it?

It’s irreplaceable.

I guess it’s better to have an addiction to kale than to alot of other things.

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Well, you get the picture. I love kale. Now, I even drink it.

Here’s the slate.com article that I truly wish I had written first: “The All-Kale Diet and How I Stopped Eating Anything Else.”

I so get it.

But fear isn’t as evil as we think. While it’s usually viewed as an emotional experience we should avoid at all costs, in truth fear can turn our lives around by forcing us to make change for the better — if harnessed correctly.

When I turned 50, fear started to creep into my mind. Looking in the mirror one day, this is what was staring back at me:

A woman who:

• felt invisible and ignored
• hadn’t exercised regularly in many years
• had very little energy
• had gained 15 pounds after menopause
• was genuinely afraid of being 50

I thought, “OK, this is it. This is what getting older is all about, and I’d better just accept it.” I mentally tucked myself under the proverbial blanket, getting ready to stay there for the long haul. Fear was slowly taking over, engulfing my mind, and stopping me from living my best life.

But then I did some hardcore soul-searching, and realized there is another side of fear, one that could propel me to take action, to help me change my life. I spent some time digging deep within myself to get to the very core of my fear, and only then did I understand what was truly behind my angst:

I was terrified of becoming ill, disabled, dependent, and financially broke as I got older because of things I was — or wasn’t — doing now.

I knew that I hadn’t been doing all the right things for myself, being too busy taking care of others and working to even focus on me. And I was petrified that it was too late. All I could do was beat myself up for not having done this or that to get myself as healthy and fit as possible before I hit 50. And now that I was there, I was doomed.

I found myself asking the “What if?” questions: What if I get sick or have a heart attack? What if I get Alzheimer’s? What if I get cancer? Do I already have cancer and don’t know it? I looked around and people my age were having strokes, struggling with depression, developing diabetes. It’s not that younger people didn’t have some of these health concerns, but that after 50 they seemed all too common.

Baby boomers, especially those over the age of 60, are already the sickest and most expensive in terms of medical costs, and, unfortunately, a lot of the illnesses are due to obesity, poor nutrition and lack of exercise. In fact, this is the fastest growing health issue in the U.S., and it’s simply not being discussed enough. I was sure I would end up adding to these statistics.

A few months ago, I wrote an article about how obesity is known to cause heart disease, stroke, diabetes and certain cancers. Developing any of these illnesses and diseases can have debilitating results, including loss of employment, inability to cover medical costs and care, and disability. Savings can be wiped out, causing tremendous financial hardships — at a time when unemployment is at an all time high. And, to compound the problem, many Americans are living without health insurance, which is a huge financial risk in and of itself.

The more I understood the impact my current actions and non-actions could have on my future health and well-being, the more afraid I became. The more afraid I became, the more determined I was to take back control of my life. And I did.

Seeing that drastic action was required, I took it upon myself to get the best information from the best experts on nutrition, fitness, health, and financial planning to feel good and look good so that I could stare at that person in the mirror with a renewed sense of pride and confidence, knowing that I was turning my fear into action and doing everything possible to age with confidence.

I started going for slow runs with breaks for walking every day and learned how to do push-ups and other exercises to prevent osteoporosis. I went for annual health checks. I changed the way I ate and dropped the bad habits I had slipped into. Where I had once spent my time dieting instead of eating, I began to pay attention to what I ate and to eat something healthy and small every couple of hours. I even accepted the fact that my hair, which I had spent decades straightening, was naturally wavy and looked its best that way. And I didn’t just lose the 15 lbs. I gained — I dropped an entire pant size.

Instead of giving up and giving in, I took responsibility for my own health, which was the best way I could think of to make fear work for me, not against me.

Armed with my research and new attitude, I appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, The Early Show and Dr. Oz’s radio show, among others, to talk about how I learned to embrace my age instead of fighting it, and accept change as it happens by turning my fear into action. During every interview, I share what I believe is the simple key to living your best life after 50:

It’s okay to be afraid, because being scared can force you to make essential changes in your life. But it’s not okay to live in fear. Living in fear will stop you from living your life.

Embrace your age, whatever it is. Embrace getting older. Love your life, get as healthy as you can, move your body every day, be informed, stay engaged, connect with others, use your mind, live with style, be bold, be brave, walk with confidence — then you will be truly fearless, no matter how old you are.

A plan to lose weight, start a fitness program, save money, spend more time volunteering, get out the door faster every morning — or do anything new — can be stymied      before you even start… if it seems too difficult to achieve. Like most of us, you’ll be tempted to just give up.

But don’t.

There’s a simple solution to streamlining your goals, plans, even beauty routines, so you actually accomplish what you’ve set out to do… successfully.

Let’s say you’ve decided to lose 10 pounds by the start of summer, which is about 12 weeks from now. That should give you enough time, but it’s still not easy for most people to do. Instead, why not consider losing five pounds in six weeks? Once you’ve hit your goal, you’ll simply repeat the goal of losing five pounds in six weeks. By summer, you will have successfully lost the ten pounds.

It’s daunting to try to change your life — even if it’s something as seemingly simple as losing a few pounds or starting an exercise program. People who make New Year’s Resolutions each January, usually fail, because the goals are unrealistic and therefore unreachable. “The 50% Solution” is a psychological approach to cutting your goals roughly in half, allowing you to reach them more quickly, thereby giving you the motivation you need to keep going.

There are many ways to use “The 50% Solution” to simplify your life and increase the success rate of just about anything you set out to do:

• Weight: In addition to cutting out processed, high-caloric foods and sugary drinks, eat healthier (dark leafy greens, brown rice, lean meats, nuts, blueberries, olive oil) and eat less. You don’t need to count calories. Just cut the amount of food you would normally eat by roughly half. Make sure you eat small meals throughout the day — every two to three hours –to keep your blood sugar level steady. (Check out the healthy eating plan in The Best of Everything After 50).

• Fitness: To help expedite the weight loss and build strength, stamina and fitness levels for the long term, simply move your body 50% more than you have been. If you normally walk for 30 minutes a day, starting walking for 45 minutes, then eventually build up to an hour. If you’ve been doing 10 push-ups every day, start doing 15, and keep going until you get to 20. If you’re starting a fitness program for the first time, begin with “baby steps” (i.e., walk for 15 minutes a day, then build up to 30 and so on). It’s all about being successful as soon as you start. aThis will keep you going, and will make it easier to jump up to the next level. And remember this golden rule about exercise: Every step you take is one step closer to better health.

• Money: Most of us need to be better at the basics, like saving more and spending less. Instead of being vague about “saving money” as many of us are, state a specific ideal goal and then start socking away half that amount. It will seem infinitely less painful and more reasonable. Eventually you’ll feel so good about your new-found discipline, you’ll be inspired to save a little more. The flip side of this is to spend a bit less while you’re saving a bit more. Pare back on those dinners out or expensive lattes every morning. Every single thing you stop buying or spending money on will be contributing to your overall financial well-being. And every psychologist can tell you that successful behavior breeds more successful behavior.

• Makeup: The older we get, the less we need of just about everything, especially makeup. But the “less is more” guideline applies to just about every age. The best look for almost all women is one that creates a fresh, modern face with just enough makeup to cover imperfections and give some definition, especially to eyes. If you’ve been spending more than five minutes on your face, that’s way more than 50% too much. Use a moisturizer with SPF 50, a bit of concealer, some tinted moisturizer a little blush, eyeliner along the lash lines only, mascara, pinkish lipstick… and you will look 50% more fabulous!

• Style: Most of us have too many clothes in our closets that we simply do not wear. Perhaps we bought an item because it was on sale or we’ve had it for so long it’s now out of style or no longer fits. Whatever the reason, the fact is you probably have too many clothes, and the best thing to do is pare back what’s in your closet by 50%, for starters. Keep those items that are essential for a good foundation: great pair of black slacks, perfect-fitting jackets, knee-length pencil skirts and so on. Basic items that can be worn for two or three seasons, be mixed and matched with other things you own and can be worn with new items you buy each year are keepers. You’ll soon discover that you’ll be paring back what’s in your closet by 50% or more… every season.

“The 50% Solution” can be applied to just about every aspect of life. It breaks down the steps so each one is attainable, not overwhelming. A few months ago I broke my arm, and had to stop running for six weeks until it healed. During that time, I slacked off on all exercise and yet continued to eat at the same rate. In fact, I was eating even more, mostly snacks. Result? I gained six pounds. When the doctor gave me the thumbs up to run again, I applied “The 50% Solution” by setting out to lose three pounds in two weeks. I ran for 30 minutes (half of what I would normally run) every other day, and cut out everything extra I had been eating by 50%. In two weeks I lost three pounds. Then, I set out to lose the last three pounds in two weeks, increased the time I was running to a full hour and cut back on eating a bit more. I ended up losing four pounds and have regained my motivation to stick with my normal fitness and healthy eating program.

Here’s another example: A few girlfriends and I recently lamented how we don’t see each other often enough. We made plans to have a standing weekly breakfast date, but with everyone’s busy schedule, this proved to be too ambitious. The solution was to meet every other week, which turned out to be achievable for everyone.

It’s all about setting realistic goals — not overly ambitious ones that can never be met — and even then, cutting them back by 50%. And it’s a way of streamlining your life to make room for what’s truly important.

FIFTY RULES

. . . and now I’m looking for the perfect subtitle.

For example:

FIFTY RULES: What Every Woman Must Know Before Turning 50

Here’s the deal: send your best shot at a subtitle, and the winning submission will get a signed copy of my first book, The Best of Everything After 50 AND a signed copy of my second book, Fifty Rules, which will be out in the fall of 2012.

LEAVE YOUR SUBMISSIONS RIGHT HERE ON THE WEBSITE.

GOOD LUCK!

]]> http://bestofeverythingafter50.com/general/new-book-contest-name-that-subtitle/feed/ 0 http://bestofeverythingafter50.com/general/the-perfect-kitchen-disinfectant-no-chemicals-and-smells-good-too/ http://bestofeverythingafter50.com/general/the-perfect-kitchen-disinfectant-no-chemicals-and-smells-good-too/#comments Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:47:05 +0000 Barbara http://bestofeverythingafter50.com/?p=1332 I hate perfunctory chemicals, meaning, I hate chemicals that I don’t really need . . . especially in my home.

A few years ago I made my own spray disinfectant which is used all day long on all kinds of surfaces loaded with nasty germs and stuff: doorknobs, kitchen counters, handles, phones, you name it.

Yes, I’ve become a bit of a germophobe. But before I just had the fear. Now I have the ammunition.

Here’s what you do:

Take a spray bottle. Fill a little more than 3/4 with filtered water. Add 1/4 cup Heinz white vinegar

Add 8 drops of Tee Tree Oil (a natural disinfectant), and 8 drops of Lavender Oil (to make it all smell pretty).

Give it all a good shake, and spray away.

I graciously accept your thanks. : )