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Health-Exercise-Diet- Beauty > Health- Diet- Exercise ~~ 2022

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message 101: by Alias Reader (new)

Alias Reader (aliasreader) | 29389 comments madrano wrote: "Good question & answer, Rachel and Alias. My sister lived in Holland in the '80s, right along a canal. She had scary stories about big tailed rats hiding in her curtains. However, i clearly recall ..."

OMG. I wouldn't be able to deal with that at all. I have a huge fear of mice/rats. I had to read 1984 either in junior or high school. Anyway, the rat scene in 1984 still haunts me to this day 😲


message 102: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments Creepy. I feel the same way about almost any critter in my house. How she managed to stay sane living with the creatures is beyond me. Just knowing they were there would stretch my sanity. Our first house rental, outside Texas, was in Pennsylvania, where there were mice. They bugged the heck out of me and we tried to get rid of them. Not possible in a duplex, it seemed. They just moved to the other side and back.


message 103: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments madrano wrote: "Creepy. I feel the same way about almost any critter in my house. How she managed to stay sane living with the creatures is beyond me. Just knowing they were there would stretch my sanity. Our firs..."

When I lived in Manhattan I lent my cat to some neighbors. It worked for a bit but then a repeat performance was required.


message 104: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments LOL--good use for cats, i must say. The only time we had a cat was when we were living in the country. The month prior to the cat's entrance, we saw two mice; after adoption--none. Of course she occasionally returned from outdoors to gift us with a bird she'd killed. So, not all is fair.


message 105: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments Yes, kitties like to bring their people gifts of their kills. Yuck.Previously I always had either cats or dogs but am enjoying the lack of responsibility right now.


message 106: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments Our family of spouses and two children had exactly one cat and one dog. As a person who didn't know what i was getting into, my mom was not an animal person, i was awed by how much attention/time critters needed. I was lucky to keep my children happy! Of course with our travels, it's better we do not share pets in our lives. However, my husband talks about getting a dog when we finally settle.

At my mother-in-law's retirement center around 50% of the residents have pets. Without them, one wonders how many would go outdoors at all. Good for humans and animals, i guess. Still, i'm not sure i endorse this move for me us. :-)


message 107: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments madrano wrote: "Our family of spouses and two children had exactly one cat and one dog. As a person who didn't know what i was getting into, my mom was not an animal person, i was awed by how much attention/time c..."

Many people rely on their dogs to get up and out. I am glad I don't need that extra motivation. Plus in the summer the streets here get so hot, dogs can only do out early or late.


message 108: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments Ouch! I can only imagine how the hot streets would feel on those paws.


message 109: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments I just got back from my walk. Beautiful. 89 when I got home. There is a route that I walk on during the summer that is 50% shaded.


message 110: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments Nice, Rachel. We walk in a cemetery which has plenty of shade. It makes our walks more likely to get accomplished. :-) And we can rest to read the tombstones.


message 111: by Alias Reader (new)

Alias Reader (aliasreader) | 29389 comments 9 Steps You Can Take to Ward Off Dementia

Stay physically active. Walking, bicycling, gardening, tai chi, yoga and other exercise of about 30 minutes a day will provide a good blood flow to the brain and encourage new brain cell growth.

Stick with a brain-healthy/heart-healthy diet. Limit the amount sugar and saturated fats you eat. Make sure to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Stop smoking.

Maintain a healthy weight.

Stay socially active. Take a class at the local library or community college, volunteer, or just hang out with friends.

Stay mentally active. Exercise your brain on a daily basis. Engage in mentally challenging work or other activities, like learning a foreign language, puzzles or games with friends.

Get more quality sleep. Try for at least seven to eight hours a night. If you need help, free guided meditation apps are available on your smart phone, like “Insight Timer.”

Limit alcohol consumption. If you drink alcohol, stick with no more than two drinks per day.

Protect your head. Buckle your seat belt, wear your helmet when participating in sports, and “fall-proof” your home. Make sure floors are uncluttered, remove or tack down all scatter rugs, avoid using slippery wax on floors, and slip-proof the tub. Make sure the bath mat has a nonslip bottom and remove electrical or telephone cords from traffic areas.

Full article
https://www.ornish.com/zine/9-steps-y...


message 113: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments Alias Reader wrote: "9 Steps You Can Take to Ward Off Dementia

Stay physically active. Walking, bicycling, gardening, tai chi, yoga and other exercise of about 30 minutes a day will provide a good blood flow to the br..."


My husband's mother & aunt are in their 90s, 95 and 93, respectively. Both are healthy but only his mom walks almost daily, albeit with a walker for the last year. They sleep well, eat healthily (aunt better, as she lives on her own, so tries "new" foods, such as quinoa) and maintain social outreach. (Less now with Mom, because her hearing is quite bad, even with hearing aids.)

And they both daily work crossword puzzles. Auntie works on them all day, with a dictionary, atlas and thesaurus at her side. As far as i know, she keeps them until she finishes them, no longer how long it takes. Mom, who keeps a tidier (obsessively, says her daughter-in-law) home, stops after an hour or so. She keeps only a dictionary by her side but this is because a stroke left her less confident in her spelling, which can spoil a good puzzle.

We've been hearing more & more often that engaging our minds is a Key Element in keeping away many problems in old age, including health issues, dementia and keeping a quick mind. I think everyone would be better for this. The Pandemic ended in many programs at retirement homes being shut down. Now, with the economy the way it is, some places are not resuming those programs. Sadly, the ones at Mom's place include exercise in the morning. And don't think she doesn't bemoan that!

Just thought i'd share. I marvel at folks making it into their 90s. I must say that last point, about falls in the home are the most important. Both have fallen at home in the last 18 months, so their homes are scatter rug free and wires removed or along the walls only.


message 114: by Alias Reader (last edited Aug 01, 2022 12:53PM) (new)

Alias Reader (aliasreader) | 29389 comments Thanks for sharing, deb. Of course there are no guarantees in life, but if one eats a whole food plant based diet like Ornish recommends, exercises, doesn't drink or smoke, does something to deal with stress like meditation, and has some social interaction, it does seem to help a lot.

I read a quote the other day from Charles Eugster. I found it quite motivating. I wrote it down in my journal. :)

"Refuse to shuffle off into decrepitude !

Why bodybuilding at age 93 is a great idea: Charles Eugster at TEDxZurich
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGgoC...




Wiki
Charles Marin Eugster FRSM (26 July 1919 – 26 April 2017) was a British-Swiss dentist and track and field and sprint athlete who competed as a masters athlete. After spending a career as a dentist, he moved to Uitikon, Switzerland, on his pension. At age 85, he began a fitness program. "I looked in the mirror one morning, and I didn't like what I saw."[1]

Eugster was born in London in 1919 to Swiss parents. He won more than 100 fitness awards in multiple sports, including bodybuilding and rowing.[2] He won multiple medals at the World Masters Regatta.[3]

He was invited to do a talk at TEDx in Zürich in 2012 and gave a talk titled "Why bodybuilding at age 93 is a great idea".[4]

Eugster died on 26 April 2017 of complications following heart failure at the age of 97.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles...

Age is Just a Number What a 97 year old record breaker can teach us about growing older by Charles Eugster Age is Just a Number: What a 97 year old record breaker can teach us about growing older by Charles Eugster


message 115: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments Alias Reader wrote: "Thanks for sharing, deb. Of course there are no guarantees in life, but if one eats a whole food plant based diet like Ornish recommends, exercises, doesn't drink or smoke, does something to deal w..."

I love that quote. If you act old you will feel old. There is a saying if you bring the body the mind will follow.


message 116: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments Thanks for sharing that inspiration, Alias.

Rachel, i like that saying, too. Thanks.


message 117: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments The more life I experience, I realize that attitude is everything. What you reap is what you sow. Having positive expectations brings positive results.


message 118: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments What, and give up my curmudgeon ways?!?


message 119: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments Curmudgeon forever!


message 120: by madrano (last edited Aug 03, 2022 12:11PM) (new)

madrano | 23670 comments "STAY OFF MY LAWN!"




message 121: by Alias Reader (new)

Alias Reader (aliasreader) | 29389 comments lol


message 122: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments madrano wrote: ""STAY OFF MY LAWN!"

"


Thanks for the chuckle.


message 123: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments Oddly, later the very day i posted the comic image i heard a man on tv use "Stay off my lawn!" in a complaint about old people. Odd.


message 124: by Alias Reader (last edited Aug 06, 2022 06:45AM) (new)

Alias Reader (aliasreader) | 29389 comments Your TV is monitoring you computer. LOL 😲


message 125: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments Oh Nooooooo!


message 126: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments Alexa rules the world. We should be scared, very scared.


message 127: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments We don't have one of those in our abode, other than our telephone, that is, which we don't use. We've turned off the feature. However, i must say that when we visit my sister-in-law we have fun with theirs. But it doesn't seem to ever be off, even when we tell it to shut down. Creepy.


message 128: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments Yes, it is creepy. I wonder if back in the antique times if someone had explained Alexa or cell phones if we would not have said "That sounds so Big Brother." And we would have been right.


message 129: by Alias Reader (last edited Aug 07, 2022 05:44PM) (new)

Alias Reader (aliasreader) | 29389 comments I have to stand up for my Alexa. :) I use it daily for my alarm (wake to soothing music), weather, time, local news radio station, etc. If Big Brother is listening to me, he must be bored out of his mind !


message 130: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments LOL, Alias. Would he? Or would BB be spending time figuring out what could add pleasure to your life?

Rachel, that Big Brother sounds true. We were wary of it but, like so many things, we end up inviting these things into our lives. And paying for the pleasure.

Alias, i can't say i know many people who have Alexa or something similar. However, i don't know any who use it the way you do. The waking up, in particular, sounds sweet. Most folks i know use if to instruct it to play music or ask it questions.

It's sorta like my sister-in-law's cell. I'm not much for cell phones (yes, i am the Ludite who misses phones growing out of walls) but she uses her in so many ways, i am in awe. In addition to all the other uses--phone, photos, internet--it is a tool in managing her diabetes. She keeps her numbers in it, records meds taken, and more. I feel like such a slackard compared to her use of the machine.


message 131: by Alias Reader (last edited Aug 08, 2022 05:31AM) (new)

Alias Reader (aliasreader) | 29389 comments madrano wrote: "LOL, Alias. Would he? Or would BB be spending time figuring out what could add pleasure to your life?
.."


I don't know about pleasure. Alexa has decided to give me house cleaning tips every Friday. LOL

I do like the self care tips I get on the weekend.

Seriously, one thing I do appreciate is Alexa alerts me when a package from Amazon arrives. It keeps flashing yellow to alert me. It's helpful as packages left outside ones door can go missing.

The other feature I use a lot is music.


message 132: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments The package alert is a tremendous bonus! My brother's neighborhood used to have packages stolen quite a bit. Less now, but once burned...

Did you ask Alexa to give you cleaning tips? If not, i would feel quite paranoid. As in, what are you seeing?! If spontaneous, this is news to me. How curious!


message 133: by Alias Reader (last edited Aug 08, 2022 11:26AM) (new)

Alias Reader (aliasreader) | 29389 comments Once in a while Alexa will tell you various things she can do and asks would you like that. For example, wake you up with the weather report or music that you've played a lot. She will also tell you when something in your shopping cart has changed price. Usually it happens when I ask for something. If she can do something else that is similar she will tell me.

There are many "tasks" she can do. You have to enable them if you want them. You enable them either by voice command or go on to the Alexa website and click to enable. There are many stations like CNN etc. If you want alexa to be able to play that you have to enable CNN. Then whenever you want to hear it, you just say, Alexa play CNN.


message 134: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments I can see how it would be useful. As noted, no one i know who owns one has mentioned these features. It makes sense, though, as they are usually explaining to me what i see them do with it while i'm there. Waking up isn't one. Indeed, several owners turn it off at the end of the day. Or so they believe...LOL


message 135: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments I find Alexa very convenient, I use it as a timer when I am cooking, to listen to music, to ask questions and other things as well.


message 136: by Alias Reader (new)

Alias Reader (aliasreader) | 29389 comments madrano wrote: "Waking up isn't one. Indeed, several owners turn it off at the end of the day. Or so they believe...LOL
.."


I used to unplug at night. I don't anymore. It's become so handy when I wake up in the middle of the night to listen to a podcast, news, music etc and fall back to sleep.


message 137: by madrano (last edited Aug 08, 2022 06:41PM) (new)

madrano | 23670 comments Timing for cooking would be quite nice!

Alias, it must be neat to know you have some sort of routine in the middle of the night wake ups, too.

It occurs to me that one reason i am surprised by all the ways folks use their Alexas is because the two machines i've seen in person were on the floor, not taking up display space, where its convenience would be noticed. The others i know about i have not seen, so don't know where they are kept.


message 138: by Alias Reader (new)

Alias Reader (aliasreader) | 29389 comments Deb, my sister kept her Alexa in the kitchen to use for timing cooking.

My Alexa is an old Echo Dot. I don't think they even make it anymore. It's round and only about 3 inches across.




message 139: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments Oh, quite small. I haven't seen any that small, so what i've seen must be older. Is there an Alexa that also sweeps the floor or must you buy another machine (Roomba is the only one i know) for that? I suppose by the time we finally settle down, our desktop will do all that for us. Or our refrigerator.


message 140: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments Alexa, meet Roomba: Amazon buys robotic vacuum maker iRobot for $1.7 billion.

Pretty soon we will buy everything from Amazon.


message 141: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments LOL--no way! I may have my machine sooner than i expected, eh?


message 142: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments Absolutely. I wonder what cats and dogs would have to say about those vacuum assistants.


message 143: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments My daughter has a roomba and a cat. Initially it tried to catch the vacuum but now just ignores it. I think the fact it resides on the floor, in a corner, might be a factor. Personally, that sounds scarier--will the bookcase move next? LOL!


message 144: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments Literally LOL. I have thought about buying one of those but my partner is against it.


message 145: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments To be honest, i was surprised that my daughter got one. Theirs is a small one bedroom apartment in Queens. The area the roomba covers is minimal, but to me this also means it would be a cinch to keep clean on my own. Yes, i'm that old fashioned.


message 146: by Prosenjit (new)

Prosenjit  Paul (bangaloredbong) I used to be a very health conscious and fit person. I had run a full marathon- used to cycle run hike a lot. Then the pandemic happened, i moved in with my dad and just became uber lazy!! Put on 19 kgs!! Now been a month that I am back in Bangalore for work, started going for long hikes, short distance cycling trips, not yet back to running though. Following the "couch to 10k" program for getting back into shape. Running a small 5k run on this Sunday in the event of the Indian Independence day in support of the Indian soldier, veterans and serving!!


message 147: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments Prosenjit wrote: "I used to be a very health conscious and fit person. I had run a full marathon- used to cycle run hike a lot. Then the pandemic happened, i moved in with my dad and just became uber lazy!! Put on 1..."

Prosenjit wrote: "I used to be a very health conscious and fit person. I had run a full marathon- used to cycle run hike a lot. Then the pandemic happened, i moved in with my dad and just became uber lazy!! Put on 1..."

madrano wrote: "To be honest, i was surprised that my daughter got one. Theirs is a small one bedroom apartment in Queens. The area the roomba covers is minimal, but to me this also means it would be a cinch to ke..."

Good for you Prosenjit! Keep up the hard work and let us know of your progress. We are cheering for you. I would like to get a robot vacuum because it hurts my back to vacuum. I just wonder the robot would navigate under the couch etc. or around lamp or computer wires.


message 148: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments Prosenjit wrote: "Following the "couch to 10k" program for getting back into shape. ..."

I like the way you stated that, Prosenjit! Continued success on your...dare i call it "recovery"?


message 149: by madrano (new)

madrano | 23670 comments Rachel, i wondered the same thing about under sofas and computer wires. As some here know, we live in a hotel at present. The weekly cleaner ignores the computer wires & i can see why. But wouldn't it be neat if the roomba had a li'l sweeping or blowing mechanism to clear around & near them?


message 150: by Rachel (new)

Rachel (arkinandco) | 2247 comments That sounds great. Maybe we should tell Jeff Bezos.


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