New dietary guidelines

Okay, so some of you may know that the US Department of Agriculture's - Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion introduced new dietary guidelines for everyone in the United States on January 31, 2011.    http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/dietaryguidelines.htm

 As you can tell from looking around you in your daily travels there are a vast amount of people who are not only overweight, they are considered by their doctor's to be obese.  Alarmingly a lot of this obese population is found in our young people, who with the advent of all this technology, no longer go outside to play.  Remember we used to have snow ball fights and play stick ball and all sorts of things, until the street lights came on.  Then we'd better be on our way home!

One of the things that needs to be done is that we all need to get moving.  Just walking to the train or bus and walking to and from your office building are not enough.  In other words, your daily commute walks are not enough as your body quickly acclimates itself to that. Here in the Southeast where we drive everywhere it is a challenge to get enough exercise.

Some are fortunate enough to have gyms nearby where we can go to get our workout on.  For those members of the population who are amongst the unemployed, a gym membership is out of the question.  So, you've got to find ways to be inventive in your need to get moving.

One way to get moving is simply by walking!  It's free, you can borrow an Ipod or something that will play some music in your ear as you stroll around your neighborhood, or at the park.  You could borrow some exercise dvds  from your local library or see if your place of worship has some free classes for their members! The only thing limiting you from moving is you!!!!!  Now to be fair if you have some sort of physical infirmity that keeps you from moving then I apologize for the above statement about limitations, but if you don't then you can get moving! 
Ask a neighbor to go walking with you.  If it's too cold outside and you live in a big apartment complex with a long hallway, walk the hallway.  When you go to any sort of shopping center, park your car a good distance away from the exit and walk the rest of the way.  I'm not suggesting anything here that you've not heard from other sources.  Perhaps the difference is that I'm right here with you.  I get out and walk as much as the weather permits.  Although I like walking in the cold (coming back in and getting warm can be fun if you have someone to snuggle with upon your return) I'm a bit challenged because I have Fibromyalgia which makes moving around in general a bit trying for me.  But I still move around and am blessed to be able to go to the gym a couple of times a week.  Cause guess what, I need to lose some weight too.

So lets encourage one another to get moving, to eat better and take care of these temples we were given.  Looking forward to the dialogue!

Much love,

J