Spring is Here Now, Right?

Well, as I look at my window I think I'm convinced that Spring is actually here this time. I think most of the snow from the weekend has melted and I think it's supposed to be a nice day. It's time for fresh produce!!

Yesterday we had our CSA orientation and my husband and I are both rearing to go. We had to sign up for a day to work at the farm during the growing season and we decided that he would take off work so we could do the farm thing as a family. I am REALLY excited about all of this local eating. We also signed up for some meat and egg shares from another farm. We will be getting grass fed beef, lamb, pork and chicken and then eggs from those free wandering chickens. The menu is going to be very tasty this summer.

Because of eating locally high that I'm currently riding and because of an OB appointment I just left, I really wanted to talk about food and exercise for a bit. For those of you who aren't aware, I had to have a hysterectomy at the age of 28 and have been struggling with some of the side effects from the surgery for about 2 years now. One of these struggles happens to be weight. Another background note is that last October, while training for a 1/2 marathon, I developed a stress fracture and acute tendinitis in my right hip and have been pretty much been off exercise since then because of the pain. Anyway, my dr. and I were talking about the "right" steps that I need to be taking to ensure great health. While many of my weight issues are because of my hysterectomy, these are all issues that I would have had sooner or later. It's because of my surgery that this is happening about 15 years earlier for me! I wanted to just share some of her wisdom:

1) She really advocated Yoga. She said that since my body is no longer producing hormones naturally that I am now at a risk for Osteoporosis. In order to combat this I need to be doing some weight resistant exercise like Yoga two times a week.

2) Eat as much whole foods as possible. She mentioned that you should have red meat only once a week with chicken and fish filling in the rest of the days. Meat should also be a side item, not the main dish.

3) While you need both fruits and veggies, you should eat at least twice the amount of veggies as fruit.

4) Running is bad on women's bodies (and my Dr. is a runner). Not only is it hard on the joints, but it also is really hard on the female organs due to the jostling while running. She really pushed swimming and biking as great ways to get my cardio in at least 5 times a week.

5) Finally, she recommended trying any exercise that you could see yourself doing at the age of 60 or 70. Finding exercises that you can do for your entire life will ensure that you are staying healthy your entire life.

I think those were the main points of my visit. While I haven't done any research myself, she also pointed out that studies have been done that are relating Alzheimer's and dementia with cardio health. In other words, if your arteries around you heart are clogged or moving slow, so are the ones in your brain. That really made me stop and think. I can think of no worse disease!

I hope this helps all of you in your quest for healthier selves. Good luck and eat locally!!