Reading the Daniel Plan

Pastor Rick Warren has written a book called the Daniel plan. It is loosely based on a story from Daniel 1:8-16 that you can read here.

8 Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official not to defile himself. 9 God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official, 10 yet he said to Daniel, “My lord the king assigned your food and drink. I'm afraid of what would happen if he saw your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age. You would endanger my life with the king.” 11 So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief official had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for 10 days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king's food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.” 14 He agreed with them about this and tested them for 10 days. 15 At the end of 10 days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king's food. 16 So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables. HCSB

Mr. Warren baptizing a huge number people realized there his congregation was fat. Not only were they overweight but he was too. The following week he confesses his sin of over eating for 30 years and decided he wanted to make a change. He asked his congregation if they like to join him in making changes for their help. He consultants fitness experts and shared a study what the Bible says about health. I bought the book about ago and I'm now getting around to read it. I will share my review when I'm done. Right off the bat I think it's a good idea to develop a theology of the body. In the same way I think it's a good idea to get a science of the body. When it comes to health there are a lot of information out there and people were willing to scam for many gimmicks. So far what I have read of the Daniel plan it is a good study. 

Since the book was written, Mr. Warren has had his own setbacks. His son committed suicide and in his grief, he regained his weight back. He has gotten back on track since then. That is one thing I've noticed in changing health lifestyles. Life happens and with its heart aches those in recovery, will often revert back to their past behaviors. When you look at people who have lost weight; they often gain it back. Health is not a short-term proposition; health is lifelong no matter what the challenges.

Pastor Warren and his people have developed a good website to encourage people in our health. I think you can check it out in making lifestyle changes that can help your health.

In my own recovery from injuries last year I have rebooted my walking program. It seems like every day I'm making progress. In this last year I am developed different body exercises that with the use resistance bands, suspension training and body weight exercises that I think made a difference. 

It is really easy for me to be sedimentary but in the last year there is been a lot written to support people to move throughout the day. In the Daniel plan if you have a job or sit around too much at home, one idea I looked at today was to use your smart phone to set alarm once an hour to do two-minute bursts of different movements. Along with a walk every day and the work out that adds up to about 150 minutes a week you can really improve your health.

Using the things of life like chores, cooking, yard work, doing the dishes, laundry, walking up-and-down stairs throughout the day can be a lifesaver.

Deciding and acting on health information can turn into successful living. I think it's just as easy to not act on things and continue where our bad habits get the better of us. Guilt doesn't really help long-term change. Speaking of which it is time for me to take a walk. Keep walking

Merry Christmas, let's walk with Mary

Click on map to enlarge to help see the distance

This fall I took a look at the Christmas story. Here I am concerned with two trips that are made from Nazareth into the suburbs of Jerusalem. You are familiar with the story of Joseph and Mary traveling to Bethlehem about 7 miles south of Jerusalem. The map I showed you comes from Bible mapper and it marks the roads of the first century. Geography determines where the roads are much like Appalachian Mountains or the Rockies. The trail I mapped out roughly is 80 to 90 miles. There are shorter trails by higher elevations that were more rugged and they moved through territory Jews avoided, see John 4. 

The journey would take 3 to 4 days. 

The trip that nobody seems to notice is the trip that Mary took right after she talked to the angel. Here she walked from Nazareth to the hill country of Judah. Where is this location? The Bible doesn't tell us exactly where Elizabeth and Zacharias lived. Our best guess is a place called Kerem about 5 miles west of Jerusalem. What we do know is they lived in the hill country of Judea and Kareem is in the hill country of Judea. We are not sure that is the location until we get to heaven but it gives us an idea what it was like. The location doesn't really change the story.

Luke 1:23, 26; 39; 56; 2:4 give us the references of travel. When Mary walked to see

Kerem, traditional location of John the Baptist
birthplace

Elizabeth she apparently walked alone. That tells me how important this was too her. You don’t walk 50 to 90 miles on a whim. She was assertive and strong. Here we find that she hurried and at the stage she could do an aerobic walk. When she walks with Joseph I believe her pace is a little slower. Taking a 90 mile walk at the end of your pregnancy would indicate how strong women are. Note her conversation with Jesus in John 2. Jesus let her know His purpose was to do the will of God; but He still did what she wanted Him to do. I won’t take time now but she did these long walks all of her life. She walked with her son in her middle to late 40’s. Her fitness would help her live long enough to be a witness for Luke’s writing 25+ years later.

The Christmas story took 3 years counting the pregnancies of Elizabeth and Mary to the journey to Egypt with toddler in hands. We put it all together in a play and give the impression of one silent night but there is time between the events of the Christmas story. Read carefully the story from the Bible. There is no Mary riding a donkey, an innkeeper, a cave. The donkey if they had one I believe would've carried bedding and shelter which could've been very simple. Relatives would have put you up in their home, roof, or where they kept their animals. Many villages had an outdoor location for animals and guests to stay. The manger was an animal trough and it could fit such a location. Could it have been in a cave? There was a cave nearby. Think of their journey for the three or four days. These people did this trip for the religious festivals in Jerusalem. Families would have made temporary travel as comfortable as they could. Depending on their resources they may had to do this with only the cover of their outer robes. 

For me looking at this story they have a lot in common with pioneers. Jesus's parents would have taught him how to live outdoors. This couple was capable of a long trip to Egypt. Now you can see the skills that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had. Jesus would have had them too.

This Christmas take a moment to remember that Joseph and Mary were walkers. They being walkers would have shared that skill with Jesus whom it is estimated walked a quarter of a million miles. Keep walking and Merry Christmas from the fat man.

Sources, bible.org https://lumina.bible.org/bible/Luke+2 and Bible Gateway https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/ivp-nt/Luke have notes and commentary that you can look up concerning length of trip. IVC argues my position and Thomas Constable presents another route. http://biblemapper.com/gallery1.htm http://www.biblewalks.com/sites/EinKarem.html

The fat did spin biking

Yesterday I was reading an article about a young woman who was doing spin classes in her home. The classes go for three months. She would miss the benefits of the social contact of the class but since she doesn't quite fit the profile of who you actually see in classes, she may be more comfortable. Spinning uses indoor bikes to beat of music to change speed intervals as the class bikes for my half hour to an hour.

Lately I have added online learning to my activities. It is another good way to use the computer and in retirement a great way to take classes. I use an indoor exercise bike so I thought why not apply a spin class to my use of it. It would make the exercise more aerobic and more interactive with the music and people in the video. So I checked on my browser online videos and check out one website that I thought had good programs.

It did not take long to see that these spin programs are challenging. My own conditioning is not on par with the participants. The type of bike I use is not the same. So it's time to modify. I found the music helpful as well as interval training. They would speed up I would speed up, they would recover I would recover. Recovering is this just a little bit slower speed. My pace was a little slower but to me I was working up a sweat. I biked for about 25 minutes. While I was biking I was practicing exhaling and resisting taking shorter breaths. This is a way runner breathes. I'm going to try to do it every other day give my body a chance to recover. I think it's a good way to do an aerobic activity similar to running only without the falls. Next time I'm going to check out spinning for older adults.

I have been encouraged my heart doctor to pursue better fitness. One of the things that you have to do is monitor yourself and stay within a safety zone.

There're many ways to walk with the fat Man. You can walk, swim, bike, spin, jog. Doing different things works your body different and give you the benefit aerobic activity that's good for your heart, blood sugar, and immune system. Besides a better living it helps as fight heart disease, Diabetes, and cancer. Keeps walking

Old wires need replacing, make new ones

Today looking at my blog I came across one of the blogs I follow written by Wayne Stiles. Wayne has a passion to bring in a layer in Bible study connected to the land of the Bible. To see the places were the events took place adds a dimension to our study of the Bible. There is a lot of work goes in to reading the Bible for profit. We have Bibles that are translated into modern English or other languages so that weekend read God's thoughts in the language that our mind works. 

Wayne brought to my attention a link from classes I could take from the Internet from Dallas theological seminary. Now I know that walking an exercise are the best thing to keep our brains growing but to take on the challenge to keep learning and building new wires as the old one sort of fadeaway is a good thing to do when we get older.

Follow link for more information, http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=463e57a6fcf34555adb711b92&id=d6497a5023&e=3d6339e09e

As we get older we have so many pathways and we can keep track of them anymore so it is always a good idea to build new ones. That's are saying better then as we get older we lose our marbles. In retirement we can set new goals and activities. There really are a lot of opportunities that we can getting involved and make our life more interesting.

Went for walk this morning and then I checked out a couple of those classes. Around noon I went ahead and do the strength workout using my countertop, bands and resistance training program. Now I'm waiting for Barbara get home but I feel real good. There is just something about exercise or a good walk that pays dividends throughout the day.

Read a couple articles from the newspaper they got my juices going. It would be so easy to rant and rave right now. But I decided to write something positive instead. Keep walking

Making 12 days of Christmas work

The season is upon us. One of the things that has happened to Barb and I is our loved ones have their plans for the holidays too. Not everything can fit on the 25th. There are years when they can. 

In my sixties, I can change and be flexible. One thing I can do is destress the holidays. There are things I can control and things I can’t. One thing I can do is make plans to fit everybody's needs. Can’t make Christmas work, hey we have 12 to 3O days of Christmas to work it out. Celebrating on many days can be fun. 

Delegate the meal or meals. 

Enjoy putting the meal together.

Let the guys put the meal together and clean-up. Men love to grill and grilling in the winter is possible.

Order out

Plan a simple but unique meal.

Try an international recipe.

Kids can’t make it home, aw too bad. Plan a Christmas date. 

Practice 12 days of good sleep. Embrace each night. 

Put Christ into the season with music and listening the Christmas story. Bible Gateway has several audio bibles you can plug into. 

Along these lines, listen to audio book, nice break from the TV. Listen to radio shows.

Invite friends and those who would enjoy being with you. 

Simplify gift giving, give wanted gifts but narrow the selection. Share more how each friend and family member is a gift. 

Take the holidays as they come and fit it those who may be hurting. 

On a personal note, I am thankful for all the progress I have made overcoming depression, post traumatic stress and anxiety. I am as close to saying I feel healed as I can. I take my medications but they are being reduced. Having confidence to take on a panic attack if it arrises or face loss and depression is part of the recovery. I have felt very good for over two years now. 

It would not be the fat man walking if I can’t include walking.

"Sh*t happens"

One thing we have today is health. What ever we did yesterday is gone. Tomorrow hasn’t happen yet. Jesus said, in Matt. 6:34 “Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” So today we have to deal with the trouble of the day.

"Life happens, while you're busy making other plans.” John Lennon

Forest Gump apparently started many legendary trends. The movie credited him with the phrase “sh*t happens” 

Life that happiness is what we got to get onto. I am looking at a winter day coming to a close on a winter day. My cactus plant is sharing it’s winter flowers. Today the sky is clear. These are all good things just here to be noticed. Got up and got a cup coffee while I was waiting for the microwave I did push-ups, Dips and squats, and heal raises. I notice my breathing got a little deeper. My coffee tastes good. These are just observing moments in the present. But being aware of them my body is relaxed and mellow.

What do I have planned today that is healthy for me? “Five is fine, nine is divine” referring to the fruits and vegetables serving today. While surfing the net yesterday I came across two articles from the BBC about how the Mediterranean diet can reverse cell aging. I am eating an apple right now. Having a couple coffee, eating an apple I know helps against heart disease, cancer and diabetes. The fact that it taste good is a bonus. I already had a good day sleep and I will get my walks in. I will do some suspension training for strength training and stretching for flexibility. Knowing that I'm doing these things helps me feel good that today I do good things for my health.

“Life happens,” I think we usually think of bad things that might happen long way (“sh*t happens”), but it is possible then we can also take note of the good things that happen or even the simple things that give gentle responses that make up a good day. Jesus referred to “life happens” as “each day is trouble of its own”. Trials come, difficulties jump at us. Sometimes this is our job, let me explain. When I work and school my job usually kicked in when problems happen. No, I could think, “Man my life is going so smooth. I was coasting along everything was easy and now bam, I got to work.” But over the years I began to see that this is why I was there. I would use task analysis and other strategies to anticipate problems and maybe solve them before they happen, but the happening wasn't my fault. Nearly every day I would talk with my co-workers about the things that happened and how best to deal with it next time. Now is an opportunity to work through it, to  help the student or students to a good outcome. That attitude eliminated a lot of frustration for sure.

I recently read an article that said that now is the best time to begin a walk program into exercise today. We actually may get the most benefit from exercise and lifestyle changes that we do right now. We cannot change the past but we can do something about today. If you were somewhere between 50 and 70 you can begin a walk program where your probably walking aerobically within 12 weeks. If you are over 70 you're walking can really benefit you, even if they are short walks. You know the health challenges that you face and your doctor knows, but making smart lifestyle changes and beginning to include walking, strength training, flexibility can help you deal with painful joints, improve your immune system, help getting the blood flowing through head to toe and if you have to start off small, so be it. Recovering from injuries that are serious illness may take a physical therapist. There has been several times when physical therapy helped decrease my pain and increase my movement. It works. In my life plenty of restarts, life happens, but restarts are far better then giving up.

In the area mental health there is again the idea “life happens”. For me it has been an opportunity to work on the whole gamut of things. Right off the bat I can tell you that I feel better and mentally, I feel like I've healed. My medications have been reduced along the way I've gained a lot of confidence. In mood swings I experience, I now look at each opportunity the same way. I have an opportunity to work towards a good outcome. I am really not as frustrated with it now that I expect it. I don't draw on the past and let the abuse rule me, I let that go. Now I give myself time and effort to work through the moods, choosing to do the good things for me and the ones in my life. I want to own up to my mental an emotional life. It is on me and not others (Particularly Barb) to take care of. 

Making plans is good but taking time to catch “Life happens” makes the day better. Keep walking

Can the way we walk influence our mood?

Walk away the Blues

Can way we walk influence our mood? So suggest Johannes McCulloch in a study of behavioral therapy that I read in the Wall Street Journal. If you engage in a happy walk with a strong gate and arms swinging like a power walk may lift mood and help elevate your mood.

Have you ever watch somebody who was depressed walk? Their eyes are cast downward, they're walking slower, they may be swaying side to side. The study suggests changing the way we walk may in turn may change your mood.

Studies have shown talking to strangers, matchmaking with our friends, successfully abstaining from chocolate can all lift our moods. 

The article shares people with a slumped poster posture will recall more negative words from a list of words equally negative and positive. People who have a confident posture smiling will recall more positive words. If you are depressed you're thinking depressed and it shows in your body language. If you were happy you are probably thinking about good things that make you happy and that will show up in your body language. Can changing the body language, the way we sit or walk change the way we think?

More studies would be needed to test the hypothesis of changing the way we walk and how it affects her mood.

If you want to learn about behavioral therapy this is a very good example. My personal experience with cognitive behavioral therapy in depression and anxiety would give a strong testimonial to the value I'm applying principles of cognitive behavioral therapy. Within days of applying some of the therapies I was learning my mood began to lift long before the antidepressant medications kicked in.

I have read many studies that show that walking aerobically can actually change body chemistry to more positive outcome with mood. There is an elevation in her mood as a result of the walk. Could taking a break of 20 to 30 minutes, where we are on purpose raise our head to look out instead of look down, tummy tuck our core and align our shoulders over her hips, swing our arms as we walk stepping out with a hop in out step and physically change the way we are walking, would we see a change in our mood?

To guarantee a real break, I call it a retreat moment, listen to the wind moving through the trees, look for the birds and down the trail at the flowers. Notice other people and their pets walking on the trail. Give a slight smile and say hello to people as they pass, looking out and not down. If you're walking was someone, don't talk about problems or conflicts, save that for a cup of coffee. If you are a little down try it and see if it helps. Let me know your thoughts on this.

Here is a link to the article from the Wall Street Journal.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/walk-this-way-acting-happy-can-make-it-so-1416263697

Keep walking

retired life has its disciplines

C. S. Lewis writing letters

I was reading how about C. S. Lewis retired from Cambridge in 1963. He had about six months of retirement before he passed away. He was a great letter writer and yet he had difficulty with the rheumatoid arthritis. Apparently he had ambitions to continue writing before he died the same day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated. In my motivation poster I have a picture of Lewis writing. Apparently he wrote his work out longhand and I'm not sure if he used the typewriter, but I don't think he did. What would he had thought about today’s computer dictation? 

You may have very excellent keyboard skills. No, the keyboard was only possible to me when I started working with the word processing. The little typing that I didn't wasn't worth all mistakes and white out. My typed papers looked like a canvas in modern art. But with a word processor you could type away and correct later. I am sure some of my coworkers chuckled at my efforts as I worked with six fingers. Through the years I finally figured out how to use all 10 but I never did master keyboard skills. Now that there's voice recognition forget about it.

What Lewis reminds me of is a disciplined life and one who works at his craft. I can imagine standing up to the writing group which Lewis belonged to. The British biting wit would have had to been brutal. They obviously enjoyed it. I have been reading Lewis work on medieval literature and my lit teacher from JuCo, Peter Neff would had to laugh. He was my tennis coach, he called me out in class for being full of BS trying to discuss the assignment without actually reading it. He was a good sport, and he did me a great service that day. 

It was actually during those years that I began to read. When I found a good writer I tried to read several of his or her’s books. When I studied psychology and theology I tried to read the works of the people that I was reading about in class. 

For seven years working my way through school I took care of people being treated for mental illness. Most of the people being treated in the hospital would have very little contact with her therapist or doctors. About the only people really listening to them were people like me. My co-workers more enthusiastic in sharing what they have learned and read. We bantered ideas and therapies. It was back then that I knew mental disorders we're biologically rooted, and for most people talk therapy had to be educational and fit the needs of the person. Therapy works, but the real progress would have to be made medically. 

These days, I am trying to make transition to be better at writing. It is a lot like my blog, being the fat man walking I am attempting to do things to help my health. It somewhat an uphill climb, being on uneven terrain. Health as we get older isn’t exactly easy, and in the same way writing isn't exactly easy for me either. But if I keep putting one foot in front of the other maybe I can improve. The bottom line is by making some better choices and do what's good one day at a time, a few years may be with it.

One tip Lewis gave about reading, when you read a writer from a different time period keep them in their time period and enjoyed them for what they are writing about. Enter their TimeZone and enjoy your visit. Keep walking!

CooperAerobics - The Link Between Depression and Heart Disease

CooperAerobics - The Link Between Depression and Heart Disease

Reported 25% of  us are clinically depressed at 65. Depression can increase risks for heart disease and heart disease can factor in on depression. Treatment and lifestyle changes is something we can do for a better outcome. This is why the fat man walks.

Treat depression - choose not to live blue or tap out like Hemingway or Robin Williams

Change lifestyle

• smoking
• overeating
• obesity
• sedimentary living

1. Walk!!!

Unwanted things OK, but live anyway

What is it about a pipe and
thinking. 

We are halfway through fall and it reminded me of how great it is to walk this time of year. The sun was shining this afternoon and it was refreshing to see the lakes on our walk. The water was rich blue. I am getting the timing down on my walking with the cane where it is there if I need it and not for weight-bearing. My goal is to have my gate remain the same, as if I wasn't walking with a cane. In the 19th century people use walking sticks rather commonly. I think my make over would be complete, all I need is pipe and the game is a foot.

I was basking in the sun earlier. Now is a good for making vitamin D and bone health it also is good for seasonal mood problems. Brief times in and the sun can be healthy.

With the ability to take notes audibly with my phone I have been recording various quotes from books I've been reading. It's kind of fun recording things that you think are significant. You run the risk that nobody else thinks of it as significant but, the road to travel is your own anyway.

Years ago I started reading Robert Parker and the Spencer series, thanks to the acting of Robert Urich and Avery Brooks. Parker has a lively wit and he also  brings in a character who covers the plot from a shrink point of view. In the Jesse Stone series the shrink is an ex-cop, Dix. He is a crusty character who delivers Bob Parker one-liners. Therapy for Jessie Stone is a slow process. Change is hard for Jessie and I think that's the way it should be. "Why is this so hard?" The quote below was when the two of them hit a wall. 

“'Unresolved feelings don’t resolve themselves. Just because you shove unwanted things into the attic doesn’t mean they aren’t still there.’ Man, he especially hated those rare occasions when Dix would get folksy or metaphorical.” Bob Parker’s Jesse Stone 

Whatever the unwanted things are it is different for each of us. That usually only come out when something is painful or hard to deal with. We don't want them but there they are. I am beginning to think therapy is like me losing weight. It is hard to do and if it was easy this would've been a short blog. Put in the big picture doing things that are good for my heart is a day by day thing. Whatever the struggle is in “unwanted things” are or weight life goes along with it. Embracing today in-house remodeling, sitting on the porch, going for a walk, enjoying the evening meal and a ride in a car all became part of life embrace today. Simple stuff, Keep walking

“Should dead people be allowed to vote?” Term limit biodegradable graves

If I was allowed a marker

I was thinking today of the wonderful privilege we have as Americans to vote without fear of intimidation. Many places in the world voting is force and people are intimidated. When I lived in Liberia's there was one party on the ballot. Many people voted and the count was always unanimous and in this it seem like everybody was happy. Backed then Liberia was ruled by 15 families along the coast. 

We still have places like Chicago or Florida whom there are people in the graveyard still vote. Which brings up an interesting question, “Should dead people be allowed to vote?” I am absolute in saying my father-in-law would've voted Democratic. My grandmother would've voted straight Republican. Since they are still property owners with their graveyard plots don't they still keep their right to vote. We even know what party they would vote for. In places where the dead vote they may have been forced to vote for the  opposite party. Surely we should try and be fair and let the dead vote for the party of their choice. They were people of conviction, they knew why they were voting, they have principles. Today if you asked many people why they're voting they come up with pretty vague answers. They don't know what the candidates believe, they couldn't tell who the vice-president is, whose governor might be, let alone a congressperson. And a judge they would have no idea unless they appeared in the court. But the dead people I mentioned knew names, read the newspapers, follow the speeches and were quite vocal and fervent about there beliefs. 

There may be some of you actually think I'm serious and may say surely I am unconstitutional in my thinking. The great legal minds of our day have pointed out how hard it is to understand the Constitution. The constitution can read in less than an hour so after I write this piece I will see if it is actually legal to vote when you are dead. Pretty soon in America you'll be able to voted home and there will be no way to monitor who votes for who. At a polling place you have the privacy of booths. My wife and I vote together but the beautiful part is many times we voted different. I have to admit that I thought she was wrong until she tells me things that I never read or looked at then I have is sickly feeling of oops. Barb’s grasp of detail has always been better than mine. 

I've voted this week and I know I have friends and family who voted differently. Do I think they were wrong, sort of. That's the American way. Do I have to know or demand agreement with their vote? Absolutely not.

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson we're kindred spirits when they wrote the Declaration of Independence. Politically later in life they totally disagreed with each other. Politics severed a great relationship. These two great minds work against each other. I don't think I'm too far wrong in their regrets of the loss of their friendship. To their dying day which was the same day, July 4 1825 they were thinking of each other. We owe a lot to these men. 

I favor friendship over politics any day. The struggle of the American experience will continue long after I am dead. Some lowlife will put me in a Cardinal hat or White Sox hat and have me voting for a lessor lowlife from under the daisies or recycled graveyard. I am all for no chemicals in the body and give me a thousand insects in my biodegradable casket to assist me in a fast return to the earth. Then 50 or hundred years rototill the whole grave for reuse. That way there is a natural term of limit of my vote in death. 

Glad if you voted. Keep walking

Variety in circuit training

Seated curl can be done in chair, side of bed,
or a stabilizing ball. what is safe you choose

Today I visited two websites that gave a lot of how to new different band exercises. The other site gives dumbbells exercises, total gym exercises in other routines. As you build your own personal program there are a lot of exercises you can choose. You can do different exercises on different days Andrew do circuit training all you have to do is at 30 seconds of walking, running, biking in between the exercises. If you choose 15 different exercises and repeat another cycle you'll have 30 minutes of exercise. That's pretty cool.

Making the exercises work for you, choose movements that are safe and offers stability. Do the exercises that give you the best support and you're on your way. You can use a chair, counter top, wall. Get hey device that you can put it in your door to give you all kinds of starting points of the focal point of the exercise. Start out slow and remember you can do curls, presses, triceps all from a seated position. There are bands out there that gives light resistance. As always check with your doctor and think of controlled movements that are safe.

Keep walking

http://www.fitness.com/exercises/exercises.php?c=search&equipment=4

http://www.band-exercises.net/index.html

Inductive Bible Study my passion

I have added a new page concerning Inductive Bible Study in my pages about Observing the Bible in study. It is a passion of mine for over 40 years. The 10 keys I write about can be easily learned in time and you will find yourself seeing things automatically. Paste and copy to your word processing program and print it out. Take a paragraph in the Bible and try it out. Let me know what you think.
I first learned of the Inductive Bible Study from Terry Hall in a class from Moody Bible Institute. A few years later I read and studied a book by Oletta Wald on Inductive Bible Study. Irving Jenson and Howard Hendricks have also written expertly about the Inductive Method of Study. You can Google these names and read their books. You won't be disappointed. The page I adapted from Wald's work.

Oletta Wald. The New Joy of Discovery in Bible Study (Kindle Locations 143-151). Kindle Edition. 

“Why is it so hard to lose weight?”

It has been on my mind for a while the question, “Why is it so hard to lose weight?” Begs to be answered. You can look on any health show at the audience and there are no lack for obese participants. Many times I am seeing obese people filmed, one man was sleeping watching a game and the announcers made fun of him. To be honest and fair I laughed before they started talking. Often you will see people drinking a soda, or a bag of chips or whatever the food gurus say not to eat and the commentator or implied audience looks down and judgmental at they have a person choosing something we probably all like to eat. We are born hypocrites.

Consider how easy it is to put on 10 pounds in a year. It only takes 100 calories a day more then you burn. I'll hundred calories is not much. 

For a minute let's entertain the idea that we really don't know how to lose weight. There is a real possibility that there are many things that work against us. For a moment, let us set aside the few pictures of fat people we see everyday and in multiple times more pictures the beautiful people which I think gets us a little off track. What keeps us from losing weight?

1. Guilt
2. Aging (we live in a fallen world)
3. Our brains
4. Our hormones
5. Our organs
6. Our muscles
7. Our created or evolved desire do not starve to death 
8. Our lack of physical work due to a change in how we work
9. Our technology vs. walking
10. Our dependence on processed foods

I can go on with the bigger list and I'm sure that you can add a few things then I'm not thinking about but you get the idea. There are both reasons why we put on weight and a hard time getting it off. Since most of us are having a problem with this let's dispense with the guilt. In surfing the net on the subject today it is clear that we need more study on this question. If you are like me the task of being healthier is ahead of us. We can't give up but we can think, “Damn this is harder than I thought.” I think the swearword catches the frustration a little better.

It seems clear that weight loss is a long term goal. The fact is when we decide to lose weight we will have to deal with her own body fighting us about this. Chemically the body tells us to put the fat back on for at least two years after we lose the weight. Losing weight also may jumpstart depression and other mental struggles. The goal of better heart health outweighs our internal battles but let us be prepared for a lifelong goal. Keep walking

Circuit training the old man way

This is something I've been working on for a while and these are exercises I do. You can do one part or any other part added to it. As you learn about these different ways to exercise remember you can adapt them to fit you. These exercises can be done by those who have excellent fitness or they're like me, just an old man trying to survive. Keep walking this post I will make into a page.

 Circuit training

Part one - old man workout in kitchen using countertop 10-20 reps 8 minutes

• Adapted push-ups
• 30 sec. bike
• Adopted dips
• 30 sec. bike
• Squats
• 30 sec. bike
• Heel raises
• 30 sec. bike
• Lunges
• 30 sec. bike
• Side lunges
• 30 sec. bike
• Ten jumps
• 30 sec. bike
• Squats feet wide
• 30 sec. bike

(Walk a flight of stairs)

Part 2 old man in bedroom 10-20 reps 3 minutes

• 20 sit ups adopted

• 30 sec. bike
• 20 squats off bed
• 30 sec. bike
• 20 push ups adopted off dresser
• 30 sec. bike

(Walk a flight of stairs)

Part 3 Resistant bands 10-20 reps 8 minutes

• 15 curls
• 30 sec. bike
• 15 triceps
• 30 sec. bike
• 15 bent over rows
• 30 sec. bike
• 15 shoulder presses
• 30 sec. bike
• 15 squats with back against wall
• 30 sec. bike
• 15 heal raises
• 30 sec. bike
• 10 rotator cuff pulls
• 30 sec. bike
• Other side rotator cuff pulls
• 30 sec. bike

(Walk a flight of stairs)

Part 4 Suspension training

Where are you position your feet give you the resistance that you want. This is totally adapted to you. My suspension band can we put in my door. 10-20 reps 10 minutes

• chess press
• 30 sec. bike
• low row
• 30 sec. bike
• Tricep press
• 30 sec. bike
• Bicep curls
• 30 sec. bike
• Chest Fly adapted
• 30 sec. bike
• Y fly
• 30 sec. bike
• Squat
• 30 sec. bike
• lateral lounge
• 30 sec. bike
• squat and row
• 30 sec. bike
• sidestep and squat
• 30 sec. bike

(Walk a flight of stairs)

http://greatist.com/fitness/effective-TRX-exercises

 Walking between stations will easily give you 30+ minutes of aerobic exercise. 

I use a portable Nordic track bike that you can easily use with a kitchen chair to make a recumbent bike. This being portable you can move from room to room to do your exercise.

You can bump this up by doing a flight of stairs between parts. There are a lot of exercises you can do with these tools. It would be worth your time to look at the possibilities and design your own program. There are exercises I don't do because a balance. You may not have that limitation. But this workout can be completely adapted to your physical conditions.

Make sure you see a doctor before you begin any exercise program. And always remember you are in control of the exercises or activities that you do.
Tonight I did a 21 minute program. worked up a sweat

Battle of the sexes - wouldn't have it any other way

Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn cross wits in
Woman of the Year

The battle of the sexes seems to me to be in focus right now for the midterm elections. While the politicians will manipulate the picture, I have always looked at the battle of the sexes as kind of fun. As a teenager I became a big fan of Katherine Hepburn. In watching her films she matches wits with their male counterparts about as good as anybody. Many of her comedies had that theme and sexual tension which was a lot of fun. In real life and in the movies, Spencer Tracy became her partner and they battled wits from the get-go. For us it transformed into movie  magic.

And girls being girls in guys being guys still is amazing even today. I am nowhere near to understanding the female gender then I was 40 years ago. I still get surprised about everyday and I'm okay with it. There is so many strengths for us being who we are. We can bring our differences to a job, a family, or a relationship. Most of my life I worked for females and appreciate their strengths. 

In health guys and girls are different. In fitness they trained differently and would do well to learn from one another. Men for example could learn to be more flexible and become better walkers and train their lower bodies. Women could have more resistance and work out their upper body with the same intensity they do their lower body. Both men and women can benefit from lean muscle in aerobic fitness. Increase flexibility becomes more important as we get older.

Probably in both men and women they will exercise according to their own perspective and needs. It is who we are. As long as we are moving I'm good. Tip of the day, enjoy the humor of being different and above all, be kind. Keep walking

I am a movie buff and sometimes it improves our walk

1932 Movie Box with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy

One thing I discovered on vacation was how out of shape I am. Walking in the mountains is quite a bit different then walking in Illinois. We have a lot of rainy weather so we took advantage spending time in our cabin enjoying reading, one another, and the beautiful setting we were in.

It took a while to heal from some falls I had last winter and I'm now back motivated to push my aerobic walking. Taking my own advice I'm starting out slow doing 1 mile walks. Mixing in the strategy is short burst of bicycle riding.

Another thing I'm doing is writing down three things that I did that made my day better. On vacation I captured two more hours in the daylight and sleeping two more hours at night. I have one more hour to switch and I'm will be very happy with that. This will allow me more time to be creative in a daytime and get my internal clock to where most studies show it is more healthy.

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-walks-music-box-steps-htmlstory.html

I came across an article from the LA Times of the location of the 1932 movie “Movie Box” starring Stan & Ollie. The article is titled. “Climb the Music Box Steps ... without the piano.” Google the movie because it's lots of laughs. Here the funny dual we're at their peak. In the late 20s and 30s they did some real funny stuff.

I started to think what would they think of that location being a hotspot for aerobic exercise

The stairs today encouraging others to walk

with the 132 stairs. Ollie wearing tighter clothes than he should looks fatter than he actually is. And the whole routine in the movie you can see he had a hard time doing. So anyway I took the old photograph and came up with the following cartoon.

I remember walking the stairs going up Diamond Head in Hawaii each set of stairs had over 90 stairs and it. That comes close to seven flights of stairs. The steps in the 1932 movie comes to about 10 flights of stairs. So if I were to do this today I would take a break and some of the landings to take photos and to appreciate the view. When I worked in JT I would take a flight of stairs and then walk a segment of the hallway and then take another flight of stairs. There were five flights of stairs to work with then I was able to do several times when I was on the wrestling team but like Ollie my body is changed. The stair climbing is good to do for long as you can do it. In the new LA Times article they outlined one and a half mile walk where you would go up and down and get a workout.

If you like going to national parks or state parks use your desire to motivate you daily walking. That is where I am right now so keep walking.

Don't be fooled by health scams

Doesn't believe everything she hears

Scams, they are out there and they want to target us. Con artists know how to make connections. There're out to get our money and many of them do not mind if they ruin us. Now through the Internet and phones they can come from all over the world. There are some good websites that give information and tips about protecting ourselves again scams. 

http://www.ncoa.org National Council of Aging

http://www.aarp.org

http://www.fbi.gov Federal Bureau of investigation

I read an article from Wall Street Journal about how to fight back against scams. 

http://online.wsj.com/articles/if-youre-over-50-youre-a-scam-target-1412467756?tesla=y&mod=WSJ_RetirementPlanning_MoreHeadlines&mg=reno64-wsj

It is good to familiar yourself with the subject, if you have parents it's also a good idea to check in with them to help protect them from these parasites. Scams interests me because they often are wolves in sheep clothing and attack us through our health. The hook is they know we want to feel better and feel more secure. What they want is our money and they could care less about our health. Jesus made a statement that his followers had to be “wise as serpents”. We have to have the discernment or judgment to look beyond words to motivations. 

One of my favorite characters from mystery is Jane Marple. She looks like a sweet old lady which I think she really is, but beyond that exterior is a shrewd detective. We know she's a romantic and she cares about people, but she hates evil when it destroys other people. She takes in gossip without being a part of it and it gives her clues and leads to solve the crime. She has a strong sense of justice. Basic to her approach is a belief that people can lie. And when they choose to lie they will be found out and the truth will be discovered. Of course it helps that Agatha Christie Will be completely unfair with the reader and invent facts to make everything fit. She's a good storyteller so we forgive her. 

When it comes to scams related to health seek good websites that are fact base. Find out about anything before you buy and don't just use the seller’s point of view. Talk it over with your kids, your doctor, and trusted friends. If it is too good to be true then it probably isn't true. Remember you are in control and don't feel pressure to cave in. If you were widowed and your spouse was the one that made these decisions then ask yourself what would they do. 

I like to be liked and I have a hard time saying no. When it comes to money all of a sudden I become like my father. He could smell a crook. Remember a hacker, a con running a scam does not see you as a person. You are just an opportunity to steal from. No matter how sweet they may sound they want to take away your life. So put on Jane Marple’s hat and let others know the rat you’d encounter. Keep walking.

Do you know the story of Bethany Hamilton?

Bethany Hamilton

I always like revisiting story that I have read about before. Bethany Hamilton I read about 8 years ago who 11 years ago was attacked by a shark and lost her left arm. She overcame her injury and return to competitive surfing. She is now 24 years old and she still competes. She has recently written a book, Body and Soul in which she reaches out to motivate young girls to live healthier lives. She leads by example and you can see the picture she maintains a fitness level and weight control. She hasn't allowed her loss of a limb to stop the disciplines of a professional athlete. 

She uses the suspension training that I've shared with you and you can see that she can modify to give her body a balanced strength workout that would directly relate to surfing. Can you imagine the coordination and strength it takes to get up on the board when you're catching a wave. I can't do it. I have used a bodyboard and I've been tossed around the California surf like a beached whale. 

My experience with the waves in California's is they are pretty strong. I experience a riptide that was taking me out to sea and it was cool to practice when I learned to swim parallel to the coast and then easily move back into the shore. A riptide isn't very wide but you can't swim directly back in. I am a strong swimmer and I could not directly swim against a riptide. You have to swim a little parallel 20 to 50 feet and then you get waves taking you back in. Every year there's people who drown because they trying to go directly against the current. The Pacific in California is a lot cooler than West Florida in the Gulf so Barb doesn't like going to water. I am trying to navigate the water with CP, Once I'm out A little deeper I'm okay but the waves by the shore they can be pretty strong. 

Bethany says she likes the suspension training because she can take it with her anywhere and she likes working outdoors. Check out a couple videos online about how people use this and remember you can always modify to fit your fitness level. Some people really are quite strong with it but we can use it regardless of our fitness level. Try to look at a couple videos of people who modified for themselves and you'll get the idea. 

Strength training is your program. No matter what tools you use there is away for you to strength training that helps you maintain or increase your strength no matter what your age. Bethany and myself demonstrate that suspension training or strength training can be modified to the disability. Keep walking