Keeping Fit While Working At Home - Looking Back 11 Years

Next week my blog will hit its 11th year. I started waaaay back in January of 2000,  and I remember how when I first started I was sitting a whole lot more than I was used to. I think my husband was also aware of it, because he also works full-time from home and he realizes that if one isn't careful, you can end up losing your physical health before you know it. A few pounds gained here, some flexibility lost there, a cholesterol check edging ever higher, etc. So he sent me a link with an article about how sitting too long can really wreck your health.

And sure enough as I spent more time blogging and less time walking around and doing things, I could tell the difference.  My body didn't respond to my exercise routines like before.  I seemed to be losing some muscle tone.  I was a dancer (middle-eastern, zumba, modern and ballet), biker, yoga lover, hiker, disc golfer, skier, and the reason is because I have always exercised and made time to do so.  I loved pushing my body to just the right amount of fatigue to where I know I've been challenged, but not so that it takes days on end to recover. But I felt like I was in danger of losing some (or a lot) of that, as I continued to make staying on the computer more of a priority. 

 

 

This is a partnered post! With our first Border Collie, Daisy. July, 2007

The Vitamin D Effect---More Than Just S.A.D. Relief!

We're right in the thick of winter and I'm one of the 6% of people in the U.S. who suffer from mild Seasonal Affective Disorder! It is hard on my poor husband, my dog, and my body. Some of the symptoms I experience are: needing to sleep much more than normal, lack of wanting to get outside, lack of desire to exercise, lack of motivation for pretty much anything. It is during this time that I am in danger of losing my "girlish figure". I jest of course, but still....this is when I can really pack on the pounds. 

We already know that Vitamin D is the Sun vitamin and that there is evidence which shows that supplementation can help calm down your Seasonal Affective Disorder symptoms. My doctor told me recently that there are quite a few people in my state of Utah who test low in Vitamin D. There are a couple reasons for this. First of all, we are in the western U.S., surrounded by mountains on the east and west, making the sunrise later and the sunset earlier. And because many people in the state are very health conscious, they additionally use sunscreen to block out the sun in order to prevent skin cancer. But it also blocks Vitamin D.

Besides alleviating the symptoms of S.A.D., there are some other very exciting benefits that accompany having sufficient levels of the Sun Supplement. There is even an ideal blood serum level to aim for that appears to be the magic number. That would be 40-60 ng/ml year round.  
What are some of these other benefits? Here they are: