52 Ways to Transform Your Health: One Step at a Time

By Patti Bowman

Are you wanting a healthier lifestyle?  There are many things you can do to reach that goal.  This book covers 52 of them.  Healthier living is a process of taking many steps.  Each step in the book is presented in a simple format--just enough information to encourage you to act, but not be overwhelmed.  You choose where

• Language: English
• Publisher: Silver Linden Press
• Release date: Nov 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9780998135496

Book preview

Introduction

New Beginnings

Congratulations! By purchasing this book, you have taken the first step toward your best health ever.

I often ask my clients if they are baby-step people or jump-in-the-deep-end-of-the-pool people. By asking this, I am trying to figure out how fast they want to move in making healthy lifestyle changes. So far, I have had only baby-step people. So I wanted to design the information in this book for you. We all have to go at our own speed. All those baby steps add up to a lot of territory covered, as long as you keep stepping. If you are eager, one step each week will bring the transformation you are looking for in one year. Some steps will feel bigger than others.

I recommend that you read this book all the way through first. There is a checklist at the end of the book. Check off the steps you have already taken. Then make a list of all your bodily complaints. Yes, every ache, pain, and pimple! Add to the list as you think of more things. Don’t forget the mental things that are going on, too. A good memory is just as important as a good night’s sleep. So is a happy mood. This baseline is important. Once people start feeling great, they often forget how bad it was when they started.

Now decide where you want to start, how often you want to try a new step, and when you want to finish. Yes, you need a plan. Some of these ideas will open up your mind. Some will open your heart. Some will put you in touch with your feelings. Some will strengthen your body. I hope you will give them all a try. Experiment! You can always go back to the old way of doing things.

I recommend you do this with a spouse, friend, or group of friends. It really helps to have others cheer you on, and hold you accountable. Besides, it is more fun that way! We all need encouragement, especially when we are starting a new adventure. Let’s get started!

Watch Video: Patti Bowman, CN, introduces the book

https://www.authorpattibowman.com/52-ways-intro/

Step One

First Things First-Smoking

Tobacco is first on my list. If you don’t smoke, you can skip this step. Smoking (or chewing) is not good for your health. Most people know that it will kill you, eventually, but some people still smoke. I do not understand this powerful addiction, but there are lots of people who do.

I interviewed my friend, Cheryl Owen, R.N. As a Registered Nurse, she has had years of experience as an Educator, Trainer, Facilitator, and Smoking Cessation Counselor. Her first suggestion was the American Lung Association website. You can type in your zip code or State and find classes in your area. According to americanlungassociation.org, Freedom from Smoking® is still the leading smoking cessation program for adults. This program gives you the resources to quit within a supportive environment. That sounds like a good place to start!

Your medical doctor may know about other resources in your community, such as public health classes or hypnotherapists who specialize in smoking cessation. Cheryl suggests you try again to quit, even if you have tried before. She states, This isn’t easy and you may need to try several times before you succeed.

People using tobacco, do have nutrient deficiencies. So while you are going through a tobacco cessation program, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. It will help. Smokers usually can’t taste or smell their food. That makes eating not nearly as much fun. It’s a process. Food will begin to taste better. Exercise also helps by increasing oxygen in your body. Go for it! By quitting, you give yourself a wonderful gift. And you make the world a better place.

Step Two

Just Say No to Soda

This next step will feel more like a leap to some of you. I am focusing on soda pop. Soda, pop, colas, soft drinks, (depending on what part of the country you live in) have become part of American culture. It is sprouting in other cultures, too. Soda is almost an icon of the Western world, and it’s killing us. We die slowly, so not too many people are noticing. This is a good thing for the soda industry. It reminds me of cigarettes. Those kill you slowly, too. Only with soda pop, you don’t smell so bad and can still take a deep breath. How much it discolors your teeth, I don’t know. With tobacco, some people quit after the surgeon general put a warning label on the cigarette packs, saying they were bad for your health. In time, there will be a warning label on a can of soda, but why wait for that? Right now, you can just say no. Drink water instead.

Soft drinks are very hard on the body. The acid in them makes it difficult for your body to regulate pH. Your blood prefers to be slightly alkaline. So your body will buffer the acid, usually with minerals. Most people are low in minerals anyway, due to the fact that our soils are lacking minerals, so the body withdraws minerals from your bones. This is not a good thing for growing children or adults. No one wants osteoporosis later in life. So just say no.

Drinking soda helps you gain weight. Oh, you drink diet pop, you say? Even people who drink the diet drinks, gain weight. Yes, studies have been done. The weight comes on slowly, about 10--12 pounds a year. And on top of that, aspartame, the artificial sweetener in most diet sodas, is a neurotoxin. Neurotoxins kill your brain cells. They sort of excite them to death. I don’t know about you, but I like my brain cells and would like to hold onto them. I want to avoid dementia in my future. These sodas are addictive. Whether it’s the sugar, the caffeine, or the artificial sweeteners, yes, they are addictive. Soda pop has absolutely no nutritional value! Is there anything of value in sodas? Well, I understand that colas are useful in cleaning engines.

If you would never consider smoking a cigarette, think of soda pop in the same way. Never drink one. Think of it as a liquid cigarette and just say, "No!" Stopping, due to the addictive nature of sodas, will not be that easy. Some people can go cold turkey. Most will have to taper off. Just do it! Your current and future health depends on it. Do NOT switch to sports drinks. Read the ingredient labels. They are mostly sugar-water. They, like sodas, will dehydrate your body. Drink water---w-a-t-e-r.

But I don’t like water, you say? Of course you don’t. Water does not taste like soda. You have to re-train your body to like water. Your body will complain at first. Then it will settle in to great relief.

Count up how many sodas you drink in a day, then delete one each day until you are down to