I have a new hobby….

Was on vacation last week, hanging out with the kids in the mountains, learning new things and just relaxing. While out there, I discovered something that I thoroughly enjoyed. I was introduced to Archery.

I had always wanted to give it a try and once I did, I am now hooked. And for my BD, I got my very own compound bow with a case and all the paraphernalia. After day 2 of practicing at the outdoor range last week, I discovered shoulder muscles I didn’t know I had. After practice #5 this week at an indoor range here in my city, those muscles are super sore now. Left bicep is sore from holding bow, right shoulder is sore from drawing the bow. Going to have to exercise my right bicep and left shoulder with weights to balance things out

Dis is me during my very first time with my new bow (yes it is little) but I have short arms…. Had to get a guard for my left forearm as once you hit it with the bow strings, you will want to do everything in your power to avoid doing it again… it smarts big time. I’ve since learned to hold it right to avoid doing that in the first place.

I have a bunch more “stuff” on the bow now so it is heavier (as of yesterday) and this weekend Mr. Sandra has configured some targets at our place so we now have our own outdoor range. I’ve got to start all over again with setting up my bow but I can see lots of practice in my future.

I like it!

And now that vacation is over, I am going to try to post more often as I miss all of you. I’m not sure I have anything interesting to say right now so you will just get the “life” updates.

Weight wise I am maintaining right now but gearing up for a new “clean” phase starting on Monday. I’ve let a little of the bad stuff back into my life with vacations et al but come Monday for 4 weeks it’s going to be 100% on track again. I like how I feel, how I sleep, and all that other good stuff. It’s worth the struggle in the beginning to stay on track.

Exercise wise – I need to get that increased for sure. With the clean eating, my inflammation in my hip goes down, therefore less pain, which means I am to walk more and sleep better. So now that I’m back into walking, I’ve got to add some strength training into the picture……

Have I mentioned my Grandmother is going to be 100 in a couple of weeks? Yes, 100 years old. She even has 3 other siblings so longevity runs in the family. My Aunt is worried she will live just as long… silly lady.

I hope you are all doing great and that you have a wonderful weekend!

ttyl

Sandra

Guest Post: The Sun and Vitamin D

By James E. Dowd, M.D. and Diane Stafford,
Authors of The Vitamin D Cure, Revised Edition

Most people mistakenly think that they get enough vitamin D from casual sun exposure or their diets. Unfortunately, this is not true. People in today's urban digital society rarely get enough sun exposure to fill their vitamin D requirement, and non-dietary sources must meet about 90 percent of your daily D needs.

The more melanin you have in your skin and the faster you tan, the more sunlight you need to convert pre-vitamin D to vitamin D you can use. The melanin in your skin acts as a natural sunscreen that blocks up to 90 percent of UV light. Dark African Americans need about seven times as much sunlight as fair-skinned European Americans to manufacture the necessary amount of vitamin D.

When equatorial dwellers immigrate to the United States, they move from overexposure at the equator, and their melanin, which once provided protection from the sun, now turns into a handicap in making vitamin D. This is a major reason for African Americans' higher incidence of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, gout, heart disease, systemic lupus, and cancer.

You may be thinking, I just need to take this book to my doctor and ask for a prescription to move to Florida or Southern California so I can get enough sunshine.

That's not the solution, and here's why: you have to live a lifestyle that lets you get outside to soak up sunlight. If your lifestyle doesn't allow that, you could live in Hawaii and be D deficient.

You won't see much difference in the D levels of people living in Florida and those from the northern United States, simply because culture, urbanization, and technology have lured all of us indoors and out of the sun during the last quarter century. Moreover, the smog in large metropolitan areas decreases D production, compared to rural areas at the same latitude.

The casual sunlight exposure of today's urban lifestyle isn't enough to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D, no matter what your latitude. That's why the Vitamin D Cure is essential!

The above is an excerpt from the book The Vitamin D Cure, Revised Edition by James E. Dowd, M.D. and Diane Stafford. The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

Copyright © 2012 James E. Dowd, M.D. and Diane Stafford, authors of The Vitamin D Cure, Revised Edition

Authors Bios
James E. Dowd, M.D., co-author of The Vitamin D Cure, Revised Edition, is an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Michigan State University and the founder and director of both the Arthritis Institute of Michigan and the Michigan Arthritis Research Center.

Diane Stafford, co-author of The Vitamin D Cure, Revised Edition, has published more than twelve books, including Migraines For Dummies and No More Panic Attacks.

For more information please visit http://www.drjamesdowd.com and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter

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