From June 3, 2013
With our first mud run EVER a little more than a week away, I thought
I would blog about why we are doing such a thing. Not that there is
humor in this, but really there is since we will be covered in mud and
grime by the end of the race. Really as parents, we not only try to
parent with humor, but we also try to emphasize health. We both have a
family history of hereditary conditions that we need to watch for.
Heart problems run on Jason’s side of the family, and high blood
pressure runs on mine. The younger we can teach our kids about health
the better fighting chance they have to limit the issues. Yes I say
limit the issues, specially the heart disease. Because it is
hereditary, it will never 100% “go away”, but with care and guidance
one can easily limit their chances of having issues.
Over the years we have had incidents in our families that really helped
to open our eyes to the seriousness of the issues. Now don’t get me
wrong, I have a degree in this area. I knew the potential was there on
both sides of our families, we were both very active in sports for most
of our lives, we didn’t eat too bad , so maybe just maybe these diseases
couldn’t touch us. Well after Jason’s first physical at the age of 24,
he was told he would be on cholesterol meds by the time he was 30.
Truth be told, we both kind of panicked. I knew exactly what that could
mean. I personally didn’t want to become a widow by 60, if this could
be mostly preventable. Plus we are big advocates for limiting the need
for medicine. If there are natural ways to limit issues/solve health
concerns then we will advocate trying that first. Anyway, this
diagnoses started our journey to a healthier lifestyle, and teaching our
kids the same. We started implementing small changes over the course
of the years. This included cutting out soda, and sugary drinks,
controlling our portions, and limiting the intake of high cholesterol
containing foods (red meats, vegetable oils, butter, etc.). Over the
years age my blood pressure started creeping up we also started cutting
out salt, etc. Our biggest fear was having a very bland diet full of
food we hated. Over the years we learned to cook food that was good for
us, limiting the intake of fried foods, and processed foods, but that
tastes YUMMY! As our diet has improved, so has our health. Over the
years with each physical Jason’s cholesterol has been lowered, and
maintained with no need for him to be on the meds, and I have kept my
blood pressure right where it should be. Really the only thing that we
need to get better at is consistent exercise.
So this
my dear friends is why we let our kids be so active, and why we
ourselves continue to find ways to be healthy. We are always trying to
find new ways to have fun too! So with that long winded statement, our
new challenge is to try mud runs, and other various fun 5K's (such as
the Zombie race, and all the other fun races out there), in hopes of
keeping healthy and off meds. In the next month, we will be getting even
stricter on our diet, and begin preparing for our biggest challenge
thus far. For what you might ask? The year we turn 40 we want to do a
Tough Mudder competition. That gives us 3 years to get prepared.
Anyone that is is up for a challenge, wants to improve their overall
health, and most importantly HAVE FUN DOING IT, you are welcome to join
the Casebolt Clan on this adventure.
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