Over the past two months, I have had the privilege of talking with several members of the nursing profession. Some retired after long careers or moved from patient care to administrative or teaching positions. Others were nurses in doctors’ offices or hospital settings. The nurses I spoke with were mindful of HIPPA regulations, so they did not speak of specific individuals and to ensure their privacy, I will not be identifying individual nurses or their places of employment.

Nursing is an admirable, but difficult career. It takes a special sort of person to be a nurse. Nurses often see us at our worst or our most vulnerable. Occasionally, they get to share in the joy of welcoming a new life into the world or saving an existing one.

The common thread from my conversations with these men and women is their level of caring. They want to help whether it’s by making sure the information on our chart is coded correctly, so our insurance company accepts it, or making sure we understand our illness/injury and how to follow aftercare instructions. They are ready with a smile and a word of encouragement, and they want us to get better.

Many of the nurses I talked with have done rotations in the emergency room and/or in the designated COVID19 ward at their hospitals. The pandemic has helped to bring the courage and caring of nurses to the attention of social media.  I hope this attention will give nurses a greater voice because they have a few things to tell us.

The nurses I spoke with are all fully vaccinated, and they are in favor of every person who is physically able to receive the COVID19 vaccine getting vaccinated. They want you to know the pandemic and getting vaccinated are health issues not religious or political issues. They support following CDC guidelines for mask-wearing, handwashing, and social distancing even after being vaccinated because of the DELTA variant and the number of people who remain unvaccinated. Children under 12 cannot currently receive the COVID19 vaccine and the number of children getting the virus has increased. If adults getting vaccinated can help keep some of these children safe, it’s what we need to do. Expect to see the CDC guidelines continue to change as the number of infected people changes.

Anyone can be injured in an accident and even the healthiest people can become ill. There is no magic potion or miracle cure that can guarantee we’ll live an injury-free and illness-free life, but there are positive lifestyle changes we can make for ourselves and our families to help prevent or minimize the severity of certain illnesses. How we treat our bodies and our attitudes about fitness can help determine if or when we’ll meet some of these dedicated nurses in a professional capacity - this is what they want people to know and understand.

From the outside looking in, it seems simple, but understanding family dynamics is never easy. When you tell people to limit or in some cases eliminate unhealthy foods from their diet, it’s as if you’re telling them the foods and recipes their families have bonded over and passed from generation to generation are bad and they often get defensive.

People come in all shapes and sizes - there are healthy weight ranges for BMIs. We don’t all have to wear skinny jeans to feel good about our health decisions. In fact, many “thin” people have blood pressure, cholesterol, and/or glucose issues. It’s about staying active and eating a healthy diet no matter what the scale or the tape measure reads. It’s important to keep this in mind when you are making lifestyle changes. Make them for your health and the health of the ones you love. Don’t let anyone tell you losing a few pounds is like spitting in the ocean. It’s a start and a dammed important one. Ten pounds is equal to a 5% body weight loss for a 200-pound person. Check out this link to learn about the benefits of losing 5% of your body weight, https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-five-percent-weight-loss.

We show love by preparing delicious meals for our friends and families. We eat every bite to show how much we appreciate these lovely meals and the people who prepare them. We reward success and soothe the sting of failure with a sweet treat. We gather at church potlucks and family picnics and fill our plates with every imaginable food. We pass these recipes down from generation to generation to keep our traditions and the recipes of our loved ones alive. We award prizes to the best jellies, jams, pies, and cakes. We even have eating contests to see who can eat the most hotdogs or pies or slices of watermelon. We race to and from work and stop at the drive-through or order takeout for a quick dinner for the family. We fill up and then we’re too stuffed to get off the couch and get moving. When we continue to do these things, we’re creating a road map for our kids to follow.

It’s okay to make changes gradually, but set goals. Eating shouldn’t feel like a punishment or a reward. Both ideas have become so ingrained in our society it may take time to change how you and your family feel about food. It’s important to work toward a balance where you begin to select foods for their nutritional value and their flavor. If you can, buy smaller plates and no one will notice you’ve cut back on serving sizes. Take a picture of your plate. If everything on it is brown, white, or devoid of texture or color, its time for a change. Add more colorful fruits and vegetables to your meal. Cut vegetables into fun shapes and serve on a fancy plate. Look on the internet on sites like Pinterest for inspiration. Soups are versatile and can be made in a slow cooker, just be careful not to add too much salt, butter, or heavy cream.

Make healthy swaps in your recipes. Try this link for ideas, https://www.eatthis.com/food-swaps-cut-calories/. Farmer’s Markets can be inexpensive, and many fruits and vegetables can be frozen and eaten later. Frozen fruits and vegetables are inexpensive and healthy alternatives to fresh produce.

Instead of jumping in the car to go get an ice cream, go for a family walk, or bike ride first. Make ice cream/frozen yogurt/sorbet a special treat and limit it to one scoop in a cup instead of a cone or better yet make it at home using a healthier recipe. Limit or eliminate those sugary toppings and just enjoy your treat.

Rediscover your backyard. Put up a badminton net or make an obstacle course. Play tag or have goofy relay races. Put down the soda and pick up a water instead – add a lemon, lime, or orange wedge for flavor. One 12-ounce can of regular soda contains eight teaspoons of sugar, or 130 calories and zero nutrition. The American Heart Association recommends men consume less than 37.5 grams (8.96 teaspoons) of added sugars per day and women consume less than 25 grams (5.97 teaspoons) per day. Many nutritional studies suggest the sweeteners in diet soda may stimulate your appetite while others suggest these beverages satisfy sweetness cravings without adding sugar or calories, so you consume less. Either way, diet sodas have no nutritional value.  Limit your consumption of alcoholic beverages – many are high in calories and sugar because of what they are mixed with.

Try for at least one plant-based meal each week. Nuts and seeds, legumes, tofu and other meat substitutes, whole grains and leafy green vegetables are healthy sources of protein (https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vegan-protein-sources-chart). Put down the saltshaker and throw in some delicious fresh herbs. Always taste your food before you add salt. Once you cut back on salt, you’ll be amazed at how flavorful your food can be.

When it comes to a healthier lifestyle, variety is the key. Take a walk or do some work in your yard/garden. Play with the kids or your pets. Have fun shopping for healthy food and cooking with your family to create colorful healthy meals. Practice portion control and always read the nutritional information for a recipe before you make it. Making small, but meaningful changes over time can help you live a healthier life and that’s something we should all care about.

Additional sources for this article:

https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/added-sugars#.WA1y-aOZP-Y

https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/cooking/grams-teaspoons.php