| I had a minor stroke on my fortieth birthday as I was blowing out the candles on my cake. I lost consciousness and didn’t wake up again until hours later in a hospital room. My poor mother was at my side and looked more worried and heartsick than I had ever seen her, even during my teenage rebellion. I made a promise to her and to myself that I would change my lifestyle and commit to becoming a healthy individual. I was very lucky that my kids were supportive and at an age where they could help me recuperate, then help out with the cooking and diet planning. As I slowly recovered from my stroke, I decided to pick a long-term fitness goal for myself as a motivator. I flipped through the sports magazines and television shows and when I saw a feature about the new sport of ultra-marathon running, I decided to go as big as I could and pick that one as my challenge. If only I had known how hard it really would be, then maybe I would have set my sights a little lower, but you never achieve anything great by playing it safe.
I started a training regimen that was tough but manageable, and my nutritionist recommended that I supplement my diet with extra vitamins. With a long shopping list of needed supplements I went down to the local food health store . My jaw dropped when I saw the total cost of the supplements and I thought that here had to be a better way. We needed to watch the budget with Stacey heading to college in two years, so I couldn’t justify spending this much money on my pursuit of a lofty athletic achievement if it meant depriving her of textbook money. I went home without the supplements and I spent the rest of the evening doing a lot of research. I found out which supplements could be replaced by changing my diet, and which ones had to be the delivery method for the additional nutrients. After that, I compared every website that sold the products I was looking for until I established which one could reliably and dependably provide me the supplements I needed at the price I could afford. It has been a long and difficult road back to full health, but I am happy to say that I have absolutely no lingering symptoms of my stroke. And, I have entered two ultra-marathons and finished both of them. I think that I have proven my point.
About The Author:
Lorraine Witz is a freelance writer who specializes in health and fitness articles, and she also now works part-time in a food health store . Her piece on finding great deals on discount nutritional supplements is due to be published in the next few months, and her blog follows her day to day triumphs. She promotes the daily use of herb vitamins to maintain a healthy diet. |
