Iowahippiechick

Yesterday as I was opening the mail, and it happened, my first panic attack.  The trigger was a benefits paid  statement from our health insurance - But there were no paid amounts to be found.  All I saw were denials for payments on my recent surgery, to the tune of $22K.

YIKES …

My heart started racing.  My face felt warm.  And the room started to feel really small.

A panic attack …

Luckily the problem solver in me managed to surface, even through the flood of panic.  I found the insurance company’s 1-800 number and called it.  The woman on the other end of the line talked me through the problem -

An overzealous claims processor had closed the claim too early - before they had received some necessary paperwork.

Damn, I hate this insurance company! 

Don’t get me wrong -

I’m grateful we have any health insurance at all. 

But this company aggressively tries not to pay legitimate claims. 

They mail paperwork dated 10 days earlier than you receive it, with a-must-return-by-date that is usually the very next day. 

It is so nerve racking!

personal finance

“Sticking to a budget and monitoring nutrition both require a certain level of discipline.” says Kevin Martin, executive vice president of personal financial services for HSBC Bank USA.  “The rules for both are the same:  Set targets for yourself; decide where you can cut back; recognize, then try to break bad or excessive habits; be organized; have patience; and reward yourself when milestones are reached.”

Do you agree? Or not?

Personally, I agree with Mr. Martin.  When I’m staying on top of my personal fitness and health habits - I am usually  making good choices in other areas of my life, including finances.

Here are some terrific healthy habits that may improve your physical (& fiscal fitness)

• Start dinner with a first course -  Always begin with either a big salad or bowl of vegetable soup.  Which are low in calories but fill you up because they contain so much water.  (Research from Penn State University has shown that this technique can cut your total calories at meal time by 20%.)
• Enjoy unlimited snacks -  Unlimited foods are nonstarchy vegetables like peppers, carrots, celery, and cucumbers.
• Walk off cravings - A recent British study found that chocolate lovers had reduced cravings after taking a brisk 15 minute walk.
• Avoid trigger foods - Identify your personal trigger foods (Foods you just can’t stop eating once you’ve begun.) and avoid them at all cost.
• Get your head in the game -Success starts in the head, moves to the heart, and lastly involves the mouth and stomach.
• Double up on the good stuff - Eliminate 1 cup of starch every night and double up on nonstarchy veggies.
• Eliminate extras - Don’t nibble … every bite counts!
• Cut back on sweets, real and artificial - Some studies suggest that even diet soda and artificially sweetened foods can lead to weight gain.  (Maybe because fake sugars keep sweetness on our taste buds and minds.)

Tips excerpted from “Joy’s Life Diet” by Joy Bauer.

personal finance

With my recent surgery and the pathology finding cancer cells - I’ve decided to step-up my effort to live an even healthier lifestyle.  A book that I’m interested in finding at the library is “Anticancer: A New Way of Life“ by David Servan-Schreiber.  It has been reviewed as a personal, touching, instructive, and thought-provoking book.

Here is a short list of some do’s and don’ts (excerpted from a November 2008 ODE magazine article on David Servan-Schreiber & his book Anticancer.)

• Your Mental State:

1. Be positive.
2. Resolve stress and past traumas.
3. Accept yourself and your emotions, including the negative ones.
4. Practice meditation, yoga, tai-chi, or some other form of relaxation.

• Your Diet:

1. These vegetables have great cancer-fighting characteristics:  beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, garlic, kale, leeks and scallions.
2. Also good are onions, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, red wine, soy.
3. Increase your intake of omega-3’s, typically found in fish (herring, trout, sardines, mackerel, halibut) and flax seeds and oils.
4. Avoid sugar, white flour, vegetable oils, white rice and non-organic animal fat (meat, eggs, milk, cheese).
5. Filter your tap water.

• Your Activity:

1. Spend 20 to 30 minutes a day on a physical activity like tennis, swimming or walking.
2. Be out in the sun for 20 minutes every day.

• And …

1. Avoid being surrounded by people who smoke.
2. Use cosmetic products that don’t contain parabens or phthalates.
3. Use skin-care products without estrogen or placental by-products.
4. Use cleaning products without synthetic chemicals.
5. Don’t prepare food in a scratched Teflon pan.
6. Reduce the influence of cell phones by using a headset consistently.

Wow …

I thought I led a relatively healthy lifestyle -

(Looks like I’ve some work to do.)

I’m definitely heading to the library tomorrow -

(And hopefully I can find “Anticancer” the book!)

 Until next time,

dawn @ iowahippiechick

F.Y. I.  Did you know that losing 10 pounds could lower your blood pressure by about 4-5 points?

Here Are Some Tips For Eating Heart Healthy -
(Excerpted from Better Homes And Gardens Magazine / February 2008/ By Doug Donaldson)

• *Buy Fewer Boxes - Cut back on processed food that is usually boxed, wrapped, or in bags. These products have fewer phytonutrients that have been shown in studies to reduce the risk of heart disease.

• *Be Colorful - The greater the variety of colors in your whole food choices, the greater your exposure to a variety of heart-healthy antioxidants. (So be sure to buy a variety of colorful fruits and veggies)!

• *Hide The Salt - The U.S.D.A. recommends less than one teaspoon of salt per/day. (Especially if you have high blood pressure - which is more difficult to control if you’re not monitoring your salt intake). Salt balances against potassium in the body - so you may want to add more foods with high amounts of potassium to your diet. For example: bananas, grapes, oranges, cantaloupe, potatoes, and nuts.

• *Eat Fish - Try to have broiled or baked fish once or twice a week. Many studies have shown that the omega-3 fatty acids found in many types of fish may help prevent heart disease - by improving the elasticity of arteries and slowing down plaque formation.

Maintaining a healthy heart & body will simplify  our lives, as well as save us money in the long run.  (By avoiding related health care expenses.)  During the upcoming holiday season we need to remember to take care of ourselves - because we only have one heart!

Have a terrific day!

dawn @ iowahippiechick

One of the smartest things we can do to improve our finances, as well as our quality of life, is  by getting fit & healthy.

Brandon over at Fitbuff.com, is here to help us on our path to fit & fabulous - By hosting the Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog Carnival#72 .

(A ‘blog carnival’ means it has a fantastic collection of relevant articles from a variety of blogs & their authors).

The Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog Carnival #72 - Categories Include:

• Brain Power - My favorite post, “Why Do People Hate Fat People?”
• Exercise - My favorite post, “A Quick 15-Minute Workout At Home That Works!“
• Money - My favorite post, “How To Become A Millionaire And Get Rich In 10 Steps.“
• Nutrition - My favorite posts include, “11 Guidelines For Eating Healthy,“  “The Connection Between Health And Personal Growth,”  “Want To Get Healthy And Earn Some Cash Too?“
• Sex - My favorite post, “Green Sex Secrets.”
• Stress - My favorite post, “Turning Our Situations From Frightening To Enlightening.”
• Work - My favorite post, “Becoming A Nursery Assistant.”
• Dating - My favorite post, “Trade Unions.”

My thanks go out to Brandon for hosting the carnival - 

Have a terrific day!

iowahippiechick

There is a really cool website called Wellness360  that can help you do it.  This site has awesome resources for improving your health & wellness.  Plus it offers financial incentives - can you believe it?

Once you enroll for free … there are various tools that will help you get started towards better health.

(Earning money the entire way)

Some of them include:

• A Health Risk Assessment
• A Food Intake/Exercise Tool
• A Health History Tool
• Fitness & Nutrition Resources
• Lifestyle & Environment Tool
• Exercise Videos
• A Medical Records Tool

An interesting part of the whole thing is you can invite other family members & friends to join.  Which dramatically increases your earning potential.  If your interested in checking it out - please consider using my referral code (ahm824175).

These days, who can afford not to be healthy?

And with this crazy economy, we can all use more cash!

Have a terrific day!

iowahippiechick