Five Fall Prepping Tips
With summer winding down, thinking ahead can put your health on the right path.
Hello, hello!
In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve fallen down on the job and my promise to post a new issue twice each month.
Summertime has refused to release me from its irresistible grip. I’ve fallen prey to the lazy hazy days that songs are made of.
But the distinctive sounds of the school buses making their way through our suburban streets with their new drivers in training, and some new writing assignments on my calendar have finally shaken me out of my slump and are easing me back into work mode.
And with that also comes pestering mode. I do think some unnamed close relative (I won’t divulge that publicly, but since she reads my newsletter, she’ll know who she is…) has tired of my mini-lectures on all things health, so I’m tasking my 750-plus readers (thanks for being here!) with that job.
Although January is the start of a new year and for so many of us, and the start of resolutions and reflection, I always feel that September, instead, nudges me to reassess and redirect my personal efforts. Perhaps that’s the conditioning of so many years of it being the beginning of the school year, first for me and then for my (now-grown) children.
I’m not quite sure, but what I know for sure is that I’d rather not wait to renew and refresh until January when the skies darken way too early and winter’s wrath makes me shiver and want to crawl under the covers.
If you, too, fall into that category, here are some resolutions/goals/suggestions to put on your health to-do list as summer winds down:
Schedule an eye exam. Most people don’t go to their eye docs until they have a problem. But many problems can be detected with an annual comprehensive exam. Don’t believe me? Read this article I wrote for Parade Magazine.
Schedule that mammogram. New guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPTF) recommend starting routine screening at age 40 - a major change from the former recommendations which were to begin at age 50. I’m a huge advocate of this, since I was diagnosed many years ago with my first-ever routine mammogram at age 34.
Re-define “date night.” Because dinner and/or a movie can get boring and old…fast. Stuck in a rut? Here are some great options.
Mix up your workout routine (or start one!) Challenging your body to do new things will help it gain strength, flexibility, prevent overuse, injury and boredom - and giving up altogether.
Check your makeup’s expiration dates. I had acquired a LOT of products prior to the pandemic when I attended many press events (oh, how I miss those days!) When I recently reached for an unopened moisturizer, something about the odor startled me into realizing that it’s more than just youth that doesn’t last forever. InStyle gives you the scoop.
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