Get Healthy De Soto

…having a long-lasting positive impact on the health and safety of the De Soto community by encouraging healthy lifestyle choices, through programs promoting physical activity, healthy nutrition, weight control and disease and injury prevention.

For COVID-19 updates pertaining to the DeSoto Farmers' Market, please click here.

Feeling the $tre$$

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Adults in the U.S. frequently feel stress about their finances. The holidays can make this worse. This week, we’re focusing on financial health!

Yeah! I know; most exciting topic EVER, right?

Well, maybe not, but finances cause about 70% of adults some level of stress and worry. Good financial education though means that a person has a healthy approach to money for their household. This includes a budget, emergency fund, limiting debt, and investing. Quite a list! And the Christmas season can be overwhelming. Here are some tips that might help.

  1. First tip: set a limit that you’re prepared to spend…and stick to it. Easier said than done, but if you start out with a manageable amount you can spend, you’ll at least have a goal set and can work toward it.
  2. A ‘naughty and nice’ list, you say? Indeed! Make a list of people that you’ll be purchasing gifts for and those that will not be getting gifts or will just get what we call “kitchen gifts” (items that come from our kitchen and garden; jam, peas, handmade candy, etc.) Our kitchen gifts cover everyone from Larry the trash man to co-workers.
  3. Someone’s list has a beautiful new phone on it, which is exactly twice the amount you budgeted for their gift. Skip it! Get them something less expensive or go in halves with someone else to get the expensive item. We do this with large ticket items and sometimes even less expensive items to show that they are from “all of us”.
  4. Seek out coupons for online and in-person shopping. They still exist for both, and you can find groups that share them online as well.
  5. Make up a coupon for “free babysitting” for your sister who just had a kid or give away a certificate for 2 of your wonderful apple pies. Be creative. Gifts like these pass the buck too in that you don’t have to have them before December 25th!
  6. Create a new, financially healthy habit. For example, for each dollar you spend, put a matching dollar into your retirement or give it to a charity that you love!
  7. If you’re handy, you can put together a few inexpensive items and personalize them for the recipient. For example, we have the cutest fleece blanket that is just two pieces of scrap fleece sewn together. But a friend too the time to embroider Elizabeth’s name on one piece before she sew them together, so of course, we’ll be keeping that forever!
  8. When possible, shop local. We usually give all the kids on our list at least one book. Books Galore in Festus has lots of used books, but they’ll also order new books. Want to support other nonprofits, the library sells coffee cups. Perhaps you can fill one of those with some peanut clusters from Just Be Kind Cafe and pair it with a coffee-inspired sign from another shop. Shove a Pogolino’s gift certificate into a bag with an apron and cookbook from the farmers’ market for an easy gift too.

You can learn more about financial health here and here.

Yes, it’s a training program!

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Back for its third installment is the Couch to 5K Training program. And here’s why you should not immediately think this isn’t for you and stop reading: it is designed for people who are not currently physically active. Again: your activity level to start this program is really zilch! It’s okay if you have physical activity built into your routine right now too, but it really focuses on your husband couch potatoes sloths those of us who are inactive.

A brief overview, so you know what you’re getting into

Couch to 5K is a program that includes gradual increases in physical activity over the course of 8 weeks. It culminates with the Winter Flakes 5K Race on February 27, 2021. It begins on December 30, 2020, but the commitment those first few days isn’t substantial. In fact, the gradual increases make much of the training program very pleasant, and you’ll be amazed at how your endurance and strength improves throughout the training.

One key element in all of this is accountability. We don’t just throw you to the wolves with a training schedule and a smile. Nope! We will actually…gather! Don’t worry. It is perfectly safe because we’ll be meeting outside in the artic! Well, it will likely feel like the artic some days because it is a training program that runs through January and February, but don’t let that deter you. We have had Winter Haters participate and complete the program without issue. (We’ll give you tips for surviving the chilly weather too.)

Not only will you go through this experience with a group, but you’ll have fearless leaders too. Victoria and Megan will send reminders each day, along with some tips, recipes, and other goodies. They’ll also schedule the gatherings each week, which will vary depending on weather and schedules. Most of the time, we try to meet on Saturdays at Walther Park. This is good because it allows us to train on the same course that the race will follow.

Now, if you aren’t a runner, that’s okay too. This is for people who want to give it a try and for those who have fallen off the running wagon, so to speak. This is your chance to experience running, meet new people, try to lose your 15 from COVID-19, and strive to reach new health goals in 2021, which is something everyone is looking forward to doing!

In fact, if 2020 has taught us nothing, we should have learned by now that we need to take better care of ourselves!

The Couch to 5K program costs $45 and includes the Winter Flakes 5K registration and t-shirt. Participants will receive a stylish accessory and other participation prizes along the way! The weekly gatherings will be weather permitting, but it is the Winter Flakes Race! Youth must have parental consent.

All proceeds benefit Get Healthy DeSoto programming, including trail development, Walking School Bus, community gardens, and more. Ready to register? Complete the form below or register online.

Register Online
Paper Form

*As always, please consult with your healthcare provider before starting any nutritional or physical programs if you have any previous, current or possible medical conditions. These guidelines, recommendations and suggestions are not stated to cure, treat or prevent any diseases or conditions.

Brought to you by Get Healthy De Soto and the Jefferson County Health Department…working together for better health.

Try Something New

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I like to try new things. It has served me pretty well. For example, I didn’t grow up eating curry, but I sure love it now. Did you know that research indicates people who are open to trying new things might have an altered view of reality. No! It’s not because they’re open to illicit drugs. (Or at least, that’s not what was researched.)

This is where binocular rivalry comes into play. Binocular rivalry is pretty cool. You know those photos where someone asks you what you see, and you either see an old woman or a young woman? When someone points out the other image, your mind can’t make up which one, so it alternates or oscillates between the two. That’s binocular rivalry! Your mind can’t make sense of it, so it alternates between what makes sense. Formal explanation:

Each of our eyes normally sees a slightly different image of the world around us. The brain can combine these two images into a single coherent representation. However, when the eyes are presented with images that are sufficiently different from each other, an interesting thing happens: Rather than fusing the two images into a combined conscious percept, what transpires is a pattern of perceptual alternations where one image dominates awareness while the other is suppressed; dominance alternates between the two images, typically every few seconds. This perceptual phenomenon is known as binocular rivalry. Binocular rivalry is considered useful for studying perceptual selection and awareness.

David Carmel, in an article in Journal for Visualized Experiments, 2010.
More about this photo later!

Who cares? What does it mean? Why is it important?

Not everyone oscillates between the two images that they see. Or at least not when very simple images are used. Individuals who are more open to change can actually combine the images into a mix of the two and not oscillate between what is actually there. The thinking is that their view of reality or openness to change allows them to reconcile the two images. Pretty cool, huh!?

This has some basic application for life. “Try new things,” they say. “You might like them,” they say. It is true. You might like them, but overcoming resistance to change or new experiences takes a bit of courage. Having a different view of reality though can make you more resilient (fancy word for an acceptable level of stubbornness, the good kind). It keeps you from being bored, which I’m sure no one has experienced in 2020, since we’ve all been free to travel and visit museums at our liesure.

Finally, trying new things forces you to grow. During a pandemic, we’ve been stretched, possibly past a breaking point once or twice, but we’ve made it this far. Now is the time to try something new. Which brings me to the not-so random photo above. Trying new things doesn’t have to be about food, but it is the low-hanging fruit, so to speak.

The photo above is roasted rutabaga and onions. A rutabaga is similar to a turnip. They are relatively inexpensive and like other root vegetables, they keep for a while. The ones you buy at Schnucks will be wax coated. Peel the rutabaga and cut it into pieces that will fit nicely on a fork. Drizzle with olive oil; throw in an onion chunked. Add a little salt and pepper and stir it around. Roast on a jelly roll pan at 375 degrees until the rutabaga can be stabbed with a fork. Start checking after 40 minutes. Will you love it? Maybe. But even if you don’t, you’ll have experienced something new.

Q: Where did the rutabaga go to have a few drinks?

A: The Salad Bar!

Learn more about binocular rivalry here.

Be happy and healthy!

Move More

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Anxiety and stress generally come with holidays. This is especially true this year as we all deal with a pandemic too. Families are making decisions about whether to gather, which isn’t an easy decision to make. When stress runs high, it is important to keep moving. Physical activity is important for your overall health, but can help with your mental health situation during these difficult times.

If you’re looking for something new, you might give mindful meditation or yoga a try. Yoga is usually slow-moving, focuses on breathing, improves balance, and can improve flexibility. This short video from MU Extension might help get you started. It was created for beginners.

And if you need a bit of sunshine, you might check out this video from a few years ago. It features Glennon Doyle Melton, an alcoholic with an eating disorder who spent time as a teenager in a mental hospital. This presentation at a TEDx event in Michigan lays it all on the table and identifies her “brutiful” life. It has some aspects which you can probably identify, and she’s a little funny in the telling. It is a reminder that we all have vulnerable times and need to learn to ask for help.

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DeSoto, MO 63020