We care for a large number of aging adults at Home Care Walnut Creek and we know that heart disease is a common health concern for most seniors. While there is no guarantee that any one person will not be affected, there are some things that can be done to reduce the risks. Below is a list containing some ways to alter a daily diet. These changes can improve over-all health as well as reduce the chances of heart disease.

1. Reduce the intake of cholesterol and unhealthy fats. This is one of the most important steps to lower cholesterol as well as the risk of heart disease.

2. Eat foods with low-fat protein. This can include fish, poultry and egg whites. Flaxseed, walnuts, beans and peas are high in protein and low in fat.

3. Increase the intake of fruits and vegetables. These foods are rich in fiber and low in calories. They also contain substances that can reduce the risk of heart disease.

4. Eat whole grains instead of bread with refined flour and cereals with sugar.

5. Reduce salt intake. Don’t forget that processed foods contain high amounts of salt. Reduce the intake of processed foods and avoid the addition of salt while cooking and eating at the table.

6. Eat in moderation and avoid filling your plate. Keep portions of food balanced.

7. Create daily menus to help you plan ahead.

Source: mayoclinic.com

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Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

At Home Care Walnut Creek, we see many elderly individuals making resolutions that have to do with their medical well-being, and starting those resolutions early can have some great benefits. Any small change that will improve health should never be put off, even if it is a resolution. There is no reason to wait until the first of the year to begin improving your life. The following list includes a few reasons why starting early can be beneficial.

1. Millions of people make resolutions each year and many of them are seniors. These goals are often centered on changes that will improve daily life, so there is no better time to start than now!

2. Resolutions do not have to be made just for the New Year. You can make a resolution at any point during the year and begin working on it as soon as you can. There is no need to wait until the first day of a new year.

3. When starting early, you will see there are benefits. You will begin improving your life sooner. Self-discipline is one of the most important factors of any resolution success, so start early and make changes for the better.

4. Keep your goal in mind, no matter when you start to work on your resolution. Create a plan that will allow you to stick to your convictions and achieve your goals. Resolutions not only improve life, they also help people grow physically, emotionally and psychologically.

Source: ehow.com

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Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

At Home Care Walnut Creek we’re seeing more and more seniors making use of internet resources to help them with their goals. Depending on the goal that has been made, some seniors may need extra help and support as they try to reach them. There are many websites that offer help and support. Below are a few sites that are great resources for those who are looking to achieve an important goal.

1. ResolutionsReminders.com – This is a free site that can help you stay on track and attain your resolutions. The site was established in 1997 and has been going strong ever since. It contains valuable resources and users can sign up to receive email reminders.

2. DietTV.com – This site is great for anyone who has set diet goals for the New Year. A personalized program can be created, including a customized diet plan. The site has many areas that will help with all diet and exercise needs, such as an exercise finder and support groups.

3. StopSmoking.net – Many seniors still smoke, and many members of the senior population make resolutions each year to quit smoking. This is one of the hardest goals to achieve, especially for seniors who have been smoking for many years. The site also offers tips on how to quit as well as the option of creating a personalized stop smoking plan.

Source: helium.com

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Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

At Walnut Creek Home Care, we know that setting and sticking to a goal can be tough, many seniors get stuck and become discouraged, but this is something that can be overcome. This year, make sure that you set goals that will change your life and follow through on them:

1. Don’t procrastinate – get started with them right away. As soon as you set your goals, get going. The longer you procrastinate, the less likely you’ll ever begin on your journey

2. Overcome the hurdles – it’s Murphy’s Law that what can go wrong will go wrong; but just because you encounter hurdles while trying to meet your New Year’s resolutions doesn’t mean that you need to give up. Overcome!

3. Don’t let a plateau discourage you – no matter what your goal is, you’ll see a lot of progress early on and then hit a plateau. This doesn’t mean you’re not meeting success, this a natural occurrence, and you simply need to keep moving forward with your goals

4. Recognize that if you feel discouraged, it’s simply an emotion – at some stage along your journey to reaching a goal, you’ll likely feel discouraged. But that doesn’t have a bearing on your success, especially once you recognize that it’s simply an emotion and you can get through it

Via: Huffington Post

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Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

Each year, seniors choose to make resolutions. While this is a great way to start off the year, it is important to follow through. This may not always be easy. The list of tips that are provided below can help seniors achieve their goals for the New Year. These guidelines will help seniors successfully accomplish what they vowed to resolve in the year ahead.

1. Keep the list of goals as simple as possible. Make sure that each goal can be attained. Goals should provide a sense of satisfaction when they are achieved.

2. Goals should be realistic. Seniors cannot set the same goals as younger people because those same goals are not always realistic.

3. Have a plan. Each goal should have a specific plan to go along with it. This makes achieving goals much easier. It may be helpful to make a list of things that can be done to meet a goal and cross it off when it is attained.

4. Set a timeline. You should have a deadline for yourself. This will help motivate you to meet your goal.

5. Write a list. When making resolutions, be sure to write them down. People who make lists of their goals are much more successful at achieving them.

6. Keep tabs on your progress. You may want to use a journal to take notes. This will help you see what kind of progress has been made already and what is left to do.

Source: associatedcontent.com

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Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

Caring for your seniors should not end with visiting them on the weekends. Families should always be aware of just how healthy that aging Uncle or Grandma may be. Part of a long life for senior citizens comes by staying fit. Families can easily commit themselves to exercise and diet routines with their senior, ensuring that both parties keep up the goal of losing weight.

• Change Old Eating Habits—Two may be better than one in this instance. Try and eat with your senior, switching out high calorie foods for healthier dinner staples such as salads with vegetables and lean proteins.

• Record What You Eat—Sometimes writing it all down will give seniors or their caregivers some perspective on their eating habits. By recording what you eat, a senior can easily reduce calories just by visualizing those foods causing the most damage to a slim trim.

• Exercise Together—While reducing calories can help lose weight, seniors must go one step farther and exercise to see results. Take long walks daily with your senior, working together to reach fitness goals. If a senior goes it alone, they may be less likely to stick to that daily walk.

• Meditate—As strange as it may seem, negative thoughts about your body and weight can ruin any fitness efforts. Find a quiet place in your home for 5 minutes a day, and just focus on breathing. This simple act will help clear the mind from critical thoughts about your body, allowing for a greater appreciation of the physical self.

Source: aarp.org

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Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

Setting New Year’s resolutions seems like the thing to do to ring in the New Year, but too often they are abandoned because they are too unrealistic, or simply unenjoyable. The secrets to successfully achieving new Year’s resolutions at any stage in life start with the tips outlined below:

1. Focus on fun – particularly when it comes to losing weight or starting an exercise program, the resolution can become a burden rather than something you desire to achieve. Find exercise activities you enjoy, and if your resolutions have nothing to do with weight loss or exercise; ensure you go about attaining your goals in a way that’s focused on fun!

2. Think about your future today – if you have goals for the future, there’s no better time than now to start working towards achieving them. You might have excuses, whether it’s related to your age, your health, the logistics of getting around or something else; but those are aspects unlikely to change so take the bull by the horns and work towards the goals you set

3. Talk to others – if you tell others about your goals, you’ll be more likely to stick to them. It almost creates a challenge, since you’ll be encouraged to tell your friends and family that you’re successful rather than failing at your New Year’s resolutions. This also gives you a support network for encouragement

Via: AARP

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Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

Whether you are a senior, a professional senior caregiver, or a family member caring for a senior, information is key when it comes to escaping the wrath of the flu. Aside from arming themselves with Kleenex and juice, seniors can keep in mind several tips towards preventing the flu.

• Wash Your Hands—The simple act of cleaning your hands can prevent germs from spreading or reaching your senior. Encourage your senior to wash their hands or carry hand sanitizer.

• Avoid People Who Are Sick—As much as a senior may love to see their grandchildren or children, if any party is sick, it is best to just stay out of close contact until no longer contagious.

• Stay in Bed—If you are a sick senior, try to not push yourself by going out on errands. Not only can rest help a senior recover faster, but you will also prevent others from getting sick.

• Sleep, Exercise, and Eat Healthy—Some of the best ways to fight the flu can easily be by getting a full night’s sleep, being active, and eating foods and drinking liquids beneficial to your health.

• Keep your hands out of your eyes, nose and mouth—One of the most common ways germs can spread is by rubbing your eyes, nose or mouth after touching a doorknob or other item that is contaminated.

• Cover Your Nose and Mouth—When sneezing or coughing, it is always better to cover your mouth and nose to prevent your flu-like symptoms from spreading to others.

Source: cdc.gov

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Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

Sadly, seniors can be the most likely victims of financial scams, risky investments, and unscrupulous financial brokers. Normally seniors have no idea they have even been scammed. There are several resources seniors and senior caregivers can look to for help when dealing with financial investments.

• If it sounds too good to be true it probably is— One of the best questions a senior can ask is simply about the investment itself, questioning if the broker or product is registered with the state or national regulatory authorities. Be cautious of broker claims that their certificates of deposit (CDs) earn above average interest rates. Many companies trying to scam seniors will say the pay will yield much higher rates of return than normal.

• Be extremely skeptical of salespeople—Scammers target seniors by going door-to-door or pestering them with phone calls.

• Research, research, research—Check the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission’s list found at www.sec.gov/investor/oiepauselist.htm of unregistered entities with consumer complaints. Also, make sure you do not agree to an investment without consulting family and friends.

• If you have been scammed, all is not lost—Financial crimes against seniors often go under reported, with seniors feeling ashamed or they do not know where to report the company. To file a complaint against a broker or firm, visit www.finra.org/complaint. Read about a seller’s background, at www.SaveandInvest.org or call 888-295-7422. For more on brokers or firms, call 800-289-9999 or log onto www.finra.org/brokercheck.

Source: ConsumerAffairs.com

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Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.