According to a study in the journal Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, intermittent fasting, an eating habit wherein participants partition their normal diet with regular intervals of fasting, provides a valid albeit apparently not superior option to continuous calorie restriction.

With the popularity of dieting as a way to lose weight and become healthier, intermittent fasting has become one of the more popular options. When paired with another dieting plan, it can be an especially effective way to reach a desired weight.

Junior communication major Max Grueshaber heard about it through browsing the internet for ways to lose more weight after he had hit a wall with the weight he lost on another plan. The features that appealed to him were the flexibility and challenge accompanied with intermittent fasting, which he has experimented with extensively.

There are various methods, such as blocking out a time each day for eating, eating normally for five days a week and fasting two days, or fasting every other day.

He opted to block out time each day, picking the 20:4 plan, in which he fasts for 20 hours and eats 12-4 p.m.

I hardly ever ate breakfast as it is. The little time window gave me the opportunity to eat either right before I went to work or during the time I would usually have a break, he said.

Being able to alter the plan around a schedule makes it simple to incorporate into a college students busy life. Junior public relations major Stefanie Delrosso who used to participate in intermittent fasting, enjoyed working out in the morning, but preferred not to eat beforehand. Thus, the 18:6 plan was the optimal fit for her, with an eating window of 1-7 p.m.

It was just what worked best with my schedule. To keep track of it, I was hungry by 1 and then at 7 I would make sure I had dinner and then Id just be done, she said.

Intermittent fasting isnt as simple as sticking to a schedule though, because eating junk food during the allotted eating times can be counterproductive.

According to Christine Haar, director of the dietetic internship program at BGSU, overcompensation during eating windows can actually lead to weight gain. She used the term adherence. Adhering to the specific method and refraining from overcompensation and unhealthy foods are as important as the schedule itself.

Haar recommends above ground, non-starchy vegetables, like broccoli, cauliflower and tomatoes as a healthy food option, as well as physical activity, to see the desired results that one would expect.

As an addition to his intermittent fasting, Grueshaber started on the Keto diet, focusing on high fats and low carbs.

When paired together and with regular exercise, you can see some serious results, he said, reflecting on the weight he lost and increase in energy he gained. I wasnt as fatigued after a long day at work, a workout or school.

However, Delrosso, while she saw physical results she liked, disliked the unhealthy mindset it gave her. She cited the desire to challenge herself by pushing back her eating window, the trouble she had while going out to eat with her friends during fasting windows and the general stress accompanying the clock-watching eating habit as reasons for discontinuing her intermittent fasting in September of her sophomore year.

It got too obsessive, she said.

Whether or not intermittent fasting can work for someone ultimately depends on personal preference, Haar said.

Is it something I can fit into my day easily? Will I become too obsessive and focus on the time constantly? Will I be able to power through the fasting without breaking rules? These are some of the questions to take into consideration while participating in intermittent fasting. With his 20-hour fasting window, Grueshaber has found that the hunger can be unbearable. However, he was able to find ways to keep himself goal-oriented and not stray from his schedule.

To ground myself I just look at old pictures or pump myself up to remind myself to keep grinding, he said. Hunger is mostly a mental game and two days is the hardest.

Eventually, the challenge became enjoyable for him.

The challenge for me is half the fun, he said.

Now, Grueshaber has begun to see admirable results, dropping about 40 pounds over four to five months.

I would always recommend this to anyone who would like to lose weight, and its pretty effective if done right, he said.

Dieting habits can be an effective way to lose body fat healthily, and intermittent fasting, while not for everyone, is one of many options to achieve this. However, its emphasis on an eating schedule over restricting particular foods may be a key to its accessibility and appeal.

Youre not being told what to eat, per se, Haar said. When to eat might be a lot easier for people to adapt to than what to eat.

Excerpt from:
Intermittent fasting: An accessible alternative to dieting - bgfalconmedia.com

It's time to close the nutrient gap in our lives and perform and feel our best.

November29, 20196 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

The following article is based on excerpts from Ben Angel's book,Unstoppable: A 90-Day Plan to Biohack Your Mind and Body for Success. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | IndieBound. And stay tuned for The Unstoppable Journal, the only journal of its kind based on neuroscience, psychology andbiohacking to help you reach your goals. (Coming December 2019.)

So many entrepreneurs suffering from low energy, brain fog and fatigue rely on that hot cup of joeto get them through their day. Although they get that extra needed boost, their caffeine reliance is stopping them from treating the underlying causes. Nutritional deficiencies, detrimental farming practices, side-effects from medicines, work pressures and even moving around geographically due to work travel can all be impacting your quality of life and health.

My 90-day mission to become unstoppable wasnt only about feeling great;it was about achieving a level of peak performance that enabled me to work through any challenge and not crash every time I stressed. What I learned during my biohacking journey was that there were key supplements my body needed in order to stay balanced and ready for anything thrown my way.

Before I dove into takingkey supplements, there were some crucial treatments that prepared my body to be more efficient. I made sure my gut was being supported by following an antifungal protocol and going on a Candida detox diet, which I share details ofin my book. This helped lay the groundwork necessary for my body to be able to absorb critical supplements that helped support my healing.

Related: 9 Top Entrepreneurs Reveal Their Health-Regimen Secrets

Although I was what you considered a very healthy eater, my diet never gave me the boost I needed to become a peak performer. A healthy diet alone is no longer sufficient for all our nutritional needs. I also noticed when I traveled to various countries, I was negatively compromising my gut microbiome, which was in disarray.

We have global populations that are becoming nutrient-deficient due to massive agricultural practices that are no longer putting essential nutrients back into the soil, which can lead to brain fog, obesity, fatigue, depression, anxiety, memory loss, weakness, brain function abnormalities, changes in behavior and more. But it isnt just farming practices that are of concern.Studies have shown that when humans digest genetically modified foods, the artificially created genes transfer into and alter the beneficial bacteria in our intestines.

We need to supplement our diets to ensure we close the nutrient gap in our lives and perform at the maximum potential for more focus, energyand drive. Here are sometop supplements to help reboot your body and brain.

When you are severely depleted from this vitamin, you can experience mild to severe symptoms that include brain fog, fatigue, lethargy, anxiety, stress and depression, all of which will severely impede your ability to remain focused. Studies have also shown Vitamin D deficiency leads to low testosterone levels.

Magnesium plays a critical role in countless biochemical processes, including optimizing mitochondrial function and the creation of ATP, regulation of blood sugar and the activation of muscles and nerves. Magnesium is crucial for the absorption of sodium, calcium, phosphorus, potassiumand Vitamin D, the latter of whichcannot be metabolized without it.

This amino acid has been studied by the military in extreme scenarios. One study found it assisted in memory in high-stress environments. And as we know, stress can impair our reasoning, memoryand attention. Two reviews also concluded that it can help with reversing mental decline and improve cognition, as well as assisting those who've lost a night of sleep.

This amino acid has been used for improving brain health, anxiety and attention for thousands of years promoting relaxation by alpha brain waves without sedation, and it enhances attention within 30 minutes ofconsumption. Studies have shown that L-Theanine amplifies the positive effects of caffeine while mitigating the negative ones. One of the top benefits of supplementing with tablets or consuming via tea includes is anxiety reduction.

Related: 5 Sources of Extra Energy for Entrepreneurs

Iodine is an essential mineral that your thyroid glands use to make thyroid hormones, which help control growth, repair damaged cells and support a healthy metabolism. Up to a third of people worldwide are at risk of iodine deficiency. Iodine enhances immune function and helps prevent brain damage.

Vitamin B12 deficiencies are related to a whole host of symptoms, including mood disorders, low energy/fatigue, sexual problems/infertility, iirritability, memory lossand even Alzheimers, dementia, cancer and learning disorders. This can be assessed via a simple blood test.

Zinc is an essential trace element and is required in small amounts daily to aid in maintaining health and to perform vital functions. It helps in a myriad of ways, including hormone production, growthand repair andimprovedimmunity and digestion. It also acts as an anti-inflammatory agent. Zinc deficiency can result in symptoms of depression, ADHD, difficulties with learning and memory, seizures aggression and, yes, even violence. Zinc has been found to be low in the serum of those suffering from depression. The more depressed a person is, the lower their zinc level will be.

There are many more proven steps I share on my 90-day mission that helped me overcome my depression and anxiety. These biohacking tips can help you take your business and life to peak performance once you take the first step to become unstoppable. Before supplementing, be sure to have a full blood panel done to identify the areas you may be nutritionally deficient in and consult with your doctor prior to taking.

Visitwww.areyouunstoppable.comand take your FREE 60-second online quiz now. By answering a series of simple questions, my software will analyze your results and provide you with a comprehensive report that will indicate your identity type and lead you to the tools and tips you need to close that gap between who you are and who you could be.Take the quiz to get started!

See the rest here:
These Supplements Can Reduce Depression and Anxiety While Increasing Productivity - Entrepreneur

FEASTING on takeaways and eating treats in secret, Shelly Ribbons was in denial.

It was only when she got wedged in a seat on the Tube on her commute to work that she realised her weight had spiralled out of control.

5

She was travelling to work when she tried to get up at her stop.

But when she couldn't, she realised she was stuck between the seats.

Despite several tries, Shelly couldn't get up and too embarrassed to ask for help she ended up waiting for four stops before she could dislodge herself from the seat.

So horrified was she, at what had happened, Shelly vowed to overhaul her lifestyle and diet.

"When I tried to get up, I couldn't," she said.

"Commuters were sitting either side of me, meaning my fat had squished under the arm rests and I was wedged.

"I had to go four stops until one person got up and I was able to push my fat from under the arm rest and get out of the chair.

"To this day, even though I have lost over 10st, the seats with arm rests scare me as I still think I'm going to get stuck."

"I was totally mortified," she added.

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"I promised myself there and then - after I cried my eyes out - that I would never buy any size 28 clothes again."

From that day, Shelly started to review her diet and watched what she ate.

She had never considered it before, feasting on regular takeaways and eating sugary treats throughout the day, often after scoffing two breakfasts.

I promised myself there and then - after I cried my eyes out - that I would never buy any size 28 clothes again

"Having a massive greasy takeaway was kind of the norm," she said.

"I can remember hiding food too. Eating things in private because then it didn't count.

"No one saw me eat five chocolate bars so it didn't happen, right?"

After leaving school and getting a busy job in the city, Shelly's weight just spiralled reaching 22st.

As the weight started to come off, with a healthier diet and more exercise, Shelly also signed up to Slimming World.

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It was the turning point, she said, changing her attitude and relationship with food for good.

Now Shelly feels equipped to make healthier choices when eating out, and now loves exercising.

"My whole mindset has changed towards food," Shelly said.

"And my attitude towards exercise has changed too.

"I enjoy working out and am now ever so slightly competitive with myself."

Shelly now goes to the gym every day before work, and is taking on the London Marathon next April to raise money for the Rainbow Trust children's charity.

"I never ever thought I would say this, but I love exercise," Shelly said.

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Offering words of advice to others who want to try and lose weight, Shelly said it's best to take it slowly and not try to rush the process.

"Stick with it and take it slow," she said.

"We all want that quick weight loss but I honestly think that losing it the way I have has meant I have kept the weight off.

"Don't let the scales completely control your life.

"Going down a dress size or just feeling healthier, look for the victories that don't involve the scales."

Go here to read the rest:
Weight loss: I lost 10st after getting so fat I got wedged in a seat on the Tube to work - The Sun

The problem with ridiculous Silicon Valley lifestyle trends used to be the risk that people might take them seriously: that it might seem sensible to eat an all-carrot diet, while bathing in liquid nitrogen and administering electric shocks to your brain, just because some tech billionaire was doing so. Now that were adjusting our views of tech titans, the risk is the opposite: that if they actually came up with something good, wed be too busy jeering to realise. So it goes, I think, with dopamine fasting, which got its moment in the mockery spotlight a few weeks back. The idea is to deprive yourself of dopamine hits, to break your addiction to our hyperstimulating world, thereby finding pleasure once again in lifes more meaningful but less buzz-inducing delights, such as natural beauty, good literature, or time with old friends.

To be fair, its still nonsense in many ways. Stimulation is more complex than dopamine hits; its misleading to talk of addiction; and theres no evidence that a fast will reset your levels. (Reset, here, seems like a classic case of importing a computer metaphor into human biology.) But I like the concept anyway, because it shifts the focus from individual sources of stimulation to the brain being stimulated. If your goal is to end your dependence on excitement, and the treadmill effect whereby you require ever more of it, then its definitely helpful to spend a day without, say, social media. But itll be of limited use if you fill that time with different forms of stimulation watching thrilling movies, taking drugs, eating junk food, shopping. The most radical proponents of dopamine fasting swear off any conversation at all.

I was going to try it until it dawned on me that I already have, several times, under the (slightly) less fashionable label of going on a meditation retreat. The rules are similar no screens, reading, talking, sex, alcohol, meat-eating and while meditation isnt doing nothing, it certainly involves surrendering your dependence on external excitement. And the results are everything a dopamine-faster might want: renewed sensitivity to nature, and to the flavours of food; less impatience with others; better sleep; and a greater ability to read books without the urge to reach for your phone.

It takes a few days to get there, though. Until then, it can be fairly awful. The inevitable flipside of living in a world of unprecedented stimulation is that when its absent, experience can feel maddeningly boring. The problem with persuasive design, the armory of psychological techniques used by tech platforms to ensure your attention never wavers, is that the rest of reality wasnt designed that way. And the problem with depriving yourself of thrilling distractions from the present moment is that youre left, in the words of the psychotherapist Bruce Tift, feeling claustrophobic, imprisoned, powerless, and constrained by reality.

Its worth pushing through the pain, though and if calling it dopamine fasting helps, who really cares? My issue with tech bros isnt the language they use. Its that after a Sunday spent dopamine fasting, they go straight back to their work of keeping the rest of us hooked.

On the Improvement Pill YouTube channel, the inventor of dopamine fasting offers a guide to having as little fun as possible.

Original post:
Dopamine fasting is a tech fad that sounds silly but might just work - The Guardian

The noodles are stir fried and low fat sauces are used to offer a healthy option to people

Dr Noodles started in St Andrews in 2010 and now has secured their sixth location which will take a spot on Shandwick Place next to Au Bar.

The noodle bar will offer a healthy alternative to the modern diet and will serve hungry customers their choice of noodles which are stir fried with protein, vegetables and homemade sauces.

It will create approximately 25 jobs in Edinburgh, including two managers and at least eight chefs.

The simple restaurant and takeaway concept was one that owner Stuart Crichton picked up during his time working in London in the early 2000s.

He said: I worked in London in 2004, I was a broker and when I went to lunch I would see beautiful noodle bars all the time.

The concept was completely new to me, but you went, you were served in a few minutes and it had all the essentials of being friendly, warm and a good atmosphere.

I fell in love with the noodle bar idea and wanted to do one myself.

Stuart left his London job to return to Scotland to assist in running a family business and during that time he began to develop the Dr Noodles concept.

Alongside his right hand man and second in charge Adrian Watson, they have now opened several noodle bars across Scotland.

He added: Our first shop was in St Andrews in 2010, we then grew to Dundee and ventured up to Aberdeen then came back down and opened in Perth, Stirling and now we feel experienced enough to open up to the wonderful people of Edinburgh.

While there is no firm date in place for its opening, the vivid signs are up and Dr Noodles are calling for people to apply to work for them.

The noodle bar is expected to open before the end of January.

More:
Noodle bar offering 'healthy alternative to the modern diet set to open first Edinburgh outlet in prime location - Edinburgh News

Weight loss: Try to manage 15 minutes of exercise to burn some calories during wedding season

Weight loss tips: The wedding season is in its full bloom and we do tend to out, almost every day. From sleepless nights to binge drinking, there is room for lots of indulgence and even negligence (of health) when someone close to you is getting married. But, with the help of a few tips and tricks, you can prevent unnecessary weight gain, indigestion, acidity, bloating and other health issues because of constantly eating out, binge drinking and being unable to get proper sleep. Talking about these tricks is nutritionist Nmami Agarwal on Instagram. Keep reading to know what she has to say.

All it requires is some mindfulness, keeping a check on your water intake, practicing portion control, etc. Follow these tips to stay healthy this wedding season:

Refined white sugar is nothing but empty calories. They are a major cause of weight gain during the wedding season. Stay away from sugary drinks, aerated drinks, fruit juices and energy drinks. Also, stay away from candies, cookies and baked food items usually contain lots of sugar, tend to be very low in nutritional value and lots of calories, mentions Nmami in the video.

Stay away from sugary food items during the wedding seasonPhoto Credit: iStock

Also read:Brides-To-Be, Here Are 4 Skin Care Tips You Must Avoid, Even If They Are Tried And Tested

During the wedding season, make sure that you include fats in your diet. Including healthy fats can help you to stay on track in terms of maintaining weight, keeps you full for longer and reduces your cravings for junk food. All these three are essential prerequisites for maintaining weight and health during the wedding season.

Wherever possible, grab a bottle of water and gulp it down. Attending a close friend's or relative's wedding may keep you very busy, but drinking sufficient water is something that you can take care of without much time and effort. Drinking sufficient water is important to prevent health problems, maintain your weight, for a glowing skin, prevent water retention and bloating, suggests Nmami.

Also read:Know The Best Time To Drink Water To Lose Weight

Now this is another very common scenario that would-be brides, may be grooms and brides' best friends follow just because the wedding season is approaching. Following crash diets or low-carb diets for quick weight loss may offer temporary weight loss benefits, but the weight is quickly gained back once you resume regular eating habits. What's more is that these fad diets can make room for cravings, fatigue, mood swings and irritability and these side effects are the last thing you want when you attending a loved one's wedding. If you want to lose weight for a wedding, the practical thing to do is plan well in advance.

Otherwise, the wedding season should not be looked at as the only opportunity to look your best. You should aim towards that goal throughout the year and work towards it more sustainably. In case you have overeaten at a wedding, make the effort of getting back to your regular routine of eating and exercising at the earliest, rather than again opting for fad diets to quickly lose the weight you gained.

Avoid fat diets for quick weight loss and chose a more sustainable lifestyle for healthy weightPhoto Credit: iStock

"Eat and burn," says Nmami in her video while adding that you should not deprive yourself of anything you like to eat and make sure that you burn it as well. So, if you are able to manage to take out even 15 minutes of a high intensity workout, then it can help you burn some calories you consumed and prevent unnecessary weight gain and health issues. You can also opt for going for a quick morning walk or running session to burn some calories.

Also read:Quick Workouts: Want Flat And Toned Abs? Try This 15-Minute Workout By Kayla Itsines; Watch Video

This tip is from celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar. In case drinking alcohol cannot be avoided, an efficient way to prevent it from affecting your health is by drinking a glass of water after every drink you take. Alcohol causes dehydration which makes room for a lot of health problems. Also, do not mix drinks as that will intensify the damage caused by alcohol on your liver. Drink slowly, have only one kind of drink and do not binge drink. Alcohol is best avoided, no matter what the occasion.

Make sure you have fun and enjoy the wedding season with full fervour!

(Nmami Agarwal is nutritionist at Nmami Life)

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

Continue reading here:
Enjoy Wedding Season Without Worrying About Weight Gain With These 6 Tips From Nutritionist Nmami Agarwal - NDTV

By Benjamin Trevio

STAFF WRITER

Starting a business is a challenging process. Its even more challenging when dealing with the burdens of chronic illness. However, for at least one McAllen family, illnesses were the inducement for their business idea.

I had a problem pregnancy with my second baby, Andrea Rivera recalled. I was undergoing steroid treatments, and I was always tired. My skin was dry, my nails were chipping, and my teeth were falling out. My husband, Dwight, had PTSD, anxiety, and several knee surgeries from an injury he suffered in the Army. He was on a lot of pills and he gained a lot of weight. I wanted something better for us.

Andrea set out to change her husbands diet and her own. Using their mothers recipes, Andrea and her sister, Maria Montiel, started a line of keto-friendly foods and spreads that contain no animal products, sugars, sodium, or saturated fats. It began with one almond-based mayonnaise, which now comes in five flavors garlic, lemon, ranch, cocoa hazelnut, and chipotle. Their line then expanded to include a sweet potato pizza bread, and a meal-prep service. They call their fledgling business Yaax Vegan Foods.

We wanted a name affiliated with our roots, said Andrea. My dad was from Israel, so we were playing with some names and different languages, and my mom asked, What do you think of Yaax? It means green in Hebrew. liked it, so we used that name.

Andrea and Maria began by selling their products at Andreas fitness club. After getting rave reviews, they started selling them at farmers markets. The sisters then began taking orders and making deliveries around the Valley. After hawking their products at vegan festivals in San Antonio, and Corpus Christi, they began hearing from people from out of state who wanted to try their products.

Things have been happening really, really fast, Andrea said. I did an interview with a radio station in Houston about how a plant-based diet changed our lives. Somehow, a Georgia University marketing department found us, and they want to do a marketing campaign for us over there in Georgia.

Yaax Vegan Foods also caught the attention of the judges at this years McAllen Chamber of Commerce Innovation Grant Awards competition. The upstart company walked away with a $2,500 grant, which Andrea intends to use for a food analysis of their product line. Andrea says the chamber has been instrumental in the development of their business from the outset.

Obviously they helped me with the grant, Andrea said. But, they also helped me with the vegan fest that we had in San Antonio. They helped me out with labels, with flyers, and they helped me to find the canning jars that I use. If I ever have a question, Michelle and Jorge are always there. I call them for everything when I have questions.

The McAllen Chamber of Commerces Innovation Grant Awards program is one of 14 initiatives the chamber has in place to help local inventors and entrepreneurs launch their product ideas.

We want to create that ecosystem where people can succeed, said McAllen Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Steve Alhenius. Yaax Vegan Foods is just another example of the innovative food products being developed right here. Its another keto-friendly food that is low in sugar, low in carbs, all the things that you want to see. Theyre now working on their shelf life and their labeling and I think once they get that part done theyll be ready in terms of ramping up production. Its been really cool seeing these products develop.

Andrea says her products are part of a new diet and lifestyle changes that have transformed her and her husbands lives. According to Andrea, he has lost 90 pounds and she has lost 58 pounds. Both of them have also significantly reduced their reliance on medications, she claims. Andrea admits that sometimes she gets frustrated with the minutiae of starting a business, but she says the rave reviews and the results her clients are seeing are what keep her going. Her advice to other budding entrepreneurs is to forge ahead, despite any challenges and self-doubts one might have.

As long as you have an idea, just go with it, said Andrea. I didnt know anything about the food business. I had no idea about the equipment we need. I had no idea we needed a commercial kitchen. I didnt know how many farmers markets are here. You cant be afraid of not doing it, because you dont know. The moment you reach out to the city and the chamber theyll help you out. Theyll help you out tons.

View original post here:
Innovation Grant winner finds inspiration in illness - Monitor

Its not often in this column that I talk about a trip taken outside the state of Kentucky. This time, however, I will, because the trip my spouse and I took to Ohio recently on Veterans Day included a good portion of Kentucky geography on the itinerary, and the destination area reminded me a lot of our state, too.

Suzanne enjoys learning about Native-Americans and has a collection of arrowheads handed down from her deceased father, George Slade. He gathered the collection from his years living around the Shawhan community, in Bourbon County. Inspired, Suzanne suggested we take a day trip to the southern Ohio area and visit the Great Serpent Mound site The Great Serpent Mound of Southern Ohio near the small town of Peebles. Wikipedia characterizes it as a 1348-feet long, three-foot-high, prehistoric effigy mound on a plateau of the Serpent Mound crater along Ohio Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio.

The Serpent Mound is not a burial ground, though some in the area can be found. That means that, for Suzannes sake, it wouldnt be a place to find arrowheads. We enjoyed reading about the mysteriousness of the tribute to a serpent-like god that has been studied by historians, though much theyve learned is only guesswork. While there, we faced our fear of heights (mine is worse than hers!) and climbed, Im guessing, a sturdy 25-feet high metal watchtower to get a better view of the long mound.

We had a relaxed, enjoyable time at the site; it gave us a lot to talk about later in terms of the places uniqueness, along with the memories made on that pleasant November day.

But there was a whole lot more to our over 200-mile round trip than merely the mound destination, starting with our departure from Versailles. Ill chronicle the main items here, and for truth, the whole thing felt like a true Kentucky by Heart experience for us.

We left home at nine oclock that morning and within a few minutes, drove past the Keeneland Racecourse and adjacently to it, Calumet, the iconic horse farm. Funny thing is, we see the beautiful places nearly every day since moving to Versailles three years ago but havent visited either since. We relish the uniqueness of the horse culture in our area, however, and these two sites are glittering symbols of such.

One of our favorite drives is Highway #27, and we happily maneuvered my 2017 Ford Escape onto the stretch from Lexington to Paris. Its considered a safe highway, with two lanes on both sides, frequently with a good placing of green islands set between them. Besides the manicured pastures where Thoroughbreds graze contentedly, there are stately homes aplenty and more modest ones giving witness to a mixture of cultures and incomes working in unison to say: We are so glad to live here! A couple of decades ago, the highway was narrow and dangerous, and for years a somewhat contentious battle raged regarding what could be done to improve safety. Fortunately, a plan that would increase safety by expanding the width of the road area, yet carefully preserving the beauty of the area, was formulated and won approval from stakeholders. Thats a good thing; the stretch of highway rates as one of the most picturesque in the state.

Riding through Paris, we chatted about a grocery store no longer in business and we glanced at the numerous historic, ornately built houses that cry old Kentucky. Seeing the town always reminds me of the hundreds of times I passed through it while making the trip from Campbell County, my parents home, to Richmond to attend college, and later to my home in Winchester after graduating from EKU.

We continued toward Maysville on US-68 East and noticed some roadwork had changed the area around Millersburg. Soon, however, we came to the familiar big left turnstill US 68that would take us directly to the town once named Limestone, now called Maysville. A few miles down, we passed Allisons Ornamental Concrete and Gifts. Its situated on a huge lot packed with stone creations used for decorative purposes. I indicated I would like to visit the place with Suzanne later. She likes art in our gardens, and I like to stick to the natural. Sometimes its a negotiating matter for us, tsk, tsk.

A few more miles up #68 brought us by Blue Licks State Park, a place weve dined at their restaurant buffet many times. The park always recalls childhood memories of a family trip we took on a Sunday afternoon back in the 60s, when I was fascinated by references to Daniel Boone at gravesites and thoroughly enjoyed going through what is now called the Pioneer Museum. Experiences such as those inspired my desire to write the Kentuckys Everyday Heroes book series and share the Kentucky by Heart column weekly with my readers.

By now, we approached Maysville, where wed cross the Simon Kenton Bridge to Aberdeen, Ohio, then another 45 minutes or so to Peebles and the Great Serpent Mound destination. We connected with US-52 and quickly turned onto Ohio 41 towards Peebles. What I noticed immediately on the winding, but the well-preserved highway was the resemblance to much of rural Kentucky. Crossing an invisible state border produced no dramatic changes in the natural scenery, and we saw modest, mostly framed houses, often with aging cars and pickup trucks parked next to them. It looked a lot like much of the Kentucky countryside Ive always known.

We passed a wonderful gathering in the West Union town square paying tribute to our American veterans. We both remarked that it looked like a scene from The Hallmark Channel, and the crowd appeared to be a significant percentage of the towns population of about 3200. We suspected that the town and county offered up more than its share of patriotic sacrifice from its young men and women, much like what is true of small Kentucky towns.

Ive talked about being at the mound site, so let me finish by describing a couple of fun stops on the way back.

We made a point of visiting Millers Bakery, Furniture and Bulk Foods business neat West Union on Wheat Ridge Road. Its an Amish enterprise appearing to be very successful, and I recall my now-deceased brother recommending similar businesses he visited on his travels. We stopped by the bakery first and were tempted by the heavenly smells of pastries and such, but we got out of there relatively easy by buying only a small chocolate cake, which we devoured with a few dips of vanilla ice cream when we got home. Across the parking lot at the sprawling complex, we became customers at their bulk foods store containing thousands of discounted grocery items, and we bought several bags for less than $20! We stayed away from checking out their furniture and small outbuildings, but only because we had no need of the items.

At Millers, there was a home feel about it, like back home in the Bluegrass State.

Hungry, we stopped on the return trip at deShas Restaurant in Maysville. We were treated to a fine meal with friendly service. Additionally, the manager stopped by our table and checked to see if we were veterans, meaning that wed be served a complimentary meal. I joked that I wasnt, though I once took an ROTC class at EKU. He grinned, and told us a story about his father, a marine, just like my dad. It was a pleasant way to end our trip, and in the last few weeks, the subject of our Kentucky-fied trip to Ohio has come up often. Hard to get away from the place we love, even on a trip to Ohio!

Steve Flairty is a teacher, public speaker and an author of six books: a biography of Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer and five in the Kentuckys Everyday Heroes series, including a kids version. Steve is a senior correspondent for Kentucky Monthly, a weekly KyForward and NKyTribune columnist and a member of the Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. Contact him at [emailprotected] or visit his Facebook page, Kentucky in Common: Word Sketches in Tribute.

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A trip through parts of Ky. and Ohio - Ledger Independent