HEALTH NEWS YOU CAN USE: Living Well, Moving Well, Thinking Well, Eating Well
By Dr. Robert Neposlan
Happy New Year everyone!!!
I plan to start the New Year with the article below sharing my idea with you of a 12 Month Prescription to Better Health.
You’ve heard of the 12 days of Christmas.
With each passing day another gift is received. As we enter 2016, I would like to offer you a gift. I’m calling it my “12-Month Prescription to Better Health”. In the past you’ve probably made New Year’s resolutions and if you’re like me, you may have broken more of them than you have kept. So, what’s the secret to making and keeping resolutions? Well, again if you’re like me, you often come up with goals that are too big, not specific enough, or maybe conceived for the wrong reasons.
Your resolutions should be first and foremost your own.
The reasons for doing them should be for reasons that benefit you, not your spouse or family and not because you read it here. Your resolutions should be specific and should be written down. An example would be to lose 10 lbs. as apposed to losing weight. Your resolutions should be something that with time becomes you. You are a product of your habits and replacing old habits with new ones takes time. Be realistic in how much you can accomplish…”don’t bite off more than you can chew”. Be gentle with yourself. Everyone makes mistakes and falters at times. If you fall of the horse, get back up and carry on. Having little setbacks makes achieving the ultimate goal even sweeter.
In this case, what’s our goal? Living healthier!!!!
Understanding all that, here’s my prescription for you. Given that we’re sharing articles with in our “4 Pillars of Health” (Living, Eating, Moving and Thinking Well), I’m proposing 12 goals for you that fall with in these “pillars”. The plan will be to incorporate one change, one goal a month. You may recognize some of the monthly resolutions/goals. Many of them were the basis or topics of previous articles that were published in our Health News You Can Use posts. These monthly steps will help us make changes, one each month, to help us live in a healthier way and in many cases, the way we were genetically programmed to.
I’ve chosen 12 specific goals that if implemented with any kind of commitment will improve your life and your health in ways that you didn’t think possible. Here are the first three. Remember, the focus will be on making ONE change each month. Supporting material and articles will be available in our office to assist you!
Goal/Resolution #1 (January)
This month I resolve to exercise a minimum of 20 minutes each day. This might be in the form of a gym membership (great programs/classes/pool at Movati Athletic for all fitness levels), a personal trainer, a home based stretching (available in our office) or exercise DVD program, cycling, evening walks, taking the stairs etc.
Start with 20 minutes 3 times a week and add a day each week until you are at 7 days each week.
Try and incorporate variety into your routine. Swim one day (available at Movati Athletic), yoga or indoor cardio exercises another day, or combining weight training routines.
Remember: Exercise is a “nutrient” to the brain. We all NEED to do it. The above options are just that, options. You don’t need to spend any money if resources are an issue. You can WALK. Walk the stairs at your work or apartment. Not having a membership, resources or time is not an excuse…20 minutes is what we’re asking for.
The MOST difficult thing in this whole process will be deciding to get started. Trust me, I know because I have been there. Once you get started and incorporate exercise into your life, you’ll wonder why you never got started sooner!!!!
Goal/ Resolution #2 (February)
Drink more water. A few years ago a patient shared a book with me entitled, “You’re Body’s Many Cries For Water”. In this book, its author Dr. Batmanghelidj shares his work on how Unintentional Chronic Dehydration (UCD) contributes and even produces pain and many degenerative diseases that can be prevented and treated by increasing water intake on a regular basis.
If you are committed to a healthy lifestyle, then drinking enough water is essential. This month I resolve to drink adequate water for my body weight. If you’re not a water drinker start with 2 glasses a day. Each week add another glass. And so in week three we will be drinking 3 glasses a day and so on and so forth until you reach the required amount for your body weight. It won’t take long for you to feel the benefit.
By doing so, this will set us up nicely for February’s resolution.
Goal/ Resolution #3 (March)
Gratitude. Last year I came across a book called “The Gratitude Effect” by Dr. John Demartini. In it Dr. DeMartinini shares the importance of being grateful for what you have and he suggests that in giving thanks, that much more will be given to you in return. I have read and come across numerous authors and materials over the years which share this same message. The message may be packaged in different words, but the lesson is the same. And so our goal this month will be to be grateful for all that we have.
Another patient shared another great little book with me this back in 2009, “A Complaint Free World” by Will Bowen. You may have heard about this one. Will Bowen is a minister with the Unity Christ Church in Kansas City, Missouri. He was featured on Oprah and shared his vision of a complaint-free world. He also came to Caesars in Windsor sharing his vision. He shared a plan based on the simple idea that good things would happen for you in abundance if you just left your grumbling behind. He introduced the idea of wearing a purple bracelet on the wrist as a reminder. If you caught yourself complaining you would switch the bracelet to the other wrist. The idea was to try and get to 21 days with out complaining.
This gave me an idea. The challenge for us will be to start and end our day in gratitude. Similar to Bowen’s idea, choosing a bracelet, key chain, or accessory of your own to wear on a daily basis may be great in acting as a reminder for this month’s challenge. My thinking is that by changing the focus to all the “things” that we have in life that are positive and that are good, our entire outlook will change. Since thoughts play a role in health, this will be another step towards living a healthier life.
These are three great goals to get you started on your journey through 2016. I cannot wait to continue providing you resources over the web, and through my office to help you achieve your health, wellness, and life style goals.
You may choose to pursue the tentative resolutions spanning April through December:
April: Eliminate Sugar (Eating Well)
May: Relationship Building with your spouseà plan a special date night (Thinking/Living Well)
June: Deep Breath every morning (Living Well)
July: Give at least three hugs a day (Living/Thinking Well)
August: Healthier Diet… increase fiber intake and eliminate inflammatory foods (Eating Well)
September: Read a Book (Thinking Well)
October: Quit Smoking? Drinking? Sugar? Habit X? (Living Well)
November: Set aside one day each week to spend time with the people who matter most! (Living Well)
December: Avoid fast food this month and explore the art of home cooking! (Eating Well)
I hope that you see the benefit of what I’m trying to share with you in these articles/resolutions. Together, we now have a plan of implementation. It’s reduced to writing and in manageable steps. To incorporate all these changes at one time would be very difficult. Very few people could do it. Spaced out over time, one goal each month, they can be done. It takes 21 days to change a habit (so it is said). We’ll be replacing old habits, which are not necessarily serving us, with new HEALTHY ones!!
Ultimately this prescription is written for anyone seeking better health this year. With it comes some sacrifice. But like anything requiring sacrifice, it comes with great rewards… a healthier you!!!
In health always,
Dr. Rob