Keeping It Healthy

As I mentioned last week, fitness and healthy body mass are at the top of the list of common New Year's resolutions.  After laying around eating chocolate for the last six weeks of the year, people don't like what they're seeing in the mirror.  So, what to do about it?

You hear everywhere that to lose weight you need to eat less and exercise more.  Phooey!  First, you need to make certain that your hormones are in balance and that your liver isn't choked with fat deposits.  I am trained to help you determine your status in those areas.

Second, you need to see if your system is overloaded with toxins coming from the environment, cleaning chemicals, personal care chemicals, water, and even food.  If your toxic load is too high, your body is unable to handle the cellular waste that results from weight loss or exercise.  If fitness is your goal, you have to keep your body running clean, just as you do your car's engine, for maximum performance.  At our clinic, we can help you determine your toxic load to see if that needs to be cleared before you begin.

Third, whether you are trying to regain a healthy body mass or get fit, you need to eat RIGHT!  Look back through my blogs and reread the series on eating right.  In that, we learned about low glycemic foods and proper hydration.

Now, let's talk about exercise.  Exercise is essential for physical, mental, and emotional health.  The basic purpose of our brains is to move our bodies,  The more we move, the better our brains function.  Almost all kids with ADD and ADHD are inactive kids.  This condition doesn't seem to affect the kids who run, jump and play.  Exercise helps with depression and other mood disorders.  It is good for the mind, body, and soul.

We discussed last week the need to maintain the machine that we call our bodies.  If we don't, it won't work right and it's performance will be impaired.  Now, let's learn about good exercise and bad exercise (no, not all exercise is good).

As I mentioned last week, if you expect to form a new habit of exercise, it needs to be a form of exercise that you enjoy.  If it's not, then you won't persevere.  Personally, I hate running.  If you see me running, please call 911 because something behind me is chasing me, burning, or about to blow up!  On the other hand, I love weightlifting, hiking, and dancing.  And that is my weekly exercise routine.  Weightlifting 3 hours, dancing 1 or more hours, and hiking, 6 or more hours.  That's on top of an average 55 hour work week.  I only add that to say that exercise can be fit into a long work week.

Is that much exercise necessary?  No!  We need at least 3 1/2 hours of exercise per week.  Now, other things also count as exercise.  House cleaning such as sweeping and mopping is a good workout.   Mowing the lawn is good exercise.  The "act of intimacy" is exercise. Basically, any activity that raises your pulse and makes you breathe hard and sweat is exercise!  The amount of time that you spend at those activities can be deducted from that 3 1/2 hour exercise need.

So, move, sweat, and breathe hard for 3 1/2 a week every week.  That's another step to help you

Live Healthy, Stay Active, and Fulfill Your Dreams

Hammering a Bent Nail

Happy New Year!

At this time of year, many people set goals and make resolutions.  The most common is to lose weight and get fit.  I'm always happy to see that people are interested in their health and especially happy to see people ready to attack the #1 unhealthy lifestyle in America: Obesity.

Many people started at the beginning of the new year with diets and exercise.  Both of these can be tough.  Often, fad diets are unsustainable.  I mean, you just can't eat cabbage or grapefruit at every meal (or AS every meal!).  Meal replacement shakes get old quick.  And then there's that crazy lemon juice and cayenne pepper diet...don't even get me started!

Cleanses and purification are good things, but they must be done sensibly and sustainably.  If you quit too soon or get too sick or weak to continue, you won't get the full benefit.  So, we will be discussing these topics in the coming weeks.

The other half of the equation is exercise.  Many people jump to the idea of running to lose weight.  The intensity of that exercise will certainly cause weight loss.  But, do you enjoy running?  Does it feel good to run?  Do you look forward to it?  Do you feel better afterward?  If you answered no to any of those questions for running or any other exercise, then you will probably find it very difficult to sustain it. You can probably find something more enjoyable that is equally beneficial.  We will look deeper into this as we go through this series.

For now, you need to make certain that your body is able to exercise without damage.  With any exercise, of course you should be certain that your heart is healthy enough to bear the stress without failure.  And for any high-impact exercise, you need to make certain that the joints of your body can take the stress.

For instance, if your spine is not straight, then when you exercise the additional forces will cause your spine to buckle.  It's just like hitting a bent nail with a hammer.  So, before you start an exercise regimen, have your spine checked.

At our clinic, we are offering a spinal exam and 30 minute medical massage for $30.  Call for an appointment.  This is one way that we can help you

Live Healthy, Stay Active, and Fulfill Your Dreams!