What Did You Give Up?

Lent came early this year- tough to have Valentine's Day the second day of this season if you gave up chocolates! While certainly not everyone practices Lenten observances, I think most people are familiar with the general concept of offering some sort of self-discipline as part of a religious practice, so this is a good opportunity for me to share a thought about the mix of religion and medicine.

As a physician- especially as a Catholic one- I really appreciate Lent. Just as New Year's resolutions for healthy changes are fading away, in comes Lent to save the day! All kidding aside, while many of us have wonderful intentions of limiting sweets, sodas, alcohol, nicotine, or you-name-it in the name of HEALTH, a good portion of us need that extra nudge of discipline that comes when these intentions are linked to a higher good. One way to do this is indeed the traditional practice of a "fast"from an earthly pleasure. If every time we start to reach for or simply crave our "off-limits item", we instead check ourselves and take a minute for prayer or reflection, how great is that? Not only are we not harming our body with an unnecessary substance or calorie load, but we gaining the peace and lower blood pressure that comes from meditation. Definitely a win-win! (Of course, if we gripe and grumble and feel extremely self-deprived every time, that's a whole different ballgame...)

Whether it is fasting, prayer, meditation, or acts of service for others, religious practices can be a wonderful asset to our health- both physical and mental. In my practice, I have seen tremendous success  when patients combine their spiritual and physical efforts in a very practical manner.

BOTTOM LINE: Harness the power of your religious strength to give you that extra push to stick to healthy life-style choices!

Facebook Diet!

Happy February! How are those New Year's Resolutions holding up for you? I hope at least a couple healthy choices are sticking with you...If not, I've got a social media suggestion that might just keep you on the straight and narrow. Meet the "Facebook Diet" concept!

Full credit for this idea comes from my high school friend, Anne White. In fairness, in her case, I should call it a FB Exercise Plan, but the concept is easily extended to other healthy choices such as pumping up your fruits and veggies, quitting smoking, or yes, exercise. Back to Anne. In December, she boldly proclaimed on Facebook that she was committing to 90 days of a very challenging exercising program called P90X. Each day, she posted a short blurb about what she did or what muscles were screaming, as the case may be. I am proud to boast that last I FB stalked, Anne was on Day #37, and going strong!

There are so many positives about this form of accountability: 

• Simply recording your action makes you accountable to yourself, and has been repeatedly shown to increase success of maintaining a habit. Recording it PUBLICLY adds the bonus of accountability to others. In the case of social media, MANY others!
• FB or other social network posting takes a tiny amount of time, and no travel.
• POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT- friends cheering you on is wonderful!
• 21 days to make a habit- so "they" say...so even if you only post for a few weeks, you may have done enough to create that new habit
• Inspiring others! Anne's pledge has motivated many of us to dust off our old P90X DVDs and "Bring It" once again. For non-P90X'ers, Anne has motivated them to pick SOMETHING to push their own bodies out of our comfort zones.

Anne has impressed me so much with this public declaration of prioritizing her health. When she got sick with the flu, she simply posted on FB that she was down a couple days, but then jumped right back in once she was physically able. 

BOTTOM LINE: If you use social media for fun and entertainment, why not use it for health? Set a goal, make it public, and let all those FB friends cheer YOU on to better health!

2013- A Year for YOU!

Happy New Year! I love new beginnings- who doesn't? Whether it is the first of the month, your birthday, an anniversary, or yes, the NEW YEAR- give yourself the precious gift of a new start!
Since this is my blog about all things healthy, I wish for you specifically to give yourself the gift of a new start for health...whatever is most important to YOU.
90% of us struggle with our weight. Whether it is fighting that same darn 10-20 pounds that we battle every year, or perhaps the first time that our metabolism packed its bags and deserted us, Americans have big issues with weight (no pun intended.) What will you do this year?
Let me say right now, if you are not exercising at all, and eating out over half your meals, please do not commit to exercise every day & a brilliant, gourmet, healthy home-cooked meal three times per day! Whatever you choose, set yourself up for SUCCESS!
For 2013, I'd like to encourage you to pick ONE thing today to improve your health. Is it a goal of five servings of fruits and/or vegetables per day? Hooray! Choose it! Is it parking your car at the back of the lot? Awesome! Walking the stairs instead of taking the escalator or elevator? Buying a pedometer? Meditating 5 minutes each morning before you get out of bed? Amen!
My wish for each and every one of you is better health- spiritual, mental, and physical health. I am in the process of finalizing tough decisions in my own life to optimize not only my health, but my family's collaborative "health".
BOTTOM LINE: Start off 2013 with ONE simple step towards better health- choose it today!

Quitting Smoking- Set Up for SUCCESS!

The Surgeon General's report on smoking in young adults has spurred me to blog sequentially about quitting smoking. Yesterday, I talked about "7 Ways to leave your Cigarettes" Talking with your doctor is a great first step, but don't underestimate how important setting yourself up for success can be! Include as many of your friends and family in on your plan- the more, the better! Including one teenage child counts double, by the way- they are usually the toughest on their parents! What can you do?

1. PUBLICIZE your QUIT DATE. Believe me, your friends & family will love to ask you how you are doing and lavish praise on you- but they have to KNOW about it!

2. Stock up on healthy, crunchy, orally-gratifying snacks. Carrots, apples, popcorn, pretzels- all are good choices.

3. Super-sour hard candy- sucking on these (instead of nicotine) seems to really help curb cigarette cravings.

4. CLEAN- your house, your CAR, and your clothes- splurge on someone else to come in and deep clean. Your sense of smell heightens along with your taste buds when you quit smoking, and the positive feedback from the clean, fresh smells are a wonderful reinforcement.

5. MONEY- a clear jar works great to show off money growing daily! Place the money you would have spent on packs of cigarettes into the jar each day, and decide what "splurge" you will reward yourself with each month!

BOTTOM LINE: Just as SMOKING is usually a social activity, QUITTING SMOKING will be far more successful if you involve your friends & family, so set yourself up for SUCCESS!

Separation of Religion and Medicine? I Hope NOT!

Lately there has been quite a buzz about the separation of church and state, but I'd like to share what I enjoy about COMBINING religion and medicine. In particular, I LOVE the season of LENT! Yesterday, we had Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of a 40 day (or 47 day, if you count Sundays) beautiful time of reflection, growth, and personal discipline in the Christian faith. Many people, particularly Catholics, have a tradition of giving up a dietary luxury of some sort- often chocolate, alcohol, desserts, or sodas. Today that list has expanded beyond dietary items, and many give up electronic activities such as Facebook, Twiiter, iPad, apps, or- gasp!- all non-school or work-related computer-based activities. How does this affect me as a family physician?

If I ask/suggest for a patient to give up, say, caffeine or alcohol- because it is causing him or her heartburn- patients are only moderately invested in committing to this change. Truthfully, they'd typically rather have a prescription for a pill to fix their symptoms, and not make any difficult lifestyle changes. If, however, this same conversation occurs after a Mardi Gras excessive celebration, and the patient CHOOSES to eliminate one of these substances from their diet as a form of religious discipline and self-sacrifice, the success rate skyrockets! I can't adequately express how often a Lenten "observance" has been an excellent kick-off for weight loss programs for my patients. Whether it is giving up a high calorie dietary staple, or freeing up time to exercise by giving up electronic play time, all of these changes work in a positive forward spiral, with the added benefit of personal religious fulfillment as well.

Of course, Lenten commitments aren't all about "giving up" treats, and I do not in any way want to minimize the religious implications of spiritual discipline. My point is simply that when we make positive health choices augmented with a higher purpose behind them, we can amplify our results.

BOTTOM LINE: Our personal religious beliefs can be a powerful source of motivation to make positive health changes- let's use them this Lent!

The Secret to a Successful Exercise Program

Here in Austin, the temperature is already climbing into the upper 80's, so our swimsuit season has officially arrived. Unfortunately, most of us still have a bit of "winter fat" on us that we'd like to shed. If you have kids, it's easy to get caught up in the end of school year rush and push aside your own health priorities. After all, who's got the time?

Let me encourage you to MAKE the time. Make exercise a DAILY habit- just like brushing your teeth. Take away the whole "am I going to exercise today" dilemma. If you got out of bed, YES, some form of exercise will happen today. Period. You don't have to have an elaborate work out plan that consumes an extra hour simply to get to and from the gym! If you have the time, grab that gym bag, but if not, START MOVING. The "BEST" exercise is the plan you will follow every day. Extend that dog walk and make it two miles in a half hour; pull the clothes off the treadmill or exercise bike and hop on it to watch your favorite show; pull out your favorite exercise DVD or flip channels till you find a new one.

What's the secret to exercising every day? Do it FIRST THING in the morning, and don't give yourself a "choice" to hit snooze. Let me assure you, when my alarm goes off at 5:00am, I do NOT leap out of bed with a smile on my lips and a song in my heart! I grumble to myself, moaning and groaning a bit while I throw on weather appropriate clothes, leash the dog, and head out the door. That being said, by the time I reach the top of the first hill, I'm pleased with myself for getting out there, and I feel energized and ready to take on the day by the time I hit the shower.

BOTTOM LINE: START EVERY DAY with 30 minutes of exercise, and you'll stop worrying about whether or not you can "fit" exercise into your schedule!

What Works for Weight Loss? MORE!

MORE, MORE, MORE! That is chant I want you to hear in your head as you focus on FITNESS. Yesterday I talked about MORE fruit and vegetable servings- 5-10 per day. Today let's shift to MORE MOVEMENT.

Many of my patients started 2011 with the resolution to go to the gym EVERY DAY after work. Guess what percentage are still doing that? Hmm...not too many. Why is that? It is a setup for failure. While exercising EVERY DAY is absolutely possible, and indeed, what I do and what I encourage everyone to make a life habit, exercising in a specific place outside your home- like the gym- is very difficult. Say today you wake up and your child has a fever, so you can't leave the house. Tomorrow you have a business meeting in the evening (no time to workout, shower and clean up between work and that meeting) and boom, then it snows/rains/floods...you get the picture!

I think planning a day or two per week at the gym (or the track, or walking the mall) is wonderful, but please, set yourself up for success by having backup plans AT HOME. I am a big fan of exercise bikes and DVDs for this reason. Grab your tunes and/or your dog and head out the front door. Set a timer for 30 minutes, turn on some music, and dance! OR- I got this idea from another woman physician last October- set the timer for 30 minutes, turn on music, and CLEAN YOUR HOUSE- actively! Vigorously scrub the counters, alternate hands, squat up and down unloading the dishes, mop quickly, whatever it takes to keep your heart rate up. Which exercise is best? The one you will DO.
The main idea is to MOVE MORE. Check out my blog on PEDOMETERS- they work great, too!

BOTTOM LINE: Switch your focus to MORE: MORE movement, MORE fruits & veggies!

Realistic Resolutions for 2011

Welcome to the first Monday of 2011! Have you set any New Year's resolutions yet? Broken any yet? Let me encourage you to pick one or two HEALTHY resolutions that you can stick to-not just for 2011, but for your entire future.
Weight loss is a priority for the majority of Americans. However, often that means a strict, very low calorie diet (and the emotional misery that arrives as a side dish). Not surprisingly, this method rarely works. What might be a better choice?

How about committing to one of these simple changes:

1. Substitute a GLASS OF WATER for one other beverage (soda, coffee, etc.)
2. ADD one piece of fruit to your breakfast (a banana, or a handful of berries)
3. Eat FISH for at least one meal per week
4. Take a fruit or vegetable SNACK with you to work each day- and EAT IT (instead of vending food fare)

I realize these seem simple, but making these changes a HABIT will lead to a lifetime of benefit! For example, if you drink one can of soda per day, then swapping water for that can will create a caloric deficit that equals 14 POUNDS in one year! Now that is something to toast!

BOTTOM LINE: Set yourself up for success and make at least one CONCRETE HEALTHY CHANGE in 2011!

Seven Tips to Quit Smoking!

This week I'm focusing on QUITTING SMOKING, the absolute most important thing you can do for your health if you smoke. I've talked about prescription aids, but what can you do on your end? Lots! Here are seven tips that patients have had the most success with over the years:

1. Set a QUIT DATE and TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW (helps keep you accountable!)
2. Right NOW, only smoke the cigarettes you REALLY want (typically around 6 per day for a pack per day smoker).
3. Do NOT smoke the "trigger" cigarettes-phone rings, starting the car, turning on the tv or finishing a meal.
4. Have your car professionally cleaned the day before your quit date (if you smoke in your car.)
5. Clean out your "smoking area"- throw out or give away ashtrays.
6. Pick a splurge reward and earmark your cigarette money to pay for it! Cigarettes cost a ton of money, so toss those $5 and $10 bills into a large glass jar on a counter top each day and have a fun visual reminder of your savings, or post a picture of your prize and make a money "thermometer" that you can color in as the money grows.
7. Grab some really sour hard candy to suck on the first week as a non-smoker; the sour nature stimulates your salivary glands and really helps with the oral craving portion.

BOTTOM LINE: Start with these seven tips to insure that THIS time you will be successful QUITTING SMOKING!

A Word About New Year's Resolutions

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Can you believe we've reached the end of 2009 already? Well, it's time for New Year's resolutions, and I have a suggestion. Instead of creating a huge "to do" list this year, choose ONE WORD that represents something you'd like to focus on for 2010. Write it down and stick on your fridge (or computer home page, or wherever you will see it every day.) In our family, each New Year's Eve our daughters create a small poster for each member of our family with our word printed in large letters and decorated with appropriate symbols. We then post those four words on the wall of our stairway for the year, where everyone can be reminded of their resolutions daily as we trek up and down the stairs.
For example, my word for 2009 was HEALTH- big surprise, right? But it meant not simply medical health, but spiritual, mental AND physical health. Some days that word pushed me to exercise when I didn't feel like it, and other days it challenged me to prayer. In previous years, my words have been "patience", "peace", "simplicity", "family", "finish" and... did I mention "patience"? (I have to focus on "patience" every few years, so it bears repeating. My kids think it's funny because I have "patients" at work and need more "patience" at home!)
I have found that having this one word resolution is far more effective more me than the shopping list of resolutions that I used to espouse each year. The word becomes my theme for the year, almost a mantra for me. I love that with one word, it is a positive statement (rather than quit this or that, or lose weight, etc.)
Thanks to the Austin reporter who many years ago challenged our city leaders to try this single word resolution and shared their experiences in a New Year's column. I confess I've long since forgotten the reporter's name, but the tradition lives on.
BOTTOM LINE: Choose a ONE WORD RESOLUTION for 2010- perhaps HEALTH!!