myhealthvillage

32 Search Results for "walking"

• The last 5 pounds The last 5 pounds

  • From: LeGreta_Hudson_MS_RD_CDE
  • Description:

    Since my return from Italy, I have had several people tell me that I look thinner. It wasn’t until I went to the doctor for my regular check up that it was confirmed. I had indeed lost 5 pounds. Some may say I didn’t have 5 pounds to lose. But, in my opinion….everyone is looking to lose the last 5 to 10 pounds. That’s the hardest to lose. I also want to be at my ideal body weight (IBW). As an RD we calculate IBW in our sleep. I use a “fast & dirty” calculation method. You use your height! …100 pounds if you are at least 5 feet…for every inch over 5 feet you add 5 pounds (it’s different for men). It’s pretty simple! I stand ~ 5’8”….or IBW of 140 pounds (100 + [5x8]=140)…and we use plus or minus 10%. My IBW range is 126# to 154#…with 140 pounds being IDEAL!  My weight has always been within the IBW range…..BUT ... I have always wanted to get back to my IDEAL weight! I haven’t been “ideal” since my wedding day. It’s been slightly up-hill since that day. I really can’t complain……… but ….ideal would be ideal! So, YES…I confess…I’ve had 5 pounds that I have wanted to get rid of for 30 years!

    After my Italian adventure I am finally “Ideal”! J

    How did I do it you ask? It all started with a new concept a colleague told me about called …Destination Walking! At the time I didn’t know its official name. Destination walking is a new phenomenon. It’s not even in the dictionary! Some folks have been doing it for years…but now it has a name. It could be defined as “the place one wants to go…or…the place one needs to go” = destination... AND... you walk to get there! Destination walking……………………….**

    While in Florence we walked everywhere. We walked to class, to dinner, to run errands, to the market and of course shopping. There were buses and taxis… like you’d find in most big cities…but we didn’t feel the need to take them {I am waaay too cheap!}. Destination walking is something that happens when you live in an environment that all of your daily living activities are within “reasonable” walking distance from your home. Apparently destination walking can have health benefits. It can improve cardiovascular health, aid in weight loss and strengthen bones. Comfortable shoes, the semblance of a back pack (to carry your stuff) and a place to be….you too can improve your health. I don’t mind going for a walk for exercise sake. But I much preferred walking some place I had to be …like work. In Florence we started out 20 to 30 minutes before we had to be somewhere. Even when we misjudged the distance…we picked up the pace. We were never late. Due to this practice…I pleasantly discovered a 5 pound weight loss.   

    Anyone living in an environment where they can walk to get groceries, pick up their dry cleaning, pick up mail at the post office, go to work, dine with friends or eat a pastry at the coffee bar…can live this! I have vowed that my next home will be in a community where I can live the Tuscan life. If I’m lucky…I will not ever have to use my car.

    Between the simple foods and the continuous walking to everyplace I needed to be…and …to get the things I needed to survive……………..I lost the 5 pounds I have been wanting to lose for 30 years.

    Now my goal is to keep it off!

    Ciao Bella

    Le Greta

  • Blog post
  • 2 months ago
  • Views: 38
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• Obese Society: Signs of Hope Obese Society: Signs of Hope

  • From: cindymcgee
  • Description:

    Obese Society: Signs of Hope

    I see signs of hope in the obesity battle…right in my own neighborhood.

    In the 50’s we

    ·         Played outside, walked to school, and had PE

    ·         Had  no vending machines at school

    ·         Didn’t have video games or computers

    ·         Only had 2 TV channels to watch

    ·         Drank Coke as a rare and special treat

    ·         Went out to eat only once every month or two

    ·         Sat down for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

    Sounds like Beaver Cleaver’s life.

    However I see signs of hope that society may be swinging back toward some of those "old-time" healthier lifestyles.

    In my neighborhood, I see:

    ·         Fit parents walking or biking to school with their kids

    ·         Folks on the next block working on a community garden

    ·         Kids on pogo sticks and twirling in hoola-hoops

    ·         Kids playing ball, riding bikes, playing tag

    ·         A community rec center where seniors do yoga, kids are swimming, and the running track is busy with walkers and joggers of all ages

     

    Look around your neighborhood. Any signs of people leading healthier lifestyles? If so, great! If not, why don’t YOU lead the way?

     

     

  • Blog post
  • 4 months ago
  • Views: 43

• Walking Between Storms Walking Between Storms

  • From: Judy_Bock_RN
  • Description:

    Walking Between Storms

    This morning I left my keyboard to take a walk with my dog Bella. She and the rest of us mid-Missourians have been limited in our outdoor activities due to almost daily rain for the last couple of weeks or so. There was a lull in the downpour and no thunder and lightning to scare Bella, so I thought I’d best take advantage of the opportunity.

    Walking is my favorite exercise. It requires no special equipment other than proper footwear and possibly sunscreen and bug repellent. Today I used my vinyl boots I bought at a resale shop. They go up to just below mid-calf and have been worth many times over the three dollars I paid for them. I thought I might be able to get by without sunscreen or bug spray today because my body was almost completely covered, and I used the hood of my parka part of the time while in the woods and passing through overhanging branches. So far I have not noticed the usual allotment of ticks crawling on me after such a walk in nature.

    Bella got thoroughly wet, which labs are prone to do. She jumped in the pond as we passed by.  As for me, I just got the lower legs of my jeans wet due to walking through tall grass and weeds on the way to a nice mowed path on our neighbor’s property. The trail meanders along the perimeter of his land amid trees, creeks, pasture and even an 1800’s graveyard.

    All in all it was great exercise and a real boost to my mental and physical well-being. I recommend taking a break whenever you can to do something physical. If you can combine it with natural surroundings accompanied by one of your best friends, it’s an added bonus.

     

  • Blog post
  • 4 months ago
  • Views: 65

• Balance and Walking Balance and Walking

  • From: Julie_Stansfield_MD
  • Description:

    Balance and Walking

    Balance is a problem for most people over the age of 30. It sneaks up on you. Without a good sense of balance it really is difficult to walk easily. Falls are more common. Even though I know adults should do balance exercises, I hadn't been doing them. However a fall is good reminder that things have to change. On a Saturday morning I was playing soccer with my kids and managed to land on my bottom without anyone even pushing me. Very elegant.

    If you think about it, walking requires you to balance on one foot. It may only be for a moment but you have to balance. People that lose their ability to balance on one foot may at first develop a slower gait with smaller steps. Then they may begin to walk in a more side to side fashion rather than a heel to toe.

    Falls are a real problem. People get broken just like Humpty Dumpty. Better to prevent falls. Daily short balance exercises are a good idea.

    One easy exercise to try is to balance on one foot only. Stand next to a wall and a sturdy piece of furniture the first time you do this. If you begin to fall it is best to be able to grab onto something. Switch to the next foot. This might be hard at first but people can rapidly improve by just doing this every day. If you really struggle to do this, start by leaning next to the wall while you hold onto to something, then try balancing on one foot. In a few weeks try balancing on one foot a few inches further from the wall. Aim for a goal of a minute on each foot. Even while I was writing this article I stood up for a while and balanced on each foot. It is a simple exercise you can do even while waiting for the microwave to ring. Since I’ve been doing this for a while now I will sometimes go to the next level. Closing my eyes while I balance. This is harder. This should always done next to a sturdy piece of furniture or a counter. You will get tipsy. Daily practice makes you better.

  • Blog post
  • 4 months ago
  • Views: 65
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• Large Meals are Toxic Large Meals are Toxic

  • From: Julie_Stansfield_MD
  • Description:

    Large Meals are Toxic

    The Latest data shows that even temporary increases in blood sugars are toxic. Large meals increase blood sugar levels to high levels.  These large increases in blood sugar cause damage even in people without diabetes.  The high blood sugars directly damage and kill many tissues.  Pancreas cells seem to die from the high sugars, leading to diabetes. The lining of arteries is damaged and this causes much higher rates of heart attacks. 

    We’ve known for years that diabetics have damage to many body areas from high blood sugars. It is news that non diabetics have damage as well.  It is a surprise that even a temporary increase in blood sugar levels can cause damage.

    
    

    There are two ways to lower your damage today and start improving your health.

    1. Eat smaller meals.  Especially avoid sugar, juice and sweetened drinks.  These are foods without fiber and without the fiber the blood levels raise to high levels more quickly after eating these foods.  Other foods that are low in fiber can have a similar affect in some people.  These include bread, rice, potatoes and pasta.  Choosing the high fiber version of these kinds of foods can help lower blood sugars after a meal. It is very important to remember that only plain vegetables can be eaten in large amounts.  Any other food in large amounts will raise the blood sugar levels significantly. 

    2. It is good to have a back up plan.  No matter what your intentions may be, you may have a meal larger than you know you should have had.  Go for a walk.  If you walk immediately after a meal you can lower your blood sugar fairly quickly.  Make it a habit, walk after a meal.

     

    You can take control of your health.  Eating smaller meals, more vegetables and walking more will lower your health care costs.  You’ll feel better.  You can avoid burdening your family with your illness.  Heart attacks and other diseases cause families grief.  How long will you be sick? How many more health problems will you get?  How long will you be out of work?  You will have many more health problems and you will miss work. The latest estimates link high blood sugars to the development of diabetes within 2.5 years.  In these people the number of heart attacks is nearly double that of normal people.
    

     

    Eat smaller meals, large meals are like poison.
    

     

     

    The American Journal of Medicine.  Glycemic Control and Complications in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.   March 2010, Volume 123, Number 3A.  Pages S3-S11.

    Amjmed.com

     

     

  • Blog post
  • 5 months ago
  • Views: 107

• Drug Prices Drug Prices

  • From: Julie_Stansfield_MD
  • Description:

    Drug Prices

     

    This year our family is making changes.  After doing the math I switched us to a High Deductible Health  Plan and a Health Savings Account (HSA). Monitoring drug prices is an important part of my job.  Many of my patients pay cash for their medication.  Even if their insurance pays for part of the costs, more expensive medicines have a higher copay.  This year I’m watching even more carefully.

     

    Medication costs can change rapidly.  When one medication changes to a generic brand the whole group of medications in that category can change price.  The cash prices in many small pharmacies can be much better than the big box pharmacies.  Cash is easier, less paperwork.  They pass the savings to their customers.

     

    People are more likely to take their medication when they can afford it.  At the office my goal is to keep the price of medication less than the typical cell phone bill or cable bill. This usually isn’t hard to do.  But quality is very important.  Poor quality medication is just a pure waste.

     

    My son has asthma, so do I. Asthma and Emphysema inhalers have become very expensive.  The government has mandated that all inhalers avoid freon.  Freon based inhalers worked, were cheap and people used them. But they are now illegal. Pharmaceutical companies have scrambled to follow the new rules.  They  have designed new inhalers, that cost more money because they were forced to make these changes.  Steroid inhalers now cost at least $100 dollars a month, cash price.  Even at that cost, studies have shown that these inhalers reduce the risk of Emergency visits by so much, they are still a bargain.  Insurance company view these inhalers as  a good investment.  Almost all asthmatics will save themselves money by buying and using their steroid inhalers, just like insurance companies save money.  We’ll buy our steroid inhalers, because a simple ER visit is more expensive that 6 months of inhalers.

     

    How do we plan on saving even more money.  We don’t smoke.  Cigarettes are expensive.  They make asthma worse both for the smoker and everyone around them with asthma.  Riding in a car with a smoker makes me struggle to breath for a week or more afterwards. Little kids with asthma are made sick by their smoking parents.   Think about that $100 inhaler, the cost of the ER visit and the cost of the cigarettes.  Think of the time the asthmatic misses from work or from taking care of their sick kids with asthma.  Now think about saving that pile of money instead of spending it.  It can be done.

     

    Losing weight decreases asthma problems.  Regular activity reduces asthma problems.  Uncontrolled heartburn makes asthma worse.  Sinus problems make asthma worse.  Animals in a house makes many asthma patients worse.  We exercise because it makes us feel better and I don’t like having to see doctors.  Pets are nice, but I like breathing more.   Luckily I have an iron stomach and my only stomach problem is I like food too much, even Uncle Ralph’s Hot and Spicy Chili.

     

    When I talk to people about how to save money and still stay healthy, my goal is to save people thousands of dollars a year.  Talk to you doctor about your options.  Even if you can’t change to cheaper medicines you can save yourself money by walking every day and not smoking.  Two simple things to save yourself money even when you have to take medicines, just like my son and I.

     

     

  • Blog post
  • 8 months ago
  • Views: 139

• MPG MPG

  • From: Julie_Stansfield_MD
  • Description:

    MPG
    

    When you think about a car and the miles per gallon (MPG) you can get driving around, that it is pretty easy to understand.  One of the problems with talking about the calories in food is it isn’t easy to understand what that means.  The number of calories in food tells you the amount of energy in a food. But once you know the amount of energy in a food it still doesn’t really tell you how fast you can use that energy or the MPG.   Just like you may know how many gallons of gas are in your tank, but you won’t know how long that lasts if you don’t know how many MPG you car usually gets.
    

    Ever see one of those 100 calorie snack packs?  Many people think that 100 calories isn’t much, because you can suck one of those snack packs down and still not be full.  But the MPG is more important.  So 100 calories roughly means that it will take 30 minutes of comfortable walking to burn up those 100 calories.
    

    The average can of sugary soda has more than 200 calories.  So it takes roughly one hour of walking comfortably to burn up that can of soda.
    

    When you choose vegetables instead of other foods you can fill up, but with fewer calories.  A diet plan that promises you’ll be full but with fewer calories is not a bad deal.  It’s the fiber and the water in these foods that makes them low calorie.  Think about gasoline again, only now you want low octane fuel. Vegetables and some fruit are low octane, fewer calories per bite than fatty foods.  So your tank is full.  You won’t be so hungry and you won’t have to walk as much to empty the fuel in your tank, but you’ll still have to walk.

     

    Skip the 100 calorie snack pack; skip the high octane fatty food.  Instead pick up the vegetables and fruit.  Remember 100 calories is the energy you use in a 30 minute walk.

     

  • Blog post
  • 9 months ago
  • Views: 102
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• Parking Spot Competition Parking Spot Competition

  • From: Julie_Stansfield_MD
  • Description:

    Parking Spot Competition

     Have you ever been in the car with a parking space competitor?  That’s the kind of person that accelerates into the parking lot to squeeze into a front space then shouts “who is the man!!”  

     You can hear the tension in their voice as you miss a hot spot.  Every shopping trip is an opportunity to win.  This person in my life is my husband and he has a pile of brothers and we have sons who all love the game.  Every time I drive and park at the back it the same gasping sound.  “How can you pass up all those GREAT spots?”

     Its simple, I’m not much of the gym type, too busy.  The gym has its place.  Going twice a week helped me finally shed that last 5 pounds that I struggled with.  It has also helped me regain enough muscle to play old lady soccer and beat my husband up the hill on a bike for the first time.  However exercising outside is always more fun.

     So why the parking lot hike?  Its part of my exercise regime.  Park in the back, only buy what you can carry without the cart and carry it back.  Except for a weekly trip to the grocery store, with two teenage sons to feed I do grab a cart.

     Here are other wacky exercise routines I have:

    • The laundry marathon; up and down the stairs on purpose, the more the better.
    • The inconvenient bathroom: the upstairs bathroom instead of the bathroom with a shorter walk.
    • The work commute: another walk from the back of the lot, or a bike ride on a good day.
    • Soccer Mom: slip into walking shoes or running shoes and run while I wait for them to play, instead of driving home and back.
    • Date night: a walk after an appetizer for dinner or even better a bike ride then a snack.
    • Morning calisthenics:  exercise rubber bands for home weight lifting, some sit ups, push ups, balance on one leg and leg lifts, less than 10 minutes in all.
    • Big ball television: sitting on an exercise ball while watching television for a few minutes every day.  Also called “core strengthening”.
    • Ten minutes with my husband:  Time for the kids to do the dishes and we walk around the block.

     

    My more normal exercises include walking or jogging around the block, bike riding or swimming.  The exercise habit is easier to stick with some variety.

     The trick is so do more every day, not just 2 or 3 times a week.  It adds up.  My husband may never understand me, but at least he tolerates me.  He is the lifetime winner for the parking space game, I’ve lost more than just a game, I’ve lost pounds too.

  • Blog post
  • 11 months ago
  • Views: 136
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• Mindless Exercise Mindless Exercise

  • From: Judy_Bock_RN
  • Description:

     Mindless Exercise

    In a few weeks I'm going to moderate a health chat session here at myhealthvillage.com. I was doing a little thinking about this and my topic of “Overcoming Obstacles to Exercise” as I stopped at the local mall.

    I'd had the usual week of a busy work schedule, staffing at a couple of clinics in town and unfortunately missed my group yoga session on Wednesday. Bella, our black lab, and I had a long walk in the countryside, and I even used my recumbent exercise bike for 30 minutes one day. But other than walking a bit in the halls of the clinics where I worked, I didn't really get enough exercise. But then again, maybe I did. Some of it may have been mindless.

    When I say mindless, I mean that I don't really take extra time out to do it or even plan it in advance. I have a few habits that I try to incorporate into my daily life that I am hoping burn calories without much effort on my part.

    Today for instance when I pulled into the mall, I didn't waste gas or time by circling around to find a parking spot closest to the door. I parked right away at one of the available spots a good distance from the entrance and got a bit of walking exercise. Yesterday when I stopped at the staffing office at the hospital on the fourth floor, I walked up and down the stairs instead of using the elevator. I hate waiting for elevators anyway.

    Maybe you have some ideas for mindless exercise that work for you. Join me and share them during my health chat on the second Friday of the month at 2 pm. Central Time.

     

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 77

• skyeblu

  • Views: 59
  • Since: 1 year ago

• Layout Plan - Smart Kitchen Layout Plan - Smart Kitchen

  • From: marcusjborg
  • Description:

    Layout Plan -  Smart Kitchen

     

    The space in the kitchen can be best utilized by laying out the three primary working areas in an efficient and skilful manner. These three areas include the food storage
    area; the counter to chop, dice or do other food preparations and cooking area. Practical and functional kitchens are the ones with right kitchen layouts to make it easy to move and perform with minimal efforts in this work triangle. Here are some tips that you can use:

    *  Single line kitchen - If you have narrow space with a long wall with no windows and doors, you can choose to place all the primary activity areas in a straight line. However, it makes you walk a lot and placing the sink in between food preparation area and cooking area may reduce walking a bit.
        * Galley kitchen - One of the most efficient kitchen shape, galley shaped kitchen allows two rows for preparation and thus, most convenient for professional chefs. However, corridor should be closed at one end to avoid much traffic in the area and make sure that sliding drawers or cabinet doors placed on opposite sides have enough space to open conveniently at the same time. Place the cooking area and sink in the same line so it is easier to move hot pans to cleaning area after you have done with them.
        * L-shaped kitchen - You can use two adjacent walls on a corner for this kitchen shape. There is minimum traffic here and so it is ideal for families. You may separate sink, cooking range and refrigerator by placing countertops between them. It takes less space too and can be easily combined with a dining room.
        * U-shaped kitchen - Ideal for gourmet meal preparation and culinary experts, it allows maximum storage space and worktop as it uses three full walls for maximum convenience.
        * Island kitchen - Very popular in contemporary kitchen designs, an independent island unit allows the cook to socialize with guests or family members in the living or dining area while working. You can either have a sink on the island or the cooktop with canopy
          above as a focal point of your kitchen arrangement.

    
    

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 76
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• Health Time Out Health Time Out

  • From: Judy_Bock_RN
  • Description:

     

    Health Time Out

    This past week I have been a health behavior drop out, a failure at practicing what I preach and a collaborator in my intrinsic nature to be lazy. Yes, I felt guilty about not exercising much, eating too many sweets and too frequently plopping myself on the couch to veg out in front of the TV.

    So what's a health guide to do, you might ask. What else? Blog about it.

    Now that I've confessed, it's time to be a little kinder and gentler to myself, just like I hope you are when you go off the wagon of whatever you are trying to change in your efforts to improve your health.

    I have been a bit stressed in a few areas of my life, both home and at work. I know that exercising can really help, but I just felt too tired. Not a good excuse, but that's all I've got for now.

    Thankfully I know not to give in and give up. I am a bit more energized now and took the time after a meeting today to take a long walk on a nature trail. All that walking did salve my conscience somewhat. I even shared some of my stresses over the phone with my sister while I walked. Perhaps it's not so good to multi-task while getting exercise, but that's a subject for a future blog.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 72

• Vacations and Eating Too Much Vacations and Eating Too Much

  • From: Judy_Bock_RN
  • Description:

     

    Vacations and Eating Too Much

    I recently took a trip with two of my sisters to visit a fourth sister out of state. It was a fun trip. We shopped and ate, talked and ate, and sat around and ate.

    Now that I've been working as a health guide I paid more attention to our eating habits than I ever did before, and much of it was appalling.

    I knew I'd be in trouble when we went to the all-you-can-eat buffet. Although I tried to survey the culinary landscape before choosing what to eat and not waste calories on something I didn't really want, I ate too much. Yes, I went to the pig trough three times, one for appetizers, one for main entrees, and alas, one for desserts. Were I counting calories, I am sure I went much higher than 2000 in that meal alone.

    What did I do to try and keep things under control for my waistline and cardiovascular health? I suggested walks, which we did a couple times, but other than a few low-mileage strolls on the gravel roads near her country home and walking through the stores, I didn't get much mileage on my step counter.

    I took a jug of skim milk in an iced cooler and found a spot next to my sister's 2% in her frig. I drank mostly water at the restaurants, except for that one beer at the brewery restaurant in downtown Lawrence. I ordered a fruit and cheese plate appetizer and tried to hold back on the cheese. At one meal, instead of meat, I ordered a black bean and portabella mushroom burger, which was really good. I avoided using any butter on the luscious bread, which I happily ate. I said no to the candy and ice cream my sister offered when I was still full. So, I overindulged I will admit, but with some restraint here and there.

    This afternoon, after a fairly light lunch, I plan to take my dog Bella out for a very, very long walk.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 93

• Emergency Room Ruminations Emergency Room Ruminations

  • From: Julie_Stansfield_MD
  • Description:

    Emergency Room Ruminations
    

    Now and then I work in the Emergency Room.  The latest trend is to call it the “ED” for Emergency Department. (An unfortunate abbreviation, that makes me laugh). The logic is that gone are the days of my youth when it was really a room.  My earliest memories of the emergency room are not what most would imagine.  My father was a surgeon in rural Missouri.  This was a time before seatbelts.  We knew that when it rained, cars started smashing and the phone rang.  Then Dad went to work.  No pagers, no cell phones.  This was also a time before much medicine really existed; even antibiotics were limited in number. Medical care was still largely surgical care. Since we only had one car for our large family, we would go to the hospital with Dad sometimes, and we were greeted by rows of large staring eyes.  It was usually quiet.  My siblings hated going. People had driven many miles typically and at night no doctor was in the building.  Those folks had already heard the nurse talk to the doctor’s children, heard the pause as we ran to get him and then heard the nurse talk to the doctor.  Privacy wasn’t really needed, everyone knew everyone and everything, either before the visit or by the time they left.  People waited. We waited. Dad was done when he was done; there was no point in discussing the matter.
    

    Yesterday my day in the Emergency Room was very different.  Where I worked is not a “trauma” center. So all the car wrecks go to “the big house”, the main University Hospital.  The reality is most people that would have been pulp in my youth walk away now.  Seatbelts and air bags continue to amaze me. So as an internist, I’m left with the walking wounded, my comfort zone.
    

     The sad reality is most of the illness I saw were related to smoking.  Not lung cancers mind you, but coughs, colds and pneumonia.  For me the saddest cases are the small children.  Not one child I saw with a fever lived in a house with non smokers.  Research supports the high number of illnesses adult smokers give their small children.  It only helps a little that the parent smokes outside. Smoke is on the clothes.  Even with my poor sense of smell, I can smell the smoke on the parent’s clothes.  It is always tempting to berate the parent.  How can they do this to their own child?  But I also know they are worried and hate to see their child ill, yelling never helps.  The children trust and love their parent.  My advice is gentle and persistent.  Tobacco is expensive; it makes their children sick; it makes them sick; it smells.  Smoking is a pediatric disease.  They are more likely to have smoking children because their loving children will want to be just like them. 

     

    Things change.  The harsh reality is far more people die from smoking than from trauma now.  My Dad would be surprised.

     

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 189

• The Joys of Gardening The Joys of Gardening

  • From: Judy_Bock_RN
  • Description:

     

    The Joys of Gardening

    This morning I went out to the garden to collect any tomatoes that might have ripened since yesterday. I found quite a few, but noted a giant green caterpillar eating most of the leaves off of one plant. I walked about 50 yards to the pond and provided our fish with a breakfast treat.

    I noted a few zucchini squash were ready to be picked. If you miss a day or two, they can become enormous. Even the big ones have a use though. I grate them with my food processor, place them in zip-lock bags and store them in the freezer for use later in soups, stews, casseroles and of course, zucchini bread. It's a great way to get some vegies with all that fiber and nutrients into my family's diet.

    Earlier while walking to the pond, I noticed the blackberries needed picking, so back to the house for a clean plastic bucket to put them in. All that walking got counted with my step counter I'd slipped onto my waistband this morning.

    I got enough blackberries to fill a large pie. Now if I can just find the time Saturday to bake one before a planned trip to visit my pie-eating brothers on Sunday. I've been using a recipe for an oil-based crust that avoids the use of shortening. It's a little tricky, but it tastes really good, especially if you add a little whole wheat flour.

    Aside from the walking, bending, stretching and getting out in the fresh air that gardening provides, I really enjoy listening to the birds. Their morning chorus is beautiful and lifts up my spirits. I recommend gardening to anyone who wants to have their own fresh produce, get some good physical activity and a little peace for the soul.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 146

• Oh My Aching Back! Oh My Aching Back!

  • From: Judy_Bock_RN
  • Description:

     

    Oh My Aching Back!

    In the past month or so I've been having rather severe back pain. I've had it before, but it's come and gone after only a few days and some Ibuprophen or Tylenol as needed. However this time it seemed to be going on for over a couple of weeks.

    The pain would get up to a level of 7 or so on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being high, and it was keeping me awake unless I took about 600 mg. of Ibuprofen some nights. The pain would also seem to get worse as the day progressed, especially if I was pretty busy at work. So what to do? I decided to make an appointment with my primary physician, but I couldn't get in for a couple of weeks.

    By the time my appointment came up my back was better, but I thought I'd go anyway just to make sure I wasn't needing some diagnostic tests and to see if I should avoid any particular activity.

    My provider asked me a lot of questions, including if I was having any numbness or tingling, which I wasn't. She hit my knees with her little hammer and had me press against her hands with my feet and performed a few other physical manipulations. She told me she didn't think I had any disc problem that would warrant an MRI.

    What she offered was a referral to physical therapy or doing some exercises on my own. I chose the latter. She gave me some printouts for low back pain exercises with text and pictures for “standing hamstring stretch, cat and camel, quadruped arm/leg raises, pelvic tilt, partial curl, piriformis (no kidding) stretch and extension exercises. I've tried a few of them, which are similar to some of my yoga stretches, and find them fairly easy to do. The usual problem of fitting them into my schedule is the next challenge.

    The main idea she said, is to strengthen the core or middle part of my body. These exercises seem like they can sure do that.

    My printout listed some good activities for people with back problems. They are walking, bicycling, swimming and cross-country skiing. No chance for the last one here in Missouri.

    Specific sports to avoid that can be dangerous to your back are football, soccer, volleyball, handball, weight lifting, trampoline, tobogganing, sledding, snowmobiling and ice hockey. My doctor told me that running might also aggravate my pain because of the jarring. So I'm going to scratch all these activities off my “bucket list.”

    
    

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 104

• Stretching or Exercising Stretching or Exercising

  • From: Julie_Stansfield_MD
  • Description:

    Stretching or Exercising... Preventing the Common Cold
    

    Sometimes people tell me they have been stretching, that is their exercise for the week.  Now it is true that most exercise specialists make stretching an important part of each session, but stretching is not really the same as actual exercise.  Stretching helps avoid injury and can be an important part of relieving pain.  However stretching doesn’t raise the heart rate and blood pressure.  So it isn’t strenuous enough to be called exercise.  Once I read an interesting article about the benefits of exercise to prevent the common cold.  They compared people that agreed to only exercise vs. people that agreed to modest exercise like walking, sit ups or push ups.    The real exercise group had fewer colds. 

    http://www.amjmed.com/webfiles/images/journals/ajm/prrelOct2306.pdf
    

     

    People that start an exercise program should start gradually to prevent injury.  Start with a short walk.  Commit to doing it every day.  This is a better strategy than a rare very long walk that exhausts you for days.  People that don’t exercise in the winter really struggle the next spring.  Most get weaker and weaker each spring. Exercising all through the winter is a good idea. Pick warm clothes or a warm place to walk to make it to spring.

     

    Every patient that I have taken care of that is 90 years old or older, alert, on no medications and living alone exercises daily.  Usually they walk.  My own elderly grandfather regularly walked 5 miles or more a day and swam regularly well into old age. He was a rascal, but a rascal on his own terms. There are worse things.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 215
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• Wellness and Prevention Wellness and Prevention

  • From: Julie_Stansfield_MD
  • Description:

    Wellness and Prevention

    Language evolves; the term “Wellness and Prevention” is one of those phrases that have changed to mean something different than it might have meant to people 20 years ago.  The science behind “Wellness and Prevention” shows that 80 percent of all healthcare spending is caused by the way we choose to live our lives.  That also means that people have the opportunity to stay healthy and save money by changing their habits before they get ill.   Most people have heard of the government department called the CDC, but few people realize that the full name is: The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.  Prevention has been part of disease treatment for decades and is fully supported by science. Historically the greatest advances in medicine have come from deceptively simple changes like good nutrition, clean water, washing hands, and immunizations to prevent devastating diseases like polio.  Society has changed, medical knowledge has grown and the challenges of disease prevention are different than they were 20 years ago.
    

    There are many diseases that start off slowly without warning signs long before people become dramatically ill.  Getting a physical is one step to help find people that have warning signs long before they realize that they are ill.  There are other steps to stay healthy that don’t start or end in the doctor’s office. Starting these steps is what you get with “Wellness and Prevention” programs.  To start these programs people first must realize that they need these programs.  People can easily notice unhealthy things about someone else, but most people forget about looking in the mirror. People change the oil in the car because they know that in the long run it will save them money.  They can’t tell the motor needs an oil change by listening or driving.  Instead they schedule an appointment with the mechanic, before there are problems.
    

    “Wellness and Prevention” programs offered by            MyHealthVillage.com and LongitudeHealth.com are designed to help people that have the highest risk of getting sick and having high health care costs, change their lives long before they have problems.  LongitudeHealth.com is designed for companies that need a custom solution to keep their employees healthy and on the job, as well as reduce their health insurance costs.
    

    Changing a person’s habits is hard. People aren’t always able to change by themselves.  Our health guides help people make changes that matter, in a kind and friendly manner.   When I go to the mall I can pick out people that will soon be sick.  However, I don’t say anything because that isn’t helpful.  Real change takes more than one try.  Our health guides make successful changes easier than doing it alone.
    

    If you smoke, are heavy and inactive you are going to have the most health problems.  Try wearing a pedometer all day long. Normal adult activity is defined as walking five miles a day.  If you walk less than this try gradually walking more. Doing anything is better than nothing.  An ideal weight is different for people that are different heights.  But a rough estimate is if you weigh 200 pounds or more you need to be at least 6 feet 3 inches tall.  If you aren’t that tall, you are too heavy.  This is also called BMI and your BMI should be less than 25.  Visit http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bminojs.htm to calculate your BMI.
    

    This month I did physicals for my sons’ Boy Scout Troop.  There is a new form to fill out and there at the bottom in black and white are the weight regulations.  The form clearly shows at which weight you have health problems that are severe enough that you don’t qualify for all events.  Why?  Imagine kids having to carry a 230 pound adult with a broken leg out of the forest.  The kids are put in danger and the adult is put in danger.  None of the adults I saw at the meeting hit the ideal weight range.  All of the adults were surprised that they were too heavy.  They have good company; most Americans are surprised that they need to make changes.  (Here’s an article that discusses this:

    www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(08)01207-2/fulltext)

    
    

    The first step to true “Wellness and Prevention” is to realize that everybody has to schedule that “oil change”.  Don’t wait until there are problems.  Check your weight, go visit your doctor; get your blood pressure checked and maybe some lab work done.  The next step is the hard one: to change.  Decide on a goal, consider a health guide to help you reach your goal (we have great ones at MyHealthVillage.com).  Reward yourself if you reach your goal on time.  If you don’t reach your goals, it is time to change strategies.  You have an opportunity keep yourself healthy by taking charge early, long before your have problems.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 201

• Is Yoga for You? Is Yoga for You?

  • From: Judy_Bock_RN
  • Description:

    Is Yoga for You?

    If you aren’t one of more than 13 million Americans who practice yoga already, you might wonder if it could benefit you as part of your goal to be healthier and feel better.

    Originating in ancient India sometime around 5,000 years ago, yoga employs stretching and physical postures, breathing and relaxation techniques. The word yoga comes from a Sanskrit word meaning “yoke or union” and is believed to refer to the union between mind and body.

    According to the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, there is “growing evidence to suggest that yoga works to enhance stress-coping mechanisms and mind-body awareness.”

    The most common type of yoga in the United States is Hatha yoga, which emphasizes postures (asanas) and breathing exercises (pranayama). It is used for a variety of conditions including depression, high blood pressure, stress, asthma and anxiety disorders. Many people do yoga simply to achieve physical fitness and to relax.

    In my own life as a former yoga practitioner, I enjoyed the increased flexibility, balance and relaxation that came from 30 to 45 minutes of various stretches and positions while at the same time slowly inhaling and exhaling in a controlled manner. I liked being in a class at a yoga center, but eventually used videos at home to reduce the cost and to do it at a more convenient time for my schedule.

    Compared to other exercise options, yoga is fairly inexpensive and requires little in the way of equipment other than a mat, which is optional but desirable, and stretchy, comfortable clothing. Expensive footwear isn’t needed either, as yoga is usually performed barefoot.

    Yoga is safe for healthy people. If you have conditions such as spinal disc disease, glaucoma, retinal detachment, extremes of high or low blood pressure, severe osteoporosis, blood clots or cervical spondylitis, you should avoid inverted yoga postures.

    If you are pregnant, yoga is safe under expert guidance, but some postures may need to be avoided. In general, if you have a medical condition, consult your health care provider before starting yoga, just to be sure it’s OK.

    So, you might ask, why did you stop doing yoga? I think I stopped due to a bit of boredom doing yoga alone in my living room and also because I might have overdone it with some postures that seemed to aggravate hip pain. As I write this however, I think I may return to yoga again sometime in the future as part of my exercise regimen along with walking and tennis.

    Reference: http://nccam.nih.gov/health/yoga/introduction.htm

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 151

• Erectile Dysfunction Erectile Dysfunction

  • From: Julie_Stansfield_MD
  • Description:

    Erectile Dysfunction

    When you share information it is important to know your audience.  To understand the male mind isn’t always easy.   Evidently sex is remarkably important to most men.  Impotence or erectile dysfunction dramatically changes a man’s quality of life.  It is clear that if men want to avoid getting erectile dysfunction it is very important to walk or exercise every day.  Walking improves blood flow to those critical areas.  It helps keep blockages from developing by preventing diabetes and keeping blood sugars controlled in folks that have diabetes.  For those folks with high cholesterol, walking helps clean up those cholesterol deposits.  If you have had a heart attack, you have blockages that need to be cleaned up.  So for all you guys out there that have one thing on your mind, you might consider going for a walk to get that one thing.

     

    To be frank, the best way to have the sex life you want is to walk every day.  What are you waiting for?

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 278