January Is National Diet Month

January is known as National Diet Month.  Hmmm I wonder why?  Just kidding of course.  It is the time of year that many, many people decide to “go on a diet”.  Why?  For a couple of reasons I believe.  One, the beginning of a year offers a chance to start anew and get rid of old habits or add new ones.  Two, most of us spent the time frame between the end of November and January 1^st pigging out, eating more sweets, consuming more alcohol etc. and we feel the added weight on our body.  So, it naturally seems to be a good time to start over in many ways, and our health or diet seems to be one of the most common areas we choose to start with.

But I’d like to put another thought in your head.  Whether you like it or not, you’re on a diet.  Right now, at this moment, you are on a diet.  Whether you decided consciously or not to be on it, you are on it.  Some of you are on diets that are terrible, some on diets that are just ok, some on diets that are great.  Whatever choices you make in regard to what you consume regularly, that is your diet.  So you can’t decide to “go on a diet”, you’re already on one.  You CAN decide to CHANGE your diet, and for most of us, that could be a really good thing depending on how we change it.  

Consider this/these questions:  Are you consuming 6-10 servings a day of raw fruits and vegetables?  Are you consuming high quality protein from range fed animals daily?  Are you drinking enough water daily? I know the answer to those questions for me, and I’d guess for most of you as well: No.  It’s not a question meant to condemn you or discourage you, it’s a question to help you see where are you are as compared to where you should be.  It allows us to evaluate what kinds of changes should be made.

So if you answered no to any or all of the questions, the next question is “How can I get to that point, or at least closer to it?” That’s how we set our plans up.  For instance, if you’re consuming only one piece of fruit a day, how can you get another one in?  Figure that out and put it in the plan.  If you’re consuming 4 servings/day, then you ask the same question.  It’s really a very simple and powerful exercise as it empowers you to move forward and get closer to wellness.  By the way, if you are consuming little to no fruits/veggies every day, then you not only need to start eating some a.s.a.p., you also need to supplement with a whole food supplement like our NanoGreens or NanoReds supplements.  Fruit and vegetable consumption is one of the main ways we boost our immunity with food, decreasing our chances of getting many diseases.  But remember, a supplement is just that, a SUPPLEMENT, not a substitute!  So don’t take the easy way out and go only with supplementation.

So now that you know you are on a diet already, what changes in that diet do you need to make?  How can I help?  Our lifestyle counseling services or wellness consulting services can be the added support you need to make those changes permanent in your life, part of your regular diet and lifestyle.  We’re here to help so feel free to contact me via email, Facebook or phone.  We can be of service to you via any of those mediums.  The important thing is to act now, and get headed in the right direction so that at this time next year, you’ve created a new YOU!

Until next time…Be Well!

Dr. Bruce

Tis The Season

This week before Christmas is harried for pretty much everyone, I doubt you can ask a single person about their life this week without them using the words, busy, rushed, stressed or something to that effect.  My life has not been much different, I have a small part in our Christmas Eve production at our church and that has put me at rehearsals Sunday, Tuesday night, and Thursday night for 2-3 hours each time.  Not complaining, just stating.

Three of our cast members were feeling a bit under the weather at the last practice, all of which have important parts in the production, two are character actors, one is a singer (with an amazing voice I might add).  I was thinking about this that night as we all prayed for those that are feeling poorly.  In reality, it's more than coincidence that several members are having health issues at this time, for 'tis truly the season for colds and more.  But why?

Let's take a simple look at this.  Let's break it down to the basic tenets of my wellness formula.  To review, the wellness formula states that to be well, we must eat well, move well, think well and rest well.  Again, I challenge you to think of any disease or illness that couldn't be eradicated or at least, minimized by following this simple protocol.   So, during this festive, holy season, how does the average person do in regards to this formula?

Eating well?  Well, we may be eating a LOT of very flavorful holiday foods, but I somehow doubt any of us are eating better than we normally do.  I look at my breakfast table this morning, and see several tins and other containers filled with goodies that people have brought us.  May I say that yes, they are tasty, and I say that not just because my family has partaken of the tasty morsels.  The fudge a patient brought is especially hard to stay away from!

Moving well?  I don't know about you, but I know I haven't been to the gym in about a week, and probably won't get back til Tuesday. I wonder what the activity level at the gyms has been this week, I'll be sure to ask when I return next week.  About the only exercise most are getting is walking in stores I'd say from what I saw yesterday morning at the mall (A Santa Line about 100 yards long).

Thinking well?  Hmmm, how do we measure this?  Let me ask a question. Are people more or less stressed this time of year?  There's more to do, financial issues come to a forefront as we try to buy gifts for our loved ones, traffic is tougher to deal with etc.  I'd say most feel more more stress than normal right about now.

Resting well?  Easy to answer that one.  How many of us have been up later than normal?  How many of us have not been on our normal rest pattern?  How many late night glasses of wine or other toddies have been consumed in the past month that are more than normal? 

It's kind of the perfect storm isn't it?  More sugar that lowers our immunity, no exercise to boost our immunity and fight off calories, extra stress and less rest.  Kind of the antithesis to the wellness formula.

So what do we do?  Our best.  Recognize the issue and do one's best to combat it, and enjoy this holiest of seasons.  And recall Philippians 4: 4-7 which says, "⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I wish you peace, health, and a prosperous 2012.

Until next time...Be Well!!
Dr. Bruce

At Least We'll Look Good In The Casket

How's that for a morbid title.  It came to me early this morning, I guess it's dangerous to blog before 6 a.m.  I was reading an article about this "fat zapping drug" called Adipotide that targets the blood vessels leading to fat cells to effectively starve the fat cells by killing those blood vessels.  Well that sounds like a healthy way to go doesn't it?  Let's take fat cells, which are necessary in the body, and start starving them til they die off and kill the fat cells as a result. 

Hmmm.  Let's think about this.  The drug kills blood vessels in the body.  So, when we quit taking it what happens?  I'd guess the blood vessels re-grow or new ones grow to the new fat cells that will invariably appear because no lifestyle changes have occurred.  Hmmm. I guess that means we'll have to take this drug for the rest of our lives.  Hmmm.  I guess that will make the drug manufacturers happy, and wealthy, and ironically "fat". 

So, we can continue to eat what we want, avoid moving much at all, live a stressed out life, and not rest well because we have a drug that will reduce the fat and keep it away.  All without us having to lift a finger to change.  Just take this pill and all is well, or so it appears.

Hey, you know what?  My oil light came on in my car.  That's a warning sign that the car needs oil isn't it?  I need to get that problem addressed.  I should probably stop and get some oil and pour it in.  Or...........I could just find the wires to the oil light, and yank them out.  That way the oil light isn't on and disturbing me while I try to keep driving.  It's cheaper too, doesn't cost a thing to yank some wires out.  Or better yet, some black electrical tape over the light will keep me from seeing it on too.  That's even easier, though very slightly more expensive than yanking the wiring out.  No one around me will know that my bright shiny car is dying of thirst for oil, it will still look great as I drive down the street and everyone can marvel at my beautiful car that I keep washed and vacuumed regularly. 

Well, when that motor blows, and the car dies, it sure will look pretty sitting in the junkyard too.  If we keep taking the same approach to our health, taking drugs to mask symptoms, botox injections to look good, living a suicidal lifestyle, we'll suffer the same fate.

At least we'll look good in the casket.

Until Next Time...Be Well!
Dr. Bruce.

The Second Half Of The Word: Thanks-Giving

So here's November, coming at us full throttle, kicking off the season of the hustle and bustle of the last 60 days of 2011.  60 days from now we will all be celebrating the start of 2012, eating our cabbage, black eyed peas, watching parades and football.  I hope and pray you're not looking at the end of 2011 and wondering why you didn't get this or that done.  I hope you're able to look back on it as a job well done and with no regrets. 

The beginning of the holidays is officially Thanksgiving.  That of course is the time where we typically focus on being grateful for the blessings we've received, and well we should.  For we have all experienced some amazing blessings in the past year most likely, even if it's only ("only") the gift of another year of life.  I am personally continually amazed that I could be blessed with the life I've had for 46 years, and I grow more grateful for it daily.  But I'd like to focus on another part of Thanksgiving, the 2nd half of the word: Giving.

I am currently reading a book called Radical by David Platt.  He speaks in his book of the reason behind God's blessings.  It's not so we can "oooh" and "ahhh" over how blessed we are. It's so we can be a conduit of His great love for us by sharing it with others.  That makes perfect sense to me.  We are blessed so that we can be a blessing to others.  For those of you reading this that aren't Christ followers, stay with me here.  You may not believe the in the same God I do, but the principle definitely still applies.  We shouldn't just sit back and just say "look how blessed we are, I am so grateful".  That is the equivalent of being the Dead Sea, which only receives and never contributes, thus it is "dead".

We are the same way.  If all we do is receive, or to be more blunt about it, if all we do is take, we contribute nothing to the world.  In essence, much like the Dead Sea, we are dead.  We are not made to be receivers only, we are made to be a conduit through which others can experience blessings. I believe that for us to REALLY be grateful, we MUST give back.  I also believe that if we care to fully experience life, we MUST be that conduit, we MUST share what we have been given.

Today is November 1st, so last night was Halloween.  It's a night that for kids is typically about getting things (candy).  Our church put a new, Radical spin on Halloween. Instead of focusing on getting candy from the houses, we had about 50+ people go out to the houses and ask for canned goods to give to a local pantry.  I was with a group of high school boys doing this.  It was very awe inspiring to watch them being counter-cultural as they went from door to door explaining what they were doing, taking a stand and actually caring more about what they can get for OTHERS, versus what they could get for themselves.  It was even more impressive to see them truly having fun doing this, laughing and cutting up and experiencing the joy of being part of something bigger than them, that will benefit others, with no strings attached. It just seemed innately right.

I think joy is a key word here.  When we give of ourselves, we may get tired, (I was last night after following these young men around from house to house), but we can experience joy.  Joy is more than happiness.  Happiness is a fleeting emotion, tied to an event or time.  Joy is everlasting, and comes deep from within.  It comes from being a receiver and a giver, being blessed and being a blessing.

So, if you want to be truly thankful and have more than you can imagine being thankful for, such as having true joy, be a giver.  Be a blessing to others.  It is part of the wellness lifestyle to give. Do it with regularity, and you'll have your own socks blessed off.   You'll have joy that is unspeakable, and live a life that won't leave you filled with regrets.

Until next time...Be Well!
Dr. Bruce

The Art Of Living Your Life With Gratitude

Next week November 1st comes around, and we all start thinking of the holidays, the first of which is Thanksgiving. Of course that is a time when we are supposed to give thanks. But do we? Or do we look at this holiday only as a time to stuff our faces, sit around and watch football, and hang out with family? There's nothing wrong with that, and I'll probably do a little of each. But, are we thankful? Really Thankful?

You'd be surprised at the benefits of living a life of gratefulness. It changes your whole physiology (your insides). Studies have shown that practicing gratefulness has a whole myriad of health benefits. It can literally add years to your life, and life to your years.

There are several ways to start living this style of life. I teach my patients these when they are having issues with depression or with anxiety. One would be to buy a small notebook that you keep with you. You can use this as your gratefulness journal. You can either carry it with you and write in it as the day goes by about what your grateful for, or you can have a specific time every day that you sit down to use it. Every day, your task is to write down 5 things you are grateful for. Now, the goal is not just to create a list of things you are thankful for, but to experience exactly why you are thankful. The goal is to shift our focus from all that is not quite right in our life, to the blessings we already have.  It's easy to find the bad in life, anyone can do that.  But it takes time and effort to be truly grateful.  So, how DO we move from making a list to experiencing true gratefulness? Read on!

When you pick something you are thankful for, don't just write it down. Instead, write it down, then write a brief sentence or two as to WHY you are grateful. For instance, if I were to write down I am grateful for my wife, I'd might say the following: "I am grateful for my wife because she is beautiful inside and out, and I could not ask for a better mom for my kids. I enjoyed sitting with her by the fire pit and just shooting the breeze last night". That is a real example that I used recently.  When you do it this way, you will not just state what you are blessed with, you will re-experience it.  That is what will change your physiology.

You can do that once a day and list 5 things, or you can go through the day and write things down as they come to you or you experience them. Or you can do a combination of the two where you spend 5 minutes writing in your journal daily, but you also keep it with you so you can write down other things that you might experience throughout the day. If you're ever feeling down, stressed, depressed or frustrated, take it out and read through some of the entries.

Lastly, every night before you fall asleep, think on those things again. The bible tells us in Phillipians 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." So every night review your day and focus on those things that are noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable etc and be thankful for them. It's a great way to drift off to sleep.

Finishing Strong........and Beginning Well!

There is less than 1/4 of 2011 left for us to experience. Soon the familiar sounds of Christmas will be heard and the pace of life will pick up with shopping, cooking, parties, decorating and the like. I was just speaking with my daughter and relaying that in a little over a month Thanksgiving will be here. It's hard to believe, but the end of 2011 is drawing near.

So how have you done with your health goals for this year? Have you nailed them and moved on to other goals? Did you struggle with some and do well with others? Or did you totally blow all of them? Probably most of us fall into the middle category I'd bet. If you have already nailed all your goals then pat yourself on the back for having had a great year. If you really struggled this year, acknowledge it and realize it's time to move forward since there's nothing we can do about what is already past.

I'd like to encourage you a bit here. There is still some time to make a difference in your health this year. No, you may not be able to lose 50 pounds, but you can make a dent in your weight. You may not be working out at all, but by the end of the year you could have a habit of exercising 4x every week. While you may not be able to hit all your goals by the end of the year, you can do some things that set the pace for your upcoming year. If you decide, and that's all it takes is a decision, you can have a whole boatload of new health habits started by December 31, and you finish the year feeling good about yourself. You'll finish the year strong and that will make you proud of your accomplishments. Remember to not take on too much if you are going to try to finish strong, but maybe set up a plan that allows you to do a few new things every week so that you build that momentum. Maybe this week you start walking a few times a week. Maybe next week you start working your eating habits by planning a few healthy meals. The week after that you could add in some massage therapy to help you de-stress and relax. You get the picture. A few steps at a time and come the last week of December you'll be rocking.

I'll caution you with one very important concept. When the holidays arrive, your schedule will not get easier. It will get tougher and tighter as events are put into your schedule, and as opportunities to consume sweet treats multiply like rabbits! Be prepared, make your plans and commit to sticking to them for optimum results.

Now on to next year. NOW is the time to start planning. Your success in 2012 starts NOW. It's time to set your goals for where you'd like to be in a year. It's time now to get those goals written down and start reviewing them regularly so that when January 1 rolls around you already have them ingrained in your brain to the point where you are consistently taking action that can move you closer to achieving them. Too many people wake up January 1 and start thinking about their goals then. That's great, but if you do that you've already lost valuable time. You want to start well, which means hitting the ground running and having that momentum working strongly in your favor. So go buy yourself a notebook, or use your computer to write up your goals and save them. Then start reviewing those goals daily. Make sure they're attainable and measurable so you have a clear idea of what it will look like when you attain them.

Some of us may have no real clue where to start.  Eating and exercising are the two things that usually come to mind when we talk about health goals, so let's start with those two.  How many healthy meals are you currently eating per week?  Remember, healthy meals means eating REAL food, that grows, or was once alive with eyes (meat, fruits, nuts, seeds, vegetables).  Can you add in more per week?  How many?  Are you snacking well in between meals?  Can you start preparing healthy snacks to keep with you like nuts, seeds, or a piece of fruit?  Are you exercising at all?  Maybe you can add in one day/week more than you are currently doing.  Maybe you need to have more intense cardio sessions so taking a spin class might be the answer.  

How about your rest habits?  Are you resting well? Do you get to bed at a regular time every night allowing your body to develop good sleep hygiene and better rest?  Are you taking in too much caffeine too late at night to allow your body to rest? Too much alcohol can do the same, keeping you from reaching deep, restful sleep.

How about stress in your life?  Is it under control? What are your plans to offset it?  Do you have a vision or a purpose for your life that energizes you?  Are you giving of your time to worthy causes that make a difference in the lives of people less fortunate?  How are your social interactions?  What can you do to improve them?

Each of these areas that I mention, fall into my oh so often repeated wellness mantra:  To BE Well, we must Eat Well, Move Well, Think Well and Rest Well.  Any time you want to evaluate your health and well being, it should all come back to that simple, but extremely valid saying.  Starting there, and focusing on those 4 areas of wellness, will surely allow you to move in the right direction.  If you need help working on those 4 areas, that is something we do regularly in our office with our wellness coaching so don't hesitate to give us a call!

Finally, considering we are so close to Thanksgiving, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention living a life of gratitude.  This falls under thinking well in my wellness mantra.  Spend some time EVERY day being grateful for the things in your life.  Every night when I go to bed I spend time in gratitude to my God for the things of that day.  It's a great way to end your day and helps to assure good rest too.  To that end, thank you to all of you that read my ramblings monthly and that email me, call me, see me in the community and mention reading them.  I am grateful for you, and the chance to spread the "gospel of wellness" as I call it!

Use this time of year to start moving in the right direction, getting your goals set for the upcoming year, and developing momentum for your upcoming success! That way, you'll finish strong in 2011, and you'll start well in 2012!

Until next time...Be Well!

Dr. Bruce

It Can Happen To Anyone (You and I Too)

Sooo, here I am, an up and coming health and wellness fanatic, doing my best to take good care of myself, and spreading the "gospel of wellness" to the masses in my own little way. Always eating well, exercising, resting and thinking well, as healthy as I can be right? Yes.........and no.

You see, 2 days ago at work on a Monday morning, I noticed I felt really tired, and a little cold at my office. I checked the thermostat to see if something was set wrong. It was normal. Hmmmm could I be getting sick? Surely not. I haven't run a fever in 2 years, haven't had a cold in 2 years, have felt terrific for a LONG time. Yet by the time lunch rolled around, I could tell I was not right. My eyes were wanting to do nothing but close, and my body felt a bit achy. Oh brother, I don't have time for this, I have a retreat I am going to later this week, I have patients to see prior to that. This was my thought process as panic almost set in. I mean, God forbid I get sick right? Someone like me should always be healthy right? Again, yes.......and no.

See, being healthy doesn't mean you're never sick. I doubt anyone's claims when they say they NEVER get sick. I mean, really? You never get a cold, never have a little stomach upset, no sinus headaches, ever??? Somehow I doubt that. Personally, since in my practice I physically touch 25-45 people a day, and these patients of mine come into the office in varying degrees of health, I get exposed to a lot of the "bugs" they carry in with them. In years past I would get sick enough every year to miss work about twice for a day or two, and you can see how that might happen in my line of work.

Now back to our story....So I realized my body was attempting to tell me something. I was cold and sleepy, and parts of my body were aching a little, which was my body's way of trying to fight off whatever was attacking it. So I went into prevent defense. I went home at lunch, took another dose of my Superfood Solution Shake (I usually take one/day), took two whole food supplements and, because I was listening to my body, I took a nap. I slept for about 1.5 hours total which in itself is a telltale sign that something was wrong since I never nap that long. That evening I took yet another dose of my shake and more whole food supplements. The next morning I was off work, so I took more supplements/shakes, ate good protein and some fruit, drank water, and slept some more. By the afternoon I was already feeling better, and now today I awoke feeling almost 100% (probably 95% if I had to put a number on it).

So why did I fall "under the weather"? Hindsight is 20/20 of course and I can say that over the last 2 weeks, I've let stress get the best of me, I didn't rest all that well because of it, and my eating habits toward the end of last week weren't all that great either. So that is lesson #1 to take from this. We need to pay closer attention to what we are allowing our body to go through as it has a cumulative effect on our health. I was struggling in 3 out of the 4 "Pillars of Wellness" (Eat well, move well, think well and rest well) so that lowered my immunity. The 2nd takeaway from this is how to handle it once you DO start heading down the path to sickness. I ate whole foods, I got extra rest, I practiced total relaxation, I took extra supplements, I didn't put anything toxic in my body (sugars, non-real food etc).

I think lesson #3 is that everyone gets sick to one degree or another at some point. The really healthy among us bounce back much faster, like the blow-up punching bags that are weighted on the bottom, you may get knocked down, but you always bounce back up, and you'll bounce back up faster the healthier you are. In this case, I didn't get knocked down, but I wobbled a bit and bounced back.

Lastly I think a lesson here is that you don't become sick overnight. It's usually a process where inch by inch your immune response slips. You are exposed to "bugs" daily, and your immune system when it's functioning right always wins and keeps them at bay. But when we start skimping on our eating, thinking, resting and exercising, we become less healthy, whether or not we actually have symptoms or not. Eventually if that state continues, we do acquire symptoms and classify ourselves then as "sick".

I find it very interesting that the last two times (this being one of them) I was "under the weather", I was able to bounce right back within a day or so via eating, moving, thinking and resting in a wellness manner. You can do the same thing by learning how to live the wellness lifestyle I promote via our blogs and other social media. I hope this helps!

Until next time...Be Well!

Dr. Bruce