Rx-ercise – Dr. A’s Prescription!

Posted: 19 Apr 2017 08:00 AM PDT

Can’t nix that nagging neck or back ouch? Chances are you need a prescription for movement, not medication, a study in Arthritis Care and Research notes. Less than half of people with chronic pain surveyed were told to exercise – a proven remedy!!!

Let’s address a common misconception in the wellness industry:

A healthy lifestyle means setting aside time for exercise, yes, but it also means making Habits of Healthy Motion a part of your entire day, not just the half hour or hour that you spend lifting weights.

Just so there’s no confusion, scheduling time specifically for exercise is still important. You should aim to get at least 30 minutes of exercise activity a day (walking is a great place to start).

The problem is that even if you meet the recommended amount of dedicated exercise a day, it will still only take up, less than 2 percent of your week. That leaves a lot of time for you to be sedentary when you should be staying active and burning calories. In Dr. A’s Habits of Health, he divides these categories into Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT; dedicated exercise time) and Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT; the motion that makes up the rest of your day).

NEAT is actually a much more efficient way to fight calorie creep and a more important contributor to energy expenditure. It’s also much easier to do—in fact you’re already doing it. With a little bit of planning, you can do it even better!

The goal is to make motion a near-continuous part of your day. This can be a challenge in a modern world where we have long commutes to work and may spend the majority of a workday parked at a desk, but it’s still possible to incorporate some of the steady activity that kept our hunter-gatherer ancestors fit and lean.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Stance – Pay attention to your posture. Instead of melting into your office chair, activate your core, align your body properly, and focus on the foundational muscles that give your core strength, especially when you are seated. If you can sit on an exercise ball at your desk, you are less likely to forget about your posture.
• Strolling – You should aim for a daily count of 10,000 steps. If you park a bit farther from the door, use the far water cooler at work, and take the stairs instead of the elevator, you can reach your goal before you hit the treadmill for a workout.
• Samba – Dancing is a great way to burn calories and lift your mood. Listen to music at work and tap your foot or bounce your head to the beat. If you’re listening to music at home during chores, bust out some of your favorite moves while you’re at it.
• Switch – For simple daily tasks, try using your non-dominate hand. This forces your mind and body to do a little bit of extra work, which is great for brain health as well, and you will burn some easy calories in the process.
• Mindfulness – During a long day, it’s all-too easy to forget about your Habits of Healthy Motion. Set an hourly reminder to get up and walk (or at least stand for the next phone call), and with some practice you will become more aware of your need for motion.

Our days should be full of activity. Even if getting up from your office chair every hour doesn’t seem like a huge step forward, keeping that habit strong for months and months will introduce a wealth of motion to your life and will help to combat the many health consequences of a sedentary lifestyle.

So get moving!

Thanks, Dr. A….let’s rock some motion!!!!

A successful day starts with a night of sufficient rest.

A handy trick for parents and children is to set a consistent sleep schedule. This schedule allows the body to adjust and expect rest at certain times, making it easy to drift asleep on schedule.

What has eyes, fins, is squared, and bright yellow with dark polka dots?  It’s the boxfish!  The boxfish can swim a distance of six times its body length each second.  But its unsuspecting feat is more about aerodynamic qualities than strength.  Interestingly, its cube like shape turns out to be a greater help, rather than a hindrance.  The secret is its bony outer skin which gives it maximum strength with minimal weight.  It’s unique appearance and construction enables it to maneuver outstandingly to protect itself from injury.  In fact, that attribute is modeled for us in the auto industry in the way of safer, more fuel efficient, yet lightweight vehicles.  When tested in a wind tunnel, the boxfish “model” slipped through the air far more efficiently than a compact car.

Although the boxfish may at first be clumsy looking, it is on the cutting edge of aerodynamic design for the most fuel efficient car ever.

Since nature is a most wonderful teacher, how does this almost comical little fish influence our lives, especially as we continue to our desired outcome of Optimal Health?

Well, I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say that the boxfish is surely unique by virtue of its size, shape & color!  Then there’s that ability to swim almost uncannily fast for its size – a special ability which is only shared by few creatures in the animal kingdom.   Readily, we all must admit, we are all just as unique in size, shape & color, as well.  We might not have fins, but we have arms and legs and fingers and toes…we have our fingerprints that tell each of our unique stories.

So what unique abilities do we have?  Some of us know what our skills are.   Perhaps we’re a woodworker, jewelry designer, a knitter of sweaters, a baker, a soccer mom or baseball dad, or perhaps we paint or write or teach others how to do these things.  Even the smallest thing that is special about us makes us stand out, like the boxfish.

But the lesson here for us is how our unique characteristics, like those of the boxfish, qualify us for the task at hand.  We are strong, but without being too tough.  We are fast, but without rushing.  We may even be curious to the casual onlooker, but we are not odd, or anti-social.

We may have developed a kind of strategy to out-maneuver our critics to keep ourselves from sustaining injury, like perhaps hurt feelings or a broken heart.  But just like the boxfish, if we take inventory of all of our defining qualities, we find that we have in fact, become fairly skilled at slipping through our lives.  Our own personal efficiency rating relies heavily on why we choose to use our carefully honed skills in such a manner.

Perhaps it’s time for us to turn those skills inward…to use all of that energy and competence to design a new life for ourselves.  One where we are strong and proud….fast and efficient and accomplished…..happy and comfortable in our own skin and able to rise above the spontaneous critic.   Perhaps it’s time for us to stroke the cutting edge of a new design for the most resourceful and efficient ‘us’ ever!

Succeeding at creating health can bring the kind of transformation which can produce the most unanticipated results.  What was once only a passing thought or dream can become reality.  It’s all right there for us…this incredible opportunity to walk, run, live and breathe where before there were aches and pains and sore knees and throbbing shoulders.   Appropriate weight loss accomplished in a common sense and yet timely fashion will saturate us in self-confidence, where whatever our unique abilities are, we are fully able to express them, enjoy them and use them to benefit ourselves, those we love and perhaps the world that we swim in, just like the boxfish.  Hang in there, and just keep swimming!  We may be on the cusp of identifying our unique abilities.

Scarlett O’Hara may have said it best….”Tomorrow is another day”!

I’ve been stuck at home for the last 3 days (with 3-4 more expected) just waiting out recovery of  a surgical procedure on my foot and am forbidden any weight bearing.   I find I’m trolling TV way more than usual because I can’t concentrate much more than a few minutes because of distraction of pain, medication side effects, and catching up on needed rest from several sleepless nights in a row.   After a while it’s just pointless because no matter how many channels you have, it’s typically the same things, over and over and over again. Continue reading “Tomorrow is Another Day”! →

Well, here we are….a hair’s breadth away from a brand, spanking new year!  I truly hope all is well.

I just wanted to connect to see if there is any way I may serve as your health coach!  It makes sense, since at this time of year, many are setting goals in many areas of life.  Health is usually one of them. 

As I’m writing, I’m hoping that we can stay connected throughout 2016, whether it’s on FaceBook or other social media, text, cell or email. 

Lyndon B. Johnson wrote…. Continue reading Anything’s Possible….Just Ask You! →