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

Starting The Day In A Wellness Way

Right now as I type this, it is Monday morning, I’ve seen my first group of patients, have a short break before the next ones arrive, and I’ve had a thought in my mind since early this morning that I thought I’d share with you. I was reading through some posts on social media outlets today, and saw varying degrees of “Monday morning” comments. As you might imagine, they ranged from “ugh, it’s Monday”, to more encouraging ones wishing everyone a great start to the week. I had a brief conversation with my 14 year old son this morning on the way to school (aren’t all conversations with 14 year old boys brief?) about the same topic. It really got me thinking about the importance of how we start our days. I always encourage people to “Finish Strong”, but I sometimes think we forget to “Start Well”. This can set the tone for an entire day, and an entire week.

So, how do you start the day? Are you the “Good God it’s morning!” person? Or are you the “Good morning God!” person? Admittedly, I have both types of days at varying times, but honestly I have to say it’s more the latter to a very large degree. I don’t think it’s because I am especially blessed, or lucky, though both of those come into play to some degree. I know I am blessed to have a profession/career that is a blast. I know I am lucky to have the wife I have (she’d agree too) etc. But beyond that, I believe there are some keys that I’ve learned in my years of living and in my years of practice and observing the habits of my patients. So, today I’ll share a couple of tidbits that work well for me to have the best chance of “Starting Well”.

First, today being Monday, that means that I arose extra early to spend time at the gym for a spin class (stationary bike class). It’s an hour of intense cardio work and calorie burning. I’ll be honest that when that alarm goes off at 4:45 on mornings like this, I always have a 3 minute conversation with myself as to whether or not I will actually get up. Getting up usually wins because I think about how great it feels afterward to have started my day in such a great manner. You may not desire to rise that early and go spin for an hour, but the point is to find some way of expending some energy right off the bat and help your day start well. You’ll be proud of yourself and thus feel better emotionally about you. You’ll release endorphins that automatically make you feel good too. You will have awakened your body and made it ready to attack the week. Consider finding some way to exercise right off the bat, even if it’s walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes, you’ll be glad you did it and learn to love the new habit.

Another way to start your day off in a wellness manner is to eat well. Fuel your body in an appropriate manner. A caramel machiotto and pastry doesn’t qualify! Remember it needs to be real food. I start my day off with a Superfood Shake with some products we carry, giving me the equivalent of 8-10 servings of organic fruits and veggies, some healthy whey protein, a solid dose of Omega 3 fish oil, and my vitamin D for the day. I add in a boiled egg often, and a piece of fruit. It’s the first chance I’ve had since the previous dinner to re-fuel so I want to make sure I do it right to avoid mid-morning cravings for twinkies, soft drinks and the like.

I also enjoy a bit of quiet time first thing every morning. Sometimes this is spent with a cup of coffee on my back porch, sometimes sitting in a comfortable chair in my family room. That’s the time I spend mentally preparing for the day, connecting with my God, reading my bible and planning out the day. It organizes my brain (as much as that is possible at least) and helps me insure that the coming day will be as productive as possible.

Lastly, if nothing else, getting up early enough to not be rushing out the door is vital. Being able to take the time to enjoy the morning time (yes it’s possible) sets a good tone for the day. Stressing because we’re running late and trying to remember all the things we need to take with us at the last minute causes stress and certainly isn’t conducive to starting well.

If you begin one or more of these habits, I think you’ll find it easier to start well, stay productive, feel better about one’s self, and banish the “Good God it’s morning” persona!

Until next time…Be Well!
Dr. Bruce

Hatred Killed Americans 10 Years Ago

And hatred is killing America today. It's sad, but it's true. Hatred of people within our own country has weakened us. Hatred of each other creates an "us vs. them" mentality within our own team. We have to remember that we are on the same side in the long run, and stop hating someone just because they have a different letter behind their name. "They" are Americans, "they" are one of us. We don't have to like "them", or what they believe in and stand for, that's not what I am saying. It's impossible to like everyone, even if "they" are on "our" side politically.

But the mass hatred I see in this country for entire political groups is a worthless emotion, with no upside to it. It has created a divided country where each side blames everything bad on the other. The truth probably lies somewhere in between. But to go on hating, and blaming, gets us nowhere. I'm like a lot of people this weekend, watching a lot of football. The teams that are strong and successful are united and work together, and I am sure they don't all like each other. If they acted on on the fact that they don't like each other, they'd not succeed. That same analogy can be said about our country, which is why I believe we are weakened country for many reasons, and divisiveness is one of the big ones.

Hatred in this manner kills. It kills the owner of that emotion. It is not a wellness oriented emotion, and can serve no good. The Carpenter from Bethlehem said for us to love our enemies and pray for those that persecute us. How much more so should we do this for those on our own team? How much more so does this weaken us individually by harboring said hatred? And when each of us is weakened individually by holding on to such hatred, well, the whole is the sum of it's parts.

If you want to be well, and if you want our country to be well, and be healed, it starts with each of us individually. Just like when one or more of the cells in your body become ill, it makes the whole body less healthy. Release that hatred, focus on the good, focus on doing good, serving others, caring for one's self. Thinking well is one of the 4 Pillars of Wellness I teach, and hatred of entire groups of people is the complete opposite of that pillar.

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

Keep It Simple, Keep It Real

It's simple. It really is.

Eating well is very simple. One doesn't need to spend countless hours watching grams of fat, weighing food, counting calories, evaluating what's good for you or not, looking at a pyramid or a plate. Too much information can truly confuse one as to what types of foods they should consume. It's sad.

I see people talking about eating healthy because they buy low fat "x" or they eat only whole wheat pasta, without regard to the fact that it's loaded with sugar, or processed carbohydrates that turn to sugar in the body. The media, the marketers, all tend to give us half the story. They're allowed to call something healthy without any regard to whether or not it's truly healthy. And unfortunately, most of society sees that and jumps right on it, because it's what they're told. The results? Rampant obesity, skyrocketing numbers of diabetes in children, heart disease, removal of organs (the gall bladder is the most popular these days), and in general fewer and fewer people that are truly healthy.

It's a shame. It really is very simple, and the title of this post says it all: Eat real, eat raw. Real food, as I've said over and over, grows or had eyes at some point. That would mean vegetables, fruits, and meat. For veggies and fruit, it's best to eat organic, and for meat it's best to have range fed wild animal meat. This is what our ancestors ate for years, and studies done on their remains have shown nowhere near the episodes of these diseases of lifestyle that are so prevalent in our western culture. Our ancestors also moved a whole lot more than we do. They walked places, they spent time outdoors playing, they worked hard in the fields, they had no TV to spend countless hours in front of. I'd guess they probably didn't work til all hours of the night since communication was limited, which meant they tended to rest well. In short, they lived innately, the way we were designed to live.

I just had this conversation with a patient this morning. The problem we have in our culture is the desire/felt need for convenience. If we didn't always look for convenience in our eating habits we'd be better off. Yes it takes a bit more effort to eat innately. It's not always convenient. However, it's not convenient to be sick either, it's not convenient to have heart surgery, or take insulin daily, or be stuck in a hospital for days. And that is the result of eating conveniently. It's also MUCH more costly in the long run to eat conveniently when you count the days lost due to illness, the cost of medicine, doctors visits, surgery and the wear and tear of those procedures/meds on our body.

So, instead of making it so complicated, think of it the way I do. Make it simple. It will take some extra work, specifically it will take planning. At the start of each week, look at your schedule, plan out meals for the week. I know sometimes you can't affect your meals. Many times I have meetings where they supply food. Sometimes it's a good choice, sometimes not. But when I look at my schedule and see opportunities to eat well, I plan those out. A basic meal needs some protein (meat/chicken/eggs/nuts/seeds), and about 2 different vegetables of varying colors or a good salad and/or fruit. Snack on things such as raw veggies/fruit/nuts/seeds. Purchase lots of healthy snacks for the times when you can't prepare a full meal, but you can put together several healthy ready to eat snacks to make up a meal. Eat throughout the day, avoiding the typical huge meals that are common. I like to use the concept of grazing vs. gorging to make this point clear. If you eat out, realize their portions are way too big, so plan on taking some home. You can even request a to go box when your meal is delivered and then separate out part of it immediately. Sharing a meal is another option when huge portions come your way.

Keep it simple, overcomplicating things makes us less likely to follow through. It can be done, and I am around to help people work through this via our wellness consultations. Call me if you want to work on your plan for wellness, and we'll evaluate your eating, exercising, thinking, and resting habits to help you attain your wellness goals.

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

Wellness Days vs.Sickness Days

I'd venture to guess that most people experience too many "Sickness Days". They deal with too much stress, bad food, not enough rest or exercise every day of their lives. And since one's life is created one day at a time, the sum of all of our "Sickness Days" is a sick life. So, Wellness Wednesday is what we call the first Wednesday of every month in our office. On those days we focus on adding in a new wellness habit and we often have our patients experience the new habit, such as tasting a new smoothie, trying out a new supplement etc. Our goal is to get people thinking monthly about what they can try that is new and different and that can move them toward a wellness lifestyle. It's a great idea I think, and our patients look forward to it each and every month to try something new. If everyone started a new wellness habit every month, our health as a nation would significantly improve over the long haul.

Recently in doing some wellness lifestyle coaching with one of my patients, I came up with a new idea. We were talking about making changes in her lifestyle to get her moving toward wellness, and I take the approach of making just a little change at a time. My purpose in doing this is to not overwhelm the patient with too much too quickly. This is important as we don't want to set a patient up for failure, and trying to do too much too quickly is sometimes too painful to be successful at, and they become discouraged and tend to quit.

Instead, we focus on baby steps. For instance, instead of trying to go out and jog for 30 minutes when they've been pretty much a couch potato, we encourage them to try walking "x" amount of time, depending on their fitness level, "x" times/week. After they get accustomed to that new habit, they are then encouraged to do a bit more, maybe increase the frequency, or the duration of their walks. That way it feels like they are only adding in a little bit more to their already established routine.

But, in doing this, I've found it takes a long time for enough new habits to build up to create significant changes. So to accelerate the process, I decided to give a new idea a shot. It's called a "Wellness Day". It consists of planning a certain day as a total wellness day. On that day, they must plan in advance what they are going to do. I encourage them to focus on all 4 of our Pillars of Wellness (eat well, move well, think well, rest well) and make sure they have plans for each area.

So in advance they plan out their meals and snacks for the day. They have to focus on whole foods (real food) with no additives. Remember my definition of real food: It either grows or had eyes at one point, otherwise it is an "edible food like substance". They need to focus on consuming plenty of water for the day, maybe some tea with lemon, or an herbal tea of their choice.

They have to plan to move more than they might normally. This may not be much more than a 30 minute walk if they are sedentary usually. If they're already active, then any sort of normal exercise program they do is acceptable, but maybe they push their duration by 10 minutes or so more. If they don't usually do any stretching, this would be a good day to start that habit too. There are many stretching sites on the net to learn from. Just always remember to be careful if you've not been active, and if you're over 40 or have a history of cardiovascular issues, get cleared by your doctor before you begin any vigorous plan of exercise.

I encourage them to spend some time de-stressing and relaxing on their Wellness Day. It's a great time to schedule a massage for relaxation purposes, or some time at a quiet spot for dinner with their spouse (eating healthy of course). Making sure they spend some time being grateful is extremely important, and connecting with their Maker on a spiritual level is vital for this special day. This can also be accomplished by whatever activities they really enjoy doing, grilling a good dinner, playing with the kids, the dog or both.

Finally, I encourage them to work on their sleep hygiene plan. I want them to get good rest that night, so nothing with caffeine after 4 in the afternoon. As bedtime draws near the need to start winding down is vital and they need a plan for doing just that; turning down the lights, quiet music, a good book, good conversation with their spouse etc.

By creating a Wellness Day, one can see what it would feel like to live that lifestyle. The first Wellness Day may be a bit tough, but it's only a day, so plan it ahead of time. If you wait til the last minute, there will be stress when you don't have all the foods that you need for a certain recipe, or when you suddenly realize that you forgot to plan out some aspect. Remember, I want you to be set up for success, not failure. And if you do fail in some aspect for that day, at least the day you had was more wellness oriented than it would have been otherwise. You can also choose to do this in community with others and discuss/plan your day together for accountability.

Once you have a Wellness Day going once/week, or even once per month if weekly is too tough, then add in "a little more", like an extra day/week or month. Soon those days will become comfortable for you and you will be able to continue adding in a day or two more. Soon the majority of your days will be Wellness Days, and you'll have much less "sickness" days.

Until next time...Be Well!

Dr. Bruce

When All Health Is NOT Breaking Loose......

and instead, all HECK is breaking loose.....those are the times when it's tough on us to live a wellness oriented life. We have the best of intentions, but life is happening at the speed of, well, life. Everything seems to be out of control, and our health often suffers for it.

For many, the month of May is like that. I have been saying all month long (today is May 31 as I am writing this) that May is December, minus the cold weather and presents. It is crazy busy. Right now it is 9:30 at night on a Tuesday evening, I am at my church while my daughter is going through rehearsals with her performing arts group for the production this weekend. Tomorrow is the last day of school for my kids, and I decided to let my wife head home to finish up her grading etc. for the year, and maybe find time to pay a few bills lol. I am sure your life has similar challenges, and there are parents of about 150 kids here with us tonight out this late probably thinking some of the same things I (and you) are thinking: How can we allow this to happen?

It's not easy raising kids and keeping our lifestyles in check. I am not sure I have the best answer yet. But I know this. I cannot give up, and I realize that soon I'll be able to settle into a routine that allows us as a family to exercise with regularity, and eat home cooked meals regularly too (what a concept). I think it's important to just make sure we don't lose site of the goal, the prize, which is optimum health. Sometimes we have to accept, that for a short while, we may get a little unbalanced. But we need to keep looking for that time when we will be able to get back to that lifestyle we want, and make sure we jump right into it when that time finally makes its appearance!

For me that will be right after Youth Camp ends in about 1.5 weeks. I still have 1 week of hanging out with kids out in West Texas and eating, yep you guessed it, CAMP FOOD for a week! Talk about no control!

I so look forward to 2 spin classes a week, 2 Peak 8 sessions and 3 10 minute blasters every week again! The thought of salads with most meals, and here's a novel idea: a home cooked meal! I am pumped just thinking about it!!

Ok, maybe if I'm that excited, I need to get a life!!

Until next time...BE WELL!

Dr. Bruce

What Would You Have Them Say About You?

I hate this feeling. I just read that golfing legend Seve Ballesteros passed away from the evil brain tumor he had been diagnosed with a few years ago. Seve was always so strong, so determined, he was one of those you'd always EXPECT to make that killer putt, or chip it in when you least expect it. He was always getting himself out of trouble on the golf course. He always won and lost with class. He seemed to be a gentleman at all times. You couldn't help but root for him. And as he faced this battle of a lifetime, you again couldn't help but root for him, and again, you expected him to make it.

Sadly it wasn't to be. His body succumbed to cancer, and his time on this earth is done. He will be missed by family and friends, and the golfing world for sure. It brings to my mind my own mortality, he was less than a decade older than I. As I take in this loss of life, I am seeking the answer to what this means to me.

Obviously I didn't know Seve, only what I saw of him on TV, so that is not what I mean when I think of what this means to me. But it is a reminder that we are on this earth but a short while, our life is vapor Scripture says and we aren't guaranteed the next breath. It is a reminder to me to not take for granted what I have in my life. We all need to enjoy the time we spend with our families and friends, take care of our bodies we've been given and work to leave behind a legacy that will impact the world in a positive way.

I recall years ago going through an exercise where we were to think of what we'd like a friend, family member, co-worker, spouse etc to say about us if they were eulogizing us. Scary thought right? But, the exercise didn't end there. I was told to ask myself if they'd be truly able to say those things about me if I died right now. In many cases I'd say they wouldn't be able to say some of the things I'd like. The point is, if they can't say those things, then what do I need to do now, RIGHT NOW, to start making sure those are the things said about me when my time comes?

That's an exercise that should be a regular part of our life, especially if we want to truly live our lives in a wellness way. It's never to early to start working on that, our time could be around the corner.

RIP Seve.

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