Exercising To Live

Exercise should be a 4 letter word, right? Along with diet, it conjures up plenty of not so great neuroassociations. There are times when even I feel like it's a bad word. But when I think of the benefits of exercising, as well as the consequences of NOT exercising, and I recall how good I feel after exercising, it gives me a new perspective. I hope to be able to help you gain a new perspective on exercise as well.

Benefits of Exercise

Right about now you might be saying...."blah blah blah". I realize that. We all know the benefits of exercise right? Maybe so. But, do we focus on them? Or do we focus on the "pain" of exercise? I'd suggest that if you are not exercising regularly, you are focusing on the pain. Tony Robbins says we do things for only 2 reasons; 1. To avoid pain, or 2. To gain pleasure. And he says that most of us will do more to avoid pain than gain pleasure. Unfortunately, I have found this to be true for many people, your humble blogger included. So, this truth is neither good nor bad necessarily. It is what it is (to use a much overused phrase). The key is, harnessing this truth to work for us, and specifically in the area of exercise. The more we know the benefits of exercise, and the pain of not exercising, the more likely we are TO exercise. Many people don't start watching their cholesterol or blood pressure until it becomes something that is severe enough to get one thinking about their mortality. In other words, the pain of not taking care of themselves gets bigger than the pleasure of not taking care of themselves. What we have to do, if we are to create a lifestyle that includes regular exercise, is to focus on the pain of NOT exercising, and the pleasure of the results of exercising. That's our best bet for making it part of our lifestyle.

Here are some of the benefits (to get back to our topic at hand, guess my ADHD is acting up)

1. Burn Fat (duh).

We ALL know this benefit. Consistent cardio work (walking, biking, or any activity that elevates your heart rate for 30 minutes or more) will help you burn fat.

2. Build lean muscle mass:

So what? Why would you want lean muscle mass? Besides helping you look better physically, having more lean muscle mass will boost your metabolism, making it easier for you to lose weight or maintain your current weight. It will boost your energy levels, and of course make you stronger. Resistance training will help you build lean muscle. This could include weight lifting on machines or free weights, or just doing exercises like push ups, situps, dips, lunges etc. This type of exercising will also build stronger bones, reducing the chances of osteoporosis as you age.

3. Lower Blood Pressure/Heart Rate:

The Mayo Clinic website states that cardio exercise can lower your blood pressure by 10 mm/Hg. That's as much as one could expect with one blood pressure medication! It takes consistency in cardio exercise to get the stabilizing effects though. You need to keep up the exercise for abut 3 months or so to get the benefits. You want to aim for 30 minutes most days of the week. If you think that's too much for you, just start with a little more than you currently do. Get used to that, then increase by a little more. I had the same issue with time constraints, but I slowly increased my time on the treadmill and now shoot for three 1-hour walks/week, along with 3-4 half hour walks/week. It can be done (particularly if the pain/pleasure principle detailed above is used!)

4. Improve Your Mood:

Need to blow off some steam after a stressful day? A workout at the gym or a brisk 30-minute walk can help you calm down.

Exercise stimulates various brain chemicals, which may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out. You'll also look better and feel better when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem. Exercise even reduces feelings of depression and anxiety. You will always feel better about yourself mentally since you know you are doing good things for yourself. Don't think so? Do the opposite. See how you feel about yourself when you eat poorly and don't exercise. My bet is you'll soon see the difference, and fall in love with feeling good about yourself by taking better care of your physical health.

There are many more benefits to exercise, this is only a short sample list.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT START AN EXERCISE PROGRAM WITHOUT CONSULTING YOUR OWN PERSONAL CHIROPRACTOR OR OTHER HEALTH CARE PROVIDER, PARTICULARLY IF YOU ARE OVER 40 AND HAVEN'T EXERCISED, OR HAVE HAD HEALTH ISSUES THAT COULD BE AGGRAVATED BY EXERCISE. IF IN DOUBT, CONSULT YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.

Eating To Live

Ok, this is a biggie!! Is it low fat? Low carb? High fat? High carb? Portion control? Point systems? Some magical supplement?

Well truthfully, if THAT'S the questions you're asking, I think you're barking up the wrong tree. It's about NUTRITION. It's not even about your waist size (though that can be a diagnostic indicator). It's about what we are doing to our bodies on a daily basis, 3 or more times a day. Everything we eat has a consequence on our health. Every time we eat, we have the chance to make ourself again, in a good or bad way depending on our choices. It's about giving your body what it needs to function at peak levels, or it's about slowly killing your body, robbing your life of years, and robbing your years of life.

Every time we eat, we have an opportunity to plant seeds. Seeds of health or seeds of sickness. And rest assured, the seeds we plant DO affect us, particularly if we plant the same seeds over extended periods of time. Every day, cells in our body die off. Red blood cells (RBC's) have a life span of about 100 days or so. Then they are killed off and must be replenished. Where does the body get the raw materials for re-making these cells? Right-from the nutrients we put in our body. So, literally, you are re-making your body each time you put food in your mouth! That's a good thing, because many of us really need to be re-made in a major way.

I don't have time here to go thru a list of what to eat and what not to eat in great detail. Instead I'll give a few basics. One rule of thumb is, if it doesn't grow, and it doesn't hunt, or you can't hunt it, it probably shouldn't be considered a food source!! Processed foods are never good for you (but hey, we all enjoy a good dessert sometimes I know, just not a HUGE serving, every night!). The other rule of thumb is, if it wasn't a food source a century or more ago, it's probably not a food source (meaning processed again).

Three things to avoid would include what I call the 3 whites: white rice, white flour, salt. I'll tell you another thing you should avoid at all costs: Soft Drinks. Even the diet ones have chemicals in them that do nasty things to your body like leaching calcium from your bones etc. And the artificial sweeteners in my opinion are as dangerous long term as sugar is.

Things to put more of in your body are simple: Vegetables, fruits, water, lean meats. Remember, eat real, whole food. Eat it raw when you can (well, not your meats). Eat often, with smaller portions and several healthy snacks during the day. Don't add the snacks without decreasing your intake at breakfast lunch and dinner though (too many calories will expand your waist!). And what Mom said is true: Breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day! It sets the tone for your day. Drink water all day long, drink more the bigger you are. Divide your weight in 1/2 and that's how many ounces of water would be a good goal for you to get to. Yes you'll urinate more, but you'll be flushing toxins out of your body regularly.

Remember, what you eat becomes you!

Where Does Health Come From?

If you ask enough people what exactly health is, if you ask how does one obtain optimum health, or what is the secret to good health, you'll get many different answers. Some will be correct, some will be off the mark a little, and some will be so far fetched that you'll have a hard time thinking they really believe what they just said. Beyond that, if you look at the health status of the average person in America, you'll be surprised at how poor it is. We have an epidemic of obesity (over 1/3 of Americans are overweight, and 25% are obese), epidemic of cardiovascular disease, epidemic of diabetes, and more. It's sad when you consider how wealthy our country is, and how educated we are, and how available health care is to us.

So where does health come from? Does it come from being properly medicated (better living through chemistry)? Does it come from a pill (natural or otherwise)? Does it come from our parents (genetics)? Some of each of these come into play with regards to ones health, but it certainly isn't the be all/end all to health. I find people swearing up and down that one certain thing (pill, potion, medication) is the answer to health. I think our society is always looking for the easy way to attain health, to shortcut the pathway. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts. But the good news is, the answer(s) to finding health are rather simple, tried and true, and will work for almost everyone. I'll hit on a few of them here.

In our office we speak of the facets of health. I liken the facets to spokes in a wheel. If all the facets (spokes) are working well, the wheel turns smoothly and effortlessly. If some of the spokes are missing, or weak, it affects the quality of spin in the wheel. Similarly, if we are hitting on all cylinders in the facets of health, our "wellness wheel" turns easily and efficiently. If some of the spokes aren't there, or weak, then we are more susceptible to ill health. In my opinion there are about 6 significant facets of health:

1. Proper diet
2. Proper exercise
3. Proper spinal health
4. Proper attitude
5. Proper Rest
6. Proper stress management

I'll hit on these in the coming days. I look forward to your comments and suggestions!

Welcome!

Welcome to the brand new Humble and Atascocita Wellness Blog. I am Dr. Bruce Guillory and am a practicing Chiropractor in the Humble/Atascocita area. I've been in practice since 1992 as a solo practitioner and currently own Chiropractic, Massage & Rehab Center, located on W. Lake Houston Pkwy in the Colonnade Center. Our vision statement says we are about the business of "Helping Families Gain and Maintain Optimum Health Naturally". Our website is located at www.guillorychiropractic.com. Feel free to visit there and be sure to sign up for our free newsletter called "To Your Health".

I want this blog to contain information about true health and wellness. I hope to provide good information that you can use to influence the quality of you and your family's health on a regular basis. I'll give you studies, personal experiences, tips and more. I plan on at least getting out a wellness tip of the week for you all. Your comments will be welcomed, but will of course be evaluated for content before they are allowed to be on, so be patient with me.

I am looking forward to this high tech way of "Helping Families Gain and Maintain Optimum Health, Naturally"