Planning for a Healthy New Year

Health is always a popular topic around the holidays—it’s a natural time for people to start thinking about how to improve their overall health for the coming year. However, people find this to be a very challenging time because of the abundance of food that surrounds us and the difficulty of keeping a regular schedule for exercise and activities.

In addition, we have a natural physiological drive to take in more calories as the days get shorter and the weather turns colder. There’s also increased stress associated with the holidays and the changing of the seasons, leading people to turn to comfort foods. As a result, one of the not-so-cheerful side effects of this time of year is that many of us put on extra weight.

In my work as a physician, I’ve found that people tend to fall into two main groups: 1) Those who know they eat and drink too much, but don’t really take any action; and 2) Those who are actually more motivated to make lifestyle changes after holiday over-indulging.

People in this second group are willing to listen about eating a healthier diet, and they’re usually thinking about starting some kind of exercise routine.

What Shape Are You Really in?
The best place to start any health-focused New Year’s resolution—believe it or not—is with a visit to your physician. Understanding your current physical condition is key to getting off to a good start in 2008, and checking with your doctor can help prevent injuries that could derail your new exercise plan before you even get started.

Some tests to consider before starting your healthy New Year’s resolution include a cholesterol profile and some basic kidney and liver function tests, along with a blood pressure check.

When it comes to my patients, my first and foremost concern is that they don’t hurt themselves in pursuit of better health. I find many patients really don’t have a good sense of what they can and can’t accomplish, and that’s where I can provide some direction and helpful tips. I’ll review their medical history, perform a routine physical and consider their age, overall health and any pre-existing conditions—such as diabetes or high blood pressure—that should be taken into account.

Getting a Healthy Start
The holidays are about enjoying friends, family and food, so I understand that we can’t all keep a perfect diet. And I don’t ask anyone to do something I am not willing to do myself, such as go on a lettuce and lemon juice diet over the holidays.

From time to time, however, I talk to people who want a magic bullet. They’ll ask, “How can I fix this weight problem?” The only thing I can do is tell them it’s really quite simple, although not very exciting: Change your diet and change your activity. But when patients come to me and genuinely want to start off the new year by exercising and living a healthier lifestyle, I know we’re probably off to a good start, and I am certainly excited to be able to help them out.

Taking Action
When discussing an exercise plan, I advise my patients to pick something that is simple and realistic. Starting with an activity such as bike riding, visiting a nearby walking trail or finding a jogging path helps people get started simply and realistically. These types of activities also carry with them a very low risk of injury and a better chance of sticking to the routine over time. Complex, formal programs that cost money and require someone to be at a certain place at a certain time often only serve to get in the way of success.

Changing Your Diet Without Dieting
The key to healthy eating is a well-balanced diet approached with moderation, and understanding the impact of how much you take in, in terms of calories, and how much you expend in terms of energy. This usually leads to questions about special diets for losing weight.

Personally, I can’t stand the whole issue of diets and dieting. I warn against zero carb extreme diets. I’ve seen people lose weight on those kinds of diets, but they never keep the weight off.

The two most important principles that I’ve seen work are a combination of lowering the carbohydrate content in your diet (cutting out unnecessary carbs) and just using common sense. That means eating more foods with lower fat content—fish, chicken and salads.

What You Eat, How You Live
What I’ve discovered over the years—and find quite amazing—is that the overall condition of most people’s health is determined by what they eat and how they live. It sounds simple, but it’s true.

Moderation, common sense and regular exercise aren’t very flashy, but over time they pay off. One of the most rewarding aspects of my practice is still having the opportunity to see where people are going healthwise and being able to help them meet the challenge of turning things around and leading a healthier, happier life.


Contact:
Russell Neilson, supervisor, communications and marketing, 707-554-5123