{"id":54108,"date":"2016-08-09T09:07:26","date_gmt":"2016-08-09T14:07:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=54108"},"modified":"2017-04-27T09:23:36","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T14:23:36","slug":"lets-get-practical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/lets-get-practical\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s Get Practical"},"content":{"rendered":"

People like myself, in the field of bettering health, are constantly reading up on the latest\u00a0findings in areas of diet, exercise and mental wellness and trying to implement them. Once in a\u00a0while, we have clients who are already on a good path to health and wellness but they want to\u00a0refine what they are doing to get it better. For them we can fine tune what they are doing and\u00a0move to a higerh level of healthy habits. However, most of the people need a lot of educating\u00a0and need good techniques for implementation. If there is one thing I have learned in all my\u00a0years, it\u2019s that it doesn\u2019t take massive changes to start seeing good results. Even when people\u00a0have a lot of weight to lose or have multiple risk factors such as high blood pressure, high\u00a0cholesterol, high blood sugar, and terrible inactivity, small changes one by one improve a\u00a0person\u2019s health and quality of life enormously. That was the case with my client Levy.<\/p>\n

Levy fell into this precise category and was ready to give up on himself. He was on multiple\u00a0medications and just never felt well. He felt sluggish all the time and lacked energy even for\u00a0regular daily tasks. Just going to shule to daven was a struggle. When I met him and we\u00a0discussed his long term goals, he was clearly overwhelmed. I asked him to have patience and\u00a0that every small bit of progress was a cause for celebration. Every kilo of weight lost will be a\u00a0kilo of health gained. Even if this takes years to reach his weight loss goal, all of his other\u00a0problems would begin to improve and his quality of life would be enhanced long before he gets\u00a0there. Just like everyone, we began working on the essentials, one by one. Even if you aren\u2019t in\u00a0as bad shape as Levy was, here are the areas in which to seek improvement in order to better\u00a0your health and quality of life\u2014but don\u2019t bite off more than you can chew\u2014take it one or two\u00a0changes at a time. When those feel like something you can keep doing, take on the next one.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Get More Sleep. <\/strong>Surprise! This is my top choice. Without the proper amount of sleep,\u00a0most everything else won\u2019t be able to happen like it is supposed to. In today\u2019s world of\u00a0one big global economy, more and more people are working jobs that require second\u00a0and third shifts; they are working out of their time zone. Many are communicating\u00a0electronically with relatives and friends till the wee hours. Worries and daily problems\u00a0keep us from sleeping enough hours or from sleeping soundly. Lack of sleep will disrupt\u00a0your metabolism and cause you to secrete more of the hormone cortisol. This increases\u00a0your appetite and causes you to crave fatty foods, prolongs reaction time and slows\u00a0cognitive function. It also may make you irritable.<\/li>\n
  2. \u00a0Be Active<\/strong>. Before we get to formal exercise, there is so much you can do to enhance\u00a0your basic levels of fitness and health within the routine of your average day. Just a few\u00a0changes in activity can also help you lose up to 5-6 kilo a year. Park the car a few blocks\u00a0away from your destination. Get off the bus or train a stop or two early. Use stairs\u00a0instead of elevators. Try to walk instead of driving wherever possible. A recent study in\u00a0Japan showed a marked decrease in blood pressures of those who walked back and\u00a0forth to work (as little as 10 minutes each way) as opposed to those who drove. It will\u00a0help you control weight, improve your mood and contributes to your cardio-respiratory\u00a0health.<\/li>\n
  3. Eat Small Meals more Often<\/strong>. By scheduling 3 meals with 2 or 3 snacks, and keeping\u00a0your portions under control, you are less likely to overeat. Just as important, this will\u00a0regulate the way insulin is released in your body and keep you from becoming a type 2\u00a0diabetic. And every time you eat, your metabolism elevates, and all of us want our\u00a0metabolism to be faster and not slower. Make sure you include enough healthy fats\u00a0also!<\/li>\n
  4. Water.<\/strong> Water is one of the 6 classes of nutrients that we must ingest on a daily basis.60 to 70 percent of our body is composed of water. Without it, chemical reactions that\u00a0occur all the time in the body cannot take place. Drinking is essential, as we cannot\u00a0conserve or store water in our body. Yet, most of us are probably only getting about a\u00a0third of the valuable hydration benefits we need. And just like with eating regularly, itkeeps your metabolism on the high side.<\/li>\n
  5. Exercise!<\/strong> Lack of cardio-respiratory fitness (your ability to walk fast, climb the hills and\u00a0get up those stairs) is the leading risk factor of all-cause mortality. So make sure to do\u00a0aerobic exercise regularly and include muscle building as well. It is essential for day to\u00a0day functioning such as holding your children, your grandchildren and picking up your\u00a0own suitcase without asking for help. Try to schedule that 35 minutes of walking 5 days\u00a0a week and 2 days a week of muscle building exercise. You don\u2019t have to go to the gym\u00a0everyday for an hour-long heavy work out to get benefit. See a trainer to help you get a\u00a0good routine started.<\/li>\n
  6. Limit the Processed Foods and Junk<\/strong>. If it is processed (most of what you buy ready-to-\u00a0eat off the supermarket shelves), try to stay away. In 2010, a Harvard study showed a\u00a0pronounced difference in eating unprocessed versus processed meats. Eating processed\u00a0meats such as deli was associated with a 42% higher risk of heart disease and a 19%\u00a0higher risk of type 2 diabetes.\u00a0 We now know for certain that processed meat cause\u00a0cancer! Most of those pop-in- the-toaster items are also highly processed, full of sodium\u00a0and devoid of nutritional value\u2014no matter what the front of the package says. Eating\u00a0whole foods gives you your daily nutrition and fills you up to keep you from being\u00a0hungry. Keep your sugar to minimal amounts. Sugar includes the white processed stuff,\u00a0corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, glucose and stay away from artificial\u00a0sweeteners too. All processed and canned foods are very high in salt\/sodium.<\/li>\n
  7. Reduce and Manage your Stress.<\/strong> It is difficult for me to convey just how damaging\u00a0stress is to your health. Chronic stressors are thought to be the real villains associated\u00a0with many health and disease problems. Chronic anxiety and depression, an\u00a0overabundance of life changing-events, and a repressed feeling of loss, bereavement,\u00a0emotional distress, and hostility have been linked to increased risk of heart disease,\u00a0cancer, infection, suppressed immunity, asthma attacks, back pain, chronic fatigue,\u00a0gastrointestinal disease, headaches, and insomnia. A well-rounded exercise program,\u00a0cognitive behavioral therapy or coaching, and some good problem solving techniques\u00a0can go a long way in solving stress issues.<\/li>\n
  8. Stop eating by 8:00-8:30 in the evening<\/strong>. When you eat earlier, you use the calories\u00a0through daily activity, when you eat late, you just go to sleep soon after and the calories\u00a0don\u2019t get used up. You will also sleep better when you eat earlier. In a study with two\u00a0control groups, one group ate their daily allotted calories in the early afternoon and the\u00a0other in the evening. Group one lost weight and group two gained weight even though\u00a0they ate identical calories each day. Best not to eat at all from 2.5 hours before\u00a0bedtime. So, set yourself a curfew.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    These 8 areas are exactly what Levy, myself, and my dieticians worked on together. After three\u00a0months of work, his doctor was even able to reduce one medication for high blood pressure,\u00a0lower his dosage of cholesterol medicine and he avoided having to taking insulin for his\u00a0diabetes. He is losing weight and on track, so we expect even better results and even less\u00a0medication over the next 3 months. Pick one or two of the 8 and get started. Try to add one\u00a0every week. You don\u2019t have to wait, today is a perfect day to start to better your quality of life.\u00a0Working on these 8 areas will bring you to good health and \u201cadd hours to your day, days to\u00a0your year, and years to your life<\/strong><\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \n

    \"image\"<\/p>\n

    Alan Freishtat<\/strong> is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a BEHAVIORAL CHANGE and WELLNESS COACH with over 19 years of professional experience. Alan is the creator and director of the \u201c10 Weeks to Health\u201d program for weight loss. He is available for private coaching sessions, consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs both in his office and by telephone and skype. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at\u00a002-651-8502<\/a> or 050-555-7175<\/a>, or by email at\u00a0alan@alanfitness.com<\/a> Check out the his web site \u2013www.alanfitness.com<\/a> US Line: 516-568-5027<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    People like myself, in the field of bettering health, are constantly reading up on the latest\u00a0findings in areas of diet, exercise and mental wellness and trying to implement them. Once in a\u00a0while, we have clients who are already on a good path to health and wellness but they want to\u00a0refine what they are doing to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":469,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"yoast_head":"\nLet\u2019s Get Practical - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/lets-get-practical\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Let\u2019s Get Practical - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"People like myself, in the field of bettering health, are constantly reading up on the latest\u00a0findings in areas of diet, exercise and mental wellness and trying to implement them. 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