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Take Care of Yourself By Not Doing Things

Self-Care Series Avoiding Unhealthy Activities

Take Care of Yourself By Not Doing Things is the second post in the self-care series. In the last post, Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices, we talked about choosing to do activities that were healthy.  In this post, we will explore how to avoid some things that are unhealthy.

Let’s first define when something is a problem with your health.  Misuse of a substance to the extent that it causes harm is unhealthy.  First, ask if there are harmful consequences.  Second, possessing a compulsive drive that you cannot control.  This usually includes a loss of control over the use of substances.  “I had one drink and I just could not stop.”  Lastly, when your perceptions and denial over the consequences of your addiction are distorted.  

I’ll use caffeine as an example now.  Most of us can consume caffeine in the amount the FDA considers not harmful (400 milligrams a day—that’s about four or five cups).  However, when your doctor tells you you will have a heart attack unless you reduce your intake or you are using energy drinks to stay up for hours without sleep; then continuing to consume high levels would be unhealthy.

Three common unhealthy behaviors are smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and

substance use disorder.

The choice is up to you, of course, to Take Care of Yourself By Not Doing Things.

The Health Belief Model

I want to explain a bit about the Health Belief Model.   This model describes how people get ready to decide to change. This model proposes that we think about health threats in terms of how susceptible and how serious the consequences are.  It also says that we assess health behavior in terms of the benefits and whether we think it will work (be effective) for us. Finally, it says we consider the barriers like how difficult it will be for us to implement the change.  Then we logically decide based on the threat and the behavior.

Health Belief Model by Earnest Action Health Coaching 2022

The choice is up to you.  You can choose to believe you are not helpless or destined to continue.

What is needed?

To be successful a person needs some help.

  • Extra Support To Cope with Withdrawal Symptoms and cravings.   
  • Identification of Behavior Chains.  Do you crave a smoke after every meal?  Does a stressful day at work cause you to be soothed with alcohol?  Health coaches can help you identify and talk through a plan to react differently.  
  • Acknowledge the shame and stigma surrounding unhealthy behavior.  

Smoking

The CDC says smoking has declined from 20% in 2005 to about 12.9% today.  As a former smoker, I can testify that it was one of the most challenging unhealthy habits to stop.  I believed I needed tobacco to deal with stress. At age 47 I believed too much damage had been done.  I was convinced I was destined to fail. Even after trips to emergency care for bronchitis several times, I still smoked.  

How did I quit?  I stared in the mirror and asked myself for three days straight, “Why do you want to die (faced the threat)?  After three days, I committed to stopping.  I also got some help understanding that the frequency of quitting was important. There was no shame in smoking as long as I quit without delay.  The more often you try in a short period meant better success.  A trainer helped me understand that I needed a strategy to break the mechanical habit of moving my hand to my mouth.  I carried a fake cigarette and used it for two years.  For two months I explained to my friends who smoked that I would not be around.  I met them in smoke-free places for several years afterward.  

If you are ready or considering quitting Visit smokefree.gov for more ideas.

Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Substance Use Disorder.

Alcohol Use disorder is a “chronic relapsing brain disease characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social occupational or health consequences.  About 6% of people.  About 10% of people admit to using illegal drugs. The good news is most people who drink too much alcohol or have substance use disorder can change their behavior. 

Why am I addressing these two at the same time?  The health consequences are similar and treatment is often beyond the scope of a Health Coach.   While health coaches can help support clients with exploring values and building confidence, in most cases a coach will ask the client’s permission to refer to a medical professional when a client expresses concerns about their alcohol or drug use. The health coach may assist clients with modest means to find an appropriate 12-step program.  

Disclaimer.  The information provided in this article may not be appropriate for all people.  If you are not currently exercising or have or suspect you have conditions like cardiovascular, metabolic, or renal disease, then you should consult your physician before considering making any changes suggested.

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Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices

Self-care Series

Making Health Lifestyle Choices daily is the hardest thing we do.  For me the current events of the day; the war in Ukraine, the pandemic, gun violence, and intolerance drive me to seek out activities that make me feel better. My choices are only sometimes good.  I eat ice cream, have two too many adult beverages, and hit the snooze alarm causing me to miss my exercise time.  Fortunately, I learned not to beat myself up about these choices.  Since I track the activities, I can face the choices I made and take small actions to make better ones.  

This is the second installment of my Self-care series.  We will focus on Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices in healthy eating, physical activity, and emotional health.  These three areas are most important because they address two key risk factors for chronic disease; poor nutrition and lack of physical activity.  Poor emotional health can prevent improvement in the other areas because one feels they can not succeed or lacks the motivation to move or eat well.  I see these three areas as interlocking.  Higher physical activity has been proven to improve mood and self-efficacy.  Good food can elevate joy and help us feel wonderful.

Healthy Eating

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans have five key guidelines.  You can find information on how to build a healthy routine here (Spanish).  First is to follow a healthy eating pattern throughout your life.  This includes:

  • Variety of vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Grains, primarily whole grains.
  • Fat-free or low-fat dairy.
  • Foods rich in protein like legumes, nuts, soy products, lean meats, poultry, and eggs.

More information can be found at MyPlate Nutrition .  What I really like about the MyPlate site is that it has advice for people during special stages of their life like pregnancy, teens, and older adults.  Many of us struggle with the affordability of food.  The Shop Simple With My Plate app provides information on budget-friendly foods and lists of local savings by zip code.  Some stores even accept SNAP EBT.

I suggest starting with one meal a day that you know you eat.  Does this meal currently include a vegetable?  Could you add fruit as a dessert?  Could you substitute a bean dish sometimes?  I recently attended a continuing education presented by Monica Reinagel where she presented her Nutrition GPA app and the science behind it. This app has really helped me be more aware of simple changes I could make to improve my eating grade.  

When you are ready for more.

Physical Activity 

An earlier blog post provided information on activity levels .  People with health conditions or impairments have special considerations for activity.  For you a visit to your physician and/or fitness professional is a great idea.  

Think first about where you are now. 

Think first about where you are now.

Are you moderately active for 150 minutes each week (25 minutes each day?).  What is holding you back?  

  • Motivation.  Most importantly Start.  Small improvements will accumulate.  Add 10 minutes to where you are now.  Find an activity you like. Walk, Cycle, and lift some water bottles. I have even climbed my stairs in a pinch.   Once you are moving for a couple of weeks, then think about how to avoid setbacks and add another 10 minutes.  In a few weeks you’ll feel great. 
  • Affordability.  A gym membership may never be needed.  Is walking possible for you?  A decent pair of shoes is what you need.  12 oz water bottles or gallon water jugs make great weights to lift.  Does your city have a community center with a gym?  Does someone you know have fitness equipment gathering dust?  
  • Time.  Family, work commitments, friends, TV! Well TV, stand up and walk in place.  For many people early morning is the best time.  I have a teacher friend who started working out at 5:30 am.  She gives herself the first hour of the day as a gift.  Track what you are doing hour by hour for a week.  Review the results.  Are there 30 minutes for you?  

Physical Activity LevelModerate Intensity Minutes Per WeekSummary of Overall Health BenefitsLifestyle Application
InactiveNo activity beyond baselineNoneBeing inactive is unhealthy
Insufficiently ActiveAbove baseline and less than 150 minutes per weekNoneLower levels of activity are preferable to inactive lifestyle.
Active150 – 300 minutes per weekSubstantialMore benefits at higher level
Highly Activegreater than 300 minutes per weekAdditionalNo identifiable upper limit of activity above which there are no additional benefits.
Table of activity levels.
Emotional Health

Emotional wellness is the expression and management of one’s feelings to cope and thrive in relationships and pursue acceptance of your emotions.  I am not a mental health professional so I cannot give specific advice for your situation.  If you are having thoughts of self-harm, call 998 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to get help.  One of the tools I suggest clients complete is a PHQ-9, Patient Health Questionnaire.  This tool is designed to be used with a healthcare professional.  If you feel concerned about your mood, there are resources that can help.  I know as a veteran, I have problems hiding my emotions.   Stress can be good and bad.  If you are interested in knowing more visit my blog post.

Happy always?

Notice the definition of emotional wellness does not mean that we are always happy.  All people have a range of emotions.  When you look at the Feelings Wheel, are you able to accept the emotions you are experiencing?  Are you taking the time to reflect on your feelings?  Would mindfulness training help you relax and be less judgemental? Does deep breathing help you feel more centered?  

Feelings Wheel, https://feelingswheel.com/feelings-wheel.jpg

Disclaimer.  The information provided in this article may not be appropriate for all people.  If you are not currently exercising or have or suspect you have conditions like cardiovascular, metabolic or renal disease, then you should consult your physician before considering making any changes suggested.  

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Are There Benefits to Brisk Walking?

Are there benefits to brisk walking?  I recently read an article published on IDEAfit.com by  Shirley Archer, JD, MA, Benefits of Brisk Walking for the Brain .  She mentions a Colorado State University study  of 180 adults aged 60-69 who participated in a 6 month study comparing aerobic walking, social dance, and a control group.  The study shows an increase in white matter integrity in the brain with better signaling between the brain regions.  While this was very informative, I still had questions. 

Did I want to know how fast is aerobic walking? How fast would I need to walk to get the benefit? What is the difference between gray and white matter in the brain? How does reduced signaling between the brain regions affect me as I age? What if I started an aerobic walking program at 40 years of age, would it help me preserve my brain better as I age? In this article, I am going to find out how much evidence I can find.

How fast would I need to walk to get the benefit of aerobic walking?

First, walking at any speed is better than not walking at all.  In fact, a May 2012 study found as little as 4,400 steps results in lower mortality and reduction in development of diabetes and high blood pressure.  Keep in mind more is better.  Even if some studies may say benefits level off at 7,500,  there’s no reason not to do more if you are able.  Here are some links to evidence-based walking programs.  Consider starting where you are and tracking your SPM (steps per minute),

Arthritis Foundation, Walk With Ease

American Heart Association, Six Week Beginner Walking Plan  

Now back to the speed question. When you are looking to speed up, then 80–112 steps per minute is a good range to work up to. Generally speaking, 3 miles per hour is considered brisk. If you do not have a fitness tracker, time yourself for one minute and count your steps. One hundred (100) steps is about three miles per hour for most people. That being said, I am in fairly good shape at 62 years of age and I need to push to get to this speed. An October 2022 CNBC Make It article summarized two recent studies published in JAMA Neurology and JAMA Internal Medicine by stating that people who walked at least 80 steps reduced their rate of heart disease, cancer, and premature death more than other groups who walked less than 40 SPM (Steps per minute) and 41–79. 

What is the difference between gray and white matter in the brain?

  

picture of a brain's gray and white matter
From Reading and White Matter in the Brain, by Joan Sedita | 1 September 29, 2015, https://keystoliteracy.com/blog/reading-and-white-matter-in-the-brain/

When we picture the brain, we normally see the cerebellum with its wrinkly appearance.  The edges of the folded brain are like the rind of a melon, but flexible.  This rind layer is the gray matter.  It contains the synapses and related structures. The gray matter controls the senses and muscular movements.  Diseases of gray matter are called neurodegenerative (Alzheimers). 

The gray matter needs help communicating with other parts of the brain and spinal cord to execute that control. The white matter contains the axons that allow communication to and from different gray matter areas making fast communication to control functions that we are not aware of. Things like maintaining body temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate, dispensing hormones, food, and emotions. Diseases of the white matter are those that interfere with the signaling of the nerves like Multiple Sclerosis and the hardening of white matter that causes a stroke.

Finally, when the author tells us episodic memory is preserved this means our long term memory used to recall experiences in detail (time, place, and emotions).  We all want to be able to remember the best times of our lives as we age.

How does reduced signaling between the brain regions affect me as I age?

Generally, white-matter lesions tend to appear around 60 years of age.  The Alzheimer’s Association says 1 in 10 people will develop the disease.  The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke,  estimates the chance of a stroke for those 60-65 is 11%.  This gives us a general idea of the occurrence of severely reduced signaling between brain regions as white matter lesions normally increase with these conditions.

As you might expect most of us can expect trouble remembering things, slowed thinking, leaking urine (one of those activities we are not aware of), problems walking, and balance issues.  As the signals move slower this can be expected.

Not all people who have lesions are impaired in activities of daily life.  A March 24, 2003 study published in the American Psychological Association described a study of 327 people.  Of the people with hypertension a small but statistically significant number of people had higher lesions.  This is consistent with other recent research that seems to indicate better circulation results in fewer white matter lesions.  This is the link between faster walking and lower rates of cardiovascular disease and lower blood pressure.  

In conclusion, when we walk faster (80-112 steps per minute), we have reduced cardiovascular disease and normally better circulation, and lower blood pressure.  Recent studies indicate that better circulation leads to fewer white matter lesions.  

Disclaimer.  The information provided in this article may not be appropriate for all people.  If you are not currently exercising or have or suspect you have conditions like cardiovascular, metabolic or renal disease, then you should consult your physician before considering making any changes suggested.  

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Self-Care Information Series

Self-Care information Series picture of small blue butterfly landing on a person's hands.

Self-Care Information Series. The World Health Organization(WHO) defines self-care as, “Self-care is the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health worker.”  For most people in the wellness and health professions we view self-care through the lens as those activities we engage in to preserve our ability to serve others by avoiding burnout.  In this post and those to follow I’ll be exploring self-care interventions any person can consider to enhance one’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well being.    The objectives today are:

  • To explain why self-care is important.
  • Provide a little information about self-care interventions.

If you are interested, let’s get started.

Why Is Self-Care Important?
Costs

The cost of healthcare in the United States continues to grow.  The Centers for Medicare % Medicaid National Health Expenditure Fact Sheet states that expenditures have risen 9.7% in 2020, 19.7 % of Gross Domestic Product.   Self-Care are evidenced-based actions people can take to prevent disease and maintain health.  For the most part the more we do to take care of ourselves the lower our costs will be.  Of course, genetics and age are factors we cannot change.  You may not be able to completely prevent a condition, however, using self monitoring like regular breast self-examinations can result in early detection.  

Access to Essential health service

While costs are increasing, according to WHO 3.6 billion people in the world lack access to health services.  In addition, by 2030 it is estimated that the shortage of health workers may grow to 15 million workers.  On July 28, 2022 a US News article stated that the number of health care workers was down 1.1%.   Think about how many hours a year you spend with your doctor?  One hour or  maybe 12 hours? The ability to research and implement self-care interventions can mean the difference between wellness and illness.  

Reducing the Risk of Serious Conditions

Reducing risk factors of physical inactivity and tobacco use can prevent up to 81% of cardiovascular disease.  Self-sampling for (human papilloma virus which causes cervical cancer) has reduced mortality from cervical cancer.   Self monitoring of blood pressure earlier in life can bring awareness of the need for a physician’s intervention and motivate a person to make better lifestyle choices. 

Overcoming Stigma.

In conclusion, as we all know the COVID 19 pandemic has increased the awareness of the need for mental health care.  In many places a woman’s access to reproductive care is restricted.  Annually access to self-injectable contraceptives can reduce 74 million women and girls living in low and middle income countries.  Also HIV self-tests allow people to monitor for the virus in areas where going to a clinic for testing can open a person up to ridicule.

What are Self-Care Interventions?

In this section, I will describe some examples of interventions. First interventions are evidence-based actions a non-medical person can implement.  We all know how difficult it is to discern a fad from fact.  Quality and results must be proven.  Since many of the evidence based initiatives target reproductive and sexual health and I feel those are out of scope of my practice, then I will not be addressing any of those topics. I will in coming posts discuss topics that align with the Global Self-Care Federation’s grouping. In the Self-Care Information Series we will discuss some of the following intervention groups.

  • Making healthy lifestyle choices – physical activity and healthy eating, like the Mediterranean Diet, and emotional health
  • Avoiding unhealthy activities – smoking and excessive alcohol and substance abuse.
  • Self-recognition of symptoms – in collaboration with your physician track symptoms
  • Self-monitoring – checking for deterioration.  We’ll discuss topics like blood pressure monitoring and fitness trackers.
  • Self-management- managing symptoms of diseases in partnership with physicians and others who may have the same condition.  Diabetes management, prescription adherence, cardiovascular health. 

Disclaimer.  The information provided in this article may not be appropriate for all people.  If you are not currently exercising or have or suspect you have conditions like cardiovascular, metabolic or renal disease, then you should consult your physician before considering making any changes suggested.  

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Mediterranean Diet for Arthritis

Mediterranean Diet for Arthritis is one recommendation to help control this condition.

Arthritis is not one disease. The Arthritis Foundation tells us that there are over 100 types of arthritis.  In this post I will share information primarily about osteoarthritis (OA).   According to the CDC 1 in 4 adults , approximately 58M people, will develop arthritis.   There are certain risk factors that you cannot control.  62% of OA sufferers are women.  Men are more likely to be affected by Gout.  Inherited traits may influence susceptibility to OA.   HLA (human leukocyte antigen) class II genotypes are that genes can also make your arthritis worse.

For more information about arthritis The Arthritis Foundation and CDC are both great resources.  

Who is at risk?

30% of the people who get arthritis are overweight.  The cause of QA has changed over time.  OA used to be considered a wear and tear condition.  Doctors now know that OA is a disease of the whole joint not just the cartilage.  The bones become weaker, the connective tissue (ligaments) deteriorates and inflammation damages the lining of the joint (see What is Arthritis, The Arthritis Foundation).  While some may say that the stress of extra weight causes the link, I prefer to think the link between inflammation and being overweight is just as likely.  

With this new information we now know that people who have chronic joint injuries are at risk.  Since arthritis occurs frequently in the hands, knees, hip, and spine, then people who work in certain occupations are also at risk.  Changing jobs may not always be possible to control the inflammation so that the more debilitating effects of OA are delayed.  

What Is the Mediterranean Diet (MD)?

Nutrition is not the only area used to manage this condition.  Staying active, managing pain, consulting a doctor, and protecting your joints should be combined with good nutrition.   Inflammation is the main factor that makes OA worse.   

 While the quantities and type for each food group are similar there are three ways they differ that contribute to lower inflammation.   MD is plant based.  Studies support that plant based diets are anti-inflammatory.  While the MD diet calls for about 6.5 ounces of protein compared to the 5.5 ounces for the U.S. based diet, seafood is the preferred source. MD consists of whole foods especially whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Finally olive oil is an ingredient.  Studies have linked platelet function to consumption of olive oil.  Platelets are important to wound healing and the inflammatory response.  

Would you like to start with a Mediterranean Diet?

Making a change to MD will take time to yield results.  Be patient with yourself and watch for results to appear after three to six months.  Some people may respond and see results in two to three weeks.  I highly recommend America’s Test Kitchen, Complete Mediterranean Cookbook, ISBN 978-940352-64-0.  The first part of the book describes how to start and there are detailed recipes for every occasion.

What and When? 

What your plate looks like will change.   You will be eating more vegetables and whole grains.  Think of meat as a flavoring instead of a serving.

MS emphasizes eating more during the breakfast and lunch meals.  Expect dinner to be the smaller meal of the day.  Who doesn’t want to spend less time cooking in the evening?  A large colorful salad or an omelet sounds just right.

To make affordable means get familiar with what is in season in your area for vegetables and fruit.

Meal Planning Will Be needed.

I found Spiced Baked Rice with Roasted Sweet Potatoes, A Braised Chicken with Mushrooms and Tomatoes, and a simple couscous and vegetable dish.  For breakfast I started with egg frittatas and overnight oatmeal with yogurt.  

A shopping list that allowed me to prepare most meals.  I include chicken and bacon because some things are required for happiness.  

Seasoning :  Garlic,  onions, paprika, saffron, lemons or lemon juice, cinnamon, oregano, dill, basil, fennel, pepper, olive oil

Vegetables :  tomatoes, avocado, spinach, broccoli, artichokes, zucchini, squash, cauliflower, carrots

Fruits in season or frozen: berries, apples, melons, oranges, figs.

Tubers:  potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips

Beans and Legumes (buy canned to save time):  Lentils, beans, peas, chickpeas 

Eggs, Seafood, Dairy:  Eggs, salmon, mackerel, sardines, mussels, tuna, shrimp, greek yogurt

Nuts and Seeds:  Almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds

Pasta and couscous :  Rigatoni, couscous, rice, Quinoa, Bow Tie, Fettuccine 

Disclaimer.  The information provided in this article may not be appropriate for all people.  If you are not currently exercising or have or suspect you have conditions like cardiovascular, metabolic or renal disease, then you should consult your physician before considering making any changes suggested.  

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Better Sleep Homework Results

Have you been waiting for Better Sleep Homework Results?  My apologies for keeping you waiting, my vacation got in the way. 

How did your homework go?  Did you keep track of the measurable results?  Are you feeling better?  Do you need more help to stick to your plan?  Leave a comment so we can discuss and learn from each other. 

What I Changed.

I decided to focus on three changes.  I wanted to go to bed at a specific time.  I wanted to stop using screens 30 minutes before bedtime.  Finally I wanted to not drink alcohol within two hours of going to bed.  My normal routine is to go to the bedroom at 9 PM.  Normally take care of hygiene and watch Youtube videos for between 15 and 60 minutes.  I know picking up the ipad is not good for my sleep for two reasons.  First it is the screen exposure and second it delays me laying down and going to sleep.  I justify this the same way I do alcohol – I have a job I do during the day (not health coaching) and I deserve a break.   

The Days I Logged.

On all four days I headed to the bedroom between 9pm and 9:15 pm each day.  I have a Fit Bit so I used the time the Fit Bit told me I went to sleep.  What I saw was that I was actually not starting to sleep until an average of 10:35 PM.  The latest I started to sleep was 11:40 PM.  My average hours of sleep was 6 hours and 18 minutes.  The week I chose to do that homework was the week before my vacation so timing was not ideal.  I checked the two weeks before and my average was 7 hours and 10 minutes.  Notice I started in a deficit from my normal week.   This highlighted for me the challenges I would face as the week progressed.

My Results

I did not plan well so I had a lapse.  As the week went on I had challenges at work and spent more time in the evening getting ready for my trip.  Inspite of this my average sleep hours improved to 6 hours and 35 minutes.  This value remained under my 7 hour 10 minute average. I did not use the ipad, however, I went to the bedroom an hour later.  I did feel slightly more rested, raising my score by one point.  My average score for how quickly I fell asleep remained unchanged.  The amount of time I felt I was awake improved by one point.  I attributed this to being more tired rather than better sleep hygiene.  It very well could have been to reduced screen exposure.  Each night I did stop drinking alcohol early and I am sure that helped.

What I learned

Change is hard no matter who you are.  I knew I was going to have challenges during these days.  I did not plan well. I am still focusing on the same three items.  I know it takes 2-3 months to form a habit.  Recovering for a lapse as I have had likely will not take as long because I am aware and believe that I am able to do better. 

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Disclaimer.  The information provided in this article may not be appropriate for all people.  If you are not currently exercising or have or suspect you have conditions like cardiovascular, metabolic or renal disease, then you should consult your physician before considering making any changes suggested

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How Do You Want To Talk About Being Large?

As a Personal Trainer, I discuss weight differently than I do as a Health Coach. In this installment, I want to discuss how these professions and our society are evolving regarding weight, obesity, and body-shaming. Are you wondering why I decided to talk about this subject? I have three reasons. I read about Queen Latifah’s reaction when her trainer called her obese; I completed Tasha Edwards, MS course on Breaking Body Barriers. Finally, I read Kellie Walters, Ph.D. recent article in IDEA Fitness Journal, Weight Biases: How Do They Influence Our Industry.

I want to know how do you want to talk about your body size? I invite everyone to share their comments below as we explore this topic. The material provoked a lot of reflection about how I think and talk about weight.  

Health Coaching and Personal Training Approaches.

First the approaches of both of these professions are starting to converge. Remember that I recently was certified as a Health Coach and have had my Personal Training certifications for over ten years. The Health Coach perspective asks coaches to address their weight bias first. We are taught to see our clients as a whole and resourceful people who can change their lives. As a coach, we collaborate with our clients to help them find their best selves. We are immediately instructed to ask permission to discuss a client’s weight. We candidly discuss what words will be used during that discussion. What resonated strongly with me was when I watched Tasha Edwards’ say that 95.8% of women 40-50 years old have negative emotions about their weight. I have always been stocky. I did not take action to improve my health earlier because I thought it was of no use.  

My Personal Training instruction and experience were quite different. While we were taught about the many causes of obesity (environmental including medications, stress, genetics, hormonal, sleep, energy balance), we were encouraged to use strong labels like obesity or overweight. As a new trainer, senior trainers often told me people need to have a wake-up call to become motivated. That their life depended on this change. No wonder 50% of women avoid gyms and fitness classes. However, the practice is changing with people like Tasha Edwards and Kellie Walters speaking out.

Walters gives fitness professionals five steps to reducing weight bias.

  1. Start with yourself. 
  2. Solicit feedback.
  3. Expand your worldview.
  4. Think through your actions.
  5. Continue Your Education.  

Using these five steps I started to think of my biases. First, there was a thread in each of these items. That anti-fat bias was a colonial idea used by white men to justify enslavement. At first, I shied away from this idea. Then as I reflected, I realized it has merit. As a trainer, I seldom saw large Black women in the gym. I did always assume thick people wanted to lose weight. I have to admit I have a bias here, and Tasha and Kellie helped me realize it. I will use the fourth step to ensure that I think through how I use images and how to be more inclusive of people with different body sizes.  

Stating Measurement Results in Language Our Clients Find Offensive.

Queen Latifa recently related a story about a discussion with her trainer. The trainer spoke to her about her BMI and called her obese based on the result. In Adreon Patterson’s Cinemablend article, the trainer, Jeanette Jenkins, states she based her comments on two other tests: bio-electrical impedance and calipers. As I read the two descriptions of events, I thought, what if the trainer had the discussion about how the client wanted to talk about her weight. I wonder if then the anger could have been avoided. This would have enabled a deeper discussion of the client’s values and motivation for training. Would it have been better to skip the characterization and focus on the higher rates of high blood pressure, heart attack, and diabetes for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).

Assessments help estimate the risk to your health. However, only you can tell your health coach or trainer what words do not cause you shame. Sharing words like large or thick that are not shaming to you will help your coach engage you in further discussion about your health concerns. What is important is that you understand the more significant health risk of a higher body fat percentage. The tests your doctor does on a routine physical like Cholesterol, Triglyceride levels, and blood pressure are all necessary measures.  

For more information about why health coaching is about you, please ready my blog post, It’s All About You.

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Disclaimer. The information provided in this article may not be appropriate for all people. Suppose you are not currently exercising or have or suspect you have conditions like a cardiovascular, metabolic, or renal disease. In that case, you should consult your physician before considering any suggested changes.  

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Better Sleep Homework

Donna Wurster

Better Sleep Homework.  Are you ready to start?  If not that is OK, yoWhat is sleep hygiene?u can read on to explore some of the alternatives.  Maybe you will decide to try out a few changes or take more time to think about it.  

I will start by providing some information about sleep hygiene.  If you want to skip  forward to the homework, then please do.

What is sleep hygiene?

Sleep hygiene includes activities a person does to ensure high-quality sleep.  I don’t have to repeat that in these trying days and with all our obligations to work, family, and community that none of us gets enough sleep.  Should you decide to make some changes, remember that you will need to give yourself 2-3 months for these changes to become a habit. Consider reading an earlier blog post to learn more about Making Small Changes .

Good sleep hygiene has many components designed to enhance your body’s natural cycle of sleep.  For a deeper explanation of the sleep cycle read my previous post.  The room where you sleep is a good starting point.  I understand many people use their bedrooms for an office, living room, and place to eat.  When multi-use cannot be avoided try creating a sitting area so that your bed is reserved for sleeping.  The temperatureture in the room is normally suggested at 60-68 degrees Fahrenheit.  Make it as cool as you can tolerate.  For most of us, a dark room is better.  Avoiding bright lights later in the day will help you fall to sleep.

During your day.

Plan to stay with a consistent sleep schedule.  As much as you can plan to get up at the same time each day and go to bed at the same time.  I can share that when I go to bed at the same time every night I am almost assured to stick with my exercise and eating plan.  Otherwise, the fatigue just makes me not want to start.  For many of you looking forward to the weekends for that extra sleep, consider giving it a try, maybe you will find you enjoy having the extra time to enjoy the morning.  

Seek out exposure to natural light early in the day.  There is nothing like getting out of bed and opening your blinds to see the sun.  You may be fortunate enough to be able to step outside for a few minutes to enjoy a bit of sunshine.  Some of us live in areas of the country that do not get much light so you may want to invest in bright light and use your wonderful imagination to picture the sunrise.  

Add Some Exercise.  If you are not currently exercising, then start with 10-15 minutes per day.  If you are exercising, then consider an increase of 15 minutes per day (up to one hour).  A recent study at Iowa State University, Archer-Eichenberger, showed that lifting weight can improve sleep.  Consider adding resistance training up to three times per week.

In the evening.

Your dinner can have a big effect on how well you sleep.  Although we often think that feeling very full makes us drowsy it can also cause discomfort and contribute to stomach upset when you lie down.  Leave plenty of time to digest your food or consider eating a smaller meal.  Your food selection may also contribute to chronic inflammation.  In Is Inflammation Making You Exhausted? Eat These Foods to Start Sleeping Better Turner makes the connections between poor sleep and inflammation and makes some food suggestions to help improve sleep.  A few of these like cherries, pineapple, and green tea may make light before bed snacks.

Of course, we all want to wind down in the evening and some of us want to be fired up to play video games.  Two beverages imbibed that can interfere with sleep are alcohol and caffeine.  If you are like me and you have trouble staying asleep at night, try limiting your alcohol intake.  General guidance is not to consume either of these within three hours of going to bed.  

Put down the screens.  The blue light from screens interferes with the production of melatonin.  Melatonin is the hormone that makes you sleepy.  Also depending on the content of the images you are viewing you may not be as relaxed at bedtime.  

When you go to lay down.

A soothing bedtime routine will help you wind down for the day.  A shower or a bit of meditation can do wonders for your relaxation.  Focus on allowing yourself to slow down and accept the end of your day.

To help you fall to sleep try Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training.   Michael Grothaus describes his experience with using the technique the military uses which is similar.  There are also several breathing techniques to explore like, 4-7-8 technique.  Holding my breath for seven seconds is challenging for me so I just breathe in and breathe out slowly for twice as long.

Better Sleep Homework

You may download a spreadsheet to track your progress.   If you have a fitness tracker, I suggest you use the tracker also.  You may also want to add columns for your sleep score and any other data you want to add.

And now the assignment.  Keep track of how you are sleeping for four days with no changes.  Then for the next seven days commit to making three changes.  I strongly suggest a consistent bedtime and wake up time be one.  

Pick the changes you want to make.

  • Consistent sleep schedule.
  • No screen time within 30 minutes of going to bed.
  • Use a relaxation technique.  This is a good choice for people who kow they have trouble falling asleep.
  • Avoid large meals three hours before bed.
  • Stop drinking alcohol before bed.  
  • Add meditation before bed.
  • Any other change you think will help you feel more relaxed.

The worksheet will help you keep track of:

  • Time you went to bed.
  • Time you woke up.
  • Total time sleeping.
  • How well-rested do you feel?  One of 1-5 with 1 being very tired and 5 being well-rested.
  • Did You fall to Sleep Quickly,  Same 1-5 scale.
  • How Much Were You Awake During the Night? Same 1-5 scale.
  • In the next five columns, you will answer Yes or No to what change you made.  During the five days pick three from the list or add two of your own. 

Thank you for reading.  Let me know if you will be working on your sleep hygiene.  I will be doing my homework as well.  The final blog in this series will be in two weeks to allow time for each of us to evaluate the results.  

Disclaimer.  The information provided in this article may not be appropriate for all people.  If you are not currently exercising or have or suspect you have conditions like cardiovascular, metabolic or renal disease, then you should consult your physician before considering making any changes suggested. 

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Slumber Your Way To Better Health 

Donna Wurster

Slumber your way to better health.  This is the first of a series of articles I will present.  In this post, I will describe what health concerns can improve with better sleep and its purpose for your body.  I hope you will use this information to jump-start progress in your health areas of focus.   In the second post of the series, I invite you to participate in Sleep Homework for one week.  I will participate along with you.  In the final post of the series, I’ll share my results and I will provide some additional evidence about the longer-term effects of a sleep hygiene program.

What Health Concerns Improve With Sleep?

For many of us, weight gain is an area of concern.  Lack of adequate and poor quality sleep affects hormone levels that cause you to be hungrier.    In addition, when you have low energy and feel fatigued you are less likely to adhere to your exercise program.  So you end up with More Calories in and Fewer Calories out and that equals more weight gain.  Weight gain could contribute to even more health issues.

Increased risk of heart attack and stroke.  How much do you ask?  Studies estimate that people over the age of 45 who get less than six hours of sleep per night are twice as likely to have heart disease (National Sleep Foundation,2018).   Blood sugar regulation is often degraded, possibly leading to diabetes.

Sleep problems interfere with your immune system’s function.  Immune system signaling molecules (cytokines) can lead to chronic inflammation.  This is not the good inflammation that helps us heal from wounds and injuries, but excess inflammation.    Chronic inflammation contributes to artery disease leading to cardiovascular disease.  The list goes on to include type 2 diabetes, arthritis, and depression.  Finally, at a time when we are all concerned about COVID, Irwin 2015, indicates that sleep deprivation may lower the effectiveness of vaccines and increase susceptibility to disease.

Poor sleep is associated with anxiety and depression.   Some people sleep too much and others too little.   Disturbed sleep can contribute to emotional health issues causing us to be more fragile.  Who has not had a bad night’s sleep and not felt that we could deal with the challenges of our days.  There have been times when I have been brought to tears after a poor night’s sleep by the routine challenges at work.  Too much time is spent in fight or flight response so both the brain and the body are affected.  

The fogginess in our minds from fatigue results in a higher rate of accidents.  You may experience poor work performance.  

Many studies have linked inadequate sleep with Alzheimer’s disease. Later in the article, we will see that poor sleep can result in the buildup of amyloid proteins that are linked to the disease.

About 50 to 70 million adults have a sleep disorder.  For many of us it is not insomnia, but poor or inadequate sleep.  Some of the symptoms include:

  • day time fatigue.
  • trouble falling asleep
  • waking too early in the morning
  • unable to fall back to sleep once you wake up.

What is restorative sleep?

Of course, the standard answer we hear is that adults should get 7 to 8 hours of sleep and teenagers should get one more hour.  As many of you already know, being in bed does not mean we get quality sleep.  For people like me who suffer pain from injuries or arthritis during the night, losing an hour or two of sleep each night is not unusual.  A new study out of the University of California (Adams, Heather) has identified “efficient sleepers”  that have Familial Natural Short Sleep (FNSS).  These people can feel perky and energized after 5-6 hours of sleep.   The author refers to  this new study as proof that the quality of sleep is more important than quantity. However, most of the assessments of quality are made subjectively by how a person feels.  

Drake, Christopher L et al. in a Jul 14 journal of clinical sleep medicine article examines how difficult it is to validate the measures of adequate sleep.  They developed and tested a Restorative Sleep Questionnaire (RSQ).  Tools to evaluate   sleep onset or initiation, sleep interruptions, alertness on waking and length of sleep are common.  By using focus groups a nine item questionnaire was developed in two versions.  One version was administered daily and the other weekly.  Both tests were found to have internal consistency reliability (> 0.90).  In the focus group good sleep was described as :

  • falling to sleep easily,
  • sleeping without waking,
  • feeling rested when waking up.

Still, we don’t have an objective measure.  I have read that 20-25 % of the time during sleep spent in REM is one measure frequently.  I use a fitness tracker.  I track total hours slept, amount of time awake, and % of the time in REM.  Normally, when I feel rested is consistent with these measures falling into a certain range.  More about that next time.

How Does Sleep Benefit Your Body?

During the day your brain is busy processing the visual cues it receives.  We speed through our days reacting to events.  Often these activities are taking place automatically without much mindfulness.  During the night our brain cleans itself and removes waste products.  Our brains may shrink by as much as 60% which allows the cerebrospinal fluid to mix with the interstitial fluid.  This mixing washes away wastes like amyloid proteins that accumulate during the day.  The meditative state allows memories to be consolidated.  Some believe our creativity is sparked by the cleaning process resulting in dreams.

Sleep Cycle

Sleep affects several hormones.  The first is melatonin, the sleep hormone. To understand more let’s talk about the hormones involved in the sleep cycle.  We fall to sleep because GABA  (a neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid) is activated.  When we are awake, acetylcholine is secreted by the hypothalamus, which dampens the effect of GABA.  When you are active during the day another chemical , adenosine, builds up and hinders acetylcholine.  As the day ends the blue light from the sun causes melatonin to begin to rise.  Adenosine breaks the wall of acetylcholine and GABA takes over.   As you sleep your melatonin levels peak causing deep sleep.  As your temperature bottoms out and cortisol, the stress hormone rises, then you dream.  When the sun rises melatonin begins to fall and cortisol reaches its peak.   Since cortisol triggers many other hormones, when the cycle is disrupted then fragmented sleep may result.  Also, electronic devices can delay melatonin production causing the onset of sleep to be delayed.

Hormones

The final hormones we will discuss are human growth, hunger hormones (leptin, ghrelin, and insulin), and estrogen and progesterone hormones.  Not only does human growth hormone govern your body’s ability to repair itself, but it also affects how you metabolize sugar.  When HGH is disrupted, then pre-diabetes or diabetes can be complicated.  Poor sleep can mean that not enough leptin is produced leaving the hormone that makes you hungry, ghrelin to run wild.  Ever have a day that you just could not get enough to eat – ghrelin.  Finally, estrogen and progesterone are two of the hormones triggered by cortisol.   In both men and women, these hormones affect thyroid function and can slow metabolism.

Next time we’ll talk about sleep hygiene and make a plan to do some homework.  Sharpen those pencils.   

Please leave a comment.  Let me know what you think or share your story about how sleep is working for you. Contact me to suggest other topics.

Disclaimer.  The information provided in this article may not be appropriate for all people.  If you are not currently exercising or have or suspect you have conditions like cardiovascular, metabolic, or renal disease, then you should consult your physician before considering making any changes suggested.  

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Rarely is it too late to be healthier

Rarely is it too late to be healthier. Thank you for being skeptical.  You should ask questions and consider carefully when it comes to your health.   Take the time to think about the pros and cons of making changes so you know they are right for you.  

How Do We Know?

We know getting healthier works because we can point to people who have proved it by their actions like Florence “Flo” Filion Meiler.  Ms. Meiler started training for track and field events in her 60s.  In 2021 She set a new record in the 2000 meter steeplechase in her 80s.  Several studies have also confirmed this.  A University of Birmingham study of 70 and 80-year-olds showed that people who did not exercise regularly have as much potential to build muscle mass as master athletes. 

Studies have proven

A Ralph La Forge study in 2002 of 60-83-year-olds showed that starting a weight training program three times per week could increase Bone Mineral Density (BMD).  A June 2016 article in NIH News in Health studied over 600 adults ages 70 to 89 who increased their activity to 150 minutes per week.  After two years they concluded that this group became disabled less often and recovered more quickly when disabled.  There are many more studies describing how eating changes like using DASH, Mediterranean-style, or MIND diets have helped people live longer.

When Do Changes Start?

For most people, the first signs of aging happen in their 30’s.  You begin to notice fine lines and wrinkles.  Most of us do not get concerned about this. At this time your hormones begin to change causing that slow weight gain begins.  As you enter your forties and fifties Bone Mineral Density (BMD)  will reduce.  Your blood vessels and arteries start to stiffen making your heart work harder.  Also in your forties, we begin losing muscle mass progressing to as much as 50% over time.  This condition is called sarcopenia. 

Will Changes Make A Difference?

Increasing physical activity, eating a healthy diet, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, getting good sleep, and managing chronic stress are all actions you can take.  Of course, the best results are found in people who are able to maintain these habits all their life. 

When you start in your 60s you may have conditions like heart disease or diabetes that will make progress more challenging,  Be sure to consult your physician.  Engaging the services of a health coach and the/ or exercise professional may be recommended.    Some of the benefits are better balance, improvement of chronic conditions, and a leaner and lighter body.  In women exercise can eliminate the reduction in bone density.  Recent studies have shown that Alzheimer’s markers in people over 60 are reduced by 30 minutes of exercise.  A 2019 study indicated that your mood will improve.  We all want to be happier. 

Diet Changes

A healthier diet can improve your blood pressure control and reduce your weight.  Friedrich  notes that in studies  people starting exercise at age 53 were able to increase their aerobic capacity by 18 percent and their heart elasticity by 25%.  Since bone density begins to reduce during your 40s and 50s, starting a recommended dose of calcium would help you avoid a higher risk of fractures.

  1. Calcium – Men 50-70 1K mg per day, Women >=51 1200. Vitamin D >=50 800-1K mg.

The decision is yours. As always, I would love to hear from you.  Post a comment with your thoughts and ideas?  What topics are you curious about? Contact Me

Disclaimer.  The information provided in this article may not be appropriate for all people.  If you are not currently exercising or have or suspect you have conditions like cardiovascular, metabolic, or renal disease, then you should consult your physician before considering making any changes suggested.  

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What Makes Stress Unhealthy

What makes stress unhealthy?

Stress becomes unhealthy when it causes us to feel anxious or nervous, irritable, angry, and fatigued. This is different than the nervousness one feels when thinking about going on a date with a new person or that first day at a new job.  These are examples of acute time-limited stressors.  Afterwards, two organs of your body, the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland release Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ATCH) to turn off the stress response.  Stress becomes unhealthy when three types of stressors occur:

  • Stressful event sequences.  These are longer term like the death of someone close to you.
  • Chronic stressors.  Life-changing events without a clear end in sight.  Good examples are living in poverty, taking care of an elderly parent, or being severely injured in an accident.
  • Distant stressors.  Events that happened in the distant past like abuse or wartime service.

If you are interested in assessing your lifetime stress exposure, the considering taking the STRAIN, or Stress and Adversity Inventory .

What Are the Health Challenges Related to Stress

The increased levels of cortisol can contribute to several health issues:

  • Increased risk of osteoporosis.
  • Increased insulin resistance that contributes to type 2 diabetes.
  • Gastrointestinal issues like irritable bowel syndrome.  
  • Weight gain.  
  • Memory impairment.

                    This list covers many health concerns. 

Other effects are:

  • Cardiovascular dysfunction.
  • Altered emotions.
  • Reproductive problems.
  • Headaches

The increased fatigue becomes a serious barrier to engaging in the activities that help relieve stress.  Many of us don’t feel like we have the energy to help ourselves so we continue to feel worse.

How can your coach help?

A visit with your physician is where most of us would start.  Antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications may be needed in some cases and your doctor can help.  Therapy may also help so seek out a skilled professional.

A health coach may help improve your ability to self-regulate.  Self regulation is your ability to monitor and manage emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.  Starting with deep breathing exercises may be a good place to start.   This article,  Emma Seppälä, Christina Bradley, and Michael R. Goldstein, (2020, September 29). Research: Why Breathing Is So Effective at Reducing Stress. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/09/research-why-breathing-is-so-effective-at-reducing-stress, explains that in a study at the University of Arizona people taught a breathing exercise reported feeling more relaxed when presented with a stressful test.  

Becoming more mindful through the practice of meditation will help you increase your ability to monitor you emotions and responses.  Only five minutes of meditation state studies have shown to reduce the tendency to automatically react to a situation and reduce hypercritical thoughts.  Many of us wish we could stop feeling down on ourselves.  Perhaps this could help you.

Changing your mindset to a growth model where you are more persistent in the face of setbacks and embrace challenges could become a longer term objective.  Also you may benefit from cognitive restructuring.  The Stoics believe that harm is created by your own opinion.

“It isn’t the things themselves that disturb people, but the judgements that they form about them.” –

Epictetus

Please leave a comment or contact me with a topic you would like to know more about.

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Start Small for Big Results

Earnest Action Health Coach

Donna Wurster

After reading my last Blog, It’s About You, then likely you have chosen an area in your life that you want to improve.  In case you have not, then you are not ready to make a new habit.  Take your time.  Making changes in your life is up to you.  Reading this article will give you information to think about.  Thinking about the reasons to change is important.  Continue to explore what is right for you.

For those of you who know what health concerns you want to address and are looking for options to move forward, then this is good information for you.  If you have tried to change and made those big New Year’s resolutions that have not panned out, then this article is for you also.

Here we go!   Make It Small, Put it In Context, Make A Plan.  Working with a Health Coach can really help you as you plan your experiments (Benefits of Working with a Health Coach).

Make It Small

In Atomic Habits by James Clear  James tells us the story of British Cycling coach Dave Brailford’s effort to improve the cycling Team’s performance.  He believed in the aggregation of marginal gains.  The idea is that to make a large gain in performance like going from first to last in the world of cycling, then make many small improvements.   This meant that the Team invested in many small experiments to see what worked to give them many small improvements.  Five years in 2008 later the team was dominating the sport.  

Small changes work well for weight control.  “In one study, volunteers wanting to lose weight were randomized to a habit-based intervention, based on a brief leaflet listing 10 simple diet and activity behaviours and encouraging context-dependent repetition, or a no-treatment waiting list control. After 8 weeks, the intervention group had lost 2 kg compared with 0.4 kg in the control group. At 32 weeks, completers in the intervention group had lost an average of 3.8 kg.” Eight pounds of weight loss just for making a small change!`

Put The Habit in Context

When will you do the activity?  Be specific about where and/or when the new activity will be done.  Planning to eat a banana after lunch everyday is better than saying ,” I will eat three bananas this week”.  I wanted to take vitamins everyday.  To finally be successful I had to change when I took them from morning when I woke up to before I went to bed and finally to right after work.  The important point to remember is I gave myself about 10 weeks before I decided to change.  I was tracking my success and on review, decided on a new experiment.

Make a Plan

In making Health Habitual (ref. below), the author is informing doctors that helping their patients to form healthy habits by telling them how to plan for the change is effective.  However, the Person must decide what the new habit will be.  When you choose, then you are more likely to be committed to doing the hard work to make the habit automatic.  Why is this important?  Because studies have shown that we go through a learning phase that can last 2-3 months for the habit to become automatic.  How do you know when you are there?  When you do not do that activity, then you miss it – you do not feel right.   The good news is that once you reach this point it is easy to pick back up.    You will need a plan. Tracking your progress gives you data to use to decide whether the habit is sticking.  Follow this link to the steps to take to form a habit with a downloadable tracker.  You can also download my tracker on the downloads page.

As always, I would love to hear from you.  What are your thoughts and ideas?  What topics are you curious about?  

References  

Lally P, Chipperfield A, Wardle J. Healthy habits: Efficacy of simple advice on weight control based on a habit-formation model. Int J Obes. 2008;32(4):700–707. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Gardner, Benjamin et al. “Making health habitual: the psychology of ‘habit-formation’ and general practice.” The British Journal of General Practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners vol. 62,605 (2012): 664-6. doi:10.3399/bjgp12X659466, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3505409/

Clear, James. Atomic Habits. New York, NY, Penguin Random House, October 16, 2018.

[1] Lally P, Chipperfield A, Wardle J. Healthy habits: Efficacy of simple advice on weight control based on a habit-formation model. Int J Obes. 2008;32(4):700–707. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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It Is All About You!

Donna Wurster

You are the person who knows what is best for you.  If you just laughed and thought I don’t know how to: lose weight, exercise, reduce my stress, drink less alcohol, stop smoking, control you diabetes.  Knowing how to do a thing is not knowing WHAT is best for you.  You can consult experts when you are ready to learn how to do a thing. When to take action is up to you.

The butterfly has a simple agenda each day. They know to find sunshine and food.

Take some time and look in the mirror.  Tell yourself that you are the only person who decides what is right for you.  I personally did this when I wanted to quit smoking.  I failed for years until I tried this.  The first time I did it I realized I had been avoiding really looking at myself.  I didn’t SEE myself anymore.  When I did take a good look and asked myself what was important to me, I heard myself saying I wanted to run like I used to, I wanted to live longer.  Then I asked why was I still smoking and not running.  I decided to take steps and engaged people who could help me reach my goals.

Why did this work?  Because I became more connected to my thoughts and beliefs.  This new level of awareness launched me on a journey that I still on today.  I have new goals now because I was able to achieve smaller goals. The mirror analogy is often used to describe a coaching relationship.  The coach helps you discover your values and beliefs in new way. One technique you may explore is making an agenda map. Take some time to consider what is important to you. What are your main concerns? Health coaches are skilled at helping to structure the conversation and zooming in on your priorities.

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What Does It Mean Live an Active Lifestyle?

For those of you reading this and not currently participating in regular exercise, consider consulting a physician for a medical clearance if you show any signs of cardio vascular disease, metabolic, or renal disease. Your doctor will be thrilled you are interested in being more active and will give you the best guidelines to follow based on your situation.

It’s never too late to start exercising, Harvard Health Publishing,

June 1, 2019,

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/its-never-too-late-to-start-exercising, states: “An observational study published online March 8, 2019, by JAMA Network Open links exercise to a lower risk for an early death, even if you wait until middle age to start a regular routine. Researchers analyzed health and exercise surveys from 315,000 older adults in the 1990s, then followed up to see who was still alive in 2011. Compared with people who never exercised, older adults who’d exercised consistently since they were teenagers had a 36% lower risk of dying during the study period. Those numbers were similar to the results for people who’d been inactive in their youth and only began exercising regularly in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. That group had a 35% lower risk of dying, compared with people who never exercised.”. I lost my fitness during my 30’s and 40’s because of injuries. I attribute my health in returning to exercise in my very late 40’s.

Let’s talk about this in terms of minutes per week. About 40 minutes each day of moderate activity beyond the basic daily living tasks. That’s right the trip from the couch to the kitchen for a snack does not count. Maybe you are saying, “Where can I find the time?”. The answer depends on how highly you value the benefits. Would you like to:

  • increase you feelings of well-being?
  • perform better at work, a recreational sport, a hobby?
  • decrease your chances of falling and injuring yourself?
  • be more independent as you age?
  • increase your cardiovascular and respiratory function?
  • decrease anxiety and depression, coronary artery disease risk factors?

Saying yes to these means you may be ready to make a change to being more active. Start small and as you master one change and you are ready make another. Here are some steps you might want to consider.

  • Watch TV? Walk in place at each commercial each night.
  • Are you able to get up 20 minutes early? Get dressed. Walk outside if you can for 10 minutes or in your house or dance.
  • Already exercising daily? Add 10 additional minutes.
  • Able to walk at lunch time? Do it.

Physical Activity Level

Moderate Intensity Minutes Per Week

Summary of Overall Health Benefits

Lifestyle Application

Inactive

No activity beyond baseline

None

Being inactive is unhealthy

Insufficiently Active

Above baseline and less than 150 minutes per week

None

Lower levels of activity are preferable to inactive lifestyle.

Active

150 – 300 minutes per week

Substantial

More benefits at higher level

Highly Active

greater than 300 minutes per week

Additional

No identifiable upper limit of activity above which there are no additional benefits.

Department of Health and Human Services (2018) Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (https://health.gov/our-work/nutrition-physical-activity/physical-activity-guidelines)

Move your way. (https://www.health.gov/PAGuidelines/)

Please leave a comment below. let me know if you want more information about a topic.

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Why Should I Invest in a Health Coach

I asked myself this question before.

My time and money are valuable. How will a coach help? After all everyday thousands of personal trainers, physical therapists, registered dietitians publish videos and posts everyday. Many of you have tried using this information with some success. Has that success been lasting? I have worked as a personal trainer. People came to me because I was an expert. They spent time and money on me to get the answers. At that time I thought I was a good trainer because I spent some time asking what the persons goals were. I had great success with helping them meet their goals. I rejoiced when one older client arrived one day and shared that he had been able to walk to his grandson’s soccer field and watch his game. This was a big achievement for him as he had watched from the seat of the car before. Ask me how many of my client maintained their fitness or weight loss five years after they stopped working with me. Zero not a one. But I had taught them the exercises, instructed them to spend a certain amount of time, designed a program based on their goals. Why didn’t this work?

Enter the Health Coach.

This person partners with you to find lasting change. This may include helping you to learn new strategies to plan for and cope with lapses. First, this person believes you are the expert in your like and has the skills to help you sort out what you want to change. Second the results, in the Durham VA Healthcare System study HbA1C, physical activity change, and BMI had a statistically significant change when health coaching was used. What’s different here is that a Health Coach is on your side. We are your mirror so that you can see yourself in new ways that enable change. Finally, your Coach is skilled at listening and has many different approaches you can use to plan the steps you want to take. Like a guide on a trip, the coach can help smooth the way and add color on your wellness journey.

Want more information? This Blog was based on some of the information below.

Billie Frances, 4 Benefits of Working With A Health Coach, February 19,2015, https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/blog/5303/4-benefits-of-working-with-a-health-coach/

Melinda Huffman, Traditional Health Teaching is Out.. Evidence-based Coaching is IN! , 2015, https://www.ahihealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Health-based-coaching.pdf

Durham VA Healthcare System, John W. Williams Jr., MD , MHSc, Director, The Effectiveness of Health Coaching, April 2017, https://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/publications/esp/health-coaching-REPORT.pdf

Perter Grinspoon, MD, Health coaching is effective. Should you try it? , Published in the Harvard Business Review, April 8, 2020, https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/health-coaching-is-effective-should-you-try-it-2020040819444