Healthy New Year Strategies

        A new year grants us the opportunity to evaluate the past year and proactively plan and move forward on our quest for wellness.  Giving up bad habits, losing weight and getting fit are among the top resolutions set annually in the USA. A healthy lifestyle incorporates each of these and other vital components. Lifestyle changes can be overwhelming. Many people get discouraged early in the process. To achieve the vital goal of wellness, we must first understand the keys to health.  It’s an important undertaking, one that you don’t have to start or walk alone.

I’ve consulted a panel of natural health professionals to offer their expert advice. Dr. Stephanie Maj begins by stating the core areas each of us must address as we pursue wellness.  We hope to encourage and motivate you!

5 Steps to Wellness Include Chiropractic
There are 5 critical steps to wellness: eating right, stress relief, exercise, eliminating toxins, and what most self-help health books omit, Chiropractic care.  In my book, You Can Be Well, I explain how chiropractic corrects interference in the nerve system.  Research shows that when you have interference in the nerve’s function at the spinal level, this leads to a cascade of harmful results.  Some of those results include:  increased blood pressure, increased cholesterol, increased triglycerides, insulin resistance (pre-diabetes), increased stress hormones, decreased immunity (cancer & infections), decreased sense of well-being and a decrease in complex learning abilities.

-By Dr. Stephanie Maj, chiropractor, owner, Community Chiropractic, Chicago, IL, http://communitychiropractic.net/dr-majs-new-book/

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​Introducing New Healthy Habits
Instead of focusing on end results for your New Year’s Resolutions, select two healthy habits each week. Every week add two more healthy habits. Choose your own, or find hundreds of healthy habits to keep you on track, in my book, The Power of 4. The results develop on their own and it’s much easier to implement two things weekly for permanent lifestyle changes and long term fat loss.

 -By Paula Owens, MS, Nutritionist, Fitness Expert, Holistic Health Practitioner, Author, www.PaulaOwens.com

How to Incorporate Exercise into Your Lifestyle
To begin, choose an exercise plan that:

1. You enjoy
2. Is fun to do
3. Is affordable
4. Suits your particular lifestyle

For instance, if time is a constraint, choose something like a half-hour of brisk walking every day, cycling from home, or swimming on the way back from school or work. If you can, make it a family activity, so you can have more fun. When something becomes part of your lifestyle, habit drives you regardless of how you are feeling that day, just like brushing your teeth or taking a bath. Exercising follows the same principle.

-By Dr. Kevin Lau, Chiropractor, Nutritionist, App Developer and Author of Your Plan for Natural Scoliosis Prevention and Treatment.


Eliminating Toxins from your Diet is Essential to Health!  Is Diet Soda Really a Healthy Food Choice?
Brain cell death, high blood pressure, weight gain, and demineralized bones and teeth are just a few of the trade-offs one gets when mistakenly thinking that a zero calorie, diet soda is a good choice. Magnify that by the addictive qualities of the chemicals and artificial ingredients and diet soda consumption is a major cause of repetitive stress to the nervous system. When we have patients whose health doesn't stabilize or they can't seem to get the best results, we always look to dietary habits. Eliminating diet drinks is one of the first things they can do to help themselves feel better, get better results, and start to lose weight. Contact me and we can help you too!

-By Dr. Shelly Jones, chiropractor and owner, Chiropractic Wellness Center, Inc. of Columbia, SC

The Key to Fitness Success
After 50 years of working out and talking with thousands of people who are able to get fit and stay fit, there is one common thread that links them all - consistency!
Set a goal to find an exercise regimen that fits your lifestyle and keeps you motivated - whether it’s a piece of equipment, a health club or personal trainer - then  stick with it.
Start by working out 3 days a week for at least 30 minutes. If you prefer to exercise at home, select a piece of equipment like the Total Gym incline bodyweight trainer that offers unlimited variety, flexibility and safety for all ages and fitness levels to literally train every part of the body with little or no orthopedic stress on the joints. You can find “Tom’s Training Tips” on the Total Gym website to help maintain a consistent exercise regimen at home!

-By Tom Campanaro, CEO of Total Gym and Inventor of the Total Gym Incline Bodyweight Trainer.

Motivation in Motion
Want to lose weight or give up a bad habit? Need help saying no? Enlist the help of others. Ask like-minded family and friends to help you meet your goal by keeping you accountable. Surround yourself with encouraging, inspiring and successful people to serve as a catalyst to jumpstart your enthusiasm and put those resolutions into reality. This can be achieved several ways. Select a close circle of health conscience friends or join a club, hire a trainer, enlist the help of your chiropractor or other natural health professional, and read a book or blog by one of the professionals included in this article.

Don’t set unrealistic goals that may discourage you. Determine to adopt a healthy lifestyle, instead of taking the crash diet approach.  Implement the things you learn as you progress. Daily read a natural health, fitness or chiropractic article to keep motivated and moving in the right direction. Wellness isn't a short crash course, and it won’t happen by accident. Wellness is an approach to life we must take for life, one choice at a time.

-By Deborah Tukua, author of Naturally Sweet Blender Treats, healthy lifestyle freelance writer and editor of Journey to Natural Living.
 
Health strategies compiled by Deborah Tukua.