How have you been doing with keeping up with your New Years Resolution so far in 2010? The most common resolutions made pertain to good health. Three common resolutions are to quit smoking, lose weight and exercise more. Here are some tips to keep you on the path you chose at the beginning of this year.
The most important factor in being successful at reaching your goals is self-motivation. Another important feature is to have reachable, realistic goals.
So let’s start thinking about smoking cessation. Everyone knows about the detrimental effects of smoking….ranging from cancer to heart disease and stroke. Once a smoker feels motivated to quit smoking, the battle is almost over. Sticking to the motivation is very important. How can a smoker go about quitting smoking? The methods vary from “Cold Turkey” quitting, hypnosis, nicotine replacement gums or patches and there are two prescription medications. The best thing to do would be to sit down with your physician and discuss the best option for you. The support of a friend or relative can also help. An important feature in quitting smoking is to substitute the behaviour of when a person smokes with alternative activities. For example, munch on a low calorie snack such as carrot or celery sticks, do something with your hands such as crossword puzzles or Sudoku, or go for a walk instead of lingering over an alcoholic beverage or coffee.
Weight loss is a very common resolution. How much weight should someone lose? Healthy weights are gauged with the Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference. Charts listing BMI are based on a person’s height. A healthy BMI is below 25. Overweight ranges from 25-29 and obesity is higher than a BMI of 30. Body fat around the waist leads to poor health, increasing the risk of Diabetes and Heart Disease. A woman’s waist circumference should be less than 88 cm and a man’s waist circumference should be less than 102 cm. Healthy weight loss can be achieved as a half to one pound loss per week. To achieve this, it is important to follow a well balanced diet….fad diets rarely keep weight off. The important thing is to follow a healthy diet and stick to it long term. This includes foods from all food groups. If you are uncertain of what you should be eating, you should make an appointment with one of Wellpoint’s Dietitians.
The reasons to exercise vary from assisting in weight loss, increasing muscle tone, flexibility, strength and cardiovascular endurance. Exercise also makes a person feel happier by releasing endorphins into the brain. Which ever the reason, have realistic goals. These may include reducing weight, reducing body fat and the number of centimeters of a certain body area, increasing the angle or distance of a stretch, increasing the distance or time of a cardiovascular exercise. The minimum number of hours of exercise per week should be a total of 2 ½ hours per week. The ideal should be 5 hours per week, of which approximately 2/3 of the time is spent doing cardiovascular exercises. If you are uncertain of your present musculoskeletal health, you may want to book an appointment with the Wellpoint Athletic trainer, physiotherapists or chiropractor. They can assess your present condition and design a customized program for you.
Whatever goal you chose, remember, don’t give up and try to follow these tips to achieve a much healthier lifestyle.
By Dr. Monica Pearl, MD CCFP FCFP
Medical Director, Wellpoint Health Services
Dr. Pearl has over 19 years of clinical practice and is currently active staff at Women’s College Hospital and courtesy staff at Sunnybrook Hospital.
