First and foremost, Happy New Year Everybody! Who’s excited about 2013???? I sure am! I love the New Year! It’s a great time to look back on the previous year and make goals for the year ahead especially when it comes to your health.
But where do you start when it comes to getting healthy? Let’s make it easy!
I do not believe in weight loss fads or gimmicks because they are not long term lifestyle choices! Some celebrity who is paid to tell you how to lose weight, have better skin, what pill to take, etc. is a joke! Don’t fall for it! Losing weight, having more energy, feeling great, and looking radiant are all side effects from making healthy lifestyle choices every day!
On that note, here are some tips to getting healthier this year. I look forward to having a wonderful year with you!
Dr. Jamie’s 10 Easy Tips for getting healthier this year:
1. Eat something green or raw with every meal
Throwing spinach in your eggs or kale in your tomato sauce, soup, or smoothie is so easy and you won’t even taste it. Start easy with eating a banana with breakfast or carrots with lunch! Finding it difficult to get enough greens in your diet? Try Supplements. Find a high quality multivitamin to take every day. Throw out generic store bought, cheap, synthetic ones since you literally flush them down the toilet anyway. Start adding healthy items to your diet and your taste buds will literally change. Your body will crave what you put in it!
2. Go without TV or computer at least once a week
As a culture, we have become TV and social media obsessed. Give your brain a rest! Better yet, make a no phone date with your spouse or a friend where you turn off your phones. Talk to each other. Listen to each other without any distractions.
3. Set goals
Stop and write them down! Start with what you want to accomplish this year. Better yet title it what you WILL accomplish this year. Do this for health, finance, career, family, etc. List at least three goals for each topic and tape it to your fridge.
4. Change one bad habit
Whether you always get popcorn at the movies or that Monday afternoon latte, try to change it! Behavior modification is the most important tool when pursuing optimal health. You may not even realize some habits that you have formed throughout your life. Write them down and just pick one at a time. Start easy on yourself!
5. Stretch your body
What does a baby do when it wakes up? What do our pets do when they wake up? STRETCH! It is just as important to stretch your body after resting as it is after strenuous activity. Stay tuned for our easy at home spinal stretches which are as important to do daily as brushing your teeth!
6. Go to bed early
Sleeping when you’re dead is too late! The best rest we can get is by 10pm anything earlier is a plus! Getting 7-8 hours a night is extremely important. When you sleep you heal and your cells regenerate. Avoid food 90 minutes before you go to bed for optimal rest. Turn that TV and computer off at least one hour before bed. Keep those electronics out of the bedroom and turn your cellphone off as it can interfere with your sleep patterns.
7. Quit soda and alcohol
Cutting down on the last of the legal drugs, as I like to call it, will change your life. I don’t care if your soda has no calories or caffeine or you drink skinny martinis. It is “poison” as my grandmother always says. Drinking water with lemon while out at restaurants will not only save you money, but illness and calories. Use the extra money you save and put it towards upgrading to organic food.
8. Cut down on sugar
There is an abundance of information out there that sugar is toxic. It feeds the pathogens in our body that causes illness. It is also very addictive and the more you eat it the more you crave it. See if you can go one whole day without eating anything with sugar in it. Completely cut out high fructose corn syrup! It is very toxic. Watch out for “glucose-fructose syrup” while overseas which is the same compound but a different name… so sneaky.
9. Count your blessings
As said by the great Bing Crosby, “count your blessings instead of sheep.” It is extremely important to appreciate every gift we have even when life is tough. Think about what you are grateful for every night before you fall asleep. I remember having an older patient who said “every morning you can get out of bed is a good morning.” I could not agree more.
10. Get adjusted! (Saving the best for last!)
Did you really think I was going to skip this one? Like I have said many times before, it is imperative for your health to get your spine adjusted. The health of your spine and nervous system is directly correlated with the health of your brain and your body. Waiting for pain in your back to see a chiropractor is as foolish as waiting for a skin infection before showering. Without proper care of your spine, your spinal joints will deteriorate. When joints become subluxated, motion and alignment become lost, leading to improper signaling and communication in the body. Bottom-line, getting your spine adjusted is by far the most important and easiest way to get healthier this new year. You can eat the most organic fresh off the farm veggies but if the communication to your digestive system is interfered with than the food will not be digested optimally. This is why it is so important to take care of your spine and nervous system for whole body health!
Find a chiropractor near you or if you live in the north shore of Boston area, find us at 317-319 Rantoul Street, Beverly, Massachusetts and stop in for a free consultation!
Most importantly, do not give up! If you cheat or make a mistake, it is OK! Tomorrow is always a new day! It’s never too late to regain better health! Let’s make 2013 your best year yet!!!! Stick with this blog and I will help you with no endorsements or gimmicks. Feel free to give your input! Ask questions, give me blog topics, and comment below. Please share it on your favorite social media account if you like it and believe others can benefit from it.
Stay tuned for more blogs on how to take back your health in 2013!