February is American Heart Month, so it’s a great time to remember how important it is to live a healthy lifestyle. Heart disease is a major killer — each year approximately one million people in the US have a heart attack and nearly half are fatal. If you survive, a heart attack can shave 15 years off your life. Heart disease is sneaky as well. The majority of men and women who die suddenly of heart disease have no previous symptoms.
Heart Disease is Influenced By Lifestyle
Fortunately (or unfortunately) heart disease is strongly influenced by lifestyle. In 2003, two large studies confirmed that modifiable risk factors such as cigarette smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, abdominal obesity, inactivity, low fruit and vegetable consumption, and excessive alcohol account for 90% of heart attack risk.
Follow the American Heart Association’s Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations to significantly lower your risk of having a heart attack:
- Balance caloric intake and physical activity to achieve or maintain a healthy body weight.
- Consume a diet rich in vegetables and fruits
- Choose whole-grain, high-fiber foods
- Limit your intake of saturated fat to <7%, trans fat to <1%, and cholesterol to <300mg per day by: Choosing lean meats and vegetable alternatives; Selecting fat free, 1% fat and low-fat dairy products; minimizing intake of partially hydrogenated fats
- Minimize your intake of beverages and foods with added sugars
- Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt
- If you consume alcohol, do so in moderation.
Hilton Head Health Staff - Bob Wright, MAT
Director of Lifestyle Education
February 13th, 2008
Cheney
Exercise has long been known as a way to maintain physical fitness and prevent high blood pressure, diabetes, and other diseases. However, a growing volume of research shows that 30 minutes of exercise three to five days per week can significantly improve symptoms of certain mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety, and may also prevent relapses after treatment of both conditions.
Exercise Increases Feel Good Hormones
The how is not fully understood but evidence suggests that exercise raises levels of certain mood-enhancing neurotransmitters in the brain. It may also increase the levels of feel-good hormones in the body, release muscle tension, help you sleep better, reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and increase body temperature which may induce feelings of tranquility. Each of these changes would improve feelings of sadness, self-doubt, hopelessness, anxiety, stress, and fatigue.
Having depression and anxiety, it is hard enough to get out of bed in the morning. How can you possibly consider getting in some exercise? Here are a few steps to help you get started. Of course, before you begin a weight loss spa program, check with your health care provider to make sure it is safe for you.
5 Steps To Help You Get Started
1. Talk to your doctor or therapist for support and guidance and to discuss how the addition of exercise fits in to your overall treatment plan.
2. Figure out what you enjoy doing. You are more likely to stick with a program that you enjoy.
3. Set reasonable goals. Be realistic with what you can do initially. Start small and build from there.
4. Do not think of exercise as a burden. Think of it just as you would your therapy sessions or medications. These are tools to help you get better.
5. Prepare for setbacks and obstacles. Exercise is not always fun and it is tempting to blame yourself if you happen to miss a day. Give yourself credit for every step in the right direction, no matter how small.
February 8th, 2008
intern
If your doctor were to tell you that you need to increase heart healthy habits, would you reach for the grapes on the counter or the bottle of red wine? Turns out, drinking a few drinks per week (up to one a day for women, up to two for men) has the same potential heart benefits as exercise. You have probably heard this claim before, a glass of wine a day prevents heart disease, sort of the apple a day mentality, but researchers wanted to look further into these benefits.
Alcohol and exercise affect your heart health in similar ways, “they help increase good cholesterold, or HDL, and clean the circulatory system’s pipes. HDL helps remove fatty deposits, created by bad cholesterol, or LDL, from bloodvessel walls. The higher the HDL, the less likely vascular disease becomes. The lower the HDL, the more likely”, says Dr. Arthur Klatsky, cardiologist and researcher at Kaiser Permanente Northern California.
Drinking Alcohol Has Benefits
In the study, 12,000 people were observed over a 20 year period and split into four categories. They found that exercise and drinking alcohol had an independent beneficial effect on the heart and a compounded effect when practiced together. People who don’t drink at all and don’t exercise had the highest risk of heart disease. Those who drink moderately and exercise had a 50% lower risk. Those who only exercise or only drink alcohol had a 30% lower risk.
Moderation is Key
Even though these findings show the benefits of alcohol with exercise, wait before you make a mad dash to the bar. These findings have only been shown to benefit those who are at an age at which heart disease becomes a larger risk, around ages 45 to 50. There is no proof of a preventative measure before age 45. Also, remember moderation is key! Remember you should never drink your weekly allowance all at once.
To learn more about how Hilton Head weight loss resort can help you achive your weight loss & healthy living goals, contact us today!
Source: TIME Magazine
February 6th, 2008
Cheney
Even if you aren’t interested in the football, I am sure you watch the commercials or at least attend a Super Bowl Party! While you mingle with friends, make bets over who will win and linger by the Super Bowl snack table, keep this fact in mind - Americans consume more calories as a nation on Super Bowl Sunday than on any other day of the year, even Thanksgiving!
By the time the clock runs out in the fourth quarter, Americans will have taken in 156 billion calories - mostly from pizza, wings and beer. So instead of ingesting all of those extra calories (which would take running the length of the football field 109 times to burn off!), try these tips from Men’s Health and co-author of bestselling Eat This, Not That! and cut your caloric intake in half.
Pre-Game Snack
Eat This: Bowl of Chili with cheddar and onions; 300 calories; 18 g fat
Not That!: 6 Chicken wings with blue cheese; 650 calories; 40 g fat
Dips
Eat This: Tostitos Salsa Con Queso; 80 calories; 5 g fat
Not That!: Kraft Guacamole Dip (4 T); 100 calories; 9 g fat
Halftime Snack
Eat This: 3 Chicken Fingers; 310 calories; 17 g fat
Not That!: Cheese Fries with ranch (1 cup); 750 calories; 50 g fat
Dessert
Eat This: Edy’s Slow Churned Vanilla w/Nestle Crunch Bar; 150 calories; 8 g fat
Not That!: Haagen-Daaz Vanilla and Almonds Bar; 310 calories; 22 g fat
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You need to eat a nutritious diet, get regular exercise, reduce stress, and maintain healthy habits to have a healthier, longer life. These lifestyle choices can lead to health more surely than any pill or quick fix diet plan! This is what the Healthy Lifestyle experience of our weight loss spa is all about. Contact us today for more information.
February 1st, 2008
Cheney
Would you spend a week in jail or even trade 10 years of your life just to be an ideal weight? Surprisingly, out of 1000 women, 23% and 21% respectively answered yes to the former questions. 23% would shave their head, 22% would wear a bikini on TV and a whopping 85% would rather have an extra toe than 50 extra pounds.
Are you guilty of looking for a quick fix?
Instead of going through crazy measures such as fad diets, weight loss pills or even spending a week in the slammer - why not try what works, eating healthy and exercise. A weight loss spa experienced at Hilton Head can put you on the right track.
A few other interesting findings from the survey:
- 53% of the women say they have eaten an entire box of cookies, a bag of chips, a pizza, a cake or pie in one sitting
- When comparing actresses as role models, 51% would prefer Keira Knightly’s body over Queen Latifah’s
- 76% say they’d rather be known as a ‘friendly chubby girl’ than a ’skinny witch’
- 52% feel the most energetic at their thinnest, 32% feel more social
- Most of the women would like to lose 30 pounds, with a goal of weighing 131 to 145 pounds.
Source: Fitness magazine & USA Today
January 31st, 2008
Cheney
“People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas.” ~Author Unknown
Now that the Holiday’s have come and gone, most of us have run out of excuses to eat unhealthy. We’re now having to struggle to get back on track. You may have made a New Year’s Resolution that involves more exercise or eating healthier foods. Or you may have a goal to get back to your ’skinny’ jeans. Either way, we become so caught up on what we eat during those few weeks between Thanksgiving and the New Year that we don’t keep focus throughout the year.
What if we placed the same importance and priority that these three to four weeks hold all year long? We might just stay on our routines to make our Resolutions last the whole New Year!
January 22nd, 2008
Cheney
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