Healthy Living Habits

Healthy Living

The start of a new season brings awareness of the things that you may like to do in the coming months. Along with the goals you set and plans you make this fall, take time for yourself and make HEALTH part of your every day for the upcoming months. We are faced with so many demands of our time and attention that it becomes vital to pause. Consider incorporating lifestyle habits that will allow you to reap rewards in the long term. Try adding these few tips into your days and your health will thank you!

Start With Breakfast
Breakfast is an easy meal to skip, however, doing so can be the biggest mistake of the day! Your energy level will suffer and you’ll eat more during the day to compensate for your hunger. The National Weight Control Registry reports that 4000 participants who maintained at least a 30 pound weight loss for about 5 1/2 years, almost ALL said that they ate breakfast daily. The “breakfast of champions” has complex carbs, lean proteins & healthy fats. A terrific option for a healthy breakfast on the go is a shake or smoothie with yogurt, leafy greens, fruits, and hemp seeds.

Do Something About The Aches
It is found that four in five people suffer from back pain. It may actually begin to seem “normal” to deal with chronic pain on a daily basis. Back pain, headaches, carpal tunnel, knee pain, any chronic pain can affect EVERYTHING in our lives. See your chiropractor for natural treatments to help your body heal and all aspects of your life will improve.

Say No
It is key to understand that in reality, you can’t have it all. Something has to give. There is just too much to do to have it all. Stop saying “yes” to everything. Admit that every “yes” means a “no” to something else. Saying “yes” to too many things will destroy your health and lead to failure. Someone or something will pay the price later, always. Sometimes less is more!

Make Health a Priority
You’ve probably heard the adage, “If you have your health, then you have it all.” Our bodies should be routinely “maintained and tuned up” just as we maintain our vehicles to keep things running properly and getting the best performance. Fuel and maintain your body with more sanctity. Make smart food choices and make time for exercise and quality sleep.

Breathe
Try a simple technique to release stress and anxiety. When feeling uneasy about a tricky situation or after a tough day, a simple technique is to BREATHE DEEP. Push out your belly and breathe through your nose until your lungs are filled. This super stress buster can be done anytime and anywhere and evokes your body’s natural relaxation response and changes your physical and mental state. Your heart beats slower, muscles relax, blood pressure decreases, and levels of nitric oxide increase. Your brain is clearer and this simple trick takes almost no time to work. Share this health tip with family and friends of all ages for the next time they feel stressed. The mantra is BREATHE!

In October of 2013, I threw my neck out severely just from hitting it on a desk when reaching for keys that I had dropped on the floor. I have had neck issues for about 15 years after tearing a trapezius muscle in grad school. However, this was by far the worst that it had gone out for many years and significantly impaired my ability to do much of anything. Worse, I had just relocated to Northern NJ and not being able to turn my head while driving was both scary and dangerous.

After suffering with extreme pain when trying to turn and muscle spasms from favoring my neck for a week with no improvement, I decided to try to see if a chiropractor could help. I didn’t want to “wait and see” as I had in the past when I first injured my neck as it had taken me over a year to get to a mostly pain free status when I had hurt it previously and it had tended to “go out” whenever I did certain exercises or was overly stressed anyways. I thought that a chiropractor might help because a friend of a friend had given me a “mini-adjustment” when he saw me struggling with neck pain at my friend’s wedding. As that adjustment had done as much, or even more, good than the 3 months of physical therapy I had undergone with the original injury, I was willing to try anything that might speed up the healing process.

After 2 weeks of no improvement since hitting my head, I had started searching the web for local chiropractic businesses and found Total Health Chiropractic. When I called them after a particularly painful drive home from work (a muscle spasm when driving home from work had almost caused an accident), the staff at Total Health Chiropractic was fantastic. Jacquie was able to schedule me an appointment for the next day and was very helpful when I called to follow up about whether I needed to bring any specific items with me and as to their fragrance policy etc. Dr Jones continued that experience by completely explaining what he intended to do immediately to give me some relief, and what his long term plan would be.

My neck wasn’t cured overnight, but each visit brought relief and demonstrated noticeable results with improved movement. After 2 months though, my neck was pain free, but more importantly, I had significantly improved movement and flexibility in compared with the past decade. I’m finding it to be a welcome change to not plan my work outs or yard work with an eye towards “how would my neck going out affect future travel or work plans.” Moreover, based on this positive experience, I now know that I’m not fated to experience the same chronic back pain that I’ve seen my parents and other family members suffer from.*