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Tag Archive for: Healthy Lifestyle

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Top Tips to Achieve your Healthy Resolutions

It’s easy to think of resolutions each new year.  We all have vices, bad habits, and things we know we can improve upon or want to change about ourselves.  The hard part is achieving these goals, especially as we move further away from January 1st.

The majority of resolutions tend to focus upon creating a healthier diet, getting more exercise and other activities that lead to an overall healthier lifestyle.  The following from Eat Right Ontario provides some great tips that can help you to achieve these healthier lifestyle goals in 2016.

Eat Right Ontario:  Resolutions you can live by

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Never Stop Learning

Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)

Over the holidays we were prepping for a family ski trip.  Our children are not yet skiers, and were asking us questions about our upcoming adventure.  My oldest daughter asked my husband “Daddy, have you ever fallen when you ski”?  His response was “Of course…that is why I am a good skier – if you are not falling you are not learning anything”.  So true.

His comment got me thinking about fear, risk and how people learn.  We need to fall to know how to get back up.  We need to fail to know how to succeed.  We need to make bad decisions to know how to do it right the next time.  We need to lose money to know how to keep it.

Humans seem especially good at falling, failing and learning as children, teens and young adults – provided the people in their environment provide them with these valuable opportunities.  As adults we tend to fall and fail in our early careers, social and personal lives while we learn how to behave as an adult and to manage our growing responsibilities like work, families, homes, etc.  Then we seem to reach an age where we become teachers, leading the younger generations to grow as we have.  We still need to gain knowledge during this time, but ultimately we might be revered as wise for all we already know.  But then do we stop learning?  Or stop having the will to learn?  Do we reach a point of “knowing it all”?

I will use another example to explain why I ask these important questions.  I have a close friend whose elderly grandparents are struggling to manage in their home.  They both have health issues and struggle to mobilize, access their upper level, get into the community, and cannot care for their home as they need to.  Family is providing a significant amount of support while living in a state of constant worry.  Really, the couple are one fall or new health problem away from losing their home and being institutionalized.  My friend mentioned to the daughter of this couple that an Occupational Therapist could provide valuable insight into how they might be able to manage more safely and independently so they can stay at home.  The daughter replied “Oh, they would never go for that”.  How sad.  This couple are unwilling to learn.

With a background in Gerontology (the study of aging), I understand fully the challenges most of us will face as we age.  And as an Occupational Therapist (the study of human function) I also understand the difficulties of living with a physical, cognitive, emotional or behavioral disability – age related or not.  But the big difference I see between my younger and older clients is their willingness to learn.  My younger clients seem to want to learn what I know, they appreciate how I can help, and engage in the process of working with me to make things better.  Yet my older clients are historically much less open to suggestions.  It is more difficult to get them to consider alternative ways to manage, devices that might help, or to accept assistance to do activities that are now unsafe for them to do on their own.  My funniest example of this was a 96 year old client that told me “scooters are for old people”.

I consider myself a life-long learner.  I recently finished my MBA, am constantly reading books about business, health and wellness, I take great interest in the stories and experiences of other people, take courses, attend conferences.  I just hope that when I reach that wonderful age of ultimate maturity I will continue to appreciate the value that other people can bring to my life and situation.  And hopefully I will accept suggestions, input and ideas proactively.  Because while falling is one way to learn – like when skiing – the older we are the harder it is to get back up again.

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New Year… New You! We Want You To Be a QUITTER!

Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)

National Non-Smoking week aside, are you ready to butt out?  According to Smoke Free Ontario, smoking takes approximately 13000 lives in Ontario each and every year.  However, the good news is that the number of smokers continues to decrease yearly, and is currently at 18.1%.  Are you in for reducing this number further?

Apparently, quitting smoking is extremely difficult and many need to try different approaches before finally kicking the habit.  For many smokers it becomes more about the habit and the behavior, than the nicotine itself.  So how can you butt out?  Our team of experienced Occupational Therapists have some great solutions for you to try:

1.    Make Your Intentions Public:  The decision to quit takes a great deal of courage and should be celebrated.  Make your intentions public within your family or friends, or by using social media for a larger reach.  By making your goal to quit public it will help hold you accountable and to draw on those close to you to lean on for support.

2.    Devise a Plan:  Quitting cold turkey can be extremely difficult.  We recommend that you create a monthly or weekly plan to reduce your intake and set you well on your way.  This might be as simple as reducing one cigarette per day for a week or a month, then reducing again etc.

3.    Identify Triggers:  While working through your monthly or weekly plan to reduce the amount of cigarettes you consume, ensure you are keeping track of the amount you smoke each day, the times of day you smoke and what in your environment has triggered you to have a cigarette.  Tracking any behavior is the best way to isolate it and is the first step to making improvements.

4.    Modify your environment to help reduce these triggers:  After conducting your research look closely at the time of day, environment, people, stressors or other triggers that promoted your need or wanting to smoke. Is it possible to change your situation or environment to avoid these triggers moving forward?

5.    Work to reduce stress:  Many smoke as a reaction to stress.  Finding ways to reduce stress, such as meditation and mindfulness practice, taking a hot bath, or breathing exercises can help you to reduce this trigger.

6.    Find a healthier habit:  If it’s the “break” you find is your trigger try finding a different way to take 5 minutes to yourself.  Take a quick walk, try yoga poses, grab a warm beverage, phone a friend or practice breathing exercises instead.

7.    Seek Support:  By making your intentions to quit public you have opened yourself up to a group of family and friends to rely on and assist you in your goal to quit.  If these sources are not available, try phoning the Smokers Hotline or join a support group to speak with someone who can help you through your craving and keep you smoke free.

8.    Seek an Alternative Solution:  There are so many different products in the marketplace to assist you with quitting such as:  gums, e-cigarettes, inhalers, and patches.  Find which one works for you and rely on this to assist you along the way.

9.    Speak to Your Doctor:  Your family doctor is a great resource and will gladly support you in your quest to break the habit.  Speak with your doctor about the alternative solutions and medications that exist that can help you quit.  Your doctor may also connect you to OHIP-funded resources that you can access to support you in your quest.

10.  Celebrate Your Success:  Ensure that along the way you celebrate any milestones you have reached.  If you’ve worked for a week or a month to cut your daily intake by 5 cigarettes, reward yourself and share your news with those you love.  This will help to keep you focussed and lead to further success!

11.   Reword the goal if needed:  Yes “quitting smoking” might be the BIG goal, but under this there are layers of other goals that you can focus on that might seem less intimidating and are more fun to measure.  Maybe your smaller goals include walking upstairs without becoming breathless, having whiter teeth, or not wanting your clothing or home to smell like cigarette smoke.  Perhaps if you relate to a more practical goal that is tangible, measurable, and visible to others, your motivation might be enhanced.

12.   Watch for other bad habits to surface:  Sometimes when trying to move from one bad habit we pick up another.  With any reduction in a negative behavior there will be withdrawal.  Accept this and cope through it for the days it lasts, knowing that those symptoms too shall pass.  But when struggling through withdrawal, try not to adopt another bad habit as a coping mechanism.  Switching from smoking to eating unhealthy food or consuming more alcohol will not help you to achieve the ultimate result you want which is to improve your health.

13.   Don’t just change your behavior, change your LIFESTYLE:  Adopting a new way of living, and talking to others about this, is far more impactful and motivating then talking about a behavior change.  When people say “I am trying to lose weight” it is not nearly as impactful as “I have a sugar-free lifestyle” or “I have changed my lifestyle to achieve my health goals”.  Make a LIFESTYLE change to be healthy and let the behaviors follow.

14.  If at first you don’t succeed… try try again!

For more resources and tips to help you along the way visit www.smokershelpline.ca or www.quitnow.ca.   Also you can find some helpful apps by visiting checking out Healthline’s Top Smoking Cessation Apps.

We wish you the best of luck and encourage you to BE A QUITTER this 2015!

 

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How to Maintain Your Weight This Holiday Season

Holiday dinners, parties and get-togethers full of delicious food, drink and sweets can often call for pants with an adjustable waist band! With a month full of temptations and indulgence it can be difficult to stay on track and many end up gaining weight. We want to help you to put a stop to this and to stay on track with the following article from WebMD that provides 10 tips to avoid holiday weight gain. So please enjoy the holiday season and all it has to offer… but try not to over-indulge.

WebMD:  10 Ways to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

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Become Smoke Free in 2016

Julie Entwistle, MBA, BHSc (OT), BSc (Health / Gerontology)

National Non-Smoking week aside, are you ready to butt out?  According to Smoke Free Ontario, smoking takes approximately 13000 lives in Ontario each and every year.  However, the good news is that the number of smokers continues to decrease yearly, and is currently at 18.1%.  Are you in for reducing this number further?

Apparently, quitting smoking is extremely difficult and many need to try different approaches before finally kicking the habit.  For many smokers it becomes more about the habit and the behavior, than the nicotine itself.  So how can you butt out?  Our team of experienced Occupational Therapists have some great solutions for you to try:

1.    Make Your Intentions Public:  The decision to quit takes a great deal of courage and should be celebrated.  Make your intentions public within your family or friends, or by using social media for a larger reach.  By making your goal to quit public it will help hold you accountable and to draw on those close to you to lean on for support.

2.    Devise a Plan:  Quitting cold turkey can be extremely difficult.  We recommend that you create a monthly or weekly plan to reduce your intake and set you well on your way.  This might be as simple as reducing one cigarette per day for a week or a month, then reducing again etc.

3.    Identify Triggers:  While working through your monthly or weekly plan to reduce the amount of cigarettes you consume, ensure you are keeping track of the amount you smoke each day, the times of day you smoke and what in your environment has triggered you to have a cigarette.  Tracking any behavior is the best way to isolate it and is the first step to making improvements.

4.    Modify your environment to help reduce these triggers:  After conducting your research look closely at the time of day, environment, people, stressors or other triggers that promoted your need or wanting to smoke. Is it possible to change your situation or environment to avoid these triggers moving forward?

5.    Work to reduce stress:  Many smoke as a reaction to stress.  Finding ways to reduce stress, such as meditation and mindfulness practice, taking a hot bath, or breathing exercises can help you to reduce this trigger.

6.    Find a healthier habit:  If it’s the “break” you find is your trigger try finding a different way to take 5 minutes to yourself.  Take a quick walk, try yoga poses, grab a warm beverage, phone a friend or practice breathing exercises instead.

7.    Seek Support:  By making your intentions to quit public you have opened yourself up to a group of family and friends to rely on and assist you in your goal to quit.  If these sources are not available, try phoning the Smokers Hotline or join a support group to speak with someone who can help you through your craving and keep you smoke free.

8.    Seek an Alternative Solution:  There are so many different products in the marketplace to assist you with quitting such as:  gums, e-cigarettes, inhalers, and patches.  Find which one works for you and rely on this to assist you along the way.

9.    Speak to Your Doctor:  Your family doctor is a great resource and will gladly support you in your quest to break the habit.  Speak with your doctor about the alternative solutions and medications that exist that can help you quit.  Your doctor may also connect you to OHIP-funded resources that you can access to support you in your quest.

10.  Celebrate Your Success:  Ensure that along the way you celebrate any milestones you have reached.  If you’ve worked for a week or a month to cut your daily intake by 5 cigarettes, reward yourself and share your news with those you love.  This will help to keep you focussed and lead to further success!

11.   Reword the goal if needed:  Yes “quitting smoking” might be the BIG goal, but under this there are layers of other goals that you can focus on that might seem less intimidating and are more fun to measure.  Maybe your smaller goals include walking upstairs without becoming breathless, having whiter teeth, or not wanting your clothing or home to smell like cigarette smoke.  Perhaps if you relate to a more practical goal that is tangible, measurable, and visible to others, your motivation might be enhanced.

12.   Watch for other bad habits to surface:  Sometimes when trying to move from one bad habit we pick up another.  With any reduction in a negative behavior there will be withdrawal.  Accept this and cope through it for the days it lasts, knowing that those symptoms too shall pass.  But when struggling through withdrawal, try not to adopt another bad habit as a coping mechanism.  Switching from smoking to eating unhealthy food or consuming more alcohol will not help you to achieve the ultimate result you want which is to improve your health.

13.   Don’t just change your behavior, change your LIFESTYLE:  Adopting a new way of living, and talking to others about this, is far more impactful and motivating then talking about a behavior change.  When people say “I am trying to lose weight” it is not nearly as impactful as “I have a sugar-free lifestyle” or “I have changed my lifestyle to achieve my health goals”.  Make a LIFESTYLE change to be healthy and let the behaviors follow.

14.  If at first you don’t succeed… try try again!

For more resources and tips to help you along the way visit www.smokershelpline.ca or www.quitnow.ca.   Also you can find some helpful apps by visiting checking out Healthline’s Top Smoking Cessation Apps.

We wish you the best of luck and encourage you to BE A QUITTER this year!

 

Originally posted January 19, 2015.