STRIVE starts in 1 Week!

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In one week our fall session of STRIVE 2 Survive starts! We are really looking forward to another session with a great group of people all working to improve their health and wellness!! We do still have room, so be sure to contact us today to get signed up! Also- listen for me on the radio tomorrow (Wednesday) morning around 6:45am to talk about the program! It’s not too late get back in shape and improve your health and we’d love to help you!

Details: The first lecture will be held September 8th (the Tuesday after Labor Day) and we will meet in person on the dates listed below (Tuesdays) at the County Fair Banquet Hall from 5:30-6:30pm. The weeks we do not meet, you will be given a take home lesson mailed or emailed to you, thus every week you will be given education, tips, etc on nutrition and activity. In addition, we include lab work (total lipid panel and glucose) and body composition testing (weight, height, BMI, blood pressure, fat%, and muscle mass) at the beginning and end of the program. The total cost is $130, which includes all lessons, lab work, and body composition testing.

Our main goal is to help you learn how to live a healthier lifestyle that promotes disease prevention, longevity, and quality of life. Weight loss, improved lipids, improved glucose, improved blood pressure, and improved overall health are all results of our program.

Enrollment is underway, thus if you are interested or know of someone who is, please contact us to learn more and get signed up! You can call me directly at 884-4226 or email strive2survive@brownclinic.org. We are looking forward to another great session!

September 8: “Healthy Eating Made Easy” Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN

September 29: “Exercise for the Health of It” Dr. Dan Reiffenberger & Dr.Torness

October 13: “Your Equation to Success” Dr. Jon McAreavey

October 27: “A Walk thru the Wellness Wheel” Dr. Clark Likness

November 10: “Medications…to do or not to do” Deidra VanGilder, PharmD

November 24: “Making Health a Way of Life” STRIVE Team

 

-Kelsey

Good Luck Nick…Off to College!

Nick and us running

Well, today finally came.  We took Nick down to SF to get started at Augustana this morning.  It has been a whirlwind…good and bad.   Excited, anxious, worried…stressed.  Hopefully, we have set the tone, and he is prepared for the next phase.  He has decided for now not to run competitively, but he is going to run on his own.  He understands the importance of using exercise as a means to help not only stay fit, but to relieve stress.  We have enjoyed running with him, and watching him.  As parents, we have worked hard to get him to this point.  I have said many times that one of the reasons Sarah and I workout is so we can take care of our health, and be around for our kids.  This was one of those moments!  Now, we can sit back and worry about how he is doing there!  All 3 kids away at college, and all different ones yet too.  It may be time for a run myself!

We got him all loaded up and then moved in.  Molly even came down from Brookings to help.  He definitely appreciated his big sister being there to help ease his “jitters”.  Thanks Molly!  You were a big help today!  Sarah did well holding back the tears.  Here she is with Nick after we loaded him up, and then Nick getting the feel what it will be like studying!  Hopefully this is the case!

Nick and Sarah college

Nick at college

Of course, we are not the only ones who are going to miss him.  Here is Zeus last night…he knew something was going on as we were doing all of the packing.  Even Nick was pretty bummed this AM saying goodbye to Zeus!  At least he won’t be too far away!

Nick and Zeus

Good luck at College Nick!  And as always, continued good luck to my Molly and Megan in college as well!

Keep moving everybody!  Remember those that care about you the most!

Dr. Dan

Consecutive Exercise Day #:  2893

 

STRIVE 2 Survive Starts September 8th!

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In less than two weeks, our 12 week wellness program “STRIVE 2 Survive” starts! The first lecture will be held September 8th (the Tuesday after Labor Day) and we will meet in person on the dates listed below (Tuesdays) at the County Fair Banquet Hall from 5:30-6:30pm. The weeks we do not meet, you will be given a take home lesson mailed or emailed to you, thus every week you will be given education, tips, etc on nutrition and activity. In addition, we include lab work (total lipid panel and glucose) and body composition testing (weight, height, BMI, blood pressure, fat%, and muscle mass) at the beginning and end of the program. The total cost is $130, which includes all lessons, lab work, and body composition testing.

Our main goal is to help you learn how to live a healthier lifestyle that promotes disease prevention, longevity, and quality of life. Weight loss, improved lipids, improved glucose, improved blood pressure, and improved overall health are all results of our program.

Enrollment is underway, thus if you are interested or know of someone who is, please contact us to learn more and get signed up! You can call me directly at 884-4226 or email strive2survive@brownclinic.org. We are looking forward to another great session!

September 8: “Healthy Eating Made Easy” Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN

September 29: “Exercise for the Health of It” Dr. Dan Reiffenberger & Dr.Torness

October 13: “Your Equation to Success” Dr. Jon McAreavey

October 27: “A Walk thru the Wellness Wheel” Dr. Clark Likness

November 10: “Medications…to do or not to do” Deidra VanGilder, PharmD

November 24: “Making Health a Way of Life” STRIVE Team

-Kelsey

In It For The Long Run–The First Marathon

Everybody’s running begins somewhere.  You have heard my beginning already, and now I will talk about the beginning of the marathon for me.  I was in my 3rd year of residency, and 2 of my attending physicians, Dr. Brechtelsbauer  (Dr. B) and Dr. Kemp, were interested in running a marathon, and talked to me about it.  We decided on Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota because Dr. B had some relatives there.  It would be in the middle of June, 2 weeks prior to graduating from residency.  I decided to give it a go.  Usually the weather there was upper 70’s, and could be even a little cool.  That was not the case on this day!  It got to over 90 degrees, and very humid.  I had never run a marathon before, but was still running regularly.  Normally a goal for a lot of people doing the marathon, which is 26.2 miles, is to try and break 4 hours.  I foolishly told Sarah that I would be done by 3 hours.  I had no clue what I was getting into.  The longest I had run was a 17 miler, again, not having any idea what it would take to do 26.2.  Needless to say, at mile 19 of the marathon, everything started falling apart.  I seriously began to wonder if I was even going to finish, especially in this heat.  I was running the entire way with Dr. Kemp, and we had to walk through every water station beginning at mile 20, and they were every mile now.  We did make it, and came in at 3:48.  Now, this was even before chip timing, so everybody started at the same time, but when there are over 8000 people in the race, it takes several minutes to even get to the start line.  I had trouble walking for a week afterwards!  I realized what the hand rails on the stairwells were for after that!  Doing a marathon is not to be taken lightly…you need to have some kind of an idea what you are getting into, but even with how many I have done now, once I get past 20 miles, it is a new adventure every single time.  Those last 6 miles are an entirely different race.  Some experts say the marathon is split into 2 sections, the first 20 miles, and the last 6 miles, which feels like another 20!  After that was done, I felt like I could accomplish anything.  It was the ultimate challenge, and I learned a lot from this.  The marathon is a lot like life…you are cruising along just fine, no worries, then things get a little tougher, and you can still fight your way through.  But then life really can throw a curve ball…just like that 20 mile mark, and you have to start figuring out what you are going to do on the fly.  Sometimes you literally feel like you are just winging it, and hope that everything will turn out well.  Sound familiar?  I think it sounds all too familiar.  Everyday, there can be “marathon like” challenges, and you need to keep going, push on, and work it all through to the end.  Some of the conclusions may not be what we wanted, but many are, and you can hold your head up high and feel good that you accomplished another goal/solved another problem!  The pictures below show me sitting under a tree after it was done.  Of course, my medal for finishing, and my results.  I have one of myself with Dr. B and Dr. Kemp posing afterwards, and then a few of me running along with Dr. Kemp.  Next will be other upcoming marathons, and the people who helped me through…family, and all of my training partners.  How can life be dull with all of this?  Keep moving everybody!

Dr. Dan

Consecutive Exercise Day #:  2886

 

Grandmas marathon digital

Grandmas marathon 9 digital

Grandmas marathon results digital

Grandmas marathon 8 digital

Grandmas marathon 4 digital

Grandmas marathon 6 digital

 

For You, For the Women in Your Life

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Today is an exciting day for us! Today marks the start of our new women’s health campaign!

At Brown Clinic, we understand women – at every stage of your lives. We know you’re probably making the health care decisions for your family. Whether you’re just starting a family, looking for a doctor for yourself or for an aging parent or growing child, we go out of our way to get to know you and where you’re at in your life.

We want to encourage you to take care of yourself. Schedule your regular exams and screenings. For yourself. For your friends and family.

We’re proud to provide personalized care in a friendly environment. The quality care we provide is second to none and we’re here when you need us, taking the time to listen to your concerns and answer your questions. All of them. Thoroughly.

From OB/GYN and pediatric services, to family and internal medicine, Brown Clinic Women’s is for you. Be sure to contact us today to get your routine screenings, annual checkups, and other health care needs scheduled!

Also- be sure to check out these pretty cool videos on YouTube. I’m sure you’ll recognize some friendly faces!

https://youtu.be/OpWdoX6iqm8

https://youtu.be/3-E-1kTvab4

In It For the Long Run—College/Medical School/Residency Days

Things change a lot over time, but my running really took off after high school.  I started Cross Country at Augustana College my freshman year, just to see if I liked it enough to keep going.  Well, I guess I did.  I ran indoor and outdoor track that first year as well, and then continued with all of it the duration of my college days.  This also continued when I went on to medical school.  For both college and med school, the running was a great escape, and a great stress reliever.  No matter how hectic things got, or how busy I was, there was always time to go for a run!   This helped immensely to help clear my head and get ready to take on the next day, and project.  You can only study for so long, and then you need a break, mentally, just to gear up and go at it again.  This also carried over to residency.  The hours could be grueling at times, but that run time was my time to unwind, and gear up for the next day.  There were lots of road races going on then as well, and Sarah and I would join in for a lot of them.  Some of the ones that stood out the most were the ones we would dress up in costumes for the Halloween run they would have every year.  We had many costumes we had gone through!  It was another way to make the running even more fun.  The running is also how I started dating Sarah, as we started going out our second year of medical school.  Sarah noticed me running by her house a lot (this was on purpose!), and she was a runner as well.  This was a great way to strike up a conversation at that time.  We eventually started running together, and one thing led to another, and we were destined to be together.  Running brought us together…and has continued to help keep us together as well.  Many fun days with this back then.  Below are some of our costumes from different events/races we did back then.  Also, some pictures of some of the material we had to know when we took our first set of Boards after our second year of medical school.  The volume was incredible, and overwhelming, and the running helped keep my sanity.  Also is one picture of my Augustana days competing.  All great memories, and all kept the fire going to continue running.  It has been fun looking back on all these.  Keep moving everybody!

Dr. Dan

Consecutive Exercise Day #:  2879