by Dan | Apr 29, 2018 | Exercise, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
I was reading a book earlier this week which brought up the poster of “Keep Calm and Carry on”. There are a lot of popular things you can buy these days with the caption of “Keep Calm…”. It was originally created in 1939 on a motivational poster produced by the British government in preparation for World War II. The poster was intended to raise the morale of the British public, which was threatened by widely predicted mass air attacks on major cities. Over 2 million of these posters were printed, but never made it to the public. Then in the year 2000, one of them was discovered at Barter Books. Since then it has taken off by a number of private companies, and has many other modern meanings attached to it. It really does speak reality. Everything in life is busy, hectic, and we don’t always know how we are going to handle all of this. Then we need to keep working on our own health, and trying to exercise, and eat healthy as well. You get to the point where you don’t know how you are going to handle all of this. So, for starters, it really is best if you Keep Calm, and then put your head down, and carry on. Our run club group is getting ready to take off for one of our Sunday runs. We are ready to “Carry on”. Challenges always pop up during our days. It can include our schedules, and not having enough time to get everything done. It can include the weather, which can delay many things, and plans for what we may have wanted to do.
Here I am with Sarah, my twin daughters, Molly and Megan, and their “brother from another mother”, Noah Hauck. We are lined up at Disney in January to do the half marathon, the first one for the 3 kids. It was cold. Low 30’s, and we had to stand outside for well over 2 hours waiting to start. We were freezing. We are huddled together to try and stay warm, and at the same time, try to keep a smile on our face. In essence, we had to “keep calm and carry on”.
My son Nick this week finally broke 2 minutes for the 800 meter race on the track. For years he has been trying, but could not break that 2 min barrier. We talked several days before then, and basically told him to just relax, and do the best he can. Whatever will be will be. The more uptight he would get about it, the worse his times would be. He finally did it Wednesday night. He ran a 1:58:71! How did he do it? Deep down, he finally relaxed, and believed in himself. He kept calm, and carried on!
Training partners can help keep you going. They can help keep you calm. They can provide encouragement. It is a 2 way street though. You have to provide encouragement and presence as well.
Yoga can also help you keep calm. Here some of our run club members practice yoga at the time of the run! Way to go Jill, Paula, and Amanda! You also have to have fun. If you don’t make your goals fun, then they just become another stress, another deadline, or another commitment that you can’t keep, which just then adds more stress to your life. We are trying to ease the stress in our life, not create more! Bottom Line:
Words from the past that definitely still have meaning and motivation today. The original intent is not the same, but we can all learn from it. We can all remember to follow in our everyday endeavors. It is an important component of trying to Strive to Survive. Keep moving everybody, and “keep calm and carry on”!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3854
by kelsey | Apr 26, 2018 | Cooking Tips, Diet, Food, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
With spring finally here, we can get out the grills again and enjoy outdoor cooking!! Grilling is a fun and convenient way to cook, especially with the weather getting nicer. Cooking on the grill can also be a very healthy cooking method. Keep the following tips in mind to have a healthy and delicious grilling season.
- Go light on the sauces. Grilling and dipping sauces can be high in added sugar and/or sodium. Make your own sauce, add spices and herbs, or cut back on the amount of sauce used. Let the delicious flavor of grilling do its job
- Choose lean protein sources. Fish and skinless poultry taste great on the grill and are typically lower in saturated fat than red meats. Meat and pork can also be good choices—just opt for leaner cuts and watch the portions. Choose “loin” or “round” cuts and meats that are 90-95% lean. The recommended portion size of meat is 3 ounces, which is about the size of a deck of cards.
- Choose a whole-grain bun instead of white for added nutrients and fiber. If you’re watching your calorie or carbohydrate intake, go with half of the bun or use a lettuce wrap.
- Cut up colorful vegetables (like bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, onions, squash, potatoes, carrots, etc.) and grill them on kabobs or in aluminum foil. Toss the vegetable pieces in a little bit of oil to prevent them from drying out and sticking to the grill.
- Fruits can be grilled too! Cut up fresh fruit and put them on kebabs. Choose firm fruits like apples, peaches, pineapple, pears, or cantaloupe. These fruits are less likely to fall apart or become too mushy on the grill. Bananas can even be grilled—just keep it in its peel to protect the banana’s soft texture.
- Don’t forget to clean your grill regularly. Failing to do so can cause food to stick to the grades, uneven cooking temperatures, and shortened longevity of the grill.
-Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
by kelsey | Apr 24, 2018 | Etc.
Dr.Dan and I enjoy blogging and posting about topics that are of interest to you all! We want to invite you to submit your questions and topic requests to us! This is a great way to get your questions answered by professionals in the field…and free of charge! Please email us at strive2survive@brownclinic.org, comment or message on Facebook, or comment through our blog post. Questions should be health, nutrition, and fitness related. Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you!
-Kelsey & Dr.Dan
by kelsey | Apr 24, 2018 | Etc.
Public Service Announcement:
A support group for people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) will hold a meeting on Wednesday, April 25th at 6:30pm at Prairie Lakes Hospital’s West Conference Room. Dr. Kelly Ming general surgeon of Sanford Clinic is presenting. Attendees should use the west entrance. There is no advanced registration and no cost to attend. Everyone is welcome! To learn more contact Bruce Ford at 880-5213.
I spoke with this group a few months ago and it is a great group and support to those with IBS. If you are dealing with IBS, I encourage you to join them!
-Kelsey
by Dan | Apr 22, 2018 | Equipment, Exercise, Family, Goals, Motivation, weight lifting, Wellness/Health
We may all be at different levels, but the bottom line is that we are all athletes! We were made to move, and some of us may do it faster than others, or longer than others, but if you get out and move, and push yourself more than you would need to do, or are required to do just to do your activities of daily living, than you are an athlete. We don’t have to be professional. We just have to move. Besides Family Medicine, I am also involved in Sports Medicine, and came across a definition here recently that I think sums this up the best.
For all of us who stay active, there are bound to be times when we get hurt, or develop pain. The majority of these are still temporary. The problems were are helping to push back, or avoid altogether (high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity) can last a lifetime. We all need to get out of our “comfort zone”. We all can achieve benefit from this. For my part, there is always things to learn about Sports Medicine. I was just at a 2 day conference in SF to learn more about this.
There are always new treatment plans, ideas, research, and literature to review. They had new updates on concussion protocols, surgery updates, therapy updates, challenges of getting people to get out and move, as well as challenges that we as health care providers face when dealing with people who get injured, and how to get them back to what they want to do. It is always a challenge, but one thing that helps me in my plans of how to take care of someone, is being a runner myself, I understand the mindset involved with this, and how much somebody wants to get back to their same level of activity. Very few of us our professional athletes, but we should all be recreational athletes. We all need to move. “Use it or lose it!” The best part of all of this is there is so much variety of different activities out there to do that we can ALL find something to get involved with.
Here are a bunch of our run club members out in my garage, the Reiflex Center, doing weight/resistance activities. It is so much more enjoyable doing this as a group. We all need to do something. That hidden athlete is in all of us, just waiting to come out. Specific weight goals, times challenges in walks or runs are not the ultimate goal. These goals may help though to keep us motivated to keep working on things, and to stay active and healthy. But, the ultimate goal is to live life to the fullest, to be able to spend time with our family and friends, and to continue to have good times, and make lasting memories. That is what it is about. Keep pushing that inner athlete in you. It is there! Some days may be harder to find than others, but the rewards that can come about are more important that any time or medal that you may get. It is impossible for each of us to know everything, and to do everything. Making an effort is a start, and something is better than nothing. Keep learning! Keep trying! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3847
