by kelsey | Nov 14, 2017 | Etc.
Public Service Announcement:
A support group for people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) will hold a meeting on Monday, November 20th at 6:30pm at Prairie Lakes Hospital’s West Conference Room. 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 | Nov 12, 2017 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
This first picture is our Halloween costume at a 5k race one of our years of residency…we went as doctors! How original!
But medical school was done, and it was time for our Family Medicine Residency! A time when we were finally referred to as a doctor! Sarah and I had just finished medical school, and it was off to residency for 3 years of training in Family Medicine. Intense does not really describe it. A new rotation every month, ranging from pediatrics, to OB, to internal medicine, to surgery, and back and forth. Every month was like starting a new job again. The hours at times seemed endless, but boy did we learn a lot. It was a good thing for us that we did not have kids yet…the time restraint would have really made this tough to accomplish. Running was our escape from all of it. It was a time to help maintain our sanity. It was time for us! Our residency also put on a recruiting effort in the Summer of every year where we would bike over different areas of the state over a 3 day weekend, and tour different areas of South Dakota. It gave us the opportunity to see little towns in SD, and see what medicine was like there, and for those people in those towns to see us. Watertown was one of those stops on one of those years. It helped solidify for us the fact that we wanted to come here. So activity promotion was a big promotion for our training in Family Medicine as well back then. We were not going to just tell other people they needed to exercise…we were going to do it as well. Well, two of our faculty doctors, Dr. Brechetsbaur, “Dr. B”, and our residency director, Dr. Kemp, and myself decided that we were going to train for our first marathon, Grandma’s marathon, in June of 1994…my last month of residency. Now, looking back, I would not recommend that to anybody else. Our time was so busy then as well, that to try and train for a marathon made it very difficult. Needless to say, out of all of the marathons I have done, I was the least prepared for this one. That, and the fact that I had no clue what it took to do a marathon. The longest I had run to get ready was a 17 miler, and that was once. By mile 19 of the marathon, I seriously thought that I was not going to finish this race, and I had 7.2 miles left to go! Dr. Kemp and I managed to run together to the finish though, and then I spent the next week trying to learn how to walk again. I had youth on my side yet at that point, and that is I think the only reason I even finished it. Here we are leaning against a boat by the finish line after.
I really am leaning up against this boat just to help keep me upright. This next picture is Dr. Kemp and myself running by at about mile 7…we are right in the middle of the picture, wearing red shirts advertising our residency.
Shortly after that, the shirts had to go. It was already up to 90 degrees that day, and we were not prepared for that heat. One half of me got sunburned pretty good that day, so that did not help matters either. This next picture says it all!
This one is of me waiting for Sarah to find me after the finish line. I managed to sit up right then, but prior to that was curled up in a ball under a tree to get some shade, trying to figure out what all just happened! We finished though! It definitely taught me this race is not one to take lightly. You have to prepare for it. My preparation now is much different these days…but, I also at least have more time available to do it compared to those days of residency.
We had our fun times too! Our residency each year would have a Halloween party, and our third year, Sarah and I dressed up as a “polyester couple” from the 50’s. I bought this suit at the salvation army, and Sarah is wearing one of her mom’s polyester maternity outfits she wore when she was pregnant with Sarah. Of course, we had to make Sarah look pregnant then (because she was not yet!)
So, this was the Halloween of 1993, and then a few months later, she was pregnant…with our twin daughters! We graduated from residency at the end of June 1994, and moved to Watertown, and she delivered our twin daughters Sept 22 of 1994. I can always remember their birthdate, because we had “2 on 22”! And here I thought residency was busy! But this will be the beginning of some of the next stories going forward. I did have to add one picture of Sarah actually pregnant, at least during residency, and this was taken in May of 1994.
Our life had changed a lot prior to that, but little did we know how much it was going to change after another 4 months! Staying active then was always a part of our lives, and remains so to this date. Always active, and leading by example for our kids as well. Again, more on that to come. Just remember, if it is important to you, you will find a way to make time to be active, and enjoy life along the way. If not, you will just make another excuse. Be in charge, and strive to survive!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3700 ( I made up the 3 days I missed over the years not counting leap year…before I started writing on the blog!)
by kelsey | Nov 9, 2017 | Etc.
Our Pharmacist Deidra VanGilder talked at our recent STRIVE 2 Survive lecture. She always does a great job addressing the hot topic of vitamins and minerals. Thus I thought we’d share some of her information on the blog for those of you interested in this topic! If you have any individual questions, please email us at strive2survive@brownclinic.org.
There are many different kinds of multivitamins and it’s hard to know which one is best for you. We always prefer you to get the vitamins and minerals from real food over supplements, so striving for a well balanced diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy, and lean proteins is the first step. If you are cutting calories to lose weight, you have a health condition that needs additional vitamins or minerals, or you just want to stay healthy and aid in disease prevention, a MVI may be for you. There are two types of vitamins: fat soluble and water soluble. Fat soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E, and K and can be stored in our bodies. Water soluble vitamins such as the B vitamins and vitamin C cannot be stored in the body, which means we can only store so much and when excess is consumed, they are excreted out. This concept is very important to understand as often times, you may be wasting your money on a supplement if you are already getting adequate amounts through your diet.
Below is Deidra’s take on the various kinds of supplements:
- Basic: contains essential vitamins from vitamin A to Zinc
- Women’s- more Calcium and Vitamin D to help support breast and bone health
- Men’s- more Lycopene for prostate health
- Silver (50+)- Supports eye health, bone health, and B vitamins for energy…Deidra recommends the Centrum Silver as an excellent one for this population.
- Prenatal- More folic acid, iron, and DHA (omega-3) to help support child growth
- Performance/Energy/Metabolism- Contain some herbals thought to help increase energy as well as extra B vitamins…be sure to ask your health care team about these before taking them as they may interact with your meds or contain extra caffeine.
- Cholesterol/Cardio- Contain phytosterols to help lower cholesterol
** Vitamins vary in the levels of vitamins/minerals they contain
** Look at the amount of calcium and vitamin D in each vitamin
** Some multivitamins don’t contain iron
** Grocery store generic vitamins are ok to buy
As you can see there are many different types of vitamins. Overall, we recommend just a basic multivitamin such as One a Day or Centrum Silver to help fill the gaps that your diet is not fulfilling (a multivitamin should NEVER replace real food included in a well balanced diet!). If you have a specific health need such as a woman being pregnant or you are over the age of 50, then you can take that specific vitamin to fit your needs. The supplement industry is not regulated by the FDA like prescription drugs are…thus it is essential to consult your health care provider before taking supplements to ensure it is appropriate for you.
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Nov 7, 2017 | Etc.
Dr.Dan and I enjoy blogging and posting about topics that are of interest to you all! I 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. Questions should be health, nutrition, and fitness related. Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you!
-Kelsey
by Dan | Nov 5, 2017 | Exercise, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
Having fun in life! Is that not what it is all about? There is a talk by former governor of South Dakota, Frank Farrar, this coming Thursday at the Event Center starting at 6PM, being sponsored by the Prairie Lakes Hospital Foundation. You can get on Facebook and look up Prairie Lakes Healthcare Foundation, and if will provide you to the link to register to go to this event It is free! No excuses, this will be great, and I am especially looking forward to this! Come out at listen to what he has to day. He is 88 years old, and still participating in triathlons. He is a perfect example of someone who is going to live life to the fullest, and enjoy the ride along the way. I am looking forward to going, and helping motivate me as well. I don’t know if I will even be here when I am 88 years old, much less doing triathlons, but hopefully I am helping to increase my odds of this.
Enjoy your friends along the way, and work together to help stay motivated to exercise. Here Paula, Jill, Sarah, and myself are in the starting ling of the Twin Cities Marathon on Oct 1 this year. We had 4 great months of training together, all coming together on this one day.
Sarah and I got to cross the finish line together! A memory to last forever. Now that is living life “limitless”. Don’t hold back on anything. The majority of times are limitations we have are created between our ears, and we have to quit listening to all the negative thoughts/ideas, and go out and take a chance! If you don’t take a chance, you never know what life will have to offer to you. Use is or lose it! How true can this be? You need to be like our run club when we meet on Sunday mornings. We are not meeting just because we like to run…but because of the social interaction, the time to talk, laugh, learn some life lessons from each other. We all have something to teach someone else, and we are never to old to stop learning. Be in charge of your life! Be in the driver’s seat! Decide what you want, and then go for it. Nobody said it would be easy. Nobody said you would not have to work for it. When you work hard at something you really enjoy, before too long it is really not work…it is fun!
Jump into action! Have fun, stay healthy, work together with someone. Sunday mornings are now turning into one of my favorite activities for the week. If you don’t make an effort, you will never know how much you are missing. I see many people that do not make an effort, but just complain all of the time about how hard it is, or that they don’t feel good, or they are not healthy. Some of this is out of our control, but much of it is. If we worked just as hard at trying as we did complaining, we would have it made. Now, keep moving everybody! Have fun. Hope to see you Thursday evening for a great evening of motivation, and learning about what life has to offer…about “living limitless”!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3690
