by Dan | Mar 12, 2017 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
We all have our own unique personalities, our own unique things we like to do, and our own unique, in general, querks! We made fun of Jill in run club with this picture. Everybody else was just smiling, and she thought we were supposed to be stretching…but she was the only one stretching! It is times like this that make us individuals. But because we are all different, we all have something to share with everybody else. We all have something to offer to others. We have something to make someone else better, and as a result, we become better. We all have some underlying characteristics about us that just need to get brought out to the surface.
Sarah and I had fun at the most recent Halloween Hustle run going as minions. We got to run in a race, and yet got to express ourselves in a fun, goofy way. As I said that day, “my Sarah is one in a minion!”. We need to let those other inner aspects of us come out…learn to have some fun in the process. Bottom line, learn to…
When you learn to let go of stress that we all have, in a way that allows you to have fun, life opens up. We have enough times during the day where we have to be serious, and get things done. But, we can have fun along the way. Exercise, and especially for me running, can be a great way to release stress, and have fun. It opens things up during the day that you end up paying more attention to. Things you may not have even noticed, all of a sudden become very noticeable. Noticeable enough to make a difference…if we pay attention.
When we were recently in Mexico, we would run, and walk, on the beach, along the ocean, twice a day. It was breath taking. We don’t get to see that in SD, so we were going to take advantage of it there. Many things show up, and make the day even more enlightening.
The pelicans would fly by, usually in groups, and swoop down to get fish. You could just stand there and watch, and they would come by. Many would get very close as well.
They were very interesting to watch. Never a dull moment. Of course, along some of those same times, I would notice other things more clearly too. Here I am on a beach in Mexico, watching the sunrise, and noticing Sarah in a whole different way. Now for me, talk about breathtaking!
Don’t ever lose sight of what is really important in your life. Don’t forget what makes you better…and that you can make someone else better. In order to discover others, you need to discover yourselves!
Take the time to discover you, so you can discover other things/people as well. This is what makes you better! Don’t lose sight of this. Appreciate those people in your lives, and what they do for you, and especially, what can you do for them? Life is short. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Strive to Survive, and continue to work at becoming better…better for you and others!
Those other people in your life is what life is all about! Don’t let things go by with regrets. Appreciate them all at the time. Spend time with them, and for them. Guaranteed way to become a better you!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3453
by kelsey | Mar 8, 2017 | Etc.
Spring STRIVE starts in less than 1 week–March 14th!! We do still have room….check out the details below and contact us today to reserve your spot!
Join us for STRIVE 2 Survive, our 12-week health and wellness program beginning March 14th!
The two main components of STRIVE 2 Survive include diet & exercise.
12 Week Wellness Program
6 Lectures: every other Tuesday @ 5:30-6:30pm.
March 14: “Healthy Eating Made Easy” Kelsey Raml, MS, RD, LN
March 28: “Exercise for the Health of It” Dr. Dan Reiffenberger & Dr. Torness
April 11: “Your Equation to Success” Dr. Jon McAreavey
April 25: “Medications…to do or not to do” Deidra VanGilder, PharmD
May 9: “A Walk thru the Wellness Wheel” Dr. Clark Likness
May 23: “Making Health a Way of Life” STRIVE Team
6 Take Home Lessons: sent to you during the weeks we don’t meet. Topics are focused on wellness.
Evaluations
- Lab Work: lipid & glucose labs: beginning and end of program
- Body Composition Testing : beginning and end of program
- Weekly Weigh Ins
Cost: $130 includes lab work, body composition tests, lectures, lessons, and Strive 2 Survive t-shirt
STRIVE 2 Survive applies to all who have a heartbeat…adolescents to the elderly!!
Contact us NOW to get enrolled!
For more information and to sign up, contact:
886-8482 or email strive2survive@brownclinic.org Visit our wellness blog at: www.s2sbrownclinic.com
by Dan | Mar 5, 2017 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health
Sarah and I just got back from a vacation trip to Mexico. The weather was great! We lost a day trying to get there because of the blizzard in SF, but still had 6 days to enjoy. We had a little twist thrown in when Sunday night we got a call from our son, Nick, that he was in the ER and was told he needed to have his appendix out! What a wreck we were. I had a ton of help from my brother Tim who was in SF, and helped with everything. Nick was home later in the morning on Monday, did well with surgery, and my brother Tim told us now to relax and have a good time…everything was under control! After that, we really did need to unwind and relax, and the beach and ocean was the perfect place for it. We got to just unwind, read, take a nap, listen to the ocean, and spend time together!
We still got our exercise in! We either ran or walked on the beach early in the mornings, and then in the afternoons, we always went for a 4 mile walk along the beach. Talk about relaxation, but yet we were still active. There were also other things to stay active with while we were there.
The paddleboards were a great way to get out and enjoy the water and weather, but had to work a little at it. Sarah even got into some yoga and water aerobics at times during the days.
Best of all…we got to spend some time together. We don’t seem to get to do this much unless we are literally out of town. We have to keep working at this as well. We have to become better to each other, which will overall make us better! It was great to get out and enjoy the scenery along the ocean as well.
The pelicans would fly by and then dive down into the water for food. It was really cool to see.
Best of all, I got to walk and talk with Sarah! We have all heard about the movie “Beauty and the Beast”…well, this is my picture that I have called “Beauty and the Beach”!
The sand on many of the sections were so soft, and then we would walk back and see our footprints. We got to see where we had been, and yet still had an idea of where we were going!
We become better when we spend time with those who mean the most to us! We become better when we take the time to relax and enjoy life along the way. We all work, or have worked if we are retired. We all have different degrees of stress in our life. If we don’t take time to relax, the stress will eventually get to us all. Exercise is also a great way to relieve that stress, but listen to our bodies, and recover when we need to. Become a better you, and take the time to relax, and enjoy life along the way! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3446
by kelsey | Mar 2, 2017 | Etc.
In two weeks (March 14th!), we will start another session of STRIVE 2 Survive! I always like to highlight a few of our success stories and previous participants to show what STRIVE can do for you! Laurie Danforth and her husband Mike participated in STRIVE 2 Survive and found great value in it. If you are on the fence or wondering if you should join us, check out Laurie’s feedback below. We hope you will consider it and let us help you improve your health and well-being through improved nutrition and activity! If you have any questions or want to learn more, please email us at strive2survive@brownclinic.org or call 884-4226. Spring STRIVE starts March 14th and enrollment is currently underway!
- What pushed you to join STRIVE? After sending our last child off to college and becoming empty nesters we decided it was time to change our eating habits. Mike wanted to lose a few pounds so I suggested we do S2S and do it the right way.
- What was your goal? (weight loss, cholesterol, B/P, healthy eating, etc.) My goal was to develop better healthy eating and to maintain of improve lab values.
- Have you met your goal? Yes until the kids came home for the summer then our eating changes some but I always have S2S on my mind and look for healthier ways to fix meals.
- If so, what are you doing to maintain? Looking forward to 2 of the boys returning to college to help with our change of habits when had adapted to.
- How did STRIVE help? Brought awareness to foods and their contents and also the ability to prepare foods differently to make them healthier. The frequent e mails and updates on the web also help.
- What is your motivation to continue? My competitiveness to keep my lab values where they were after being diligent of changing habits. I challenge myself to make sure they stay in good healthy ranges. I also feel much better after changing my diet habits.
- If you could tell anyone about Strive to Survive, what would you say? By all means join the program. Don’t think of it as a “diet” but a way of changing your daily eating habits along with exercise. It is not all about weight loss but eating healthier and making changes to adding or increasing exercise. I lost inches and improved lab values but did not lose much weight, all with feeling better. (Side note–Laurie didn’t have much to lose, so she focused on toning, lab improvement, and overall health improvements)
- Do you feel that the program has a lifetime change for you? By all means.
- What do you think they biggest highlight of the program is? Learning how to label read and prepare foods bought at the grocery store to change habits. It is much cheaper and healthier to buy foods at the grocery store for weight loss versus buying a program of mixes and shakes that may produce rapid weight loss. I know with this program I was making healthy choices that were not inadvertently affecting my lab values.
- Would you tell a friend about us? I have told friends about this program and encouraged them to join. The cost of the program is far less than “buying” weight loss with the many advertised programs out there.
- If people are in doubt of joining, what would you tell them? Give it a try!
-Kelsey
by kelsey | Feb 28, 2017 | Etc.
STRIVE 2 Survive, our 12 week wellness program starts in about 2 weeks, March 14th!! We often have people ask about the results of the program as they try to decide if they should enroll or not. Today’s post is about results as I wanted to share some of the results we had from our spring group this year. We had a great group and results were awesome! Not only weight loss, but great improvements in lab work, BP, and waist circumference, which greatly impacts disease prevention and overall wellness. Below are a few of our participant’s results for you to see how beneficial the program can be! Enrollment is underway right now! Contact us today to get signed up for a better you! Email: strive2survive@brownclinic.org or 884-4226.
|
|
|
|
Initial |
Post |
| Weigh In |
262 |
228.6 |
|
|
|
| lbs lost |
|
-33.4 |
| % lost |
|
|
| (lbs lost/weight) * 100 |
0 |
-14.6107 |
|
|
|
| Lab Work |
Initial |
Post |
| Total Cholesterol |
233 |
175 |
| LDL |
179 |
120 |
| HDL |
39 |
45 |
| Triglycerides |
75 |
49 |
| Glucose |
101 |
92 |
| Waist Circ. |
45″ |
40 |
| BMI |
30.3 |
26.4 |
| % Body Fat |
15.9 |
13 |
| Fat Mass |
41.8 |
29.8 |
| Fat Free Mass |
220.8 |
198.8 |
|
|
|
| |
Initial |
Post |
| Weigh In |
197.4 |
182.2 |
| |
|
|
| lbs lost |
|
-15.2 |
| % lost |
|
|
| (lbs lost/weight) * 100 |
0 |
-8.34248 |
| |
|
|
| Lab Work |
Initial |
Post |
| Total Cholesterol |
173 |
162 |
| LDL |
86 |
76 |
| HDL |
62 |
66 |
| Triglycerides |
127 |
100 |
| Glucose |
100 |
92 |
| Waist Circ. |
41″ |
39 |
| BMI |
31.9 |
29.4 |
| % Body Fat |
39.6 |
39.4 |
| Fat Mass |
79.4 |
71.8 |
| Fat Free Mass |
119.4 |
110.4 |
|
|
|
| |
Initial |
Post |
| Weigh In |
237.8 |
208 |
| |
|
|
| lbs lost |
|
-29.8 |
| % lost |
|
|
| (lbs lost/weight) * 100 |
0 |
-14.3269 |
| |
|
|
| Lab Work |
Initial |
Post |
| Total Cholesterol |
191 |
149 |
| LDL |
114 |
80 |
| HDL |
54 |
58 |
| Triglycerides |
116 |
54 |
| Glucose |
104 |
100 |
| Waist Circ. |
40 |
34 |
| BP |
152/90 |
118/78 |
| BMI |
30.9 |
27.1 |
| % Body Fat |
16.5 |
12.5 |
| Fat Mass |
39.2 |
26 |
| Fat Free Mass |
198.6 |
182 |
