by kelsey | Aug 17, 2015 | Etc.
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
by Dan | Aug 16, 2015 | Etc.
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
by kelsey | Aug 12, 2015 | Weight Management, Wellness/Health
It’s hard to believe school will be back in session soon and fall is approaching quickly. We are always sad to see summer go as it seems to fly by faster every year, but I am excited for my favorite season (fall) to get here and to 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. Fall STRIVE starts September 8th 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 | Aug 11, 2015 | Diabetes, Diet, Food, Heart Health, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day! Yes, you have probably heard this before, but are you a breakfast eater!? Having a good breakfast is a great way to start out the day. It’s not only important for our body, but our mind too. Many times we’ll have excuses such as I was running late, I didn’t feel like eating, I’m not hungry in the morning, and this actually accounts for about a 1/4 to a 1/3 of the population! Starting the day without breakfast is like driving your car on a low tank of gas. We know we can’t go on forever on a low tank of gas, so we shouldn’t do that to our bodies either! Those that skip breakfast tend to snack more on high fat and lower nutritious foods…and are more likely to overeat at lunch because they are over-hungry. Studies have also shown that those working on weight loss are more successful when they eat breakfast as this really jump starts their metabolism and starts their day off right. In addition, eating a healthy breakfast helps our kids excel in school as it helps fuel the brain!
So what should you eat for breakfast? It’s important to get a balance at your meals and especially include a source of protein and a whole grain as these provide satiety. Here are some examples for you:
- Ready-to-eat cereal (>3g fiber, <2-3g fat, a ratio of greater than 4 g carbohydrate:1 g sugar)
- Hot cereal (oatmeal)
- Bagel with low-fat cream cheese or peanut butter
- Yogurt Parfait
- Fruit and yogurt smoothie
- Peanut butter or hummus on whole-wheat toast
- Breakfast quesadilla with low-fat cream cheese and sliced fruit
- Breakfast burrito or taco
- Toasted whole-wheat English muffin with lean ham and low-fat cheese
- Toasted pita with scrambled egg and low-fat cheese
- Low-fat milk and 100% fruit
If you are one who is not a fan of breakfast but understands the importance of it, I encourage you to try a variety of these options and see which one works best for you. I also encourage you to plan ahead. You may need to wake up 5 minutes earlier to fit breakfast in or make your smoothie the night before so all you have to do it pull the bottle or container out of the freezer or fridge in the morning and drink it on your way to work. Starting your day with a full tank will provide long lasting benefits to you and your body!
-Kelsey
by Dan | Aug 9, 2015 | Exercise, Motivation, Wellness/Health
I first started to run in middle school, going out for Cross Country in 7th. Needless to say, I never really liked it then, and quit. I would run on and off on my own, but very sporadic. I started to do a little more in high school, but still never went out for school sports. Then the Spring of my Junior year of high school I entered the Diet Pepsi 10k race in SF. At that point, this was the furthest I had run at one time. In that race was Dick Beardsley, and he won the race in 29:50. I remember seeing one runner out front and literally “flying” down the road. I was running with my mouth open just watching him go. Later that day when I went to work that afternoon, I saw this same guy running down 41st in SF…again, just “flying”. I later found out this was Dick Beardsley, and up and coming marathon runner. He later won Grandma’s Marathon in 1981, a few months after this race, setting the course record that still stands at 2:09:37. He later won again in 1982. He is even more famous for the “Duel in the Sun”, battling Alberto Salazar at the Boston Marathon in 1982, losing by 2 seconds! He ran a 2:08:53! Incredible time! Watching him run set the tone for me. That Diet Pepsi 10K race, and watching him, sparked an interest in me that continues to this day. This is when I first really started running. I went out for Cross Country then that Fall for my senior year, and then also ran track in the Spring of 1982. You can say I definitely had a late start. I then ran Cross Country and Track all 4 years at Augustana…all because of Dick Beardsley! He is without question my running hero! I have seen him twice over the years at different events…the first time in 2002 when I ran at the Twin Cities marathon. He autographed my race number, and a copy of his book: “Duel in the Sun”. Then again 2 years ago at the Fargo Marathon, where I got to have my picture taken with him, and two other very important people…my other training partners– Tom Beaudry and Steve Hauck. Incredible memories! But this is truly how I got started with running, and have kept going since. I am “in it for the long run”! Below are pictures of Dick Beardsley with Tom and Steve, and myself, and from my beginning days as a Washington Warrior as a senior in high school, followed by my autographed race number by Dick Beardsley. Each week I will follow with another in a series of my “In It For the Long Run”, as I chronicle my years of running…to finish up then where I am at today.
Keep moving everybody! Deep down, I bet there is someone out there that influences you, and may help motivate you! Keep them in mind as you continue on with your journey, and live life to the fullest!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2872
