Archive for January, 2010

Even With Insurance I Can’t Afford To Get Sick!

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

By Wilma Young

Recently I was shopping for personal health insurance. Many of you have experienced this unpleasant activity. The first offense I experienced were the dreaded pre-existing condition questions…”Are you currently taking any prescription medications? Are you diabetic? Being treated for cancer?” And the list goes on and on. I am fortunate to be able to answer NO to these questions so I assumed my pricing would be a manageable monthly expense and similar to the HMO plan I currently have. To my economic horror I had the sticker shock of walking into a Mercedes Benz dealership with a Honda checkbook. Thinking that pricing the HMO plans would be the smartest direction turned out to be wrong. Getting a PPO with a HUGE deductible was the best choice as I rarely go to the doctor except for my annual exam and of course in case of an emergency. How lucky I am to be confident in my health. To work out, and create wellness in my life not only adds to the quality I value but also puts me in control of my healthcare. Being at the mercy of an insurance company who sadly only gives a doctor approximately 7 minutes with you in an exam room to evaluate and uncover your obstacles is absurd for both you and the doctor. Both of your hands are tied. In this economic time of upheaval and uncertainty your health is more valuable than most everything in your life. You can’t afford to get sick, so spend your time making yourself WELL!!

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Dealing with the Demons of Failure

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

By Wilma Young

Why is it that we can encourage our children, cheer on our best friends, console our spouses but leave ourselves in a tailspin over the slightest of indiscretions? I recently had a conversation with a client regarding her “failures”. She was feeling like a week of “bad behavior” had negated months of hard work. I have most certainly walked in her shoes! The roller coaster of changing your health and improving your body is not always easy. We start with the best of intentions. We shop and prepare, work out and plan only to find a sick child or an extra project at work provides a temporary derailment. This is usually the time we give up! If this were to happen to our loved one, we would hug them and encourage them but for ourselves, we berate and get disgusted with the fact that we are not perfect. We ultimately feel like a failure. I am suggesting that we turn this around once and for all. The definition of failure is never to try. The definition of success is making to the gym, making a healthy choice for lunch and providing a nurturing environment for our own personal growth. The definition of success is trying despite the fact that we do not accomplish perfectionism. Beside, perfectionism is an unrealistic goal and even to get close is setting ourselves up for a rigid regime that leaves us bankrupt and depressed. Let’s pride ourselves in the journey, pat ourselves on the back every time we make the healthy choice, hug ourselves for loving our own bodies and investing in them. To care for ourselves in even the tiniest of ways is truly a success. It is the small changes every day that make lasting results. Remember, failure is never trying, success is taking ACTION!

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How Can It Be That Spending More for Your Vitamins Can Cost You Less

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

By Wilma Young

I had a pregnant client in the store today to get her fish oil supplements. She proceeded to tell me how tired she is (of course, who wouldn’t be when you are 2 weeks away from delivering) and her eyesight has been blurry. She asked her doctor about the blurry vision and he said “it was because of the baby taking all of the vitamins and nutrients from her body for it’s own growth”. I agree that this is what the baby needs right now but not at the expense of Mom’s eyesight. I asked if she was taking her prenatal vitamins and she said yes but she was using a drug store vitamin. Hearing this made me concerned for her and for the baby knowing that the cheap vitamin will not break down well, provide inferior nutrients and basically become “bedpan bullets”. This is not the foundation to a healthy and happy baby! In my usual mischievous tone I asked her why she would be using such poor quality vitamins and a high quality fish oil supplement. “I need to save money right now and thought the fish oil was more important to spend the money on”. “I completely empathize with your economic ordeal but the drug store vitamin isn’t giving you what you and the baby need. You HAVE to invest in the health of your baby AND you and skimping on vitamins right now is not the way to go. Spending the money now to help your baby develop his brain and body is like saving for his college fund. Remember an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The only time you will have 100% control over what he ingests is right now while he is inside of you, Let’s look at the cost!” We then went to the Prenatal Vitamin packs from Metagenics to calculate the dollars. The packets have the fish oil (which she was already going to buy), the multi vitamin and the added bonuses of choline, calcium/magnesium and added DHA, critical to brain development. Taking into consideration the drug store vitamin cost and the fish oil she was already going to buy the difference came out to @ $5.00. This didn’t take in to account the extra nutrition she was getting in the packets with the added DHA etc. “Isn’t it imperative for your own mental and physical health during this phenomenal and monumental time to invest the extra $5.00? You and your baby’s body and mind are worth it! Cutting cost now will only make you pay dearly in the future”.

Isn’t our next generation worth the investment.? Can we change our world by bringing healthier children into it? I say Yes!! What do you say?

P.S. She did start on the Metagenics Prenatal vitamins…who wouldn’t after a badgering like that!

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Fast Food, Slow Death

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

By Wilma Young, CPT

I got home today and what was my mailbox FULL of? Fast Food ads! A bucket of “this” and a biscuit stuffed “that” served with a huge side of heart disease and high cholesterol. I came home a bit tired and not wanting to cook so I can understand how hard it can be to resist these easy fast meals but I urge you…NO I beg you not to do it. The sodium, hydrogenated fats and useless “filler” of a food may be cheap today but our body’s will pay dearly in the future. Yes, this economy makes us think that the $2.99 special is the way to keep us going but please, think this through. You will pay for that meal with a slowing digestive tract, a weaker immune system, less nutrition in the body, poorer sleep and eventually a waistline that will bring in chronic disease and dare I say, jeans that will know longer have a home because you will have out grown them. I did not have an exciting dinner. No, I must say it was bland but I didn’t have the creative strength to whip up a Julia Child entree. So what did i eat? I had an easy omelette. 10 minutes from prep to plate…and it only cost me $3.01 (and no sales tax:)!. This was using only the best ingredients, a high Omega egg ($.36) , egg whites from a high quality source (@ $.75), organic steamed broccoli (@ $1.00) and some low fat cottage cheese ($.90). Not the dinner that I had in mind but I have added good nutrition, better sleep, lower blood pressure, a good mood and lots of “positive brain and body food” to my life. I can do this because I shop smartly and keep the best staples in my fridge and pantry, Julia Child may not be impressed but I will guarantee that you will thank yourself for a meal well prepared and a waistline that will fit in to your future the way you have always dreamed it would!

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It’s That Time of Year Again!

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

By Wilma Young, CPT

You know the drill. It’s Thanksgiving, then Christmas and then of course a Happy New Year, right? But when we let ourselves have a little too much “celebration” and too little activity we feel a bit sluggish and in some need of a fast fix. My advice to you is RESIST!!! Resist the urge to go the “quick fix” route. The only way you can lose weight quickly is in an unhealthy way…starvation, too little protein, and skipping breakfast. Doing these things leads to unhealthful weight loss and irritability and then our family and friends pay the price of a grumpier “you”! This route will not bring you to a healthy body weight that can be sustained for a long period and then next year you could be right back in the same boat with even more to lose. Let’s get off this roller coaster once and for all. I am going to suggest that THIS year you do it differently, that THIS year you will make the consistent healthy choices that will prolong your life, that THIS year you will give yourself more energy and a stronger body and set yourself up for a happier you all year long. If you just commit to one change per week and stick with it you will impact your life not only physically but you will empower yourself spiritually. This year will be the year that you invest in yourself! Besides, aren’t you worth it?

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