Stressed?

by
Don Foxe, M.Ed.

  am in the process of building a new health club on the north end of Hilton Head Island. The stress from having to deal with developers, contractors, sub-contractors, and suppliers should be enough, but it pales in comparison to making that trip back and forth from Bluffton each day.

I have watched as people yakking on cell phones try to back out of parking spaces, one-handed, driving over-sized SUV’s. What would it take to ask the person to hold, set the phone on the seat, complete backing out and moving into the flow of traffic, AND THEN picking the phone back up to talk?

I passed two (TWO!) people one day and both were driving me crazy because they would speed up, slow down, swerve, speed up, slow down, etc. On passing the first I was amazed to see he was watching television while driving. When I passed the next guy, and he was also watching his personal LCD TV attached to his dashboard, I figured there must be some extraordinary breaking news. There wasn’t.

Have you seen how many people on Hwy. 278 read while driving? I love writing articles for The Bluffton Breeze, and I hope you enjoy reading the entire magazine . . . BUT NOT WHILE YOU’RE BEHIND THE WHEEL! Now add the fact that no two people can drive the same speed going to or from the island, and that a number of people think of HIGHWAY 278 as a street, and use the left lane as a road, and not for passing or through traffic movement, and – Well, you know why I called this article STRESSED.

I have seen the plans for new highway development, and I have gone to the meetings, and I have listened to the experts. I have pushed for tax increases to help, but now that I see who is in charge of spending that money, I will not be pushing tax increases for road development again.

I have, daily, come from Hilton Head toward Bluffton and been part of the vehicular crunch that takes place as six lanes of traffic try to converge into two lanes in order to cross the bridge. I wonder why anyone thinks that doing the same thing on the Bluffton side going onto the island would “improve” traffic flow?

So why is this a health-related article? Because I have not dealt very well with the combined stress of building a new club AND the traffic. I imagine many of you suffer similar stress-related adventures every day. AND I KNOW that taking a long walk, and eating right helps reduce stress, AND I’M NOT DOING IT! Instead, I am heading home, grabbing anything I can to eat (so I feel in control of something in my life!), and watching everything dumb on television so I can escape reality. Sound familiar?

My new year begins now. I do not care what the calendar says, I am not going to throw away the rest of this year because I feel stressed and out of control. You can, too. We can take back some control by setting up NEW new year’s resolutions. To get up an hour earlier, and take a 40 minute walk before I eat, to burn off some of the fat I have been storing. To eat a HEALTHY breakfast. To listen to music, not news or sports, as I drive. To write down the license numbers of cars where the drivers read, or watch television instead of drive, provide them to the Sheriff’s office, and let them worry about it, not me. To keep my running shoes in the car, and if I find I have to deal with traffic because of when I have to head home, go for a walk on the island instead – especially on the beach if possible. To spend not one more minute than two total hours in front of a television or computer screen at night. To take control, by taking control of the one thing I own completely – my life.

 

 

Don Foxe: 681-6161
info@beachcityfitness.com

Ask the Doctor . . .

Dr. Heather Hutchings of Coastal Carolina Family Medicine

ccording to the National Institute of Health Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center, 10 million individuals in the US today already have osteoporosis. Another 34 million Americans have low bone mass, placing them at a higher risk for developing this disease. As May is Osteoporosis Awareness Month, we asked Dr. Heather Hutchings of Coastal Carolina Family Medicine for recommendations on how women can prevent the loss of bone mass:

How can I prevent bone loss?

1.Get your daily recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D.
2.Engage in regular weight-baring exercise.
3.Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol.
4.Have a bone density test to determine your bone mass and risk for osteoporosis.
5.Talk to your doctor about your risk for osteoporosis and whether or not any vitamin supplements or medications are appropriate based on your bone health needs.

How Does Menopause Affect Calcium Requirements?
When a woman enters menopause, her body produces much less of the female hormone estrogen which can increase her risk of developing osteoporosis. As this means that her bones may become more fragile and can break easily, it is important that women protect themselves by getting enough calcium every day. It is also important to note that while men do not need to worry about menopause, they are also vulnerable to osteoporosis and need to consume adequate calcium through their golden years to prevent further bone loss.

How Can I Increase My Calcium Intake?
You might find the easiest way to get the daily calcium you need is to make changes in your diet. For example, non-fat or low-fat dairy products provide the easiest, most plentiful sources of calcium in the diet. Many foods are now fortified with calcium, including fruit juices, snack foods and breakfast cereals. You can also try planning meals with certain calcium-fortified items such as broccoli, kale, or salmon. Lastly, ask your doctor about whether or not you need to take a multi-vitamin or calcium supplement to ensure your body has the calcium it needs to build or prevent the loss of bone mass.

 

 

Walk Your Way Fit, Healthy and Trim

Courtesy of Coastal Carolina Medical Center
National Sleep Awareness Month

  fast food chain recently launched a novel promotion: a happy meal equivalent for adults with a twist. Instead of french fries and novelty toy, the adult version contained a healthy meal and a pedometer. Whether you get it in a happy meal or buy one at the drug store, a pedometer can be a great incentive either for jump starting a walking program.

Simply clip a pedometer on your belt or waistband above the hip, and it will count the steps you take in a day. Logging the number of steps you walk each day for a week will raise your awareness of just how much or how little exercise you really get. Most of us will probably find out that we get far less exercise than we think. “One suggested target is 10,000 steps per day or about five miles– an activity level that reaps both health benefits and weight loss. This might sound like a lot, especially if your pedometer tells you you’re only covering 2,000 steps per day,” according to Dr. Jonathan Hutchings of Coastal Carolina Family Medicine.

Once you determine how many steps you are taking a day, create a plan to increase your daily mileage. Be realistic, especially if you’re overweight or not very fit. You might start by adding 2,000 steps, about a mile. If you walk briskly, you can squeeze these steps into 15 minutes. At a slower pace, it will take you approximately 20 minutes. Once you’re consistently walking this distance each day, plan to add another 2,000 steps. Continue adding steps until you reach 10,000 steps (or whatever goal you set for yourself).

The beauty of walking is that you can break your target distance into a number of shorter, more manageable spurts. Perhaps you could walk one mile to and from work, take a 15-minute walk as part of your lunch break and a 30-minute walk with your husband or neighbor after dinner.

Adding miles to your daily routine is a way to lose weight and inches without dieting. A woman who weighs 145 pounds will use about 80 calories per mile walking at a 15-minute pace. If she adds four miles a day, that adds up to 320 calories. If she maintains those miles over 10 days, she’ll have used 3,200 calories, the equivalent of one pound. In a month that will add up to three pounds; in six months, 18 pounds.

Walking provides women with an effective tool for weight control, a daily struggle for millions of women. Walking is also known to improve symptoms of depression and relieve psychological and physical stress. More importantly, walking has been proven to lower the risk of a whole range of health problems including breast cancer, adult onset diabetes, heart disease and stroke, and osteoporosis. A study of 18 postmenopausal women who participated in a 15-week walking program concluded that women walking a little less than two miles at least five days per week had significant improvement in bone mineral density. Preserving and increasing bone mineral density protects women from osteoporosis.

The Women’s Health Initiative released a similar study that suggested that women who walked briskly for one and a quarter to two and a half hours per week decreased their risk of breast cancer by 18 percent compared with the rate for inactive women. Further research from the Women’s Health Initiative study found that women who walked at least two and a half hours per week lowered their risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke by one third compared with women who did not walk.

Walking can be done inside or out, alone or with friends, requires no special equipment or skills and it can help keep our hearts, minds and bodies feeling and looking younger. Dare to take that first step. You might be surprised how quickly the next 9,999 will follow.