COACH STACY'S HEALTHY U

In my circle of friends and colleagues I’m considered a pretty tough cookie.  I gritted through twenty-one hours of labor to give birth to my daughter Presley.  As a party gag I squat press my husband Joe.  But the one thing that will reduce me once again to a quivering, tearful child is the prospet of being stuck with a hypodermic needle.  That fear has been present in my psyche since I was a child.  I don’t remember how it came about, but I do recall one fateful trip to the family doctor as an 8-year old.  When the nurse pulled out the booster-filled needle I high tailed it out to the parking lot and locked myself in the family car.  Not even the promise of Tootsie Pop could convince me to unlock the door.

 To this day, the very thought of my annual checkup gives me the willies. Of course, it’s not the physical itself that bothers me, but rather the blood panel afterwards.  But I know that if I want to be healthy, I need to have a game plan and that starts with knowing my numbers.  With today’s advances in the medical field we now have the ability to live 35% longer than ever before, with a greater quality of life – all the more reason to set and achieve some lifelong health goals.  So I have created a “Do List” to help you, too, get started with your own personal “Get Fit Game Plan.”

1. Get a Physical

• Know your numbers
  • Blood pressure – under 140/90

American Heart Association Guidelines:

• Heart rate.  The average resting heart rate is 60-80 beats per minute, but it’s usually lower for physically fit people.  It also rises with age.
• Cholesterol – under 200; LDL under 130, HDL over 60 best protection against heart disease.
• Blood glucose – under 100 mg/dL while fasting
• BMI under 30; or waist measurement  <35 for women and <40 for men.  If you want to know your exact BMI, check out the “BMI Calculator” link on the Coach Stacy’s Healthy U home page.

From the Centers for Disease Control:

• Body measurements and body fat testing are also useful for gauging your overall health. 

Women

Men

2. Mental & emotional attitude check up

• What is going well for you?
• What is not working for you?
• What pumps you up?
• What exhausts you?
• What is stopping you from moving forward?

3. Set small goals for each week

• My goal this week is to _______________________
• Write your own life “Mission Statement” ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Draft a support team of family and friends to help cheer you on with your goals

5. Fitness  level checkup

• Where do you fit in compared to others your age
  • Excellent
  • Very good
  • Good
  • Fair – 30x more likely to die in the next 2 years!
  • Bad –  see above

• Your age is ________
• Take the Real Age free test at www.realage.com

6. Stress and Anger management

• What is the source of your stress?
  • Where is your stress on a scale of 1-10
  • Break your stress into small loads – one step at a time

• What is the source of your anger?
  • Can you avoid that source?
  • Can you change your reaction to that source?

• Choose a peaceful outlet to relax and sooth you
  • Get a pet
  • Journal your feelings
  • Meditate/pray – breathe
  • Yoga/Pilates/Tai Chi
  • Learn to live in the moment
  • Spa services
  • Walk
  • Read
  • Listen to music
  • Call someone who is soothing
  • Call a professional therapist if the need arises
  • Unplug

7. Healthy habits you need to develop

• Good sleep habits – 7 to 8 hours
• Take ten deep breaths daily
• Get some Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, 20 minutes daily
• Open windows for fresh air weekly
• Drink green tea
• Drink water
• Cut the junk food and add healthy food items
• Limit sugars and high fructose corn syrup
• Limit processed foods and saturated fats
• Eat Yogurt with live active cultures
• Use sunscreen
• Develop a positive attitude and gratitude
• Floss teeth
• Nasal irrigation
• Take your Omega 3s (fish, walnuts, supplements)
• Take vitamins
• Remove clutter
• Aspirin therapy – half a regular or 2 baby doses decrease the risk of heart attack by 35%  for women over 40 and men over 35 (ask your doctor)
• Social outlets for fun – make time for you!

8. Go Shopping!

• Purchase any equipment or gym memberships you may need
• Buy clothing items you may need

9. Get active and chose some activities

• Cardio – you need to build up to 10,000 steps a day or 30 minutes per day
• Walk indoors or out
• Participate in a fitness event
• Try some outdoor activities
• Bike indoors or out
• Strength training
  • Join a gym
  • Hire a personal trainer to learn the basics then purchase equipment that you can use at home

10 Fun and Laughs get some it’s good for your health!

• For fun I like to ______________
• What makes you laugh?

 Debby and I both went for our check ups after the first of the year.  I’m happy to report that my numbers were quite good, despite the fact that I’d spent the entire holiday season eating my mother’s yummy, southern, home-cooked meals.  Debby, who ate very little of mother’s good eats, is a bit put out because some of her numbers came back elevated.  What gives?  Actually, Debby has a family history of heart, blood pressure and cholesterol problems, which is all the more reason for her to be on top of her readings.

Fitness and health are achievable for everyone – no matter what your age or genetic code – but it takes a little know how, a little planning and a little work.  Bottom line is that nothing happens until you get up off the couch and spring into action. 

When you’re moving, you’re improving!