A Healthier Year, A Happier You

It's no big secret to anyone who knows me that I love to eat. I love food! I especially love carbs. I could live off of bread and pasta for the rest of my life and never miss the meat (well, except for the seafood). I enjoyed a good twenty years of being able to eat whatever I wanted and never gained a single pound. In fact, I was clinically underweight for a good portion of my youth. But then came the baby. And another. And another. Three kids later, at the age of 33, I am tired, overweight, and still loving on those carbs. I eat for fun. I eat for distraction from depression and stress. I eat because I'm breastfeeding and I'm really hungry all the time! To top it off, I don't get enough exercise. You would think running after a one year old would be enough aerobics for one gal, but it really isn't. I am miserably out of shape, and I need to do something about it, fast! I have begun to have major issues with high blood pressure, and that is scary. It doesn't help my mental health to eat poorly and skip on exercise, either. It's time to get control of this issue, before it takes several years off my life. I want to be around for my grandchildren and actually be able to pick them up and love on them. As much of a skeptic as I am about New Year's resolutions, this is one time when I will follow in the footsteps of so many others who plan to make 2013 a healthier year. Only, I don't intend on backsliding after a couple of months. I want to make it for the entire year. Who's with me?

The food choices we make affect us not only today, but for all our years to come. And it starts from the very beginning! A girl who drinks sodas and other sugar-laden beverages instead of milk throughout childhood will not only have a a greater chance of cavities, but will likely develop osteoporosis as an adult. A poor diet during pregnancy may produce a low birth weight infant and may cause other complications in the development of a fetus. What a woman eats-as a baby, a child, and an adult-can affect how long and how well she lives.

"You are what you eat." More specifically, you feel what you eat. Food's purpose is to enrich the body with nutrition for energy and optimal function. Good eating habits will make you feel strong and vibrant. Junk food will make you feel like junk.

Eating a large variety of food is best for providing a well balanced array of vitamins and minerals for your body and mind. Supplements may be advised for people who do not receive all the nutrition they need from food, but supplements should not take the place of healthy eating habits. Supplements can sometimes be harmful, so discuss with your doctor what your best options are. It is possible to overdose even on essential vitamins and minerals, and some supplements may cause dangerous interactions or lessen the effectiveness of other medications you are on.

Women have different needs at different times in their lives. Younger women often have a greater need for iron due to the loss of it during menstruation. Sometimes an iron supplement is recommended by doctors. It is also very important to intake enough calcium throughout your life, since after menopause your bones will tell on you by becoming brittle and easy to break. Plenty of calcium when you are younger decreases the chance of osteoporosis. The suggested amount of calcium for each age group is:

• 9-18 years old: 1,300 mg
• 19-50 years old :1,000 mg
• over 50: 1,200-1,500 mg

Ask your doctor if he or she recommends more or less for your particular health needs. A major leach to calcium is, sadly, caffeine and phosphorus, both often found in our favorite sodas. It is best to limit these types of beverages for healthier bones. To increase your absorption of calcium your body requires Vitamin D. That is why it is essential to get enough sunlight and drink low fat milk fortified with this vitamin.I don't know about you, but if I drank in as much sunlight as I drink of Dr. Pepper, I would be substantially covered on the Vitamin D thing.

A significant need for pregnant women is folic acid. This reduces the chance of birth defects of the brain and spinal cord. It is recommended that pregnant women intake 400-800 mcg. of folic acid, and breastfeeding mothers need 500 mcg. Doctors often urge women to begin taking a prenatal vitamin that includes a good source of folic acid before conception and to continue throughout pregnancy and lactation to ensure a healthy baby. Even if you are not pregnant and not planning on conceiving any time soon, folic acid is a necessary component of a healthy diet. Research suggests that it may lower your risk for a stroke, and a deficiency in folic acid has been linked to depression.

There are many changes to our way of eating that will improve our overall health:

• Eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods. (See food pyramid below for recommended servings.)
• Limit fat, especially saturated fat and cholesterol.
• Maintain a healthy body weight.
• Choose and prepare foods with less sodium.
• Limit alcohol, sodas, and sweets.
• Avoid packaged foods with lots of preservatives and other "what is that?" ingredients. The closer to fresh and homegrown, the better.
• Drink 8-10 glasses of water per day.
• Remember that calcium! 

If you are like me and could stand to lose a few pounds (okay, several), then there are ways you can improve your health and manage a sensible plan for weight loss.

• Avoid fad diets. I will save you the time, trouble and money, and tell you that they don't work. Sure, you may lose a significant amount of weight initially, but only permanent lifestyle changes will keep that weight off, and fad diets do not provide the healthy ongoing nutrition that you need, plus they are nearly impossible not to cheat on! 
• To lose weight and keep it off takes a long-term effort. Aim to lose 1/2 to 1 pound a week. 
• To keep the pounds off, form good basic eating habits, limit portions, and boost your level of physical activity. The key to weight loss is to burn more calories than you take in.
• Notice any social, emotional, or stressful situations that trigger overeating and find better ways to cope. 
• Avoid diet pills! They have unhealthy side effects and do not work for long-term weight loss. 
• Plan meals and snacks for the day so that you are more apt to stick to the menu and not binge on something else. Snacking on fruits and veggies can satisfy hunger in a healthy way, so reach for those instead of junk food. 

The graph below displays what is considered a healthy weight for your height:

While many women struggle with being overweight, it is also dangerous to weigh too little. Some women may have a metabolic disorder or other illness that contributes to their low weight, but many women are becoming malnourished by eating disorders. The two most serious eating disorders mainly affect teenage girls and young women. Anorexia nervosa is starving oneself. Bulimia nervosa is binge eating and then removing the food and fluid by forced vomiting and/or overuse of laxatives and enemas. Death rates are as high as 10 to 20 percent from these very dangerous practices. There tends to be a strong mental and emotional link to eating disorders, so both medical and psychological help is needed for proper treatment . National Eating Disorders Association provides a hotline number for anyone who is struggling with an eating disorder. Click on the link I have provided and it will take you to a page with their number and a search tool to find treatment near you.

Beyond good eating habits, physical activity is a must for a healthy lifestyle. A few of the many benefits of exercise are:

• Helps prevent osteoporosis by strengthening bones (weight-bearing exercise increases this benefit)
• Strengthens muscles, which improves balance and slows age-related muscle loss
• Reduces back pain and strain
• Improves self-image and increases energy
• Helps relieve stress and control anxiety
• Promotes weight loss and lowers body fat
• Reduces the risk of developing diabetes
• Reduces risk of heart disease
• Boosts mood and fights off depression by releasing endorphins, the body's natural feel-good chemicals

 If you're just beginning an exercise routine, take things slowly! Some of those muscles have probably not been worked in a long time, and your heart isn't used to the increase in activity either. Talk to your doctor about your overall health and what exercises you should start out with. Choose an activity you can do 5-10 minutes without getting tired, and gradually increase the length of time as your fitness improves. When I first began exercising again, I used a fitness ball for ten minutes and then fell asleep on the floor! In two weeks' time, however, I had built up to thirty minutes of activity, and my workouts slowly increased to an hour. Unfortunately, I have fallen off the exercise wagon, as is so easy for us busy women to do, but my new goal is to rebuild my exercise routine and not quit this time around! I will provide updates on my progress and would love to hear about yours as well.

Exercise should get your heart rate into a target heart rate zone, which you can determine with a Target Heart Rate Calculator. It is a common misconception that in order for exercise to be effective it has to be grueling and loathsome. Although drastic changes in appearance do require workouts to be challenging and thorough, nothing says it has to be a bore! Choose activities that you can have fun with. This could be brisk walking, swimming, biking, a favorite sport, or aerobic dancing. If your goal is simply to feel better and reduce your risk for health problems, then something as easy as walking 1-3 hours a week will do just fine. If your goal is to shape and tone your body, then your workouts will have to be more intense and geared toward specific areas to achieve the results you want.

If you already have a fitness program in progress, then I commend you. Keep up the great work! If you're like me and have allowed unhealthy eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle to rob you of your vitality, then I urge you to join me in making some very crucial changes. Oftentimes, the best defense against falling into old bad habits is to include a friend in your health journey. Two or more people banded together with the same goals can be a powerful motivator! Ask around among your friends, family members, and colleagues to see if anyone is interested in joining the challenge with you for a healthier year in 2013. There are also countless support groups online that you can find through your search engine. Two successful groups that may be located in your area are TOPS and Weight Watchers.

Our mental health is so greatly impacted by our physical health that it would be ignorant to assume that not taking care of our bodies will ever allow for optimum psychological stability. Changing your lifestyle-and not falling back on old habits-is no easy task! But we can do it. We really can! We deserve to take care of ourselves. Stop making excuses not to.