Healthy living august 2016

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Get the facts before starting a weight-loss program People want to lose weight for a variety of reasons. It may be to look good, feel better, get healthy or manage a chronic disease.

In addition, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States over the past 20 years. In fact, more than one third of U.S. adults are now diagnosed as obese.

With so many weight-loss programs or quick-fix promises offered today, it’s confusing to know which one will be a healthy choice.

So how does someone pick the right program?

“My first suggestion would be to consult your physician and let them know that you have an interest in losing weight,” says Tom Guhr, health educator for the Weight Loss and Wellness Center at Oklahoma Heart Institute. “If you don’t have a primary care doctor, I would suggest doing a search of local weight-loss options for research. Once you feel that you may want to pursue a particular option, you should contact the operator of the program you’re interested in for more information.”

Determining which program is the right one involves a variety of factors. A physician can help you narrow down your choices based on any medical problems that you may have or which may be present in your family history.

Ultimately, choosing a program is up to the individual. The decision needs to be made based on whether this is a realistic option for you. Listen to yourself; in talking with the doctor or with the weight loss program staff, you’ll find the right program for you.

“In our program, we cite the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) often because it is a realistic look at what helps people lose weight and keep it off,” Guhr says. “The NWCR is an ongoing research study of more than 10,000 people looking specifically at what people do to lose and keep weight off. They’ve come up with the top six strategies for long-term weight maintenance of 30 pounds or more. They include: (1) eating a diet that is low in calories and fat, (2) participating in regular, consistent physical activity, (3) selfmonitoring of weight on a regular basis, (4) catching weight slips when they happen, (5) maintaining consistent eating patterns (having your weekends look a lot like your weekdays) and (6) eating breakfast. Also, we have found that recordkeeping is es-

Kyle hammond lost 80 pounds in five months while participating in the hMR weight-loss program at oklahoma heart institute. Most importantly, he has learned how to maintain his weight with a healthy lifestyle. sential for losing weight because it creates a heightened level of awareness.”

The Health Management Resources (HMR) weight management program at Oklahoma Heart Institute’s Weight Loss and Wellness Center is a medically supervised weight-management program that has helped over 1 million people over the past 25 years. The program is all about making lifestyle changes, offering participants an opportunity to reach the goals that they’ve always wanted.

“This program has helped people lose from 20 to over 200 pounds,” Guhr says.

“We use meal replacements to give you structure so you don’t have to take part in the food culture that we live in. When you don’t have to make any food decisions, you can focus more intently on the behaviors that are necessary to lose weight. In this program you will be full and satisfied, because let’s be honest, when trying to lose weight while being hungry, it’s only a matter of time before you break the diet. We coach you every step of the way, so you will receive an incredible amount of support, accountability and motivation to press forward in this program and truly make the changes necessary to not only lose the weight but keep it off for good this time.”

Eric Auerbach, HMR program director and general cardiologist with Oklahoma Heart Institute, sees patients every day who want to lower their risk for heart disease. They want to prevent a heart attack or heart surgery, or perhaps prevent a second heart attack or second surgery. Very often, they have risk factors such as high blood pressure, high triglycerides, high blood sugar and high cholesterol.

“We know that we can profoundly reduce risk if we can make a big impact on those

our program. We try to not just tell people what to do, but talk to them about it frequently and have them regularly remind themselves why they started and why they want to continue. I think the longer people stay with the program, the more the changes become permanent parts of themselves.”

Kyle Hammond decided to participate in the weight-loss program at Oklahoma Heart Institute because his health was rapidly decreasing and he was unsuccessful losing weight on his own.

“I contracted diabetes two years ago, and I have been battling high blood pressure for more than five years. After one of my best friends died of a massive heart attack (he had diabetes and high blood pressure as well), it was a wakeup call for me to do something about my health,” says Hammond.

“My No. 1 weight-loss goal was to achieve good health,” Hammond adds. “Honestly, the fact that I look better and I can now buy clothes somewhere other than a bigand-tall store are secondary.”

He achieved great success in the program, losing 80 pounds in approximately factors,” says Auerbach. “We also know that five months. lifestyle improvements are the bedrock “I feel better than I did when I was in my foundational therapy for accomplishing 20s,” says Hammond, who is 43 years old. “I that. But lifestyle improvements are often have reversed my diabetes, and my blood so hard to do! And as physicians, we only pressure is under control. I’ve gone from have the time to barely scratch the surface taking five pills a day to taking no medicaof these issues during our office visits. tion at all, and I now weigh less than I did We created the Weight Loss and Wellness in high school.”

Center at Oklahoma Heart Institute to give Hammond learned a lot from the propeople an option -- a comprehensive apgram. proach to risk reduction.

“Maybe the No. 1 thing is that I don’t “I love to see people in the program suc- have to eat until I feel ‘stuffed,’” he says. “I ceeding with weight loss,” Auerbach adds. have discovered how good it feels to work “But our real motivation here is health pro- out again. (I was an athlete in my younger motion. And, it works. We see blood sugars days.) I have been amazed at how quickly and blood pressures gradually improving I went from barely being able to do much week after week. We see lab results improv- physical activity to being in excellent physiing. We see exercise capacity improving. cal condition. Now I don’t feel quite right And I have no doubt that what this all if I skip a day without working out. I also means is that people are getting healthier.” learned that I can eat as many fruits and Most people know that the key to sucvegetables as I want; eating a piece of fruit cessful weight management involves and drinking a big glass of water after a permanent improvements in lifestyle. You meal helps me to achieve that full feeling.” can’t “go on a diet” and expect to change One of the main things that attracted your life. It’s when you make these changes Hammond to the HMR program was that a permanent part of your lifestyle that they once you reach your goal weight, you have a truly durable impact. transition into phase two where they teach “What’s commonly referred to as ‘yo-yo’ you to live the rest of your life maintaining dieting is a big problem for a lot of people,” a healthy weight. says Auerbach. “Our approach to dealing “I feel like this program has saved my with this is the counseling component of life,” he says.

How to have a better day Our days are filled with many decisions.

From how much sleep we get to what we eat and how we focus our attention throughout the day, our decisions have a cumulative affect on our well-being.

However, we can take steps that will contribute to a better day by modifying the choices we make.

Having a better day starts with our mindset. eat well Kalli Castille, registered dietitian and director of Integrative and Culinary Services with Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) in Tulsa, recommends we start thinking of food as our own personal driver. “The foods you eat may have an influence on the directions in which your body and mind can go. In other words, the information received from your food may send your mood up or down, to happiness or sadness, to guilt or gratitude, to health, wellness or illness.”

For example, Castille tells patients that drinking a soda may give you an instant lift, but shortly afterward you may feel down, tired or in need of another one quickly.

On the other hand, if you drink water with lemon, you may feel a lift in alertness quickly and then continue to feel alert as you stay hydrated. In addition, the water can feed your brain and body, while the lemon may provide a small amount of the antioxidant vitamin C. When you change your mindset to start focusing on the result that you will get from what you consume, it gives you purpose or directions to a more confident, healthier day.

“For example, although I love nutrition and food science as a registered dietitian, I did not like the food preparation and cooking aspect at home. Once I changed my mindset by thinking of food prepara-

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tion and cooking as providing my family the information to maintain and improve our health, I started to find joy or happiness in the fact that I was helping my family,” says Castille. “As I am doing food preparation for the week and feel myself start to derail from the purpose, I remind myself that this is improving the health of my family through the information I am providing them through food. Getting back to healthy home-cooking can provide more nutrients in your diet while providing less fat, sodium and sugar.”

The goal at Cancer Treatment Centers of America is to help its patients stay strong and nutritionally balanced to help manage symptoms so their conventional treatments won’t need to be interrupted. That’s why Castille and her team of registered dietitians help patients create individualized diet and lifestyle plans and communicate regularly with the patients’ oncologists and other members of the care team. When patients change their mindset to see food as the fuel that will help keep them strong so they can complete their treatment, it seems to change their perspective.

Castille shares the following tips to plan weekly for meals, which should help lead to less stress and a happier, healthier you: Prepare: Take a few minutes to think about the week ahead and activities planned. This can be a quick glance at a calendar, or in the few minutes you have between activities.

Plan: Think of the time you will have to cook or prepare food for you and/or your family. Do you need quick and easy meals for a busy week, or have extra time for more elaborate meal preparation?

Purchase: Write, type, voice memo or order a list of grocery items needed for the meal preparation for the week and purchase.

Pick a day: Choose the day of the week where you can have a couple of hours for food prep. Sunday afternoons often work well.

Prep and precook: Prep any items needed by washing thoroughly and chopping the fruits and vegetables, marinate proteins and prepare salads or soups.

Get adequate sleep Most of us know that getting a good night’s sleep is important, but too few of

us actually get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep each night.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the benefits of getting adequate sleep include maintaining a normal appetite and blood sugar level; a healthy metabolism/weight; hormone balance; a healthy immune system, decrease in cancer risk; enhanced memory, cognition and focus; balanced mood and emotional states; and decreased risk of many illnesses including heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

In order to have a better sleep, Elise Benczkowski, naturopathic practitioner with CTCA in Tulsa, recommends practicing the following proper sleep hygiene: • Make the bed a cue for sleep and so only use the bedroom for sleep and sex; • Avoid stimulating activity before bed, which includes television, working, or using your phone or other electronic devices; • Sleep in a dark, cool and quiet room.

• A good practice is to wind down before bed, which can help decrease the amount of time you lie in bed restless. This winddown period could be about one to two hours before bed where you take a bath, read a book, do light stretching or yoga, meditate, pray or try any activity that you find relaxing. Once in bed, if you can’t fall asleep within 20-40 minutes, engage in a relaxing activity in another room or sit up

in bed until you feel sleepy again.

In addition, stimulants such as coffee and energy drinks, alarm clocks and external lights — including those from electronic devices — interfere with our natural sleep/ wake cycle and so are best avoided at night. It’s a good idea to pay attention to your total caffeine and sugar intake as these not only affect the time it takes to fall asleep but also sleep quality. If you feel like you must nap, try to limit it to a maximum of 45 minutes per day and avoid napping after 4 p.m.

“Like good nutrition and exercise, sleep is a critical component to overall health.

To begin a new path toward healthier sleep, make sleep a priority,” Benczkowski says. “You must schedule sleep like any other daily activity, so put it on your to-do list, cross it off every night and enjoy the benefits.” stress management According to Statistic Brain Research Institute, American Institute of Stress in New York, nearly four in five adults regularly experience physical symptoms associated with stress, and more than seven in 10 Americans commonly suffer stress-related psychological symptoms. Even more alarming is that almost one in two adults in the U.S. report lying awake at night due to See BETTER page D8

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Tandy Family YMCA focuses on wellness The Tandy Family YMCA Healthy Living Center, built on the grounds of the existing Thornton Family YMCA, is designed to help transform the health of our community.

“We want it to bring families to a welcoming place that serves as the anchor for healthy living, youth development and social responsibility, meeting them where they are in their journey,” says Susan Plank, CEO for YMCA of Greater Tulsa.

Tandy Family YMCA recently opened phase one of its new facility. This 60,000+ square foot state-of-the-art healthy living center features three new swimming pools for family play, lap swimming and water exercise, plus a big slide and splash park and playground (pictured at right). It also has new fitness studios, an indoor cycling theater with surround sound, new locker rooms, and new interactive fitness equipment that helps users track their progress.

The only part of the old Thornton facility that will remain intact is the gymnasium, which was rebuilt just a few years ago. It will be named for Charlie Thornton.

Another new feature is the collaborative efforts of The OU Physicians Center for Exercise and Sports Medicine and OU Physical Therapy health-care professionals with the staff at the Tandy Family YMCA. “The vision for the OU programs located here is to assist each individual — whether a patient or a member of the Y — to attain or return to the highest level of function as soon as possible,” Plank says.

“They will do this by working closely with the Y team to provide a variety of services in their offices at the Tandy Family YMCA,” Plank adds. “Among the many services are injury assessment and management, exercise prescription guidance for people who want to improve their level of fitness, functional movement screening and assessment, running analysis, general rehabilitation and many more.”

The OU team at the Tandy Family YMCA will also work with Y members to emphasize the power of exercise and nutrition to help prevent and treat chronic disease conditions.

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stress, and nearly one in two adults report that stress has had a negative impact personally and professionally.

“Our brains are hard-wired with an alarm system for stress and when we perceive a threat, it signals the body to release hormones to fuel the stress response,” Benczkowski says. “Unfortunately, the chronic stress of modern life means that this alarm system rarely shuts off, which makes stress management so important. Stress management gives you a range of tools to reset your alarm system since over time, high levels of stress can lead to serious health problems. Don’t wait until stress has a negative impact on your health, relationships or quality of life; start practicing stress management techniques today.”

Stress management techniques may help reduce stress, boost immune function, reduce chronic pain, lower blood pressure and even your risk for heart disease. For instance, mindfulness is a stress management practice where you pay attention, on purpose, to the present moment. This can involve deep breathing, music, movement or just resting in stillness (meditation).

“When we are being mindful, we are accepting our experience without any judgment, neither clinging to it nor pushing it away. By focusing on the present moment, we are less likely to get caught up

“This collaboration provides an excellent opportunity for OU students to interact with Y members and work with them to improve their physical performance,” Plank says. “They can work with patients and Y members at any fitness level to help them achieve their healthy living goals.”

Phase two of Tandy Family YMCA is expected to be completed in February 2017. It will include a nutrition kitchen, multipurpose rooms, office space, a child-watch area, a legacy hall and a yoga studio. The existing fitness area in that space will remain and connect to the new fitness area, doubling the current capacity.

“Oklahoma’s obesity and diabetes rates drive our desire to live healthier by eating better and moving more,” Plank says.

“The Healthy Table at the Tandy Family YMCA (below) is envisioned as a way to enhance classes and promote the healthy living lifestyle we encourage our members and guests to embrace,” she adds. “We see the Healthy Table as a place to go before or after group exercise or a workout at the Y, where members can pick up a healthy smoothie, take a cooking class, learn about a certain food and how it powers their bodies and more. We will have trained staff and guest lecturers there to teach people how to cook healthy meals, including hands-on demonstrations for children, adults and families.”

in worries about the future or regrets over the past, are less preoccupied with concerns about success and self-esteem, and are better able to form deep connections with others,” Benczkowski says. “Mindfulness may work by helping us accept our experiences rather than reacting to them with aversion and avoidance. Meditation is a type of mindfulness that has been well studied in stress reduction.”

Social support/connection Social support is exceptionally important for maintaining good physical and mental health. With strong social support we feel an increased sense of belonging, selfworth and increased feelings of security.

Social support enhances quality of life and provides a buffer against adverse life events and stressors.

“To ensure that you are positively connected, surround yourself with at least a few good friends and confidants and make sure that you are nurturing the relationships you have: stay in touch, be appreciative and don’t compete in your relationships with others. Remember that a successful relationship is a two-way street; the better a friend you are, the better your friends will be,” Benczkowski says.

The good news is that there are ways to seek out such support and to nurture your supportive relationships. Some ideas for building your social network include volunteering, joining a gym, taking a class, looking online and taking advantage of technology.

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