Achieving Health Happiness
Dec 31, 2008 04:00PM ● By Super Admin
Mike was told he would never walk again after a near-fatal head-on
collision with a semi. Dennis was 200 pounds overweight, had undergone
three surgeries and was taking 13 prescription medications per day.
Sandra simply wanted to get in better shape in order to prevent the
diabetes and heart disease her family is prone to.
There are as many different reasons to make changes to diet and exercise habits as there are people. No matter your age or size, chances are, there is something about yourself you would like to improve. Thinking beyond the “you” of today, physical fitness is important for the “you” of the future.
Being Proactive is Key for Better Health
Better physical fitness can prevent accidents as well, or at least minimize the damage they cause. Steven Harrity, Physical Therapist, Owner and President of Cameron Park Physical Therapy, works with people in his wellness center who want to lose weight or otherwise improve their health. Harrity notes that with the rising levels of obesity in the country, there is also an increase in the number of people who are proactively improving their health before accidents or diseases affect them.
“The better physical condition you’re in, the less chance you have of falls or other accidents,” says Harrity. He points out that increased muscle and ligament strength and improved balance all contribute to this, and protects your bones if you do have an accident.
Harrity’s practice also works with many seniors for the same reason. As we age, changes to our inner ears and eyes cause changes to our balance, increasing the risk of falls. “We work with all [body] systems to help them be more stable. When they fall, they lose confidence and become more sedentary and homebound, which makes them more likely to fall [again].” With increased physical fitness, this vicious cycle can be broken.
Roseville Health and Wellness is equally committed to helping clients achieve their best possible fitness level. “Our goal is to make Roseville the healthiest community in America. We provide a unique combination of medical, rehabilitation, and fitness services allowing each individual to achieve total body wellness,” states Jeff DeRaps, President RHWC, Inc.
An Alarming Trend
According to the American Medical Association, obesity is the number two preventable cause of death in the United States, after smoking and before alcohol abuse. Causes of obesity include poor dietary choices, an increasingly inactive lifestyle, genetics and socioeconomic strata.
Of course, the management of one’s diet is fundamental to healthy weight. As important as dietary choices, if not more so, is maintaining a healthy amount of physical exercise. Jobs in the United States are increasingly sedentary as much of our physical labor is transitioned off shore and even the normal labor of office work is reduced through increased automation. These are minor changes, but they add up to a tendency toward being inactive and, ultimately, to weight gain.
Vowing to lose weight or to achieve better muscle tone is easy. We all do it with the best of intentions, making New Year’s resolutions every year to lose “X” amount of weight or to take up jogging. The hard part, it turns out, is actually doing anything about it.
Style recently had the opportunity to speak with a few admirable people who not only made the vow to achieve better health, but who had the discipline to take the necessary steps. Some made the choice to achieve better health, but in one case the choice was made for him. Here are their stories.
...
Dennis Martinez
When Dennis Martinez joined the Roseville Health and Wellness Center, he had more than his fair share of physical challenges. His body weight was in excess of 240 pounds. He had undergone double coronary bypass surgery. He had suffered through two spine surgeries. He was diabetic, requiring four insulin shots per day, and he had associated hypertension and elevated cholesterol. In addition, Dennis was taking 13 prescribed medications daily to manage his health problems – an inconvenient and expensive necessity.
When Dennis decided he had had enough and wanted to make a change to his physical health, he turned to the Wellness Center for help. Through his hard work and sheer determination including physical and dietary measures, Dennis has reduced his waist measurement from 45 inches to a trim 35. The $200 per month that used to be devoted to prescription co-pays now goes to something much more satisfying.
“Within months I felt like a new person, and my doctors were shocked that I eliminated all my medications, required no insulin, lost more than 40 pounds and my blood pressure and cholesterol levels were within normal limits!” Dennis is obviously, and understandably very proud and excited about this accomplishment.
The best news about all of this? Dennis recently celebrated his 54th birthday and is happy to report that he feels healthier today than he ever has.
...
Anyone who truly wants to make a change can find a way to do it, and we here at Style wish you all the luck and success in the world.
Here’s to a new you in 2009: Are you up to the challenge?
For more inspiring local stories of achieving health happiness, be sure to pick up this month's copy of Style-Roseville Granite Bay Rocklin edition. Check out the Distribution tab on this Web site for some of our newsstand locations. Or, to order a copy of this issue, please email Gloria Schroeder at [email protected], or call her at 916-988-9888 x116
There are as many different reasons to make changes to diet and exercise habits as there are people. No matter your age or size, chances are, there is something about yourself you would like to improve. Thinking beyond the “you” of today, physical fitness is important for the “you” of the future.
Being Proactive is Key for Better Health
Better physical fitness can prevent accidents as well, or at least minimize the damage they cause. Steven Harrity, Physical Therapist, Owner and President of Cameron Park Physical Therapy, works with people in his wellness center who want to lose weight or otherwise improve their health. Harrity notes that with the rising levels of obesity in the country, there is also an increase in the number of people who are proactively improving their health before accidents or diseases affect them.
“The better physical condition you’re in, the less chance you have of falls or other accidents,” says Harrity. He points out that increased muscle and ligament strength and improved balance all contribute to this, and protects your bones if you do have an accident.
Harrity’s practice also works with many seniors for the same reason. As we age, changes to our inner ears and eyes cause changes to our balance, increasing the risk of falls. “We work with all [body] systems to help them be more stable. When they fall, they lose confidence and become more sedentary and homebound, which makes them more likely to fall [again].” With increased physical fitness, this vicious cycle can be broken.
Roseville Health and Wellness is equally committed to helping clients achieve their best possible fitness level. “Our goal is to make Roseville the healthiest community in America. We provide a unique combination of medical, rehabilitation, and fitness services allowing each individual to achieve total body wellness,” states Jeff DeRaps, President RHWC, Inc.
An Alarming Trend
According to the American Medical Association, obesity is the number two preventable cause of death in the United States, after smoking and before alcohol abuse. Causes of obesity include poor dietary choices, an increasingly inactive lifestyle, genetics and socioeconomic strata.
Of course, the management of one’s diet is fundamental to healthy weight. As important as dietary choices, if not more so, is maintaining a healthy amount of physical exercise. Jobs in the United States are increasingly sedentary as much of our physical labor is transitioned off shore and even the normal labor of office work is reduced through increased automation. These are minor changes, but they add up to a tendency toward being inactive and, ultimately, to weight gain.
Vowing to lose weight or to achieve better muscle tone is easy. We all do it with the best of intentions, making New Year’s resolutions every year to lose “X” amount of weight or to take up jogging. The hard part, it turns out, is actually doing anything about it.
Style recently had the opportunity to speak with a few admirable people who not only made the vow to achieve better health, but who had the discipline to take the necessary steps. Some made the choice to achieve better health, but in one case the choice was made for him. Here are their stories.
...
Dennis Martinez
When Dennis Martinez joined the Roseville Health and Wellness Center, he had more than his fair share of physical challenges. His body weight was in excess of 240 pounds. He had undergone double coronary bypass surgery. He had suffered through two spine surgeries. He was diabetic, requiring four insulin shots per day, and he had associated hypertension and elevated cholesterol. In addition, Dennis was taking 13 prescribed medications daily to manage his health problems – an inconvenient and expensive necessity.
When Dennis decided he had had enough and wanted to make a change to his physical health, he turned to the Wellness Center for help. Through his hard work and sheer determination including physical and dietary measures, Dennis has reduced his waist measurement from 45 inches to a trim 35. The $200 per month that used to be devoted to prescription co-pays now goes to something much more satisfying.
“Within months I felt like a new person, and my doctors were shocked that I eliminated all my medications, required no insulin, lost more than 40 pounds and my blood pressure and cholesterol levels were within normal limits!” Dennis is obviously, and understandably very proud and excited about this accomplishment.
The best news about all of this? Dennis recently celebrated his 54th birthday and is happy to report that he feels healthier today than he ever has.
...
Anyone who truly wants to make a change can find a way to do it, and we here at Style wish you all the luck and success in the world.
Here’s to a new you in 2009: Are you up to the challenge?
For more inspiring local stories of achieving health happiness, be sure to pick up this month's copy of Style-Roseville Granite Bay Rocklin edition. Check out the Distribution tab on this Web site for some of our newsstand locations. Or, to order a copy of this issue, please email Gloria Schroeder at [email protected], or call her at 916-988-9888 x116