Healthy Weight 2008

The most important thing about setting a goal to lose weight in '08 is to STICK WITH IT.
To do that - be realistic and set easy target goals. So make your goal

• to lose 5 lbs. for January and each month thereafter until you reach your target weight
• choose any activity that is easy to do and fits into your every day routine - like walking.
  
• Walk up flights of stairs
• Walk to work
• Walk to the store
• Make one healthy dietary change each week
• Example: This week, eat an apple or orange instead of chips for a snack
  
• Every day
• Next week: Eat a salad for lunch
• Every day
• Third week: Skip desserts
• Every day

Taking care of yourself is serious business - it can save you money in terms of health care costs and add years to your life. But don't take yourself too seriously while you are doing it. Have fun, laugh a little. Tell your friends and family - the ones you can trust not to sabotage you! - what your plan is and get their support. Maybe they will join in.

Make '08 the healthiest year ever for you...adding those fruits and vegetables will help decrease your risks of cancer and many other diseases. Take good care of yourself!

Thank you jambo 13 for use of photo Walking in a Winter Wonderland.

Labels: prevention, sickness, weight loss, wellness

Permalink | 2 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Interview with Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS: Part II

Healthline is privileged to have Dr. Richard Carmona, 17th Surgeon General of the United States, as a member of our Board of Directors. He also serves at the renowned Canyon Ranch where he is vice chairman of the company, and is president of the non-profit Canyon Ranch Institute, as well as the first Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona. Dr. Carmona has a lot on his mind that he wants to share with all of us about improving health and wellness and he was so generous as to spend some time with me, sharing his ideas.


JC: Could you talk about your work with Canyon Ranch Institute?

Dr. C: Canyon Ranch has established itself as the number-one brand in health and wellness for 28 years. Mel Zuckerman, the founder who created this whole enterprise out of a little piece of desert, feels a strong sense of social responsibility. His mission is to help others choose health and wellness and reject the disease thesis. When the University of Arizona wanted a college of public health, who do you think funded it? Mel and Enid Zuckerman funded it. Their Canyon Ranch has become a global organization with a goal to make the nation and the world healthier.

Once you are Surgeon General, you are always Surgeon General, and all of us Surgeons General are working to improve health disparities in the United States and around the world. This dovetails with my work here at Canyon Ranch Institute. We are doing exciting work in New York City – the South Bronx – one of the poorest communities in the country. We are helping our partner there to start a Life Enhancement Center at their Federally-Qualified Community Health Center in order to promote health and wellness habits. I am working with David Satcher, MD , PhD, 16^th Surgeon General of the United States, on a project in Atlanta. We are working on projects in the Hispanic community in Arizona. We are working with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation on a health education project for high-school students in Cleveland. We are exporting best practices to communities that can’t afford to come to Canyon Ranch. We’re translating the best available science in culturally competent ways to help people understand and use the information to effect behavior change that leads to improved health.

JC: Can you elaborate on the idea of “rejecting the disease thesis”?

Dr. C: The disease thesis is the idea that as we age we are going to have chronic diseases. We live sedentary lifestyles, engage in high-risk activities – drinking too much, smoking, riding in a car without a seatbelt. The reality is that 75% of all chronic diseases are preventable. The national health care budget is $2.1 trillion or 16% of the GNP. $1.5 trillion of that is spent on illnesses that could be prevented – if we reject the disease thesis that we are “inevitably” going to get sick. Diabetes, obesity, cancer – are all preventable illnesses for the most part. We want to change the culture to a culture that embraces health and wellness, and we have the science to support that approach.

JC: What about in poor communities where there is limited access to health-promoting foods like fresh produce?

Dr. C: You are what you eat and we want to improve the health literacy of the nation. One-third of people in the United States don’t understand the connection between what they do and eat and their health. We have unique communities where health disparities exist. Not only is there lack of access to produce, people on food stamps need to stretch their dollars so they buy the cheapest foods – like lots of starches and so forth to fill up with. We have tremendous areas of challenge in our nation

JC: Food deserts, they are called.

Dr. C: Yes, and there could be increased job opportunities, too, but there is the perception that these neighborhoods are too risky. I grew up in neighborhoods like that, and I know that if you empower people with the resources, they can make their communities healthier. It’s about tapping into their social structures and leaders – the people like my abuelita – my grandmother – who made all the food and health decisions for our family.

Thank you straightedge217 for use of photo South Bronx.

Labels: David Satcher, global health, public health, Surgeon General, wellness

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Interview with Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS: Part I

I had the honor and joy to spend some time speaking with Dr. Richard Carmona, 17^th Surgeon General of the United States. This week I will post a series of excerpts from my interview with this warm and remarkable man.

Readers of previous posts know that Dr. Carmona is a member of Healthline’s Board of Directors and now serves at the renowned Canyon Ranch, where he is vice chairman of the company, which many of you know as the world’s leading Life Enhancement Company. He is also CEO of Canyon Ranch Health, president of the non-profit Canyon Ranch Institute, and the first Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona. Dr. Carmona has a lot on his mind that he wants to share with all of us about improving health and wellness. Here is some of what he has to say:

JC: Your career has included being a nurse, lifeguard, soldier, business executive, paramedic, SWAT team leader, and trauma surgeon. How did those experiences prepare you for your career now and as Surgeon General?

Dr. C.: There is a common theme that runs through all of them – I have been a first responder my whole life. In every one of those jobs, I have had to stay physically active and healthy to be able to perform my duties. This has given me an appreciation for the need for optimal health and wellness.

You can’t apply for the job as Surgeon General. The president of the United States asks you to do it and the U.S. Senate has to approve you for the position. I took a circuitous route to every other job you mentioned. I grew up poor; I was a high school dropout; I enlisted in the Army at age 17; and I went to Viet Nam and served as a Special Forces medic and weapons specialist. Eventually I became a trauma surgeon, a critical care doctor. Every one of those jobs contributed to my having a broad perspective of the health care system and prepared me for being Surgeon General with the biggest medical practice in the world – 300 million Americans.

Having walked in the shoes of the colleagues in each of the professions I worked in, I understood America’s health care problems from each profession’s perspective. The Office of the Surgeon General calls for multidisciplinary solutions to complex problems and I was prepared because of my experience in all of those different roles.

JC: Tell me about how you became a nurse…

Dr. C: I was a paramedic when I left the service – Army Special Forces Training – in the early 1970s. And in California in those days you could get certification to become an RN with that training. I worked in Long Beach California as an emergency and critical care RN while I was going to school full-time.

JC: You were in medical school then?

Dr. C.: No, I had to start from the beginning, because I had been a high-school dropout. I worked as a nurse on the night shift and went to school full-time during the day. First I had to get a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) and then I went to college as an undergrad. This was just a couple of years after Viet Nam and I was the only male nurse at the hospital where I worked. The nurses saw that I was working hard, trying to study, and they had so much compassion for me. They really took care of me. It was as if they had adopted me. They gave me a hard time about going to medical school – leaving one great profession like nursing for medicine, but they understood. And that is why I remain such a champion of nurses today. My daughter is a nurse in Phoenix, Arizona. The nursing profession is one of the most untapped resources to unify the American people. Nurses are leaders and agents of change. Nurses can help change the behavior of Americans to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Nurses were there to help in New Orleans when Katrina struck – I deployed 2500 nurses to help. They are the most undervalued health care resource we have.

I am so happy I was a nurse first. When a doctor sees a patient, he sees a chief complaint. When a nurse sees a patient, she sees a person in an environment whose health is impacted by many factors. In my view, nurses embody kindness, compassion, and professionalism 24/7.

Thank you interplast for use of photo "PACU Nurse Tina Cerruti Reading to Post-op Patient"

Labels: Canyon Ranch, MD, Mel Zuckerman, nurses, Richard Carmona, Surgeon General, wellness

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment

Canyon Ranch - Be Your Best Self At Any Age!

In 1979, Mel and Enid Zuckerman opened Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. Mel was close to 50 years old, 40 lbs. overweight with diagnoses of asthma, hypertension, ulcers, diverticulitis and a hiatal hernia. He led a sedentary lifestyle, never exercised, ate poorly. When his father died of lung cancer due to smoking, he went to a health spa in California for a month. When he came out, he purchased the Double U ranch and decided to create a "vacation fitness resort". Now, nearly thirty years later, Canyon Ranch is not only successful in Arizona, but in Lenox, Massachusetts, Las Vegas, Nevada, Florida and on board the Queen Mary II. Canyon Ranch Living is a new condominium community in Tucson and another should open in Miami, Florida this fall and Chicago, Illinois in 2010.

The Canyon Ranch experience can be as much as about $1,000 a day - and the franchise attracts about 30,000 visitors a year generating $140 million a year. The rate is all-inclusive and the spa provides all meals, an allotment for services, complimentary fitness classes, transportation to and from the airport, gratuities and much more. Each guest receives a This Week at Canyon Ranch - a schedule of fitness, spiritual classes, sports, workshops and evening programs. Guests can be as busy or as laid back as they want to be. Each guest works with a personal advisor who helps custom design their vacation experience. The personal touch is what makes the Canyon Ranch experience unique. Guests may choose to enroll in a Life Enhancement Program when they need help regrouping emotionally and physically. Mind-body focus is a big part of the Canyon Ranch experience as is connecting with others. Canyon Ranch focuses on the spiritual health of guests who may participate in Energy Medicine, reiki, acupuncture, qi gong or healing touch.

The Executive Health Program is a joint venture of Canyon Ranch and the Cleveland Clinics where executives can have their health thoroughly evaluated by doctors, nutritionists, behaviorists and other wellness professionals. The Canyon Ranch staff refer to and collaborate with Cleveland Clinic medical specialists as needed develop an individualized lifestyle prescription for the busy executive.

And if you are wondering what happened to Dr. Richard Carmona , 17th US Surgeon General, after he left that post? In October 2006, he joined Canyon Ranch as vice chairman of their Life Enhancement Company, CEO of their health division and - my understanding is this was the piece de resistance for him - president of the non-profit Canyon Ranch Institute.
Dr. Carmona and the founders of Canyon Ranch share a passion for preventive health care and eliminating health disparities by helping underserved populations become more health literate. The Canyon Ranch Institute is a way to bring the mission and vision into the lives of people and communities who need it most. Through his work at Canyon Ranch and the Canyon Ranch Institute, Dr. Carmona is continuing the work that was his focus as Surgeon General. Dr. Carmona is also on Healthline's Board of Directors. Check back with us for interviews with this remarkable man - who is also a nurse!

Thank you, thelastminute, for use of the photo of Canyon Ranch.

Labels: Canyon Ranch, healthy aging, wellness

Permalink | 0 Comments| Email Post

Post your comment