August 2007
Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying summer. Sorry that the newsletter is a bit late this month as we have been enjoying summer too. Please feel free to pass this along.
Contents
1. I Know That
2. Question of the Month
3. Creating Wellness for Life – Comfort Zone
4. Health News
5. Office Happenings
I Know That
We use these three words after we hear something like advice, a tip or something that would make our lives better. For example, “I know that drinking eight to ten glasses of water would be good for me.” Or “I know that exercising would give me more energy.” In fact, it is amazing how much we know. If we wrote down everything we know, I’m sure it would fill many sheets of paper. A book, even. However, just because we know something, doesn’t mean we take the next step and do it.
Knowing and doing are two very different things. Knowing that water is good for you and actually drinking it are miles apart. For some people the doing part is especially hard. We throw up all kinds of roadblocks to keep from doing. It is also difficult to understand why. What is important is to do what Nike has been telling us…”Just Do It.”
It is impossible to go from knowing to doing in all aspects of our lives. But, if we start with baby steps, we can make a huge difference in our lives. Follow “I know that” with “I do that” to make positive change. Drinking water, getting exercise, managing your stress and seeing you chiropractor regularly are things you know will improve the quality of your life. The challenge is to do it. Start small and before you know it, big things will follow. I do know that!
Question of the Month
Could you give some guidelines for backpacks for children?
(Please note that is has been in the newsletter before but I think it is important this time of year.)
As your children return to school, there are some important points to remember. The first one is that the backpack and its contents should not weigh more than 10% of the child’s body weight. For example, if your son or daughter weighs 60 pounds then their loaded backpack shouldn’t weigh more than 6 pounds. To help with this, choose a backpack that has a small carrying capacity. Another point to consider is the straps. It should have wide shoulder straps (and the child should use both at all times) and a belt strap as well. This helps distribute the weight more evenly. Always pack the heavier items towards the bottom and close to the child’s spine. This will helps the body take on the weight more evenly. Good luck on going back to school.
Creating Wellness for Life
By Carol Simpson
Your Wellness Coach
Comfort Zone
What makes you squirm? You know what I’m talking about. That ‘thing’ that makes you feel like the bottom of your stomach is about to drop 2 feet. It may be a situation or a task that makes your hands feel clammy. Or you feel like a whole gaggle of butterflies are flitting about in your stomach.
The most common ones people have issues with are public speaking and large crowds. But there are many day-to-day occurrences that have the ability to shut us down cold. Often times they go unrecognized because we brush them off to the side so quickly as ‘not doable’. If we were to really become aware of when it happens we might be surprised by the how often we do it.
Just why are certain things out of our comfort zone? Sometimes it’s plain common sense and it is a way of self-preservation. But most often times I believe it is fear that holds us back. Fear of failing, fear of rejection, fear of ‘looking stupid’, fear of success, fear of other peoples perceptions of us, fear of their feelings, fear of ours, fear of…and the list could go on and on.
I challenge each of you to do one thing outside of your comfort zone this week. To what purpose you may ask? Multiple reasons really. The best way to learn and grow is to do those things that are the hardest. You’ll have a great sense of accomplishment and pride once you complete the task. Also, our minds are powerful things. Sometimes we have shunned doing something for so long our minds have made a bigger deal out of it than it really turns out to be in the end.
“To the degree we’re not living our dreams, our comfort zone has more control of us than we have over ourselves.” ~Peter McWilliams.
Health News
Diet food, drink could set young kids up for later obesity: study
A research study done at the University of Alberta suggests that parents who feed their kids diet foods and drinks may be inadvertently causing them to overeat and be contributing to childhood obesity. To read more:http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/08/08/diet-study.html
Researchers theorized that when the body eats reduced-calorie food, it senses that it needs more calories and therefore keeps hunger levels up and overeating results. Their recommendations: “it is better for children to eat healthy, well-balanced diets with sufficient calories for their daily activities, rather than low-calorie snacks or meals." Well said.
Omega 3’s: nothing beats the real thing
An important component of our diets are Omega 3 fatty acids. They have many health benefits including lower cholesterol and blood pressure as well as protection from Alzheimer’s. This study notes that getting them from natural sources such as fish are the most beneficial. To read more:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19681540/
Office Happenings
1. Tools for School. To help those families who struggle to make ends meet as school starts, we will be collecting school supplies for the month of August. Organized through the Women’s Outreach Society, Tools for Schools helps those families out. Consider dropping off a donation to our office.
2. Office Hours. Here are our office hours: Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8:00 to 12:30 and 2:00 to 5:30, Tuesday 8:00 to 12:30 and Thursday 1:00 to 7:30 pm.
3. Wellness Orientation Workshops. If you change your thinking you can dramatically change your health. Our Wellness Orientation Workshops can help you do just that. The workshop for this month is on Monday August 13. They are held in the office at 5:30 pm. Bring a friend!
