This Week's Healthy SC Challenge Tips

First Family Encourages Healthy Changes in Nutrition, Exercise and Tobacco Use

CHARLESTON, SC – December 4, 2009 – The Healthy SC Challenge is the Sanford family’s effort to persuade all South Carolinians to do just a little more to live a healthier lifestyle. The tips are designed to encourage individuals and communities to live healthier lifestyles in three categories: nutrition, exercise and help to quit smoking. The tips can also be found on the challenge’s website, www.healthysc.gov.

Healthy Tips

Nutrition
I watched a special on TLC the other day entitled, The 650 Pound Virgin. It is a story of a man who has been obese most of his life and finally decided he had to change or risk dying at a very young age. He hired a personal trainer, now his good friend, and he lost 400 pounds by eating healthy and exercising. There was something about this man’s life that surprised me a bit. When he was morbidly obese, he would fast all day then binge in the privacy of his home at night. He sat in front of his television and ate and ate. I assumed an obese person ate and ate all day long. He was obsessed with this routine. It struck me that eating disorders are actually all related in a way. Binge eating, anorexia, and bulimia all have something in common.

Those who suffer from these disorders are obsessed with food. With binge eating and obesity, food seems to be what the sufferer lives for. For someone who is anorexic, they are obsessed with not eating–starving themselves. It might even give them a rush to see how little they can eat. Bulimic people are food obsessed as well*they fast, binge and purge. These disorders are serious, but have you ever had your own small food obsession? Maybe it isn’t full blown obesity, bulimia or anorexia, but maybe you skip lunch to justify eating a donut. Or maybe you rarely eat a full meal in public, instead preferring to indulge in something unhealthy at home without feeling fat in front of friends or co-workers. Maybe you even purge by exercising. If you eat something unhealthy you immediately feel regret and guilt and the only thing that can make you feel better is strenuous hours of exercise. There are so many little obsessions we can fall into. They may not all lead to a serious condition for everyone, but food obsessions are not healthy for us. Don’t get me wrong—I’ve written before about eating a light lunch if you are planning to eat a higher calorie dinner, and of course, I recently wrote that we should amp up our exercise routine if we are planning to indulge during the holidays*as most of us do, but there is a fine line between an unhealthy eating obsession and a disciplined diet. Handling our diets deliberately and wisely is important. But always be careful not to become too obsessed with some aspect of your eating routine. Create a balanced routine for yourself— include plenty of fruits, whole grains and veggies, eating small portions to ward off hunger throughout the day—but also, know that you do not need to strive for perfection. If you have an occasional craving for a coke*have one. But don’t plan a run the next morning just because of the coke.
-Meg Milne, Director of the Healthy South Carolina Challenge

Physical Activity
I’ve written before about the importance of being honest with ourselves when it comes to physical activity. Have you ever planned an exercise routine, then given yourself too much leeway? So many people complain that they do not see results after exercising for a couple of months, but more often than not, it has to do with their exercise integrity. Know that for the most part, the exercises that are the most difficult and strenuous, done correctly, are going to produce the best results. I once mentioned a girl who did leg lifts with her Mom while watching television. They finished, felt good about themselves, and crossed it of their list. But after sticking to a much more strenuous (and effective!) routine, she realized those leg lift days did nothing for her. Her new routine is much more difficult and covers a lot more of the body than leg lifts. Through the new routine she learned, along with trying more strenuous exercises, she must also make sure to add variety.

If you have an exercise video you do three days a week, change it up. It is proven that once our bodies are acclimated to a certain routine, it becomes less strenuous for us, therefore burning fewer calories resulting in fewer pounds lost. If you are using free weights and are doing bicep curl repetitions*add more repetitions every week and make sure to specifically target all of your muscle groups. If you want to get rid of under arm flab, target the triceps. There are plenty of resources to find ways of targeting muscle groups or to find new exercises all together. Check the internet if you’d rather not purchase a video or join a class. By adding more strenuous exercises and changing your routine often, you will become more fit, but the most important aspect of exercise integrity is good, honest form.

You must respect the exercise and do it with integrity. If you are in a hurry, do fewer crunches with good form rather than a sloppy bunch of crunches. Don’t say you ran 3 miles if you ran 2.5 and walked .5. If you lie to yourself about how much you’ve done or how well you’ve done it, you are only prolonging the results you are looking for*a more fit, better looking, healthier you.
-Meg Milne, Director of the Healthy South Carolina Challenge 

Tobacco
Quitting helps you heal faster. Smoking may slow your recovery from surgery and illness. It may also slow bone and wound healing. All hospitals in the United States are smoke free. You will be told NOT to smoke during your hospital stay-now is a great time to quit! So, how do you quit in the hospital?  Talk to your doctor or other hospital staff about a plan for quitting. Your doctor may give you medicine to help you handle withdrawal while in the hospital and beyond. Continue your quit plan after your hospital stay. Make sure you leave the hospital with the right medicines or prescriptions. If you slip and smoke, don’t give up. Set a new date to get back on track.
-Office of the Surgeon General, www.surgeongeneral.gov/tobacco 

The Healthy SC Challenge

The Healthy SC Challenge is an outcome-based, cooperative effort aimed at encouraging individuals, communities and organizations across the state to show shared responsibility in developing innovative ways to improve the health of South Carolina’s citizens. For more information about the Healthy SC Challenge, please visit www.healthysc.gov, or call 803-737-4772.