It’s the twenty-third of April, two thousand and twenty as I write this.  The world is in a complete state of flux and America is as screwed up as anyone has ever seen it.  People are extra kind, people are extra rude.  My wife was yelled at by a stranger in the supermarket because she didn’t realize that the aisle was one way.  My wife didn’t understand what the woman was yelling about because she was so far away.  But for whatever reason, this woman felt she needed to yell at a perfect stranger. My son and I were in a nursery last week where a woman pressed herself against a table as we walked by.  She did it in a very pronounced manner as If we were carrying someone on a stretcher.  I was even wearing a mask.  People are more fearful than I have ever seen them.  I

Well, the quick answer is: You don’t! Not really, but you have to be prepared, both mentally and physically. I’m of two minds on this. You can prep and have your own Thanksgiving meal, with everything under your control. The issue is that for most of us, Thanksgiving is about getting together and eating with family. There is the rub, sometimes, most times there is food that you don’t want to eat, but really can’t resist. What is a healthy-eater to do? If you want to stay on the straight and narrow, not fall off your weight loss regime, or not want to flare anything with “bad” food, you need to walk in prepped mentally and physically. Mentally let yourself know that this isn’t the last time that pumpkin pie, gravy, etc is going to be offered. (Honestly, it’s not). Physically, fill up on whatever healthy food is there. Overindulge

A funny thing happened in our kitchen recently:  We put in a new faucet.  Not that funny on the face of it, but it had a different design than our last faucet.  We have to turn the hot and cold water on with a different fixture.  It seems more set up for a left-handed person.  My wife and son really didn’t like it at first and wondered if we could somehow change the configuration.  The funny thing is, after a few days no one seemed to notice or care that it was different.  You see, the new system just became habit by default. I’m often trying to change the habits of my patients, be they habits of physical exercise, keeping their adjustment schedule or weight loss.  Most things in life come down to habit.  I talk often about prepping my food for the day, sometimes that means cooking enough chicken to last me three days.  Getting

I am asked, (almost daily) what is the best exercise.  My short answer:   The exercise that you will do.  My long answer is, well longer.  I have my favorites and I have my least favorites.  The problem with exercise is keeping at it.  Exercise has to be ever so convenient or ever so enjoyable/fun.  If you can put both of those together you’ll have it made.  I honestly think in today’s busy world putting that together is more than difficult.  Case in point:  Horseback riding.  Really fun, really good exercise.  You have to be either wealthy or own your own farm, (or both) to pull that off.  Same thing with swimming.  To do that easily takes a major commitment and time.  Don’t get me wrong.   If swimming is your thing, go for it!  It’s great exercise and easy on most parts of your body.  I have more than a  few patients who make the commitment

As I sit here it is pouring rain outside.  I mean cats and dog raining!  And there is still ice left on the ground.  If your new year’s resolution was to walk, jog or run, today is a tough day.  So what do you do to get your goals on?  Get on the treadmill, your elliptical,  or your exercise bike.  Throw on your rain gear and put on some crampons and use your walking stick.  But wait, what if I don’t have those things in my house?  That’s where preparation comes in. When you look at what you have set out for the next years goals, you have to look at what may hold you back, and what will spur you on.  If your goal is the above, you know that some days will be like today–cold, rainy or snowing.  I don’t have crampons for my shoes, but I do

I regularly hear patients comment that their pain or health condition is part of “getting old” or it “runs in the family”.  I’m sorry, but I refuse to accept this thinking.  Unfortunately, this sort of thinking has become a common and dangerous thought pattern. In fact, I think that we are taught to accept this by all the ads for common medications.  Maybe I have just seen too much over the course of my life to fall for this.  We always have the power of choice.  I have worked with so many patients who really had a good excuse to not get up in the morning.  No one would have blamed them.  But they made a choice to live differently.  Remember, we always have the power of choice.  To think otherwise is to give up and let circumstances take control of our destiny. I’m reminded of a series of Dennis