One of the services that Choose to Stay Well Inc. offers (affectionately described as "Nutritionalist" by its fantastic and fantastically talented musical artist and client, Lesley Pike) describes all too well the title of this article.

Essentially this service of day-long healthy lifestyle maintenance is customized to the goals and daily needs of each individual client towards creating as much balance in each day as is realistically possible.  In particular Lesley represents an interesting challenge when it comes to creating and maintaining healthy habits and Choose to Stay Well Inc. and myself are happy to take this opportunity to congratulate her publicly on her efforts towards meeting her goals for health, wellness and beyond.  To put things into perspective I want to paint a picture of her most recent tour of the North Eastern United States.

The day technically begins at 11 pm the night before as last minute packing is finished and the mornings food is laid out, ready for the hectic morning to follow starting at 5.30 on a good day.  This is to be the norm for the next 7 days as evening performances, morning flights and afternoon drives, sound checks and meet and greets eat up the time to give the body what it really needs to make up for the stresses endured.  Extended bouts of sitting are common, typical food provision is mediocre at best and schedules are unforgiving.  The time, temperature and climate changes take a toll as well and when put together a state of near constant fight or flight stress is the norm.

It is this picture that Choose to Stay Well Inc. walked in to that first evening.  The reality is that making changes, physically, mentally and spiritually is challenging enough and when put into the real world of each client often becomes even more so.  The steps that need to be taken, as designed by integrating the information and strategies suggested by other health practitioners, sometimes cannot be taken every day so instead of punishing the body, mind and spirit for being unable to, practices need to be shaped to help sustain the body and give it support for the extra burdens it bears.  When there is time for more intense exercise towards specific goals it is taken advantage of, but when the activities of the day limit the time and mental energy to partake, the little windows need to be used and wisely.  This does not mean 'killing it' for 15 minutes but rather incorporating practices to balance the stress of life while simultaneously stimulating the repair processes of the mind and body.

Sometimes slowing down is one of the toughest things we can do, but when done it elevates our abilities to really push ourselves when the time and place is right or necessary.  Evening stretches, strolls, yoga and breathing exercises became a norm for Lesley and myself over the next days and even within just a few sessions differences could be felt, especially if one allows ones self to listen and respond to the body.

Keeping it real is not preparing a plan for yourself to make you reach the cultural ideal realities for health and wellness, it is being realistic to present goals, budgets and limitations and building your personal practice around those limitations that are there today.  The goal is to build a health and wealth in health that can supply you with the ability to take advantage of the time and energy that opens up to you as your health provides you with the energy to move beyond present limitations towards individual dreams in health, wealth and living. 

Choose to be honest with yourself and keep it real.

In health,

Scott Tate 

We live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.  

We are lucky enough to experience four distinct seasons of weather in this place we call home and yet we shut ourselves out, or rather in.

Taking time out to me means two things.  It means moving your mind and body away from the every day tasks needed for survival and it means taking time to be out in this world that we can't live without.  It is taking the time to appreciate where and how we are lucky enough to live and breath.

Start with 5 minutes, grow it into an hour, take along a friend or loved one, have a good stretch, talk about life, love, happiness, the air or the architecture.  Our options, routes and destinations are nearly endless and so is our potential for health if we can all take time out and use it wisely.

Choosing to save all your time outs until the end of the game only works if you are keeping ahead, instead, choose to make a routine of taking time out.

Choose to Stay Well. 

Make a list and check it... at least twice a day!

In Malcolm Gladwell's book blink and in Cialdini's Influence, we can begin to tangibly appreciate the power of the mind- for our better or our ill.  

Self-help, health and success books abound with the positives of making lists, but like many other good ideas this day in age the beauty and simplicity of this tool for our health and success has been commercialized and abused, much to Cialdini's warnings.

Where these two ideas converge, mind power and pollution, is in understanding the strength and capacity of our mind.  Enter Santa.

Look what he can do by isolating himself from the commercial nonsense and information overload (read the North Pole) and just make lists and check them twice!

An oversimplification perhaps, but hopefully you get the idea.  The power of the mind is incredibly deep and expansive.  If harnessed and focused it can literally take you to the moon and beyond.

So sit down, alone or with your children or loved ones and make a list each morning.  Make two for that matter, one for those chores and to-do's of daily living and one for dreams and goals, near and far off.  Nurture your dreams, give them this fuel and congratulate yourself for every check-mark along the way. Choose to harness your true and infinite potential.  Choose to take action consciously and unconsciously, choose to stay well.

The past month has been a roller coaster ride for me.  I have discovered first hand, that life really will just happen sometimes and there are hard choices to be made throughout.  My routines have changed somewhat and I have found it tougher to keep them going so I stepped back and really took a look at what else counts.

I am writing more.  I am taking stock of my progress in all facets of life and ensuring I keep my head in the game.  Doing the same, either with a journal for all aspects (including your wild imagination) or even with just an exercise or diet log to track those sides of life is great.  Take time to preview and review and credit yourself with victories and choices big and small.

I am stretching more.  I have been putting in hours at the family farm (which counts as resistance training most days!) and setting aside time to stretch and balance myself.  Without a good balance of high intensity and lower intensity work (and stress) the body is on constant catabolic or 'breakdown' mode so making this time is essential.

I am listening more.  I am trying to recognize my stress and not feed it but balance it.  I am watching what I eat and what it does, listening to my pulse and what it tells me and calming it all down with good slow food and slow movement like strolls, stretching, T'ai Chi and Yoga when I need it.

Write, stretch, listen, think and read. Whether reading your own words or someone else's, get your mind moving with your body and ask questions to stay on course.

It all counts. 

The bottom line is you will not perform at your peak, no matter your venue, if you don't have the proper fuel.

Picture a car, a plane a boat, you name it, if there isn't good clean fuel in it to start with and the proper lubricant to keep the engine running smoothly, you aren't go far or fast.

Water is your lubricant.  Without enough of it to metabolize your sugar and fat (which needs twice as much water than sugar to burn), you aren't going anywhere.  To drive the point home, if you are dehydrated while exercising your heart rate goes up 6 beats every minute, over-heating your engine quick enough to cause cardiac events in even the most healthy individuals.

Real food is your fuel.  Without a properly balanced meal before exercise you will underperform.  Furthermore, without a well designed post performance fueling plan, your engine won't be at its best for the next performance.  No matter your task, without all the nutrients your body needs, to burn and to repair, you will not run your ship at tip-top shape for long!

What are you choosing your fuel, why are you choosing it and where did you learn this? Choose wisely, every engine is built for a different purpose and fits in a different vessel!

There is a natural cycle the body works on and many of you know the term, the circadian cycle or rhythm.  I am going to simplify the cycle in this entry but I encourage you to ask your health providers about it, or research further on your own time.  This rhythm guides most life on this planet and we are no exception.

Basically, cortisol is the main driving hormonal force behind the cycle which can unnaturally be stimulated with the likes of caffeine, eating and exercise.  The natural trigger for this cycle however, is light.  The rising sun (or your flashing alarm!) gets it revved up where it sits in high gear until just after noon.  It starts to drop precipitously after about 4 pm (siesta time anyone!!) and fading light of the evening (among other factors of course) helps to turn the wheel over to DHEA.  When this stage of the cycle starts to take over we are into the rebuilding mode, repairing the damage done by your daily rigours... particularly important if you have a physically (read exercise!) or mentally stressful day.

The take home message here is if you are planning to exercise, eat or stay up late basking in the glow of your TV or computer, you are stimulating the cortisol side of the system which inhibits the ability of your body to switch into repair mode.  Dim or turn off the lights after dinner at a decent time, try and get to sleep by 11 PM, (I'm trying for 10, but easier said than done!), and realize that your body is supposed to be at peak repair mode (ie. asleep!) between 2 and 4 AM.  Get up early, turn on the lights and crank that body into even higher gear in the morning with some good food and a good bout of exercise after a whole night of rest and repair.

Choose to help your body do it's job staying well! 

The reality is, in this day in age at least, many of us are taking or have recently taken prescription drugs or self administered vitamin, mineral or herbal formulae.  In the name of taking more personal responsibility for our health, I encourage you to use the resources at your fingertips and learn precisely what you are taking and how it might impact your daily living, or goals to improve your daily living.

Look at the ingredients and information that comes along with each product you use.  Look at your body and what comes out of it, is there any new visible change in your skin, eyes or mucous membrane health that might coincide with what is going in?

Listen to your trusted health care providers and members of your health team, it is our job to stay in the know about common drug, vitamin and nutrient interactions.  Listen to your body, has your energy, mood or demeanour changed since adding or changing anything you intake, from food to drugs, vitamins and minerals?

Feel better, feel well for the changes you have made and make sure you talk to your circle of care if you don't and make sure that all the members of your circle of care, your health team, take as active an interest in this side of your health as you do!

Resources like Medline Plus and Healthline supply good information but as always, consult with your health team to ensure that what you find online is credible and up to date information.

Choose to Stay Well! 

Eat Breakfast and lower your chances of becoming obese, developing heart disease, diabetes, lower your risk for experiencing strokes, intestinal polyps and colon cancer.  However, be wise with your food choices, avoid high fat, sugar and salty foods (ie. most fast food breakfast choices) and opt for real food and lots of fibre to maximize your potential health benefits from making a habit of a healthy breakfast!

Like any healthy habit, forming them requires committing to making changes in your timetable, be realistic and do your math.  It took me less than 15 seconds to make my granola (sweetened with acai) and trail mix (unsalted) with soy milk breakfast this morning and I sat for another 15 minutes to enjoy it and think about my day.  Every morning, eating a healthy breakfast and taking the time to enjoy it, I decrease my risk for all of the above diseases, I ramp up my metabolism and get my brain and body the fuel it needs to work effectively and where possible I eat locally and organically grown products to increase the potential for my community and environment to benefit from my breakfast too.

Find your local farmers market and take advantage of the fresh and delicious berries and fruit in your next breakfast and whether its cereal, oatmeal, fresh whole grain bread or a delicious veggie packed omelette, enjoy that morning meal!