Shoveling Snow and Your Health

1/14/13 Blog by Dr. Michael Cerami

As I was cleaning up the driveway for the 5th time on Saturday morning I had a few thoughts that connected with my practice.

We got almost 24” of snow at my house and I don’t own a snow thrower.  The best way for me to stay ahead of these types of crazy storms is to shovel a little at a time. Even that approach was a bit of a challenge because of the quantity of the white stuff. It was getting stacked up over 5 feet in some areas and I was running out of room.

As I was mentally calculating where the next “push” and then “throw” would occur, I thought about the office for a bit. Here was another good example of “maintenance care”. 

The easiest cheapest, fastest way to keep my driveway cleared was to do a little at a time. It’s the same with your health. Taking regular, small steps on a continual basis is the best approach to taking care of your health. It also offers you the best opportunity to deliver on the promise of a healthy retirement. 

A Faster (and better) Way to Lose Weight and Be Healthy

By Dr. Michael Cerami 

In my weekly journey of reading new material to pass on to my clients I’ve been very intrigued and interested in some new concepts coming out about losing weight and improved health and performance. These ideas can be helpful for anyone whether they are a full on athlete or just a weekend warrior.

My interest in this approach was to find better ways of fueling myself during my races (and to lose the extra 5 pounds around my gut that has accumulated as I’ve gotten older). I was getting tires of carrying all the gels and sugary drinks during my longs rides and races. They weren’t causing me any problems; I just felt there could be a better way.

I plan on using this program for my upcoming race season (and lifeJ). The foundation is pretty basic:

• ·         You don’t need to count calories
• ·         You don’t diet, you just eat right
• ·         This approach teaches your body to burn fat as fuel
• ·         For athletes, the goal is to become more metabolically efficient
• ·         4 simple rules for eating: NO SUGAR, NO GRAINS

My journey started about a year ago when I heard an interview with Dr. William Davis talking about his new book Wheat Belly. Dr. Davis is a cardiologist and makes some great points about how production wheat has changed dramatically in our lifetime and it has affected our health.

Here are a few links to check out:

http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/2011/12/the-shocking-truth-about-wheat/

http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2012/10/wheat-belly-on-cbs-this-morning/

I followed up this information with further refinement from Ben Greenfield, John Smith and Vinnie Tortorich Podcasts:

www.Bengreenfielfitness.com   www.gardenvarietytri.com   and  www.vinnietortorich.com

Those of you that know me know that I don’t make these kinds of changes often. After reading all of the material, it totally makes sense and I feel deeply this can be a significant improvement to my diet.

If the changes I’ve made so far in my morning routine are any indication, this could be huge. Details: I’ve replaced my coconut milk in my coffee with a tablespoon of coconut oil and a little grass fed butter and my energy if awesome through noon. I barely need a late morning snack anymore.

I will keep up to date on my progress over the next few months as integrate this strategy into my life and training. The first two weeks are a big challenge in that you are limited to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day and I will probably be quite cranky as my body loses its “addiction” to carbs.

I’ve got a lot more information to share and books to recommend. If you are interested please contact us on Facebook and let me know how we can help you.

Dr. Michael Cerami is a local Utah sports chiropractor who has been treating patients for over 25 years. He writes a weekly patient blog and monthly athlete article for community education on a wide variety of topics including treating sports injuries, nutrition, exercise, motivation and wellness.