Clear Path Chiropractic

This is the third guest post from Steve Mills, a local Guelph participant of the May Health Challenge. See his story here:

Entering the first week of the May Health challenge was a breeze, as I jumped with both feet, guns a blazing, ready to change my life. The second week saw my addictions rear their ugly heads as my momentum wore off and the realization of my new found choices set in. Unlike that first week, it had suddenly become a challenge. I persevered, as hard as it was, making the difficult choice to stay the path and feel that I’m the better man for it. But, please don’t mistake my pride for a sense of accomplishment.

I haven’t accomplished anything, yet. If this May Health challenge is going to mean anything, then it must remain but a first step in a much larger lifestyle change. It will mean absolutely nothing if I merely return to my old habits. And old habits die hard.

Unlike other addictions where one can choose, no matter how difficult, to abstain from their vice, being addicted to food is a much different animal. One cannot simply stop eating. As I look forward I realize that I face my addiction every day for the rest of my life. I will have to remain vigilant in not allowing myself to fall into the old habits ever again.  I shall have to monitor my food choices, portion sizes and my bodies’ reaction to what I put in it. And though, over time, I believe it will get easier, I need to ensure that I never lull myself into a false sense of security. I’ve tried to change before, and ultimately failed.

But this time will be different. I want it to be different. I want to change. I have made myself accountable to myself, to my wife and thanks to the power of the internet and more specifically Twitter, I have made myself accountable to all of you. In return, you have offered me your unyielding support and for that I can never thank you enough.

Steve Mills is a graphic designer in Guelph ON. He can be reached at:
steve@stevemillsdesign.com
Steve Mills Design
Worth It

A guest post from Sharon Bennett, a local IT specialist:

May Health Update

Back in April two wonderful chiropractors here in Guelph, Dr. Julie Gill and Dr. Mark Kubert, started posting about the May Health Challenge.  For the month of May we challenge ourselves to get healthy.  Some have chosen to eat healthy, give up coffee (no way would I do this), and give up refined sugars.   Others are walking 30 minutes a day and washing their face every night.  I picked my 3 problem areas for this challenge: eating better, going to the gym 4 times a week and reducing my alcohol consumption.

1. Eating better – I don’t know why I picked this; I am usually a very healthy eater and make most of the family meals every week.  I try not to eat out that often, and when I do I always attempt to make a healthy choice.
2. Going to the gym 4 times a week- My job requires me to be in at my desk (which is 15 feet from the fridge) for long periods of time.  I have put on a few extra pounds over the last few years and when I decided to start working for myself one of my goals was to get to the gym every day.  As we all know it’s so easy to get caught up in what we are doing so “skipping” the gym was easy when I had the excuse “I don’t have time”.  May Health was the perfect opportunity to leverage my online community to get back into a healthy workout routine. I now feel accountable for my actions or lack of.  If you don’t see me “checking in” at the gym, please feel free to call me out.  I only need to lose a few pounds and part of a healthy lifestyle includes regular exercise, including resistance training to keep those slightly aging bones strong.
3. Cutting back on alcohol – I have to admit this has been hard, not as hard as giving up coffee, but it’s up there.  I love a good glass of wine, or a new micro beer or a smooth whiskey. There is nothing better at the end of the day than to sit in the hot tub and relax with a drink.  There have been many reasons why my alcohol consumption has increased over the last few years but I know it needs to decrease.  Please do not read this and think I am tossing back a 6 pack every night, which is not the case.  My goal is to get down to 3-4 drinks per week.

Wow, there is my week one and a bit update. After a week I have seen my body change as I get back into the workout routine. I am sleeping better and waking up feeling more rested. This may be because of the extra exercise or cutting out the evening drink, either way I feel better.  My energy level during the day has also increased, but I still like my afternoon power nap when I can get it.

My big May Health challenge will occur later this week.  Let’s see if I can keep it going through that “time of the month”.  The carb cravings (good-bye healthy eating), lack of energy (working out, in your dreams), and depression (hello bottle of red). Ok, that may be too much information, but it is part of life and it’s going to be a tough few days. Glad I didn’t give up chocolate.

I am really excited to see my results at the end of the month and see/hear how everyone else did as well.  A huge thanks to Mark and Julie for getting us motivated to strive for healthy lifestyles.

If you’d like to contact Sharon, she can be reached at:

Sharon Bennett
Owner, Bennett Business Connections

This is the second guest post from Steve Mills, a local Guelph participant of the May Health Challenge. See his story here:

As I look back to reflect on the first week of May Health I realize the challenges that lay ahead.  I was gung-ho and excited and rode a wave of momentum that propelled me easily through that first week. But as the week ended and the second week began, so to did my old cravings. I went to the store and had to consciously decide not to get something for myself. I’ve had to force the fridge door closed more than once after dinner, so not to gorge myself. I realize that this addiction is a lot stronger than I gave it credit for. But guess what? I too am strong and I know I can beat it.

I finally completed the first week of the Couch to 5k Challenge and have begun the second week. I have been lifting weights every other day. I only eat healthy portions at mealtimes and ensure I never feel full. I have abstained from pop and chips and have walked to work almost every day. It would’ve been every day, but sometimes life gets in the way. Considering everything else, I won’t let that defeat me. This may be the May Health challenge, but for me, it is a life long decision. And though I may stumble, I will not leave the path.

Steve Mills is a graphic designer in Guelph ON. He can be reached at:
steve@stevemillsdesign.com
Steve Mills Design
Worth It

We’ve done it! We got through the first week of the May Health Challenge.

I wanted to update my progress after this first week. You may recall that I chose 3 items for May Health:

1. Thirty minutes of daily physical activity
2. No caffeine
3. No refined sugars

The hardest of these challenges for this last week has been no caffeine. I really didn’t think that it would be as difficult as it was – I mean, I wasn’t addicted to caffeine, I just liked the taste of coffee and tea, right? Wrong. I woke up extremely tired on the first few days, but worse than that was the constant headache. I didn’t want to believe it was caffeine withdrawal, but am quite certain that it actually was. However, since day 3, I have had no caffeine withdrawal headaches and I am sleeping so much better! I am also waking up more rested and even waking up early on the weekends (if I don’t have work that day, this is unheard of for me).

Having no refined sugars has made me feel like I was missing out a little bit. It was difficult to enter Portions and not pick up some baked goods for a treat. I also love baking and miss doing that – I could use artificial sweeteners, but that’s just not what I want to do – and that’s a post for a different day. It does help that Mark is also having no refined sugars as there is less temptation around the house. And now fruit does taste even sweeter than it did before.

The physical activity challenge was hard on the first few days with the caffeine withdrawal headache but I persevered, although a little grumpy.  The grumpiness is gone now, so if anyone wants to go walking around downtown at lunch or after work – let me know – it’s a good way to ensure I get my 30 minutes of activity in.

This is the time that having encouragement from others is really going to help us all keep on top of our goals. The first week of the challenge was novel and exciting, but now we all realize that there’s still the rest of the month to go.  The good news is that these new habits have already started to form and that our mind and body just need the little push to keep it up.

We’re really interested in hearing how your first week has been – the challenges, the accomplishments, the temptations, and the health benefits – all of it! Please comment below or if you’d like to send in a guest blog on how you have been finding the challenge – that would be great too!

So…here’s to the start of week 2 – let’s do this!

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