Most people would like to have a better body, look and feel more youthful, be more toned, have less body fat, more endurance, more energy, have more ideal cholesterol, glucose and blood pressure readings or some combination thereof. Setting wellness goals and laying out a plan to succeed are important first steps. Of course, the hard work is keeping it going from day-to-day so you don’t lose momentum or have a major setback. You know what they say, “Success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration”. Over the past number of weeks, I have given you some specific strategies to help you set your wellness goals, remain consistent, and track and monitor your progress, as important means to help you succeed.

Today I want to share with you one of the most important strategies that helps to keep me (and many other people I know) not only compliant with their wellness intentions, but also enthusiastic about working towards a more fit, healthy and age-resistant body. One of the things that really helps to keep “wellness” top of mind and helps to rekindle enthusiasm to pursue your wellness goals with renewed enthusiasm is to periodically, but routinely, read health and wellness magazines and/or really excellent nutrition, health and anti-aging books by reputable authors.

I personallly review all the published research in the scientific and medical journals related to nutrition, natural medicine, exercise, and anti-aging every month. Just reading these studies and seeing the power that lifestyle medicine has on preventing many common degenerative diseases and improving outcomes for patients with various health conditions, keeps me motivated to eat healthy, exercise and do other proactive things to keep myself on track with my wellness intentions. I don’t expect you to read all these detailed scientific papers, but there are some excellent health and fitness magazines that may be of interest to you, and more importantly, there are some outstanding books you can read. You don’t have to plough through any of these books. Even if you just read 2-5 pages a day, on average, it would likely help to keep the internal spark of wanting to eat healthy and exercise regularly ignited, and your enthusiasm to follow through at a higher level of the Richter Scale. The same is true for listening to excellent CD’s or watching Ted Talks or DVD’s on various health and wellness topics.

I listed some really excellent books in the text below, in case you wish to look for them at your local bookstore or source them out at Amazon or another online supplier. I will tell you that reading books like this can really help to keep you honest in your daily lifestyle behaviours, and reading just a few pages per day can really help to keep you feeling enthusiastic and positive about what you’re doing when it comes to your wellness intentions and goals.

It’s an invaluable way to stay motivated and feel good about what you’re doing.

Good luck with your wellness goals and thanks for watching.

The following is a list of 10 health/nutrition/anti-aging books I would highly recommend:

1. The Official Anti-Aging Revolution (Klatz, R., Goldman, R.)
2. The Life Extension Revolution (Miller, P.L.)
3. Stop Aging Now (Carper, J.)
4. Super Genes (Chopra, D, Tanzi, R.E.)
5. The Disease Delusion (Bland, J.S.)
6. The Biology of Belief (Lipton, B.)
7. The Brain that Changes Itself (Doidge, N.)
8. Successful Aging (Rowe J.W, Kahn, R.L.)
9. Change Your Brain, Change Your Life (Amen, D.)
10. The Meschino Optimal Living Program: 7 Steps to a Health, Fit, Age-Resistant Body (Meschino, J.)

Dr. James Meschino
DC,MS, ROHP