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TWM 23 – Wellness Choices: Easy or Hard? It’s how you frame it in your mind.

TWM-23

Wellness Choices: Easy or Hard? It’s how you frame it in your mind.

Today's Will Power Moment - 23

with Dr. James Meschino

Over the years I have heard many patients tell me that it’s so hard to not to eat the following foods:

  • Cheesecake
  • French fries
  • Butter tarts
  • Donuts
  • Spareribs
  • Cream cheese
  • Name your poison…

Or it’s so hard to find the energy to exercise 30 minutes a day. The truth is that these things are as easy or as hard as you deem them to be. If you tell yourself these things are hard to do, then they will be hard to do, and you’ll probably fail in the long run. If you tell yourself they are quite easy to do, then guess what? They become very easy to do and you follow through.

To adopt a new habit of any kind means “reframing an action in your mind”. A thing can be as hard or as easy as you deem it to be. The same is very true for wellness habits. If you tell yourself that giving up cake is hard, then it will be, which taxes your self-control and increases the chances of failure under stressful conditions. If you tell yourself that giving up cake is a breeze and I can find a healthier substitute in the moment that is rewarding, then it feels easy. I continually tell myself it’s easy. I have found small little indulgences along the way that don’t make me feel deprived or that I’m on some gruelling, hardship program that is taking all the fun out of life.

There are much harder things in this world than making a few simple dietary changes that will ultimately give you a better looking and healthier body. Just think about how hard it would be to be refugee in some worn-torn country, where you are forced to flee your home and walk miles on end each day through an arid desert to find a safe haven in a refugee camp on the other side of the world. Now that looks hard to me. Exercising for 30 minutes a day in an air-conditioned building, or outside on beautiful spring, summer or fall day, with state -of -the-art exercise equipment and athletic wear, by comparison, is a walk in the park. That’s not hard, it’s easy. It’s all a matter of how you build it up in your mind.

People who succeed with wellness make it look easy, because in their mind – IT IS EASY. And that translates into following through and enjoying and appreciating the body and health they have achieved and continue to maintain. So, if you’ve been struggling to give up the bad foods and can’t find the time or energy to exercise regularly, it’s probably because you’ve been telling yourself it’s so hard to do. I suggest you change the internal dialogue and start telling yourself it’s easy as pie (now that doesn’t mean I want you to eat pie, but you get the idea).

Any time you find yourself in a moment of temptation where you’re telling yourself it’s hard not to eat a particular food, remember my words today. Catch yourself in the moment and tell yourself, “this is gonna be easy”. Many times, all you have to do is find something else that is on your approved list of foods that still tastes good and does not sabotage your plan to achieve the healthy body you want and deserve.

Okay, easy or hard, it’s nothing more than a mind game. Easy-Peasy, that’s the internal conversation that removes all the anxiety and allows you to stay on track.

Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next time.

Dr. James Meschino
DC,MS, ROHP

Dr. James Meschino

Dr. James Meschino

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. James Meschino, DC, MS, ROHP, is an educator, author, and researcher having lectured to thousands of healthcare professionals across North America. He holds a Master’s Degree in Science with specialties in human nutrition and biology and is recognized as an expert in the field of nutrition, anti-aging, fitness, and wellness as well as the author of numerous books.

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TWM 22 – How and Why to Renew Your Commitment to Wellness

TWM-22

How and Why to Renew Your Commitment to Wellness

Today's Will Power Moment - 22

with Dr. James Meschino

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

Dr. James Meschino

Dr. James Meschino

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. James Meschino, DC, MS, ROHP, is an educator, author, and researcher having lectured to thousands of healthcare professionals across North America. He holds a Master’s Degree in Science with specialties in human nutrition and biology and is recognized as an expert in the field of nutrition, anti-aging, fitness, and wellness as well as the author of numerous books.

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TWM 21 – Monitor and Track Your Progress

TWM-21

Monitor and Track Your Progress

Today's Will Power Moment - 21

with Dr. James Meschino

In the last Willpower Moment Video, I explained the 4 step process of how best to adopt and guard your wellness habits. I call the process MASS (M-A-S-S, remember Mass-ive action)

The 4 steps include:

  • Monitoring
  • Accountability
  • Schedule your exercise time
  • Sleep – get enough sleep to make rationale decisions and to have enough energy to exercise and refrain from overeating.

Today I want to focus on the first step, which is Monitoring. In this technological age, you can monitor just about everything, to the point where monitoring can feel overwhelming and time consuming. That is why it is important to only monitor what is actually important to you – and have a quick-and-easy way to do it. With respect to wellness, study after study proves that people who track and monitor key activities (like their diet and exercise) and specific outcomes (like their body weight, blood cholesterol, glucose and blood pressure) get the best results. From having coached many people during my years of clinical practice, I can tell you that getting patients to write down everything they eat each day, and the exercises they performed, is a powerful way to improve adherence with wellness intentions.It really gets results.

However, it is very tedious to document all the food you eat each day, the beverages you drink, the supplements you ingest, as well as how many sets of each exercise you did, how many reps, how far you jogged or cycled etc. If you want to document and monitor things to that extent, you can simply click on the Diet and Activity Manager on the Dashboard page of the Meschino Wellness Platform and enter this data each day. Or you can use various apps on your mobile device to do the same, and then synch it with the Meschino Wellness Platform, which will display it on your Dashboard. However, this is a very time consuming exercise that most people will not stick with for a really long time.

That is why I created the Daily Wellness Checklist, which allows you to set up the key list of Dietary, Exercise and Supplement items you plan to adhere to each day and each week. At the end of the day, simply click on the Daily Wellness Checklist on the Dashboard page of the Meschino Wellness Platform and check off the items you completed. It takes less than a minute And that’s the key point. If you can monitor your progress each day and it takes less than a minute, then there is no excuse not to do it.

The truth is that this type of monitoring gets real results. If you haven’t done it yet, you will be amazed how much more compliant you will become after setting up your Daily Wellness Checklist and then checking off the items at the end of each day. It leads to real change.

Now there are other things you may want to track on a daily basis, or once a week, or once every three months, or once a year, depending on your health status. Once you complete the Health Risk Assessment on the Meschino Platform, it may recommend additional tracking tools that would make sense in your case, such as:

  • Weekly Weight Tracker for overweight individuals
  • Daily Mood Tracker for those with a history of a mood disorder
  • Uric acid Tracker, every 3 months, for those with a history of gout
  • Cholesterol Tracker, every three months, for those with a history of high cholesterol
  • Daily or Weekly Blood Pressure Tracker for those with a history of high blood pressure
  • Daily Stress Tracker for people reporting high levels of stress that are impacting their quality of life
  • Daily Sleep Tracker for those fighting insomnia and sleep disturbance problems
  • And of course, the Daily Step Tracker, a common tool that really helps people stay compliant with their 10,000 steps each day

The point is that monitoring is a critical part of succeeding with wellness goals. With monitoring there is no more fooling ourselves. A very large study recently showed that dieters who kept daily food and exercise diaries lost twice as much weight as those who didn’t. I will tell you that The Daily Wellness Checklist on the Dashboard page of the Meschino Wellness Platform will make much of this very simple and inspiring to do. It takes only one minute a day, but it will pave the way to some major changes. Often times in life it’s the little things that make a big difference, and this is very true for the one minute a day required to use the Daily Wellness Checklist.

Okay, remember that record makers are record breakers. So get on with task of monitoring your wellness behaviours and tracking key outcomes (weight, sleep, blood pressure etc.) that apply to your personal circumstances. Use the practice of simple monitoring to get the body and health outcomes you deserve.

Good luck with your wellness goals!

Dr. James Meschino
DC,MS, ROHP

Dr. James Meschino

Dr. James Meschino

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. James Meschino, DC, MS, ROHP, is an educator, author, and researcher having lectured to thousands of healthcare professionals across North America. He holds a Master’s Degree in Science with specialties in human nutrition and biology and is recognized as an expert in the field of nutrition, anti-aging, fitness, and wellness as well as the author of numerous books.

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TWM 20 – Guard Your Wellness Habits – the 4 step formula

TWM-20

Guard Your Wellness Habits – the 4 step formula

Today's Will Power Moment - 20

with Dr. James Meschino

You know it’s hard enough to develop wellness habits – eating healthy, using more rationale in-the-moment snacks and treats, staying faithful to your exercise program, possibly taking certain supplements, getting at least 7 hrs of sleep each night, watching your alcohol intake. The whole shebang. But even when you get on a roll, it’s very likely that something will happen that will interrupt your routine. Wellness habits are fragile.  Even after many years, people who were fit, active, and have eaten healthy for many years, can fall of the wagon and gain weight, become sedentary and spiral down the cliff. I’ve seen it happen many times. Don’t ever assume that because you’ve been very good for so long that nothing can knock you off course. You have to guard your wellness habits, each and every day. And when major interruptions come along, you have to have a plan to get back on track as soon as possible and not lose too much momentum.

From experience with myself and many others I can tell you that if you stopped eating French fries or high fat muffins a long time ago, but decide to just indulge once after many years, it becomes easier to do it a second time, then a third and before you know it, it’s part of your daily routine. Likewise, if you miss a week of working out, after a long stretch of being consistent, it becomes easier for one week to become two, and two become three and before you know it 6 months has gone by and you haven’t worked out –  and your muscle tone, muscle mass, endurance fitness and flexibility are greatly diminished. And your body fat is creeping up.

You have to guard your wellness habits once you develop them because wellness habits are a fragile thing. The main things that can steer you off course are interruptions that break-the-chain of usual daily living. Things like:

  • job stress
  • marital stress
  • financial stress,

but also, attending a wedding out of town, or taking a holiday, or Christmas holidays, or any type of religious holiday or family celebration. Any interruption to your usual day-to-day life can knock you off your path. In fact, wellness habits are usually the first thing to disappear when any major type of stress shows up or an interruption of your usual daily routine occurs, such as a holiday. The truth is that wellness habits are hard to adopt for most people, that is why we are not doing so well as a society. Adopting wellness habits usually requires the use of several synergistic strategies, all of which are simple and straightforward. You don’t have to use them all, but the more you use the better.

Here are The Four Foundation Principles that are proven help people adopt and stick with wellness behaviours. They entail the acronym MASS – think in terms of Mass-ive Action:

  • M – Monitor Your Wellness Engagement – use the Daily Wellness Checklist feature on the Meschino Wellness Platform to check off the wellness activities you completed on each day. Even when stress hits, or there is a change in your routine or you are traveling etc., click on the Daily Wellness Checklist at the end of the day and check off the items you still managed to accomplish. This will serve as a gentle reminder to pick up the pace tomorrow and get back to your original daily wellness game plan when you wake up the next day.
  • A – Accountability – using the Daily Wellness Checklist will also help to keep you accountable not only daily, but also weekly, so you can see if you are drifting away from your original wellness game plan. For some people it helps to have nutritionist, dietician, personal trainer or another person to report to as well. If you know that a third party will be tracking your food intake, your weight, your workout routine, then it helps to keep you accountable if you are a certain personality type, known as an Obliger. Obligers often will do things more faithfully if they have to report their behaviours and results to a third party. If you are one of those people then by all means enlist the help of a wellness coach, nutritionist, dietician, a workout partner, and/or fitness professional to guide you and hold you accountable.
  • S- Scheduling Exercise – even when stress levels are high, or you’re traveling on vacation or business, or holiday season rolls around, it really helps if you plan in advance when and where you will do your exercise routine. Even if you cut back on your routine and just do a scaled down version. It helps to keep the momentum alive, so you don’t fall off the wagon completely. But you have to plan the exercise time and place in advance so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
  • S- Sleep – getting enough sleep always helps you make more rationale decisions about your circumstances. This also includes eating healthier and finding the energy to at least do a scaled down version of your exercise routine when stress is high or your daily routine is interrupted.

In the end you have to guard your wellness habits with a great deal of vigilance. Don’t take for granted you will always keep them alive under any conditions. It’s very easy for some event to come along and knock you off course. You have to have a plan to stay in the game under dire circumstances. Using the MASS formula will really help:

  • Keep Monitoring your wellness engagement
  • Set up an Accountability system
  • Schedule your exercise time in advance, even if you have to scale it down temporarily
  • Get enough Sleep to make rationale, health promoting decisions through the day

Okay take Mass-ive Action and guard those wellness habits you worked so hard to adopt. The payoff is worth it.

Good luck with your wellness goals and see you next time.

Dr. James Meschino
DC,MS, ROHP

Dr. James Meschino

Dr. James Meschino

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. James Meschino, DC, MS, ROHP, is an educator, author, and researcher having lectured to thousands of healthcare professionals across North America. He holds a Master’s Degree in Science with specialties in human nutrition and biology and is recognized as an expert in the field of nutrition, anti-aging, fitness, and wellness as well as the author of numerous books.

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TWM 19 – Wellness Goals: Beware of the Danger of the Finish Line

TWM-19

Wellness Goals: Beware of the Danger of the Finish Line

Today's Will Power Moment - 19

with Dr. James Meschino

Many people set out to do big things in their wellness objectives. Starting from an overweight/out of shape condition, they decide to train for and complete a half marathon or a full marathon, 6 months down the road. I have seen many out-of-shape individuals set goals like this and accomplish the goal 6 or 12 months later. I’ve also seen overweight patients go on a strict diet and set a deadline to achieve a particular weight loss goal in 3 months, or 6 months, or 12 months, and seen them achieve it. But in many cases, once the person achieves the goal, they feel so drained by the effort to get there, they take their foot off the accelerator and revert back to their old unhealthy, self-defeating ways. They regain all the weight they lost. They stop training and become overweight and out of shape all over again. I’m sure you noticed that many elite and professional athletes, after a year or two of retirement, often gain weight, or look very out-of-shape to a disproportionate degree relative to their competitive years.

If you like setting big or aggressive goals (and some people need to do this in order to get motivated about wellness) then you have to have a game plan to help you continue on your wellness journey once you cross the finish line or achieve the big weight loss goal. The best plan is to simply scale your program back to something that is not overwhelming; something you can live with on an on-going basis. The truth is – with health habits there is no finish line. That can be the danger of training for a marathon (once it’s over, the exercise stops) or only setting a weight loss goal (not a goal to be healthy and fit for the rest of your life).

Sometimes the massive effort to achieve goals like this – the long hours of daily and weekly training, the extreme level of caloric deprivation and food restriction and so on – often become too overwhelming for the person to stick to on an indefinite basis.That is why you have to have a more moderate, liveable plan once you achieve the big goal, so you don’t totally abandon your whole wellness initiative.

Daily wellness behaviours don’t produce flashy results or glorious outcomes, but they do make your life better than before (how you feel, how you look, energy, vitality, more youthful looking, and how you move, improved blood lab results and risk factors for disease). But thinking about forever can be intimidating so just focus on your wellness behaviours one day at a time (exercise and supplements) and one moment at a time regarding how you eat. Eat healthy in the moment and don’t’ think about tomorrow, even though the plan is to eat healthy tomorrow as well. Just focus on the moment you find yourself in – and that will relieve the pressure and anxiety of having to do it for the rest of your life.

As you go about setting your various goals on the Meschino Wellness Platform, always keep in mind the danger of the finish line. The finish line doesn’t mean you can now stop doing what you’re doing. In some circumstances, like completing a marathon or achieving your ideal weight, it does mean you can move to a more moderate approach that will enable you to keep your momentum moving forward – without feeling overwhelmed or physically or mentally exhausted and drained.

So, bottom line: Beware of the danger of the finish line. It’s great to cross it, but don’t let it tell your brain that your wellness efforts are now finished and over with. Simply adjust your program and keep moving the action forward.

Eat Smart, Live Well, Look Great.

Dr. James Meschino
DC,MS, ROHP

Dr. James Meschino

Dr. James Meschino

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. James Meschino, DC, MS, ROHP, is an educator, author, and researcher having lectured to thousands of healthcare professionals across North America. He holds a Master’s Degree in Science with specialties in human nutrition and biology and is recognized as an expert in the field of nutrition, anti-aging, fitness, and wellness as well as the author of numerous books.

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TWM 18 – Start Now

TWM-18

Start Now

Today's Will Power Moment - 18

with Dr. James Meschino

It’s very likely that you have wellness activities you are planning to start with one day soon. It may be cutting down on smoking, drinking less alcohol, starting a workout program, cutting out red meat, or ice cream, potato chips, French fries – or whatever weakness is holding you back from being fit and having the body nature intended you to have (fitter, leaner, more definition, more energetic, vibrant – being at the top of your game). The best advice I can give you is: Start Now. It’s not about starting next Monday, or next month, or when the kids go back to school, or after your daughter’s wedding, or once your new job begins, or after the summer holidays, etc.

The way that it really gets done is by starting right now. Start the new habit now. Discard the idea of starting tomorrow or one day soon. That is known as “tomorrow’s logic”. The truth is, you will be the same person tomorrow with the same challenges you have today. The notion that somehow magically tomorrow it will be easier to make all these changes, and it will be smooth sailing after that, is nothing more than a little psychological trick people play on themselves. It doesn’t work. It’s a myth. Real change happens by starting now – by starting today.

You can start small, but start. A body in motion tends to stays in motion. A body at rest stays at rest. The most important step is the first step, and it can be the toughest. Remember things often get harder before they get easier. This is very true regarding starting an exercise program and consistently making dietary changes, but eventually it does get easier and becomes a habit.

But you have to start now. It’s not about tomorrow. Tomorrow logic wastes time and creates the illusion that magically on Monday you will be this completely new person. You won’t be (the same temptations will exist). The trick is to start right now and don’t look back.  keep And keep adding every bit of new wellness information that makes sense to you, like news about a healthy food that compliments your diet, to what you are already doing. I recently added walnuts and other nuts to my daily checklist. The emerging evidence now shows that they play a key role in preventing heart disease and possibly cancer.

The truth is, everybody plans to work out and eat healthy tomorrow… and tomorrow… and tomorrow… just not today. That is the problem. Tomorrow quickly becomes today, and tomorrow logic continues to trick you into thinking you’re going start tomorrow, but tomorrow becomes today, and it’s not yet tomorrow, so you don’t start. “Now” is an unpopular time to start, but it is the best – and most effective time.

So, go on to the Dashboard of the Meschino Wellness Platform and click on the Daily Wellness Checklist. There you can set out the exact wellness strategies you plan to start implementing immediately. Start small. Remember that you can always add things to it later as you gather momentum. But right now start with foods, beverages, exercise and supplement items you know are the key things to address for you. Then check them off at the end of each day to keep yourself compliant and accountable.

One last thing: You’ll notice that you might feel anxious on a day when you haven’t started your exercise program yet, and you know you planned to, which can make you more reluctant to start. The feeling of anxiety can actually lead you to procrastinate further. The trick is to just start the process. When you do, the anxiety disappears and you accomplish the goal. Don’t let that feeling of anxiety hold you back. The solution is to take the first step. Put your gym clothes in the bag, drive to the gym, get on your exercise bike and start, even if you have to tell yourself I will do less today. Just get started and see where it takes you on that day. With exercise, success is simply taking the first step, over and over each day. Just getting to the gym and changing clothes and getting on to the gym floor is often more challenging mentally than the workout itself. That is why having a ritual and making it a habit (which uses minimal mental energy) is so vital.

So if you haven’t done it yet, click on the Daily Wellness Checklist and identify the food, beverage, exercise and supplement strategies you intend to start following each day. And guess what – Start Now, Start Today (not tomorrow). Tomorrow logic doesn’t work. Starting now does.

Eat Smart, Live Well, Look Great

Dr. James Meschino
DC,MS, ROHP

Dr. James Meschino

Dr. James Meschino

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. James Meschino, DC, MS, ROHP, is an educator, author, and researcher having lectured to thousands of healthcare professionals across North America. He holds a Master’s Degree in Science with specialties in human nutrition and biology and is recognized as an expert in the field of nutrition, anti-aging, fitness, and wellness as well as the author of numerous books.

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TWM 17 – You Need a Daily Wellness Checklist

TWM-17

You Need a Daily Wellness Checklist

Today's Will Power Moment - 17

with Dr. James Meschino

Virtually all of the people and patients I have seen over the years who succeed with their wellness intentions on an ongoing basis – and make it look easy – do so, consciously or unconsciously, by having a daily wellness checklist. The same way you have a “to do” list of things you intend to get done on any given day at work, at home, in your social life, etc., in order to succeed with your weight loss and wellness goals, you also have to create a “to do” list that lays out your daily wellness strategy plan. Then, at the end of the day you simply check it off to see how well you did and where you might be falling short. It’s really very simple. All you have to do is create a list of the wellness items you plan to follow through with each day, then check them off at the end of the day to keep yourself compliant. It works like a charm.

In some cases, you may want to do certain things only 3 times a week, or 4 times a week, or 5 times a week, instead of everyday – things like strength training, or a cardio program, or yoga. I have made it really fast and easy for you to create a Daily Wellness Checklist that fits you like a glove. On the dashboard page of your Meschino Wellness Platform, you will see the Daily Wellness Checklist icon. When you click on it, you’ll see the Daily Wellness Checklist that I follow personally. After over 30 years of following the research on longevity and disease prevention, these are the key strategies I have arrived at for myself. After reviewing my Daily Wellness Checklist, you can create your own by simply deleting some of mine and/or adding some of your own. Then at the end of each day, click on the Daily Wellness Checklist and check off the items you completed. The checklist gives you a running total as the week unfolds so you can see how well you performed overall at the end of each week.

The truth is, individuals who remain compliant with their wellness intentions use a daily wellness checklist to help keep themselves on track. The beauty of it is that it only takes a minute each day to check off the items you completed – so it’s not time consuming or overwhelming. But it really is really inspirational, and it really is a fantastic way to keep yourself on track and keep wellness top-of-mind. In fact, it’s the simplest and most effective way to adhere to your wellness intentions around food, drinks, exercise, supplements, sleep, stress reduction etc. So, I can’t emphasize enough what a profound difference it will make in your life if you immediately access the Daily Wellness Checklist on the dashboard page of your Meschino Wellness Platform. Simply modify the existing list to make it your own, then take a minute at the end of each day to check off the items you completed.

If you’re serious about having a better body and improving or optimizing your health, this is how it’s done.

So thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next time.

Dr. James Meschino
DC,MS, ROHP

Dr. James Meschino

Dr. James Meschino

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. James Meschino, DC, MS, ROHP, is an educator, author, and researcher having lectured to thousands of healthcare professionals across North America. He holds a Master’s Degree in Science with specialties in human nutrition and biology and is recognized as an expert in the field of nutrition, anti-aging, fitness, and wellness as well as the author of numerous books.

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TWM 16 – Wellness Habits Trump Wellness Decision Making

TWM-16

Wellness Habits Trump Wellness Decision Making

Today's Will Power Moment - 16

with Dr. James Meschino

People who consistently adhere to their weight management and wellness goals tend to have one thing in common: they don’t waste a lot of mental energy trying to make wellness decisions each day, but rather have made a simple decision to convert wellness decisions into habits. In the end, real change is about habits. For everyone, the one sure fire way to make real, lasting changes is to make daily wellness choices a habit, and not a decision that you wrestle with each day. That’s because finding the energy for self-control is hard, but having habits is easy.

Habits are the invisible architecture of life. If our habits are good, then our lives are better – it’s that simple. The truth is, Dietary, Exercise and Sleep habits are important habits within the framework of our lives. Poor health habits (faulty diet, lack of activity, smoking, excess drinking, lack of sleep etc.) are the leading cause of illness, and these health habits are within our control. Changing habits alters your destiny, including your health destiny, healthy life expectancy, and quality of life.

Self-control is a crucial aspect of life. People with better self-control have been shown to be happier and healthier. They also tend to have better relationships, more career success, manage stress and conflict more effectively, they live longer, and are less prone to bad habits. But willpower can only help you succeed so much. You see, we draw down on our willpower during the day, which can lead to ego depletion, and then we don’t follow through. Once you feel mentally tired or overwhelmed by the events of the day, it’s much harder to stick to your wellness intentions if you constantly have to use willpower alone to succeed.

Habits are different – they don’t require the use of will power, because no decision- making is required. Habits are an automatic extension of our lives. In fact, we repeat 40% of our behaviours each day, so our habits shape our existence. If we adopt a new, healthy habit, it helps shape our existence in a more positive way, which makes us feel better about ourselves. This, in turn, leads to a host of secondary benefits that improve our quality of life. The good news is, the improved feeling of wellbeing happens within the first couple of weeks, which helps to strengthen the habit. 

The trick is to make your new wellness choices habits, not something that requires daily willpower in order to succeed. In the end, habits make change possible by freeing us from decision making, and from exhausting our self-control and will power. With habits we don’t strain ourselves to make decisions. Life becomes simpler. Habits also comfort us when we are worried, and if they are healthy habits, they help us deal more effectively with stress without gaining weight or turning to drugs or alcohol.

So, what healthy habits do I think you should adopt? Well they’re all listed in the Daily Wellness Checklist, which you can quickly access on your Dashboard Page of the Meschino Wellness Platform. I think you’ll find it fun and informative, and a great tool to help keep yourself on track.

So until we meet again, I’ll encourage you to eat smart, live well, and I know you’re going to look and feel great.

Dr. James Meschino
DC,MS, ROHP

Dr. James Meschino

Dr. James Meschino

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. James Meschino, DC, MS, ROHP, is an educator, author, and researcher having lectured to thousands of healthcare professionals across North America. He holds a Master’s Degree in Science with specialties in human nutrition and biology and is recognized as an expert in the field of nutrition, anti-aging, fitness, and wellness as well as the author of numerous books.

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TWM 15 – Your Health Goals Have to be “Your Health Goals”

TWM-15

Your Health Goals Have to be “Your Health Goals”

Today's Will Power Moment - 15

with Dr. James Meschino

In the book “No Name in the Street”, James Baldwin writes, “People pay for what they do, and still more, for what they have ALLOWED themselves to become. And they pay for it, very simply, by the lives they lead”. This is very much true for the level of health we experience and the rate at which we age. There are some exceptions, of course. But, if you truly want to be vibrant and healthy for as long as possible, you have to set some health goals for yourself, along with a personalized strategy to achieve them. 

What is really important is that the health goals and strategies are chosen by you – not by others. Why? The clearer you are about what you value, what action you expect of yourself – not what other people value, or expect of you – the more likely you are to stick to the habit. What I am saying is that you have to beware of Red Herring Goals – these are goals we set because they reflect other people’s values, not our own.

Examples: We declare:

“I’m going to start cooking meals at home” because your friends told you that all restaurant food is unhealthy (not true, by the way). But you don’t really like cooking and the chances of you sticking to cooking most of your meals at home is actually slim to none.

“I’m going to quit smoking”, but you’re not really ready to do it. Just cutting down slowly might be more suited to what you can accept.

“I’m going to quit drinking”, but you’re really not ready to abstain in every moment and situation. In which case, you are better to set a limit to the number of drinks you have on a weekly basis, and track it.

“I’m switching from coffee to green tea”, but to you, green tea tastes like sewer water. You just won’t stick to it.

“I’m going gluten-free” because it’s a popular thing to do today. But you haven’t had a blood test to evaluate the presence of Celiac disease and you don’t have any abdominal symptoms to suggest gluten intolerance. However, your friends or family convinced you that it’s something you just have to do. Becoming gluten-free isn’t easy and can make you feel like being on a health kick is just too difficult, in which case, you’ll give up and go back to eating all kinds of disease-promoting foods that go way beyond gluten consumption.

Or you say “I’m giving up all carbs” swearing off bread, pasta, potatoes and rice for the rest of your life. It’s not necessary to do that, and trying to do it is almost impossible.

“I’m going to start meditating”. Meditation isn’t for everybody. There are other ways to reduce stress and find inner peace. You have to use methods that best suit who you are. For many people meditation is a huge blessing that leads to better physical and mental health. But it’s not for everyone. You have to know who you are. You might say, I’m going to try this to see if it works for me. If it does, then great. If not, then no sense in doing it just because others find it to be so magical and edifying.

With Red Herring Goals we fool ourselves about our actual intentions. We declare we are going to do something, but deep down we know it’s just not really who we are, or that we’re not really ready to make such a big commitment, especially when a smaller commitment would be more realistic, believable and attainable.

My best recommendation for you is to click on to the Daily Wellness Checklist which you will find on the main dashboard of eth Meschino Wellness Platform and create your own nutrition and lifestyle strategy that you plan to adhere to. That means creating a list of wellness intentions that are consistent with who you are and what you are willing to do –  not what other people want you to do.

Start with that and you can always add new wellness strategies as your journey unfolds.

They key is to access the Daily Wellness Checklist each day and check off the items you accomplished as a means to monitor your progress and keep yourself accountable to the things you promised yourself you would do.

That’s how it gets done.

It’s actually a fun and liberating exercise. 

 

Good luck with your wellness goals.

 

Dr. James Meschino
DC,MS, ROHP

Dr. James Meschino

Dr. James Meschino

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. James Meschino, DC, MS, ROHP, is an educator, author, and researcher having lectured to thousands of healthcare professionals across North America. He holds a Master’s Degree in Science with specialties in human nutrition and biology and is recognized as an expert in the field of nutrition, anti-aging, fitness, and wellness as well as the author of numerous books.

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TWM 14 – Absence Does Not Make the Heart Grow Fonder

TWM-14

Absence Does Not Make the Heart Grow Fonder

Today's Will Power Moment - 14

with Dr. James Meschino

When it comes to swearing off fattening or artery-clogging foods, the best strategy for most people is usually total abstinence. Most people, including myself, are not really good at true moderation.

Use small, safe indulgences each day to help prevent the temptation to more highly fattening and artery-clogging foods. I have discussed small daily indulgences before, things like donut holes (Timbits) Crispie Mini’s (small flavoured rice patties) a small biscotti, the top of a muffin, a handful of nuts, a piece of licorice etc. You have to know what your cheat outlets are so you don’t feel deprived. But when it comes to food that really does do a lot of damage, like high fat meats (spare ribs, big steaks, pork chops, chicken wings), and dairy products (cheese, butter, cream, ice cream, etc.), rich pastries, deep fried snack foods and chocolate bars, the best strategy for most people is total abstinence.

You simply decide that these things no longer exist in your world. This approach takes less mental energy and willpower than trying to use moderation. With moderation, you’re constantly having an internal dialogue and debate in your head that can lead to anxiety. “Should I eat it, shouldn’t I eat it?” The anxiety builds up and then you eat the thing to ease the anxiety because you’re likely an emotional eater like many people – people who eat even when not hungry just to soothe the anxiety of the moment. That’s an emotional eater, and that’s a whole bunch of people who struggle with weight loss and wellness success.

The truth is that “the less we indulge, the less we crave it”. Abstinence only makes the heart grow fonder for a while – then it DOESN’T. After a while you kind of forget about it. You don’t miss it as much. With abstinence you conserve energy and willpower because there is no decision to make and no self-control to muster. We’re all tempted by things but if we decide to never have those certain things (French fries, chocolate bars, potato chips, spare ribs, etc.) then it requires no self-control. It actually makes life easier. No decision-making or tormenting situations to deal with.

Now, to be fair, some people do well at true moderation when it comes to fattening and artery-clogging foods (but most cannot). You can spot these people. They remain pretty thin and their blood work is usually quite decent because they limit the portion size, indulge occasionally, not daily, and move their bodies adequately, even if they don’t have a formal exercise program. They have their one square of chocolate every day, or their one order of fries per week and only eat half the order, they have their 5 oz glass of wine 1-2x per week, they eat a sliver of a piece of cake once a week at their favourite pastry shop. For them the first bite tastes the best – then they’re done with it a bite or two later.

But that’s not what most people do. For the rest of us, the first bite leads to the second, third, fourth bite, until we eat the whole chocolate bar, the large serving of fries, the whole piece of cake, the whole order of chicken wings, the whole bag of chips, 3-5 glasses of wine, and so on. The first bite makes us want more. The truth is, it’s easier to extinguish the first desire then extinguish the desire once we start the indulgence. So, if you’re like most people and you’re not good at moderation, then admit it – and work on the abstaining approach. In your mind, just decide that certain tempting foods no longer exist for you anymore – and forget about moderation. Go for abstinence. It actually makes life easier and leads to greater success for most people.

That’s how you get the excess weight off the fastest, lower your blood cholesterol, blood sugar, help get your blood pressure get down, and feel more energized, with a greater sense of self-command and wellbeing. Out there in the world, “moderators” often feel that “abstainers”, like me, are too rigid and should relax a little. But if you’re not good at moderation (and most people are not), then abstaining completely from eating the really fattening and artery-clogging foods will very likely make you feel more relaxed and at peace with yourself, and make it much easier to succeed with your weight loss and wellness goals both today and in the future.

 

Eat Smart, Live Well, Look Great.

Dr. James Meschino
DC,MS, ROHP

Dr. James Meschino

Dr. James Meschino

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. James Meschino, DC, MS, ROHP, is an educator, author, and researcher having lectured to thousands of healthcare professionals across North America. He holds a Master’s Degree in Science with specialties in human nutrition and biology and is recognized as an expert in the field of nutrition, anti-aging, fitness, and wellness as well as the author of numerous books.

Adeeva Supplements