Is Your Health at a Crossroad? Three Ways to Get on the Path Toward Improving it

While Jon was getting his annual physical, he received bad news from his doctor. It caused him to take a serious look at his life — an all-too-common scenario.

While in the exam room, his doctor informed him that he has “metabolic syndrome.” Now in his 40s, he knows he gained a few extra pounds over the years, but his doctor flat out said that Jon’s weight puts him in an unhealthy obese category. His blood test results show his blood sugar is within the pre-diabetes range, and he has extremely high cholesterol. He’s told to change his ways, or he’s on the road to developing diabetes or having a heart attack. By the end of his appointment, the doctor recommends that he go on a diet and lose weight.

Getting news like this can feel like a slap in the face. When Jon left the office, he felt defeated. In his left hand, he held an assortment of brochures about heart health and high blood sugar. As he gets into his car, he tries to make sense of what the doctor told him. He never thought much about his health, but often felt he could use a little more exercise. Sitting at the office all day made him less active than in his younger years. After learning about a possible health crisis in his future, he certainly didn’t want to end up with a pile of medical bills. The idea he might miss seeing his kids grow up scared him. He wanted grandchildren.

His health condition didn’t happen overnight. This outcome may point to his past and current lifestyle. Both he and his wife never have time during the week to devote to mealtimes. Like most of us, they are focused on long work hours while raising their two children. Getting the children to eat is sometimes a monumental task. They often resort to fast foods knowing their kids will eat them. Breakfast is from the drive-through or not at all, lunch is take-out, and dinner is delivered most days of the week.

Growing up, Jon’s family didn’t have much, so cheap eats were commonplace. Raised by a single mom, grocery shopping included a lot of packaged snacks like potato chips, cookies, two-liter bottles of soda, frozen pizzas, and microwave meals. Jon always drank soda all day, starting first thing in the morning. His mother worked two jobs which didn’t leave her much time to prepare meals. In the morning, Jon was on his own for breakfast and his mother would often go to a fast-food restaurant drive-through for dinner. Jon didn’t learn how to cook for himself while growing up so he became conditioned to grab-and-go foods. He may or may not have had some nutrition education while in school. As he finished high school, graduated college, and got his first job, his learned eating habits were now solidified. 

How does Jon make lifestyle changes to reduce his risk of future chronic illness? After talking with his wife about his doctor’s visit, they decided that the results of Jon’s physical were a wake-up call. They also realized there’s still time to act since Jon’s condition is reversible.

There are 3 action steps they took to get their family on a path to better health:

1. Jon asked for a consult with a registered dietitian. One of the brochures he received at the doctor’s office explained how a dietitian can help him make improvements to his diet. A vast majority of general practitioners don’t specialize in proper nutrition. The idea of losing weight can be complicated. A dietitian can provide an individualized meal plan to encourage healthier action steps which accomplishes more than just saying to someone “go on a diet and lose weight.” We now know there’s more to it than depriving ourselves of food. Most diets fail and can result in more weight gain. The number on the scale should never be the focus.
   
   The dietitian asked Jon about his weight history. As it turns out, Jon’s body style was always on the high end of the BMI scale since childhood, as well as other members of his family. Instead of focusing on a specific weight range, Jon should be at, the dietitian taught Jon about balanced eating to improve Jon’s blood sugar and cholesterol numbers. Jon developed a starting goal for himself. He decided to have 1 fruit or vegetable with every meal for the next two weeks.
   
2. Jon and his wife signed up for cooking classes. The dietitian educated Jon about cooking groups that were offered at the local health clinic. Jon and his wife learned to prepare recipes using more whole foods. They learned how to prepare food ahead of time while saving the leftovers instead of always ordering out. They learned to save time and money. They also realized the time it took to order food at a drive-through was about the same time it took them to heat one of their pre-made foods, then eat together as a family.
   
3. Jon made regular exercise a bigger part of his lifestyle. Jon’s place of work offered health insurance that provided a cost-saving incentive if he joined their yearly healthy initiatives. Jon decided to join a gym where he made some new friends. Later they invited him to play basketball or hit baseballs at the local park. Jon’s wife and the kids joined them for family-style physical activity. This gave Jon a reason to get his family outside more often instead of staying in and watching TV.

After about 6 months or so, Jon realized some weight loss, but what was the most noticeable for him was his body fitness and increased endurance with consistent exercise. He noticed more muscle tone than before and had more stamina when shooting hoops with the kids outside. After a year, his doctor reported his blood test results improved. Both his blood sugar and cholesterol returned to normal levels. By choosing more realistic goals, Jon was able to successfully tune his life into healthier habits that produced results.  

If you see yourself at all in this scenario, it’s best to start by determining a goal that is doable and measurable. Learn what will work for you and your lifestyle. Stay away from crash diets and quick fixes. Maintaining your health is worth doing, but it takes time to develop new habits and sticking to them. Over time you’ll be able to see your past self in the rearview mirror with your present self, looking forward to a better future. Don’t go it alone. Seek help from a doctor and a dietitian in your area.

Remember there’s always an excuse not to start. Be mindful of the ones you might be using. Take responsibility for your health. Do the work. It’ll keep you from endlessly looking for the latest diet craze on social media. What could be better than that?

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