2012 in Review! Getting a Jump on the New Year and new me!

For me 2012 was frighfullly fast yet full of wonderful good news. In July I learned that my oldest daughter was pregnant with my first grandchild, a girl and we are (not very)patiently awaiting her arrival in about 4-5 weeks! Also, my youngest daughter will be getting married on May 7 in Jamaica--and that's less than 6 months away! So now I have even more incentive to get myself in shape (body, mond & spirit). Here's my commitment to myself:
* Joined Weight Watchers about 3 weeks ago to offset the holiday weight gain especially since I gained 3 lbs since Halloween already. Hopefully after next weigh-in those 3 lbs. are gone. Goal at least 10 lbs.
* More diligent about my workouts--really trying to cross train, use heavier weights & build endurance. BUT my right(natural) hip is hurting as the osteoarthritis advances so I'm cautious and of course must be careful with my replaced left hip- which is doing fabulously!
* Once the holidays are over I vow to drink less wine! (this will be the hardest).

In my professional life, I really want to get Good Sam @ Work out there. It's such a great program and I am so passionate about wellness and helping people realize that so much of they're help is in their own hands. Lastly, once I become a certified senior fitness specialist, I am finally going to get that exercise DVD done! I promise!

Not A Good Time for Arthritis Pain!

It's too busy for arthritis pain...and you may not be too keen on exercising while you hurt, or need to get your holiday shopping done, BUT that's exactly what you need to do! Just 15-20 minutes a day will manage your pain and here's the bonus--it will energize you to get what you need to get done. This has been the recommendation of arthritis doctors for years but most people don't even get 10 minutes of exercise a day and are very sedentary. Here's why moving everyday is so important to your joints; 1- as the cartilage breaks down during the ensuing arthritis, adequate blood supply doesn't nourish the joint BUT massaging the joint through exercise promotes blood flow and feeds the cartilage; 2-muscle which surround the joint, support & protect the joint, thus exercise builds the muscles and the joint is better protected. As the muscle strengthens, it takes up the weight & pressures from exercise instead of the joint taking up the weight and pressure; 3-regular exercise is a great weight manager which helps excess weight gain that reduces the pressure, pain and wear/tear on the arthritic joint.
So see your doctor, therapist, nurse (me) about starting an exercise program today; or attend an arthritis seminar to gets lots of helpful, manageable information.
Besides healthier joints, your entire body, mind & spirit will benefit immensely from regular exercise. Exercise for LIFE! Merry Christmas!

Fall Shape Up for Strong Bones

October 20th was World Osteoporosis Day and I hooked into an excellant webinar to learn ways to keep your bones fit and strong without doing exhausted exercise. Turns out that certain gentle pilates moves (back extension but never flexion), yoga and the best of them all, tai chi are excellant ways to load the bones and get them stronger. As a Tai Chi instructor and having osteopenia I can tell you first hand how beneficial tai chi is in maintaining bone strength, leg strength and improving one's balance. Please feel free to stop by any Tuesday, evening (except Nov 15) thru Thanksgiving week at 5:30 in the Parker 4 Conference Room just to the left of the main lobby at Good Samaritan Hospital.

Please also mark your calendars for Thursday, November 10 at 10:30. This will be our last Osteoporosis support Group Meeting for 2011 and we have an excellant guest speaker, Howard Bessner, our pharmachist who will speak on the "Role of Vitamin D and Your Bones & Body". This event is free but you need to call and register @443-444-4100. Lets build strong bones together!

Book Club Resumes & New Bone Support Group

I've been very busy planning for the fall and am particularly excited about these 2 events:

1-Better-Health-by-the-Book resumes on Tuesday, September 13 @ 7pm at Greetings & Readings in Hunt Valley. Our summer read, which we'll be chomping to discuss, is the reknowned bestseller The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lackes. A story of an African American woman(from Baltimore), and her family that touches on issues, i.e. recism, poverty, medical science, faith & bioethics, just to name a few. Come join us--call 443-444-4100to register.

2- On October 13 at 10:30am I'll be kickoff the *NEW* Osteoporosis Support Group at GSH!!! With over 44 millions Americans walking around with brittle bones, we can now get stronger together. We will meet in the Good Health Center at 10:30-12noon which is on the 2nd floor of the O'Neill Bldg. which houses the Emergency Department. Come join us. Register at 443-444-4100.

Great new link

Well I just discovered a great link to our Good Samaritan website that tells you everything you want to know about arthritis and joint replacement. Its www.goodsam-md.org/jointex. Wow--it explains about all the surgeries, recovery, how to stay active, when you might need surgery for your arthritic joint and all about our wonderful doctors. I know I'm partial to the Joint Experience at GSH...I can't help it. I was treated so wonderfuly when I had my hip replaced in May, 2009 and I really did well, and of course I work at GSH. But you don't have to trust my (un)biased opinion, there are lots of non-GSH employees that are on the website with their testimonials of their joint replacement experience. Check it out!

Exciting New Program....I Get to Do!

I'm about to leave for a 3- day July 4th weekend and realize I haven't blogged in awhile. As I thought about what to post I thought of my new program called "Good Sam @ Work" (GS@W). Most people know I love to promote health and wellness and am extremelly passionate about people taking charge of their life & health. That's why my blogs are all about ways to meet this end. Out of this passion came GS@W which is a program developed for me to visit local business's and provide FREE health talks & screenings to their employees, usually in a lunch'nlearn format or during regular meeting times. Topics for this program include; stress mgmt., lifelong fitness, Managing Back/Arthritis Pain, Ergonomics, etc., Healthy Numbers to Know, to name a few BUT can tailor a program to meet your company's needs. What's the benefit to your company from GS@W? Well, how does less absentiism, more energy & productivity from your employees sound? To request a GS@W brochure or to learn about bringing the program to your company visit goodsam-md.org/goodsamatwork.
I'm so excited about this. As Community Outreach Nurse I always in senior centers, churches and community events, but this gives me another window of opportunity to help business people get healthy and stay healthy. Hope to see you where you work!

Activate Yourself! Be a Fit (and Safe) Baby Boomer

What a glorious day! Besides being Friday and having a four day weekend ahead of me at the beach, today's weather is magnificent! Low humidity, light breeze and full bright sunshine! It's the kind of day that's begging you to spend outdoors doing something good for yourself; i.e. soaking up all the Vitamin D and getting some exercise. In my mind I'm on the golf course instead of at my computer blogging, but while I'm here hopefully I can encourage some folks to "activate yourself". Take a walk, a jog (not with bad joints please), swim, play golf, tennis, or a circuit fitness walk through the park (stop every 5 min. or so to do lunges, squats, tricep dips on a park bench, etc. inbetween fitness walk). Whatever...just get moving. Even sitting on a park bench and meditating for 10-15 min. is great for your health. Just pick something, focus on it and do it. I just learn through PubMed that a Harvard Study of late revealed after testing over 9,ooo people that creativity and productivity are increased when we focus on just one thing, instead of the over-hyped "multitasking". It's too bad in our hyper society today, that we are considered "slow" or "depressed" if we're not doing 4 things at once.
Anyway, back to getting activated. If you're of boomer age and its been awhile since you've moved that body for fitness' sake it may be a good idea to start low and go slow. Moreover, to get medical clearance from your physician as well. There are two great community talks pertaining exactly to this subject called "How to Be a Fit (and Safe) Baby Boomer" featuring Drs. Pichard & Zikira, orthopedic sports specialists from Good Samaritan Hospital. These talks are FREE and will be presented on Tuesday, June 21st at Lynne Bricks at Belvedere Square; and on Tuesday, June 28th at Merritt Athletic Club on Mylander Rd. in Towson. The time for both events is 6:30pm. Call 443-444-4100 to register and for more information.