Is
it possible to create a different personal reality? Can a real person design
and live a new life? From today's perspective, such a rewarding life might seem
like an impossibly unattainable goal. But there may...
120-Day Makeover
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Your body's cells and tissues are constantly undergoing
replacement, remodeling, and makeovers. For example, your red blood cells -
the cells that carry oxygen from your lungs to every other part of your body
- replace themselves every 120 days. Other cells with such a high rate of
turnover include the cells lining your gastrointestinal tract - stomach,
small intestine, and large intestine - and hair cells.
Ultimately all of your body's cells die and are replaced. What
this means is that the "new you" doesn't have to be the same as the
"old you". As you get healthier - eat more nutritious foods,
exercise regularly, and get sufficient restful sleep - your new replacement
cells also become stronger, fitter, and healthier.
For most people, chiropractic care is an essential ingredient in
becoming healthier. Chiropractic care helps improve the functioning of your
nerve system, which in turn helps every system of your body function more
effectively and efficiently. With respect to health and well-being,
chiropractic care helps your desire for a "new reality" become a
reality.
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Is
it possible to create a new personal reality? So-called unscripted television
shows say you can - "The Biggest Loser" being one of the more popular
of these tell-all and show-all programs. But most of us realize that these
shows don't closely represent reality as we experience it. What causes us to
tune in anyway? The answer is that even though reality shows may be scripted or
controlled in some ways, they do contain an element of reality regarding the
actual problems of the participants/contestants. We empathize with their
struggles, and hope to discern some new knowledge that may help us overcome our
own hurdles. But can a real person, in real life, make long-lasting changes in
lifestyle, health, and wellness?
The
provisional answer is yes.1,2,3 A real person can lose significant
weight and keep it off. A real person can become physically fit, even though
she hasn't exercised for 20 years, or ever. A real person can create a
nutritional food plan that covers all the basics and also tastes great. A real
person can sleep seven or eight hours a night, most nights, and have the
ongoing experience of feeling well-rested. A real person can enjoy meaningful
and fulfilling relationships with family and friends. In short, a real person
can design and have a real life, even though from today's perspective such a
rewarding life might seem an impossibly unattainable goal.
Your
new reality is possible, but it doesn't come for free. If no effort were
involved, every person in the developed world would be living happy, creative,
self-fulfilled lives right now. You can see that is not the case when you look
around at your workplace, the local market, or the shopping mall. How many
people appear to be happy and engaged? How many appear anxious or stressed?
Many times, anxiety and stress far outweigh happiness and enjoyment. For many,
our default way of being seems to include worry, disorganization, disorder, and
breakdown. These conditions lead to anxiety, which leads to stress, which leads
to more worry and anxiety. When they form, these negative habits of thinking
and action are habitually ineffective; they continue to be negative influences
on our lives until we abolish them. In terms of health and well-being, our
negative habits lead to the opposite conditions - we aren't healthy and we
don't feel good about ourselves.
The
world around us works the same way. Every moment, the universe is tending to
greater entropy - the breakup of organized energy patterns and greater
disorder. On the other hand, life has the power to reverse the natural tendency
toward entropy. Life creates structure. Life creates organization. Think of
honeycombs. Think of dams. Think of skyscrapers.
Why
then do human lives often seem to fall apart so easily? The missing secret
ingredients include intention, planning, and effort. And not only the effort
required to keep the whole thing operational. Extra effort is called for to
really make a difference. Extra effort that we take on our own behalf. In order
for us to create a new personal reality, extra effort will be required. Weeks,
months, and years of extra effort. This sounds like a lot. It is. The good news
is that the payoff can be huge. The real payoff is the person you become as
part of this process of renewal. You become your authentic self.
1Totsikas C, et al: Cardiorespiratory
fitness determines the reduction in blood pressure and insulin resistance
during lifestyle intervention. J Hypertens 29(6):1220-1227, 2011
2Lohmann H, et al: Fitness
consultations in routine care of patients with type 2 diabetes in general
practice: an 18-month non-randomised intervention study. BMC Fam Pract 11:83,
2010
3Ryan AS: Exercise in aging: it’s
important role in mortality, obesity and insulin resistance. Aging Health
6(5):551-563, 2010
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