‘Start planning for health success’

The recent Heart and Stroke Foundation’s (HSF) Report on Canadians’ Health should not only be concerning to us, but also make us take charge of our lives.

It is no longer acceptable for Canadians to be OK with their health status.

It is no longer OK for Canadians to hide behind excuses about why we have diseases.

It is no longer OK to wait for our doctors and nurse practitioners to write a prescription to treat diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes or elevated cholesterol.

According to the HSF, nine out of 10 Canadians have at least one risk for heart disease. Sadly, 90 per cent of Canadians think they are healthy.

All you have to do is take a look around. Everywhere you look, you can see how unwell we are. How many of your family and friends are overweight, smoke or consume excessive alcohol? These are visible risks that can be changed.

Research suggests that 80 per cent of cardiac events are related to our lifestyle. Sadly, in northern Ontario our risk is much higher then the rest of the province.

Why is that, you might ask? Well, many want to believe that it is because of our cold winters. If that was the reason, what about the other three seasons? In reality, it all has to do with choice and attitude.

We live in a free country, have freedom to do what we want, go where we want, and eat what we want. The main point is we need to want to be healthy.

I don’t know about you, but I want to live a healthy, long life. I also know that I have control on my life and what I do with it.

Success in life is linked to planning. Most people are not blessed with riches and health without working for it. Successful companies and people are so because they have a plan. The same is true with our health. We spend more time planning our weekends then planning our lives.

To be successful in life, we need a real plan. That plan can be for anything we want, from a trip, to buying a car or staying/becoming healthy. Make health a priority and start planning. There are a few ingredients that are a must for success.

Firstly, change your food choices. Get rid of processed, boxed and fast foods. Use fruit and vegetables as your main carbohydrate source. Lean protein is a must to support your muscle mass, bone density and metabolism. Make sure you have good fats in your diet such as nuts, olives and olive oils.

Next, exercise is important for many reasons, including heart and emotional health. Start with walking. A great way to get in the recommended 150 minutes/week is walk at noon with your workmates instead of talking at the lunch table.

Minimize your alcohol intake, especially if you are using alcohol to relax or minimize emotional pain.

The other important requirement to support success is to pencil time into your schedule — for you. Unless you block this time —whether it is prep time for meals or exercise — time will quickly be taken away from you and given to someone else’s plan.

Take charge of your life today. Commit to a Healthier You and start planning for health success.

Karen Hourtovenko, RN(EC), is a health and wellness consultant from Sudbury who writes columns about healthy living for Northern Life.