There are a bunch of handy damage control diet strategies that you should employ to best prevent yourself from overdoing it at the dinner table this holiday season. Use the tips below to allow yourself to stay social and to be able to indulge in moderation without splitting your pants before the New Year:

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I just had to share this guest post from Dr. Jeff & Dr. Katie with you today.  It’s mind-boggling.

An April 17, 2005 Associated Press (AP) story printed in many publications reports that Americans are the most medicated population in the world. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), approximately 130 million Americans swallow, inject, inhale, infuse, spray and pat on prescription medications every month.

According to IMS Health, a pharmaceutical consulting company, over the past decade the usage of prescription drugs by Americans has increased by 66% to an incredible 3.5 billion prescriptions per year. Additionally, IMS Health reports that their polling finds that Americans devour even more nonprescription drugs.

The AP story notes that the consequences to this large usage are grave. The article points out that landmark medical studies of the 1990s suggest that well over 125,000 people die from drug reactions and mistakes each year. They note that pharmaceuticals are the fourth-leading national cause of death after heart disease, cancer and stroke. Keep in mind that these statistics are from the 90’s, and this number doesn’t take into account the people who die from taking prescribed medications, where there are no “mistakes” involved. (Although, we would argue that taking any drug to cover a symptom, while ignoring the cause of the symptom, is a mistake!)

When placed in perspective, the volume of medication usage in the US becomes more evident. The article notes Americans spent as much on drugs last year as they did for gasoline. According to drug industry consultants the pharmaceutical industry makes more than $250 billion per year, the vast majority in prescription medications. That translated into $850 for every American.

Dr. Marcia Angell, former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine and author of “The Truth About the Drug Companies”, commented, “We are taking way too many drugs for dubious or exaggerated ailments.” He continued, “What the drug companies are doing now is promoting drugs for long-term use to essentially healthy people. Why? Because it’s the biggest market.”

It is no wonder that 5 out of 6 Americans are dying of heart disease or cancer. This is the danger of treating the symptoms of dysfunction with the use of surgery and/or drugs (prescribed or otherwise) opposed to correcting the dysfunction. As a society, we are conditioned to put all of our time, energy and financial resources into getting rid of that pesky “check engine” light, instead of simply taking the time to check the engine! This approach makes no sense. However, it does make the drug companies a lot of dollars.

We applaud you on your efforts of restoring health and life to your body, through our natural, gentle, and scientifically proven chiropractic technique.

Here’s to raising the next generation of healthy, drug-free families!

In health,

Dr. Jeff and Dr. Katie Algajer and staff

I have been fortunate enought to watch many of my personal training and boot camp clients reduce and even completely get off their medications.  Take the healthy approach.  Get your body moving, watch what you put into your mouth and take preventative measures like quality chiropractic treatments.

Have Faith & Take Action!

Justin Yule, B.S., CPT

Your friendly neighborhood Chaska / Chanhassen boot camp instructor and online personal trainer.

Burn 9x more fat at a fraction of the cost of other personal training programs.

We’re officially in the midst of another winter season here.  I must admit, if there’s one thing that bothers me the most about the winter (besides the sickly cold and lack of natural light), it’s the number of people who hurt themselves shoveling snow; I even heard of someone dyeing from a heart attack!  We all know people who have tweaked their backs in their zealous attempts to keep a clear driveway; maybe you’re one of them.

Today I am going to reveal my Top 5 Safe Shoveling Secrets.  For those of you who do not live in a cold and snowy part of the country, well, enjoy the warm weather.  ? Seriously though, you can use these same tips if you do yard work or gardening.

So, without further adieu, here are my top five safe shoveling tips:

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I’ve got another great guest post from my chiropractors at Discover Chiropractic in Chaska, MN.  We’re also announcing an amazing deal they’re giving to the members of my local Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp in Chanhassen, MN.

Here’s Dr. Jeff & Dr. Katie:

Do you trust yourself that you have the power to be well?

Your innate intelligence is in?nite in its knowledge of what is best for your body. It knows how to best live in your body…it knows how to be well.

With this knowledge comes trust. Do you trust your instincts, your intuition, your innate intelligence?

Do you feel like your body needs rest? It does.

Feel like you need to eat? You do.

Feel like you need more activity or exercise? Right again!

When that wee small voice within speaks…listen to it. Your instincts will guide you, if you listen.

With knowledge and trust comes a relationship.

Develop a relationship with this inner power by learning to dialogue with it. Most people will dialogue with their inner power with the hope of getting rid of a problem that they have and do not want. It is useful, with the power of your imagination, to look inside at a part of your body that concerns you and ask it, “what purpose do you serve in my life?” You will, however, be served best by getting into communion with this inner wisdom to seek how to gain the health that you may no longer have. Take this information and accept it as “right” for you. You can never lose by working to acquire greater health. Next comes acceptance by knowing and understanding that even illness can be a blessing in one’s life if it leads you to a greater understanding and appreciation of God’s greatest creation…you!

After acceptance comes change. Instead of focusing on what you do not have…focus on what you do have. And, what you do have is the power to change. You can change the habits and lifestyles that may have caused your health to deteriorate and substitute healthy habits that will cause health to develop rather than diminish.

In health,
Dr. Jeff and Dr. Katie Algajer and staff

PS – Next week Dr. Jeff & Dr. Katie will have a blot post on Health as a Process.  It doesn’t happen over night, but when you follow the process the end result is the healthy body you desire.

OK.  Now for the big savings announcement.

Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp members are automatically enrolled into the Look Great Rewards Program where they receive special discounts from local providers.  Discover Chiropractic has joined that list of providers and is offering our members a Complete Nerve Scan which normally retails for $267 for only $67! That’s a $200 discount! That’s worth a whole month of boot camp!!!  It pays to be a member   See the special ad by clicking HERE.

We all know how busy the holiday season can be.  However, do not let yourself get caught in the trap of not working out to make more time for holiday errands and events. It is a big mistake to risk losing the lean muscle mass and strength that you have worked so hard to build and maintain.

Why?

Losses in lean muscle mass will lower your resting metabolic rate (RMR), which accounts for the vast majority (about 60 – 75%) of your total daily calorie burning.

This means that everyday you will be burning less and less calories which will put you at a much greater risk of putting on ugly, unwanted body fat during the holidays.  Plus, losing strength will mean that the next time you start to work out your performance will be sub par and you’ll get smacked in the face with that ugly word that no one ever wants to encounter when it comes to training: regression!

There are many clever ways to maintain or even increase the number of calories you burn per day, both from exercise and from your normal daily activities, to stay fat-free this holiday season.  Use the strategies below to maintain and/or increase your current amount of lean muscle mass and maximize your daily calorie burn to best protect yourself against the deadly holiday bloat!

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