I hope and pray you are enjoying the beautiful long Fall, exercising daily, and drinking water - half your body weight in ounces per day!!! (I drink 2 big glasses like this at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and after exercise.)
I thank God for you and the ability to write a blog & newsletter - to motivate, educate, and excel you each month to better physical & nutritional & emotional health!
With that purpose, I'm really excited about designing an advanced new website to publish my newsletter blog. It will have all my past articles and blogs entered with an advanced index and search by topic option, a forum to post comments and questions for me and our team (Nurse Anne and Fitness Eric), notice of my posts emailed to you with a list of content and direct link, our vitamins available on-line, and more exercise specific videos and future additions on the way, such as topical webinars with me. You will have the option to be a member of our Excell team, because some content will be exclusive.
I look forward to serving you even better, and right now you can follow me, Dr. Lisa Miller, on Twitter to motivate and educate!
This newsletter blog I want to remind you now of the need to exercise and drink water (see the above pictures!), give you Money Saving Medical Tips & Tips for Your Benefit Sign-up, a few exercise tips from Eric our Fitness Guy, help you understand risk taking in your children better, and enjoy our beautiful God!
My next newsletter blog on my Excell website ("Excell" with two l's to accentuate and motivate to excellence!) will include:
- an article I have been wanting to author because of the many patients who monthly ask me for advice on libido and sex issues - "Elevate Your Passionate Monogamy - Sex Drive Help!"
- advice on how to "Slow Down with Nurse Anne"
- Eric the fitness guy - "Holiday Fitness Tips & Killer Abs" ( an abdominal strengthening exercise video with your Dr. Lisa - I challenge you to get strong abs!)
- "Tips for Family Thanksgiving Thanks & Memories", and more!
Money Saving Medical Tips & Benefit Sign-up Tips
Medicines
- check out different pharmacy discount programs and don't just keep buying from the closest or easiest pharmacy - they are usually the most expensive!
- remember you don't have to be a member of Costco or Sams to get your prescriptions filled there (just tell the door greeter that you have a prescription to fill), and they generally have the least expensive prices in the area
- Meijer offers certain free antibiotics (like Amoxicillin, Bactrim, Cipro, Doxycycline, Kelfex) - so ask me or your doctor if one of the free antibiotics at Meijer will work for your condition AND resist the temptation to overspend at while in the Meijer store!
- with expensive prescritions, check into the Canadian pharmacy http://www.medisave.ca/ - many of my patients find this site very easy to use with quality medicines (you can get brand name medicine for less expensive, and many generics that are not available yet here like Singulair and Cialis and more)
Vitamins & Alternative Therapies
- if you have a medical savings account with your employer, I or your doctor can write on a prescription that a certain vitamin or therapy (like massage, acupuncture, chiropractic care) is medically necessary to treat a particular condition, and then you can use your account money for reimbursement
- check out our high quality well absorbed vitamins which are less than health food store prices
Lab Charges
- each year check your insurance coverage and deductable amount and whether labs are included in your deductable
- know what lab is best covered by your insurance
- if your insurance does not pay well for your labs, LET ME OR YOUR DOCTOR KNOW TO BE VERY CAREFUL TO ONLY ORDER THE ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY LABS, and look into LabCorp's discount for paying at the time of service (http://www.labcorp.com/)
- remember that free labs are offered at many health fairs, when you give blood, and MANY labs are available for free at the Indiana Black Expo held downtown in the Summer
- call Community Heart Hospital to check when they offer free cholesterol labs
?No Insurance Right Now
- our office offers a 20% discount on our fees when you pay at the time of service (and many offices offer some type of discount)
- make sure I (or your treating physician) know you do not have insurance when we first start your office visit, because we do not want to order extra testing in the office unless absolutely necessary
- follow my Excell for Life Health Sheet guidelines to be in your best physical, nutritional, and emotional health - you can get healthier and stronger each day and thereby avoid extra health bills!
Benefit Sign-up Period
- get your health screening labs and measurements to qualify for your employer discounts for your good health
- if you closely missed some health screen marks, get retested if your employer will let you update this after open enrollment
- sign up for a medical savings account because it lets you pay in pretax dollars for things like vitamins (used to treat a condition or problem), therapeutic massages, acupuncture, co-pays, certain non covered dental and vision items and more (try to get a list from your employer or the benefit management company) - you must be sure that you will use all the money you put in for the year, because you usually will not be able to carry the money over until the next year
- closely compare any options you have in medical coverage to see which one is the best for you and your family's situation (doctors in the network, prescription coverage, deductibles, etc.)
Eric the Fitness Guy! -
Going into the Holidays is a very difficult time of year for many people. This time of year most people put on weight because they over eat and stop exercising due to traveling. Life can get the best of you during this time, so plan ahead of time before traveling to the in-laws. Also plan ahead for what food you are going to prepare. If you are seeing a theme to this year’s tips it is to PLAN! I can’t stress enough to think a head of what you are going to eat or when you are going to exercise.
One of the best exercises I can tell you to do is one that can be done year around but is more important this time of year. It is the push-a-way. Push yourself away from the table or the dinner line. This one is vital and the one I have the hardest time with. I’m sure I’m not the only one. Remember to plan ahead on what food from your favorite aunt or grandma you want to eat. Limit yourself to just one dessert, not one of each.
A way to still skip the gym and workout is to watch some of the previous workout videos that we have posted. Most of the routines require little to no extra equipment or weights. It can be done with just your own body weight. A way to help motivate yourself is by talking to your family members and getting them to do a routine with you. Call them in advance and tell them “Let’s plan on exercising after we eat”. That way it is planed and expected and harder to forget or just not do. This helps keep you accountable to your routine and may also inspire a family member who doesn’t work out to start workout and taking better care of themselves.
I hope you use these simple tips to help get you through the Holiday season without adding on those extra pounds or getting totally derailed from your exercise routine.
If you have questions please call me at 765-404-7343 or email me at eric_walden@waldospersonaltraining.com. Now is the time to start working out to keep the Holiday weight off!!!
Great Recipe - thanks Sheila!
Beans & Rice
2 cans red beans 1 c. onion chopped
1 8oz can tomatoe sauce 1 c. celery chopped
1/3 c. olive oil 1 tsp thyme
1 c. green pepper chopped 1/3 c. fresh parsely
Saute green pepper, onion, and celery in olive oil until transparent. Add garlic. Then add tomatoe sauce, thyme, and beans. Simmer 10 - 15 minutes. Just before serving add parsely.
Serve over cooked rice. If desired, Polish sausage or smoked sausage may be added to the bean mixture.
Family & Faith
Parenting Tips - On Risk Taking
- for even more insights read "Why Gender Matters" by Leonard Sax
Most boys enjoy risk taking more than girls, and are much more likely to take extreme or stupid risks when in a group of boys. Risk seems to give a tingle or charge of excitement. Being too careful and avoiding risks can lead to passivity (or learned helplessness), which is common in women worldwide. We need to encourage our children and especially girls to explore their world and new situations, take risks, face their fears and master them, so they can adjust and adapt to new challenges and conquer them as well. Recognize and remember the wisdom in, "What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger" (by Nietzsche), and "Rejoice in your trials" (by Jesus).
Mr. Sax suggestions for decreasing risk of severe injury
- shift risk - sons and children want thrills so do adventurous things as a family but anticipate the risks and teach before they are encountered (like go skiing, but have a lesson for your kids to show why they cannot go on the expert slopes at first!)
- supervised is better than unsupervised - remember that boys especially do stupid things in groups!
- assert your authority - don't argue or negotiate, but just do what you need to do (like a boy who rode his bike when he wasn't allowed, then put on a heavy duty lock!)
Beautiful God! Please get and read "The Good and Beautiful God" by James Bryan Smith.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him..." Romans 8:28
Remember always in your soul that our God is trustworthy because Jesus trusted God - He is always reliable, has our best interests in mind, and will protect us and save us.
Remember always in your soul that God is all giving, generous and goodness, delights in us, and He freely gives us His love, forgiveness, and acceptance - we can never do anything to earn this... Each day work to remove the feeling you need to perform or earn His love and favor. Just relax in His grace and love, and your good works and following Jesus will flow.
This week train your heart by counting your blessings (a good followup to work on gratitude from Nurse Anne). Write a list of your blessings and keep adding to it... I want to get the book Mr. Smith suggests, "10,000 Things to Praise God For" and read it to my 10 year old daughter Annika, who tends to view things as "half empty" (rather than "half full"!).
God, please fill our hearts with a desire to know and love you more each day - and know our cup is not only "half full" but always full. Help us really see and feel the God Jesus shows us you are - all good, trustworthy, self-sacrificing, generous, loving, holy, and transforming!
My love and prayers and hugs,
Dr. Lisa
