January 1st means the start of a New Year, and with that comes New Year’s resolutions and promises to improve ourselves. Statistics show that the #1 New Year’s resolution is to lose weight. They also show that after one month only 64% of people have stuck to their resolution plans. After six months, only 46% remain strong in their resolve. Why to poor success? Although there may be more than one factor to influence the success and failure of any therapeutic strategy, one of the key causes of those resolutions focused on weight loss is that they are focused on weight, not fat and that they employ diets instead of focusing on the improvement of some very poor lifestyle choices. This year, consider making specific changes in your lifestyle to improve your health, not merely to lose weight.
Let’s look at your lifestyle in a new light—as medicine. Did you know that the first line therapy (the best and first therapy that should be tried to treat a disease) in many cases is lifestyle change? Have you ever considered that in many instances increasing your activity level and eating healthier can prevent the need for medications?
Lifestyle changes are considered first line therapy for the following medical conditions:
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Osteoporosis
- Metabolic Syndrome
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Conditions related to aging
- Obesity
In addition to the conditions listed above, lifestyle changes are imperative for the management of:
- Hormone Imbalance
- Fatigue
- Low Sex Drive
- Stress-Related Symptoms
- Poor Memory or Lack of Mental Clarity
If you have chosen to become healthier through lifestyle changes this year, the pharmacists at Stafford Pharmacy can help you make the change. We are now offering the Metagenics First Line Therapy Program®, a lifestyle program that helps people dealing with the conditions listed above. This is NOT a diet, because we all know they rarely work! Our first step includes body composition analysis using a bio-impedance analysis (BIA) meter. This analysis provides information about body water distribution, what percentage your body retains within cells (intra-cellular) and that which exists outside of cells (extra-cellular). This distribution allows us to make some inferences about fat distribution since fat is water hating, while conversely muscle is water loving. This distribution of water, representing fat and muscle distribution is what the bio-impedance meter measures using a very, very weak electrical current which is passed through the body. Complex algorithms have been developed and built into such bio-impedance meters to accurately interpret the conductive characteristics of men, women, and even different ethnicity’s to accurate measure the distribution of fat.
These results from the BIA are valuable in the creation of effective and personalized lifestyle and dietary programs including meal planning, nutritional supplements, and physical activity. This is the only way any such program can be successful in helping you achieve and most importantly, to maintain optimal health and well being for a lifetime. The focus is improving lifestyle, improving nutrition, losing fat without the risk of losing muscle mass, improving bio-markers of health and as a result preventing disease as well as improving existing disease status.
This year, choose a lifetime of good health. For more information on the Metagenics First Line Therapy Program and to find out how you can enroll, speak with one of our pharmacy staff today!
Note: This topic was included in a recent Newsletter, The Mortar & Pestle.
