Health Essentials
A new year and a fresh start@ 2025
In 2025 nothing new will happen in terms of New Year Resolutions. Even a change in government will not impact our resolutions. As has been the practice in years gone by, about 50 per cent of the resolutions will be based on a healthy lifestyle.
We all know them: Exercise more, lose weight, get a medical checkup, quit smoking and drinking. Almost invariably we give up by the end of the first quarter and for some as soon as the holiday season is over. Do not despair if this scenario sounds all too familiar – YOU ARE IN THE MAJORITY!
Definitely behavioural change is difficult and since we are not adequately prepared for the change, we have actually set ourselves up for failure even before we started.
As far as humans know, there is no magic wand to ensure you stick to your NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS be it health, spiritual, moral etc. but together we will work on a blueprint that may help our new choices become habits eventually. The worst thing that can happen is for you not to have tried. January 1, 2025 can be a fresh start, and you have the power to make a difference in your life and that of many others.
Over the past few years my New Year Message has remained the same and I will continue along the same path till we can all benefit.
1. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare
How true it is that “when we fail to prepare, we prepare to FAIL”. 1ST of January is no fairytale day. If we wish to make changes from that day we have to work at it.
• We have to psyche ourselves up that we will hang in there no matter what
• You cannot keep healthy if you don’t even have the right attire to exercise. If you plan to use a gym, get your clothes, trainers, towel and water bottle and pack them in a bag ready for the action. Even if you plan to walk, get a good pair of footwear. It is worthwhile to invest some money in your basic requirements
• Knowledge definitely is power – we have to know well ahead of time what we plan to do and why. If it’s walking, map out your route before the 1st of January. If you intend to sweat it out in a gym, choose one before December 31. It is still not late.
• It is vital to get a professional to help you sometimes. The plan is to improve your health and not to harm yourself and learning to do things right is essential.
• Choose the time and days you plan to exercise. You may not be able to have a single stretch of thirty minutes at a time, so do the next best thing, put in ten (10) – minute sessions thrice a day. Yes, you can “snack” on exercise.
• If eating well is a problem for you, seek help. Even if you think you are in control of your meals that may be a good reason to seek professional help so that you can show off.
• If you are forty (40) years and above, pregnant, have multiple disease states, get tired easily or have not exercised in more than one (1) year get clearance from a healthcare professional well before the last day of the year. We want to hit the New Year with a blast.
• Find an ACCOUNTABILITY partner; someone with similar goals who will check in or you will update periodically. Most times we do not want to let that person down, so we go the extra mile to keep our lifestyle resolutions on track.
2. Be Patient
Patience, my dear reader is a virtue. It can move even mountains so improving your health or flattening the mound around your midsection is not beyond its capability.
• Start slowly. No need to squeeze all that you should have done over the past five years in your first workout
• Pushing yourself too hard may end up causing you so much pain that like many people I have interacted with you spend the next few days-weeks nursing injuries. That could be the end of your new year resolution
• No need complicating matters with “I will lose 50kg by December 31” The risk? You may lose focus by mid-April. What if we say “…..1kg by February 28” (I hope you know by now that I am not a big fan of the scale, this example is purely to explain the point). Better still we could do something as fuzzy as “I should be able to go up two flights of stairs without stopping to catch my breath by March 1.
Dear sisters, trying to run up the stairs in high heels may make life uncomfortable for your knees. Unfortunately, there are no spares for your knees. I am a great fan of wedge shoes-excellent for the back and knees.
• Finally, you are a unique individual. You may start your health quest on the same day with someone else who will appear to be making faster progress. Remember we are all different. The important factor in this case is to keep breaking your own records.
3. Write it down
The smart people in research have discovered that whenever we write down our goals, we are more likely to succeed. No need re-inventing the wheel, lets write down our goals and go a step further, discuss your goals with someone whom you will hate to disappoint.
This person may check up on you during the year and the “fear of losing face” will keep you on track long after the NEW YEAR tunes have died down.
Your written goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time bound (SMART) and they act as a blueprint to follow throughout the year.
Log or write down what you do each fitness day e.g. I ran for 10 minutes and had to stop twice to catch my breath. My thighs and calves ached so badly I had to get a cold compress and take some painkillers (not a smart thing to do). Imagine what you do to your ego when three weeks later you run at an even faster pace for 30 minutes, do some strength training and take a quick shower so that you can get to work before 8am. Hmmm no pain at all.
Logging your workout is good. It boosts your ego, alerts you when you slack and if you hit a plateau your instructor may be able to help you by simply analyzing your logbook.
For your meals don’t forget to chart when (time), where (location), who you ate with, your mood during the meal and whether you ate with or without alcohol. You will have to include two weekend days in the recommended 4-day initial Diet Log.
4. Choice Is King
“Variety is the spice of life” It is the rule of thumb that you pick exercises, sports or fitness quests that you love or enjoy. When we love something, we tend to keep doing it. Always remember though that we need to spice up things a bit and sometimes challenge ourselves with those we may dislike at first sight.
You may love walking. Keep walking but vary it: use weights sometimes or even resistance bands. Intersperse brisk walking with short bursts of jogging (interval training). Walk in a hilly area and sometimes on level ground. Occasionally ride a bike, swim, play tennis or even join an aerobic class.
5. Identify the limiting factors
A limiting factor is that demon that prevents you from getting the result you expect or should achieve because you are doing everything else right.
• Nutrition is often our enemy numero uno. You will be short-changing yourself if you do not get your nutrition right. Seek professional help.
• Motivation Sometimes we need to have an exercise buddy. We tend to workout longer as we chat or make more effort to go to the gym or meet outside to walk together. We just hate to disappoint our buddies.
• Time If only we could set aside a few minutes a day to take care of our health. “Time and tide wait for no man” but how true it is that by failing to invest in our health now, we may be hit by an illness that may leave us like the river bird “…… sitting all day long……” A Stroke for instance may leave us in this state. Time is scarce, if you have to use the gym, do not go there more than five days a week. You will only be setting yourself up for gym fatigue/burn out and alas a lost dream
6. Reward Yourself
No matter how little you may think your achievement is, give yourself a pat on the shoulder. Buy yourself a smaller size dress or belt. Go out with your exercise buddy to celebrate. Make a big fuss. Your brain just recognized your excitement and will help you attain more milestones.
If through sheer coincidence you find that in June you are back to your old ways, this is no time for blame games. You need not wait till January; your new calendar starts on that day.
You have what it takes to make it. Get going NOW!!!!
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd (HE&W Group)
(dressel@healthessentialsgh. com)
*Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’
Thought for the week – “drinking bitter (pure) Cocoa daily as part of a healthy lifestyle may reduce your risk of a stroke by improving blood circulation”
SOURCES:
• Random thoughts of kojo essel
• www.healthessentialsgh.com
• Webmd.com
• Abcnews.com
By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
A good relationship with your boss is critical for job success and career development. Supervisors have a great influence on your stress level, your team and company culture, and ultimately, whether you succeed or fail in a role.
They are also your best resource for support, problem-solving, and personal development. Building a strong relationship with them can be transformative for your work experience and professional growth, but navigating this connection can be complex.
Here are some key values and characteristics that will help you along the way.
- Be authentic
It is important to be yourself when building any new relationship. Do not be over-the-top trying to impress or kiss up to a manager. Be authentic and try to build a genuine connection with them instead. This will be incredibly helpful when it comes to dealing with personal issues, having difficult conversations, and building trust.
- Be empathetic and respectful
Bosses are human beings with their own professional pressures and personal lives, so it is important to maintain empathy toward them. Strive to get to know them on a personal level; you do not need to be best friends, but knowing the basics, like their family and hobbies, can be meaningful.
Also, help your supervisor look good. Every leader wants a high-performing and successful team. By developing trust, understanding, and excellent communication, you can help your boss achieve their goals.
- Build trust and add value
Showing initiative will win you big points with almost any boss. Whether setting up regular one-on-ones, volunteering for new projects, or offering help, the benefits of this dedication are twofold.
Proactivity makes leaders feel supported-like you are looking out for them. It also provides opportunities for your individual growth.
Whenever possible, add value beyond the limitations of your job description. Whether you have a special interest or extra capacity, find ways to support your team and relieve pressure. – Source:careers.vikingservice.com
..To be continued
This week I bumped into Deborah, one of my avid readers and I promised her I will be writing this weekend. So Deborah, this is for your reading pleasure and to pick some golden nuggets for the future.
The quest to find the best way to make one’s golden years, happy, exciting, healthy and a time most people look forward to continues unabated. One factor that keeps popping up is the need to grow friendships with people more than 20 years younger than yourself.
Do not take this for granted. It is a form of “social security” since these close friends who are much younger than you will step in to support you in more ways than you can ever imagine.
Some conditions may make life challenging for older adults but knowing these Geriatric Giants helps us to take the necessary steps to reduce our risk.
“Geriatric Giants” refers to a group of chronic health conditions that are common in the elderly, typically 65-year-olds and older.
These conditions quite often co-occur and can impact on the independence, dignity and overall wellbeing and quality of life of an elderly person.
These Geriatric Giants include:
- Impaired Intellect/ Memory (e.g. Dementia)
- one of the major battles we need to deal with is challenges with memory
- Exercise, adopt the Mind Diet, build a great social network and enjoy time outdoors
- Keep reading and solving puzzles for as long as possible
- Instability – leading to much feared falls
- A good reason to indulge in Balance Training and Core Strengthening exercises from today
- Ensure your home is safe; avoid clutter such as cables crisscrossing floors, toys etc. These are all trip hazards and should be avoided
- Many healthy, happy and fun-loving older adults have died soon after a fall with its attendant complications.
- Do whatever it takes to avoid falling
- Immobility (opening the doors to pressure sores, joint stiffness)
- Even when you are unable to move about on your own it is important to get support to change positions as often as possible or get an appropriate mattress or bed that prevents prolonged pressure over any single point.
- Make sure you passively or actively move joints daily.
- Incontinence (urine, faeces or both)
- This is one of the reasons older adults prefer to stay at home and avoid going out to meet friends etc.
- Iatrogenic Disorders – adverse effect of medication
- Quite often most older adults are on several medications and some side effects such as drowsiness may seem to cause more unhappiness and may even lead to falls.
- Inappetite – this may result in poor nutrition
- This may also be linked to loss of teeth thus making chewing very difficult or limited.
- The loss of smell and taste may also reduce the amount of food one may willingly eat.
The power to reduce the impact of the Geriatric Giants starts now and should be a lifetime commitment. It is never too early to start making the appropriate lifestyle modifications, nor is it too late to reduce the impact of the giants on one’s life.
Other conditions that significantly impact on the lives especially of the elderly are:
- Sleep Disorders
- Good sleep has the power to give us energy, improve our thought pattern and even helps us to make good choices.
- Good sleep sets the tone for a healthy life
- Constipation
- This is a challenge that confronts quite a number of older adults.
- Movement, fibre and lots of water go a long way to reduce the stress that frequent constipation generates.
- Fraility
- Muscle loss is real and as we age, we lose a significant percentage of our muscle plus our bones also become brittle.
- Make sure strength training is part of your exercise schedule
- Polypharmacy
- Another headache that needs to be confronted head-on
- Everyone especially older adults need a good primary care physician or a general practitioner who can coordinate all medicines from the different Specialists who may be attending to an elderly person. This ensures that unnecessary medicines are dropped
The goal of care at all times is to optimise the quality of life. As family, professional caregivers and friends we should always show respect so that the dignity of the elderly is preserved at all times. For those of us who are not yet in the age group with such challenges, we need to start the conversation about the type of care we will prefer and take steps to stay healthy and independent for as long as possible. The goal should be a long Healthspan and not just a long Lifespan.
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd (HE&W Group)
(dressel@healthessentialsgh.com)
*Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’
Thought for the week – “There is no magic formula to being happy but making a conscious effort to be happy goes a long way.” – Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
By Dr. Kojo Cobba Esse
