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Acute Medicine |
Kicking DIABETES in the pants C O N T I N U E D
most help.” Other options include one-on-one counseling, a meal-replacement program and bariatric surgery.
One-on-one counseling was the support that best matched Vernon's needs. He does not enjoy cooking, and he worked with Garey to create achievable healthy eating goals. While he didn’t achieve every one, he was always willing to try again. He also knew that his weight-loss goals would have to be achieved through his diet, because his bad back limits his ability to exercise.
These days he is likely to have a protein shake with fruit and peanut butter crackers for breakfast. Lunch is a sandwich on whole-wheat bread, and dinner is a protein shake with raw vegetables. Snacks
are fruit, celery with peanut butter and frozen fruit juice popsicles. While temptation is ever-present in the form of grab-and-go snacks and junk food available at every grocery and convenience store,
his commitment is built on the understanding that he gained in working with his Christiana Care care team. He knows that his health was increasingly at risk, and controlling his diet is his key to wellness.
“Some patients get off track when there are personal stresses,”
said Garey. “Mr. Vernon has been especially focused on reaching towards his goals. And he’s not stopping. He will continue to see us, setting new goals in 2018.” n
Let’s Commit To Be Fit |
Exercise your way to healthier blood pressure
Under new guidelines from the American Heart Association, the definition of high blood pressure has been lowered to allow for earlier intervention. The new definition means nearly half of the adults in the U.S. could be diagnosed with high blood pressure, with the greatest increase among people under age 45.
Early intervention can help to get blood pressure under control, before it begins to damage the cardiovascular system. The majority of people with hypertension — now measured at 130/80 mm Hg rather than 140/90 — will be treated with lifestyle chang- es rather than medication.
That means putting away the salt shaker — and putting on your walking shoes! Regular exercise plays a vital role in keeping blood pressure under control. So commit to be fit by exercising at least 150 minutes a week. That’s not as daunting as it sounds. Think of it as 30 minutes, five days a week.
“There is something magical about exercise,” said Kirk Noel Garratt, M.D., medical director for the Christiana Care Center for Heart and Vascular Health. “When you exercise daily your body just adapts to a different sort of physiology and allows you to run a much lower blood pressure.”
The health system is committed to helping employees to keep fit. That includes free memberships to Christiana Care’s two employee fitness centers, which are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Lunch Express group classes are 30 minutes long and are of- fered Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
12 CHRISTIANA CARE HEALTH SYSTEM
“You can easily fit in a workout and still have time to eat lunch,” said Joe Novack, exercise fitness technician. “And there are lots of other group classes offered at other times.”
The classes combine aerobic activity with light resistance training and flexibility exercises. They have quickly become popular with colleagues who enjoy the group energy of a structured class.
“Colleagues feel accountable to one another,” he said. “And it’s fun — almost like exercise in disguise.”
Regardless of the time or day of the week, employees can take advantage of indoor walking trails at Christiana Hospital and Wilmington Hospital. There’s also an outdoor walking trail on the Christiana campus. (You will find maps of the trails on the Wellness site.)
Ready access to fitness resources makes it easier to be consis- tent in your workouts and keep your exercise regimen on track.
If you aren’t certain where to begin, make an appointment with Novack to discuss your goals. Together, you can
come up with a strategy. “We can meet and
design a plan that is safe and attainable,”
he said. n
To become an employee fitness center member and/or work on a fitness plan, email Joe Novack at jnovack@ christianacare.org