At Vibrant Life Health Center we understand and that each person is uniquely different and requires specific services that focus on your health care needs individually. We are excited to share with you our official Blog to provide you with information on health tips, information, and steps you can take to transform your health and add years to life and life to years!
With Valentine’s Day being right around the corner, I
thought I’d give all of my readers an early present by sharing the experience
that a couple I am treating has experienced with our fat loss program at
Vibrant Life Health Center.
Keith and Becky Manderson decided to team up to lose weight
about a year ago. At the time, Keith had
a 52-inch waistline. He was also on high
blood pressure medication.
Keith’s Story
“A year ago, I wore the biggest pair of pants you could buy
at Walmart. Now I wear a 42. What’s even better is the way there fat loss
system treats your body. You’re not
hungry all the time. You get to eat real
food. The main thing is you get to talk
to the doctor every day. If something
isn’t looking right, he’ll tell you which way to go, and it will straighten you
out.
By Dr.
Jon Thomas, DC, Board Certified Chiropractic Physician
Courtesy of Public Domain Pictures
Happy New
Year! If you made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight and to become more
fit, you are not alone. Making a resolution is the easy part. The big question
in January is whether you will stick with it. Waking up on New Year’s Day and
realizing that there’s a price to pay for whatever unfortunate excesses may
have happened the night before, or throughout the holiday season, is the hard
part.
Fortunately,
help is available. Joining a fitness club or signing up for a weight loss
program are relatively easy. Lots of people do it in January and it works for
some of them. However, to achieve your goals, it’s important to find the right
fit.
By Dr. Jon Thomas, DC, Board Certified Chiropractic Physician.
One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions of all is to lose weight and to get back in shape. Most people know that being at a healthy weight and being physically fit is simply better than being overweight and out of shape. Another reason people make resolutions is that they know there’s an inevitable price to pay for overindulging throughout the holiday season.
Unfortunately, about one-third of all New Year’s resolutions are broken by February. What makes the difference between a New Year’s Resolution that sticks, and one that gets dropped by Valentine’s Day? Here are a few tips on how to make a resolution that you’ll have a shot at keeping.
By Dr. Jon Thomas, DC, Board Certified
Chiropractic Physician.
Courtesy of
Public Domain Photos
It’s fun during the holidays to give
gifts to loved ones. It’s also fun to be nice to yourself, especially if you do
something that will continue to pay off in some way for a long time. For many
people, NutriMost is a gift that keeps on giving. Initially, NutriMost helps
people to lose a substantial amount of weight in a short period of time.
After going through the NutriMost
program, people continue to benefit by keeping the weight off. However, there
are lots of other benefits that aren’t reflected on the scale. Many people are
able to discontinue their use of prescription medications for conditions like
high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. In addition to being
a health benefit, it is an economic benefit since it saves money.
By Dr. Jon Thomas, DC, PSc.D, Board
Certified Chiropractic Physician.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The First Thanksgiving took place
in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in November of 1621. The Pilgrims and the Wampanoag
Indians gathered for a feast to celebrate the autumn harvest. While the meal
may have featured turkey, there was probably some other fowl as well, including ducks, geese, and swans. Yum, yum.
There may also have been seafood including lobster, clams, and oysters.
Some of the locally grown and
organic vegetables for the meal were probably onions, beans, lettuce, spinach,
cabbage, and carrots. Fruits for the meal may have been blueberries,
plums, grapes, raspberries, and cranberries. It really
sounds like a fairly healthy meal.
Thanksgiving is one of our
country’s great traditions. It’s also one of the biggest holidays of the year
for most Americans. Getting together with family and friends for a big
delicious meal is something most people enjoy. However, many people enjoy the
food so much that they tend to overdo it.
Portion Control - Eat, drink, and
be merry, within reason
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Some people like to get a serving
of every food presented. Sweet potatoes, mashed
potatoes, potatoes au gratin, green beans, baked beans, peas, carrots, a
biscuit, a piece of cornbread, a piece of garlic bread, a little dark meat, a
little white meat, stuffing, apple pie, pumpkin pie, cherry pie, Boston cream
pie, etc. With the wide variety of foods available at many Thanksgiving
dinners, all those servings can add up to double or triple the calories of a
normal meal.
Here’s a tip: You don’t have to try
everything. Also, eating and eating and eating till you can barely move isn’t
all that enjoyable. Just because it’s Thanksgiving doesn’t mean you should
forget your health objectives, especially if one of those is to control your
weight. So, at some point, you just have to put down the fork down and step
away from the table.
Trigger Foods
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
One of the things NutriMost patients
learn about is trigger foods. Trigger foods are the foods that cause people to
pack on the pounds quickly. They’re not all the same for everybody either. For
one person, peanut butter may be a problem. For someone else, pizza might be a
problem. With some trigger foods, once you get started it’s hard to stop. For
example, Oreo cookies can be a problem for some people, especially if there’s
some milk to go with them. In order to
avoid your trigger foods, you must first become aware of what they are.
One way to develop an awareness
about trigger foods and how they affect you is to keep a close eye on the
scale. If your weight is up two pounds one morning, whatever you had for dinner, the night before might be a problem. If
you know what your trigger foods are before Thanksgiving, you’ll know what to
avoid. It could be the bread, or the
potatoes, or the apple pie. For most people, green beans are probably OK. In
any case, if you want to wake up raring to go for a full day of extreme
shopping on Black Friday, you might consider avoiding your trigger foods.
Thanksgiving Recipes
There are lots of great foods that
are delicious, and that won’t put you off
course in terms of your weight. In fact,
we’ve posted a file with over a dozen great Thanksgiving recipes on our
Facebook page. The recipes include:
Thanksgiving Baked Chicken or
Turkey: 170 calories per serving.
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Ingredients for one serving: 3.5 oz chicken or turkey
breast, ½ c Swanson chicken stock, 1 T chopped onion, a pinch of sage, a pinch of
marjoram, a pinch of thyme, pink salt, and pepper to taste.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Mix spices together in small
bowl
3. Dip meat into broth and coat
with spices
4. Transfer to baking dish
5. Add chopped onion and rest of
broth to bottom of the pan
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until
cooked thoroughly
Dairy-free Deviled Eggs: 150
calories per serving.
Ingredients for one serving: 2 hardboiled eggs, halved, four t dijon mustard, 1/3 t apple cider vinegar,
2-4 drops liquid stevia, 1/16 teaspoon garlic powder, dash of salt, dash of
pepper
Directions:
1. Scoop egg yolks into a bowl and
set egg whites aside.
Lemon Garlic Crockpot Chicken: 182
calories per serving.
Ingredients for four servings:
Four chicken
breasts, 4 T minced onion, two lemons, a
whole garlic bulb, two tablespoons of
thyme, 2 cups chicken broth or stock, salt and pepper.
Directions:
1. Pour chicken broth into crockpot
2. Place chicken breasts in
crockpot
3. Sprinkle minced onion and a
little salt and pepper onto each chicken
breast
4. Peel and chop all of the garlic
cloves and sprinkle on top of the chicken breasts.
5. Slice the lemons and placed them
on the chicken breasts
6. Sprinkle thyme on top
7. Put the lid on and set the timer
for 6 hours on low
Mustard Baked Chicken: 165
calories per serving.
Ingredients for two servings:
7 oz chicken breast, 1/4 c. Brown mustard, 1/2 T. Bragg's liquid aminos, two
pkts. SweetLeaf Stevia
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Line baking dish with parchment
paper
3. Place chicken, smooth side up
into the baking dish
4. In a small bowl stir together
mustard, liquid aminos, and stevia
5. Brush mustard mixture generously
over each chicken breast
6. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes or
until no longer pink, brushing with mustard mixture half way through cooking
Life In Balance and NutriMost
At Vibrant Life Health Center, we
now offer a program that brings all the key components for wellness together
under one roof. Our Life In Balance Program addresses weight and nutrition,
fitness and exercise, musculoskeletal health, and more. Our goal is to help
patients get their lives into balance and to give them all the tools they need
to stay in balance. If you have any
questions about the Life In Balance Program and you’d like to find out how it
can help you, please call to set up an appointment.
NutriMost is a fat loss program
that has enabled many people to lose twenty pounds or more in just forty days.
Instead of putting on five or ten pounds through the holiday season, you could actually lose twenty pounds or more by January.
Wouldn’t that be a nice way to start the year? If you’d like to learn more
about NutriMost, check out our website or call to set up an appointment.
Schedule a Free Tytron Scan at Vibrant Life Health Center.
Vibrant Life Health Center is
currently offering free Tytron scans
through the end of November. See for yourself how this amazing device works and
how it can help you to get your body back into balance. If you have acute or
chronic pain and you’d like to find out how chiropractic can help, set up an
appointment with Dr. Thomas at the Vibrant Life Health Center.
If you’d like to learn more about
the benefits of detoxification, call Vibrant Life Health Center. If you’ve been
struggling to lose weight, let Dr. Thomas explain how the NutriMost program has
helped many people lose twenty to forty pounds or more in just forty days. And if you’d like to check out the Life In Balance
plan which can address every area of a patient’s health, call Vibrant Life to
set up an appointment.
---
In this article, I have discussed
what people ate on the first Thanksgiving and how to eat healthier for
Thanksgiving now. I’ve also given a few great recipes for Thanksgiving foods
that will match up with your weight and fitness objectives.
If you have a comment about this
article, please leave it in the comments section below. If you know of someone
who might benefit from the information in this blog, please share it with your
friends and colleagues, as well as on social media.
The Google Plus button and other
social media sharing buttons are below.
At Vibrant Life, we address all the
key elements to add vibrance and vitality to your life. This includes nutrition, Chiropractic care, and fitness. If you
need to consult with a chiropractor about your neck, back, or any other health
concern, please contact our office to set up an appointment.
Courtesy of Vibrant Life Health Center
Dr. Jon Thomas is a Board Certified Chiropractic Physician. His
practice, The Vibrant Life Health Center is located in the Mandarin section of
Jacksonville. His interest in health and fitness started early, and his
athletic pursuits have included BMX racing, Professional Snow Skiing, Water
Skiing, Baseball, Weightlifting, and Martial Arts. After studying and learning
from some of the top health experts throughout the world, Dr. Thomas dedicated
his life to helping people of all ages to transform their lives. The objective
for each patient is to initiate the body’s healing and to work progressively
toward a body that functions optimally.
Dr. Thomas is seen regularly on TV on
First Coast Living, where he discusses the transformations of his patients. He
also speaks at events throughout the community and writes informative articles
to improve the health of residents throughout Northeast Florida
By Dr. Jon Thomas, DC, PSc.D, Board
Certified Chiropractic Physician.
Courtesy of Danny Murphy
Halloween has come and gone. Now, The
Agricultural Fair is in town. From candy corn to cotton candy to deep fried
Twinkies, some of the things that people eat at this time of year are
absolutely spooky! I urge people to think about what they’re consuming and to
avoid things that will have negative health consequences.
As people age, many face health
challenges that they never had to think about when they were younger. The good
news is that there are things a person can do to avoid many of the health
problems associated with aging. The even better news is that help is available.
With that in mind, here are some of the scariest health problems people face as
they grow older.
General decline in health leading to
inability to take care of oneself
Courtesy of Vibrant Life
Health Center
Many people take their health for
granted until something goes wrong. As people age, there can be a tendency for
more and more to go wrong. The bad habits, unhealthy diets, and lack of
exercise begin to take their toll in the form of serious health problems.
Eventually, many who have taken care of themselves and others for decades get
to the point where they can no longer live independent lives.
Since most people enjoy having the
ability to take care of themselves, losing that ability is very scary. The good
news is that if you establish a plan with long term and short term goals you
can maintain a healthy weight, enjoy the ability to exercise, and keep your
body in top shape! You can maintain an optimal level of health right through to
the end, or very close to it.
Loss of memory and mental acuity,
Alzheimer’s Disease
As people age, many do lose their mental
sharpness and their ability to remember things. Many people have family members
or friends who appear to be losing their memory a little more each day. When
someone you’ve loved for your whole life forgets who you are, it’s truly
frightening. The prospect of that happening to oneself is truly terrifying.
Consuming the right nutrients and
staying physically active are two of the keys to maintaining mental fitness. Sitting
on the couch, eating potato chips, and watching whatever shows up on the screen
will not keep a person mentally healthy.
For optimal mental health, it’s very
important to stay in the game by continuing to learn new things. Nourishing the
mind is just as important as eating the right foods. The more people do that,
the less likely they are to see a decline in their mental capabilities.
Being overweight and being unable to
lose excess weight
Bodies in motion tend to stay in motion
and remain healthy. If you don’t believe it, check out a few videos of Jack LaLanne,
the godfather of fitness. Bodies at rest tend to stay at rest and pack on the
pounds. If you don’t believe that, take a look at some of your neighbors, family
members, or friends. For most people, body metabolism changes as they age. When
people reach their 30s, 40s, and 50s, they usually don’t burn calories as fast
as they did in their 20s. This is why it becomes more difficult for most people
to lose weight as they age.
When people begin the NutriMost Weight
Loss program at Vibrant Life Health Center, we measure their weight and we
measure their bodies in key areas. One other thing we measure is metabolic age.
We do this at the beginning of the program and then again at the end.
Invariably, after successfully completing forty days in the program, a person’s
metabolic age has been substantially reduced, usually by a decade or more.
This is very important because losing
weight is only part of the equation. To achieve permanent weight loss, a person
needs to learn the in’s and out’s of their personal metabolism. Patients who go
through our Programs weather its Life in Balance, NutriMost, or even Functional
Medicine we show people this key component to long term health and vitality!
Taking a decade or more off one’s metabolic age is one of the keys to keeping
the weight off. Taking the weight off and keeping it off is also one of the
best things a person can do to avoid many conditions associated with age, including
diabetes, arthritis, and many other diseases.
Heart attack, heart disease, stroke
Courtesy of NutriMost
A healthy cardiovascular system is an
essential component of good health. When heart disease sets in, the body can’t
function properly. When the blood is carrying things that can build up in the
form of plaque in blood vessels, a person can suffer a stroke which can cause
brain damage and disrupt the nervous system in such a way that parts of the
body cease to function properly.A heart
attack caused by hardening of the arteries can maim or kill.
The foods we consume have an enormous
impact on cardiovascular health. They can help to keep things flowing properly
or they can create blockages. It’s so important to keep this in mind as we
choose what to eat and what not to eat. Also, exercise is extremely important
for heart health. A good fitness program can certainly contribute to keeping a
heart strong and extending a person’s life expectancy.
Loss of balance resulting in falls and
broken limbs
Wikimedia Commons
The thought of falling and not being
able to get up is one of the scariest things of all. Remember the commercial? A
good sense of balance that keeps one from falling is certainly one of the
things people take for granted until they take a tumble. As people age, they do
sometimes lose the sense of balance they had when they were younger. To make
matters worse, bones can break more easily as we get older, and when they do it
takes longer for them to heal.
Maintaining a healthy weight and staying
fit can definitely help a person to keep his or her sense of balance throughout
life. Another thing that is very important for maintaining a sense of balance
is musculoskeletal health. The bones and muscles not only affect the way we
move it also plays a key role in brain/body communication. While many people
think of chiropractic care primarily as the answer to injuries, routine
adjustments can provide a tremendous health benefit.
Life In Balance
At Vibrant Life Health Center, we now
offer a program that brings all the key components for wellness together under
one roof. Our Life In Balance Program addresses weight and nutrition, fitness
and exercise, musculoskeletal health, and more. Our goal is to help patients
get their lives into balance and to give them all the tools they need to stay
in balance. If you have any questions about the Life In Balance Program and
you’d like to find out how it can help you, please call to set up an
appointment.
Call to schedule a Free Tytron Scan at
Vibrant Life Health Center this November.
Courtesy of
Vibrant Life Health Center
Vibrant Life Health Center is currently
offering free Tytron scans through the end of November. See for yourself how
this amazing device works and how it can help you to get your body back into
balance. If you have acute or chronic pain and you’d like to find out how chiropractic
can help, set up an appointment with Dr. Thomas at the Vibrant Life Health
Center.
If you’ve been struggling to lose
weight, let Dr. Thomas explain how the NutriMost program has helped many people
lose twenty to forty pounds or more in just forty days. And if you’d like to
check out the Life In Balance plan which can address every area of a patient’s
health, call Vibrant Life to set up an appointment.
---
In this article, I have discussed some
of the scariest health problems people face as they grow older. I’ve also
discussed the various ways people can reduce their risk of health challenges
many people face as they age.
If you have a comment about this article,
please leave it in the comments section below. If you know of someone who might
benefit from the information in this blog, please share it with your friends
and colleagues, and also on social media.
The Google Plus button and other social
media sharing buttons are below.
At Vibrant Life, we address all of the
key elements to add vibrance and vitality to your life. This includes
nutrition, Chiropractic care, and fitness. If you need to consult with a
chiropractor about your neck, back, or any other health concern, please contact
our office to set up an appointment.
Courtesy of Vibrant Life
Health Center
Dr. Jon Thomas is a
Board Certified Chiropractic Physician. His practice, The Vibrant Life Health
Center, is located in the Mandarin section of Jacksonville. His interest in
health and fitness started early, and his athletic pursuits have included BMX
racing, Professional Snow Skiing, Water Skiing, Baseball, Weightlifting, and
Martial Arts. After studying and learning from some of the top health experts
throughout the world, Dr. Thomas dedicated his life to helping people of all
ages to transform their lives. The objective for each patient is to initiate
the body’s healing and to work progressively toward a body that functions
optimally. Dr. Thomas is seen regularly on TV on First Coast Living, where he
discusses the transformations of his patients. He also speaks at events
throughout the community and writes informative articles to improve the health
of residents throughout Northeast Florida.
By Dr. Jon Thomas, DC, PSc.D, Board
Certified Chiropractic Physician.
Courtesy of Vibrant Life Health Center
When it comes to health and
fitness, everybody has a different set of challenges. At Vibrant Life we meet
people where they are at with programs that address their specific needs. We
assess all of the issues patients are facing and then put together our programs
for them.
We help people to attain the levels
of health that they’ve been dreaming of. Bob lost a lot of weight and he’s
continuing to work toward his fitness goals. He recently appeared on a Life in
Balance segment with me on First Coast Living.
“I had a co-worker who told me that
NutriMost really worked for him,” Bob said. “I was an electronics technician in
the Navy. When I checked into NutriMost and I heard about the resonant
frequencies used in the program, that appealed to my technical background. The
personal contact in the program is one of the keys. Checking in every day helped me to stay accountable.
“Dr. Thomas is an amazing
encourager. His responses always encouraged me to stick with it. I’m trying to
get back to the same weight I was when I retired from the Navy over 20 years
ago. I lost 40 pounds in 40 days while I was on NutriMost. My total weight loss
so far is 56 pounds, and my goal is to lose a total of 80 pounds. My wife is
very happy, and several of my co-workers are now looking to start on the
program.”
15 patients have lost 580 pounds in
20 to 40 days on NutriMost in the past few months.
The NutriMost program shows people
why they’ve been having trouble transforming their bodies the way they want to.
As people go through the program they realize that wellness is so much more
than a number on a scale.
Obesity is a very serious problem
and health experts are now predicting that we’re going to see shorter life
spans because of it. We’ve got to make changes. NutriMost educates patients
about the changes they need to make and then enables and empowers them to make
those changes.
We partner with our patients and
walk through this process with them. At the end of 20 days or 40 days, people
are lighter and many are off some, or all, of their medications. Just as
importantly, they have the strategies and the tools they need to continue
toward their wellness objectives.
One thing I hear over and over from
patients like Bob is that the personal contact has an enormous impact on how
they do with the program. They know that when they face a particular challenge,
they can get an answer very quickly. Not in a day, or two, or in four hours.
They can frequently get an answer to their questions in less than an hour.
I believe that keeping in close
touch with patients communicates to them that I care about how they’re doing.
Patients find that highly motivating. I’m very motivated by seeing patients
succeed. That’s truly a win-win!
By the time people finish a cycle
on NutriMost, they have the knowledge and the tools they need moving forward.
They also know that there’s a place they can always go back to for answers to
any questions they may have.
Life in Balance Tip: Do the right
types of diet and exercise for your body type.
Wondering what kind of exercise to
do? Although many people don’t realize it, different activities work better for
different body types. Think about that. An exercise program that works well for
one person might not work for someone with a different body type. There are
mainly three body types: Ectomorph, Endomorph, and Mesomorph.
Ectomorphs usually
have a fast metabolism and they have trouble gaining muscle mass. Since one of
the goals of an ectomorph should be to gain weight, bodybuilding for
ectomorphs should address that need. Cardio exercises which burn calories
should be kept to a minimum. Ectomorph should consume lots of calories from
complex carbohydrates. This will help them with anabolic weight gain.
Endomorphs are the
opposite of ectomorphs. Endomorphs have slower metabolisms which store extra
calories. Endomorphs gain weight easily and they struggle to lose body fat. The
main goal for endomorphs is to burn body fat. Exercises for endomorphs should
include several cardio sessions each week. Weight training should be done at a
fast pace with lots of repetitions. Diet is especially important for
endomorphs. In order to lose weight, they must burn more calories each day than
they consume. The best diets for endomorphs are high in protein and moderate in
fat and complex carbohydrates. They should avoid snacks.
Mesomorphs usually
have a genetic advantage which helps them to build lean muscle mass. Mesomorphs
frequently look athletic without really training. They benefit from nearly any
training regimen. Mesomorphs do well with alternating exercise programs.
Three keys to exercise that
produces positive results.
Courtesy of Vibrant Life Health Center
Never lose sight of your goals. The brain
works best when it is focused on a specific target. The more focused a person
is, the more likely he or she is to succeed. Take time to identify exactly what
your objectives are. Do you want to gain muscle, to lose body fat or both? Identifying your fitness
destination is a big step toward getting there.
Balance diet with exercise. Whether
your goal is to add muscle or burn fat, exercise and diet work best together. A
low-calorie diet will help you to lose body fat, but it won’t help you to build
muscle mass. To achieve your goals, you need a diet which complements your
exercise regimen.
Customize your exercise program. Whether
your wellness goals include burning fat or building muscle, make adjustments to
your diet and exercise program. As you find what works for you and what
doesn’t, make adjustments to your diet and exercise. Tweaking things once in a
while will help you to develop an integrated program which will help you to
achieve your objectives.
To find out more about body types
and exercise, check out these related articles.
This article features a weight
loss testimony from Bob, who lost 40 pounds in 40 days. I’ve also discussed how
exercise and diet work together for the three main body types.
If you have a comment about this
article, please leave it in the comments section below. If you know of someone
who might benefit from the information in this blog, please share it with your
friends and colleagues, and also on social media.
The Google Plus button and other
social media sharing buttons are below.
At Vibrant Life, we address all
of the key elements to add vibrance and
vitality to your life. This includes nutrition, chiropractic care, and fitness.
If you need to consult with a chiropractor about your neck, back, or any other
health concern, please contact our office to set up an appointment.
Courtesy of
Vibrant Life Health Center
Dr. Jon Thomas is a Board Certified Chiropractic Physician. His
practice, The Vibrant Life Health Center, is located in the Mandarin section of
Jacksonville. His interest in health and fitness started early, and his
athletic pursuits have included BMX racing, Professional Snow Skiing, Water
Skiing, Baseball, Weightlifting, and Martial Arts. After studying and learning
from some of the top health experts throughout the world, Dr. Thomas dedicated
his life to helping people of all ages to transform their lives. The objective
for each patient is to initiate the body’s healing and to work progressively
toward a body that functions optimally. Dr. Thomas is seen regularly on TV on
First Coast Living, where he discusses the transformations of his patients. He
also speaks at events throughout the community and writes informative articles
to improve the health of residents throughout Jacksonville.
