Health & Wellness • Sponsored Section
www.northfulton.com
December 2013 7
11 Ways to Stay on Track during the Holidays By Renee Covey RD, LD, CDE With endless amounts of tempting holiday treats, parties to attend and busy schedules, too often weight gain over the holidays seems inevitable. But with a little creativity and planning ahead, you don’t have to go into 2014 with extra pounds. As a dietitian, I work with people who have had bariatric surgery at the Center for Surgical Weight Management at Gwinnett Medical CenterDuluth. Through their experiences, and my own, here are my top tips for navigating the holidays: Make your New Year’s resolution early (before the holidays). Visualize yourself on January 1, feeling on-track with a well-nourished body, mind and spirit. Be the slowest eater. You will enjoy the food more (texture, smell, taste) and will feel satisfied with less. Do your socializing away
from the buffet table or bar. Holidays involve a lot of parties, conversation, and occasional drinking. It can be very easy to get distracted by the mood and “forget” what you have consumed. Do not arrive hungry. Eat a healthy snack before arriving. Make new traditions. Incorporate some exercise walk with your family to look at Christmas lights, organize a game of Frisbee or dance to some holiday music. Don’t feel guilty. If you “fall off the wagon,” there is nothing stopping you from climbing back on! Exercise. Do not take a holiday from your exercise. Continue normal workouts in addition to extra activities like power walking while shopping. Take a walk with your family after a meal. Be aware - there will always be cake. You have the right to say no or to only try a very small piece.
Be prepared for pushers. Be prepared for food pushers and practice how you will respond to them. Say, “I’m eating this way for my health.” When out and in doubt, don’t eat it. Carry a healthy snack instead, so you’re not lured by cookies at the mall. Finally, feed and nourish yourself in other ways. Don’t allow holiday weight gain to happen to you. Take an active role in creating the experiences that you hope to have during this season. Need help with Meal Planning, Diet or Nutrition? The registered dietitians at the Diabetes & Nutrition Education Center at Gwinnett Medical Center-Duluth can help you design a meal plan to meet your diet and lifestyle goals. Your individualized Diet by Design plan can help you stay on track regardless of the situation. To learn more or schedule an appointment, call 678-312-6040 or visit gwinnettmedicalcenter.org/diet.
What’s your hearing fingerprint? By Dr. DEBORAH WOODWARD Johns Creek Audiology & Hearing Center No two fingerprints are alike. No two snowflakes are alike. Everyone’s DNA is unique and personal. And believe it or not, the same goes for your hearing. The way you hear is shaped by many things, starting with the unique physiology of your ear. But it does not end there. Hearing is also shaped by life experiences, lifestyle, and your individual physical and mental makeup. A musician listening for harmonies and rhythms; a football player listening for signals over the roar of a stadium; or a parent identifying their child’s voice in the school play – all have different hearing preferences, even if their hearing, as measured by a medical audiogram, “looks” identical. This uniqueness becomes especially important to people coping with a hearing loss. While they all need amplification, they need to apply it in different ways based on the unique way they live and hear. Why basic hearing instruments fall short The reason that mail order hearing “devices” are so unsatisfying is that the “one-soundfits-all” design actually fits NO ONE! Some may offer a few adjustments that can change the amplification but they can only go so far. Speech may sound
“tinny” or mechanical at times with these devices and you will have trouble distinguishing speech from background noise or locating the source of sound in a room. Think of eyeglasses with the wrong prescription. The frames may fit your face well but your vision is blurry. The right hearing instrument is as unique as you are Think of it as a micro-brain that works in harmony with your own brain to differentiate sounds based on your unique hearing profile. An advanced wireless signal processing system supports features that guard speech, help you focus your hearing, orient you in a room, and more. “Unique” begins with you Advanced new technology is still only part of the story. Through a new, more individualized hearing evaluation process, a Doctor of Audiology can actually program your unique hearing ability with lifestyle and speech preferences down to an incredible level of detail. This information tells
the instrument how to react automatically to the different hearing situations you encounter in the course of a day. Whether it’s a conversation in a car, lunch with friends, a business meeting, sporting event, concert, TV show, or just quiet time at home. And, settings can always be adjusted at the same high level of detail by your hearing care professional as your needs change. Unlock the power of personal Your hearing profile is part of what makes your life as personal as your fingerprint. With the correct hearing instrument, you can now experience a level of hearing performance that is tuned to YOUR life at a richer level of detail – anytime and anywhere. --Dr. Deborah Woodward has been a hearing care specialist for 24 years and is in private practice at the Johns Creek Audiology & Hearing Center. 770-814-1260
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Dr. Timani Johns Creek Dermatology, JOhns Creek
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2013