We have heard many people cheer in celebration, “Salud” or “Here’s to Your Health” but what does that really mean? 

Do we really know what it means to live healthy? 

I had to ask that same question myself after I received the results of my recent blood tests showing that I have high cholesterol. 

The first thing that popped into my mind was that last piece of bacon I ate for breakfast two days before.  I then started to think back over the past several months and then I had to take a hard look at my food choices throughout my life and realize that I had been on the path to high cholesterol for some time now.  I remember going to an all-you-can-eat buffet with my family and noticing how many more people were lined for fried chicken than for the salad bar.  I have to admit that I was one of those people waiting the fried chicken.  It has been so easy for me to continue those habits of eating high fat, high cholesterol foods that I learned in school.

Now faced with high cholesterol and my increased risk for heart disease and stroke I had to change my whole attitude on living healthy and now I want to share what I learned with you. 

When many of us think about our health, we tend to think about our illnesses or list our medical problems.  We think about high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, stroke and the like.  As a Board Certified Internist, I know that these medical problems are very real and can seem to consume your life and be your primary focus when you go to see the doctor. 

However, I want to help you look beyond your illness and look forward to your health. 

When I counsel my patients on their eating habits I don’t just tell them what they can’t eat because I know from experience when I was told not to go into the cookie jar before dinner, the cookie jar became larger than life and consumed my every thought until dinner.  What I tell them is what they can eat and give them options to help satisfy their cravings instead of listing all the things they can’t have.

Healthy living is more that just controlling the medical problems you have. 

Yes, it is important to take your medications as directed by your doctor.  Yes, it is important to visit your doctor on a regular basis for routine checkups.  BUT, there is more!  

Living healthy is a lifestyle.  That means everything that you do—the activities of your life are focused on your health.   You might ask, “Well, what does living healthy as a lifestyle look like?”  You know if you are living healthy if you constantly ask yourself, is this good for me or is this good for my family?

What does healthy living really mean?

• It means eating a diet loaded with fruits and vegetables, full of whole grains, high in fiber and low in saturated and trans fat and low in cholesterol.
• It means being active in moderate exercise for 30 minutes on most, if not all, days of the week
• It means not smoking and not being exposed to secondhand smoke
• It means not drinking excessive alcohol (limited to one drink daily for women and 2 drinks daily for men)
• It means getting the age appropriate cancer screening tests to detect cancer earlier
• It means maintaining a healthy weight or body mass index (BMI)

Did you know that eating a diet low in saturated fat and low in cholesterol can prevent you from having a heart attack and getting certain cancers?
 

Did you know that by losing 5 to 10 percent of your body weight you can lower your blood pressure and lower your blood sugar levels?

Did you know that smoking tobacco or exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke can substantially increase your risk of having a heart attack or a stroke and developing certain cancers?

When you are in the grocery store, do you ever look at an item and think, if I buy this item will it help me eat a more balanced diet?  Is it high in fiber and low in saturated fat and cholesterol? 

When you wake up in the morning, do you think of ways to incorporate more physical activity into your schedule or plan to workout after work? 

In today’s society, healthy living is not second nature. 

We are constantly surrounded by unhealthy choices that are within arms reach or just a phone call away.  It seems easier to pick up the phone and call the local pizza delivery place than walk to the refrigerator and get a snack of celery and carrot sticks. 

To make healthier choices, you have to plan!  You will not have healthy food selections at home unless you shop healthier and make healthier choices at the supermarket. 

Now when I go to the grocery store, I have to anticipate waking up late at night for a quick snack or wanting to munch on something good during the game or the weeknight movie.  Instead of putting a bag of potato chips in the cart I grab a bag of baby carrots to keep on hand to munch on. 

So the next time you have a choice between that prepackaged high calorie sweet treat to bring home, remember to celebrate your health and select a naturally sweet alternative like a fruit or vegetable for that late night snack. 

Salud!

Dr. Traci Ferguson, The Health and Wellness Queen

P.S. Check out the Backyard Workout Manual and get your hands on the world’s easiest food plan for healthy eating and healthy living.

What’s the world coming to?

A woman gives birth to a 17 pound and one ounce baby….

Women contemplate artificial insemination….like Carolyn on the HBO hit Tell Me You Love Me…

The phrase “eating for two” seems ingrained in the minds of pregnant women around the world….

And doctors struggle to find the optimal amount of weight gain during pregnancy that will promote health for the baby and a successful and complication-free pregnancy for mom.

Almost two decades ago, the Institute of Medicine, a major medical authority in the US, developed guidelines concerning the recommended amount of weight women of varying body types should gain during pregnancy.  These guidelines seemed simple enough and have been used for years to guide expectant mothers and their doctors.  Even during my pregnancy, I found myself pouring over all the information I could about healthy eating, exercising during pregnancy and nutrition. 

I had what seemed like thousands of questions about my pregnancy.  What types of food should I avoid during pregnancy?  How much exercise is recommended during each trimester of pregnancy?  Can I still exercise during my third trimester of pregnancy?  How much weight should I gain each trimester?  How can I prevent from getting those all-too-common stretch marks on my ever-expanding belly? 

And to go along with those thousands of questions, came even more words of advice, recommendations and suggestions from family, friends, colleagues and let’s not forget the random strangers who thought nothing about coming up to me, extending their hand and commence talking to me like we’ve known each other for years as they rubbed or patted my belly.  How many times have you heard or even advised someone else that “they’re eating for two now”….that “they can now eat anything they want”….that “you have free reign when it comes to eating”? 

Don’t be embarrassed…we’ve all done it before.  But it’s NOT the truth.  Expectant mothers are NOT eating for two.  And if you or someone you know believes that they are eating for two…the only “two” you’ll see is the “two of you” years later after you’re still struggling to lose that “baby weight”.  

The news article about the Siberian woman who recently gave birth to a 17 pound and one ounce girl failed to mention the weight of the mother, who at the age of 43 had given birth to 11 other children…all born in excess of 11 pounds!  How much total weight did she actually gain during her pregnancy to have given birth to a 17 pound baby!

I can only surmise that her eating habits…which consisted largely of carbohydrates…was more out of a sense of survival and not gluttony but she did report that she “ate everything.”   Everything in the Western world would consist of all the McDonald’s, pizza, ice cream and bon-bons that you can find or that you can get someone to run out in the middle of the night to buy. 

The Institute of Medicine’s recommendation that underweight women gain 28 to 40 pounds during pregnancy, normal weight women aim for 25 to 35 pounds and overweight women try to keep their weight gain between 15 and 25 pounds while obese women aim at gaining no more than 15 pounds has been the measuring rod for almost 30 years.  The Institute’s main goal for initiating these guidelines was to lower the risk of women having low birth weight babies.  And they’ve succeeded….or so why think? 

Instead of reporting the world’s smallest baby….we’re hearing about the world’s largest baby.  Many women are now exceeding these recommended weight guidelines and are gaining substantially more weight during their pregnancy, resulting in poorer health outcomes for both the baby and mother.  Overweight babies are at risk for birthing complications such as shoulder dislocation or deformities during attempted vaginal delivery and mothers of overweight babies are at risk for developing gestational diabetes and high blood pressure. 

Doctors, women’s magazines, medical journals and even the internet are taking a stand to get the message out to women that “eating everything” and “eating for two” can be costly to their overall health and the health of their unborn child.  The Institute of Medicine is even contemplating revising their pregnancy weight gain recommendations in response to this growing obesity trend. 

But until then, we have the current pregnancy weight guidelines and hope that the next news bulletin won’t report that the Guinness World Record for the largest baby at 22 pounds and 4 ounces has been broken. 

To your (and your baby’s) wellness,
Dr. Traci Ferguson, The Health and Wellness Queen 

P.S.  If you want to stay healthy before, during and after pregnancy, check out The Backyard Workout Manual that you can do in the comfort of your home or backyard. 

When my close friend called me at work to say that my 17 month old son was congested, with a runny nose and slight fever, I knew she was calling to find out what she should do.  She loves Rufus like her own and realized that although I was at work, I’d want to know what was going.  Rufus had recently spent time at daycare several days earlier and he most likely picked up a virus. 

A viral illness may cause fever— even a high fever, cough, a sore throat, runny nose and congestion but it’s self-limited and doesn’t require much, if any medication. 

So I wouldn’t go for the overkill.  He needed something….he was getting fussy and irritable and wasn’t feeling well at all.  He had taken liquid Tylenol on occasion  since the age of 6 months at his pediatrician’s suggestion after getting his routine immunizations so I knew Rufus could tolerate a dose of acetaminophen if needed.  Tylenol would be a good and safe option.  So I recommended that she buy infant’s Tylenol and give him one dropper full—a single dose. 

With the virus spreading throughout the house from Rufus to me and on to my husband, I headed to the pharmacy several days later to pick up some over-the-counter cold medication for myself.  As I walked down the cold remedies aisle, I was struck by the overwhelming number of choices for children and adults from acetaminophen and ibuprofen-based products for fever and pain relief, dextromethophan or guaifenesin-based medications for cough relief to pseudoephedrine for decongestion. 

I spent over fifteen minutes searching the aisle looking for the exact combination of components that would control my symptoms without adding extra medications that I didn’t need like chlorpheniramine or diphenhydramine/Benadryl which causes drowsiness.  I finally settled on a cough syrup containing a decongestant.  After getting my medication, I wandered over to the children’s section just to see what was available. 

Even as a physician, I found it difficult to sort through all the medication combinations and became brutally aware of how easy it would be to get confused or unintentionally give more than the recommended dose of medication to your child…especially if your child has multiple caregivers.  Say for example, your babysitter gives your child a dose of cold medication right before you pick him up.  You forget to ask her when your child last received his medication and then within two hours you give him another dose…virtually giving him a double dose of medication within a short period of time. 

Most of the time a single extra dose of medication won’t kill him but in some instances it might.  If your child has continued to receive multiple extra doses over a course of several days, one additional dose may be toxic and lead to serious complications and even death. 

The Food and Drug Administration has received numerous reports of serious events and death related to cold medicine preparations in children and in response to these reports issued a public advisory regarding over-the-counter cough and cold medications for young children. 

These guidelines are useful for parents and caregivers and especially for physicians who often advise their patients on how to treat the common cold in children: 
 

1. Cough and cold medications should not be used in children under the age of 2 unless directed by your doctor.  Rufus had been advised to use Tylenol as needed after receiving his vaccinations to his prevent a post-immunization fever and help relieve any discomfort at the vaccine site.
2. Cold and cough medications intended for use by adults should not be used by children.  In other words, if you don’t have Children’s Tylenol in your medicine cabinet but you have adult cough syrup, DO NOT try to substitute this for medication designed especially for children.  Even in smaller quantities, the adult formulation may still be too potent and too strong for your child.
3. Use the packaged measuring device to administer the liquid medication.  DO NOT use a household teaspoon or tablespoon to estimate the dose.  You may inadvertently given significantly more than the intended dose.  And if you don’t have a measuring device, BUY ONE before you leave the store.
4. If your child’s condition doesn’t improve or worsens, stop using the medication and contact a doctor immediately.  
5. And the fifth guideline is from me, Dr. Traci, the Health and Wellness Queen:  Keep a running log of when your child has received his last and is due for his next dose of medication.  Make sure you alert all of your caregivers concerning your child’s medications, either prescription or over-the-counter.  This log will avoid over dosing or missing doses.  Good communication between caregivers is the key to keeping your child safe when fighting a cold.

To safely treat the common cold, be smart and use over-the-counter medication only as directed.

To your wellness,
Dr. Traci Ferguson, The Health and Wellness Queen.

Life in the Big Apple…

This past weekend my husband and I lived life in the fast lane on a weekend getaway trip to New York City.  For those of you who haven’t traveled to the NYC lately, there’s a new “Zero trans fat” law that went into effect this summer which mandates that all restaurants prepare foods using “0 trans fat” ingredients.  This new law is a victory for everyone especially for those who follow a heart healthy diet. 

Trans fat can significantly increase your bad cholesterol, or LDL—and it has no nutritional value.  Unlike olive oil or canola oil, synthetic fats often used in fast food cooking that made McDonald’s fries famous, may make some foods “tasty” but with the fat come a worse cholesterol profile, excess calories and NO nutritional value. 

So without having to deal with trans fat, my goal during our NYC trip was to maintain my eating program….filling up on lean protein, fruits and vegetables with selective carbohydrates with the ultimate goal of keeping on top of my eating so that when I’d step back on the scale after the trip I wouldn’t be blown away with any additional pounds.

We spent our first evening in the Big Apple at a popular steakhouse where Coach Ferguson stuck to his guns and ordered steak tomatoes with mozzarella, drizzled with vinegar (but no olive oil) followed by a lean cut of steak and steamed broccoli.  I, too, passed on the warm bread, and chose the leanest cut of steak on the menu with asparagus and ended the meal with dessert….a small cup of fruit sorbet!  I said “NO” to crème brulee, cheesecake, ice cream, mousse and a chocolate soufflé…and instead, I selected a lighter dessert option to satisfy my sweet tooth and avoided all the unnecessary calories.   

I continued on my quest to experience all that New York has to offer without compromising my food plan or my waistline.  Breakfast at a corner café featured an egg white omelet with fresh vegetables and whole grain toast.  I passed over the stack of pancakes and French toast drenched in syrup for a high protein and fiber rich breakfast which held me throughout the morning.  After stopping by a local convenient mart and picking up some protein bars, we headed down Broadway to make the 2pm Theatre matinee.

Even after experiencing an amazing Broadway performance with The Color Purple featuring Fantasia, we’d continue our whirlwind tour of New York at the US Open in Tennis.  There was no Venus, no Serena, no Roddick, no Federer but there was amazing tennis to watch.  Seeded or unseeded, the men and women’s third round of play held our attention way past midnight before we caught the 1:08am train back downtown.  Having missed “dinner” in order to make the 7pm US Open start, it was close to 2 o’clock in the morning by the time we sat down to eat.  We ended the night at a 24 hour diner with….you guessed it…. an egg white omelet!

Mushroom and tomatoes, peppers and onions, or spinach and asparagus…..whatever your combination is, load up on veggies, stick with a low-fat cheese option (if available) and avoid extra fat and calories by eliminating sausage, bacon or ham from your egg white (or egg substitute) omelet and you’ll have a filling and heart healthy meal.

Whether you’re in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles or Suburbia, USA, you can enjoy life in all of its abundance by choosing healthy food options even when out on the town!

If we can do it….you can do it!

To your wellness,
Dr. Traci Ferguson, The Health and Wellness Queen

Have you ever wondered how some people seem to lose weight without even going to the gym?

Do you wish you could find the time to get more exercise in your day?

Do you want to know how to use your mind to help you lose the pounds, lower your blood pressure and lose body fat?

A recent clinical trial from Harvard University showed that housekeepers who were educated about the exercise benefits of routine household duties like dusting and vacuuming lost weight within four weeks without working harder or eating better.  Because these women were informed that vacuuming and performing other cleaning duties were equivalent to working out, their minds transformed these routine activities into exercise.

Visualize working your quadriceps and hamstrings when you walk up and down the stairs carrying loads of laundry.  Imagine increasing your upper body strength with every window cleaned and each tub scrubbed.  And if you’re fortunate enough not to have to do any significant housework on a daily basis, you can use the same mind technique in everything that you do. 

Whether you’re walking up a flight of stairs, shopping aisle after aisle at the supermarket or picking up after your little one, think about the calories you’re burning doing these activities, the exercise your body is getting by participating in these tasks and the pounds you’ll lose by keeping your mind focused on exercise in whatever you do.

Even before I read this article, I was silently amazed that I lost two pounds without even changing my eating habits or increasing my workout routine.  What I did notice is how I focused my mind on getting the most out of every flight of stairs I climbed…how I pictured my thighs getting exercised with every step I took…how I understood that I’d burn a significant amount of the calories throughout the day just by walking up and down the halls of the hospital. 

The pounds suddenly starting coming off and staying off once I focused my mind on burning calories during my normal daily activities.  After looking at those flights of stairs as more than just a means to get from one floor to another but as my own unique way to exercise and to burn calories…I lost an incredible two extra pounds in two weeks!

The key to using this technique is to be informed and knowledgeable. 

You have to actually know and believe that you can burn calories by doing regular household chores, gardening or routine daily activities like shopping.  Only then will you possess the power of your mind to lose weight, lower your blood pressure and live a healthier life.

So start exercising your mind!

To your wellness,
Dr. Traci Ferguson, The Health and Wellness Queen 

Don’t believe that you’re doomed to suffer with poor health or frequent sick visits to the doctor because there is a proven way to get fit, get healthy and live longer. 

You won’t need to save up your money to get that tummy tuck or liposuction. 

You don’t need to waste your time or money on programs that don’t work. 

What you need to knowledge about how to turn your life around….knowledge about what you can do now to live longer and healthier.

Research has shown that four simple changes in your lifestyle can prevent you from having a heart related illness and from dying early.

The first step to attaining a healthy lifestyle is to adhere to a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.  With fast food restaurants around nearly every corner, our full and busy schedules and snack machines loaded with everything but healthy options, it’s no wonder why most of us fall short when it comes to eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Reaching this goal takes premeditation and planning to make sure your refrigerator is full of healthy options for you to grab on the go. 

The second step to turning back the clock is to exercise at least 2 and a half hours per week, which can be easily achieved by engaging in moderately intense physical activity for at least 30 minutes on at least 5 days out of the week. 

Don’t feel confined to a gym when it comes to meeting your goal of exercising at least 30 minutes five days a week.  Go walking, ride a bike, get in the backyard and do some gardening or follow along with an exercise DVD and you’ll get the exercise you need to lower your risk of developing heart disease and can also decrease your risk of other diseases like cancer and diabetes by just becoming more active. 

The third step to adopting a healthy lifestyle is to maintain a healthy weight as measured by having a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5 to 29.9 kg/m2.  You can calculate your BMI by multiplying your weight in pounds by 703 and dividing that number by the square of your height in inches.   Studies on mortality consistently show that leaner you are (the lower your Body Mass Index is within the range of 18.5 to 29.9 kg/m2) the longer you live.

The fourth and final step to living a healthy lifestyle is to not smoke. Smoking places you at risk for not only lung cancer and certain other cancers but raises your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

Living a healthy lifestyle takes dedication, perseverance and determination but you can do it. 

Take the time now to rededicate your life to living healthy by eating more fruits and vegetables, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight and not smoking and you’ll add greater health and wellness and longevity to your life.

To your wellness,
Dr. Traci Ferguson, The Health and Wellness Queen
 

Smoking kills.

Driving drunk kills.

And now…. having obese friends can kill your hopes of losing weight.

And it’s true.

A recently published study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that people who have a social network of obese friends were more likely to become obese themselves. 

The study showed that if you have a friend who became obese over time, you have a 57% chance of also becoming obese.  And the obesity influence is not limited to just friends.  If you have a sibling that’s obese, your chances of becoming obese increases by 40% and if you have a spouse that’s obese, you’re 37 percent more likely to also become obese. 

And it’s not because of the water or any other local environmental influence because this obesity influence was NOT seen between neighbors—which means you can have an obese neighbor and NOT be influenced to pack on the pounds like you would if you had a friend, a sibling or a spouse that was obese. 

Obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index-BMI- of greater than or equal to 30.  You can calculate your own BMI by using this simple equation:

English version:  BMI =  your weight in pounds multiplied by 703 and divide that number by your square of your height in inches

Metric version:  BMI = your weight in kilograms divided by the square of your height in meters

If your Body Mass Index is 30 or above, you’re considered obese.  And if that’s the case, take an inventory of your friends, your siblings and your spouse.

Here’s what you need to ask yourself.

1.  When did you start putting on all this weight? 

2.  When did your friends, your siblings or your spouse start gaining alot of weight?

3.  Did you notice the weight gain?  And if you did, how accepting were you of your friends, siblings or spouses’ weight gain?

4.  Did you come to view your own weight gain as “okay” because you’d already accepted your friends’ weight gain as “okay”?

Your honest answers to these questions will most certainly illuminate the situation concerning the growing obesity epidemic.  Your social network of friends can greatly influence how you see yourself, how you value your health and how you eat. 

But don’t get discouraged if you look around at all the friends in your social network and see one friend struggling with her weight after another.  Because this social network doesn’t have to only influence weight gain….it can influence your weight loss…especially if you take the lead. 

Although this study focused on the strong influence your social network can have on obesity, the same could be said about the as equally strong influence in the opposite direction….towards achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, towards greater physical fitness and towards improved wellness. 

You hold the key to determining what your circle of friends—your circle of influence are going to focus on.  It can be gaining weight, becoming obese, developing diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease…OR….it can focus on eating healthier, getting more exercise, maintaining a healthy lifestyle—all the things that I have been writing about for months now. 

Now is the time to get your social network back on track and focus on your health and wellness!!!

Get motivated….get excited….and get moving!

To your wellness,

Dr. Traci Ferguson, The Health and Wellness Queen

P.S.  You can jumpstart your new healthy living program by getting your very own copy of The Backyard Workout today!

…Your salad could be ruining your weight loss program!!!

Eating salad is probably on your top ten food choices when it comes to eating healthy.  You grab a quick salad for lunch, add a small salad with dinner or order a salad when eating out.  You believe that eating this way will help you reach your goal of living healthier and eating better. 

Without really knowing exactly what you’re eating and how many calories you’re actually consuming, you’ll continue to lose the battle against weight loss.  But I, Dr. Ferguson—The Health and Wellness Queen, am here to tell you that not all salads are creating equally. 

Imagine your favorite salad….fresh, crispy lettuce leaves, tomatoes, broccoli florets, cucumbers, grilled chicken breast strips…topped with shredded cheese or feta cheese, chopped egg and enough salad dressing to coat each leaf.  You may think that eating a salad is way better than grabbing a bite to eat at the nearby fast food joint…but with the added cheese, egg yolks and regular salad dressing, you could be eating your very own version of a Big Mac or Whopper sandwich….with close to 800 calories!!

Here are some eye-opening facts about salads…and how knowing this can save hundreds of calories and keep you from reaching your weight loss goal:

1. Your favorite Asian salad with a peanut based dressing adds extra fat calories.

2.  Crumbled blue cheese, feta cheese and regular shredded cheese adds great flavor but also substantially increases your caloric intake.

3.  Regular salad dressing has an unacceptable amount of saturated fat from its oil based component especially if you’re trying to lower or limit your daily fat intake.

4.  Get your fat from healthier options, like avocado, olives, and nuts such as almonds and walnuts.

5.  Hardboiled eggs can be a healthy edition…minus the egg yolk.  All you need to do is cook a hardboiled egg as usual but instead of chopping up the whole egg, remove the yolk and chop up the egg white component—lowering your cholesterol and your calories…helping you eat better and healthier. 

6.  Reduced fat salad dressing is a viable option as long as you stick within the serving size and monitor your overall caloric content.  Reduced fat dressing doesn’t necessarily translate into reduced calorie dressing—meaning that if you pour on the dressing and drown your salad, you’ll wind up eating more calories than you’d like.  Think moderation when adding dressing to your salad.  If you really want to control how much salad dressing you use, keep your dressing on the side instead of pouring it on and dip each forkful in the dressing.  You’ll be surprised at how much less dressing you’ll actually use this way.  The overarching theme when it comes to eating healthy and that includes eating salads is to know what you’re putting in your mouth, keep track of the serving size and stick within your desired caloric intake.

7.  Keep both variety and color in your salad, eating at least four or five fruits and vegetables and varying your color palette.  You’ll increase the “curb appeal” of your salad and keep you excited and interested in eating healthier.  

So the next time you step up to the salad bar or order a salad for lunch or dinner at your favorite restaurant, remember that all salads are not created equal.  Make your salad perfect.  Don’t skimp on the flavor but cut back on the hidden fat and calories. 

To your wellness,

Dr. Traci Ferguson, The Health and Wellness Queen

Have you ever started a weight loss program, kept up with it for a few days and even a few weeks but then slacked off and before you knew it, you were back doing and eating the same thing that put on the extra weight in the first place?
Have you ever had a family member, friend or co-worker start the same program but unlike you they stuck with it through the holiday season, through the company picnic and now they’re still losing weight, looking better and healthier than ever?
Have you ever wanted those same results?

Like anything in business or in your personal life, sometimes you have to go through the motions until you reach that level, develop that inner drive to keep on track of your goal or achieve that “stick-to-it”ness.  Often you’ll need a very visible and tangible goal or direction for which to aim.  Sometimes what you need is someone to push you in the right direction…someone to give you that edge to stick with your weight loss plan. 

Do you want that “stick-to-it”ness that they have?

If you answer is yes or even maybe, then get your mark, get set and let’s go!!!

It’s time for you to get prepared and get ready for some action…for a little competition.
In this competition there are only winners because this is a win-win proposition.  A healthy and friendly competition between family members, friends and co-workers that will help take you to the next level in terms of your weight loss, your health and your overall well-being. 

One of our former clients (whom Coach Ferguson had to fire) recently saw one of our current clients looking fine and fit in her summer best after losing over 15 pounds in just over 4 weeks by following our food plan.  Our client has lost an amazing 15 pounds without even starting on the exercise component of her weight loss program.  She’s concentrating on her nutrition plan right now and we’ll slowly add in the exercise component….not wanted to overwhelm her with too much change at one time which if you don’t know, is the one of the keys to a successful weight loss program. 

Once our former client realized that someone else was taking advantage of our one-on-one expertise and consultation she desperately wanted to get back on the bandwagon and sign-up.  We immediately said “come on”…..BUT only if you are ready to follow the plan.  Because it goes without saying that time is money….just ask your mechanic, your plumber or even your lawyer. 

So when it comes to customizing a weight loss plan, you have to pay to play.  Now if our former client is not willing to make the sacrifice to stick with the program then we’ll have to chalk it up as a loss.  But if our former client is up for the challenge and really wants to get back in shape, lose weight and get healthy then we welcome the healthy competition to see who’s going to be the BIGGEST LOSER.

Are you up for the challenge?  Do you want to take on your family member, friend or co-worker who’s also on a weight loss program?

Well, Dr. Ferguson, the Health and Wellness Queen says come on…..get on your mark…..get set….and let’s get going!!!!! 

To your wellness,

Dr. Traci Ferguson, The Health and Wellness Queen

P.S.  Click here to order your copy of the Backyard Workout manual which includes the world’s easiest food plan!

For years, the medical community has been ordering MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans to evaluate everything from strokes, tumors and venous or arterial blockages to ligament tears, broken bones and herniated discs.  Before the first reports came out, I thought nothing of ordering an MRI with contrast (a medication called gadolinium is injected into your vein during the MRI to take a better look at certain structures) not realizing that slowly but surely a new disease called “nephrogenic systemic fibrosis” would be on the horizon. 

I had always considered gadolinium to be a “safe” medication to give if someone has poorly functioning kidneys…..but this is definitely not the case. 

Now I know you’re saying to yourself, Dr. Ferguson, you have to speak in laymen’s terms…so here it is. 

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis refers to the thickening and hardening of your skin, your muscle tissues and other organs in your body after being exposed to gadolinium contrast used to perform some MRI scans….if you have poorly functioning kidneys.  When your kidneys aren’t functioning normally, the gadolinium remains in your system and can cause this total body “stiffening.”  People who are on dialysis or have failing kidneys need to be extremely careful about getting a MRI with gadolinium.

Now you may be asking yourself, “What should I do if I need to have a MRI scan?” or “What if I have poorly functioning kidneys or I’m on dialysis, can I still have an MRI?”

In both cases, the most important first step to take is to….talk with your doctor. Your doctor will explain to you the reason or indication for the MRI scan and determine if you’ll need to have the test with or without gadolinium.  If you have problems with your kidneys and need to have a MRI with gadolinium your doctor will discuss with you the risks or potential side effects of the test and you’ll both have to weigh the benefit of having the test with the potential consequence of developing nephrogenic systemic fibrosis.  Studies have shown that the risk of developing this disease is between 2.5 to 5 percent if you have advanced kidney disease. 

If you receive routine dialysis, your doctor will likely recommend that you have a session of dialysis immediately after the MRI with gadolinium to remove the excess contrast from your body and lower your risk for developing this debilitating disease. 

If you have very poorly functioning kidneys but aren’t on dialysis, you and your doctor will need to weigh the risks of developing this disease versus the risks of starting you on dialysis. 

The development of this new disease called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis has been a wake-up call for the medical community….because all tests and all medications have some risk associated with them—and sometimes it takes years to even discover them.  

The Health and Wellness Queen wants you to be an informed consumer when it comes to your healthcare…so I’ll continue to bring you up to date information that affects you and your family.

To your wellness,

Dr. Traci Ferguson,  The Health and Wellness Queen