This week has been full of celebration and love. 

I started off the week celebrating my husband’s birthday on the 3rd and yesterday, we celebrated our son’s first birthday at the Seaquarium.  Take a look here to see a picture of Rufus by the sea lion’s pavilion!  We had an amazing time showing Rufus all the sea animals, from dolphins and whales to crocodiles and sea lions.  We were all so full of energy and excitement that we really want to share that excitement with you. 

As my husband and I are celebrating the one year anniversary of the birth of our first child, we also want to celebrate life to the fullest.  And that means being able to enjoy these outings with our family and friends, not worried by arthritis….fatigue….shortness of breath or lack of energy all the symptoms that go along with being out of shape or overweight. 

We are on a mission to stop the ballooning of a whole generation of people as we slowly put on more and more weight over the years which can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer and early onset of arthritis…requiring knee or hip replacements.  Years ago, joint replacements were typically common in the over 65 group but now…men and women in their fifties and even forties are requiring knee or hip replacements because of severe arthritis or due to overuse injury from contact sports.  On the same day my husband celebrated his birthday, my mother at the age of 54…went into surgery to have her right knee replaced because of severe arthritis! 

We’re also on a crusade to help people who wouldn’t normally pick up a gym bag and head to the local fitness center because they’re busy with work life or home life. 

We’ve just celebrated our first major product together–Rufus—and now we’re getting ready to celebrate our first major professional product together—>The Backyard Workout.  Now many of you all may have seen me perform the At-Home workout with Rhadi but this product is different.  The Backyard Workout is a collaborative effort between my husband, The Strength and Conditioning King, and me, The Health and Wellness Queen.  We’ve come together to give you the first in a series of fitness products designed to give you back the body you’ve dreamed for, to give you the energy you desire and the health you need to live a long and healthful life.  

This workout is part of a system…a manual which details each and every exercise and also includes the amazing food plan that both my husband and I have used to stay in great shape…healthy and full of energy to run behind our son who is on his way to start walking on his own. 

So on this day, April 6th…as I’m getting ready to celebrate Easter with my family and also celebrate my own birthday on Sunday, think about all the accomplishments and achievements in your own life, both personally and professionally….and celebrate your life to the fullest…each and every day!

To your wellness,

The Health and Wellness Queen

P.S.  Stay tuned to my blog at www.thehealthandwellnessqueen.com for more details on the upcoming release of The Backyard Workout.

When I think of indulging in something decadent, luxurious and satisfying, healthy living sometimes goes flying out the window.  Now just think about it.  You’ve had a long day at work, you’ve rushed home to spend time with your family before it’s time to call it a night, you run from store to store on your days off just to keep a handle on your growing To Do list….we sometimes forget to enjoy the very day we’re living.

And then I look at my son…..he’s taking his very first steps on his own but still hasn’t mastered the skill of walking without assistance.  And are we any different?  Are we still trying to hold on to the past, afraid to let go, afraid of what’s waiting for us in the future, now knowing if the future awaiting us will bring satisfication or heartache?  And if we constantly worry about what lies ahead, will we ever be able to enjoy the sweeter side in life?

Just ask Ms. C, 95 year old woman I saw today at the hospital.  One minute she’s standing at the doorway to her room waiting for me to see her.  Anxious to leave the hospital to return to her own bed….her own home….on her own terms and in less than four hours, her condition…her life changed forever.  No longer was she the spunkly older woman who looked like she was in her 70’s and not 95…..in the matter of hours she became a confused, agitated woman who had suddenly fallen face down, a common risk of being in the hospital….and found flat on her face…..beside her bed….in a pool of blood.  Her fall wasn’t just a simple slip and fall–she had fractured her neck and might wind up paralyzed forever.  

What I took away from Ms. C today was that I needed to enjoy the sweeter side of life EVERY DAY.  Not just on special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries but on any given day of the week.

So when I feel like having my cake and eating it too….I get a slice of angel food cake and pile it high with cool, refreshing sherbert!

When I want to escape from the hustle and bustle of a crazy day….I take a seat on my backyard patio with my son and enjoy the warm soft breeze as we watch the ducks waddle in the pond.

When I want to treasure those special moments with my family…..we take a trip to the park and watch in amazement as little Rufus tries to chase down every little kid that walks by him.

When I want to reconnect with myself, I head out in the backyard for a great workout routine with the Backyard Workout.

And when I want to celebrate life…I spend my day with family and friends.

So as I’m preparing to celebrate Rufus’ first birthday with family and friends….I’ll keep Ms. C in the back of my mind and live every moment of the day like my life will never be the same.  Hoping that with each passing moment, I’ll reach my goal of enjoying the sweeter side of life each and every day.

 To your wellness,

The Health and Wellness Queen

We have a special Guest……. Coach Ferguson decided to stop by and he wanted to let you know that we are doing something special from now until the 9th of April. So listen up below…………

Pssst, when Coach Ferguson is talking, it’s a good idea to listen. He doesn’t mess around……… at all!

THE FERGUSON BIRTHDAY SPECIAL………….

1. Listen to the message below

2. Click  –> Here <-- and get in quick

3. Sit back and wait for all the FREE Gifts to arrive at your door (you only pay for the shipping)

 2 MONTHS FREE HEALTH AND WELLNESS INNER CIRCLE OFFER!! [1:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Well just ask my husband.

Yesterday, he took his blood pressure and it was 160/90!  He took it two more times just to be sure and again…his pressure was much higher than usual.  He was so upset that his pressure was elevated that he called me on my way to work in shock!  He couldn’t believe that his blood pressure which has consistently run in the 110s to 120s over 70 mmHg was now back where it had been about 5 months ago….before the change in his diet….before starting the blood pressure medication….before his change to heart-healthy living. 

He told me he hadn’t been able to keep to his no salt diet while he was traveling out of town but that he took his blood pressure medication faithfully.  I explained to him that eating what we consider “regular food” is chock full of salt and can increase his pressure.  I also told him of countless people, men and women alike, that I see coming into the emergency department complaining of such excruciating chest pain that they think it’s a heart attack but I wind up telling them “it’s not your heart….it’s stress.” 

And the same I could say to my husband.  He’d been traveling out of town, staying up late working on the computer, dealing with lots of stress in his business and all that stress…the lack of sleep….the lack of any down-time…was taking its toil on his body….specifically his blood pressure.

And you know what my husband did to lower his blood pressure to 120/80 in a matter of hours?

He took our son Rufus to the park yesterday and spent over 3 hours playing with him, riding the carousel, exploring the science emporium ….doing all the things that he’s missed doing because he’s been out of town, stuck to the computer….working on his next project.  So he took the day off!

Taking a day off after a long stretch of “high stress” activity can do wonders for your mind and soul and also for your body.  We all need to take the time to reevaluate our priorities in life…to see if we’re burning the candle at both ends and whether we need to make some serious changes in our lives before we, too, end up in the emergency room with chest pain….not knowing if it’s our heart or just stress.

So take it from me…..nothing is too important that it can’t wait several hours for you to take some down-time…if it’s your health and sanity that lies in the balance.  So the next time you’re faced with a seemingly insurmountable level of stress….just let it go….and relax….you could be saving yourself alot of heartache….literally!

To your wellness,

The Health and Wellness Queen

This weekend I spent quality time with the family….celebrating my uncle’s retirement on Saturday and celebrating my extended family’s “unofficial family reunion” at church today.  I spent time reminiscing with family and friends about the good ole days and was reminded about the good old days in medical school when I first learned about high cholesterol.

Back then, any blood cholesterol less than 200 was GREAT!  My professors explained that if you were healthy and didn’t have heart disease or any major risk factors for heart disease, your bad cholesterol or LDL should be below 160 and as a doctor you’d first recommend diet and exercise before starting a patient on a cholesterol lowering drug….but my, how things have changed!

Now, with all the research studies that show the benefit of maintaining a low total cholesterol and low bad “LDL” cholesterol, a bad cholesterol or LDL level of 160 now requires aggressive treatment with medications and sometimes multiple medications….all to lower your cholesterol.  

Studies continue to show that people who suffer a heart attack or a stroke can have a significant improvement in their outcomes if certain cholesterol lowering medications are started soon after the heart attack or stroke.  That means, while you’re still in the hospital recovering from your heart attack or stroke, your doctor will prescribe many medications to control your blood pressure, your blood cholesterol and even your blood sugar level if you have diabetes.  Many people walk in the hospital taking NO medications and leave the hospital taking three….four…and even FIVE NEW MEDICATIONS….all to help lower your risk of having ANOTHER heart attack or stroke.   

Now you may ask yourself….why am I thinking about all this bad stuff…having heart attacks and strokes when I should be celebrating with my family and friends?  But I say, “What better time to think about your family’s health when you’re around your family and can help them make better health choices?”

So, with my uncle retiring at the “tender age” of 75, I’m still wearing my Health and Wellness Queen hat when I gently hug him and ask him how he’s feeling.  I ask him if he’s seen his doctor lately and if he has, I gingerly ask him what the doctor said.  I try not to take the focus off the joyous occasion but I’m also trying to keep my uncle around for years to come….to see my son grow up and play football like his father and grandfather.

I know it may be asking alot to have my uncles….my aunts….my parents around for years to come but if I don’t ask….I will have missed my a golden opportunity!

So the next time you’re celebrating something momentous in your family, take the time to really look at all of your family gathered around. 

Now fast forward five or ten years.  How many people do you think will still be there? 

Be realistic.  And when you realize that your time may be coming to a close to have your older family members around, make the most of the time you have and encourage them to continue to take care of themselves and their health.

That’s what I’m doing.  How about you?

To your wellness,

The Health and Wellness Queen

No matter what your political ties…when anyone is facing a recurrence of cancer…life takes on new meaning.

When John Edwards announced that his wife was recently diagnosed with recurrent breast cancer, both political parties lended their support and prayers for the Edwards family.  The fact that Mrs. Edwards could once again be fighting for her life, makes me reflect upon all the women in my life…my mother, my mother-in-law, my aunts, my girlfriends….

Every one of us is at risk for getting breast cancer….and it’s time that we take a stand.

Now some of you already know that my husband and I are known as the food patrol when we’re around family and friends but we’re also part of the cancer brigade.

As members of the Cancer Brigade, it’s our duty to make sure that our family and friends are up to date on their cancer screenings.   That means that I remind my mother to get her annual mammogram and ask my relatives if they’ve received their colorectal screening.  My husband frequently reminds his father, his uncles and his fraternity brothers to keep on top of their prostate cancer screenings.  I know with my hectic schedule that I often overlook my own semiannual dental visit so I can understand when my friends say that they just forgot to make their appointments. 

We’re here to take a stand against cancer…and we’re starting one family at a time until we’ve spread the word.

Many cancer survivors know that early detection is the only thing we have that’s even close to a cure for cancer. 

So it’s especially important to get tested, get screened and spread the word!

In the upcoming weeks, we’ll be celebrating Little Rufus’ first birthday and we’re going to take that opportunity to get the word out to family and friends—to get tested…to get screened…and to continue to spread the word!!!

To your wellness,

The Health and Wellness Queen

We all feel tired from time to time.

Overworked, overbooked and overextended we constantly push ourselves to do more and more.

How many days this week have you slept less than 6 hours a night?  I’ve been running on 4 to 5 hours of sleep each night for the past four nights.  How about you?

Most of the time we take our tiredness as a rite of passage…as a necessary evil so that we can accomplish everything on our To-Do lists.  But sometimes, when you’re feeling excessively tired, that’s a sign that something more serious is going on with your body.

So how do you know if your tiredness is due to something more than just lack of sleep?

Ask yourself these series of questions to see if your excessive tiredness is associated with these common medical problems:

1.  Are you overweight?  Do you snore loudly?  Has anyone said you stop breathing for long periods of time when you’re sleeping?  Do you fall asleep while in conversation or many times throughout the day?

• If you answer yes to any of these questions, you could have OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA—a condition caused by excessive tissue around the neck which causes your windpipe to collapse when you sleep so you can’t breathe in enough oxygen.  If you suspect you have this condition, see your doctor about scheduling a sleep study to confirm the diagnosis.

2.  Are you taking prescription medications like pain medications, anti-anxiety pills or blood pressure medications?

• If your answer is yes, then ask your doctor if your excessive tiredness could be a side effect of your medications.

3.  Have you gained an excessive amount of weight?  If you’re a woman, do you have irregular menstrual cycles?  Do you feel cold all the time?  Are you troubled by chronic constipation? 

• If your answer is yes to any or all of these questions, you could have HYPOTHYROIDISM—a condition caused by an inactive thyroid gland.  Your doctor can order a simple blood test to check your thyroid function.

4.  Have you lost weight recently without even trying?  Are you hungry all the time?  Thirsty all the time?  Or urinating all the time?  Do you have frequently infections?

• If you answer yes, then you could have DIABETES—a simple blood test by your doctor can confirm this.

5.  Do you bleed easily?  Do you have excessive bleeding during your menstrual cycle?  Do you crave or eat ice all the time?

• If you answer yes to these questions, you could have ANEMIA—a blood count can confirm this diagnosis.

So you see feeling tired all the time can signal something more ominous.  If you answered YES to any of these questions, make an appointment to see your doctor and discuss your symptoms.  The more you know, the better you’ll be and feel.

To your wellness,

The Health and Wellness Queen

I still can’t believe it.

This time last year I was about 40 pounds (and then some) heavier awaiting the arrival of my son, Rufus Alexander Ferguson.  I was still working full time but couldn’t spend more than several hours on my feet at a time because of leg cramps.  I felt so tired and worn down and frustrated….I hadn’t been able to look down and see my feet in months!

On April 5, 2006, I gave birth to my first child, little Rufus and my world has never been the same.  My schedule is no longer my own.  Forget about jumping in the car and running a quick errand here and there.  To get out the house on time with Rufus takes a minimum of 45 minutes and that’s if he doesn’t need an emergent diaper change before we leave the house.

So here it is almost one year later and I’m gearing up for a celebration bash for the little one.  I’ve already scoped out invitations and catering services—since with my hectic schedule I barely have time to run to the store when we’re out of milk so you can imagine I’m NOT going to have any time for planning the menu, grocery shopping and cooking. 

I can’t imagine having to cook and clean up after a house full of visitors let alone find time to run to the gym four or five times a week to keep in shape.  With the help of my live-in personal trainer, my husband….known to some as Coach Ferguson…he whipped me into shape in no time.  I was only about three weeks out from giving birth that I started back doing some bodyweight floor exercises to get my pre-pregnancy body back.  Like any great trainer, he didn’t take “No” for an answer and barred the word “can’t” from my entire vocabulary.  No one in our house….even visitors….are permitted to say that four letter word.  And if they do, Coach Ferguson will give them 10 or 20 more reps!!

With his coaching skills, his encouragement, I lost those extra 40 pounds and more!! 

Carrying that extra baby weight is one thing I won’t have to worry about when we finally get the time to take that family portrait that I’m been meaning to schedule for the past several weeks.  I won’t have to explain to people that “NO” I wasn’t expecting a new baby when they look at pictures of me at Rufus’ 1st birthday party.

In honor of Rufus’ 1st birthday, we’re going to celebrate BIG.  Not just here in sunny Boca Raton.  I’m also inviting YOU too to join in the celebration…..so stayed tuned!!!!

To your wellness,

The Health and Wellness Queen

If you’re anything like me, you’re still trying to get your body used to losing one hour of sleep.  Personally, it took me every bit of two days just to get myself back on track.  But now that I’ve got my body adjusted, I’m going to use that extra daylight to start some spring cleaning….because April is going to be a very big month for the Health and Wellness Queen!!!

My first order of business is to toss out those old magazines collecting dust in the corner of the living room.  Just like those old magazines, some of us have old habits that also need to be tossed out with the garbage.  It could be an old habit of grabbing a quick donut on the way to the office or tossing a bag of chips in the grocery cart.   A friend of mine recently gave me some great advice to cut down on the magazine pile that is growing out of control in my house.  She suggested that I quickly review the contents of all magazines that come in the mail and if I don’t find an article interesting enough to read right then and there……the magazine gets tossed in the garbage. 

Following that advice, I’ve seen a remarkable decrease in the number of magazines that go unread in the house and I’m taking that advice to other areas of my life.

Like, the refrigerator. 

Take a quick look in your fridge and see what its contents say about your eating habits.  Is the fridge full of leftovers that you never get around to eating and usually throw away after a week?  Or is it empty except for the half full containers of take out?  Do you sometimes stare at your empty refrigerator and wonder what you’re going to have for dinner?

Well, take the advice of a good friend of mine.  Don’t keep anything in your house….or your refrigerator that you won’t be interested in eating immediately.  Take close inventory of all the food that you buy and make sure that what you’re purchasing and putting in your body are the healthiest and most nutritious options available. 

I’m going to take this same advice when planning for my huge celebration in April…..so stay tuned!

Let’s all get started on our spring cleaning.

To your wellness,

The Health and Wellness Queen

When you think about osteoporosis or “weak, brittle bones” do you picture an elderly woman shuffling along with a walker, hunched over and unable to sit up straight?

Do you think osteoporosis is just a disease affecting women?

Well, if you believe that you don’t have to think about osteoporosis until you’re way into your 70’s or 80’s…then you’re wrong!!!

Osteoporosis usually affects older, thin women BUT you can be in your 30’s or even 20’s and have weak bones especially if you’re on certain medications which are known to weaken your bones.

Osteoporosis also affects men.

So what’s the big deal about osteoporosis?  You may even say to yourself, “I’m too young to worry about weak bones….I’m only 25!!!!

Well, the Health and Wellness Queen wants you to know that you’re at the most crucial point in terms of bone health and bone density.  Bone density refers to the stability and strength of your bones.  The more dense your bones are….the less likely your bones will break….on their own or if you slip and fall.  If your bones are particularly brittle, they can break if you’re bending down tying your shoe, reaching up putting dishes away or even if you bump against a wall. 

Your bone density is at its peak in your teens and twenties.  During these early years, your bones are continually breaking down and building more bone tissue which requires lots of calcium, vitamin D and other minerals to make your bones strong….able to withstand the stress of your daily life.  By the time you’re in your 30’s your body continues to remodel your bones but now…you’re breaking down more bone than you’re building.  So that means……you have until you’re about 30 to build up your ”bone bank” because after 30, you’re making more bone withdrawals than bone deposits. 

So here are 5 things that can you do NOW to build healthier, stronger bones that will last for life!!

1.  Get enough calcium and vitamin D in your diet.  That means at least 1000 to 1500mg of calcium (in your food or in a calcium supplement) and at least 400 to 800 units of vitamin D.

2.  Exercise.  With strength training to build stronger muscles and with weight bearing exercises which places increased stress on your spine, hips and leg bones which helps stimulate the remodeling process and continue to keep your body building more and more bone matrix/tissue.

3.  Don’t smoke.  Smoking increases your risk for developing weaker bones.

4.  Get tested.  Get a bone density scan if you’re at risk for osteoporosis (you don’t eat dairy or take calcium supplements, you have a family history of osteoporosis, you are of Caucasian or Asian descent, you have a thin frame, you smoke, you take corticosteroids chronically or you have an eating disorder).

5. Avoid excessive amounts of alcohol…which can decrease your body’s ability to absorb calcium. 

So let’s toast to your bone health and start building stronger bones today!

To your wellness,

The Health and Wellness Queen