We all make them. We all break them. It’s like there’s a societal pressure to make resolutions every January, only to stop mid-February and feel like a complete failure. Gyms thrive on this time of year; hundreds of new memberships sold, a large percentage of which will go unused within a few months. Countless healthy cookbooks bought, new workout equipment, self-help gimmicks that are going to change lives! I’m not saying some don’t stick with it and we should celebrate those who do, but there’s a definite noticeable difference in the gym parking lot come March.

What if you didn’t NEED to resolve to do better each New Year because you always strive to do your best regardless, and if you slip, you’re ok with it? A novel idea, but one that everyone should adopt.

Here are my 4 ways to stop the madness and be your best all year:

1. Stop pressuring yourself!

   You’re not perfect, no one is! Stop trying to attain a level of fitness, healthy eating or mental clarity that you’re not ready for. Stop comparing yourself to others. You are your own independent person and you should act that way. Unfortunately in this day and age, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stay our own course and feel like we are doing OUR best. Stand strong and know that as long as you are doing what is best for YOU and for YOUR family, that’s all that should matter. Do not let other people’s opinions influence your daily life. Only YOU have the power to let anyone make you feel a certain way.

2. DO NOT buy a Gym Membership in January! 

   At any time of the year that you feel you should step up your workout game, do it then! Don’t wait until the New Year. January is the time that you can’t find a parking spot, classes are packed and personal trainers are hunting for new clients. If you want to join a gym, do it at a time where not everyone has the exact same idea. This way if you want to try classes, they are of a reasonable size so you can ask for help and you have access to most equipment without waiting. That being said, it is not wrong to join a gym in January if that is when you feel inclined to do so. But remember to start slow, ask for help when you need it and do what you enjoy.

3. If you fall, dust yourself off and get back up! 

   You only fail when you stop trying. Working out and eating healthy is HARD! Saying you’re only going to eat kale salad and boiled chicken everyday is a recipe for disaster. Sure, that can absolutely be a goal, but most people are going to get sick of kale salad and chicken and may indulge in something way over the top, feel horrible about themselves and decide it’s not for them. So try this: when you get to that point of hating what you’re eating, switch it up. Add in some of those indulgences but in a healthy way. Or indulge once in a while and start fresh at the next meal. Don’t beat yourself up. If you’re too tired to make it to the gym one day, listen to your body and be ok with it. Start fresh the next time, don’t fall into a trap of thinking “I can’t do it”.

4. Be realistic! 

   Going to a gym everyday is not for everyone. But it’s also not the only way to workout. Find what works for you. Do you really have time to lug your kids to the gym daycare, do your class and get home? Find an at-home exercise program you can do while they entertain themselves, or better yet, do it with them! Does running on a treadmill bore you? Get outside! Research what you should wear when it’s cold, how you should pace yourself throughout your run etc. You want to try some new diet because everyone else says it’s amazing? Look into all aspects of any new way of eating before you try it and see if it realistically fits into your life first. What works for one person won’t necessarily work for the next. As long as you are avoiding foods that you know are harmful or do not work for you, THEN try to add in the good stuff.

The main point here is to pace yourself. Don’t jump out of the gate January 1st trying to change everything in your life all at once. That’s how people fail. Make small but impactful changes throughout the whole year. Or if January is your time to start, start small and slow. Add in the good and the bad will eventually fall to the wayside. Be yourself and enjoy your life. Like the cliche says, it’s often too short. Remember this: Be Fit. Eat Right. Think Well. Get Adjusted. Follow my 4 ways of maintaining your goals in each of these aspects and you will be just fine.

Kayleigh Read

Chiropractic and a wellness lifestyle changed her life. She had such an incredible experience and change in her health, that she decided she help change people’s lives. In addition to being the Director of First Impressions at Synergy, she is also a Certified Holistic Health Coach. When she’s not at the office, you will find her either at the gym kickboxing, or with my husband, Mike, and their 3 dogs. She is a philanthropist and founded a non-profit charity, Families First Community Cancer Support, which supports and provides financial relief to cancer-burdened families in the community.

Headaches can be brutal.  They can kill your social life.  Make you take medications that make you feel worse.  Cause you to miss school or work.

I recently had a patient describe her headaches like this:

“This headache makes me feel like someone is hitting me in the head with a baseball bat over and over again.” ~ H.G.

Brutal.

Millions of people swallowing pills for years, possibly suffering from the side effects of long-term

“The negative impact of chronic headaches on quality of life, families, and productivity can be
significant and is generally underrated by the medical profession.” ~ University of Maryland

medication – are not getting any better, only temporarily feeling better.  Surely, that’s not a healthy way to live.  Sadly, for many, they don’t know any other way to function and get through their day.

Most people treat their headaches with over the counter medications such as aspirin or Tylenol.

In fact, Canadians ingest some 8 billion aspirin tablets each year. Acetyl-salicylic acid (found in Aspirin) is the active ingredient in more than 50 over the counter medications, may temporarily relieve the discomfort of the headache, but it does little to correct the cause of the problem.

Aspirin use has been strongly associated with bleeding ulcers, Reyes syndrome and kidney disorders.

Regular painkiller use can make subsequent headaches even worse, causing “rebound headaches”.

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Headaches – A Hidden Epidemic.

Millions of headache sufferers look for natural, drugless approaches to treating headaches.  They are frustrated with the lack of resolve from medications.

Among the many things contributing to your health are: the quality of the air, food and water you take in; how you handle emotional stress; your use of drugs; exercise; and relaxation.  A healthy spine is absolutely essential.  In some people, it is a major factor and can make the difference between a life of health, strength and vitality or a life of disease, weakness and disability.

When you think about someone having a headache, you probably think of an adult. However, an increasing number of children experience chronic headaches

The National Headache Foundation estimates that over sixty percent of all children suffer from occasional headaches. 

The majority of school-age children get headaches, and many have headaches on a recurrent basis. Even before entering school, roughly one-third of children experience a headache at some point. Children miss more than one million days of school each year because of headaches.  Recurrent pediatric headache is a common disorder that may affect half of the population.

A study published in the British Medical Journal showed that children who experience frequent headaches are more likely to develop health problems in adulthood, including psychiatric disorders. The findings follow a survey of a random study group over 40 years and could have implications for the health of today’s children and their future well-being. The research team found that children with frequent headaches were more likely to experience psychosocial problems and to grow up with an excess of both headache and other physical and psychiatric symptoms. These findings confirm that children with headaches do not simply “grow out” of their physical complaint, but may instead “grow into” others, say the authors.

The “ache” in a headache comes from veins and arteries inside the brain and skull, membranes that wrap around the brain and certain nerves in the head called the cranial nerves.  When these are pulled, stretched, compressed, irritated, inflamed or infected, headaches often result.

There can be many triggers that can cause a headache, including strong smells, intense lights, sinus trouble, high blood pressure, dental problems, ear or eye/vision conditions, fevers, infections, tumors, seizures, lumbar punctures, alcoholic drinks, drugs, accidents and other causes.

The most common headache of all is the muscle tension, worry or “stress” headache that accounts for 90% of all headaches

Although headaches are not caused by just one specific source, a large amount of research clearly demonstrates that the majority of headaches are caused by problems in the cervical (neck) region of the spine.

The vertebra of the cervical spine can become misaligned because of excessive or repetitive stress.

These misalignments, also known as “vertebral subluxations” irritate the nerves in the neck and cause excessive muscle tension, all of which can contribute to a wide variety of headaches.

In a study of 6,000 long-term headache sufferers (experiencing headaches regularly for 2 to 25 years) revealed that neck injury (whiplash or falls) was the most important factor in the cause of the headache and should be suspected in every nonspecific case of headache.

In my 12 years of private practice, I’ve helped hundreds of patients who struggled with headaches.  I’ve learned from them over the years, and I’ve put together a special health report to help my patients, and I want to share it with you.

I’ll teach you more about the possible triggers affecting you and there hidden sources.  You’ll learn what you can do now to help yourself and how a little known cause of headaches has been known for over 100 years, and how you can get to the root of your headaches once and for all.

Dr. Craig Hazel’s mission is to help families THRIVE.  After graduating from Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Physical and Health Education, he went on to earn a Doctor of Chiropractic degree and a Bachelor of Science in Anatomy from Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas Texas.  He is passionate about seeing children and families in his private practice at Synergy Chiropractic in Kanata Ontario.  A sought after speaker, he has been featured regularly on TSN Team 1200, CTV and Rogers TV. He is also the Chairman of the Alliance for Chiropractic of Ontario.

Do you have a cold flu fighting strategy?  I’m going to admit it! I’m one of those people who always gets a good old cold, often several a winter and ones that like to stick around!

So this cold season I’m taking action!  It’s more than just proactive, I mean business.  I have set about making myself a plan that is focused on being

Put cold and flu season to rest

cold/flu free! There is so much information available on colds and flus, what not to do and what to do.  What’s true?  What’s bogus?  I think it really depends on the individual.  There are so many factors: gender, age, medications, lifestyle, physical activity and public exposure, to name a few.

So here’s my plan!