15 things women do to sabotage their health

15_essential_health_tips

Women are so good at taking care of everyone around them that many forget to put themselves and their health first. There are so many things women do well when it comes to sabotaging their health and I really think they are selling themselves short without always recognizing the consequences of their actions.

I thought it might be a good idea to look at 15 things women do to sabotage their health in the hopes that this list will become a wake-up call for many women.

1) There’s nothing wrong with having one or two bad habits: Thinking that eating well all week long allows you to have a few “weekend cigarettes” without affecting your health or going to the gym all week and end up finishing two bottles of red wine on Saturday with the pretext that red wine is good for you is simply foolish. Even though you maintain overall good health habits, the fact that you are smoking or/and drinking heavily will affect your health negatively.

2) I really don’t have the time to exercise because my life is way too crazy: Juggling a career and a family is not an easy task in the new millennium. There are far more pressures on women today than at any other time in history because we have more choices and freedom and that means that we might be tempted to “have it all at the same time”. I truly believe that in life we can have it all … but NOT at the same time. If you are over 40, you should know that lack of exercise and chronic stress are the two best way for you to sabotage your health.

3) There’s nothing wrong with gaining a few pounds: You’ve got to maintain your weight and avoid weight gain by adopting healthy food habits and a regular fitness regime. Since most women over 40 tend to gain one extra pound each year if they are not on top of their health and fitness regime, you can see how being careless can really add up over the years and you can find yourself at 50 with an extra 10-20 lbs without understanding what happened. Your metabolism will drop if you are not active, so you really need to make a huge effort and get serious about finding a sport that you like enough to want to stick to for a very long time.

4) I really don’t need that many hours of sleep anyways: Alas, as we get older, our sleep quality can deteriorate unless we are pro-active at taking measures to ensure that we sleep well each night of the week. There’s been a long standing myth that as you get older your body really doesn’t require that much sleep … but you do need a minimum number of hours to function properly. It’s true that a lot of women in their 50s will have to deal with sleep interruptions caused by menopause and fluctuating hormones, but there are things you can do to increase your odds of a good night sleep, such as avoid caffeine past a certain time of the day, limit how much you drink, skip the late night TV, read before going to bed, try exercise, meditation, deep breathing … and the list goes on. You’ve got to be pro-active in ensuring that you sleep enough to allow your body to rest.

5) A little bit of sun is good … not to mention that my skin is already damaged: You cannot change the past and reverse the number of hours you spend baking under the sun for that perfect tan, but as you age, you can surely make sure that you are more careful about sun exposure because you know now the effect dangerous UV rays can have on the skin.

6) My family history is devoid of serious illnesses … so I’m ok: Genetics play an important role in our overall health, but lifestyle trumps many genetic advantages you might have. The world in which we live is VERY different from the one your grandmother grew up in and with increased stress, sedentary lifestyles (lack of physical activity), overwhelming pollution and increased exposure to toxic chemicals, your chances of developing serious diseases are no longer solely linked to your gene pool.

7) I’ve always been thin and I don’t see the need to exercise: You don’t exercise solely to lose weight or else I would have stopped exercising a decade ago. You should exercise to keep your body fit and strong. You need to exercise to get your heart rate going and you need to incorporate strength training to maintain you bone and muscle mass as you age … EVEN if you are naturally a size 4! Here’s another reason why you might want to start thinking of exercising even if you are thin … as you age your skin will become looser because the muscle density is diminishing. I constantly see older women who have been diligent at exercising versus women who are only starting to exercise in their 50s and the difference between the two bodies is simply jaw-dropping. If you keep fit your entire life, as you age your body will remain very youthful and strong.

#8) I only see a doctor when I’m sick: If I had a dollar for every woman who has fed me that line over the years, I’d be living in a penthouse at Trump Towers in downtown New York City and I’d call it my headquarters! So many women don’t go for their annual check-up simply because they don’t “feel” sick. The reality is that you want your doctor to follow your health progression and you surely want your doctor to detect anything in the early stages that can be cured by early prevention. You are lucky and so blessed not to be or feel sick and you want to maintain that … AND that’s why you NEED to go for your annual check-up each year.

9) It’s just menopause … I don’t need to worry: It’s easy to brush everything you feel in your 50s as a sub-symptom of menopause, but that also means that you might be turning a blind-eye to a potentially seriously illness. Since you didn’t spent seven or eight years in medical school, it’s best to check with your doctor to ensure that whatever you’re going through is in fact associated to your menopausal stage and not something else that needs immediate medical attention.

10) I always forget to floss: Flossing should really be mandatory in my book and I’ve only started reading lately that there is a link between gum disease and heart disease! YIKES! Can you imagine that a few minutes each night getting rid of plaque on your teeth can keep your heart healthy? I’m not making this up. There was a study conducted in 2007 by the American Journal of Periodontology that concluded that people who were under 60 with advanced gum disease (including tooth loss) are at greater risk of a heart attack. Flossing is essential at any age, but it becomes even more important as you age because when you hit your 40s and 50s because you automatically produce less saliva and therefore your chances of ridding your mouth naturally of bacteria diminishes because there is not enough saliva production.

11) I’m running all day long as is … I really don’t need to work out: I’m sorry ladies, but in my world, a women’s body is a temple and you need to care and honour that temple and that means women NEED to find time to exercise. How many 10-minute exercise DVDs are available on the market today? We can all find even 30 minutes to keep our body fit. It can be as simple as cutting out 30 minutes of TV and going for a walk!

12) I feel down all the time: If you are suffering from postpartum depression, it’s easy to pinpoint the reason why you feel blue all the time. It’s also expected that many women in their mid-50s will also deal with mood swings because of hormonal changes. But, for many women who aren’t new moms or at the menopause stage but who are dealing with life’s pressures, stress, demands, over-booked lives and constant worries … depression can become a serious issue. It’s easy to brush off our feelings, but when you wake every morning feeling down and out … it might be time to consult a doctor. As a general rule of thumb, physical activity will do a lot for moderate depression symptoms, but if exercise doesn’t do it for you … you really need to take this seriously and talk to your GP (general practitioner) who will most likely refer you to a psychiatrist or a psychologist.

13) Who sits down anymore to eat? I cannot tell you how incredibly annoyed I get when I see people stuffing their faces while walking or sitting on the subway. I’m not talking about someone eating ice cream, a chocolate bar, chips or cookies. I’m talking about people eating out of a take-out container with a fork while doing ten other things. When you eat on the run, you don’t take time to appreciate the food, you tend to eat more because your brain doesn’t have time to register that you are full and God knows how badly you are screwing up your digestive system.

14) I only eat a couple times a day: While stuffing your face while multitasking or walking about town is not a very good idea, skipping meals is even worst. Do not make the mistake of thinking that you are “saving” up on calories by skipping meals because you are only tricking your body into thinking that you are starving and your body will simply burn calories at a slower rate (basically your body is STORING fat). Not to mention that skipping meals means that you are skimping out on essential nutrients for muscle mass, hair, nails, skin and the list goes on.

15) I only eat quality foods so I don’t have to worry about portion control: This was actually the line a participant on one of my favourite British shows on diet and weight management “SuperSkinny vs SuperSize” had told herself and she found herself on the show tipping the scale at 250+ lbs. You should get high marks for eating healthy, but that doesn’t exempt you from controlling the amount of food you take in. Unless you have a profession that is physically demanding (like a bike courier for example) you should restrain your daily calorie intake because as urbanites, we don’t burn excessive amount of calories that would justify huge portions. If you are unsure of the proper portion size, you should do some research online, but the rule of thumb is that we need far less food than we think we do. Not long ago I had read that the portion size for a plate of pasta in America was easily four or five times that of a typical portion size in Italy. I cannot tell you how many North Americans complain how small the portions are in countries like France and Italy … when in reality it’s because they’ve been trained to think that supersize plates are normal!

Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography