Feel balanced, stay fit
BY JENNIFER BISSELLÂ and FIONA STAVROU
The key to staying healthy is listening to your body, according to health experts at the roundtable, Fit for Life, hosted by Westfair Communications Inc.
A panel of experts on fitness and nutrition gathered at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich July 26 to discuss tips on how to stay in shape, in face of rising health care costs and rates of obesity and heart disease.
Speaking on the subject of eating, chef Elyce Jacobson, co-owner of Skinny Buddha in Mount Kisco, said it”™s important to listen to the messages your body sends you.
“Your body pulls you in different directions,” Jacobson said, when you”™re not getting enough nourishment.
If you”™re on a diet and you”™re having cravings ”“ like a chocolaty, delicious candy bar ”“ it”™s because you”™re not getting enough of a certain food group and reaching a balanced diet.
“No one food group should be eliminated,” Jacobson said. That includes fats.
When you”™re eating right, you won”™t have cravings, she said. But it”™s important to steer clear of processed foods and go back to the basics for what your body needs: fruits, vegetables, grains, etc.
When it comes to exercising, trainer Caitlin Vassello at Equinox, echoed a similar message. Just like you need a well-balanced meal, you need a well-balanced workout. Don”™t isolate areas to focus on; you need a full body workout, Vassello said.
Then, when designing your workouts, it”™s important to take things slowly and ”“ again ”“ listen to your body, said Tim Greene, an orthopedic surgeon in Greenwich.
“Your body is a marvelous machine that deals with stress,” Greene said. If you work too hard, you won”™t continue to work out regularly. Your body will be too tired. When doing yoga, for instance, you should be listening to your body”™s limits, stretching only in your comfort ranges.
Not all of us will be Olympic athletes, but do what you can, said Dany Berghoff, vice president of 21 Sports and Entertainment Group Inc. Don”™t use the golf cart, walk; don”™t use the subway, walk the extra mile instead.
Finally, the most important thing to remember is “be kind to yourself,” said Erika Schwartz, a medical doctor and wellness and prevention expert. “Don”™t feel deprived. Develop self-awareness, know what”™s good for you and remember: Everything you eat and put in your body is like a medication; it affects you.”
She spoke passionately about connecting the body, mind and soul to stay healthy. But most of all, she concentrated on her magnum opus, her work with bioidentical hormones.
Moderator Elizabeth Bracken-Thompson introduced Schwartz as “a walking billboard for staying young forever.” At 63 years old, Schwartz says she uses bioidentical hormones to keep her looking healthy.
Bioidentical hormones, unlike synthetic hormones, are identical to the molecular structures that make up the natural hormones our bodies produce. Proponents include Suzanne Somers and Oprah Winfrey.
“In your 20s and 30s, you look and feel great because your body is creating high levels of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone,” Schwartz said. “As you get older into your 40s and 50s, you don”™t feel so great anymore because your body is not making these hormones as much.”
You can take these bioidentical hormones to help you feel good again, to prevent disease and alleviate painful symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes and night sweats, she said.