Health First

Steve Hirsch

Description

For years a distinguished family doctor has quietly and effectively helped his patients prevent or deal with diabetes, heart disease, and other problems through his Health First program, which teaches:

• Mindfulness about health and diet
• Budgeting of food types through daily/weekly diet plans
• A decrease in one's diet of sugar, salt, and fat
• And the adoption of regular, moderate exercise

Dr. Hirsch's Health First program has a wonderful triple bonus for his patients: the prevention or management of disease, weight loss, and wellness.

Now, with the publication of this book, Dr. Hirsch has put his proven program, and its beneficial results, directly in your hands. You can say goodbye to the diet fad of the month and say hello to an easy-to-follow program with wonderful, long-lasting results.

Sujets

• PReVENT
• Wellness
• Family medicine
• Salt
• Mindfulness (Buddhism)
• Doctor
• Food faddism
• Weight loss
• Heart disease
• Quality of life
• Program
• Physician
• Diet
• Health
• Patient
• Diabetes
• DR
• Fitness
• Sugar
• MD
• Prévention
• FAT

Informations

• Publié par: BPS Books
• Date de parution: 06 novembre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781927483558
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

HEALTH FIRST
HEALTH FIRST
Winning at Weight Loss and Wellness
Steve Hirsch, MD
Foreword by Robert Steiner Afterword by Kathy Stewart

Toronto and New York
Copyright © 2013 by Steve Hirsch, MD
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in 2013 by
BPS Books
Toronto & New York
www.bpsbooks.com
A division of Bastian Publishing Services Ltd.
ISBN 978-1-927483-53-4 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-927483-55-8 (ePUB)
ISBN 978-1-927483-54-1 (ePDF)
Cataloguing-in-Publication Data available from Library and Archives Canada.
Cover: Gnibel
Text design and typesetting: Daniel Crack, Kinetics Design, www.kdbooks.ca
Disclaimer: Although the author has made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. This book is not intended as a substitute for your own physician’s advice.
Contents
Foreword: A Conversation That Changed My Life
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 It’s Your Health: Taking Back Control
2 Mindfulness: Making Conscious Choices
3 The Key to Success: The Diet That Satisfies and Works
4 A Recipe for Goal Attainment: Meal Plans Made Easy
5 Sugar: More Sinister Than You Think
6 Fat and Salt: The Dangerous Duo
7 The Power of Moving: Physical Activity and Exercise
8 Staying on Track: Avoiding Common Pitfalls
9 Maintenance: Sustaining Your Achievements for Life
Afterword: My Life Is Transformed
Appendix/Health First Food Budget and Snack Times: A Quick Reference
About the Author
Foreword
A Conversation That Changed My Life
It is no exaggeration to say that in just one very clear twenty-minute conversation, Dr. Steve Hirsch changed the way I live my life. He did so in four ways.
First, by drawing attention to the “small” bulge I was getting used to; I was almost in the obesity category, he said. Other doctors had missed that entirely, or had simply accepted that this is what happens to a man in his early forties.
Second, by making me pay attention to the way I eat, every time I eat. No tricks or special foods. Just very conscious portioning on a weekly basis. As long as I was eating well, and in proportion, I could eat whenever I was hungry. The key, he taught me, was to be mindful about when I was actually hungry.
Third, by showing me how I could incorporate exercise into my weekly routine. Nothing huge or ambitious. Just forty-five minutes three times a week, which I adapted to thirty minutes five times a week to fit my schedule.
And finally, by showing me how to measure my progress every day. Two pounds a week, week after week. Nothing radical. Just steady.
Four years later, I have kept most of the weight off. I am grateful every day for that conversation in his office.
As more and more of us stand on the threshold of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and the simple unpleasantness of being too heavy, this book puts Dr. Hirsch in everyone’s hands, so anyone, anywhere, can benefit from the kind of conversation that helped me so much.
As a journalism educator, I try to help specialists communicate new ideas very clearly – so they deepen our understanding of the world around us. Health can be very complicated. But Dr. Hirsch does what every doctor should: he truly puts our health in our own hands.
–ROBERT STEINER, Director, Fellowships in Global Journalism, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto
Acknowledgments
Writing this book was a dream of mine for a number of years. However, it was only after reading The Success Principles , written by Jack Canfield, that I drew the inspiration to just lean into it and get started on this “breakthrough goal.” Thank you so much, Jack, for motivating me to begin writing.
My dear friend Sheryl Shapiro provided me with the name of a writer, Donna Green, who helped me translate my Health First program from clinical practice to text. Donna was instrumental in working with me, chapter by chapter, to develop the first draft of the manuscript. Her commitment and dedication to this project not only helped me transform my concepts and ideas into text but also kept me on track with deadlines. Thank you, Donna, for your incredible help and hard work.
My wife, Paula, was a tremendous support in so many ways throughout this entire project. She encouraged me to stick with it when the going got tough, and provided invaluable feedback, editing, and suggestions for change at every stage of the process. Thank you, Paula, from the bottom of my heart, for your ongoing and unwavering support.
My two sons, Jason and Neil, encouraged me to write this book over many years. Their ongoing enthusiasm was a continual source of inspiration for me. Guys, thank you so much.
Lorne Greenspan, a friend and colleague, was very supportive during the writing process. He encouraged me to persevere when challenges arose and was always very supportive. Lorne, thank you.
In July 2012, with three or four chapters left to write, I was feeling stuck. I applied and was accepted to a retreat in Hawaii with Jack Canfield, Stewart and Joan Emery, and seventeen other wonderful participants from around the world. We spent five days together, working on our personal goals and helping one another to achieve a breakthrough goal. Jack, Stewart, and Joan, thank you so much for your guidance and support. Your valuable lessons helped propel me to the next level. Additionally, my fellow participants provided me with tremendous encouragement and the determination necessary to continue writing. To Ian Bailey, Aleesa Daley, Kathy Davenport, Marc Gottlieb, Erika Labansat, Tatiana and Mykola Latansky, Katja Narva, Guillermo Paz, Natalie Peace, Marc Pletzer, Lewis Pugh, Ellis Rubenstein, Patrick Ryan, Kelly Shorter, Kristi Staab, and Stewart Welch, thank you all so much. And to Alice Doughty and Patty Aubery with The Jack Canfield Companies, thank you for your support and enthusiasm for this book during the retreat and over the subsequent months.
Following completion of the first draft, several colleagues and friends kindly and enthusiastically agreed to conduct a review of the manuscript for me. Each of you provided me with excellent feedback and suggestions for improvement. I greatly appreciate the time and effort that you all devoted to the review. Thank you to my dear friends Diana Brecher and Diane Davies, to my colleagues Arielle Cheifetz and Jennifer Brighton, and to my brother-in-law and closest friend, Mark Adler.
To my colleague and mentor Cal Gutkin, thank you for reviewing the final manuscript, and for your advice and excellent comments. I greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
When it came time to add the graphics, my close friend Gavin Herman recommended me to Irwin Milgrom of Milgrom and Associates, who were fantastic. Irwin, thank you for your great interest in this book, and for the help of your photographer Larry Mead. Larry, thank you so very much for your time, tremendous patience, and great work.
Finally, when it came time to find a publisher, my friend, Cy Charney, an accomplished author, put me in touch with Don Bastian, of Bastian Publishing Services. Don, it has been terrific working with you. Your editorial suggestions have been of tremendous help and your relentless commitment to ensuring a high quality standard is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your guidance and for your helpful editing – as well as that of your assistant, Monica Kanellis – and for the wonderful artistic text design provided by your designer, Daniel Crack.
Introduction
Life is not a dress rehearsal. Each of us gets only one life. Many things that we hope to enjoy and that we dream of require good health. You can decrease your odds of getting many common chronic diseases that can significantly affect the quality and duration of your life by taking control and acting now to prevent disease.
I have helped many patients achieve lifestyle changes – weight loss, increased physical activity, and exercise – all of which help prevent chronic diseases. These include diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, pre-diabetes, osteoarthritis, certain cancers, and Alzheimer’s disease. For patients who already have diseases, the program has improved their health – in many cases eliminating or reducing their need for medication.
From the day I entered medical practice in 1983, the most rewarding part of my practice, the part I’ve been most passionate about and that has been the most gratifying, is helping patients achieve and sustain lifestyle changes to improve and prevent so many of the diseases currently plaguing our society. Helping my patients lose significant amounts of weight and embrace exercise and physical activity as a part of their lives has inspired me. Their success has motivated me to continue my quest to prevent chronic disease by sharing my knowledge and expertise with you, through this book.
My recipe for success, shared in these pages, is simple and easy to follow. I call it the Health First program. It’s about improving your health and decreasing your risk of developing many chronic diseases. Many of my patients have told me that this program