Tag Archive for 'Goals'

Improve your health. Improve your life.

Published
by
Scott
on February 18, 2007
in BCBSNC and Health and Wellness
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A healthy lifestyle can have lasting impacts on your overall health and wellbeing. Staying active, eating right and managing your health issues proactively are the first steps to better health. Taking control of your health is an important commitment. It can be challenging. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) can help.

No matter what your health concerns may be, BCBSNC has a health and wellness program that’s just right for you—and programs come automatically with your plan, at no additional cost.

Begin at the beginning. Get a clear picture of your health status by completing a confidential health survey. Your instant results will tell you where you stand, where your potential health risks may be and what you can do to address them.

Better health is at your fingertips—on your computer that is. If you like to get your information on the Web, we have the program for you. Our online health and wellness program let’s you focus on issues like weight, fitness, nutrition and tobacco cessation. You’ll get the latest clinical information, plus access to interactive tools like virtual trainers and meal planners. These programs deliver results. When you finish, a final assessment reveals how far you’ve come.

Most Americans consider exercise to be a dirty word. No wonder, millions of them are obese. Individuals of all ages, genders, races, ethic groups, and backgrounds have their waist lines expanding beyond their control. Obesity leads to various other health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, and liver failure. In such a situation the only hope lies in living a healthy lifestyle, eating a well balanced diet, and exercising regularly.

The unpleasant connotations of exercise come from the image of overactive aerobics teachers in skimpy skintight outfits making people work out until they collapse to the floor from exhaustion. What happens is that excessive exercise leads to frustration and soreness and it’s just too tempting to give up. They go back to their sedimentary lifestyle. This is simply the wrong way to go about it. Instead, if you do regular exercise for fifteen minutes each day, you will be healthier than those who work out for an hour a week.

In order to keep up the tempo it’s best to include a friend or family member. When you work out in numbers you draw strength and motivation from your partner, and even get support that is needed to perform certain tasks that require another individual. However, if there is no one available, you can join an exercise group in a gym or fitness center for a minimal charge. You will get to meet friends and restore your healthy lifestyle.

Set a reachable goal when it comes to exercising. Perhaps your goal is exercising a given amount of time each day or week. Maybe you are striving to run a mile without stopping or increase your stamina level on the stationery bike. Whatever your goal, be sure to set on that is well within your reach.

Many individuals choose to set a long term and short term goal. Your long term goal may be to live a healthier life, whereas your short term goal may be to play a game of soccer with your children without becoming winded. As you accomplish your short term goals, make more as you continue your progress towards a healthy, fit lifestyle.

If you are on a budget, then choose to exercise at home. This is often fulfilling and will provide you with more motivation, since you do not have to travel anywhere to pursue your exercise. You may need to purchase a few basic items, such as weights or mats, when beginning your home gym. Many individuals invest in a stair climber or tread mill in order to best perform in their home.

Besides the work outs, start taking a stroll around the block and exercise outdoors when the weather permits. Gradually you can turn the stroll into a brisk walk. If you have children, use every opportunity to play a game of baseball, football or soccer with them.

The greatest advantage of joining a gym is being able to use various types of equipment available there. Moreover, once you have made a financial commitment you get enough motivation to work out regularly.

Obtaining coverage for Gastric Bypass Surgery with BCBSNC

Published
by
Scott
on February 1, 2007
in Health and Wellness
. 0 Comments

Gastric bypass surgery is a common form of weight loss surgery that results in outstanding weight loss with minimal side effects. But once you undergo the gastric bypass surgery procedure you have to accept lifelong changes in your diet. The post-diet of gastric bypass surgery includes an adequate intake of protein, taking vitamin and mineral supplements including multivitamin, iron and calcium, B12 and avoiding sweets and fatty foods.

BCBSNC Covers Gastric Bypass Surgery for those eligible

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) covers gastric bypass surgery; the requirements for coverage is listed below. Please inquire further to confirm your eligibility to be covered for gastric bypass surgery.

Surgery for Morbid Obesity is covered when all six of the following criteria are met:

  1. The patient must have morbid obesity as defined below:
    1. have a BMI > 40 or
    2. have a BMI > 35 associated with at least one of the following problems:
      1. The obesity interferes with daily function to the extent that performance is severely curtailed(i.e., impending job loss or job loss with documented disability); or
      2. The obesity causes incapacitating physical trauma as documented by the medical historyrecords including x-ray findings and other diagnostic test results; or
      3. There is significant respiratory insufficiency or sleep apnea documented by respiratory function studies, blood gases, sleep studies, etc.; or
      4. There is significant circulatory insufficiency documented by objective measurements; or
      5. There is documentation that management of primary diseases such as arteriosclerosis, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, etc., is significantly (e.g. requiring prescription drug treatment) complicated by morbid obesity; AND
  2. Morbid obesity (BMI > 35 associated with at least one of the problems listed in A.1.b. or BMI > 40) has been present for four of the previous five years; AND
  3. The patient has no specifically correctable cause for the obesity, e.g., an endocrine disorder; AND
  4. Patient has achieved full growth (for adolescents-bone age shows closure of epiphyseal plates); AND
  5. A thorough evaluation (see Policy Guidelines section) has been documented to assess the patient’s suitability for surgery and their ability to comply with lifelong follow up; AND
  6. Surgery for morbid obesity is eligible for coverage when it is part of a comprehensive pre-surgical, surgicaland post-surgical program (see Policy Guidelines Section).

Types of gastric bypass surgery

In gastric bypass surgery, the surgeon takes off a large portion of the stomach leaving behind a tiny pouch. It is this small pouch that prevents overdose of eating as it can take very less amount of food. Moreover, with large parts of your stomach and small intestine bypassed, most of the nutrients and calories in the food do not get absorbed at all. This helps the person from gaining excess weight.

There are several types of bypass surgery operations:

  • Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RGB) – this is a common surgery where a small stomach pouch is created by stapling part of the stomach together or by vertical banding. This reduces the amount of food to be taken. Then a Y-shaped section of the small intestine is attached to the pouch to allow food to bypass the duodenum as well as the first portion of jejunum. This causes reduced calorie and rapid nutrient absorption.
  • Extensive gastric bypass (biliopancreatic diversion) – in this complicated surgery, the lower portion of the stomach is removed. The small pouch that remains connected to the final segment of the small intestine completely bypasses both duodenum and jejunum.

People who undergo gastric bypass surgery always lose two-thirds of their excess weight within two years.

Risks of gastric bypass surgery

Gastric bypass surgery causes “dumping syndromes” where the stomach contents move too rapidly through the small intestine. The usual symptoms of gastric bypass surgeries include weakness, sweating, fainting, nausea, diarrhea, as well as inability to eat sweets.

People who undergo this procedure are at risk of:

  • Band erosion – the band closing off part of the stomach disintegrates
  • Pouch stretching – stomach gets bigger overtime, stretching back to its normal size before surgery
  • Leakage of stomach contents into the abdomen (acid can eat away other organs)
  • Nutritional deficiencies causing health problems
  • Breakdown of staple lines – band and staple fall apart, reversing procedure
    Gastric bypass diet

Gastric bypass diet helps the patients to drop 50% to 90% of their overall excess fats. The diet is designed to bring about significant weight loss. It basically includes foods that are high in protein and low in fat, fiber, calories, and sugar. You should have lots of vitamins and minerals. Iron, vitamin, folate and calcium are the best nutrients for patients undergoing gastric bypass surgery.

You can undergo gastric bypass surgery only if you have been obese for at least 5 years, do not have a history of alcohol abuse, and do not possess untreated depression and range between the ages 18 to 65.

Avoiding Temptations and Turning Diets into Lifestyle changes

Published
by
Scott
on January 31, 2007
in Health and Wellness
. 0 Comments

How many times have we started a new diet with the very best of intentions? We pick a program and make long-term goals that can are impossible to reach within the short period of time that our impatient selves allow. Most diets tend to fail within a few weeks because we look at the scales which do not reflect the progress we expect from our long-term goals.

After a while, we build doubt and begin to lose focus on our overall objective. Eventually look for an excuse to cheat. You ask yourself, “Why?”

It has been proven that those who diet 14 days as free of temptation as possible will ultimately give you the best chance of weight loss success.

So, what are the alternatives? At the grocery store you find “Fat Free” and “Low Calorie” snacks that you know are bad for you. And then you decide to celebrate and you limit yourself to a treat because you “deserve it”.

It’s not like we need to someone to hold our hand into temptation. It surely doesn’t help that there is a fast food restaurant on every corner. Our low-carb brain tells us to order a bun-less cheeseburger or grilled chicken salad with a Diet Coke (we are on a diet, aren’t we?).

Why do we do this to ourselves? It’s almost like we want to fail.

Personally, I think it’s akin to the emotional reasons we eat, whether we are actually hungry or not. The next time you’re standing in front of the fridge, door swung wide open, staring in a blank trance as if some magical zero-cal or zero-carb delicious delight will suddenly appear.

So what’s the solution? Plain and simple: short-term goals. Instead of long-term goals and goals that are built around results, plan action goals similar to “walking an hour a day” or “no eating after dinner“. Lifestyle changes are the key to results.

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