Message From Dr. Booker:

WE HEARD YOU LOUD AND CLEAR!!! We have extended our hours at Capitol Rehab!!

2011 was the year of the beating! That’s right, I took a beating from the beloved patients of Capitol Rehab, as I was reminded, (repeatedly I might add), that it has gotten difficult to schedule appointments during some of our business hours. And maybe worse still, during some of our hours, the wait has become unusually long.

So in an effort to answer the call, we have added a highly skilled chiropractor to our team and are now offering extended office hours.

Beginning January 2, 2012, Capitol Rehab of Arlington will:

-Opening at 7 am Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
-Open till 3pm on Saturdays.
-We will have TWO doctors available to see patients during our busiest evening hours of 4-6 PM, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

2012 is going to a big year with big additions to Capitol Rehab-Arlington. First, allow me to introduce Dr. Matt Fontaine. Dr. Fontaine is a Full Body Certified Active Release Technique provider who brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to Capitol Rehab. (Click here to meet Dr. Fontaine) His addition, plus the extension of our treatment hours, will allow us to better serve the loving and loyal patients of Capitol Rehab.

So speaking of BIG ADDITIONS, what are yours? If you are anything like me, the New Year sparks the inner fire to make a change. Sometimes the change is earth changing, but more commonly it is one of those small internal adjustments. This year I am asking all of us to table the annual “Lose 20 Pounds” campaigns, and instead, look inward.

Losing 20 pounds is a good step, but self improvement should be the ultimate goal.

Allow me to share. This past summer I had the opportunity to visit Barcelona, Spain. It was my first visit overseas, so understandably, I was full of naive expectations. As a blue blooded, home-grown American, I figured I would do like most tourists and politely tolerate the simple ways of a “less sophisticated” country. After all, its all about American Exceptionalism, isn’t it?

One thing is certain, whoever came up with the term “American Exceptionism”, didn’t spend time in Barcelona, Spain, because if Barcelona were in the United States, it would easily be a TOP 5 destination.

Barcelona has:

-Beaches to Rival Miami
-Shopping to Rival Rodeo Drive
-Hotels to Rival Vegas
-Restaurants to Rival New York City
-History to Rival Paris

And best of all, people that are without rival! And that’s my New Years Eve Challenge to You!!

Try to be more like the people of Barcelona.

If you have never been to Barcelona and you have no idea what it looks like to be a Barcelonian, here is all you have to do:

1. Do whatever you already do, just do it with more passion and maybe do it a little better.
2. Remember that every day you live, is one less day you have left to live. So live this day to its fullest.
3. Be a better person…ALWAYS!!

With all that Barcelona has to offer, why aren’t the people more like,.. well… Americans? Certainly the people are proud, and there most assuredly is a sense of National Pride, but its not at all similar to running into the New Yorker who brashly announces where he is from by yelling “UPTOWN!!!” to everyone within earshot.

So in 2012, let’s take a small step sideways, and lets learn from Barcelonians:

1. Eat a little less, and walk a little more. This has to be the reason I didn’t see any obese Barcelonians.
2. Spend less time in front of your computer and more time in front of people. Conversation builds connections. This must be why Barcelonians take 2 hour lunches.
3. Celebrate something. This must be why the parties don’t start until after midnight…every night.
4. Embrace similarities and welcome differences. This explains why despite my inability to speak 5 solid words of Spainish, Barcelonians always went out of their way to make me feel welcome.
5. Count lives blessings, and the n count them again. You only go around once, you should start NOW trying to make the best of it.

Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dying.

Dr. Booker

Eat till you are no longer hungry, not till you are full!

When studying cultures that have successfully achieved longer than average lifespans, diet plays an obvious and important role. The first lesson we can learn is that trying to diet NEVER works!! What does work is having a better understanding of how to eat.

The lesson to learn is this: The successful cultures are able to reduce their caloric intake by 20% by simply eating until they are 80% full.

This simple, yet powerful restriction results in caloric reduction, the same essential goal of most traditional diets. The difference is this form of restriction doesn’t require any uncomfortable changes in food choices and is therefore far more successful.

Scientists have studied the benefits of caloric restriction.

-Reduced cellular damage from free radicals.
-Weight loss
-Lowered blood pressure and cholesterol
-Reduced heart disease

So how do we reduce our caloric intake without creating additional inconveniences? The strategies are remarkably simple and therefore achievable. Here are some tips:

1. Use Smaller Vessels-Discard the large dinner plates and big glasses for smaller plates and tall, narrow glasses. You are likely to eat significantly less.

2. Eat Early-Accross the board, cultures of who eat their biggest meals earlier in the day live longer than culture who pack it on towards the end of the day.

3. Eat More Slowly- Eating faster usually results in eating more. Slowing down allows time to sense and react to cues telling us we are no longer hungry.

4. Use Your Bathroom Scale- Weighing yourself on a daily basis is one of the most surefire ways to reduce your weight and keep it off.

5. Make Food Look Bigger-People who ate a quarter pounder topped with lettuce, tomatoes and onions felt as full as people who ate the half pound burger, but they ingested significantly fewer calories.

6. Focus on food and Have a Seat-When its time to eat…EAT! Stop working on the computer, texting, eating on the run, etc. When you sit to eat you consume less, eat more slowly, and feel more nourished.

I have noticed an interesting evolution in my practice. When I was in my 20′s the vast majority of my patients were similar in age, and therefore had questions commonly found in the 25-38 year old crowd. Questions like, “How do I get a six-pack?” used to dominate the discussion.

Now in my 40′s, the tones of vanity have given way to cries for survival!

“Why is this happening to my body?”
“Will I ever be able to do that again?”
“Why is it taking me so long to heal?”

And my personal favorite, “Do you have any secrets for living longer?”

Well luckily, I do advice in the area of longevity, but I have to warn you, be careful for what you wish for, because when pressed on the subject, most honest people are able to admit, its not living longer that we most desire, its living more quality years.

So before I dive into the first lesson for longevity a few Rules We Must All Agree On:

1. Anti Aging is QUACKERY! I will tell you that real scientists agree that they cannot do such a thing, so anyone making those claims is a con artist and a charlatan.
2. Our Goal is more quality years NOT more total years.
3. Longevity is more than just your physical being, it is the health of your mind and spirit.
4. I am not sharing any Rules or hidden secrets, I am sharing lessons learned from the most successful cultures on this planet. Cultures that seem to have fooled the clock, or the science books, about the concept of living a long and happy life. Many of these lessons were taken from studies done in the book “The Blue Zones.”

Without further delay:

RULE NUMBER ONE: Move Naturally

Considering I just completed a marathon, this first rule may surprise you. The research suggests that longevity isn’t about running marathons and triathlons, and it isn’t about being the weekend warrior. Worse still, it isn’t about the 90 day P90x or Insanity workouts, its about making regular, low-itensity physical activity, part of a daily routine. Cultures that spent their lives gardening, or working as shepherds; doing daily yoga or taking regular nature walks, did the best.

Remembering that “LIFE” is the marathon, so don’t approach it as a sprint. All of the longevity cultures studied incorporated some form of regular, low-intensity activity that satisfies each of the following:

-A large emphasis on core strength at least twice a week,
-Daily balance exercises
-Aerobic exercise 5 times a week.

STRATEGIES TO INCORPORATING LESSON ONE

1. Inconvenience Yourself-Use the stairs not the elevator, get up to change the channel, get rid of the electric can opener/snow blower/garage opener.
2. Have Fun. Keep Moving.-Rather than exercising for exercise sake, make your lifestyle active. Take walk breaks instead of coffee breaks, don’t join a gym if you hate it, do things that keep you active that you enjoy.
3. Walk.- Its easier on the joints, always accessible and invites company.
4. Make a Date.-Getting out and about can be more fun with other people. Knowing someone else is counting on you will motivate you to keep at it.
5. Plant a Garden.-Working a garden requires frequent, low-intensity, full Range of Motion activity, and you have the benefit of fresh vegetables!
6. Enroll in a yoga class.-Just be sure to practice it 2 times a week.

If your stomach isn’t as flat as you’d like it to be then you have come to the right place. Exercise alone will not get you a toned stomach – diet is a huge part of the equation. Below are 5 very easy tweaks to your eating habits that will dramatically flatten your abs.

Diet Tweak #1: Don’t eat after 6pm
This is such a simple and effective way to lose fat. Late night eating is the most damaging to your waistline, so cut it out completely.

Brush your teeth immediately following dinner. Once your teeth are brushed, you’ve put a period to the end of your consumption for the day.
Change your evening routine. If you’ve always ended your day watching your favorite shows with your hand in the snack bowl, then now is the time to change things up. Find activities that don’t revolve around food and stick with those.
Make it a habit. The first few weeks will be the hardest, but soon your new no-food-after-6pm routine will feel normal.

Diet Tweak #2: Cut back on carbs
Notice I didn’t say to cut out all carbs, but rather to cut back on carbs. These diet tweaks are meant as lifestyle changes that you stick with long term. Cutting back on carbs is a realistic and very effective way to lose weight.

Always choose whole grain bread and pasta over white. Whole grains are less likely to be stored as fat than processed grains.
Eat half of the carbs you normally do. Eat your sandwich open-faced and reduce the size of your pasta serving.
Avoid carb-filled snacks between meals. Instead of crackers or chips, have fresh fruit and veggies.

Diet Tweak #3: Eat more fiber
Most people simply do not get enough fiber in their diets. Fiber is essential when it comes to getting lean since it is low calorie while filling you up.

Instead of seeing salad just as a side item, make salads into meals. Add protein to a large pile of greens for a guiltless meal. *Try the recipe for Grilled Salmon and Peach Salad below.
Make veggies a part of every meal. The benefits of eating more vegetables are too numerous to list, just know that your body will become healthier and leaner with each fibrous bite.
Fruits are a delicious source of fiber. Incorporate fresh, seasonal fruits into your daily diet.

Diet Tweak #4: Drink tons of water
Drinking plenty of water is another extremely simple way to promote weight loss. Chronic dehydration leads to false hunger signals and unnecessary calorie consumption.

Drink a large glass of water before each meal. This will prevent overeating.
Choose water instead of sugar-filled sodas and juices. Sugar-filled drinks are a huge weight-gain trap.
Carry a water bottle with you throughout your day. Keep water in the car and at your desk for constant hydration.

Diet Tweak #5: Enjoy natural sweets
Traditional sugar-filled sweets will quickly add up around your waistline. Instead of going for sugary sweets, enjoy natural sweets.

Fruit is nature’s candy. Reach for sweet, seasonal fruit for dessert.
Avoid foods that contain white sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Consider these items ‘anti-flat-abs’.
Use wholesome sweeteners such as pure maple syrup, brown rice syrup or dates in your recipes instead of white sugar. Eliminate white sugar from your kitchen.
Eating right, coupled with challenging exercise, is the formula for a toned, lean body.

When you’re working out regularly, it’s important to eat the right foods. Protein is an important part of a balanced diet, but you should choose quality over quantity. Choose Lean ProteinAccording to the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, you should “go lean with protein.” That is, you should choose leaner cuts of meats with fewer calories and artery-clogging fats. Healthy meats include:

•chicken or turkey: white meat without the skin
•beef: tenderloin, porterhouse, top loin, flank steak, 90 percent lean ground beef
•pork: tenderloin or chop
•veal: any cut
•lamb: look for the term “loin”
•game: bison, rabbit, buffalo
•other healthy protein choices: fish, nuts, tofu, lentils, beans
Aim for three- to four-ounce portions, and complement the meal with whole grains, fruits and veggies.

Here are five ideas for protein-rich, healthy meals to get you started:

Idea #1: HamburgerUse 90 percent lean ground beef to create portion-controlled, three- to four-ounce patties. Serve on a whole wheat bun or pita, and pile the burgers high with veggies like lettuce, tomatoes and onions. Watch those condiments — you don’t want to overload on calories, sugar or sodium. Serve with a side of steamed broccoli and cauliflower.

Protein alternatives: ground turkey, ostrich, salmon

Idea #2: Chicken ChiliChili is a hearty favorite that can be modified into a healthy dinner. Use skinless chicken pieces. Experiment with different types of beans, such as kidney, black and pinto. Toss in delicious veggies like peppers, mushrooms, onions and peas.

Protein alternatives: Diced lean steak, 90-95 percent lean ground beef, turkey breast

Idea #3: Fish TacosFor a fun alternative, make it a fish taco night. Shrimp, tilapia, and mahi mahi are low in calories and make a delicious taco. Add grilled vegetables such as peppers and onions. Top with salsa (1/2 cup for 30 calories) and two tablespoons of one high-fat topper like guacamole, reduced-fat sour cream or grated cheese.

Protein alternatives: chicken breast, strips of lean steak, rice and beans

Idea #4: Pork TenderloinUse fruits such as plums, pears, apples or mangoes to create a mouth-watering marinade or chutney for pork tenderloin. Serve with a side of green beans and baked new potatoes.

Protein alternatives: chicken breast, mahi-mahi, tilapia

Idea #5: Tofu Stir-FryFor a meatless alternative, cook up a quick and easy stir-fry. Heat a teaspoon or two of oil in a wok; toss in cubes of marinated firm tofu; add vegetables such as broccoli, onions, peppers and carrots; serve over 3/4 to 1 cup of cooked brown rice.

Protein alternatives: skinless chicken, turkey, shrimp, pork tenderloin

It’s here—whether you’re ready or not. Retailers like to call it the ‘holiday season’ but let’s be honest its Weight Gain season and it runs straight through New Year’s. The next two months will bring ample opportunity for you to expand your waistline. Of course the choice is yours. Why discuss it now and not mid way through December? Because now is your opportunity to plan for the weeks ahead. Once the craziness begins, you’ll be too busy to put a plan into action. So let’s take this moment of clarity, this calm before the storm, to outline a two-part plan that will save your waist from unwanted holiday inches.

1) Part One: Your Exercise Plan. Exercise is the first thing people cut when they get busy, and the holiday season is notorious for empty gyms. This year do something different—obligate yourself to exercise. Promising to yourself won’t do it, you need to promise to others so that you won’t drop the ball.

Sign up to work with a Personal Trainer.
Join a class – You won’t be as effective exercising on your own during the busy holiday season, so join a class for accountability. Find something challenging that gets your heart rate elevated and uses strength training.
Get a serious exercise buddy – Some friends can be an awesome help while others end up pulling you down. When looking for an exercise buddy consider the following questions:
- Do they share your fitness goals?
- Are they fairly encouraging?
- Do they give up easily?
- Are they at your fitness level?
2) Part Two: Your Diet Plan.The holidays offer ample opportunities to indulge, so you need to hammer down some guidelines before hitting that buffet line. We’re not saying that you shouldn’t indulge in any seasonal treats, but use moderation. Don’t use the holidays as an excuse to eat until the point of being uncomfortable – will you really miss that bloated feeling? Decide which treats to cut out this year.

Don’t bring edible treats to the office or to parties. You know that the leftovers will come home and you’ll end up eating far more than your share. This year do everyone a favor by not gifting fattening treats.
When faced with a buffet line, load your plate first with greens, vegetables and lean meats before breads and heavier foods. Also drink water with your meal and keep alcoholic beverages to a 2-drink maximum.
Beware of holiday drinks – most are brimming with calories. Hot drinks from coffee shops, cocktails at parties and creamy eggnog are all very enjoyable and all filled with empty calories. Stick with hot tea or unsweetened coffee.
Everywhere you go during the holiday season brings you face-to-face with a plate of sweets. To avoid being a bore but without adding inches to your waist, try the one treat rule. Each time you’re in a social situation that involves sweets just eat one, and enjoy your treat slowly.
You don’t have to gain weight this holiday season. The key is your mindset. If you approach the holidays with the mindset of, ‘I deserve to indulge and I shouldn’t have to exercise’ then you’ll enter 2012 a few pounds heavier, a little less healthy, and with lower energy than ever before. We believe that you should enter 2012 in better shape than you are today, healthier than you’ve been in a long time, and with more energy than you thought possible.

As we pass through the “summer midpoint”, I figured some vacation tips might be in order.

Does your upcoming vacation have you worried about your waistline? You should be. The average person gains almost a pound a day while on vacation. (Admittedly, I’m more like 2-3 per day.)
But that doesn’t have to be you. Most of the time extra pounds sneak up on you when you least expect it, so decide right here and now that your vacation will leave you slimmer than when you left. As you embark on your next vacation adventure, use these 7 tips to come home fitter than when you left.

Trick #1: Cut Your Carbs
Vacation days are notorious for carbohydrate rich meals, and it’s a well-known fact that too many carbohydrates will quickly add up to unwanted pounds. Combat this fat-trap by choosing one meal per day to go carb-less.

Breakfast: This may be the most effective meal to use the carb-less trick, since breakfast often involves breads, pastries or pancakes. Skip the toast and fill up on egg whites and lean breakfast meats.
Lunch: A great carb-less lunch is a salad with lean meat. It’s so filling and satisfying that you won’t even miss the bread.
Dinner: Since you’re on vacation, you don’t want to feel deprived, so dinner is the hardest meal to go carb-less. But if you’ve indulged at breakfast and lunch then make it a point to cut the carbs at dinner. Stick with veggies and lean meats.

Trick #2: Be Active
If your travels keep you too busy for a workout, or if your hotel does not have an exercise room, make a conscious effort to be active everyday. Go on a brisk walk after your day’s activities. This is a great way to see a new city, and also a great way to burn off extra calories. Take the stairs instead of elevator in your hotel and any other buildings you visit. Go on a short jog in the mornings or evenings of your stay. If your hotel has a pool, swim a few laps each morning or evening.

Trick #3: Indulge with Control
Eating out is a must while on vacation. Whether you’re visiting 5 star restaurants or fast food diners, you are faced with the same problem: large portions. While the easiest thing to do with a large portioned meal is to simply eat it all – you are on vacation after all…right? – that isn’t the best for your waist.

When you order your meal ask the waiter or waitress to bring you a to-go box. Take half of your meal and place it safely into the box before you even begin to eat. This gives you no choice but to eat a healthy portion. If you would rather not carry around a to-go box then ask that your entrée be made into a smaller portion. If it is dinnertime ask for the lunch-sized entrée.

Trick #4: Don’t Eat Late
One of the easiest tricks for preventing weight loss is to simply stop eating 3 hours before you go to bed. This is especially effective while on vacation. So skip that late night indulgence and wake up looking and feeling great.

Trick #5: Snack Healthy
Have you ever noticed how travel days create the perfect opportunity for snacking? A coffee and muffin before your flight, a snack on the plane and then before you know it – it’s lunch time! Taking a road trip? This opens up even more opportunities for regrettable snacking…rest stop vending machines, gas station quickie marts and of course the never ending string of fast food restaurants along the highway.

This summer cut unhealthy snacking off at the pass by brining along your own healthy options. Dried or fresh fruit, unsalted nuts, health bars, cut veggies and low fat crackers are a good start. By filling up on these healthy snacks between meals you will end up eating less when presented with a less-than-healthy meal.

Trick #6: Avoid Fried Foods
While fast food restaurants are definitely convenient, with their low prices and quick service, this convenience is not worth the additional pounds brought on by chips and fries. As you enjoy your vacation keep this in mind: avoid fried foods. While this is always good advice to follow, it is even more important to abide by while traveling.

While vacationing you will likely burn fewer calories each day than you would burn at home, and you are consuming more calories due to your schedule of eating out. You are walking a fine line, and eating fried foods would throw you right over the edge. A gram of fat contains 9 calories as compared to the 4 calories that proteins and carbohydrates carry – so you can see that consuming fried foods will drastically increase your caloric intake.

Now that you’ve heard about all the benefits of exercise as you age, you’re ready to hit the gym or at least go for a daily walk. There’s only one problem: Your joints don’t seem to want to cooperate. Is it too late to limber up? For most people, the answer is NO!  Flexibility decreases with age and physical inactivity, and this can cause your muscles, tendons and ligaments to grow shorter over time. But regardless of your age, you can increase your flexibility by incorporating stretching into your daily routine. Remember, though, that aerobic fitness and strengthening are also very important for older adults. And exercise can improve your well-being and reduce your risk of falling.

Note: Always consult your doctor before starting a new exercise or stretching routine.

A daily stretching routine can improve the following:

Physical performance. Increased flexibility makes it easier and less tiring to perform daily tasks such as lifting, bending, turning and engaging in other repetitive movements.

Circulation. Stretching raises the temperature of your muscles, increasing the circulation in that area – which helps keep your tissues healthy.

Posture. Short, frequent stretches throughout the day can keep your muscles from getting tight. This helps you maintain proper posture and reduces aches and pains.

• Stretch lightly before engaging in strength and endurance activities, then stretch more thoroughly after your workout.
• If you’re unable to perform strength or endurance exercises but able to do stretching exercises, do them at least three times per week for at least 20 minutes per session.
• Do each stretching exercise three to four times during each session.
• Stretch slowly and as far as possible without pain. Hold the stretch for 10 to 30 seconds. Relax, and then try to stretch further with each repetition.

• Talk to your doctor before engaging in a new exercise program.
• Warm up before you stretch. A little bit of easy walking or arm pumping should be sufficient.
• Mild discomfort or a mild pulling sensation is normal during stretching, but you should never stretch until you feel pain, especially joint pain. If you feel pain, reduce the stretch so that it doesn’t hurt.
• Ease slowly into a stretch – don’t bounce. Jerking into a stretch can cause muscle tightening and increase your risk of injury.
• Don’t lock your joints into place when you straighten them during a stretch. Your arms and legs should be straight when you stretch them, but not tightly so. You should maintain a very small amount of bending in your joints.
• If you’ve had a hip replacement, talk to your surgeon before doing lower-body exercises. When stretching, you shouldn’t cross your legs or bend your hips past a 90-degree angle.

If you work in an office, you probably sit for about six hours per day. That’s a lot of down time! But even if you’re quite busy at work, it’s still possible to find time to exercise. And to avoid gaining weight, you should strive to make good food choices as well.  Each time you eat, think lean and green. If a food contains lean protein and comes from the earth, you’re very likely on the right track (unless the food is fried). Contrary to what some people believe, you should eat breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, as this will stabilize your energy levels and keep your metabolism running high.  When you can’t make it to a gym, don’t let that sideline your exercise. Try these simple techniques while at work:

• Walk during conference calls. Use a cell phone or headset, and get up and pace around. Hold your notes in your hands and keep moving.
• Exercise in your chair. If your chair is wheeled, you can push and pull yourself around. Push away from your desk to increase your upper-body strength. Then walk with your heels toward your desk to work your hamstrings and thighs.
• Stretch. While seated, twist from your waist and reach around the back of your chair. Return to your original position, and then perform the same motion on the other side. You can work your core by holding a laptop or heavy water bottle when you reach back.
• Breathe between e-mails. For every three e-mails that you send, stand up and take three deep breaths. This will reduce stress and work your lower body as well.