Hitting Reset for Your Health

by Dr. Jennifer Daley, FACP, Medical Concierge, MyNextSeason

As an executive, you’ve spent sleepless nights mentally preparing, planning, or worrying about big meetings, big decisions, and big initiatives. While it might seem that transitioning out of those roles would reduce overall stress, handing over these responsibilities and being unsure of “what’s next” may still have you tossing and turning. Transitions, whether welcomed and well thought out or not, bring about stress – a natural response to this significant change and a busy life. Now is the perfect time to reset!

With travel, business dinners, and packed calendars, exercise and nutrition have often been forced to the bottom of the priority list. In my role as MyNextSeason’s Medical Concierge, I meet one-on-one with clients to discuss specifics regarding family history, caretaking responsibilities, health and wellness concerns, and goals. Here are some of my prescriptive suggestions for creating a solid foundation for both nutrition and stress management.

Nutrition

What does it mean to “eat healthy” today? Book store shelves are filled with countless approaches to eating: low fat, low carb, clean eating, juicing, vegetarian, etc. With so much confusion surrounding this question, here are my six easy-to-follow recommendations for healthy eating:

• Eat a minimum of 100 grams of healthy proteins each day (e.g., Greek yogurt, oatmeal, lean meats, fish, beans, and non-fat cheese).
• Eat an unlimited amount of green leafy vegetables – adding fruit in moderation.
• Avoid eating white carbohydrates (e.g., bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, processed foods).
• Eat a moderate amount of non-saturated fats (e.g., olive oil, safflower oil, canola oil, nuts, and nut butters).
• Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day.
• Make sure to read food labels carefully noting grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fat.  Avoid foods that have a high proportion of carbohydrates to protein or high levels of saturated fat.

Please make sure and see your doctor before starting any diet to make sure you are in good health.

Stress Management

Intuitively knowing methods to reduce stress is common; putting them into action during a storm or period of flux is more challenging. Instead of reaching for that glass of wine, cookie, or iPad, try these solid, time-tested techniques to restore a sense of calm and presence.  The ultimate goal: increasing the enjoyment of your life!

• Get outside and into nature
• Play music
• Exercise
• Eat healthy, nutritious foods
• Relax into healthy sleep patterns
• Read or write poetry
• Spend time with animals – maybe it’s the right time for a pet
• Connect with friends and family – nurture your relationships
• Laugh
• Light a scented candle
• Take up a gentle yoga practice
• Meditate
• Join groups through church, volunteering, hobbies, and sports

Whatever you choose to do next, health and wellness will be your biggest and most essential asset!

Dr. Jennifer Daley, MyNextSeason Medical Concierge, is a nationally recognized physician with expertise in private care and administrative leadership. Dr. Daley has served as the Executive Vice President, COO, and Senior Strategy Consultant for UMass Memorial Medical Center; Chief Medical Officer of Partners Healthcare Systems; and Senior Vice President, Clinical Quality and Chief Medical Officer of Tenet Healthcare. As a physician, businesswoman, and senior healthcare advisor, Dr. Daley draws from a diverse background of skills to assist with the unique needs and challenges of transitioning executives.