Better Choice, Better You, Health and Wellness Blog

All,

Last time we talked we spoke about New Year’s resolutions and what makes them so tough. What I want to discuss today is WHY it is so tough to do what we know we should. There is actually a fair amount of science on the subject, but before we jump into it, just a few statistics.

1. 73% people give up before they reach their New Year’s resolution goal.
2. 75% people keep their resolution 1 week after they make it.
3. 64% people keep their resolution 1 month after the make it.
4. 46% people keep their resolution 6 months after they make it.

I didn’t include these statistics to insinuate that humans are quitters or weak natured, but to illustrate that making proclamations to do better is one thing but sticking to them is a whole other ball game. Based on these statistics, provided by statisticbrain.com, most people fail whether their goals are to be in better shape, to improve their finances, or to simply just take more time for themselves. There are many reasons, which we don’t have time for, but instead we will focus on the small percentage of people who succeed.

The foundation of any successful venture is discipline. It truly doesn’t matter what the venture is, believe it or not. If you want to work out you have to be disciplined to go to the gym or get up and run. If you want to make good grades you have to be disciplined to go to class and study. You are very unlikely to be successful at anything long term without some degree of discipline.

Discipline is defined in a lot of ways, but the way I like to think of it and what I try to drill into my kids is, it is ‘the ability to do what you need to do whether you want to do it or not.’ Very simple concept but very hard to do day in and day out. But WHY IS THAT? (in the voice of my 7 year old).  The answer and the point of this blog-WILLPOWER!

There are many definitions and theories of what willpower is and examples of extraordinary displays in everyday life. Most research indicates that willpower is a depletable resource, but that it can also be strengthened like a muscle or cardiac endurance. It is also well known that individuals may have almost superhuman willpower in one aspect of their lives, but fall well short in others i.e. the successful professional athlete who is also an alcoholic.

Several ingenious studies have been done to deplete test subjects willpower and then ask them to exert willpower at some other task. In one study that illustrated this point researchers asked half of subjects (group A) to watch TV and the subjects were asked not to read any subscript on the screen i.e. scores, news updates etc. The other half (group B) were allowed to watch TV normally. The subjects in group A and B were then asked to perform similar tasks. The hypothesis was that by depleting willpower in group A that the monitoring behavior in the brain would show decreased activity when performing subsequent tasks. The hypothesis failed. The researchers concluded that it was not the fact that group A did not know what they were doing, but after having their willpower depleted they did not have the strength/willpower to resist impulses. I have experienced this personally, and know that I am much more likely to eat poorly after a frustrating day at work, or after long days when I’m mentally and physically fatigued.

The good news is we don’t have to understand how willpower works to strengthen ours, or more importantly, to be successful in our goals. All we need to do is have the desire to succeed. However, there are some practical tips to help us on our way. First, we need to define clearly what we want and how we are going to do it (tip-writing it down is best). For instance, the person interested in losing 15lbs in 6 months by eliminating soda and walking 30 minutes 3 x week, is likely to be much more successful than the person who wants to “get in shape”. Second, tell someone you can trust. People are much more likely to stick to goals that they have verbalized. I would caution you to be careful who you tell, because some people are so negative that they can be discouraging. Finally, monitor your progress frequently. Research has shown that people who weigh themselves daily are much more likely to reach weight loss goals than people who don’t. I don’t encourage being obsessive but its hard to know where you are  going if you don’t know where you’ve been. These are just a few tips and certainly one size does not fit all. I encourage you to reach for your goals today, because there is no time like the present.

Best Wishes,

Hello All,

I hope you all are doing well in the early days of the New Year. In my previous post I introduced myself and spoke a little about my background and business. I hope you get an opportunity to go back and read it.

The purpose of this blog is to create a dialogue with like minded folks to discuss topics on nutrition, healthy lifestyles, cancer prevention and mindful living. My posts will be rooted in verifiable research, and when they are not (i.e. my or someone else’s opinion), I will say so. I am a trained physician, but I will not provide any medical advice via this blog. I am “oldschool” enough to believe that you actually have to see patients and touch them to reach an accurate diagnosis.

Since we are beginning the New Year my next topic will focus on Will Power and how to successfully make life changes. We will use New Years resolutions as a platform to explore the topic further. Some statistics you may find interesting are that 45% of Americans make resolutions and 38% never make them. People in their twenties are twice as likely to achieve their resolution compared to people over fifty (39% versus 14%). It is estimated only 8% of people achieve their resolutions. Why is this? Is it a function of unrealistic goals or lack of will. I look forward to discussing this and taking this journey with you.

Take Care

Hello Blogosphere,

It has been a longtime coming but we are finally here. I will start with the customary introductions. My name is Victor, and I am the owner of the Tropical Smoothie Cafes’ on New Garden Rd in Greensboro and at 3860 John Gordon Lane in High Point(Palladium).

At my day job, I am a physician. Specifically, I am a cancer doctor. My wife, Nikki, is also a physician who practices Family Medicine. Although we currently live out of state we are both North Carolina born and bred. Nikki is originally from Greensboro and is a Guilford College alum. I am originally from Shelby, NC (home of the 3 time 2A State football champions), but Greensboro has become my second home.

We are parents to 2 fantastic children ages 13 and 6, and lead busy professional and social lives. We try to practice what we preach and make healthy food choices (most of the time) and exercise regularly.

The hustle and bustle of everyday life can make healthy eating, sleeping and exercise luxuries and not the basic necessities of existence that they truly are. With two working parents, basketball practice, swimming lessons, piano, violin, homework, birthday parties and karate on any given day something has to give.

About 7 years ago we came across a Tropical Smoothie Café at the shopping center were we live. Being the country boy that I am I was quite skeptical. My wife and daughter loved it. Truth be told I was overwhelmed by the menu, and the thought of drinking vegetables wasn’t very appealing. Nevertheless, we tried again, and again, and again. I advanced past the smoothies to the food, and to make a long story short I was hooked. Good to me AND good for me, there was nothing left to discuss. We truly became “smoothiefoodies” and visited several time a week.

Now my first child was/is a garbage disposal. Anything that is not nailed down will be eaten dead or alive. My second child was/is much more picky. He could exist off of PB & J and grapes if he had his way. In fact until 4 months ago he took a PB&J sandwich in his lunch everyday for almost 3 years. He would occasionally request it at night too. But for peer pressure, he would not eat cheese pizza on Mondays with his friends.

Being physicians we recognize that he needs variety in his diet and we continue try introduce different foods as most parents of picky eaters do. He is not having (without threats of course). He will however, drink a smoothie with carrots, bananas and almost any other thing that he doesn’t see mixed in. Now that’s a win for the grown ups!

After several years of enjoying Tropical Smoothie and having the opportunity to make a healthier choice versus traditional fast food, we decided to bring the concept home. We opened our first store on Dec 29th of 2013 (not the smartest idea) and our second store on April 28th, 2015. Both stores are doing well and give us an opportunity to promote health and wellness beyond our chosen professions. We are excited about the future and as I become a better me, we hope to play a part in you becoming a better.

Until then,