Tough questions...critical answers

Today, experts from around the nation are gathering in New York for the GE Health Convention. A veritable brain trust of experts in the fields of cardiology, cancer, and more are addressing the future of healthcare by focusing on prevention and "early health." As you may read elsewhere on iVillage, in Q & As, interviews and other blogs, speakers will be discussing new screening methods for diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and cancer, the differences in heart disease between women and men and much more.

So what does all of this mean to us -- everyday women trying to simply live a healthy, balanced life, trying to fit in our vegetables and daily exercise and maybe a yoga class and remember to put on our sunblock...let along get screened for devastating neurological diseases? Women, especially the health-conscious ladies who make iVillage and the Weighting Game such thriving, active communities, take disease prevention seriously. Women who are mothers tend to be the "doctors" in the family, scheduling medical and dental check-ups for both children and spouses, fixing cuts and scrapes and just generally making the pain go away. But in juggling everyone else’s health, along with our work life, friends, family (maybe you have parents with health concerns), hobbies and more, women often place their own physical and mental health last in the pecking order. Your stress-melting run? That book you've been dying to crack open? The spa weekend your best friend has been begging you to take with her? They all-too-often get tossed to the curb, as our own health is neglected for the sake of others'.

The focus of the GE Health convention, as I said, is early health. How can we make room for this idea in our already-crammed lives?

Some questions I’d love for you to answer...for the benefit of everyone here:

* What’s the first aspect of your weight loss/maintenance routine that gets kicked aside when life gets tough? (For instance, do you start mindlessly snacking on junk food? Drink a few too many while out with friends? Blow off the gym?)

* If you were really honest with yourself, do you ever resent one area of your life, such as your job or a parenting concern, because it interferes with your ability to take pure, carefree joy in a healthy behavior? (I'll go first: Sometimes I hate my obsessive tendency to take on too much work because it stresses me out to the max, and I wind up freaking out, eating brownie batter and peanut butter from the jar and then feeling pissed at myself for getting so worked up in the first place...for all that time spent worrying, I probably could have gone for a 20-minute jog.)

* Many of you are careful to exercise and eat right. In fact, it’s probably become, or is becoming, an ingrained part of your life. Congratulations! But let me ask, Is it mainly to look good? (Not that there's anything wrong with a gorgeous bod!) Or is it primarily to keep your body healthy for the future? Does the impetus matter, so long as we are carving out the time to exercise and eat well? After all, the outcome may be similar...but we don't want to get tripped up on body image when we could be focusing on sticking around for our families and futures.

* And lastly, with so much emphasis placed on early health...would you want to be screened for a disease like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson's? If there is no cure, do you believe knowing you would develop this type of disease would allow you to live life more fully - or act as a curse, hanging over your head? Heart disease screening is different - you can take actions to prevent its onset. But with the other two...it's kind of like knowing the exact date you’re going to die. Could you handle the gamble? I’m not sure if I could...

Some serious questions to ponder. I’ll post some of my reflections, too.

Comments

In response to the questions...

1. My diet definitely goes first. I feel miserable if I don't exercise, but it's just so darn easy to go through a bag of chips or an entire box of cookies before I really realize what I'm doing.

2.I resent that there always seems to be food around at my job -- donuts, cookies, or whatever else happens to be sitting around. I wish people were more respectful of the fact that other people are trying to watch what they eat.

3.At the risk of sounding narcissistic...yes, working out and eating right are about 80% to look good! The rest of it is about feeling good in the present moment.

4. I wouldn't get screened for those diseases until there was a way to fight their onset.

Interesting questions! I can't wait to read the other responses. :)

You are SO right, Nikki, about the food-at-work thing! I remember at my last job, there would constantly be mini candy bars, donuts, M&Ms...I would eat my healthy breakfast of oatmeal and fruit and then literally find myself unwrappin a Snickers...at 9 o'clock in the morning! Granted, I should have been able to exercise some will power and not go searching for the sweet stuff, but when it's there, it weakens my resolve. Nice post.

Some serious questions. Some short responses:

1. When I get stressed, I let myself drown in my work to the point that I compromise my health :( I end up getting sick from lack of sleep, lack of healthy eating, lack of working out, etc. I am trying to put those days behind me, though :)

2. This might sound silly, but for a long time I resented graduate school. I grew sick and tired of working 18-20 hours/day just to keep up with my classes and the classes that I was teaching (for a penny, but I NEVER resented my students - they kept me going).

3. For my competitive drive - 75% of the time, I workout so that I can reach my competitive running goals. The other 25% I work out to feel relaxed, peaceful, happy.

4. Not sure.

1. My eating habits go down the tube and I quit working out.

2. There are days I resent the fact that I have 3 children and can't afford to do more to take care of myself and them but I love my kids and wouldn't trade them for anything.

3. 50% body image 50% to attempt to be healthier and not end up like my mother who has parkinsons and many other things wrong with her.

4. I would definitely get checked I want to know what is going on with my body and do what I can to hold off the effects of whatever might be wrong with me in the future.

Thank you for your honest, strong and brave answers, Candace. You raise a good point in (4) that using a tool like screning for Parkinson's could help you do WHATEVER is possible to stave off the effects of the disease, be it exercise, diet, medication, keeping you mind active, etc. It's making me think a bit about my position, which I automatically thought would be no, I wouldn't want to know...because I'm not sure I could handle knowing. I tend to be rather hypochondriachal (sore throat equals mono) so such a diagnosi could have me popping Xanax like Tic Tacs. I suppose it's how your frame it..prevention, prevention, prevention. Still, I'm not ready just yet. That's the beauty in this - it's a personal choice, left up to the individual.

Bridget - love your grad school reference. I can totally relate! And I admire your competitive spirit. What an awesome quality to possess. Go girl!

1. Definitely snacking is the first thing I do when stressed. That sugar high.

2. Working a full-time job and having kids at home. I just don't feel like I can take time for me because I'm a single mom and don't like leaving my daughter alone any more than necessary

3. Seven years ago I went from 189 lbs to 128 with kickboxing and weight training. I even became certified to teach others. Last year at the end of a 5 yr emotionally abusive relationship and a 2 month stint of being homeless and living at the Salvation Army, I got so depressed and started sugar bingeing and not exercising. I have gained 30 lbs and have started to get back into a routine. Because I KNOW what the recipe for success is, I just need to get over the hump to being a habit. I do it for health because not only do my clothes not fit nicely but I have aches and pains and can't sleep. I know better health will help me avoid being the bent over, shuffling old lady.

4. I would want to know ahead so I could live life fully.

Kathie, I admire your strength in oth being able to leave an abusive relationship and setting such a positive example for you daughter - both physically, emotionally, and maternally. I am rooting for you, as I'm sure all the readers her are. Lots of love...
Leslie