Eulalee Thompson - BE WELL

It's down to crunch time, the last quarter of the year. Remember all those New Year resolutions? How are you doing on your health makeover for 2008? Let's make a scorecard.

Living a healthy lifestyle is the buzz. It means not smoking, exercising, eating right, managing our weight, paying attention to our mental well-being and doing the recommended screening tests. Sounds overwhelming? The trick is to make small changes over time and, soon, the healthy you will be the envy of all your friends. Let's break down the scorecard.

Eat well

If you have a serious sweet tooth, like me, then you know that eating well all the time is a challenge. I manage my sweet tooth and my weight by having smaller servings of dessert, by focusing on my target weight and on my daily caloric intake. Dessert is part of the total meal plan that should include adequate servings of fruits and vegetables. Get a copy of the Caribbean food pyramid and food groups, then make some changes, for example:

n Add fruits to your cereals; maybe some raisins to your cornmeal or oats porridge. Add fruits to your salads too.

n Prepare vegetables in the mornings and have them handy and ready in the refrigerator to munch on. Make your own low-calorie salad dressing.

n Calorie is the thing to watch. All foods have a certain number of calories and calories, not burned in exercise and physical activity, sit around the waistline. Learn to count them.

Physical activity and exercise

When I'm out on my regular morning runs, I see more people from a wide cross-section of the society exercising - walking, running, cycling - it's encouraging. It's a challenge to exercise. It's so much easier to sit and watch television with a dessert. The trick is to find something that you enjoy and have daily and weekly goals. Keep revising the goals and targets. Stay motivated by focusing on your target, for example, to maintain or reach a certain weight.

The experts tell us that even moderate exercising brings massive health returns - cuts heart disease, stroke and diabetes risks, improves flexibility, improves memory, enhances self-esteem and makes for more graceful ageing.

Mental well-being

There's no way to get rid of stress. Just driving from home to work is stressful for me - all that traffic and careless driving. Stress is just a part of everyday life. Our next best action is, therefore, to change our attitude to stress. Take it in stride. Control anxiety with meditation, deep breathing or listening to music that slows down the pace of thought and breathing. Mental well-being is about loving and accepting yourself and feeling that you can manage life stresses. Rest, relax, breathe deeply and build a support structure of genuine people.

Sleep well

Restful sleep is critical for alertness and concentration throughout the day and so it is an important item on your scorecard. Researchers also say that sleep keeps the nervous system healthy and boosts the immune system that helps us fight disease. Make your sleep environment comfortable and get into a bedtime routine that makes for restful sleep.

Eulalee Thompson is health editor and a professional counsellor; email: eulalee.thompson@gleanerjm.com.