Complete Lifestyle Modification
Lifestyle refers to our daily living style, from waking up in the morning until going to bed at night. What activities do we do?
Complete lifestyle modification, or Total Lifestyle Modification means changing the old lifestyle to a new one characterized by continuous and systematic self-health care.
Complete lifestyle modification involves changing these things…
1. Prepare yourself, smile along with “Exercise”
Exercise involves movement and physical activity that makes the body exert effort. Exercise acts like a vaccine and medicine because immune cells circulate in the bloodstream.
Safe exercise for those who have never exercised before, especially those with chronic diseases, can be done safely in 2 ways:
Method 1: Do it yourself by gradually starting with a little exercise daily, such as 5 minutes at a time, then gradually increasing.
Method 2: Visit a doctor and request a heart performance test during exercise. This method involves doing intense exercise for the first time under medical supervision.
2. Prepare yourself, smile along with “Complete Nutritional Allocation”
- Daily nutrition intake from the 5 food groups
- Food pyramid or nutrition flag: The concept of the food pyramid or nutrition flag is to arrange food groups in order of how much should be consumed, with some groups eaten more and others in small amounts.
- Learn about calories: The body needs energy for movement. How much to eat depends on each person’s calorie needs. Generally, people require about 20-35 calories per kilogram of body weight per day.
3. Prepare yourself, smile along with “Rest and Stress Elimination”
- Causes of stress
External causes: May arise from good or bad events, including environment, pollution, noise, etc.
Internal causes: Arise from one’s own thoughts and feelings, such as fear, paranoia, etc.
- Effects of stress
Physical effects: Stress causes various symptoms such as headaches, back pain, chest pain, stomach ache, insomnia, constipation, palpitations.
Mental effects: Stress causes suffering, anxiety, restlessness, irritability, depression, lack of motivation, feeling drained.
How to manage stress
- Assess how stressed you are
- Identify what causes your stress
- Review how you have responded to stress in the past
- Create a new stress management plan suitable for you
Relax by practicing meditation to calm the body
Meditation practice should not be less than 20 minutes, 1-2 times a day, and should be done when the mind is alert “Not recommended when sleepy”
4. Prepare yourself, smile along with “Weight Control”
- Get to know the Body Mass Index (BMI) to determine if you are overweight or obese. The normal BMI range is 23.0 – 24.99.
- Key components of weight control
- Exercise for calorie burning
- Nutrition for calories
- Motivation and steps for behavior modification
5. Prepare yourself, smile along with “Blood Sugar Control”
The philosophy of blood sugar control includes 4 aspects:
- Nutrition specifically for diabetics
- Regular exercise
- Weight control to avoid obesity
- Use of blood sugar-lowering medication as needed
6. Prepare yourself, smile along with “Non-Medication Hypertension Management”
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by the blood flow on the blood vessel walls, which has two types: systolic pressure and diastolic pressure.
What blood pressure level is considered high?
<120/80 mmHg is considered normal blood pressure.
121/81–139/89 is considered high blood pressure.
Lowering blood pressure without medication can be done by simply “modifying daily lifestyle”.
7. Prepare yourself, smile along with “Kidney Disease Prevention”
Chronic kidney disease is a condition where the kidney filters or tubules deteriorate, causing waste to accumulate in the body, leading to discomfort.
Diet principles for kidney disease patients
Reduce protein foods such as meat and various beans, reduce salty foods to lower sodium intake from salt, fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and seasoning powders to avoid excessive intake.
8. Prepare yourself, smile along with “Osteoporosis Prevention”
Bone strength depends on the size and density of the bone. If minerals such as calcium and phosphorus are abundant, the bone density will be higher.
Risk factors and causes of osteoporosis
- Low sex hormones due to menopause
- Lack of physical movement
- Low calcium diet, not drinking milk
- Vitamin D deficiency, no sun exposure
- Heavy alcohol consumption
- Heavy smoking
- Drinking tea, coffee, soft drinks
- The thinner the body, the more severe the deterioration
- Being in a state of depression
- Taking certain medications
- Genetics
- Having rheumatoid arthritis
- Having endocrine diseases
- Having hematological diseases
How to know if you have osteoporosis??
According to the World Health Organization standards, osteoporosis diagnosis “uses bone density measurement” by X-ray systems available in large medical centers.
9. Prepare yourself, smile along with “Risks of Alcohol Consumption”
- When drinking a small amount of alcohol, you may feel a warm flush on your face due to blood vessel dilation.
- Alcohol irritates the entire digestive tract.
- Drinking on an empty stomach causes alcohol to be absorbed into the bloodstream faster.
- If the absorbed alcohol amount in the blood is low, it helps the drinker feel relaxed.
- Drinking more causes loss of balance and impaired hand and foot movement.
- Alcohol harms the liver and kidneys.
- In pregnant women, alcohol can cause birth defects.
- Alcohol damages the nervous system if consumed continuously for a long time.
- Older people are more susceptible to alcohol’s harmful effects.
10. Prepare yourself, smile along with “Risks of Smoking”
- Physical addiction to smoking is caused by nicotine.
- Psychological addiction to smoking occurs because the brain associates activities with smoking.
How to successfully quit smoking
- Quitting smoking is a process or project that involves lifestyle changes.
- It is not a small event, so it requires time to prepare mentally.
- Cold turkey quitting has a 22 – 27% success rate.
- Throw away all cigarettes and smoking devices without regret!
- Avoid social settings, atmospheres, and people that tempt you to smoke.
- Drink plenty of clean water to relieve dry mouth.
- Reduce caffeine intake.
- Exercise to increase endorphins, which helps make quitting easier.
- When craving a cigarette, divert your attention to something else.
- Grin and bear the first 2-3 days of severe withdrawal symptoms.
- If you fail, consult a doctor.
11. Prepare yourself, smile along with “Theories of Lifestyle Modification”
Process principles to help change
- Instill awareness
- Use role-playing
- Reflect on personal consequences
- Consider effects on surrounding society
- Self-liberation
- Social liberation
- Learn opposites
- Indirectly enforce better behaviors
- Deliberately use stimulation plans
- Good companionship
Let’s step into readiness… with a smile for a quality SENIOR SOCIETY together!!
