Imagine taking off 80 pounds with a diet that consists of six small meals a day.

Mix in a modest exercise plan customized for your level of fitness and what you want to achieve.

And address your physical and mental well-being with deep-breathing techniques that help reduce stress as you go about a busy daily routine.

Several East Cobb health and fitness pros insist anyone can incorporate these practices into their lives to improve their quality of life.

Speaking at a recent East Cobb Business Association luncheon, they offered up some sobering figures about the state of Americans’ health:

• Six out of 10 Americans have been diagnosed with at least one chronic disease;
• Four out of 10 have two or more;
• By next year, chronic diseases will affect 157 million Americans;
• That’s projected to be 171 million by the year 2030.

Those illnesses add up, financially too, to around $35 trillion in health costs.

“As our lifespans get longer, we are getting sicker,” said Katie Rodgers, a certified personal trainer with Rove Fitness Systems, and who works out of East Cobb.

That may seem paradoxical, but she said seven out of 10 Americans die from chronic diseases “that are preventable.

“You’ve got the power to change your body,” Rodgers said. “Every choice counts, every little choice adds up.”

She was joined by Dr. Dan Ruitenbeek, a chiropractor who recently opened a practice at Parkaire Landing; health coach Cindy Trow of Wellness Now; and Noelle Abent of Energetic Therapies, on Johnson Ferry Road.

While their talk was geared to business professionals, their advice and the staggering health figures and trends they discussed can apply to anyone.

Better fitness starts with better food

Trow said you don’t have to be overweight or appear to be in poor health or eat unhealthy diets to have issues. The very thin former special education teacher realized how life-changing a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes was, and she now helps others learn to eat in moderation as the stepping stone to better health.

“It’s not just how you eat but how you move, and sleep and handle stress,” she said.

Portion control is the key, and Trow pointed to weight-loss stories from clients who followed her six-meals approach. Their “sweet cravings went away” and they felt more satiated.

These are healthy snacks of course, and include a variety of 100-calorie options that include fruit, nuts, yogurt, vegetables, greens, tuna, whole-wheat pasta, hummus and some pasta and cheeses.

For dinner, she suggests you fill no more than a nine-inch plate, and emphasize fruits and vegetables and proteins.

And drink lots of water, starting the day with 24 ounces, and between 64-80 ounces a day total.

Get started with gradual steps

Abent, who formerly worked at a church, had the audience do some deep-breathing exercises, putting their hands on their stomachs while they breathed in for five seconds, and then exhaling for five seconds more.

It’s a standard relaxation technique, she said, but it also helps people get a more tactile sense of themselves.

“We’re not centered in our bodies,” said Abent, who offers therapy options that include Reiki healing, inner light therapy and spiritual counseling. The aim is to help individuals derive and sustain higher energy levels that also improve health outcomes.

“If you don’t have enough energy during the day, how is that going to flow into your business?”

Ruitenbeek said the key to getting started is to develop gradual habits that build up over time.

“It takes 21 days of consistent action to create a new habit,” he said.

Trow said “80 percent” of the formula for better health “is in your head,” with 10 percent each for food and exercise. “You’re not going to create everything in a New York minute.”

But the best news of all, Rodgers said, is that better health results are within reach of anyone who commits to those goals and who can sustain those habits, regardless of age.

“It’s never too late to get healthy,” Rodgers said.

For more information

• Dr. Dan Ruitenbeek, Explore Chiropractic;
• Cindy Trow, Wellness Now, email WellnessNow@CindyTrow.com for recipes and other food and health tips;
• Katie Rodgers, Rove Fitness Systems;
• Noelle Abent, Energetic Therapies.

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