5 years ago, an online version of the nationally recognized, award-winning Physician's Choice Wellness was created. This program was designed to help people that could not make it to an in-person clinic due to family or work responsibilities, or health limitations. JTH has grown to help people coast-to-coast who, perhaps, do not have another option near where they live. We really experienced a lot of growth as our world was rocked by COVID. I'm happy to celebrate 5 years of helping people through Journey To Health.

A common occurrence in my weight loss clinics----A new participant comes into the program super motivated and starts the program with a lot of energy. Regular, weekly weight loss is noted for several weeks. Finally, at one weigh in, this participant shows no weight loss. The next week, same thing. The participant promises complete compliance. After some discussion, what we learn is that that person thought if he/she was losing regularly at a particular number of calories, they certainly would lose more if they consumed less. This. Is. Absolutely. Not. True. It's the opposite of what will actually happen.

There are a lot of pieces of technology we have access to that can make our lives easier. I want to discuss one that I feel is most beneficial to this journey we are on together: seeking a healthier life.

How do your summer months look for you? Are you the kind of person who stays on task and keeps things running smoothly during June, July and August? OOORRRRR, are you like me and any kind of routine goes out the window as you deal with: kids being home, camps, summer leagues, vacation, social gatherings, and all things "summer."

In all of my years in this line of work, there has been one reoccurring problem that I have never found a painless, effective, reasonably priced solution for. With weight loss, a lot of times there is excess skin that remains that can be annoying, frustrating, and sometimes painful.

There are so many things in our lives that we try to balance, that there is always something that gets shortchanged. A lot of times, that "something" is YOU! Finding a good rhythm in your life can make your balance more achievable. Take all of the things that are priorities to you and rank them in order of importance. Block out times in your day to fit in things that you don't feel you have time for.

As we age, it becomes more important than ever to stay at a healthy weight. Doing so makes all of the other issues we face because of Mother Nature/Father Time not quite so horrible. Try your best to keep extra weight off. Try to keep healthy habits a part of your daily routine. Fight like mad to hold off these affects aging will have on all of us.

I am so against monitoring your progress by what the scale tells you, that I don't even own a scale. A person can be doing everything as perfectly as possible, but if that number on the scale doesn't show what they had hoped, none of your hard work matters. If you're a slave to the scale, I challenge you to have someone hide your scale for a week or even a month. Continue your healthy lifestyle choices, write down the positives you're experiencing from those choices, and then (if you have to) weigh yourself to see what that number is.

For as long as I can remember, I have heard people say they hate to exercise. Honestly, in saying this, you simply have not found something you enjoy doing. "Exercise" can be pretty much anything that gets you up and moving. Exercising does not have to be putting on certain clothes, going to a certain place, and making yourself drenched in sweat and miserable.