Women's Health Tips

For this issue, we asked our attorneys to give us their top health tips. We received some great ideas.

• Start juicing! – Anna Powers
• Get a flu shot and all the other recommended immunizations. – Linda Klein
• Take real vacations. Eat actual food, not edible non-food substances. (This is stolen from one of my heroes, Michael Pollan.) – Mary O'Kelley
• I try to get my kids involved when I workout. I engage my eight-year-old son to help me when I do CrossFit. He and I will throw the medicine ball back and forth 100 times. We make it into a game. When I go for a run/walk I will have my daughters come with me and we will do sprints and turn them into a race. – Tonya Mitchem Grindon
• If you only have limited time to work out, consider the use of a personal trainer. While there is a bit more cost associated with it, you can be guaranteed that you will make the most of the time and get better results than if you go it alone. I'm convinced that one hour twice a week with a trainer is better than working out twice as much with no direction. – Jennifer Keller
• Take a dog for a walk. Good exercise and stress relief. – Whitney Harmon
• Make regular dates with your spouse (and a trainer). My husband and I signed up for 30-minute sessions with a trainer and have somehow managed to stick with our twice-a-week workout routine for nearly two years now. The combination of trainer and significant other time is ideal because: 1. We both have a financial and personal commitment to show up. 2. Trainers are amazing at cramming more into a 30-minute period and keeping things interesting than you could possibly imagine. 3. The personalized workout sessions are a good value when we are doing the session for the price of one. 4. I know every week that no matter what comes up, I will at least have two seriously challenging workout sessions and get to see my husband without our kids for at least an hour. – Melanie Walker
• Don't underestimate the importance of consistently getting enough sleep. It affects your cognitive abilities, energy level, immunity and life span. – Sarah Casey
• Go Paleo. Weight falls off, it's simple, and you still get to eat plenty of great food. Also, be versatile with workouts so that you can keep exercising in almost any situation. Don't rely on one form of exercise such as running. Your routine will get de-railed too easily if your exercise options are too narrow. Learn various CrossFit workouts, including small-space workouts that can even be done without any equipment in a hotel room. – Rusty Gray
• Maintaining bone health is very important for women, particularly during and after menopause. The following will help to preserve bone health:
  • Engage in weight-bearing activity on a regular basis – preferably three or more days per week – including strength training and weight-bearing cardiovascular exercise (e.g., walking, running, cycling).
  • Consume fermented dairy products (yogurt and kefir) and leafy green vegetables to provide adequate calcium – but do not over-consume non-fermented dairy products (milk and cheese), as they are associated with bone brittleness.