Familiar Territories

Have you ever...

...begun to eat but first looked around to see if anyone was watching what you ate?

...eaten two, or even three meals in one day from a drive-through?

...heard these words from your doctor recently - “pre-diabetic,” “Obese,” “BMI,” “High blood pressure,” “Elevated triglycerides?

...been unable to recall what you’d eaten for the better part of your day because there was so much “on your plate?”

...gone more than a week eating everywhere but your dining table?

...eaten an entire box of snack crackers, a bag of candy bars or a carton of ice cream in one day?

I have.

At different times in my life I have experienced these and many other self-defeating eating habits.

However, all is NOT lost. The purpose of this blog is not to slap your hands and say “naughty-naughty.” Instead, I’d like to invite you to look at your current habits and forecast a bit into your future. Are you happy with your weight? Can you do all the things you want to do physically, or do you avoid certain activities because you'll be out of breath, or the seats are too small?

If you know, in the back of your mind, that you should make some changes, but you don't want to admit it, then-- it's time. At first, it may seem insurmountable, but if we break this voyage down into smaller, less intimidating road trips, I think we can get where we want to go.

For Today
One of the first steps to better health is an honest identification of your situation. Recognizing that you didn’t become overweight overnight, and not expecting any quick-fix promises to speed track your way into shape, is a crucial beginning. By paying attention to your eating habits, pooling direction and advice from trusted resources, and by making decisions and commitments based on your own personal needs, you can develop a base to begin your journey to better health.

Know that the Garrison Center is here to help you at every stage of this process. I encourage you to try one of Dr. Garrison's support groups or new patient seminars for great information and encouragement. I also hope you will participate in this blog.

This journey may not be an easy or comfortable course to maneuver (few worthy things are), but I hope to inject some humor, encouragement and maybe even a few “ah-ha!” moments along the way.

Anybody wish to join me?



To the Journey,

Toni A. Tripp
Tripptales Fable & Allegory

Welcome to the Garrison Center for Healthy Living

Life is busy! Schedules are hectic! Time is short, but the To-Do list is long!

These statements describe the way most of us live today. With all the stresses of everyday life, it’s no wonder that stress, fatigue and depression are so commonplace. Certainly between dropping off the kids at school, picking up prescriptions, and staying awake at work, you took the time to pause, drink a cold glass of water, then plan out a healthy meal plan for you and your family. For the next six months.

What? You didn’t?!!!

Truth is, neither did I. Yes, I did eat an orange instead of the cookies I would much rather have eaten, but that didn’t come naturally. I had to remind myself that I want to take care of myself by making healthy choices. It’s so much easier to eat a cookie rather than an orange!

But I also know I have the power to change my habits. I can buy dried fruit that doesn’t have to be peeled before being eaten. I can touch my toes when I’m watching TV. I can even do butt scrunches while driving. No one but me will know, and I’ll know I’m doing something good for myself. Sure, these little changes probably won’t amount to much if that’s all I do, but when added together, I know I’ll feel a bit lighter, breathe easier, laugh heartier and enjoy life more fully, because I’m doing the Right Things for myself and my body.

It’s not easy to always do the Right Things. After all, I’m a human, not a robot! And, if you’re reading this, I’m guessing you’re a human, too! I used to be one of those stubborn mules who thought she could do everything alone, so I often found it difficult to ask for help. But, as I (so gracefully!) age, my ego has finally allowed me to recognize that sometimes, I actually can’t do everything myself. Some problems are too complicated, some challenges too difficult for me to fix alone. It’s taken me a long time to finally see that overcoming what I call my “overeating and overseating” is not something I can do by myself. I need help. I need direction. I need encouragement. You might, too.

Dr. Jordan M. Garrison, Jr., who founded The Garrison Center for Healthy Living in 2006, understands how challenging and complicated life can be. He wants to help people understand how to handle those problems so they don’t use food as way of hiding from their problems. For some of us, stressful living leads to overeating -- and it’s no secret that overeating can lead to obesity. Obesity is linked to serious medical problems such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Not only that, it just doesn’t feel good to lug that extra weight around.

Dr. Garrison founded his Center to help people meet the many challenges they face on their journey from obesity to vibrant health. For people who are severely overweight, bariatric surgery may be an important step in the process of losing excess weight and discovering new-found joy. Dr. Garrison also performs minimally invasive Roux-en-Y and LapBand procedures in those who are unable to lose their weight through diet and exercise. True, he is a surgeon whose operations are designed to help people lose excess weight. But he’s more than that. Dr. Garrison seeks to treat the WHOLE person, not just the stomach. The Garrison Center is a place where people come together to work on improving their whole selves, not just the parts of their bodies they want to lose.

We’ve begun this blog because the Garrison Center wants to be an interactive partner on your journey to self-improvement. This blog will discuss a wide variety of topics related to your journey to health, including nutrition, exercise, medicine, social and emotional issues, and much more. We might even get Dr. Garrison to share some of his famous recipes. We also encourage you to suggest topics you wish to learn more about, and to contribute to group discussions about what’s been posted. This is a community forum that can only flourish by your interest and participation.

We open our arms to welcome you to The Garrison Center. We hope you’ll hug us right back.

Tami Kamin-Meyer is an attorney licensed in Ohio and the U.S. Supreme Court and an oft-published freelance writer about health, law, business, sports, travel, pets and relationships. To ask her a question or suggest discussion topics, email her at tkmwrites@hotmail.com.

Visit The Garrison Center for Healthy Living at www.garrisoncenter.org