Game night is fun for the whole family – but it doesn’t have to be the only time you’re all active together. Getting your family moving every day is important for maintaining good health, and it can be easy to do if you make it part of your daily routine.

We’re firm believers that the family that exercises together, stays together. So, in the interest of many more game nights, we’ve compiled a list of five ways to keep your family active and healthy.

Make Physical Activity a Priority

Just like with anything else in life, if you want your family to be active, you have to make it a priority. Set aside some time each day for everyone in the family to get up and move. Whether it’s going for a walk around the neighbourhood, playing tag in the backyard, or dancing to your favorite songs in the living room, make sure everyone gets at least some moderate to vigorous physical activity.

Go Green(thumb)

If you have the space, planting a garden is a great way to get your family moving and outside enjoying the fresh air. It can be as simple as planting flowers in pots or starting a small vegetable garden. Let everyone have their own little section to tend to and watch the whole thing grow together.

Gardening tasks such as digging holes or hauling bags of soil mimic exercises that improve cardio, build strength and foster health. Plus, if you plant an apple tree, you’ll have more than an apple a day to keep the doctor away from the whole family.

Chore Champs

Chores are a great way to get everyone in the family moving. Not only will you (finally) be getting the house clean, but you’ll also be getting some exercise in as well. Not to mention, it’s a great opportunity to instill a sense of responsibility and pride in one’s work in the younger members of your family.

Vacuuming, sweeping, mowing the lawn, taking out the trash and even dusting can all help to get your heart rate up. And, if you start handing out medals for the best floor mopper or window cleaner, it can be even more fun!

Get Outside and Explore

A competitive game of charades might get the heart pumping but there’s nothing like a hike. Head to your nearest park and explore the trails or plan an annual camping trip filled with outdoor activities. Here, in Calgary, you couldn’t throw a stone without having it land in a national park so get out there and explore.

Take a family bike tour of your surrounding landscape or go for a long nature walk. Not only will you get some exercise with a view, but you’ll also get some quality time together without any screens. And speaking of screens.

Turn Off the Electronics

We know, we know. This one is easier said than done. There’s a reason we left it for last. But, making a concerted effort to turn off the electronics can pay dividends for your family’s health (and happiness). Engage in some good old-fashioned face-to-face even if those faces are getting very sweaty.

Try setting some boundaries around screen time such as no phones at the dinner table or no TV until after a workout to help break dependence and forge newer, healthier habits. Alternatively, if your family starts screaming for their screens back, incorporate technology into your new workout routine with fitness apps and other health trackers.

Family Fitness First

With exercise habits like these, game night in your household will take on new meaning. However, if you’re having difficulty getting started or need some advice, Calgary Integrative Medicine is here to help. Click here to learn more about our weight loss clinic and how integrative medicine can help your put your family’s fitness first.

Sit up straight! Don’t slouch! We’ve all heard it before, but it’s not until we’re older that we begin to realize the toll bad posture can take on our bodies. If, like many, your job involves sitting at a desk, chances are you’ll be spending a fairly decent chunk of your life sitting down. On average, office workers spend about a third of their life sitting, be it at work, relaxing at home, or when using transportation.

Despite sitting being one of the things we do the most, few realize the importance of good posture and how it can affect your bones, joints, and even metabolism. This often results in health issues later on in life. So, to help you avoid discomfort over the years, we’ll be taking a brief look at posture in the workplace and how to sit properly to avoid long-term muscle aches and pains.

What Is a Good Posture At The Office?

A good posture is one that follows our joints and muscles’ natural position. When sitting down at work, the ideal posture is one in which all your main joints are in neutral positions to eliminate any unnecessary tension. As comfortable and tempting as it may seem at the time, slouching in your office chair or bending/arching your back too much while seated can result in long-term muscle aches, pains, and slouch back.

How to Maintain Good Posture in the Workplace

 Maintaining good posture in the workplace may seem harder than it sounds at first but is something that will come naturally over time. In essence, you’ll want to make sure your eyes are in line with where you focus the most and your wrists, shoulders, and neck are in neutral, non-strained positions at all times. Achieving the perfect posture at work may require a few adjustments – both physical and environmental.  

Physically, you should make a concentrated effort to sit upright and ensure your back is completely flat against the back of your chair, with no empty spaces. Ideally, you use a chair that provides adequate back support from top to bottom. Most office chairs nowadays are height adjustable, which allows you to adapt your chair to your specific size.

If you don’t have a height-adjustable chair, seriously consider investing in one – your back will thank you later! There’s no need to go crazy with the latest and most expensive ergonomic office chair, any basic height-adjustable chair will do in a pinch, and you can always add a pillow if yours doesn’t provide enough back support.

Adjust your seat to the point where your elbows are at desk height when seated. You should be able to form a 90° angle when laying your hands flat on your desk, with your elbows by your side. Your thighs should be more or less parallel to the ground and your legs perpendicular, with your feet flat on the ground or resting on an elevated support.

Raise your screen to eye level and angle your monitor 20 to 30° so you’re looking straight at it. You shouldn’t need to lower your head or adjust your gaze too much, which can add unnecessary neck strain. If you use a laptop, consider investing in an external display that you can adjust to eye level. Move the screen back and zoom in if necessary, do what you can to avoid constantly moving your head. If an external screen is not an option, use a laptop stand, box, or even a pile of books to raise your laptop to eye level so that you’re not bending your back to look at your screen.

A Healthier Posture Means a Healthier Life

It’s never too late to correct your posture at work and avoid long-term pain down the line. If you’re already suffering from back pain due to bad posture, we’re here to help. At Calgary Integrative Medicine, we’ll help design a personalized pain management plan that offers sustainable relief and allows you to live a higher quality life. Call us today at 403-203-7272 or book a consultation online to discuss your options.  

Over the years, you’ve probably heard at least one person blame their weight on a “slow” metabolism. But have you ever stopped and wondered what that meant? Can a slow metabolism really cause you to gain weight? If so, can it be sped up to lose weight?

While there’s definitely a link between your metabolism and your weight, the truth is that a slow metabolism is very rarely the cause of excess weight. Ultimately, it’s what you eat and drink, and how much of it, along with how much exercise you get that determines your weight. Join us as we dig deeper into how your metabolism affects weight loss.

Your Metabolism and Your Weight

Your body is made up of an astounding number of systems that regulate it to meet your personal needs. While it may be tempting to blame excess weight on a slow metabolism, it’s extremely rare to gain weight due to a slow metabolism — and that’s usually associated with an underlying medical problem like Cushing’s syndrome or hypothyroidism.

Metabolism is a set of constant chemical processes that go on in your body to keep you alive. This includes breathing, repairing cells, and digesting food. In simpler terms, your metabolism converts what you eat and drink into the energy your body needs to function. When you eat and drink more calories than your body needs, you gain weight. Similarly, when you use up more calories than you eat and drink, you lose weight.

Weight gain itself is simply an imbalance in this energy equation. What causes the imbalance, however, is a little more complicated. Genetic makeup, hormone levels, diet, stress, sleep, and physical activity all play a role in your weight. And while it’s true that some people seem to never gain weight no matter what they eat, the fact remains that to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you consume. This can be done through diet, exercise, or a combination of both. Let’s take a closer look at how diet and physical exercise affect your metabolism.

The Effects of Diet and Exercise on Your Metabolism

While you can’t really control the speed of your metabolism, you can control how much energy you consume and how much you burn through physical activity. Put simply, the fewer calories you consume and the more active you are, the more energy you burn and the more weight you lose.

Cardiovascular exercise like walking, cycling, swimming, and running is by far the most efficient way to burn extra calories. Medical professionals recommend getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day to maintain a healthy weight, but you may need to increase the time you spend exercising if you want to lose more weight.

If you think you can’t set aside a whole half an hour a day to exercise, try breaking it into 10-minute segments throughout the day, you’d be surprised how easy that is! In general, any extra activity can help you lose weight. Simple things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work or parking a little farther away than you normally would are great ways to add a bit of extra exercise to your day. Strength training, such as weightlifting, can also help you lose weight by building muscle. More muscle requires more energy, meaning your body will naturally burn more calories as long as you maintain muscle mass.

As far as diet goes, eating a more nutritionally balanced diet can help you consume fewer calories than you burn while still allowing you to feel satisfied after each meal. At Calgary Integrative Medicine, our weight loss clinic can help you create a diet plan perfectly tailored to your weight loss goals.


There’s No Magic Solution To Weight Loss

No matter how convenient it may seem, blaming excess weight on a slow metabolism won’t do you much good. Don’t be tempted by dietary supplements or products promising to speed up your metabolism either. These products are nothing more than hype, and some may even cause dangerous side effects. The truth is there’s no easy way to lose weight and weight loss needs to be based on a combination of physical exercise and diet. Reach out to Calgary Integrative Medicine today and schedule a consultation to find out how you can lose weight and keep it off long term.

Functional medicine is a burgeoning field of study and practice for Naturopaths around the world. It offers many benefits to improve your wellbeing and the quality of your life. When seeking out functional medicine treatments, it is a good idea to inform yourself about what to expect and how the benefits will be displayed. 


These are some of the most effective functional medicine treatments currently available for people who are looking to better their lives.


The Best Functional Medicine Treatments for You


Hormone Optimization

Hormone optimization is a combination of supplements and bio-identical hormones that reduce the symptoms of menopause and andropause. These issues affect all women when they reach a certain age, and like all individual malaises, it can be a difficult experience to endure. 


Thankfully, utilizing hormone optimization strategies can severely reduce these symptoms, and improve individuals’ moods and energy levels. It also helps to stimulate the libido in people who have experienced a loss of drive in their personal life.


Metabolic Balance

Metabolic balancing is a unique-to-you program based on testing results. Typically, when seeking effective functional medicine treatments, the second step, after consultation, is a battery of medical tests that includes blood work and eating preferences, among others. 


Young woman administering a light therapy agains winter depression


Metabolic balancing uses the results from these tests to balance your hormones, improve your sense of well-being, and increase your daily energy levels by creating an anti-inflammatory regiment individualized for you.


Prolotherapy

Prolotherapy, a non-invasive injection strategy, is utilized for those suffering from acute or chronic pain in their joints and ligaments at a functional medicine clinic. It is designed to keep you moving without the pain that happens with those associated movements. It is particularly effective in joint areas, such as the knees, wrists, ankles, and elbows. 


IV Nourishment

IV nourishment is a host of infusions and therapies designed to curate the best you possible. From vitamin and mineral infusions to ozone therapy, there is a wide array of options available to make you feel your best consistently. Given its non-invasive nature, it is substantially more comfortable than traditional alternatives. 


Massage Therapy

Massage therapy is one of the most well-known processes of self-improvement available from functional medical treatment centers. It uses traditional massage techniques combined with processes like RAPID neural-fascial reset and dynamic cupping to release tension, induce relaxation, and give a spring in your step that can be lost with aging.


Calgary Integrative Medicine provides long-term sustainable health solutions for you and your family. Anyone can benefit from functional medicine. Make an appointment today. Phone: 403-202-7272 Email: info@calgarymed.ca

When it comes to getting botox, the celebrities make it seem easy and straightforward. But that is the furthest thing from the truth. You have to understand all about the procedure before getting it, so you know what to expect before, during and after the botox treatment in Calgary.

The Five You Have To Know About Botox In Calgary

  1. Scheduling In A Consultation Is Vital
    You should never just walk in and get botox where you want it. Yes, the procedure is quick and straightforward, but you will have to consult a professional beforehand, so you understand what you are about to go through. At the same time, having a medical professional’s opinion on what botox types works on you is helpful.
  2. You Don’t Require Any Specific Pre-Treatment
    While many other functional medicine procedures, such as medical laser treatments, might require pre-treatment to have a successful operation, in most cases with botox, you won’t need anything. You just have to follow some basic common sense, such as no drinking, smoking or taking drugs beforehand.
  3. Botox Is Temporary
    Botox is not a thing that you can have forever. It doesn’t work like that. You will have it for around three to four months depending on where you got it, your muscle movement and your metabolism. You will have to get it again to maintain results.
  4. There Are Side-Effects
    As with any treatment and your body, there are going to be side-effects. While not severe in most cases, botox treatments in Calgary can include temporary swelling, redness, and possible bruising at the injection site. It might last up to a couple of days before it subsides.
  5. There Are Post-Care Tips You Have To Follow
    There are strict guidelines that you should follow after getting botox in Calgary. After the treatment, you should not exercise, massage or put any make-up on the injection site for a few days. Lying down immediately after the procedure is also a no-no.

Calgary Integrative Medicine provides long-term, sustainable health solutions. We aim for the root cause when treating symptoms and our methods are known to improve quality of life. From pain management to anti-aging and chronic illness treatment, at Calgary Integrative Medicine, we want to get you on the road to healing and recovery. Give us a call at (403) 202-7272 or send an email to info@calgarymed.ca.