Kick Start Your Metabolism!

 Chiropractic Care and Your Personal Lifestyle

Regular chiropractic care is an important component of any lifestyle change you're planning to put into place. Whether you're improving your diet by eating at least five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables each day, engaging in regular vigorous exercise for at least 30 minutes five times per week, or both, the benefits you obtain will be enhanced by regular chiropractic care.
To derive the most benefit from the healthful food you're eating and the exercise you're doing, your metabolism must be working properly. Your metabolic systems require your nerve system to be functioning at peak capacity. Nerve signals must arrive on time and must be processed properly. Spinal nerve irritation interferes with these activities. Regular chiropractic care helps make sure your nerve system is free of interference and, as a result, helps make sure you're getting the most out of your valuable time and effort spent in implementing your new lifestyle upgrade.

***above was a copy/paste article***

Here's my two cents...

Still living up to your New Years resolution of a new you?  Did you make a New Years resolution?  Why not just set some goals and go for it?!  Short term goals, long term goals, make a plan and stick with it.  Short term goal could be clean eating for 3 days, then increase your goal to 5 days, that kind of thing.  Workout 2 days a week, increase to 3 days a week, etc.  You get the picture.  Baby steps.

My first published article......

The following was published in Beach to Bay Times ~ local calendar & commentary book:

Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMOs) ~ What’s All The Hype?!

First what is a GMO?  Wikipedia describes it as:  A genetically modified organism is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques.

To explain it even further…the term GM foods or GMOs is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques. These plants have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content.   Genetic engineering can create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and with great accuracy. Not only can genes be transferred from one plant to another, but genes from non-plant organisms also can be used. The best known example of this is the use of Bt genes in corn and other crops.  Bt, or Bacillus thuringiensis, is a naturally occurring bacterium that produces crystal proteins that are lethal to insect larvae.  Bt crystal protein genes have been transferred into corn, enabling the corn to produce its own pesticides against insects such as the European corn borer.   Don’t those crystal proteins sound delish?

What does that mean for you and me?  Basically it means our foods are genetically altered.  Corn, soy, sugar, canola and sugar beets are just a few of these foods.  Also you’re most likely ingesting GMOs if you’re eating conventional poultry, dairy or meat. The animals are either treated with hormones (to increase milk production, for example) or GMOs are present in their feed (corn, soy).

You have to ask yourself, are these foods really safe?  Have they been tested?  Since GMOs were introduced in 1996 the deteriorating health of Americans does raise questions.  Within nine years, the number of people with three or more chronic diseases nearly doubled.  And overall food related illnesses doubled from 1994 to 2001, according to the Centers of Disease Control.  There is no systematic, well-funded investigation to explore links between GMO consumption and any disease.   Does that make us the guinea pigs?

So what’s a person to eat?  All organic GMO free products?  That would be pretty radical and expensive but you have to ask yourself (and your body) are GMOs right for you?

About our contributing writer:  Julie McKamey is a Wellness Coach and is the chapter leader for the Wicomico County Weston A. Price Foundation.  She lives in Salisbury with her husband, Dr. Kevin McKamey, who is a Chiropractor at Delmarva Chiropractic.

 

STRESS!!

It has been a stressful week for me........how do I handle it you might ask!

There are MANY stress relief options. 

How do I handle it?!

Prayer, that is the first place I go.  Into my prayer closet where I can release my stress and lift it up to HIM because anything over my head is still under HIS feet....besides HE already knows.

I also like to exercise my stress away.  Obviously life has been going to smoothly lately.  LOL
Seriously, a brief walk or bike ride really can be a stress reliever for me.  I can just clear my mind during this time of walking or riding.

Another way I like to relieve stress....go for a ride in the car.  Sometimes I am topless ~ wind blowing in my hair, enjoying fresh air and breathing in the fresh smells of the world!  (sometimes those smells include the chicken coops, oops)  Other times the top is up, I am in the passenger seat and I am just enjoying what HE has made.  How can you live in a place like Salisbury where the city is a little busy and in just a couple of miles you are out of town and in the country?  We are blessed to have the country so near, to be able to stop at farms and buy fresh produce!!

My friend use to just drive over the new bridge in Charleston, SC and this helped clear her mind.

Is this running away from our stress/problems?  I don't think so, I think it is coping with it.

How ever you deal with stress is up to you, these are just a couple of things that help me.  We can not continue to live in the stress of life, we need to release it sometimes, to see a different view, to refresh ourselves.  Life is a journey we take one day at a time.  Live it!!

A Word From Doctor Kevin McKamey......

I am happy to post that, today marks my 1 year anniversary at Delmarva Chiropractic. It has been a great time of change and healing. Thank you to Dr's Brown and Lane, Amber, Chris, Julie, Leslie and Michelle for the opportunity and support. Looking forward to the next year; it's gonna be AWESOME.
Thanks to my wonderful wife Julie, for always pushing me to be my best and always being there. We put it behind us baby and came out shining. "We had to go where we've been to get to where we're going......................".
Almost forgot to mention the BEST patients in the world; thanks to y'all too. I wake up in the morning excited to help bring healing and health into the lives of you and your families. Each of you has brought something to my life as well.

Attitude

“Attitude is everything in life…You can make the choice in how you view any situation you find yourself in.  If you are to live life right here, right now, it is imperative that you maintain a good attitude in all situations.”~ Carole Lewis

Basically the choice is yours!  How will you start your day?  With a good one or a bad one?

Kevin McKamey Chiropractor Salisbury Maryland

Kevin McKamey, DC and wife Julie

Dr Kevin McKamey

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Compassion, Attention to Details and Experience with a Determination to get to the Root of the CAUSE!

Car accident led me to become a Chiropractor

I was a chiropractic patient long before deciding to leave a career in the maritime industry and enroll in chiropractic college in 2004. I received my first chiropractic adjustment some 25 years earlier in 1985. 

I was a few weeks into my post-operative recovery from rotator cuff surgery to my right shoulder, when I was rear ended by another driver while stopped at a traffic signal. Over the next several days I experienced headaches, neck, mid back and shoulder pain with muscle spasms and stiffness. 

At the suggestion of my father, I sought the care of a Doctor of Chiropractic. Diagnosed with a Whiplash injury to the spine and postsurgical soft tissue trauma to the shoulder I entered into a year long treatment regime which brought about complete restoration of function and range of motion to my spine and shoulder.

Chiropractic treatments kept me from having surgery for a herniated lumbar disc. 

I again referred to chiropractic care when I  herniated a lumbar disc a few years later. After an orthopedic surgical consultation, during which a stabilization procedure was recommended, I decided to elect conservative care. After researching outcomes of lumbar surgery and talking to several people who had undergone invasive procedures, I felt the risks were too great. The outcome was positive in less than half of those who underwent lumbar fusion surgery and I didn’t like those odds. Chiropractic treatments helped me overcome the pain associated with my disc problems and strengthen and restore function of my low back. Twenty years later I remain essentially symptom free with regular chiropractic adjustments and an arsenal of maintenance exercises.

Chiropractic Education and Philosophy

With a desire to help others and an opportunity to make a career change I plotted a new course in life. There had been a long time interest in natural healing and I held a belief that GOD had created us to live a much longer healthier life than most of us do. The idea that “the power that made the body, heals the body” resonated strongly with me. Chiropractic philosophy held that premise as truth and with encouragement from my wife Julie, my chiropractor in Charleston, SC and a host of friends and family I mailed an application and was accepted to Logan College of Chiropractic in Chesterfield, Missouri. I left my job on the Charleston waterfront and in 2004 my family and I moved to Ballwin, MO just minutes from the Logan campus. Logan College happened to offer exactly what I needed, a basic science program leading to a Bachelors Degree and a comprehensive, accredited Doctoral curriculum with an opportunity to complete my Masters degree.

A little bit about me 

I possess a wide variety of life experience, something that lends well to interacting with a diverse patient base. I am  a 10+ year veteran of the United States Navy Submarine Service where I served as a submarine weapons systems technician on USS Benjamin Franklin SSBN 640, USS Woodrow Wilson SSBN 624 and USS Grayling SSN 624. I also served as an enlisted tactics instructor at the Naval Submarine School in New London, CT. I hold a US Merchant Mariners document as an Able Seaman Unlimited Tonnage and a Masters License (Captain) from the United States Coast Guard allowing me to command passenger and other commercial vessels up to 500 Gross Tons in coastal and near coastal waters. My experiences as a husband, father, Captain and member of the Armed Forces have given me patience, compassion and dedication with a keen focus and attention to details.

My family

As a family we have always enjoyed the outdoors. When the boys were young we were deeply involved in Little League baseball. Not inclined towards watching television to excess we spent much of our recreational time out of doors enjoying bicycling, swimming, fishing, hiking and exploring. We have visited numerous State and National Parks across the United States and spent countless hours driving through the countryside of this great land. Julie and I continue to enjoy drives along the back roads enjoying everything the area has to offer. Assateauge Beach has become one of our favorite destinations.

Thank you for taking time to visit this blog!

Label Reading 101

"But I don’t eat that much"  ….well OK, maybe not but let’s just look @ how you start your day....

Breakfast:  Ensure, Orange Juice, Banana and Special K cereal with milk.

 

567 Calories,  117.8 Carbohydrates - for breakfast....think about it.  (This doesn't calculate the calories or the carbohydrates in the milk you poured over your cereal)


READ the label peeps!! 

What Is Wellness?

well·ness  (noun)

1.  The quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort.

2.  An approach to healthcare that emphasizes preventing illness and prolonging life, as opposed to emphasizing treating diseases.

Wellness: 

An active, lifelong process of educating ourselves and making choices that will lead to better health.

Is about embracing a way of life; an individual lifestyle based on one's own abilities, interests and habits.

Encompasses choices about our lives, our work, our families and our priorities that influence our lifestyles.

Is about our physical, emotional, spiritual, and nutritional well being not just about diet and exercise.

So How'd That Food Journal Work Out For You??

Did you keep it for a week?
Did it help you pinpoint some eating problem times?
What ya think?
Gonna do it again this week?


I found for myself it was an excellent tool to show my perfection mess of an eating plan I have!  Oh wait, I have no plan so that is part of the problem.  Let me just say each morning started out well.  Same boring thing.  Java times two.  Lunch was later in the day and usually kicked off an eating frenzy until bedtime.  ;-(  By Friday I stopped writing in my journal all together.  Here it is Tuesday and did I start writing anything this week?  um no.  As I have declared already I know what to do, how to do it but I don't always do that which is right when it comes to my own wellness.  So what am I gonna do the rest of the day today?  Track my food intake!  Why wait until the morning?!  Are you with me?  I have stumbled ~ thanks for picking me up so we can carry on together!

Keep A Food Journal

It's a pretty basic thing to do and a good thing to start your journey to your healthy future with.  After all how can you make any changes in your diet if you don't remember what you ate?   Remember to be HONEST with yourself in your journal ~ if you ate 6 cookies then write it down!  The journal will reflect your food choices, your portion sizes and your daily eating habits.  It can be a great tool in your health quest and with setting goals for yourself.  Your journal can be as simple or as complicated as you want it.  The choice is yours.  I don't care what you decide, just do it! 

NOTEBOOK:  Remember you decide!  Any kind/size of notebook will do.  Bigger notebook gives you more writing room, smaller notebook gives you more portability.  <insert ~ more likely to carry and keep near you and use>.  If you are more into electronic devices, I'm sure there's an AP for it.  You can try some free websites that will keep an online journal for you.  www.sparkpeople.com is a good one.  And if you want Uncle Sam to spy on you to know what you are eating you can try www.mypyramid.gov for fun. 

ORGANIZE:  Set your notebook up how you want.  It's yours, personalize it your way, make it a tool you will want to use.  Record the date, time, place, food items eaten, quantity of food, beverages consumed, feelings while eating, and physical activity.  You can make little columns for easy glance or you can just write the items as you go in a list fashion.  I think it's important to record these things so you can see patterns in your eating habits.  Example...you find yourself eating everyday around 3:30 PM a little snack while you are standing in the kitchen thinking about what to do next, you are not hungry but you eat anyways.  Can you pinpoint this time of day and relate it to those after school snacks you had growing up?  Just a thought but you see how you can relate your current eating habits to something you grew up doing?  Solution ~ eat a healthy snack @ 3:30 or do another activity so you are not standing in the kitchen @ that time of day! 

RECORD AS YOU GO:  Be as specific as possible and record one item at a time.  Don't wait until the end of the day and write "around 11:30 AM I ate about 2 handfuls of nuts"  break it down!  Pinpoint it!  Don't write hamburger on a bun ~ write 4 oz of ground sirloin, on a whole wheat bun, with ketchup, mustard, fat free cheese, etc.  This uncovers the hidden food we eat without thinking about it. 

RECORD YOUR FEELINGS AND HUNGER LEVELS:  I mean be for real ~ do you only eat when you are hungry?  Or do you eat when you are happy, bored, nervous, tired, depressed?  I think the only time I don't eat is when I am mad!  So I'm thinking if something makes me mad every day I'll be skinny as a twig soon!  Did I just go there?!  But you get the jest of it, it's important to know why you are eating.  Don't feed the emotions ~ go ahead and write the emotions down in your journal ~ it may make some sense to you later on! 

DRINK UP!  But do record it in your journal.  If your goal is to drink eight 8 oz glasses of water per day, write it down and track your progress.  If you drink high calorie bevs record it.  If you drink big peep's drinks ~ well record it if you can.  <insert hard to write in your journal when you are on the floor with room spinning>  And have you any clue how many calories a Starbuck's bev puts in your body?  Google it. 

LET'S GET PHYSICAL!  Now I'll have a certain song stuck in my head the rest of the day... anyhow, when you workout journal it!  What did you do?  How long did you do it?  Did you survive?  Maybe do something different tomorrow....  Did you park in the far out parking lot to avoid door dings <doesn't work someone will always park right next to you> and walk to the store?  Did you take the steps instead of the elevator?  And what about at home in that two story house ~ do you take items up as you have them or do you pile them on the bottom step and make one trip?!

REVIEW:  No, we aren't gonna review this post....you are gonna review your journal!  Take a close look after about a week.  Do you see any patterns <insert eating when not hungry @ 3:30 PM everyday>.  Do you eat the same thing every day?  Do you exercise the same intensity every day?  Do you see where you can eliminate some high calorie foods here and there?   Is there a certain high calorie beverage you can cut back on?  Baby steps, baby steps!  Think about it, think before you eat, be honest with yourself.

NOTE TO SELF:  That's right make notes to yourself in your journal like I am a fat cow and I need to take off 100 pounds by tomorrow morning little positive notes, inspirational quotes, Bible scriptures, jot your short term and long term goals down <you don't have goals set yet?! we'll cover that another time>.  You can even draw little picture doodles in your journal ~ just a plain ;-) will do!

Remember it's your future....be there healthy!