Healthy Living

with Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom

I'm thrilled to be part of the Pittsburgh magazine family as the new health editor.

After living in Pittsburgh for the past 25 years, I've seen an amazing number of changes to our region, all of which support a healthy lifestyle. That's what I want to share with you in this monthly column. I'll be highlighting important happenings in diet and health promotion both locally and on the national scene. I'll also be "weighing in" on how we adopt national health trends here and make them our own. More important, I'd like to hear from you about topics you'd like to see addressed, so send me questions or thoughts about diet, nutrition and good health in our region.

This month I want to jump right in by answering a question I'm often asked by both patients and community groups: With such busy lives that we all lead, what is the best way to maintain a healthy lifestyle when you don't have a lot of time?

I'd first like to define what I mean by a "healthy lifestyle," a term that is most certainly not an all-or-nothing phenomenon. In a word, it's all about moderation. We must face the difficult task of adapting our mindset to achieve what we are both willing and able to do. This means avoiding the quick fix and trying (and failing!) to make major changes that will only be temporary. A more challenging task is setting personally realistic goals in all areas of our lives. Whether they involve what to eat, how to exercise, managing stress or addressing medical needs, we need to take some small steps that can be done regularly with moderate, but not excruciating, effort that results in sustained effort.

We can all make our lifestyles healthier. This takes just a little effort and pre-planning. Baby steps are the way to go, and getting started is the hardest part. Why not begin by remembering some small things you've done to improve your lifestyle, and then come up with some more to add to your autumn "to do" list?

If you have a health question for Dr. Fernstrom, e-mail her at fernstrom@wqed.org.

Dr. Madelyn H. Fernstrom, Ph.D., C.N.S., is the founder and director of UPMC's Weight Management Center. She is the diet and nutrition editor for NBC's "Today Show" and is the author of The Runner's Diet. Also visit "Health Journal with Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom," a health and wellness blog at iVillage.com.