Six Month Health Plan: Dr. Oz’s 6-Month Plan

This article is based off of Dr. Oz’s 6-Month Plan for Getting Healthy posted in AARP magazine.

Many people say they don’t have time to exercise or eat healthy. They have too much to do right now or their lives are too busy. However, if you don’t find this time to get healthy you will not live as long as you expect. You must find time. One fact I have learned is that if you can’t walk a quarter mile (one lap around a regulation track) in under 5 minutes, you are 25% more likely to die within the next six years than someone else who can. Another fact that I have learned is that if there was no cancer the life expectancy would only be three years higher. That’s right, cancer doesn’t kill us as much as poor diet and exercise. If you want to get healthy, which you do, follow this six month plan. It will teach you how to live a healthier, longer life.

Do This Daily

First we will start off with a daily checklist. Make sure you do this everyday and do not skip it.

1. Work Out For 30 Minutes

Get some sort of physical activity everyday for at least 30 minutes. This could be biking, walking, or jogging. You really could do anything as long as it is 30 minutes.

2. Brush and Floss Your Teeth

Make sure you floss at least once per day and brush at least twice a day. Don’t skip flossing; brushing only eliminates 60 percent of germs in your mouth.

3. Drink Two Cups of Green Tea

Green tea has a chance to reduce the risk of cancer. It also is known to lower cholesterol levels. Plus it tastes great!

4. Take Your Vitamins

Take 400mg of DHA omega-3s, 1000IU vitamin D, and 1000mg calcium. The DHA omega-3s reduce cognitive decline, while the vitamin D and calcium help with your bones.

5. Get Your Rest

Make sure you get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Sleep is very good for you because this is the time when your body grows, repairs cells, and processes information. This can help with decreasing body fat and help bone density.

6. Relax

Make sure you relax for at least 5 minutes a day. Do this with yoga, meditation, or whatever you think is calming. This will help reduce stress in your life.

Month One

The first month will be devoted to making a completely new diet. Your normal diet, the one you have now, is probably the incorrect way to eat. Make sure you do not eat three large meals per day. You want about 5 or 6 smaller meals. This way you are never hungry, which means you are never tempted to overeat. The meals should go breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. For the snacks, make sure you eat something healthy, such as a fruit or vegetable. Junk food should only take up 10 percent of your daily intake.

Make sure you are also following the daily checklist.

Month Two

The second month should be all about numbers. You want to spend the second month getting some tests done to find out what your numbers are for certain things listed below. Make sure you are still on your diet and the checklist.

1. Blood pressure.

You want this to be 115/75.

2. Waist size.

You want this to be less than half of your height.

3. HDL level.

You want this to be greater than 45.

4. LDL level.

You want this to be less than 100.

5. TSH level.

You want this to be less than 2.5mIU/L.

6. Vitamin D blood level.

You want this to be greater than 50mg/l.

One test you can do for yourself is the pushup test. Record the number of pushups you can do in one minute and try and raise it over time.

Month Three

This is the month when you really want to start increasing the physical activity. This month you want to start doing more than walking or jogging for 30 minutes. You want to add even more exercises to your daily checklist. Make sure you have at least 10000 steps per day. Find some exercises that you like to do and do them daily.

Month Four

During this month you will learn to relax and manage your stress. If you need help managing stress make sure to check out the stress management page. There are a few good exercises that help you relax. Check them out below.

1. The first one is called deep breathing. To do it lay flat on your back, put one hand on your stomach and the other hand on your chest. Take a deep breath for 5 seconds, then, exhale for 7 seconds. Do this for 5 minutes.

2. The second exercise is meditation. For this exercise clear your mind, breathe evenly, and sit quietly. This is all about relaxation. Do this for 5 minutes.

Month Five

During this month you will find out what you want in life. Do some hobbies that you like to do. Find out what is holding you back from your passions and try to break that. Make sure you keep doing your daily checklist and exercising.

Month Six

This is the final month and during this month you want to retake the tests from month two to see if you have improved. You should have improved if you have been following this plan. Also do the pushup test again to see if your numbers have increased. Just keep following your daily checklist to stay completely healthy