“The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.” -Thomas Edison

Good nutrition is the link between your physical therapy rehabilitation, fitness training and your optimal healthy lifestyle.  Here are just some of the ways proper nutrition affects your body:

·         Weight loss/management

·         Speeds post-surgery recovery time

·         Aids in physical therapy rehabilitation

·         Improves body composition

·         Enhance physical fitness

·         Enhance sports performance and athleticism

·         Aids in injury and illness prevention

·         Improve general health and overall wellness

·         Provides fuel to perform daily activities - Every single act performed by your body – no matter how small or mundane the task may seem – uses energy.  These include the production and maintenance of body tissues, the electrical conduction of nerve activity, the mechanical work of muscle effort, and heat production to maintain body temperature, among other functions.

·          Allows for growth and repair of tissue - Just as builders need special materials to renovate a home, your body demands certain nutrients for its "construction zone": the growth and repair of tissue.  Good nutrition has the advantage that it ensures growth, healing and the maintenance and build-up of muscle mass.

·         Reinforces the immune system - You can enable your body to fight disease more effectively with the foods you eat.

·         Prevents chronic disease - Good nutrition can be used as a tool to combat obesity and chronic diseases such as diabetes type 2, heart disease, hypertension, osteoarthritis and some cancers.

·         Maintains good mental health - Diet can play an important role in thwarting the depression. 

·         Ensures healthy bones - A nutritious diet also ensures the health of your teeth and bones.

Shelley Garrett, our Degreed Nutritionist, specializes in:

·         Weight Loss and Weight Management Programs

·         Sports Nutrition

·         Menu Design

·         Meal Planning

·         Healthy Recipes and Recipe Makeovers

·         Healthy Cooking

·         Nutrition Education Workshops

At Ocean Physical Therapy, Shelley can help you reach your optimal health goals by designing a personalized meal plan.  During your initial consultation, extensive information will be gathered and analyses of your current diet, current/past fitness programs, medical history, known food allergies, body fat composition, resting metabolic rate and calorie requirements will be performed to create a personalized, 2-week meal program that will accelerate your road to success. 

After the first 2 weeks on your new program, we highly suggest a follow-up consultation to evaluate your progress, review food journals, identify problems or struggles, make the necessary adjustments to continue your body’s transition into its healthiest potential and design another personalized 2-4 week menu based on your evaluation.  Subsequent follow-up consultations are recommended every 6 to 8 weeks.  While on your road to optimal health through good nutrition, your body will be changing for the better and your dietary needs will also change.   Shelley will sit down with you to review your progress, fine tune your menu design and meal planning and provide another individualized program to start your own weight and/or performance maintenance program. 

Once you begin your personalized maintenance program, you have reached a very exciting goal!  Congratulations!  You have accomplished a significant portion of reaching your healthiest you and the maintenance program is for you to follow on your own.  Of course, if you have questions and would like to schedule a short, maintenance program consultation, Shelley is always available and looking forward to hearing about your progress and helping you with any questions or struggles you may have along the way.  Remember, health is a lifelong marathon and it always helps to have a running buddy and occasionally stop at the aid stations.