The Simple Plan: 7 Habits for Healthy Living

By Dr. Chris Perron

How does a person live a healthy life? We're surrounded by conflicting, complicated answers to this question. If you feel that the advice around living a healthier life is too confusing, time-consuming, and daunting, you're not alone. 

The Sim

• Language: English
• Publisher: Houndstooth Press
• Release date: Oct 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9781544535319

Dr. Chris Perron

Dr. Chris Perron is the founder and owner of Perron Chiropractic, a high-energy and patient-centered practice located in Reston, VA, just outside of Washington, DC. He has held his doctor of chiropractic for over two decades, healing and restoring patients since 1996. His dedication to making the complex easy for thousands of patients has resulted in one of the most successful practices in his profession. Perron has coached peers around the country, teaching patient treatment best practices and the value of genuine communication. He was honored as 2021's Chiropractor of the Year by his peers in the state of Virginia.

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Copyright © 2022 Chris Perron

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced nor transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Permission should be addressed to Dr. Chris Perron at: [e-mail]

This book is designed to provide information. It is sold with the understanding that the author is not engaged to render any type of psychological, legal, medical, or other kind of professional advice.

The information in this book is for general information purposes and nothing contained in it is or is intended to be construed as medical advice. It does not take into account your individual health, medical, physical, or emotional situation or needs. It is not a substitute for medical attention, treatment, examination, advice, treatment of existing conditions, or diagnosis and is not intended to provide a clinical diagnosis nor take the place of proper medical advice from a fully qualified medical practitioner. You should, before you act or use any of this information, consider the appropriateness of this information having regard to your own personal situation and needs. You are responsible for consulting a suitable medical professional before using any of the information or materials contained in this book or accessed through our website before trying any treatment or taking any course of action that may directly or indirectly affect your health or well-being.

No warranties or guarantees are expressed or implied. The author shall not be liable for any physical, psychological, emotional, financial, or commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. You are responsible for your own choices, actions, and results.

First Edition

ISBN: 978-1-5445-3531-9

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To my family, my primary patients, whom I love.

My mother, Claudia, for whom this plan was literally created to help.

My father, Richard, because I would like to keep him around as long as possible, too.

My children, Becca and Matthew, for their unconditional love and support. You both are the greatest gifts in my life.

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Contents

Introduction

1. Incorporate Chiropractic!

2. Restore Your Gut and Brain

3. Feed Your Body

4. Sleep (Prioritize Rest and Recovery)

5. Exercise (Be Active!)

6. Self-Love (Cultivate the Mindset to Succeed)

7. Hydration (Drink Up!)

Conclusion

You’re Invited!

Acknowledgments

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Introduction

On Monday, June 8, 2020, I finished taking care of patients for the morning and went into my private office. I grabbed my phone and keys to go home for lunch. I looked at my phone, and it read Missed Call Dad Perron. I thought, That’s odd. It was the first time I could recall my father calling my cell phone. My parents usually call my house after office hours, when they know I am available.

I decided to call him back from my truck on my four-mile drive home. But before I made it to my truck I got a text from my younger sister, Catherine. Have you talked to Dad yet? You need to call him right away!

Immediately my heart jumped, and a lump appeared in my throat. Now I was worried. Not really wanting to call, for fear of what I was about to hear, I pressed Call Back.

My dad answered. He was sitting in a hospital parking lot, choking back tears. His lips trembled as he filled me in. Your mother just had a heart attack. They called this kind of heart attack ‘The Widowmaker.’ They told me that she is stable now and we are lucky we got here when we did, but I can’t even go in to see her because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Thank God everything had come together perfectly. He relayed that my mom did not feel right that morning and told him to call 911. He suggested that she take a moment, but she insisted and he obliged. By the time the emergency medical technicians (EMTs) arrived at my parents’ house, a few minutes later, things had begun to get worse. They put her on a board, strapped her down and wheeled her out the front door of the house, and loaded her in the back of the ambulance. As they sped to the hospital with lights flashing and sirens wailing, they evaluated and treated her to the extent they could. The EMTs sent their test results to the hospital electronically en route, so when the ambulance arrived, the hospital staff wheeled my mom straight to the operating room where the doctors performed emergency procedures.

My mom was only sixty-nine!

She was not on any medications; although she, like most people, could stand to lose a few pounds and be more active. Nonetheless, she was considered to be a fairly healthy person by her doctors.

Just two days before, on June 6, my two sisters and our families logged on to a Zoom meeting to celebrate my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Although it was a major step down from the family reunion we had planned on Hilton Head Island, it was still good to get everyone together. Was that going to be the last time I saw my mom?

She was fortunate! Everything came together and she survived. This of course was great news, but it did not negate the fact that she almost died of a heart attack!

This was a big eye opener for her and my father. You see, we don’t really know what challenges our health might bring us. Health issues can seem sudden, though I have found that it is typically the culmination of factors over several years finally reaching a tipping point and bringing them to the surface.

With the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, my mother was not allowed to have any visitors in the hospital. I had to wait to see her. She was released from the hospital two days later (on a Wednesday), but it felt like two weeks.

Finding a Better Way

I drove down to South Carolina from my home in the suburbs of Washington, DC, the day after her release.

As a healthcare professional myself—a Doctor of Chiropractic—I wanted to see what I could provide to help my mom. I also wanted to offer my parents a plan to help them know how to improve their general health and decrease their chances of going through this again.

I drove my gold Ford F-150 south on Interstate 95 for nine hours, by myself. The whole time I was racking my brain, thinking, How can I share what is in my head with my parents? It makes sense to me after twenty-four years of caring for thousands of patients and seeing what works and what doesn’t work. But how can I put all that information into a simple plan that they can understand and use, without me having to be there? A plan that is practical so that it can realistically be followed for the long term, not just a temporary bandage.

One thing has been a consistent truth in my now twenty-six years of caring for patients: real health is about the long game. We can all do good things for a stretch of time and that is good. And we can all fall off the good path for a stretch of time, and in most cases, that is not the end of the world either. But it is really the overall trend of how we live, and the choices we make, that has the greatest impact on our health. As I drove, I organized my ideas into seven simple habits.

I pulled into my parents’ driveway at the end of the cul de sac in the Sun City retirement community where they had lived for the past ten years. My dad greeted me at the door.