Lifestyle Changes Lead to Better Health

“I knew I needed to make a change in my life,” says Tracy Hawkins, a resident of Beachwood, Ohio. “I had seen newspaper articles about Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Lifestyle Medicine. I’d tried making changes to my diet, stress level and sleeping habits on my own with no success. I was overwhelmed on my own, so decided to call to see if they could help guide me.”

A mail carrier for the United States Postal Service, Tracy does plenty of walking every day. Still she was struggling with her weight, as well as dietary and health concerns for her family of four (her husband and two children have diabetes). She also was trying to manage the stress that came along with those struggles.

In addition, Tracy was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic disease that causes swelling and pain in the joints. Prescription medications were helping Tracy manage that condition. But she knew there was more she — and her family — should be doing to improve their overall health.

In January 2016, Tracy had her first appointment with Mladen Golubic, MD, PhD, medical director of Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute’s Center for Lifestyle Medicine in Lyndhurst. “I was so nervous. I was super overweight, and thought he was going to criticize me because of that. Instead, Dr. Golubic was so reassuring and comforting,” says Tracy.

At that first appointment, during a one-hour Lifestyle Medicine consultation*, Dr. Golubic learned details of Tracy’s lifestyle habits — including sleep, diet and stress. Following their consultation, he recommended that Tracy change her diet, increase her level of exercise, try meditation to help her cope with stress and improve her sleep, and consider additional non-pharmacological methods of pain management for her arthritis — and he explained why he wanted her to do those things.

“I’m so glad I called the Cleveland Clinic Center for Lifestyle Medicine. Dr. Golubic didn’t look down on me or judge me... his encouragement combined with having my whole family on board are the two factors I credit most for my success.”

“Three months later, Tracy came back to see me. I could see that she had embraced the idea of self-care and taken control of her health. She had changed her diet, and that of her family. They were eliminating sugar and fat, and eating nearly all plant-based whole foods. Tracy had started meditating, too,” says Dr. Golubic. “Tracy is one of those exceptional patients who does almost everything that we agree she will do. She’s consistently lost weight and she’s made significant and beneficial lifestyle changes on her own.”

Tracy bought a meditation CD and started slowly. After getting started, she took a meditation class taught by Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute behavioral health specialist and mind body coach Jane Pernotto Ehrman, MEd, CHES. Now, she meditates whenever she can. “If I have a spare few minutes— whether it’s during a work break or before I go to sleep — I meditate. It makes me more centered, better able to pick up on what my body is telling me, and it alleviates stress,” she says.

But Tracy continued to struggle with occasional arthritis pain flare-ups and poor sleep. During another appointment (she sees Dr. Golubic every two to three months), Dr. Golubic suggested Tracy try acupuncture, another treatment offered by the Center for Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine.

“My children both have Type 1 diabetes. Years of worrying about their health and checking blood sugar levels in the middle of the night had really affected my ability to get a good night’s sleep,” says Tracy. “At Dr. Golubic’s recommendation, I decided to give acupuncture a try.”

At her first appointment with Susan Veleber, LAc, LCH, a licensed acupuncturist and oriental medicine practitioner, Tracy completed a questionnaire and explained her main concerns — stress, difficulty sleeping through the night, and feeling tired all the time. “After just two 30-minute sessions, where Susan placed needles in different areas, I was sleeping through the night. Now I go every two to three weeks for a tune up. Sometimes if I’m achy in different areas, she puts the acupuncture needles in different spots to help with the pain,” explains Tracy.

According to Dr. Golubic, the key to lifestyle medicine is not to diminish mainstream medicine or take patients off prescribed medications (although sometimes that may happen). Instead, it combines the best of modern healthcare with self-care lifestyle changes that patients are able to make on their own.

“I’m so glad I called the Cleveland Clinic Center for Lifestyle Medicine. Dr. Golubic didn’t look down on me or judge me for being overweight, but really encouraged me,” says Tracy. “His encouragement combined with having my whole family on board are the two factors I credit most for my success.”

* Lifestyle Medicine consultations are often covered by health insurance.