The other day I had a good portion of my annual physical exam. My doctor spent an hour with me–yes, an hour. We talked about all manner of health related things from my supplements to sex, how my marriage was, to what I was eating these days. When he read over the list-and it’s long–of supplements I take he noticed I’d forgotten fish oil and CoQ10. I take them, he wanted to be sure. 

He is a family medicine guy who started studying functional medicine a number of years ago because the western model as it was didn’t allow him to fully engage his patients own inner body wisdom. He wanted to be proactive vs reactive. It took me awhile to find him and how I got here was because I was looking for someone who really understood bio identical hormone replacement and supplements. I spoke to about 25 doctor’s office nurses and some docs before finding Dr. Aponte. It didn’t matter he’s a man, I have a great NP who I see for my gyno stuff.

When I told him I felt blessed to have such a well informed care giver who was willing to listen and focus on me while there he told me this, “The thing I hate most is interrupting patient care and sometimes it just can’t be avoided. You I see only once per year for the most part and I want to be sure I hear from you how you are not just from the tests we perform.” Wow.

It makes the annual thing a pleasure, but I’d go regardless. Before I had Dr. A, I used to do the annual thing and add check marks on the blood work form that my otherwise smart doc didn’t believe in that I knew were important “at my age.” The markers of inflammation like CR-P, Lp l (a), Homocysteine, fibrinogen, the subsets of cholesterol vs just LDL and HDL are all considered the basics if you want to have a more complete picture of your heart health. I’ve had a colonoscopy a few years ago, last year I had a stress test, and a couple of years ago a DEXA scan. 

JJ Virgin says, “Don’t guess, test.” My sentiments exactly. I want to know where I am–even when I feel really good and it’s check up time–because sometimes the markers of disease are silent in the early stages. I don’t want that kind of surprise one day. But if I should get one–a disease that is–I’m more than thrilled to know I took the time to find a practitioner I trust and feel I am a partner with in my health care.

Do you know your numbers? Are you happy with your doc? If not, how about getting that on the old to do for you list? It’s the most important one you know.

There are no doubt some people in this wide world, who for one reason or another, truly cannot lose weight by traditional means. What are those traditional means? Burning more calories than one takes in is the most basic of ideas but doesn’t tell the whole story. Let’s also say eating foods that suit your body and just enough of them as well as exercising to the point of a good hard sweat.

For a good portion of the remaining population who struggle to take off some weight–and there are plenty of us at midlife–the culprit is not the diet, the supplement, the lack of fresh vegetables, or the occasional cosmo. It’s honesty. We lie to ourselves.
And it’s not entirely our fault in the category of exercise. There are barrels full of experts who say “Walking is great exercise, grab a friend and walk around the neighborhood. AND you only need 30 minutes a day.” Bull dinkies!

If you are a sedentary person who is just starting to move around then this sounds like the ideal prescription and 30 minutes might even be too long to start with.
For those who are more comfortable exercising, or have been doing this in fits and starts for years–you’ve got to put some effort into this.

Notice I didn’t say exercise longer. 30 minutes per day is plenty of time to allot to aerobic exercise but you’ve got to move it like you mean it.

Here’s something I learned from trainer to the stars, JJ Virgin, if you aren’t breaking down muscle or pushing through your comfort zone you are not going to get any results. And it’s not weight we want to lose it’s fat.

Her exercise program is based around something called Burst. Here’s the drill. Say you are going to walk. You warm up for 2 mins, walk at your normal/fast pace for 1 – 2 mins then push it as hard as you can for 30- 60 seconds.
When I’m on the treadmill and doing this I walk at 4.2 mph for 1 min. then I push it up to 5.6 which means I have to jog for 45 secs or 1 mins. Then I go back to 4.2. Next round I raise the incline up to 6 or more and do that for 45 seconds. Repeat for 30 mins and you’ll be praying for the gods to take you.
But in 30 minutes I’ve given my body something to work with in terms of building muscle, working the heart muscle to increase my stamina, and burned a butt load of calories.

Whether or not you want to start doing this right away I encourage you to give it a try. Who wants to spend hours on the treadmill or bike when you can get on and off in 30 minutes?

Whether or not you are ready to work this hard at the #1 anti-aging tool we have or not, take an honest look at what you are or aren’t doing. Rather than playing the “nothing works” card, why not play a new game entirely. A rut is a rut and if you are not getting the results you want from the exercise you are doing maybe it’s time to climb out and get honest.

Living young to old age is not going to happen unless you make it happen.
Leave a comment on what you can do to improve your results.