Living in the modern, microwave society that we do today, it is common for many of us to look for the most-simple way of accomplishing something. Sometimes, this is great such as in cases of how much modern technology helps us. Sometimes, our modern ways of how we treat our bodies is not so great though.
With temptations to eat greasy cheeseburgers, fried foods and drink sugar laced drinks almost everywhere we go or look, many of us can easily be too neglectful towards our health. On the other end though, seeing wellness facilities, healthier food options and gyms being more plentiful than ever in recent years, also gives us just as many choices to take action and have accountability in a positive way, towards living a more happy and healthier life.
The purpose of this article is to help those in need, understand their role and responsibility when engaging in a wellness program to help them look and feel their best. It is a very honest look in to how being personally accountable can either make or break one’s success when deciding to engage and have success in, an HRT, exercise or diet program.
Under the HUGE “metabolic syndrome umbrella” of many health ailments and problems coming predominantly from being obese and/or not taking care of oneself correctly, comes the desire by most to look for the easiest way out of the often-self-made predicaments many find themselves in.
It is often essential for one finding themselves in such a situation, to get professional medical advice and help with a script for hormones, a weight loss program, supplements or pills along with some coaching on improving lifestyle habits. It is another to follow that direction and take ownership of contributing to all this to improve one’s health, fitness and wellness status.
In short, one needs to address and ensure they are taking accountability in getting an adequate amount of physical activity and proper nutrition in addition to properly following any professionally supervised program.
Otherwise, it is akin to buying a fire extinguisher & using it to help put out a dangerous fire that just seems to keep on burning. It may not be that the fire extinguisher is ineffective, but that the individual spraying it on the fire simultaneously keeps throwing gasoline on and is defeating the purpose of using the fire extinguisher in the first place.
Thousands of scientific studies over the past thirty+ years have shown that our lack of proper nutrition and physical exercise is thought to be the largest contributing factor behind the reasons people get sick. Many fall under the metabolic syndrome list here with diabetes, heart disease, endocrine disorders such as low testosterone and the like. In 2015, over 3 trillion dollars ($3,000,000,000,000) was spent on health care in the United States alone.
With an estimated 1,500+ people dying every day from just cancer alone according to the National Cancer Institute in 2001, eating a sufficient amount of vegetables and “live” foods is critically important with its association in decreasing several forms of cancer. It well worth noting the positive immune and endocrine system benefits that are often seen with regular consumption of these “live” foods as well. Unfortunately, most Americans don’t eat nearly enough of these but instead eat too many things, too often, that contribute to disease and sickness on a regular basis.
What the average American perceives as healthy, is far from it. Persuasive billboard and TV/media advertisements can paint a deceiving picture of health and happiness when in many cases prevents it. Here are a few examples below, of a some of the more common but easy, things to avoid to help steer clear of feeling ill…
Eat REAL meat, fish, skinned poultry and baked or steamed foods. When possible, choose to eat grass fed or free roaming animals that have been allowed to eat their natural selection of foods. Mass produced meats typically come from animals that have been fed a high corn & processed meal diet, which is another story. In short, these animals were not meant to consume these along with hormones, antibiotics and more that of course is passed on the those that eat them.
Limit consumption of pastries and candies. A high fake-fat diet increases the risk of breast, colon, and prostate cancers. What is fake fat? These fake fats here are referred to as trans fats or, partially hydrogenated oil.
Some of the top sources of unhealthy saturated and fake fats can be found in items such as burgers, hot dogs, sausages, pizza, frozen meals, vegetable-oil-fried foods, and processed snacks, as well as foods fried in trans-fat-laden oils.
Cancers of the esophagus and stomach are common in countries where these foods are eaten in large quantities. If you’re a meat eater, eat real meat instead of deli meat as mentioned already. In fact, just steer clear of the deli meats all together to keep it simple.
Smoking is a large risk factor in lung cancer and 30% of all cancers. Kind of a no-brainer here. With the carcinogenic contributions and damaging effects on aging us and our bodies pre-maturely, this is a sure-fire way to work against any efforts to feel younger, sharper and healthier for sure. Let’s not put gas on that fire we’re trying to put out.
The risk of liver cancer increases with increased alcohol consumption. Regular or even occasional binge drinking can also inhibit the body’s ability to do its job in excreting unwanted and excessive estrogens out of the body. It can also disrupt the body’s efforts in keeping IGF-1 at optimized levels. And for those on TRT injection programs, the liver when under stress from alcohol (or other toxins), may pull attention away from cleaving off esters in the oil being injected properly.
In short, your liver’s priorities and attention is taken away from helping us look & feel our best when it must address toxic alcohol or unwanted substances. A drink on occasion isn’t a big deal, but on the regular or when abusive, it can be. Choose not to add gasoline to the fire that your trying to get under control with that extinguisher.
This by far, is the biggest problem the United States (& much of the modernized world) has today. It is a HUGE contributor to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and all that is associated with these including hormone imbalances. We have most likely heard of the detrimental effects of excessive sugar consumption by now (unless you live under a rock), but it is still very misunderstood.
Although most loosely understand the dangers of abusing sugar, most do not realize to what extent they are still consuming and not even knowing it. Victims here are those that regularly eat out with blind trust as patrons that their foods are healthier than what they really are.
What many don’t realize is the sauces, dressings and more loaded with tons of sugar, are in the meals they order. Most are unaware of the MSG’s that are in the foods giving them that “signature” smell and taste that seems to trigger a craving for it again and again. Much of the food being consumed every day by the average American is coming from sources that are not the best quality and are mass produced for the agriculture and food industry on the cheap.
Profits are the biggest interest in large chain restaurants and the agricultural industry, not your health. Just look at the average American waistline in the United States today. Enormous amounts of sugar lending to big profits for large corporations while huge waistlines and giant medical bills for the average American continue to grow.
Putting forth a little effort to plan a constructive grocery shopping trip to purchase appropriate, fresh and real foods is an essential first step. The second, is allocating an hour or so to do some meal prep on say, a Sunday, for the week ahead. A goal without a plan is a sure way to fail.
Research, learn and apply some steps here to feed your body right without the excessive amounts of carbs and sugar. Having a winning game plan as to how you’re going to eat each week. Be sure that YOU prepare the majority of these so that you’re in control. It is up to us to take accountability for our health and how we look & feel.
Consuming vegetables and its benefits don’t stop with helping to prevent cancer or lend to increased fiber consumption for regularity and digestive health. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, sprouts, cabbage and similar have endocrine balancing benefits as well. So, for those men who are engaging in a testosterone optimizing program with a history of higher than normal estrogen or maybe a coupled concern with higher than normal liver enzyme counts, this could contribute to the intentions of such medications like anastrozole and/or milk thistle.
Again, remember the fire extinguisher analogy? Support the intentions of your program and we shall succeed much faster and better!
Fighting and winning a fat loss battle should entail a properly timed consumption of your carbohydrates and, the correct kinds. Grabbing for low glycemic/high fiber sources such as oats, sweet potatoes, berries and colorful vegetables are the winners here. Keeping starch based sources such as potatoes, is best consumed after physical activity or a workout with some protein.
Needless to say at this point, all processed carbs, candies, pastries, sodas, and the like should be minimized. If you MUST satisfy a little sweet tooth and want to treat yourself with something sugar loaded, post workout time would be the better time to do so.
Eating the right, healthy kinds of fat are supportive of our hormone and cardiovascular systems while giving us a feeling of satiety. Fat also helps to absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K, also known as fat-soluble vitamins. These healthy fats we get from our food give our us essential fatty acids such linoleic and linolenic acid, that are imperative to good health. Consume these outsides of your workout-time frame with a bit of a protein from a clean source as mentioned.
Although a protein deficiency is rarely found here in the United States, a slightly higher consumption may be beneficial for those engaging in regular, strenuous exercise. Eggs, chicken, turkey and beef are well known complete protein sources in such a sense that they provide both all the non, and essential amino acids we need in our diets. Nothing wrong with strategically putting combos of vegan sources here either, just a bit more work and difficult for most.
Thinking of protein can be like that of a chain linked fence; we consume it and then our digestive system starts to break apart these chains into their individual amino acids, which is what protein consists of. Each of these amino acids are building blocks and essential “material” to help maintain and build, tissue, muscle, immune system and much more. Each amino can be tied to several (& independent) roles within the body.
After a long night of sleeping, fasting and waking up in a catabolic state, consuming a clean and healthy source of protein is a great way to stop this state of breakdown, catch cortisol from rising and get us off to a good start to the day. Adding a good source of fat here is a good idea as well. Example: Eggs and/or egg whites, onions, mushrooms, broccoli and avocado (fat source).
If it grows out of the ground, off a vine or tree, lives off the land or swims/lives in the water; It is probably good for you. If it comes in a box, bag, package or bottle and is made in a factory and can sit on your pantry shelf for 3-24 months; It probably is not good for you.
Eating foods that are alive, provide the nutrition our bodies crave and are much lower in calories. Colorful, natural foods are often the simple missing link in so many programs.
Dead food, Franken foods, Fast food or whatever you want to call it, is the one of the main culprits working against many of us in our quest to feel our best, look our best and perform our best. Providing no nutritional value and contributing harmful foreign substances into our bodies, these foods when making up the bulk of our everyday high caloric consumption, is working against us.
Having a cupcake, drinking a beer or eating out randomly at a greasy spoon restaurant on occasion is not going to derail goals IF this is not the foundation of one’s eating habits. Following the “90/10” rule is a nice one to go by. Indulge. Enjoy occasional junk food. But, have a meal plan of success for the remaining 90% of your food consumption and we will be well on our way to having a fine tuned and sharp looking body to the best of our ability.
Just 2-3 hours at most per week, is all that is needed to make nice strides forward for most. Many have a laundry list of reasons why they “can’t” workout. In any effort to decrease fat, have more drive, be stronger, have better bone density, posture and a healthy body composition of fat to muscle ratio; a little resistance training is critically important.
Muscle is metabolically active which means it burns calories, even at rest. Stored body fat is stored units of energy known as calories. Muscle takes up about 5x less space or volume, versus body fat. Muscle in laymen’s terms, acts as a “storage house” for glucose in the form of glycogen.
In other words, the more muscle we can maintain or even build upon in our aging years, the better our bodies can regulate blood sugar, burning calories and therefor enabling us to maintain good body composition, nicer looking hormone profiles and the many nice things that come with all.
There are dozens of different and effective approaches to incorporate weight or resistance training. Whether you have a back or knee injury or other physical challenges, there is a way. If one has a bad back then obviously doing loaded squats is not appropriate. But, doing some tempo controlled lighter isolated movements for arms, legs and more with an emphasis on time under tension and moving the targeted muscle (mind-muscle connection), this can be appropriate and very effective.
And time should not be an excuse either. We make time to shower. We are sure to brush our teeth and hopefully floss. Most of us surely don’t miss any meals and in fact, spend 10-12 minutes every day standing in line to get some greasy or sugar laced foods. Most quality workouts should be no more than 50 minutes and often at times, less. Just 2-3x a week is great here. We do have the time, IF we allocate it. Choices…
In as little as 2-4 short 20-minute sessions that get us breathing a little harder each week, this is all that is needed to give strong support to our goals of being fit, healthy and feeling good. This can be done easily with or after, a short resistance training workout. Although many still tend to over rate doing cardio, it is in fact important. Engaging in some cardiovascular activity whether it be a walk, job or a bicycle ride, does keep our most important muscle “in shape”; our heart.
When it comes to losing fat and looking more fit in the mirror, it is important not to succumb to being a hamster on a wheel here. In other words, don’t make the mistake of spending hours a week over doing cardio on a treadmill like a hamster on a wheel literally going nowhere, fast.
Embrace and prioritize resistance training and correct eating habits with ensuring that an optimized hormone profile is in place to make it all come together nicely to help bring everything together. Then, compliment those things with a little cardio and/or fun active activities each week that elevates our heart rate, health and mood.
Like any car needs 4 good tires and a good lubed engine and transmission to drive smoothly down the road, we need some essentials as well. Sadly, many put more care and money into paying a $300 a month auto payment along with a $200 a month insurance policy to cover it but won’t put half that investment to take care of the one body they were given to live this one awesome life we have the privilege of having.
Some of us may not need a supercharged V8 and we are fine with just a little 4-cylinder car, but it still needs a good engine, regular oil changes and still needs 4 good tires to get us from point a to point b. Like many who are overweight, feel lousy and have very imbalanced hormones and engage in a TRT optimizing program but refuse to take accountability; it’s like replacing 2 out of 4 very bad tires and neglecting oil changes.
If you’re a new visitor to Youth-Rx or have been on the fence for a while on whether you should embrace a hormone optimizing program or would like to know and explore more, simply fill out our medical history form and one of highly experienced consultants will schedule a complimentary consultation to explain the processes, programs and more to you.
Submit the on-line form: Medical History Form
The team here at YOUTH-RX wishes you the best in health and happiness. Choose to thrive versus to just survive. You ARE worth the investment!
Best regards,
Roger Bowman
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