Not too long ago, I was at a health seminar where the presenter asked us the question, “If you could go back in time, what age would you like to be again?” The answers were varied; many of them said they’d like to be 35 to 40 years old. I personally said 25, but the most desired age for the men in the room was 18 years. As I heard that number, my mind traveled back to that time in my life.
When I was 18, I felt invincible. I did pretty much anything I wanted. I played soccer games Saturdays and Sundays, worked during the day, went to Kung Fu classes in the evening, and finished off my day with night school. I surely missed the constant flow of vital energy, the fact that muscle soreness only lasted 12 hours and injuries healed within a couple of days. Even though my food intake at that time was not optimal, I seemed to stay on the right path no matter what I played or practiced.
Cruising along today in my late 50’s, 60 years is just around the corner. As they get older, people ask themselves, “how do I add more years to my life?” I ask myself the same, and considering the normal expectation of growing older, add to it, “how can I add more life to my years?” Sure, we have longer life expectancies than a century ago. However, most people are relying on drugs that they think they need to keep their bodies functioning at a so-called normal level. These drugs that are promoted to help you can be a potential detriment to your quality of life.
ENERGY AND STRESS
I decided that I must ask outstanding questions to get outstanding results. I asked myself, “What can I do to increase my energy?”
One important thing to do is breathe deeply to increase oxygen intake. Breathing is probably not something that one gives much thought. However, it is very important to realize the necessity of oxygen to our brain. There is much we could say on this topic, but the most important thing to realize is that without proper oxygen, our brains certainly do not function at optimum level.
Also, chewing your foods well, almost to the point where you can drink it is crucial to digesting it properly. Chewing your food well helps the body assimilate the nutrients that we receive from what we eat. In addition to breaking down your meals well, eating meals that are right for your metabolic type is a key factor in rebuilding the body. Also, make it a point to eat every 3-4 hours to maintain energy throughout the day.
Another thing to remember is to identify the stressors in our daily life that decrease our energy. This is an essential key to being successful in achieving our health and fitness goals.
There are 6 different types of stress in our daily life:
- Physical stress
- Chemical stress
- Electromagnetic stress
- Psychological stress
- Nutritional stress
- Thermal stress
The point is to understand that all the stress we experience directly stresses our adrenals. Adrenals receive the message via our nervous system and can become severely fatigued. Think of them as a funnel where all stressors come in and stimulate a fight or flight response. When you feel very uncomfortable or anxious, the adrenal glands immediately shoot cortisol hormones into the blood stream. This has the potential of causing a myriad of physical dysfunctions. This type of exhaustion is often a result of working overtime, exercising at a higher level than you are fit to, not sleeping well, or skipping meals. Taking stimulants or energy drinks to give the body a boost just to be able to finish the day is just the cherry on top of a complete mess of a day.
These are just some of the challenges that we face in our daily lives. It is a constant 24/7 ordeal that signals our central nervous system to make the necessary adjustments.
Another thing we must be aware of is the importance of getting enough sleep. Our bodies go into “physical repair mode” from approximately 10:30pm-2am, preceding the psychological repair that occurs from about 2-6am. If we are only getting 4-5 hours of sleep per night, there is obviously repair that is not happening. Our adrenals being forced to compensate for deficiencies. They overwork, and become fatigued.
We Men lack information when it comes to the changes we go through when we enter our 50’s.
Men go through hormonal changes just like women. Andropause (male menopause) often gets confused with having a “midlife crisis”. Men do not seem to find interest in life as we once did. We suddenly wake up finding ourselves with less muscle and our toneless belly sticking out. As men seek answers to find out what in the world happened, we get a loud response from friends and family: “Yup, that’s what happens to men when you reach your 50’s! Join the club my friends it just gets worse…”
Well, I want you to know that it doesn’t have to be that way! That is the typical response of social conditioning that has been imposed on us for decades. In reality, we become passive and careless, taking the easy way out by settling for an inactive life.
Take a moment to visualize yourself playing any sport that you have been or are involved in right now. Take tennis for example: you’re getting ready to play against an opponent who is at a higher level than you. As you rehearse your game, you visualize yourself returning the most difficult shots your challenger sends you. You see yourself like Andre Agassi, winning Wimbledon. You feel unstoppable as you keep on visualizing the game until it becomes part of your “nature”. And guess what happens the day of the game? You totally kick butt and tear the opponent apart! Do you get my point? Why or how did you get achieve such an accomplishment? The answer is simple: because you did not hope to win, you EXPECTED TO WIN!!! If you settle for what everybody expects of you will get just that.
There are outstanding people performing at optimal levels in their 60s and 70s. Do you think these people have the mentality of listening to what the TV commercials promote, taking a pill for this and that? I do not think so! They are proactive thinkers, they use their wisdom of all the years they’ve lived and applied it to get outstanding results!
IN CONCLUSION
If you honestly desire outstanding health and fitness, start by cleaning up your filters. Many people will do a 7 day colon detox, which does just that. Imagine changing the oil in your car and not your filter. This is precisely what happens to your digestive system when it goes through a detox.
In order to achieve complete purification, the liver must go through a biotransformation when cleansing. The 1st phase allows toxins to be collected in the liver. Once that is accomplished, the 2nd phase comes into play, which removes the toxins out of the liver and out of our bodies. This is accomplished simply by not consuming the 4 white devils– flour, sugar, milk and salt–, increasing your intake of leafy green vegetables for 10 to 15 days, using good quality whey protein or dairy free protein, and drinking ½ of your body weight in oz. of clean spring water daily. These things will allow the liver to rebuild itself. Within the next 10 to 15, days you would introduce organic free range chicken and wild caught fish. Since our livers produce 70% of the necessary hormones, making these diet changes will reset and balance your hormone levels.
Common sense tells me if I do this my digestive system will be clean and ready to distribute the right amount of nutrients that my body needs to repair itself.
In addition to a good diet, is very important to identify stressors in our daily lives and take the time to exercise. All it takes is 20 to 30 minutes of exercise either before or after work. This will spark your metabolism if done early in the morning, and you will burn more calories throughout the day. Exercise and eat right. These things, simple as they sound, are imperative to aging well, and “adding more life to your years!”
If you are feeling overwhelmed with this information and would like to find out if your adrenal glands are not functioning to optimal levels, please take the time to ask yourself the following questions:
Do you have fat tissue around your waist (love handles)?
Do you suffer from muscle and joint pain?
Do you get fatigued easily?
Are you in need of coffee, soda, candy, or cookies to get energy?
Have you experienced a decrease in sex drive, low libido?
Are your chest muscles looking like breasts?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, it is a possibility that you adrenal glands are screaming for help. Listen to what your body is clearly communicating to you!
I always put myself to this same test before I suggest anything to my clients. One must always examine his own lifestyle before suggesting that others make changes to theirs! I make a priority to eat balanced meals according to my metabolic type at least 80% of the time. My workouts range from 20-45 minutes, 5-6 mornings per week and I try to be asleep by 10:30.
If you’d like to find out more about how we can assist you attain an outstanding life full of energy and health, please call our office for an appointment! You don’t have to settle for less.
Keep on Moving!
Luis Ponce Sr.
(408) 778-5577
