Your Heart Attack Risk 03/19/2011
 Test your heart attack risk. Our guest blogger Jon Benson shares his insights on our level of risk for a heart attack and more, what to do about it . . . Cheers padre art ~~~~~~~~~ Want to know what your real odds are of having a heart attack? How about a stroke? Diabetes? Okay, this isn't sounding like a positive letter . . . but hang in there. It gets a lot better and more positive. I was having lunch today with my CPA and my good friend Sherry Strong. Sherry's upcoming book is a must-read. I will let you know when she's ready to release it. Since Sherry has been here visiting me in Dallas I have learned SO much about natural food preparation and what really causes heart disease. Our conversation took a turn to "doctor's tests." I think most of them are worthless. Some are vital. It's important to know the difference. I'm going to give you the three tests you absolutely must take if you want to help ensure your future health in a moment. But first, let me give you Sherry's argument to my third test. Yes, we nutritionists argue sometimes. I'll let you decide. But statically it's far more accurate than any blood test . . . and get this: You can do it at home for FREE. So far, are you with me? Good. I'm going to go in reverse order, third test to last . . . The third test is simply this: Measure your waistline Use a tape measure and do not pull it tight. Measure right below the navel. Write down that number in inches. Measure your height (out of shoes) Write that down too. Multiply your waist inches by 2. If that number is greater than your height inches you are FOUR TIMES more likely to have heart disease. For example; If you have a 36-inch waist and you are 70 inches tall, you are at a much greater risk for heart disease (36 x 2 = 72 which is greater than 70.) However if you have a 34-inch waist and you are 70 inches tall, you risk is far less (34 x 2 = 68 which is less than 70.) Four times. That's more predictive than cholesterol tests by far. And a lot less expensive to boot. Don't just read about this test ~~ DO IT. I'll give you something you can do ABOUT it if you fail this test in a second. The great news is that this is one factor that is totally within your control. Test number two: Know your SED rate. This is an inflammatory marker in the blood. Test number one: Know your hsCRP and LP(a) levels. Both of these can be done as one test usually. Both are inflammatory markers as well as key indicators of heart disease. Go to your doctor and ask for these three blood tests. Usually they can be done all at once. Sometimes they are separate, but they are all crucial. If you are thin and look healthy, listen to this: You too can be Lance Armstrong or Jim Fixx . . . and not know it. Lance and Jim looked like two of the healthiest men on the planet. Lance beat testicular cancer but came within an inch of his life. Jim died after a short jog of a heart attack very young in life. Looks can be deceiving. This is Sherry's argument ~~ and she's totally correct. That's why I give you THREE (well, actually four) TESTS. You see, it's virtually impossible to have a normal SED rate, a normal hsCRP level and a normal LP(a) level and be at imminent risk for any of these killer diseases. Possible, perhaps ~~ but almost not. So, if you look healthy and feel like a bazillion bucks, you still need to know your levels of these inflammatory markers. If you are overweight or obese, you totally absolutely MUST do the waist/height test as well as the others. You see, it goes both ways. Some obese folks test out okay at the doc's office. Their cholesterol, blood pressure, and all typical readings are okay. Rarely does a doc run an hsCRP or LP(a). And rarely do they run a SED rate. See the importance here? Both the fit and the unfit can be at dire risk and not even know it. Now, here's the solution: A low-inflammatory nutrition and training plan, along with plenty of stress-free time. I can help you with the first two things. The third thing ~~ de-stressing ~~ is up to you. You may want to spend 30 minutes a day doing yoga, walking, meditating, praying, or whatever calms your MIND and BODY down. Check it out: Lance and Jim were both doing insane amounts of exercise . . . so much that they demanded insane amounts of high-inflammatory foods. Foods like processed carbohydrates for example. And they both got sick. One of them died. My good friend Dr. Steven Chase believes that 85% of cancer is preventable. That's right! 85%. And he's an oncologist -- a cancer doctor. And you know heart disease is 95% preventable . . . or did you? But all of these killers, especially diabetes, demand a low-insulin, low-inflammatory nutrition and exercise plan. Lance and Jim had sky-high inflammatory levels from all that exercise. It was literally TOO much exercise. That's why so many marathoners die of heart attacks. They eat inflammatory foods and engage in high-stress exercise for too long of a time. So, what's the answer?
Most workout plans are either too easy or too intense for too long a period of time. My System is super-short (7-14 minutes a day, plus walks when you can.) This is enough to build all the muscle you need plus burn body fat when combined with the nutrition plan. My System's nutrition plan is ideal if you are willing to "diet" for a day or two, then enjoy a day of eating "normal" foods. Hey, no one is perfect. Anyone who has half a brain should know that not very many people (myself included) are willing to do without their favorite foods forever. That's silly -- and it's not necessary to burn body fat. In fact, my System 'demands' that you eat these foods . . . at certain times . . . TO BURN MORE BODY FAT! Wild, isn't it? It's the System I've used for years. It's the combination of two books: 7 Minute Muscle + Every Other Day Diet Get them both for one low price . . . Any of my three Upgrade Kits come with both books, a full year of support from me on the Every Other Day Diet group Forum, and so many bonuses I can't list them all. This combo is something I am so very proud to share with you. It's the ultimate System for lowering body fat, increasing lean muscle, lowering insulin, lowering inflammation, and reducing your risk of heart attack. Whether you are in shape or obese, this System is one that will work for you . . .  Add Comment Training and Exercise Less, Not More! 11/28/2010
 Limit your training time and improve the results Training and Fitness author Jon Benson shared this letter with me and gave me permission to share it with you. Cheers, padre art +++++++++++ If I had to pick out the number one reason most people fail to achieve good results in the gym, guess what it would be? Over-training. Exercising too much. Sounds counter-intuitive, but trust me: It's quite real. Folks write to me all the time and say . . . "Jon, I don't get it. I cannot lose body fat and I'm running six days a week for an hour and training in the gym five days a week for 45 minutes!" My answer back is usually: "You are training 4x more than me, and I'm a fitness pro!" Look, do you take 21 aspirin for a headache, thinking the more you take the faster your pain will go away? No? So why apply the same logic to fitness? Only a certain amount is required. Beyond that, you are spinning your wheels. When I wrote 7 Minute Muscle, I exposed all the lies about training too long and why this is not the best way to achieve the results you want. Check it out if you want the facts. One more thing: 75% of your progress will come in the kitchen, not in the gym or on the treadmill. As for me, I would much rather eat smart and train less than train all the time and be forced to eat 6-8 times a day just to recover from it all. That makes no sense to me at all. You? Find out more about the 7 Minute Muscle training program to fit your fitness into that busy schedule.  Most successful dieters have a solid support group I love to read on Write the Weight Off Blog posts of how people are gearing up their activity levels. Some are ambitious, like a 3-mile run, or some much less so, like my own exercise-in-my-chair routine. So here's the million-dollar question: "What's the number one reason people do not work out?" Is it lack of money? Lack of motivation? Perhaps they lack the ideal workout plan? Nope. It's TIME. Or rather the lack thereof. "We know that 50 per cent of the population doesn't [exercise] and the most commonly cited barrier to exercise is lack of time." This quote comes from exercise researcher Martin Gibala, a kinesiology professor at McMaster University in Hamilton. Gibala put his theory to the test in a study that was published in the Journal of Physiology. In it Gibala compared a group who exercised "traditionally" -- 90 to 120 minutes per day -- with another group exercising far less: Only 20 minutes per day and only three days per week. That's a whopping one hour per week folks. Did you know that Jon Benson's "7 Minute Muscle" plan calls for only five 7-minute workouts with resistance training (weights or bodyweight) plus only 9 minutes cardio a few days per week? And that actually works? Yeah... you bet it does. If you do the math, that's about an hour per week as well. This is the "Level 1" workout. There are three levels depending on your goals and exercise tolerance. Find out more here -- Jon Benson's "7 Minute Muscle" <--- brief is best! Back to Gibala's study: In just two weeks both groups showed improvement in both exercise performance and oxygen uptake. (Remember, fat burns in the presence of oxygen.) The kicker is that both groups were almost identical in their improvement. Why? Because the brief exercise group trained with greater focus and more intensity -- exactly how Jon suggests you train. This is just one of dozens of studies that confirm the benefits of shorter but more intense workouts. However, there is a catch: Train too hard and you will shut down your fat-burning furnace. Your body perceives over-exertion done over an extended period of time as a sign of pursuit. It can trigger an ancient hormonal sequence that says, "I'm being chased by a tiger! Horde the fat!" The body literally shuts down what it considers to be unnecessary activity in favor of self-preservation. And guess what? Burning off those hips and love handles is not a biological necessity. You have to learn when to hit it hard AND when to rest and recover. Finally, you have to put yourself into the proper mental state in order to see greater results in the shortest period of time. Jon devotes an entire chapter to putting your mind into your muscle to make gains faster than ever before in "7 Minute Muscle." You can read more here. Just remember these three key points:
Until next week, train smart. Sincerely, padre art  |   Enhance the effectiveness of your diet with a Fat Loss Support Community over 16,000 member strong.
~~~~~~~~~
 Holiday Recipes Collection
Authorpadre art is author, fitness enthusiast and lives the Mediterranean lifestyle (diet).  ArchivesMarch 2011  CategoriesAll   Get Off the Couch with Joan
|
RSS Feed