According to the Princeton HealthCare System, more than 6 million Americans suffer from heart failure. Defined as a condition where the heart doesn’t pump enough blood as well as it should.

And according to the American Heart Association, more than 800,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. A number that is expected to DOUBLE in the next 20 years. WHOA!!!

They say it’s due to an aging population.

Aging, ‘SM-aging’… I ask, “Why wait”?

Why wait… for a life-threatening diagnosis or disease to strike?

Is that what you need to motivate yourself to start eating right and exercising? Are you living, breathing, and capable of moving?

And you choose not to exercise because… why?

Although this blog is dedicated to helping the “over 50” population, this concept applies to anyone and everyone.

Are you in your 20’s or 30’s? 40’s or 50’s? 60’s or 70’s? Older?

Then you need to move your ass and start eating right!

It’s never too late to start.

So don’t give me any lame excuses about how you…

• tried but failed.
• have bad genes.
• don’t have time.
• don’t know what to do.
• aren’t interested or motivated.

Are you freakin’ kidding me?

But as far as I’m concerned, this is a SERIOUS topic that needs more awareness and attention. And maybe even some tough love.

Call it an excuse, neglect, laziness, or fear.

It doesn’t matter because knowing that you should do something, but you don’t is not only foolish. It’s ridiculous.

Okay, let me tone it down a bit for a second.

It’s unfortunate. And unacceptable. Is that better?

Take last week’s post for example. Every health issue that was listed is preventable.

Okay, stand by. I can already hear the comments and lame excuses. “Yea, but…

• you can’t predict your future.”
• we don’t get to choose how long we live.”
• illness and disease can strike anyone, at any time.”
• I know someone that was in great health and died of **insert illness**.”

I totally understand that despite good intentions and actions taken, we aren’t in complete control of our life regarding disease or illness.

But you can’t live your life fearing things that may never happen. Especially those things that are outside of our control.

Or cast your fate to the wind.

Instead, you’d benefit much more by taking preventative or precautionary measures to pave the road to your healthy future.

Besides, these lame excuses usually come from uninformed, pessimistic sources who don’t focus on taking care of their own health & wellness.

Not only will good nutrition, regular exercise, and adequate rest do wonders for extending your life. You’ll look and feel great!

This healthy 1 – 2 – 3 combination will keep disease and illness at bay. It will limit or eliminate your need to be a slave to medication. It will keep you fit and firm. And elevate your energy level while keeping you looking and feeling great.

So there’s no way you can convince me that the alternative “lazy” lifestyle is a better choice. Coasting and neglect will never take you where you want to go.

As Darren Hardy said so simply and effectively in…

“If you took a bite of a Big Mac and immediately fell to the ground clutching your chest from a heart attack, you might not go back for that second bite. Or your next puff of a cigarette instantly mutated your face into that of a weathered eighty-five-year-old, chances are you’d pass on that, too. If you failed to make that 10th call today and were immediately fired and bankrupted, suddenly picking up the phone would be a no-brainer. And if that first forkful of cake instantly put fifty pounds on your frame, saying “no thank you” to dessert would be the true piece of cake.

The problem is that the payoff or instant gratification derived from bad habits often far outweighs what’s going on in your rational mind concerning long-term consequences. Indulging in our bad habits doesn’t seem to have any negative effects at all in the moment. You don’t have that heart attack, your face doesn’t shrivel up, you’re not standing in the unemployment line, and your thighs aren’t thunderous. But that doesn’t mean you haven’t activated the Compound Effect.”

So getting back to the initial statistics on heart failure, the first step in diagnosing this and other diseases is a physical examination. Your doctor will evaluate any symptoms and risk factors based on your medical history.

And here are some signs to watch out for regarding heart failure:

• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue / weakness
• Swelling in your legs, ankles and feet
• Rapid or irregular heartbeat
• Persistent cough or wheezing
• Frequent need to urinate at night
• Abdominal swelling
• Sudden weight gain from fluid retention
• Chest discomfort

So make it a point to get checked out. Especially if you are planning to start a nutrition or exercise program. And if it’s been years since you’ve exercised, start slow.

What do you think? Will you make an investment in your future?

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I hope you found value.

Now it’s time for YOU to take action…

What’s your Win to be Thin? Leave a comment below.

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I recently read an article titled “Men’s Health Issues In Corporate Health” that I would like to share and focus on in this week’s post.

The article states that men die at higher rates than women. And it goes on to discuss the top 10 reasons.

Whether you believe them to be anecdotal or actual is not the point.

What’s interesting to me is that they are all tied to a lack of regular exercise and physical activity.

I would include a lack of good nutrition and adequate rest too.

Simple things that are all well within our control, even if we’re busy.

This isn’t the first time I’ve written about the importance of regular exercise, good nutrition, and adequate rest. In fact, you’ll recognize it as a consistent theme if you follow this blog.

After all, if you don’t have your health, what do you have? And does anything else really matter without it?

Here is a link to the article. I hope you enjoy it. But I really hope that you learn something from it, and TAKE ACTION!

If you need some motivation or coaxing to read the article, here are a few points to hopefully get you started.

And as you will see, most (if not all) are preventable.

But let’s not just confine this advice for the guys. Ladies, you’re just as important and can benefit from it too… So read along with us.

Here’s some of what you’ll learn:

• 3 contributing attributes to a steady deterioration of the health of American men. This is hard to understand with all of the information available and today’s awareness about health & wellness. Oh sorry, that’s one of them.
• A majority of men take better care of their cars, and mediocre care of their health – WTF?
• Every one of these health issues can be prevented or minimized with regular exercise and physical activity.
• That being a “weekend warrior” isn’t so good. Are you one?
• Back pain is one of the leading causes for missing work and disability worldwide. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons weighs in with the most common reasons.
• According to research, a beer belly places more stress on the back than pregnancy. When are YOU due?
• According to the American Heart Association, 1 in 3 adult men have some form of cardiovascular disease.
• Regular exercise and physical activity are the best way to prevent high blood pressure. Or keep it in a healthy range. It’s also vital for keeping strong erections. Perhaps that’ll get your attention guys…
• Exercise is associated with lowering the risk of most cancers by as much as 40%.
• Aerobic exercise improves circulation and oxygen utilization, which can minimize COPD symptoms. Cardio activity also helps to build energy levels so you can do more activities without exhaustion or shortness of breath.
• Exercise is key in the prevention of colds, flu, and respiratory illnesses because it strengthens immune function and circulation.
• According to the American Diabetes Association, “the best way to control your diabetes is to eat healthy and exercise”. Duh! So why aren’t more diabetes sufferers following this advice?
• Here’s an interesting quote: “Men are more likely to ask for directions than they are to ask for medical help…” Really?

Go to the article.

I’d like to close with a quote from the author.

“So men, even if you don’t think you have time for exercise, or having a ‘6-pack’ is not important to you, it’s not about that. Yes, the beautiful outer façade of our bodies is a brilliant reward for exercise. But exercise is healing and repairing the damage we do to our bodies every day. The real magic of exercise is in the cell.” ~ Shira Litwack

I hope you found value in this post.

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything resonate? Will you take action? What else would you like to see in future posts? I welcome your feedback.

What’s your Win to be Thin?

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In Part 2 of our benchmarking series, we’ll continue to look at how we measure up. And where we can improve. By looking at another key metric related to better health & wellness.

Last week we covered body weight. Today, we’ll look at body fat %?

While it’s important to manage overall weight, our “body weight” by itself doesn’t tell the whole story. In fact, it’s the percentage of lean muscle to body fat that’s another very important statistic; yet often overlooked.

Why?

Because you want to make sure that you’re maintaining (or gaining) more lean muscle than body fat; not the other way around. Let’s face it, you can’t add muscle with a pill or a shake. Activity and exercise are the only 2 ways to increase lean muscle mass.

And having a point of reference at the beginning of a fitness regimen or weight loss initiative helps us set goals and look back to see how far we’ve come.

Don’t worry, I’m not trying to convince you to get to 9% body fat so you can enter a body-building competition. So stay with me.

One of the many problems associated with 30-day cleanses, and extreme or fad diets is that they cause you to “yo-yo”.

You lose 30 pounds quickly. But in most cases these programs never teach you how to eat right, add exercise, or improve your nutrition. You’re simply limited to following their regimen and restricted “diet”.

So when it’s over, or you give up because the program is unsustainable, a few very unfortunate things happen:

1. You form an even stronger belief that diets don’t work, and that you’ll never lose weight.
2. Since you haven’t learned anything about creating a healthy lifestyle through better nutrition and exercise, you’re likely to repeat this again in the future when the next “blockbuster-diet” catches your attention.
3. And last but not least, you gain back all of the weight, plus a little more (aka “yo-yo”).

This approach is very unhealthy. Especially because you most likely lost lean muscle during the program. And then added more body fat during the re-gain. Causing your overall body fat percentage to increase even more.

Since activity and exercise are the only real ways to build muscle, we need to make sure to include strength training as part of our routine. And please don’t take this the wrong way. I’m not talking about trying to gain Arnold Schwarzenegger type muscles.

Even just brisk walking for someone that’s been sedentary will slowly begin to build and increase lean muscle. And stronger leg muscles will improve stability. As we age, improved stability prevents falls. So it’s a good thing.

We need to begin with simple exercises, tailored to our specific fitness level. And then keep building with added resistance and intensity to stay outside of our comfort zone.

This is where results start to compound!

And here’s where hiring a professional, like a certified personal trainer or registered dietitian makes A LOT of sense.

But I digress.

Let me get back on track and introduce you to the body fat chart below. This chart illustrates body fat percentages based on your age, in 4 categories – lean, ideal, average, and above average.

There are many ways to measure your body fat.

You can inquire at the gym. You can ask your personal trainer. Or you can purchase a body fat caliper, which is the most common method.

Here’s a link to a blog post that describes 5 ways to measure body fat percentage.

My point here is to get a fairly accurate reading so you can establish a point of reference. Now you have the basis to set a goal. For example, if you are currently at 23% and want to get down to 16%, you’re in a position to put a plan together.

If you plan on doing this, here’s a link to a post on measuring body fat percentage with a caliper.

And thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can have a caliper delivered to your door with instructions for less than $20. Here are a few links through my Amazon affiliate.

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• http://amzn.to/2btrGMy

I hope you found value in this post.

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything resonate? Will you take action? What else would you like to see in future posts? I welcome your feedback.

And tell me, what’s your Win to be Thin?

If you know someone that can benefit from this content, please share it with them. And if you like what you see, you can SUBSCRIBE for automatic updates, LIKE US on Facebook, and spread the word about www.thin2win.net with your friends, family and social circles.

I hope that you’re feeling the burn and on to your next break-through. As you step up your game, you’ll notice that results will soon follow. So it’s time to establish a point of reference. Something you can look back on and see your progress.

Speaking of stepping up your game, the 2016 Summer Olympics are in full swing. It’s impressive to see these elite athletes compete. There’s such a high level of intensity and determination. I also love the inspiring stories about all of the hard work, discipline, sacrifice and struggle that Olympians endure to make it to the world stage.

Hats off to everyone! Go USA!!!

While you and I may not be able to compete with these incredible athletes in the Olympic games, I think it’s worth noting that life can be a competition in many non-athletic ways. So congratulations! We are all in the “Life Olympics Competition” in some fashion.

For example, how you “perform”:

• In your profession, and throughout your career.
• On that next project.
• During a negotiation.
• While leading your family.
• Or helping a friend.
• While volunteering your time.
• Or making a tough decision.
• On that next sales call, or interview…

You know I’m gonna find a way to tie this to health & wellness, right.

Although these tasks may not require physical strength. Or appear to be linked to how you’ve been treating your body. There is actually a lot of evidence which proves that your nutrition, exercise, and sleep habits DO influence your performance – in life. And the quality directly impacts the results you achieve in these daily events.

So this begs the question, “Are you operating at peak performance and becoming the best YOU that you can be?”

For the next 2 weeks, we will discuss benchmarking. We’ll look at how we measure up. And where we can improve. By looking at 2 key metrics that relate to better health & wellness.

This week we’ll unpack a few ideas and take a look at body weight.

We know that good nutrition combined with regular exercise and adequate rest is essential to our good health.

But just knowing this is not enough.

We need to take action, and incorporate these 3 elements into our daily routine if we want to perform better, live longer, and prevent disease.

The most common metric that relates to body weight is the number on the scale that looks back at you in the morning.

And with regard to our first metric, I’d like to begin with a simple ‘height to weight ratio’. The chart below illustrates the ideal weight (in pounds) based on height. It’s represented in 3 categories that range from low, target, and high.

Here’s where we can establish a “reference point”. For example, if your interest is to get in shape and lose weight, this data can become the basis for establishing a long-term goal.

Let’s say you’re a 5’ 11” male, and your current weight is 205. Based on the height to weight ratio chart, you are overweight and have about 41 pounds to lose to get to the target weight of 164, give or take a few.

I can already hear the whining and excuses…

No, it’s not impossible. It’s very doable if you want to get there. But you need to start making better choices and create some new healthy habits. So let’s get back to our example.

We need to determine the plan for how you can learn to incorporate great nutrition, regular exercise, and adequate rest into your daily routine. So that in 6 months to a year for this example, you can build healthier habits that ultimately become your new healthy lifestyle.

This approach enables you to lose the excess weight.

And keep it off – forever!

No pills. No diets. No quick fix.

And No fast food. Don’t worry, you won’t miss it.

It’s all about the choices you make, the habits you build, and the disciplines you develop.

Excited? Concerned? Confused? Ready to make a change? Great, let’s talk!

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything resonate? Will you take action? What else would you like to see in future posts? I welcome your feedback.

What’s your Win to be Thin?

If you know someone that can benefit from this content, please share it with them. And if you like what you see, you can SUBSCRIBE for automatic updates, LIKE US on Facebook, and spread the word about www.thin2win.net with your friends, family and social circles.

Okay, so you’ve got rhythm. Congratulations!

I hope you put Darren’s Rhythm Register to good use and have found it as valuable as I have. Link back to last week here.

This week I want to talk about feedback, and the incredible value it offers each of us.

What do I mean by feedback? Well, it could mean a number of things. It’s most likely a reaction to something that you do or say; or don’t do or don’t say. It’s like knowledge or advice. But it may not always come from someone else. It may be something you discover on your own.

Feedback can be:

• Given, received from others, or discovered on your own.
• Verbal or non-verbal.
• Solicited or unsolicited.
• Positive, negative, constructive, or destructive.

Here’s how Dictionary.com defines it:

a reaction or response to a particular process or activity; helpful information or criticism that is given to someone to say what can be done to improve a performance, product, etc.

I believe that obtaining valuable feedback comes down to 4 things:

1. Being present in the moment so you’re ready to realize it and accept it.
2. Asking great questions, of ourselves and others.
3. Listening.
4. Learning from and acting on that feedback.

As I was preparing this, I started brainstorming to get clearer about this concept of feedback. Here are a few of my thoughts:

• Interpreting feedback requires us to be present in the moment.

• We get feedback from many things that we do. But we may not always recognize it if we’re not looking or listening for it.

• Sometimes we need to slow down or quiet our mind to recognize the feedback. Sorry but multi-tasking or trolling social media doesn’t help. It rarely does!

• Feedback is a great correction for when we find ourselves “off-track”.

• I view mistakes as feedback. Although we don’t intentionally go out of our way to make mistakes, when they happen, we need to welcome the lessons learned and value that feedback so we can learn and grow.

• If you’re in a sales or leadership position, you have the opportunity to gain valuable feedback all the time as you help and influence others.

• When you want to experiment with or test a new idea, feedback helps to confirm, clarify, or refine that idea.

• Feedback helps us learn and improve, so we need to welcome and embrace it.

So how does feedback tie into health & wellness? Here are a few personal examples:

1. If I eat too much, I feel uncomfortably full. That feedback of being uncomfortable reminds me eat to 80% full more often. And satisfy my hunger, but still feel great afterwards.
2. I weigh myself in the morning and use that as a form of feedback. Mainly to assess the prior day. Like what I ate, my activity level, and the calories I burned during exercise. Not to be hypersensitive about an increase or decrease in weight. Simply to learn from what I’m doing and how it affects or impacts me the next day. But especially over time.
3. If I am over-tired, or feeling extra pain in the morning, I’ve learned to listen to my body and take the day off from exercise.
4. We also get feedback over longer periods of time from the results we get from our exercise and nutrition. And yes, a lack of results would also count as feedback. For example, is that new strength training routine helping you accomplish visible results? Are the results more intrinsic where you’re beginning to feel better? Or extrinsic? Perhaps measured by compliments you’re receiving from others?

It all comes down to getting to know ourselves better. And as we learn more, we grow and improve more. You can’t manage what you can’t see…

Can you hear the feedback over all of the ‘noise’ in your life?

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything resonate? Will you take action? What else would you like to see in future posts? I welcome your feedback!

If you know someone that can benefit from this content, please share it with them. And if you like what you see, you can SUBSCRIBE for automatic updates, LIKE US on Facebook, and spread the word about www.thin2win.net with your friends, family and social circles.

Did you complete your homework assignment from last week?

I hope so…

If you did, you should have some data from your “tracking” initiative.

I want to make sure that you understand how tracking works, and the value it can add to your life when you are trying to improve or change something.

This week, I’d like to take it one step further by expanding on something we revealed last week.

We discussed the importance of starting with a conscious awareness when we want to make a change. From there, we map out the positive choices we intend to start making. And finally we need to take action by making these new choices consistently.

So how can we ensure that we are remaining consistent with our new choices?

Thank you for asking…

I will refer to another valuable resource from Darren Hardy’s NY Times best-selling book “The Compound Effect”. He calls it the Weekly Rhythm Register. And you can download it here for free.

This is a powerful tool.

Not only does it help to keep you consciously focused on the new behaviors you want to reinforce, it helps you track them too.

Remember, this is a process that takes time. We’re trying to create a new healthy lifestyle, one habit at a time.

So only start with a few new things. Then you can add to your “rhythms” as your new habits begin to build.

Otherwise, you run the risk of making it too hard or overwhelming. And guess what that does? Right! It takes the fun out of it. And makes it a chore. Instead of being something you look forward to.

And before long, you’ll just drop it altogether. Don’t let this happen.

Check out the sample Weekly Rhythm Register below:

This will keep you on target with your new habit building initiative.

So let’s look towards the future and think about some new habits you can track as it relates to The 6 Pillars To Better Health & Vitality. Your list may eventually include some of the following:

1. Water
   • Drink 3 to 4 liters of water
   • No soda or sweetened drinks
2. Exercise
   • Strength train (2 to 3 days)
   • Cardio training (2 to 3 days)
3. Sleep
   • Get at least 7 hours of sleep
   • Unplug 1 hour before bed
   • Meditate at least 4 days
4. Eat Clean
   • Eat 2 to 3 servings of fresh fruit
   • Eat 2 to 3 servings of steamed veggies
   • Eat an apple a day
   • 50 / 30 / 20 macros for at least 2 meals
5. Walk
   • Walk 10K a day
   • Start the day with a 30-minute walk
6. Calories
   • Eat to 80% full
   • Burn at least 500 calories 5 times per week

Special Note: Base your exercise and walking routine on your fitness level. And always consult with your doctor before beginning a new exercise or nutrition plan.

Action items for this week:

1. Print the weekly rhythm register.
2. Add a few key behaviors and track them.
3. Leave a comment to let me know how you’re doing.

Thank you for sharing your time with me.

I hope you found value in this post.

Now it’s time for YOU to take action…

I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything resonate? What else would you like to see in future posts? I welcome your feedback.

What’s your Win to be Thin?

If you know someone that can benefit from this content, share it with them. And if you like what you see, SUBSCRIBE for automatic updates when new posts are published.

You can also LIKE US on Facebook, and spread the word about www.thin2win.net with your friends, family and social circles.

#rhythm