Primal Prescription | Dr. Doug McGuff

This is the first of a two-part interview with author, Dr. Doug McGuff. Dr. McGuff coauthored his new book, Primal Prescription, with Dr. Robert Murphy.

Dr. McGuff became interested in exercise and diet at the age of 15. He went on to graduate from medical school and trained in emergency medicine. As an accomplished physician, he served as Chief Resident and in 1997, he opened Ultimate Exercise, a personal training studio specializing in high intensity exercise.

Primal Prescription evaluates the current state of healthcare. The public is sold on the concept of failures of the free market system in healthcare. The fact is that no semblance of a free market system has existed in medicine since the Great Depression. Price nor quality is cared about. Excellent healthcare providers are all trapped within a dysfunctional system of delivery. The book speaks about all of this and provides practical tips on how to survive the system.

To manage your health in the current system, it is best to “starve the beast” or adopt dietary discipline and exercise. When you do not do this, you become complicit in your own demise, eventually needing to be saved. Of course, there are always unforeseen illness and accidents to consider.

It’s important to pursue health by eating, lifting, and moving to prevent illness. Pick what appeals to you and what works with your lifestyle. It’s important to make sure you have a personal physician and develop that relationship. You will eventually need someone to guide you through this complex system. Consider someone who practices a broad range of medicine – a family practitioner or internist.

The key to being superhuman is to realize you’re only human. You have to engage in a way that will be livable over the long-term. Have a system that you follow on a daily basis. Do what’s best for you and what will cause the least amount of stress in the process. To learn more about Dr. Doug McGuff, visit www.drmcguff.com. Primal Prescription is now available for purchase on Amazon.

Music: Ben Sound Royalty Free Music

Body by science | Dr. Doug McGuff

4 fitness modalities that matter

When beginning a fitness journey, people often need to lose weight and may only be focused on what the scale says. In reality, different fitness modalities need to be considered to help you achieve all of your fitness goals, which should be so much more than just weight loss.

Here are four important fitness modalities to consider:

Cardiovascular

Many people assume cardio is essential to fat loss, but it’s not always one of the most important modalities in the equation. It simply needs to be sustainable and work with your diet. Some examples include running, walking, or riding a bike. Perhaps the most effective way to get to a high level of fitness through cardiovascular exercise is by cross country skiing. As long as you’re moving and getting your heart rate up, you will see the real benefits of this fitness modality.

Balance

As you get older, you lose that brain-muscle connection and run the risk of falling. Working to improve your front, back, and side to side balance will help you in the long run.

Mobility

You want to be able to move through a full range of motion so you can continue to have the ability to do things for yourself. As you improve your mobility, you will feel more flexible and capable. Just be careful not to injure yourself.

Strength

Building muscle will keep you healthy. You will be less likely to injure yourself and have the ability to move something heavy in one direction or another. Improve strength by doing resistance exercises. Add in free weights and machines if you’d like. Challenge the muscle and then rest the muscle.

Find a good cross-training program that includes all of these important fitness modalities. Then pair it with a good diet to build and fuel your body. Soon enough, you will be in much better shape.

Message me to get our guide – The 7 Health and Fitness Measures That Matter. It will give you some guidance to know that you’re focused on the right things with your health and fitness program.

How is your mobility

Music used for the podcast Intro and Outro: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

Be a lab rat to find health and fitness

Want to know how you can get the best results for you? Become a lab rat to find your path to health and fitness! You can evaluate study data to see what might work best for you. Be wary of advice you see in the press or attention-grabbing headlines. Some of this is often based in fear-mongering to grab your interest. To be successful, you need to reflect about the true nature of the study. Usually, there is a test and control group to do a compare and contrast of results, from which statistically valid conclusions are drawn.

Some studies are metastudies. This is where several studies are evaluated and data is extrapolated to develop a new conclusion or bolster a prior conclusion. Look at how they were designed and pick apart why one was different than the other.

Some studies may have general assumptions. Analyze the data and think critically about the information that is presented. Some studies may include a very limited number of participants. The backbone of a good study will have a large pool of participants. Other studies may have bias or influence. In fact, some supplement companies will pay for a clinical study to be done. Be cautious of this as well.

All this being said, you have the opportunity to do experiments on yourself to be well-controlled. First, you must define your experiment. Determine how you will go about it and what your criteria will be. Do you want to lose five or 10 pounds in four weeks? Write that information down and keep track of your data. Want to try a low fat diet? Be clear on what that means to you so you can assess properly.

In the end, if you use common sense and do your research, you will be able to apply study findings to your own journey. Test something that you can sustain over time. If it works for you, systemize the program and make it a part of your daily life. Think of yourself as your own experiment—a lab rat on a journey to better health and fitness!

When what works for them doesn't work for you

Music used for the podcast Intro and Outro: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

Barbara takes charge

Meet Barbara. She has an interesting and uplifting story to share.

Barbara used to be a professional athlete and traveled all over the world. In her late twenties, she was diagnosed with a severe illness called crone’s disease.

She managed it quite well for several years.

But in 2010, the disease reared its ugly head again. She had her first surgery, which was an ileostomy pouch. She had another surgery in 2011. In 2014, she ended up developing a huge mass. She was forced to sell her firm and change her lifestyle. She became quite depressed and anxious.

Barbara feels lucky to have her a child in her thirties when her disease was in remission.  That is because often crone’s can affect the fertility. She calls her son her miracle child.

However, her health continued to decline. She gained a bit of weight. She was diagnosed with cancer and had a total hysterectomy.

But that was when Barbara decided to change.

She found the program named Radical Body Transformation as she was going for her 4th surgery. It is not just a weight-loss program; it is a program with an emphasis in body building. The program clicked for her and changed her life.

Under the program, Barbara is set up with a professional body builder trainer. She got her own diet program, nutritional, cardio, and weight training. She trains six days a week. This is a real intensive, weight-lifting, cardio fitness program that she is going through. And she is doing well.

She has managed to work around having the permanent ileostomy pouch. And she is working toward being more fit than ever. She hopes to compete in an upcoming bodybuilding competition, although she's been put on notice that the pouch, which cannot be hidden during the competition, will likely hurt her chances of placing.

You don't have to train to be a competitive bodybuilder, but find something to strive for and start your health and fitness journey today!

Music used for the podcast Intro and Outro: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

Does music help during exercise?

In this science episode, we discuss the value of music in physical exercise. We normally think music kind of makes exercising easier. Is that true?

Let's see what science says about it.

There are some really interesting findings by some recent research. Yes, there are plenty of studies that have found all kinds of benefits of including music in exercise. According to researches, some of the common benefits of including music in exercise include:

• increase in intake of oxygen,
• decrease in blood pressure,
• increase of flexibility, and
• improvement of co-ordination.

The selection of music is an important factor when it comes to getting these benefits. Say for example; when you are walking for stress relief, you should not listen to hard music.  You should choose something soft and mild.  Conversely, a faster or harder beat can help you push harder when your running or lifting weights.

Unlike how you can get fully into the music when you're on a treadmill or elliptical, you should make sure you are aware of your surroundings when running outdoors or while weightlifting.

You should also consider the value of dance.  Dancing is movement and has some great health and fitness benefits.  If you enjoy dancing, then go for it!

Music can be quite beneficial during exercise, but there are some times when it is unsafe or inappropriate.  Look for ways incorporate music into your workout.  Dance when the spirt hits you.

The value of play part 1

Music used for the podcast Intro and Outro: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

Julie gets fit

In this episode, Julie shares her journey to fitness from fat to fit. Approaching her forties; a sedentary desk job and a love for food had put her at the lower end of obese.

To get fit she joined My Fitness Pal, where she learned to track calories.  At the beginning, she maintained a daily allowance of 1200 calories. She also took up walking to burn off extra calories.

Then she discovered resistance training, also called weight or strength training. This training:

• Body recomposition
• Promotes weight loss
• Burns fat
• Affects bone density, thereby prevents/delays osteoporosis; and
• Develops the upper body strength.

She signed on to women’s 5×5 weight lifting community. She bought herself a bench press from the Dicks Sporting Goods. She watched the videos on the lifts and learned the 5×5 Stronglifts Program.

For the starters, Julie recommends:

• Watching the videos to ensure you understand the form
• Getting comfortable and well acquainted with the equipment and the exercise
• Doing the research
• Being patient with the injuries
• Dedication

To learn form:

• Start with the broomstick or no weight if necessary.
• Work in front of a full-length mirror and practice the motions of a lift.
• You can also videotape yourself for review.
• Start small, then progress (low weight or studio bar of 5 then 10 pounds).

She found that once she started lifting weights her calorie allowance increased so she could indulge herself while maintaining a deficit. She kept track of her calorie intake every day since last 3 years and is in great shape.

Julie’s transformation set her on a path not unlike Allan’s. She is working towards a personal trainer certificate and plans to work with older adults.

Hope Julie gets fit has inspired you towards your own fitness plan. Get in touch with at her blog – https://musingsfromaworkaholic.com/.

Patterns of success in weight loss

Music used for the podcast Intro and Outro: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

How alcohol affects health and fitness

In this science episode, we discuss alcohol. It’s a topic that comes quite often when I deal with my clients. They ask whether they can consume alcohol in their health and fitness journey. The answer, that isn't really an answer for this question is “it depends.”

A March 2013 study found that the chronic alcohol consumption reduces testosterone and increases cholesterol, both of which are not good for muscle growth and muscle retention. Therefore, chronic use of alcohol is not recommended. Moderate alcohol consumption may be okay. But you need to understand what is moderate. Just to give you a number, something less than 7 drinks a week should be okay.

There are other studies that may help you set your strategy. A March 2015 study on “Alcohol, Obesity and Loss of Strength” found alcohol use reduces our strength. Another 2015 study on “the lifestyle factors in associated with successful weight-loss” found that losing weight is co-related with a healthier lifestyle which includes drinking less alcohol.

After seeing results like this, it may seem like it is best to quit drinking entirely. But that may not be practical. So, the goal should be to build healthy habits that we can keep over time. Gradual changes of habits are more sustainable, which will lead to a healthier lifestyle.

So, an individual needs to determine what is going to work for him or her. One perfect way to deal with alcohol is treating it like sugar. Sugar is one of the things that create fat in our body. Alcohol works almost exactly the same way.

Links for further reading:

Nutrition and Metabolism Article

Springer Article 

T and F Online

Now you are better informed of how you should deal with alcohol in your health and fitness journey.

The fountain of life – water

Music used for the podcast Intro and Outro: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music