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Thor Swift for the new York Times Moderate exercise may be more beneficial than vigorous workouts.

For people who exercise but fret that they really should be working out more, new studies may be soothing. the amount of exercise needed to improve health and longevity, this new science shows, is modest, and more is not necessarily better.

That is the message of the newest and perhaps most compelling of the studies, which was presented on Saturday at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in San Francisco. For it, researchers at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health and other institutions combed through the health records of 52,656 American adults who’d undergone physicals between 1971 and 2002 as part of the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study at the Cooper Institute in Dallas. Each participant completed physical testing and activity questionnaires and returned for at least one follow-up visit.

The researchers found that about 27 percent of the participants reported regularly running, although in wildly varying amounts and paces.

The scientists then checked death reports.

Over the course of the study, 2,984 of the participants died. But the incidence was much lower among the group that ran. Those participants had, on average, a 19 percent lower risk of dying from any cause than non-runners.

Notably, in closely parsing the participants’ self-reported activities, the researchers found that running in moderation provided the most benefits. Those who ran 1 to 20 miles per week at an average pace of about 10 or 11 minutes per mile — in other words, jogging — reduced their risk of dying during the study more effectively than those who didn’t run, those (admittedly few) who ran more than 20 miles a week, and those who typically ran at a pace swifter than seven miles an hour.

“These data certainly support the idea that more running is not needed to produce extra health and mortality benefits,” said Dr. Carl J. Lavie, medical director of cardiac rehabilitation and prevention at the Ochsner Medical Center in new Orleans and an author of the study. “If anything,” he continued, “it appears that less running is associated with the best protection from mortality risk. More is not better, and actually, more could be worse.”

His analysis echoes the results of another new examination of activity and mortality, in which Danish scientists used 27 years’ worth of data collected for the continuing Copenhagen City Heart Study. They reported that those Danes who spent one to two and a half hours per week jogging at a “slow or average pace” during the study period had longer life spans than their more sedentary peers and than those who ran at a faster pace.

This decidedly modest amount of exercise led to an increase of, on average, 6.2 years in the life span of male joggers and 5.6 years in women.

“We can say with certainty that regular jogging increases longevity,” Dr. Peter Schnorr, a cardiologist and an author of the study, said in presenting the findings at a clinical meeting organized last month by the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation. “The good news is that you don’t actually need to do that much to reap the benefits.”

“The relationship appears much like alcohol intakes,” he continued. “Mortality is lower in people reporting moderate jogging than in non-joggers or those undertaking extreme levels of exercise.”

There’s further confirmation of that idea in the findings of a large study of exercise habits published last year in the Lancet, which showed that among a group of 416,175 Korean adults, 92 minutes a week of moderate exercise, like walking, gentle jogging or cycling, increased life span by about three years and decreased the risk of mortality from any cause by about 14 percent.

In that study, those who embarked on more ambitious exercise programs did gain additional risk reduction, as seems only fair, but the benefits plateaued rapidly. For each further 15 minutes per week of moderate exercise that someone completed beyond the first 92, his or her mortality risk fell, but by only about another 4 percent.

Whether and at what point more exercise becomes counterproductive remains uncertain. “In general, it appears that exercise, like any therapy, results in a bell-shaped curve in terms of response and benefit,” says Dr. James H. O’Keefe, a cardiologist and lead author of a thought-provoking review article published on Monday in Mayo Clinic Proceedings that examines whether extreme amounts of vigorous exercise, particularly running, can harm the heart.

“To date, the data suggests that walking and light jogging are almost uniformly beneficial for health and do increase life span,” Dr. O’Keefe says. “But with more vigorous or prolonged exercise, the benefits can become questionable.

“I’m a fan of distance running,” he adds. “I run. But after about 45 to 60 minutes a day, you reach a point of diminishing returns, and at some point, you risk toxicity.”

His advice? the study by Dr. Lavie and his colleagues offers excellent guidelines for safe and effective exercise, Dr. O’Keefe says. “Twenty miles a week or less of jogging at a 10- or 11-minute-mile pace can add years to your life span. That’s very good news.” indeed it is — especially since that routine happens to replicate almost exactly my own weekly exercise regimen.

“I wouldn’t automatically discourage people from doing more if they really want to” and are not experiencing side effects, like extreme fatigue or repeated injuries, Dr. O’Keefe continued. “But the message from the latest data is that the sweet spot for exercise seems to come with less.”

Gretchen Reynolds is the author of “the First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals how we can Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer” (Hudson Street Press, 2012).

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Task Force Reviewed More Than 50 Studies

May 29, 2012 — Older people can reduce their risk for serious falls by exercising regularly and taking vitamin D supplements, an expert panel now says.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force panel found “convincing evidence” that exercise or physical therapy and vitamin D supplementation can help reduce the risk of falls in people aged 65 and older.

Researchers reviewed more than 50 clinical trials to assess the benefits and harms of different strategies for preventing falls in older adults living in the community outside of nursing homes and other assisted-living centers.

Falls in the Elderly Underreported

Falls are a leading cause of serious injury and the leading cause of nursing home entry among the elderly.

Risks for falls include older age, a history of falls, and difficulty getting around.

As many as 40% of people aged 65 and older living outside of nursing homes fall at least once a year, and up to 10% of those who fall will suffer fractures, lacerations, or head injuries.

Falls are also widely underreported, geriatric physician Gisele Wolf-Klein, MD, tells WebMD.

Wolf-Klein is director of geriatric education at the North Shore-LIJ Health System in new Hyde Park, N.Y.

“Elderly people who fall often don’t tell their doctor or their children or even their spouse,” she says. “They are often ashamed or fearful that they will be perceived as frail and dependent.”

Exercise, Vitamin D ‘Modestly Beneficial’

Among the major findings:

• Vitamin D supplementation had a modest impact on fall risk, with analysis of nine studies showing its use to lower this risk by 17% over six to 36 months of follow-up.
• A review of 18 studies found that exercise or physical therapy reduced fall risk by about 13%, which was also considered a modest benefit.
• The task force recommended against routine, in-depth, multiple risk factor assessment and intervention in all people 65 and older, concluding that decisions about such assessment should be made on a case-by-case basis.
• The data were also insufficient to recommend behavioral counseling or home hazard modification to prevent falls.

The task force did not specify what types of exercises older people should do or how much vitamin D supplementation they should take to reduce their risk for falls.

Task force member Albert L. Siu, MD, MSPH, tells WebMD that the analysis suggested a benefit for balance exercise, such as tai chi; strength and resistance exercise; and general exercise.

“Exercise recommendations need to be customized to individual patients, especially since adherence is such an important component,” he says. “If you prescribe an exercise that a patient won’t do, there is no benefit.”

Docs Should ask Patients about Falls

The task force did not weigh in for or against the use of calcium, which is often taken with vitamin D.

Siu says government researchers are in the process of evaluating the research on calcium supplementation and bone health.

Although the report did not address vitamin D dosage, recommendations recently published by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) call for people at increased risk for falls to take a supplement of at least 800 international units (IU) of the vitamin a day.

“Most multivitamins have this much vitamin D, so people who take a multivitamin every day may not need more,” Wolf-Klein says.

She adds that more doctors need to ask their elderly patients if they have fallen recently.

The AGS recommends that doctors ask all their older patients about falls at least once a year.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force panel included independent health experts appointed by the Department of Health and Human Services.

The report was published online May 28 and it will appear in the August 7 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Going to extremes … the Dead Sea Ultra Marathon. Photo: Getty Images

Too much exercise can scar the heart and increase the risk of sudden death, US experts say.

Research shows that extreme endurance sports such as marathons, triathlons and long-distance bicycle races can cause structural changes to the heart and large arteries.

Usually recovery occurs within a week. but for some individuals, repetitive injury over months and years of training and competition can lead to patches of fibrosis, or scarring, in the heart, say US scientists.

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This can lead to an increased likelihood of potentially fatal abnormal heart rhythms.

Dr James O’Keefe, from Saint Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, US, who led a review of the evidence, said: “Physical exercise, though not a drug, possesses many traits of a powerful pharmacologic agent. A routine of daily physical activity can be highly effective for prevention and treatment of many diseases, including coronary heart disease, hypertension, heart failure, and obesity.

“However, as with any pharmacologic agent, a safe upper-dose limit potentially exists, beyond which the adverse effects of physical exercise, such as musculoskeletal trauma and cardiovascular stress, may outweigh its benefits.”

The research is published in the June issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Endurance sports such as ultramarathon running or professional cycling have been associated with as much as a five-fold increased risk of atrial fibrillation, one kind of abnormal heart rhythm, say the scientists.

Excessive sustained exercise may also be linked to coronary artery calcification, and dysfunctional and stiffened large arteries.

One study showed that around 12 per cent of apparently healthy marathon runners had signs of heart scarring. their chances of suffering a heart-disease event was also significantly higher than average.

A famous victim of excess exercise may have been legendary US ultramarathon runner Micah True who died suddenly while on a routine 20km training run on March 27, it is claimed.

True, nicknamed Caballo Blanco (Spanish for “white horse”), would run as much as 160km in one day.

After death at 58, his heart was found to be enlarged and scarred. He died from a lethal heart rhythm irregularity.

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For some healthy people, exercise may actually increase heart risk, according to a paper published this week in the journal PLoS One.

The review of six previous studies on exercise found that working out worsened at least one measure of heart risk — blood pressure, insulin level or levels of HDL cholesterol or triglycerides — for about 10% of people. About 7% of people declined on at least two measures.

The lead author of the paper, Claude Bouchard, a professor of genetics and nutrition at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University, told the New York Times that the finding was “bizarre.”

(MORE: 5 Mistakes You’re Making at the Gym)

At the same time, the data, involving 1,687 people, showed that about 10% of people saw outsized gains in at least one measure of heart disease risk — some patients improved 20% to 50%. For other participants, exercise-related rewards ran the gamut, from none to some to significant benefits.

One of the authors of the study was on the committee that provided the scientific evidence underlying the government’s official exercise guidelines for Americans, which recommend at least 150 minutes per week of moderate activity.

The implication here is that the government’s physical activity guidelines are based on rather weak scientific data. the Times’ Gina Kolata writes:

The problem with studies of exercise and health, researchers point out, is that while they often measure things like blood pressure or insulin levels, they do not follow people long enough to see if improvements translate into fewer heart attacks or longer lives. Instead, researchers infer that such changes lead to better outcomes — something that may or may not be true.

Some critics have noted that there is no indication that those who had what Dr. Bouchard is calling an adverse response to exercise actually had more heart attacks or other bad health outcomes. but Dr. Bouchard said if people wanted to use changes in risk factors to infer that those who exercise are healthier, they could not then turn around and say there is no evidence of harm when the risk factor changes go in the wrong direction.

(MORE: Prescription for Type 2 Diabetes: Cardio Plus Weights)

Still, the findings are no excuse not to exercise. For one thing, it’s still not clear why some people had adverse responses to working out. the results couldn’t be explained by how fit participants were (or later became), how strenuously they exercised, whether they were taking medications for blood pressure or cholesterol, or their age, race or gender. “I suspect the most important explanation here will be genomics,” Bouchard told the Boston Globe.

Researchers said it’s important to figure out who will benefit from exercise and who won’t, if we want to able to prescribe exercise individually for better health. “Identifying the predictors of such unwarranted responses and how to prevent them will provide the foundation for personalized exercise prescription,” they wrote.

But for healthy people, experts agree that exercise is a benefit overall. It improves mood, makes you stronger and preserves physical fitness as you age.

So, for now, the authors recommend that people continue exercising as before. if you’ve been sedentary and are starting a new exercise regimen, however, it would be a good idea to check in regularly with your physician to monitor measures of heart health.

MORE: When Mom Exercises in Pregnancy, her Baby’s Heart Benefits

It’s time to exercise yourcivic duty Barack Obama, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum will all be on the ballot Tuesday when Republicans and Democrats pick their candidates for the upcoming general election in November.

But those races won’t be the ones we’ll be watching. Because of new Mexico’s spot at the tail end of the presidential nominating process, those races have long been decided. But other races will determine who advances at the county, state and national levels. The most closely watched races nationally will be the two to fill the vacancy soon to be left by the retirement of U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman.

All seats in the new Mexico House and Senate are up for re-election this year — with many of the incumbents defending new districts because of recent redistricting. And a number of county seats will be decided, too.

New Mexico law limits primary elections to party members only — Democrats can vote in Democratic primaries, Republicans can vote in Republican primaries. Independents or those registered to other parties can not vote until November.

After meeting with and reviewing the records of candidates running in local races, the Sun-News has made the following endorsements:

U.S. Senate Republicans: Heather Wilson

U.S. Senate Democrats: Martin Heinrich

N.M. Senate District 35 Democrats: John Arthur Smith

N.M. Senate District 36 Democrats: Mary Jane Garcia

N.M. Senate District 31 Democrats: Joseph Cervantes

N.M. House District 35 Democrats: Jeff Steinborn

N.M. House District 52 Democrats: Doreen Gallegos

County Commission District 4 Democrats: Wayne Hancock

County Commission District 2 Democrats: Alexander Cotoia

County Commission District 5 Democrats: Scott Krahling

NM Court of Appeals Democrats: Monica Zamora.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Voting will be even easier this year, with the debut of voting centers throughout the county.

In the past, voters were required to know which precinct they lived in, and could only vote at that site. This year, voters will be able to show up at any of the 39 voting sites in the county and cast their ballot at that site.

“You’re never in the wrong precinct,” Doña Ana County Clerk Lynn Ellins said of the new approach.

Because turnout is always much lighter in the primary election that in the general election, this will be a good opportunity for election officials to work any bugs out of the new system, and for voters to see how convenient it is.

Also, because of redistricting, there is a chance you may now live in a new state House or Senate or county commission district. The new voting centers should help minimize any confusion that might have been caused by the new district boundaries.

It is a little disappointing that new Mexico voters are excluded from the presidential selection process. But there are still many important races to be decided Tuesday as voters determine who gets to run in November.

COLUMBIA – the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, in conjunction with a number of other state and local agencies, will conduct a hurricane evacuation exercise on Tuesday, June 5, to test lane reversal plans for all three major coastal areas of the state.

Hurricane season began June 1 and ends November 30. Please note that no traffic lanes will actually be reversed during this exercise. 

This hurricane evacuation exercise is designed to test lane reversal plans for Interstate 26, U.S. 21, U.S. 278, U.S. 501 and S.C. 544 in the event of a mandatory coastal evacuation order.

The exercise should not interfere with the flow of traffic. Intersections will not be blocked, and motorists will be allowed to move freely. However, the Highway Patrol cautions motorists traveling in these areas to exercise caution and be aware that law enforcement officers and state personnel will be located on the shoulder of the highway and at exits. the exercise will last from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

“This exercise is important because it brings together the agencies responsible for evacuation procedures and allows us to work together testing and fine-tuning the details of the operation,” said SCDPS Director Leroy Smith. “our number one goal is the safe and efficient movement of our state’s citizens and visitors inland in the event of a hurricane.” 

Personnel and equipment from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, the South Carolina Department of Transportation, the State Law Enforcement Division, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, the South Carolina Forestry Commission, the Civil Air Patrol and the South Carolina National Guard will participate in the exercise. 

The exercise will simulate reversal operations on U.S. 278 and U.S. 21. the deployment of equipment and personnel will be made on these roads leading out of Hilton Head and Beaufort. SCDOT equipment will be stationed on U.S. 278 from Almenda to Hampton in Hampton County. 

Law enforcement personnel and traffic control devices will be deployed on Interstate 26 from the intersection of I-526 and I-26 in Charleston to I-77 and I-26 in Columbia. 

Traffic control equipment and personnel will be stationed on U.S. 501 beginning at S.C. 544 and ending at U.S. 378 as well as between S.C. 22 and the Marion By-Pass. 

Aerial units from SLED, the Civil Air Patrol, South Carolina National Guard and the South Carolina Forestry Commission will be flying assigned aerial surveillance routes. SCDOT will also deploy Incident Response Vehicles.

Could exercise be bad for some healthy people?

Researchers, including one who helped write the scientific paper justifying national guidelines that promote exercise for all, say the answer may be a qualified yes.

By analyzing data from six exercise studies involving 1,687 people, the researchers found about 10 percent got worse on at least one of the measures related to heart disease: blood pressure and levels of insulin, HDL cholesterol or triglycerides.

About 7 percent got worse on at least two measures.

And the researchers say they do not know why.

“It is bizarre,” said Claude Bouchard, lead author of the paper, published Wednesday, May 30, in PLoS one, and a professor of genetics and nutrition at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, part of the Louisiana State University system.

Dr. Michael Lauer, director of the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the lead federal research institute on heart disease and strokes, was among the experts not involved in the provocative study who applauded it.

“It is an interesting and well done study,” he said.

Others worried about its consequences.

“There are a lot of people out there looking for any excuse not to exercise,” said William Haskell, emeritus professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. “This might be an excuse for them to say, ‘Oh, I must be one of those 10 percent.’ “

But counterbalancing the 10 percent who got worse were about the same proportion who had an exaggeratedly good response on at least one measure.

Others had responses ranging from little or no change up to big changes, seen in about 10 percent, where risk factor measurements improved anywhere from 20 percent to 50 percent.

“That should make folks happy,” said Dr. William Kraus, a co-author of the study who is a professor of medicine and director of clinical research at Duke.

Kraus was a member of the committee providing the scientific overview for the Department of Health and Human Services’ national exercise guidelines, which advise moderate exercise for at least 150 minutes a week.

The problem with studies of exercise and health, researchers say is that while they often measure things like blood pressure, they do not follow people long enough to see if improvements translate into fewer heart attacks or longer lives. instead researchers infer that such changes lead to better outcomes — something that may or may not be true.

Some critics have noted there is no indication those who had what Bouchard is calling an adverse response to exercise actually had more heart attacks or other bad health outcomes. But he said if people wanted to use changes in risk factors to infer that those who exercise are healthier, they could not then say there is no evidence of harm when the risk factor changes go in the wrong direction.

“You can’t have it both ways,” Bouchard said.

The national guidelines for exercise are based on such inferences and on studies that compared the health of people who exercised with that of people who did not, a weak form of evidence often said to be hypothesis-generating rather than proof.

“We do not know whether implementing exercise programs for unfit people assures better outcomes,” said Lauer of the heart institute. “That has not been established.”

And so, he said, “there is a lot of debate over how strong the guidelines should be in light of weak evidence.”

Authors of the study say people should continue to exercise as before but might also consider getting their heart disease risk factors checked on a regular basis.

No intervention, including drugs, works for everyone, Kraus said. so it should not be surprising that exercise does not work for some.

“I would rather have everyone exercise. But you can’t ignore the data,” he said.

But he said even if someone does not get the expected benefits, there are other reasons to exercise — for mental health and to improve physical functioning.

And while the researchers would like to spare people from adverse exercise effects, Bouchard said, “it is not possible yet to make more specific recommendations because we do not understand why this is happening.”

Kraus said researchers must learn to tailor exercise prescriptions to an individual’s needs. For example, people who have good cholesterol and insulin levels but worrisome blood pressure would want to know if exercise made their blood pressure rise. A rise in blood pressure would not be compensated by improvements in already good cholesterol or insulin levels.

There are a number of factors at play when it comes to determining the effect exercise has on memory, reports the new York Times, in its review of a recent study released by Dartmouth researchers.

As the Times article explains, Dartmouth researchers have found that genetic make-up, as well as the frequency of and age at which a person exercises, play a role in the effect that exercise has on memory. David Bucci, an associate professor in the department of psychological and brain sciences, and one of the study’s authors, explained to the new York Times that some people’s ability to recall objects may “respond less robustly” to exercise than other people’s if their genetic makeup doesn’t promote the release of BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor).

Also, after comparing the pre- and post-testing results of the experiment’s control groups of exercisers and non-exercisers, Bucci explained that “exercise generally enhances the ability to remember,” adding, “The current data strongly suggests that people should be physically active.”

Read the full story, published 5/30/12 by the new York Times.

After knee surgery, I struggled to find a way to get back into shape and bulk up my knee again without re-injuring it. Biking was a wonderful tool, and I’ve used it ever since, whether it’s hoping on a bike to warm up for a workout, or heading outside to bike for miles and miles without a care in the world. if you’re looking to get in shape using a bike, check out the frequently asked questions below along with the video which should help you on your way to a healthy, natural lifestyle!Question by megan: would this be sufficient as a quick workout?I’m talking about times where 30 minutes or more of exercise won’t work that day

Let’s say I did 30 kettlebell swings, job in place for 30 seconds, jumping jacks for 30 seconds, then 30 seconds of ab bicycles (or whatever they’re called)

And this would be done 4-5 times (whatever time allows), with a few short breaks

Would that be sufficient as a quick workout?

Best answer:

Answer by tennisloveryes definentlythe keetle bells can work great

and what your doing is better then none..

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Video Rating: 4 / 5

Do a scissor kick exercise to work out your abs. Learn about abdominalexercises in this free fitness video. Expert: Kyle Brayer Bio: Kyle Brayer is a certified trainer and a sports conditioning specialist. he is also the owner of Epic Fitness and a former US Marine. Filmmaker: Dustin Daniels

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Most people, whether they’re overweight or not, are waiting for the “deal with your death” diet. you know, the one that comes when you doctor tells you about your blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease or cancer. It’s an emergency, and from fear, maybe, you start eating better and exercising. PLEASE DO NOT WAIT FOR THAT. Handel proposes the “Deal with your Life” Diet. Why am I calling it that? Because you can’t really make your body healthy without dealing with making your mind, spirit and relationships healthy. And by the same token, if you deal with your body, you will be dealing with your LIFE. It’s inevitable, because the two are inextricably linked. your relationship with your body is your relationship with yourself and thus, in my opinion, your most important relationship.

Here are the premises I am asking you to go with, for now:

1) your relationship with your body is deep, profound, spiritual and important. 

Instead of hating that you have a body, or tolerating a body/health that doesn’t meet your honest standards, how about you recognize that having a body is a precious gift? yes, you’ve made mistakes, possibly even been cruel to yourself, but people make mistakes. It’s time to start making amends with your body and therefore your soul. It will change everything.

2) It’s nobody else’s job to make your relationship with your body great.

Blame is a way to avoid feeling things we don’t want to feel. Often under excess weight are feelings of fear, sadness and longing. since we don’t want to feel, we eat and we blame. We blame other people for serving the food or offering. We blame our up-bringers for not teaching us better habits, more awareness, self-love or giving us better genes. We blame our culture or society for not being supportive of our health and body goals. This will NEVER make us happy. when you decide, once and for all, that loving your body is your mission, and it’s a good thing, you will be freer, happier and more powerful.

3) What you eat and how you exercise has everything to do with how you think and feel – and you have control over these things.

The brat that lives in your brain doesn’t want you to figure out that your control of what you put in your mouth and how you exercise is completely your own. you aren’t up against outside factors, you are up against your own mind and you have complete control over your mind, just like you have complete control over your hand (that feeds your face).

4) the discipline you attain by consciously choosing healthy food and exercise will strengthen all other areas of your life.

Once you learn to manage your mind to stop undermining your dreams and you choose exactly what your hand puts in your mouth, you cannot help being conscious to the fact that all choices are yours. Suddenly you are bolder at your job, in dating, with your loved ones, because you know you have abundant power. your confidence increases when you can trust yourself to do the right thing, even if it is something as seemingly insignificant as skipping dessert. when you learn to take care of your physical self, you will no longer tolerate NOT taking care of yourself in other ways and areas.

So what does it mean to “deal with your life” and how does the diet force you to?

1) you make real change in your LIFE-style, not just restrict yourself for a limited time. Yup, the Handel diet tells you yes foods and no foods. It’s pretty simple – you just change what you eat. There isn’t counting calories or points, so you still have an endless mental negotiation about what you “deserve” or would taste best or what you can afford or save up for. you can eat unrestricted of a lot of things, but all the things are healthy so you start to get a taste for healthy things. you are learning a new healthy way to live, not temporarily starving yourself or eating in some fad way.

2) you learn to run the conversation in your mind, not just so you’ll choose an apple over a cookie, but so that you’ll actually learn to respect and even love that apple.

3) you deal with “the brat.” you learn to say “no” to yourself, even when you have a really good reason: you “deserve” that muffin or “everyone else is doing it.”

4) you deal with “the chicken,” aka your real fears. you learn what you are really afraid of that the fat or addiction or control or preoccupation is a cover up for. you face your family, past and relationship issues once and for all.

5) you deal with abuse. if you had abuse in your past that you never examined, talked about and healed, you grow up and get willing to do just that.

6) you deal with what you don’t say and stuff down. you discover and implement a method for having difficult conversations, based on past hurts as well as everyday issues, so that you never feel the need to eat in order to avoid a situation or a feeling. you feed your soul by making peace with yourself and others and this make you less “hungry.”

7) you deal with your career. This diet causes a sudden increase in confidence, which will force you to either take it up a notch in your career or re-think in general if you are fulfilling your real life’s purpose.

you deal with your relationships. It can’t be helped; you making radical changes in your body and life will cause everyone else to have to examine their relationship with you and their own issues they’ve been avoiding. Everyone elevates and sometimes a few people fade away or part ways.

9) you clean up your life. Step by step everything in your life that isn’t consistent with your highest ideals for yourself is reckoned with and righted. It is not an infinite list, as we fear. you actually have a finite list of things in your life that block you and keep you stuck. Let us help you make and start handling the list.

10) you tell the truth. you won’t be able to help it. the food plan teaches you black and white, yes and no. It teaches you to manage the voices in your head. you will be dealing with your honest dream every day and you will become a person who is comfortable with the truth.

11) you live by your own standards. Starting with food and exercise, you will live a lifestyle dictated by personal integrity, which means living in accordance with your true high standards. Once you’ve mastered one area, you will take the tools into all the others.

Everything that comes from you cleaning up your diet is good: for your body, your happiness, your loved ones and the whole planet even! Begin loving your body right now and living a better life, because you can and because you want to.

P.S.- if my list scares you, don’t worry. Join me every Monday for Wake Up your Week, my weekly teleseminar series, to begin building your integrity. And if you are a fitness or health professional dying to share these concepts with the world, Life Coaching Meets the Health and Fitness Industry is for you.

Laurie Gerber is President of Handel Group® Life Coaching, an international coaching company, which specializes in teaching individuals to take focused and powerful action in every area of their lives. You can connect with Laurie on Facebook at HG Life Coaching.