Men’s Health. The path to conquer weight loss, fat loss and obesity and enjoy Vibrant Health, Energy and Libido today!
Have you seen the most recent obesity statistics as they pertain to men? Well, they are not good. According to the CDC here are the stats: Among men, the prevalence of obesity was 40.3% among those aged 20–39, 46.4% among those aged 40–59, and 42.2% among those aged 60 and over.
Obesity has been a problem for a long time, long before Covid-19. But, now more than ever, I must ask the question, what are you doing about your own health to help you lose weight? Lower your BMI? Drop that dreaded abdominal fat?
Well men, it is time to solve our obesity problem and the answer is not a new diet. Rather, the answer lies in the development of new habits that lead to a better lifestyle. This new lifestyle can broken down into five pillars that contribute to both your healthspan and your lifespan. So, if you want to STOP feeling like sh*t, lose weight, breathe better, regain your libido, reduce likelihood of get sick, take inches off of your waist, and feel like you are 25 or 30 again then take heed!
Five Pillars to Men’s Health:
Nutrition
Sleep/Rest
Supplements/Hormones/Peptides
Cognitive Function and Clarity
Exercise
Each one of the five pillars has something important to contribute to men who seek a vibrant and healthy life full of energy, youthful libido, and mental sharpness and clarity.
Picture for a moment overlapping circles where all of these categories or pillars are connected. They are NOT one or the other or independent of each other. In fact, in order to reach an extensive health span or even life span one must connect all of the pillars. Here is where to begin:
Nutrition. You may have heard it said but it is so worth repeating. “Sugar, not fat is the enemy.” Let me be more specific. Refined sugar is the enemy. Notice I did not say Carbs even though, yes I know Carbs are technically sugar too, however it is the Sucrose, added sugar in all of its sneaky forms we must watch out for.
Learn to read your ingredient labels and watch out for things like; organic cane sugar, sucrose, maltodextrin, molasses, high fructose corn syrup, barley malt, dextrose, maltose, rice syrup. Well you get the point. Refined sugar is everywhere and it is what makes us fat. Excess sugar in the blood over time will also lower our hormones and thus, you guessed it, that precious liquid gold known as, Testosterone.
Become plant based. I did not say you have to go Vegan. But just begin by eating more vegetables, fresh fruit, and nuts. Example; need an afternoon snack? Grab an apple. Currently in the habit of late night snacking? One cup of fresh blueberries topped with cinnamon and ground flax seed will do the trick. The first step, you don’t even have to give up the late night snack, just choose healthier options for now.
Sleep. Of all the things healthy we can do to at the very least preserve our hormones, sleep is number one! According to Matthew Walker in his book, Why We Sleep “If you have hopes of reproductive success, fitness or prowess, you would do well to get a full night’s sleep every night.” In fact as far as Testosterone is concerned, Walker sites a study done at the University of Chicago where a group of lean healthy young males in their mid 20’s were limited to 5 hours of sleep for one week. After the sleep deprivation for a week, “sample hormone levels circulating in the blood of the participants showed a marked drop in testosterone.The size of the hormone blunting effect was so large that it effectively ages a man by ten to fifteen years in terms of testosterone virility.” WOW! is all I can say.
Hormones/Peptides. Get your blood checked. Get your blood checked. That’s not a typo. Get your blood checked. The only way to truly take a deep dive into how healthy you are or are not is to get your blood checked. It doesn’t lie, it’s a “lie detector test.” Do you ever feel tired during the day? Moody? Low libido? Unmotivated? It could be your hormone levels. Especially testosterone, growth hormone and IGF-1. The good news, once your blood has been analyzed, your Functional or Integrative Medicine doctor can help you decide if Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) is right for you. It has worked wonders for me! Peptides such as Melanotan 2 and PT-141 may also be useful, consult your Functional Medicine Doctor for more details. t here:
Cognitive Function and Clarity. Here in this pillar of health I recommend yoga, especially restorative yoga, meditation, stillness, prayer and breath work. First, you have to find what is right for you. I have experimented with all of these and found that a combination of once a week restorative yoga and daily prayer and stillness keep me “plugged in” to the Champions positive mind set by helping to keep the stories in my head believing that I am part of a larger story in this beautiful world. In addition, there are options to help you “hack” this cognitive clarity such as Hemp Oil and Peptides such as Semax and Dihexa. For more on Peptides read Dr. Edwin Lee’s book The Fountain of Youth with Peptides.
Exercise. All though I am a weightlifter at heart, good news for all of you non-gym goers. If it is longevity and healthspan you are interested in than long grueling hours at the gym are not necessary. Try a morning walk in the sunshine or an at home HiiT workout. You see, although I believe all men should “pump iron” in truth, that is just an opinion. The fact is, there are many forms of exercise that can be beneficial and actually low to moderate intensity, daily exercise is a healthier form than all out gut wrenching gym sessions under junk blue LED lights. So just simply grab your headphones, sneakers and head outdoors for a walk or hike or do some gardening but just move! Burn more than you consume!
So you see, obesity can be conquered and thus us men can live healthier, longer lives. For a lot of you that may mean lifestyle change, the formation of new habits. For others it may mean a tweaking or improving of a certain one or two of the Five Pillars. But just remember it takes a blend of all five, together to make lasting BMI and body fat percentage changes.
Good luck and Stay Strong!
Coach Pete
