From the New York Times Best-Selling author of Body For Life For Women and the book and PBS Special - Fight Fat After Forty: The Stress Connection, comes Fit to Live: The 5-Point Plan to Become Lean, Strong & Fearless for LIFE by Pamela Peeke MD, MPH, FACP.
Dr. Peeke has been a Pew Scholar, the recipient of the National Research Science Award Fellowship, is an advisor to the Clinton Foundation Alliance for Healthier Generations, a member of the Maryland Governor's Council on Fitness, and is Chief Medical Correspondent for Nutrition and Fitness for the Discovery Health Channel.
Dr. Peeke - Where did Fit To Live originate?
Fit To Live is the third book in my series. First, I published Fight Fat After Forty - it is the bible of the stress-fat connection. In it, I helped women understand how fighting stress works by explaining the “menopot.” The National Institute of Health worked on this with me. We studied the science of fighting stress.
In my second book, Body-For-LIFE for Women, I covered women’s health - womb to tomb. This included every decade, divided by each hormonal milestone: pregnancy, PMS, menopause, etc.. A woman’s body changes physiologically as she ages. I give an explanation to women about what happens, introducing them to Vitamin I - “I” for intensity.
In Fit To Live, I go to an interesting place, and I blow it out a little further. You can’t keep turning yourself into a science fair project. I use an integrated approach involving the Mind, the Mouth, and the Muscle (covered in my first two books), but add the Money, and the Macrocosm. The Macrocosm is a nature deficiency. In other words, you haven’t seen enough green outside; go hug a tree. Have you had a bad day? Take a walk, just go out there and do it. When was the last time you had a bad experience? Walking outside reduces cortisol and the appetite and increases endorphins. It’s a win-win.
Women are hardwired to ruminate, to be perfectionists, and care-givers. We do this by dropping ourselves off our own radar screen.
Using a pair of sneakers as a metaphor, I’ll explain:
Mind - get a woman’s head wrapped around her own hard-wiring. Put on a pedometer and walk. Walk 10,000 steps a day. Movement ends the mind-body dissociation.
Mouth - how do you nourish yourself? Now that you’re walking, what does your body need?
At any age, what is the template? You need proper nourishment to keep walking.
Muscle - how do you walk? “How many calories should I burn?” you ask. Burn 400 calories a day with aerobic activity. Do as much as you can or even more. Challenge yourself. Use an elliptical machine, walk outside, or bike. Do what’s best for “me” as a woman.
Money - if there’s no money, you ain’t getting those sneakers. You must have saved to have the financial wherewithal to buy them. If I stand as a physician ranting and raving at you about you needing to live long and well, that’s great. But you need money for a gym; even the Y is $30 a month. You’ll need health insurance, and LTC (long term care). Do you know what these things are? Statistics are strong-- you’ll need these things.
You will also need dollars for produce: it’s the health and wealth connection. Today a bag of organic carrots costs more than a bag of Cheetoes.
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